Italy Cycle Journal

Day 3 - Florence

Okay, finally found a place that lets me plug in my laptop. Get ready, though, because I've had lots of time to write. And one of the great (or scary) things about traveling alone is that it gives me lots of time to think up weird shit.

Day 3 – Sunday May 15

Pretty basic day, all in all. Woke up, ate, took a train, saw Michaelangelo’s David, ate, went to sleep. Just another day.

Actually, most of the day was spent walking around Florence, which is a beautiful city. I like the atmosphere more than Rome, but there’s certainly not as much to do or see (although I wish I had another day or two here). I took the train up from Rome and got incredibly lucky. I got to the train station in Rome just as the Express train to Florence was getting ready to go – instead of the normal 3 hours or so it takes to get there, I was there in an hour and a half. So, that was cool.

Checked into the hotel, which was right across from Piazza del Independence (forgive my bastardization of Italian – I’m sure that’s not the right name). There was an antique sale going on in the plaza. Lots of junk for sale, but there were a couple old record players. And when I say old, I mean old. They had the big brass horn instead of speakers on them. Not sure how old that makes them, but I’m guessing 1940 or earlier. Don’t know what I would do with it, but I was tempted to ask the price.

After the hotel, I just wandered the streets of Florence. On one random street, there was a line of about 100 people waiting so I figured I’d check and see what they were all hanging out for. Turns out that it was the line to get into the Accademie Dell’Arte (aka the museum where the David is). So of course, I hopped in line and waited. A guy in front of me said “Hey, it may be long but it’s better than the lines at Disneyland” after which I thanked him for reminding me of work.

Got inside after about 20 minutes of waiting and checked out the David. Here’s the bizarre part – they don’t let you take pictures of ANYTHING in the museum. I understand the paintings might be damaged by the flashes going off, but for a sculpture? What’s a camera going to do? Cause its wiener to fall off? I’m thinking it’s their way of ensuring they sell lots of books and postcards in the gift shop. So much for their Kodak sponsorship deal -

The David was really about the only thing worth seeing in the place. I looked around at other stuff, but there wasn’t really anything that caught my eye. Of course, if something had caught my eye, I may have forgotten it, since I couldn’t take any GODDAMNED pictures. All I could think of was how the place paled in comparison to the Louvre. But they were still able to charge 8 Euros to get in. Basically just to see one statue. Tourists will absolutely pay to see a single attraction if it’s famous enough.

The gift cart outside the museum had boxer shorts for sale that had a silkscreen of David’s wiener on it, positioned right where a man’s equipment would be. I thought that was kinda funny, but kinda disturbing. Okay, really disturbing and only a little funny. Okay, not really funny.

The Duomo was easily the most amazing building I have ever seen. The marble exterior and intricate carvings over the entire thing were just stunning. Check out some of the photos – they don’t do it justice, not even close. But it was pretty cool looking.

Kind of made me think about the church and how much money and power they’ve wielded over the years. Insane when you really think about it – hundreds of years and god knows how much expense went into the construction of this place.

I also find it fascinating that over the years, the church has been a huge benefactor of the arts – sponsoring artwork, buildings and all other areas of creative endeavor. But alternately, the church has done everything they could to limit creative endeavors that don’t support their vision. Perhaps that was part of their intent over the centuries. By commissioning the greatest artists of each era, they were able to channel their talents into things that were supportive to the church, rather than allowing the artists the time and freedom to fully explore other outlets for their genius. Hmmmm… diabolical, but seems a possibility.

While I was walking the streets of Florence and cars were racing by me, I had to be cautious not to get hit. Part of me was really tempted to walk in front of a car, so they would have to brake to a halt and yell out the window at me. Then, I could have responded “Hey!!! Whatsamatta you??” --- sorry, random thought. But it actually occurred to me.

Florence is obviously much smaller than Rome. Walking from one end to the other took very little time. But there are hundreds of small side streets with shops and restaurants, so you could get lost for days while exploring those streets. Lots of the city was closed because it was Sunday, but there were a number of areas that had open air markets. Not sure whether it reminded me more of Venice Beach or Tijuana. Same tourist stuff at every stand. Didn’t buy anything.

