To Firenze and back!

Ciao!

We did have an issue last night, after I posted the blog, which involved there being no hot water in the flat!  Turns out that our landlady’s grandson, Yuri, forgot to turn it on for us…thankfully, we were able to call him about 10:30 pm and by 11 all was good.  Just a bit nerve-rattling, for sure!

Catching the 2-level train at Pisa!

Nice and comfy!

Etruscan bronze statuette

An unusual funerary urn

The Chimera

Another view

A winged sphinx

The Francois vase -- pieced back together

Sarcophagus of the Amazons -- that's tempera paint!

One end of the Amazon Sarcophagus

Looking out 3rd floor window into garden

Entrance to a transplanted tomb

Again, top looking into a corbelled tomb

"Faux" tomb but with the real sarcophagi; one family

Tomb made from balanced stones

Couldn't resist ...

Isn't it pretty???

Terrible picture, but you probably get the idea ...

Up this morning early – 5 am so that we could get ready and to the train station, with the hope of arriving at the Florence Etruscan Museum around their opening time of 8:30 am.  (I actually checked three different websites on their opening hours, and all three said 8:30 am.  R was rather pessimistic and said it would probably be an “Italian” 8:30 am… So, out about 6-ish and we decided to take the car, not ever being able to confirm Pisa’s Saturday bus schedule! Arrived at the station about 6:30, and found lots of parking just down the block.  Absolutely NO traffic at all the entire way to the station – obviously, people are taking advantage of their weekends!  It was just a little odd, after all the traffic and chaos in Rome and some of the other cities we have driven in and through.  We really like Pisa!  The weather forecast took rain out of the schedule today in Pisa, but 40% in Florence. That meant the “do we or don’t we” discussion when it came to taking umbrellas.  We eventually decided to fly bravely forward – no umbrellas and no jackets. Hmmmm…

Caught the 7:05 am train, which made multiple stops on the wait to Florence, and arrived about an hour later at Santa Maria Novella, or SMN as it’s known in the area.  It really wasn’t too far to walk to the museum, although as we hadn’t taken time out for breakfast, we did stop at a nice pastry shop.  R had Café Ameriano and I asked for hot chocolate … got a funny look, and something like “we stopped serving it.” Not sure what that meant, as it was only in the 8:15-ish time frame, and they certainly were doing a brisk business in pastries and coffees.  We both got croissants – R’s filled with fruit, and mine filled with crema – excellent!  Arrived about 8:45 am at the museum, and it was wide open!  Yeah!  (On the way, we passed the Accademia – home of Michelangelo’s David – and saw the line of people waiting for opening – already about a block long!)

However…the first thing that the man selling tickets said to me was that the garden wasn’t open.  DARN!!! We had specifically scheduled our jaunt to Florence for a Saturday, as that is the ONLY day during the week that the garden is open, and they have Etruscan tombs in that garden that we wanted to see!  Apparently, it had rained in Florence before our train came in – and as I pointed out to him, when he said it was closed because of rain:  It’s NOT raining NOW!  He suggested that we ask again after we toured, in case they planned to open.  So … with that in mind, into the museum we went.

The last time we were in Florence we visited this museum twice in the span of a few days.  It is really an interesting place.  Three pieces in particular were memorable:  The François Vase, the Chimera, and an Etruscan alabaster tomb painted in tempera that was absolutely brilliant!

The Chimera, at least according to Wikipedia is: “according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of more than one animal.”  In this case, it’s a lion with something on its back.  It’s a huge sculpture; very formidable looking. 

In the case of the François Vase: (Again, Wikipedia) “The François Vase is a large Attic (Greek) volute krater decorated in the black-figure style. It stands at 66 cm in height.  In 1900 the vase was smashed into 638 pieces by a museum guard by hurling a wooden stool against the protective glass. It was later restored by Pietro Zei in 1902, followed by a second reconstruction in 1973 incorporating previously missing pieces.”  FYI, they also have the stool that was hurtled on display!

In the case of the painted sarcophagus, it basically tells of a battle between the Greeks and the Amazons (a tribe of ancient female warriors; think Wonder Woman!), and it was found in a tomb in Tarquinia.  The colors are truly amazing, as hopefully you can tell from the photos.  

The best thing about this museum is that I don’t think anybody knows what time it really opens! We had the place quite literally to ourselves until we were about ready to leave at 11 am!  Amazing!  And then, GREAT news – they were opening the garden!  We had to accompany a tour, led by the guide who was very nice and spoke excellent English.  Also, it helped that we had seen so many tombs and sites and areas, as we could pretty well follow what she was talking about.  So!  A very successful visit!

Out about 11:45 am and we decided to check out “my” Magnum place to see if it was still there.  To recount the history:  Many years ago in Europe I discovered something called “Magnum Classics” – a wonderful vanilla ice cream bar with dark chocolate coating. (They make other kinds of ice cream bars, but the Classic was really the only one I was interested in.)  Whenever we travelled, I would look for them – I even found them in Canada and Australia!  Unreal!  Then, they made their debut in the U.S.!!!!  Very bad for the calories, but oh my, I do love them.  Now, of course, I can have them frequently, but don’t actually – more fun to find them on holiday!  At any rate, the last time we were in Florence, right behind the Duomo on the main square, they had a Magnum store – and you got to make up your own ice cream bar!  Unreal!  So … in the spirit of research, we walked up to the Duomo – and it was still THERE! Yeah!!  I had a vanilla bar with dark chocolate on the outside, and then coated first with multicolor chocolate beads (like small M&Ms) as well as some raspberry crumbles and dried strawberry bits.  Then, the young man drizzles the chocolate of your choice (I chose white) on top and hands it to you!  Oh, my … very messy, but oh, so terrific!  

After that, we decided to head back to Pisa.  However, along the way, Robert tripped and went down on both of his knees.  [Walking in Italian towns is a challenge, with the cobble paving, pot holes and other irregularities in the surface.  It’s the half-inch bumps that really get ya. – R]  His left knee is really skinned up, but for some incredible reason, it didn’t really bleed! More like when cyclists get road rash! UGH!  Managed to make it to the train station, and find the next train to Pisa, which was leaving in about 15 minutes.  Found seats upstairs and settled in for the one-hour journey back.  Arrived at the apartment about 2:30 pm.  R showered and washed the knees and says he is doing fine with Neosporin … I generally prefer bandages, but you know how tough these guys usually are!  Just so happy it wasn’t worse!

Another minor problem in the apartment: The shower head on the end of the flex hose in the shower came off while R was in there, and of course can’t be fixed until Monday.  Thank heavens for the claw-footed tub!  

We are now enjoying a truly wonderful Saturday afternoon in our flat!  The windows are open with a fabulous breeze blowing in, and I am contemplating a nap!  So! More later!

m

xxx