To travel is to live: Day 19 - December 28

A long way to Florence AND a long post......

In the early hours of the morning, snow was falling when we looked outside. We weren't happy about driving down the mountain in those conditions. However, the Matriarch of the hotel assured us that the roads would be clean. The entire family of the small hotel were extremely friendly and helpful. Fortunately, once we got down to the valley, the temps were in the 40's, and no freezing or slippery roads.

After breakfast, Ron came down with the Garmin claiming that it would take us 7 hours to reach our destination and asking "Why didn't I plan better?" It didn't seem right to me - and it turned out the Garmin was set for back-roads - so instead of 7 hours it was more like 3! We did manage to drive safely out of the complex and down the scary road we had traveled in the dark two nights before.

I had not researched restaurants, and we hate chains (no sense in McDonalds in Italy) and autostrada grills, so got off near Modena (one of the wealthiest towns in Italy) to look for a "cute" little place. Modena is known as the "motor city" because it is home to Maserati, Ferrari, DeTomaso, and Lamborghini is in a nearby town. Sometimes when Ron "follows his nose" we find charming places, but the area we traveled through was very industrial and nothing of charm at all. We finally ended up in a small bar/trattoria operated by an Asian couple! Pat had micro-waved lasagna, and Mike, Ron and Mary had macaroni in a cream sauce with Parma ham and peas. Mike and Ron ordered a small beer and small salad - and both were enormous! In this instance, think Autostrada Grill may have been better, and would definitely have saved time. I HATE not having Internet access in the car here like we do with our "Sprint mobile device" in the US!! We could have been 10-minutes from a fabulous place, and no way to know about it!

We were like jumping jacks at the restaurant, taking turns hopping up to look at our van outside, as it is not advisable to leave luggage unattended in Italy!

Small trattoria near Modena

We finally made it to Florence about 6 PM - not a pretty story! Ron had to park the huge van on the side of the road (within the restricted traffic area of Florence), and while he went into the hotel, the three of us sat in terror as buses came within an inch of scraping our vehicle, The first three buses inched slowly past, but Mike could see one in the rear-view mirror approaching at breakneck speed, and that is how it passed us - almost scraping the paint!

When Ron came back he announced that this would not be "our cup of tea", and saying it reminded him of a palazzo pension we had taken my parents to in Vienna about 40-years ago! The young man helping us tried to get Ron to maneuver the van where we could safely unload the luggage without city buses being blocked. It was not easy. The worst part was that we had read so many horror stories warning not to leave ANYTHING in the car in Italy, so we had to bring in about 18 pieces of luggage and bags. Ron said, "Do NOT even try to carry anything up - you will be lucky to get yourselves up there." After unloading everything and piling it in the foyer of the building, Ron and the young man (from Sri Lanka) went off to find a garage parking spot. This would take an entire page on its own, and best left for Ron to describe at some later point - but it was like a nightmare. The nearby garage would not let the van in, and they ended up about two miles away, maneuvering the car through the narrow streets, barriers, etc.

Meanwhile, Mike, Pat and I were standing in the unheated loggia of the building, guarding the luggage, and looking with dread at the three HUGE flights of stairs we were faced with. Time was in slow motion, and it seemed forever until Ron and the young man returned. He had told us "two minutes" and it was at least 30-minutes.

Mike waiting with their luggage

The Blake's luggage

Once Ron finally got back, thank Heavens, the young man managed to carry most of the bags up the stairs, which entailed MANY trips. Mike said, "Let me show you why I can't help you." He placed the guy's hand on his PACE-MAKER, and the fellow's eyes grew "big as saucers".

In Hotel lobby after a stressful arrival!

The rooms were small, but adequate, as you don't expect too many "creature comforts" in an Italian 3-star hotel/pension. As Florence is a very expensive city, we were trying to keep an eye on the budget. The biggest problem was Pat and Mike's bathroom. It was the size of a closet and the shower consisted of a curtain - NO enclosure, nor even a lip to contain water from flowing all over the floor. Something like being on the barge we all once rented. We asked for another room, but the hotel was fully occupied that night.

It is a long story how we ended up in this hotel. I had been aware from my reading about the big problems parking in Florence and had originally booked us in another 3-star hotel just outside the restricted driving area. Somehow, Ron had come upon a gorgeous 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment with parking and elevator, and had booked it for a few days. I then canceled the original hotel. When it turned out Ron had the dates wrong, we were lucky to get our money back from the apartment, and the owner recommended this hotel near him. Ron looked at it and reserved, not asking some of my usual questions - including: "What is the parking like?", and "Are there stairs?" We double-checked the Trip Advisor reviews and, as we thought, most people gave the hotel "excellent" or "very good". After reading some of the reviews, it sounded like they were talking about a totally different place.

After we finally collected ourselves, we set out walking past the Pitti Palace and across the Ponte Vecchio into the old city. Florence is the capital city of Tuscany, and the metropolitan area has about 1.5 million inhabitants. Florence is a city filled with history, and is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance. The city was dominated by the Medicis, one of the most powerful noble families, whose lineage included two popes. The Medicis had a private passageway filled with artwork above the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) so they could pass from the Pitti Palace to the Uffizi without encountering the "peasants". The shops on the bridge at that time were butchers and leather-makers, as the river was an easy place to dispose of their rubbish. The Medicis were offended by the odors, and managed to chase away those shops to be replaced by gold- and silvermiths, and those type of jewelry stores still line the bridge today.

The Feldherren Halle in Munich is "copied" from this Loggia

We walked past the Piazza della Signoria with its Palazzo Vecchio and Loggia dei Lanzi, and found the small restaurant the hotel people had recommended, Antica Fattoria, a "typical" trattoria - reportedly one of few in the main tourist area. The restaurant was damaged and closed by the Uffizi bombing in 1993 that killed nine people. We didn't have a reservation, and were lucky to get the last remaining table - even if it was in an awkward spot in the entryway. At least it made for good people-watching, and there was a steady stream of people going past.

Ron was adventuresome and ordered the bollito misto from the trolley - an array of meats including pork, beef, and stomach. Much of it did not look very appetizing!! I had the chef's specialty - meat balls, along with fried artichokes (a popular dish in Florence served either as an appetizer or a side). Mike and Pat both had spaghetti. Ron and Mike finished the meal with a special Grappa.