Occurred to me that riding my bike would be much easier if I weren’t walking about 10 miles a day. Have to wonder if my legs will be sore for the ride?

I took a bus tour around the city. It took me to the outlying areas that I couldn’t easily walk to – Galileo’s house and several other sites along the way. As I was on the top of the double decker, I was imagining how much fun it would be to live in Florence for a couple weeks and write a script for a movie like The Bourne Identity. Just imagining the car/scooter/bus chases down all the tiny, interlocking streets entertained me while I was taking the tour.

The other thing that really struck me during the tour was how many incredible artists and historic figures were from Florence. Certainly, many moved there but just the people born in this area are enough to write volumes about. When I put that in context, it’s interesting to contrast Florence with a place like Paris. I love Paris, but when you sit down and match up the two side-by-side, Florence has produced such an incredible number of artists and geniuses that you have to wonder how? Was it the culture that supported the development of their talent? Or was there something genetic in the people living in the area 500 years ago? They say that the United States is comprised largely of Type A personalities, because our ancestors had the balls and drive to travel halfway across the world to start a new life. That adventurous, risk-taking spirit was handed down, genetically and culturally probably. Was it the same in Florence relative to artistic endeavors? Nature vs. nurture – the old debate.

Had dinner at a restaurant near some big statues. I really need to read up on what I’m seeing – the history of these places would probably make them more impressive. I think it was Piazza della Signoria. Was that it? Let’s say yes.

There was a carousel in front of me while I was eating – and it had artwork on it. Some of the artwork featured women with naked breasts. And their were kids riding it. Puts the whole Janet Jackson thing in perspective doesn’t it? Who gives a shit if we kinda saw half a second of a naked breast during the SuperBowl. Why Americans are so uptight about that stuff is beyond me. I’m not saying porn should be available to every 10 year old who wants to watch it, but c’mon, it was a fucking breast. And it became a rallying cry for every religious nut in the country.

I think I’m a bit overwhelmed by all the religious symbolism and subtext to everything in Italy. Being an atheist, it’s kind of like being on a low-carb diet and eating Italian food all day long – haha. That was a sneaky segue.

As I’m eating dinner, the woman behind me (American) was trying to figure out what appetizer to have with dinner. The waiter made a few suggestions that the woman didn’t care for, so he suggested bruschetta. Her comment to him was “Too much bread.” Okay, you’re in Italy lady, get over yourself with the no-carb diet. Jesus Christ – bread, pasta, gelato – give up the low carb diet while you’re on vacation and fucking enjoy yourself.

Of course, the waiter thought I was nuts too. Just ordered sparkling water with my dinner – “acqua con gas” or “frizatta,” I think. No wine? Guy thought I was crazy for not having wine with my dinner. And then, to make things worse, I didn’t want coffee after my meal. Sorry, didn’t want to be up until 3am.

I actually believe I’m going to be losing weight while I’m here. I’m only really eating one meal and some snacks during the day. Add to that all the walking and cycling that I’m doing and I should drop a couple pounds. Gelato vs. bicicletta – which will win?

I do have to cut down on the Diet Cokes, though. Yesterday, I spent 3.50 Euros on a Diet Coke. That’s around $4.50 for a 16 ounce soda. That’s just plain wrong. Time to indulge in something a little less pricey. The exchange rate really does blow. It’s worse than when I was in Paris last year. Anyone who doesn’t believe that our economy is in the toilet is kidding himself. I’m looking at YOU, Mr. President.

Not being able to get online every minute of the day is driving me crazy. Not that I would want to spend my vacation reading e-mail – definitely not the case. But when I’m writing something like this, it’d be nice to be able to immediately post it and upload the photos.

When I bought the cell phone, they also had a wireless card that would have worked with my computer. But it was 199 Euros plus airtime costs. Definitely not worth it. Although, I may change my mind later in the week when I’m in a little hotel in a little town with not much to do or see after 8pm. I get the feeling I’ll be going to sleep pretty early.

posted by Joel @ 7:10 AM