Florence,Venice and the Cinque Terre'

Part 1

While staying in our farmhouse provided rest and repose, we did venture out beyond our country landscape to the more populated places that our travel guru, Rick Steves features in his travel television show and books.
Three of our favorites, that make our hearts leap when thinking of them.
All three places are entirely different from each other, yet have great charm and draw you back to themselves.

Our first excursion was a day trip to Florence.We piled into the super van that accomodated the 8 of us and made our way to this fabulous City.
Having had problems with driving here in past visits, we opted to park up at the Piazzale Michelangelo and walk down into the city from there. The Piazzale parking area provided a beautiful panaramic view of this spectacular city for us.

Our friends had museum dates, so Steve and I took off for the central market and for a visit with our dear friend Marcella, from Casa Rabatti. We have stayed with her at her establishment each time we travl to Italy.
With our broken Italian, and her broken English, we managed a nice visit trying to catch up on her life since we last saw her, took pictures and said our goodbyes and promised that we would see her again sometime soon. She is such a sweetie.

We then made our way to the Acadamia Museum to meet with DAVID.
What a handsome statue made from marble, giant and polished so beautifully.
How did it get so, chiseled and smoothed by hand before any machine was ever crafted to do this?

For some reason, there is a constant warning ....."NO PHOTOS ", The David has stood outside in the weather for many,many years, and now they refuse to allow photos to be taken of this breath taking sculpture? Well, we have to confess, we were among the crowd that took what we could when no one was looking.

The Duomo was as beautiful as ever, but unfortunately there was not enough time to climb to the top. The Baptismal Doors were there shining as georgously as they always have, and the traffic buzzing madly about the tourists and city dwellers. All geting along well with the foriegners invading their home.

Florence deserves more than the day that we gave it, but one must be called to her and the desire to explore her vast streets and marketplaces.
We had a wonderful day.