Awake 7:00 am Sunny & comfortable temp
Kathy & I sleep good upstairs...but Katrina was chilly downstairs. After
getting out of bed she discovered she didn't crawl under her bed sheets
last night. The good news is: We did good finding this place for the night
& we have no injuries or sore limbs from our trekking yesterday.
I decide to shower. The water started out lukewarm then went cold & never
recovered. I told the girls my shower was great but the smarties were
suspicious & didn't even nibble.
We leave our cozy place & walk down past the square we danced in last
night to a small outdoor restaurant & have coffee & a sandwich for
breakfast. After breakfast, we explore the old convent & small church on a
nearby hill overlooking the Mediterranean sea. I don't know the ages of
these structures, but both are still in use today. There is some
literature that dated the original inhabitants of Monterosso around AD
643. The church although small, had 4 confessionals inside. Outside we
tour the mausoleum dating way back into earlier times. More recently,
1900's, they are using pictures of the deceased.
We amble around town a little more before heading slowly toward the train
station. Kathy & Katrina take a short walk on the small public beach
nearby & dip their feet into the Mediterranean sea. Before we board the
train for Florence, we buy some healthy snacks to take with us. Our return
trip seemed to go quickly. All things considered, the Cinque Terre
experience was the best for our weekend rendezvous. We had plenty of time
to talk, get some good bonding time & enjoy the outdoors with exercise.
Katrina did an outstanding job of being not only our interpreter but also
our tour guide throughout the Cinque Terre villages.
Arriving back in Florence, we get our suitcases from Katrina's apt & check
into the Hotel Monica 2 floors below. Then we 3 go out into the city,
where Katrina takes us on a brief walking tour...so much to see. She
points out some of the buildings of Lorenzo de Medici where she has
classes.
We see the street vendors who display their wears on blankets or mats on
the streets. However, they are not "supposed" to sell in this fashion and
we witness them quickly wrapping up their goods as if they were going to
move on when the police car rides by. As soon as the police are gone, the
vendors have their goods set back up and are ready for business. We hear a
rumbling noise made by wheels going over the cobble stone streets and
learn about the daytime vendors who sell their goods from portable kiosks.
They must, by law, close up their large carts at dusk and push them to a
central storage area for the night. There are dozens of these carts being
pushed down several streets.
We walk to the center of town and see the famous and stunning Duomo (Santa
Maria del Fiore Cathedral), with its marble facade glowing in the
nighttime lighting. Many people are milling about, sitting on the stairs,
watching street entertainers.
Continuing our walk we find ourselves at the River Arno, which cuts thru
the center of old Florence. The city lights are playing beautifully on the
water. We cross the Ponte Vecchio, a medieval bridge, the only bridge in
the city to have survived WWII. Its most striking feature is the multitude
of shops (mostly jewelry) built on it.
Katrina points to a church on a hill above the city that she had painted.
On the hill, about 3 1/2 miles from downtown Florence, lies Fiesole, an
old, Etruscan city.
We see the Uffizi Art Gallery and walk the outside exhibit. In the gallery
are numerous works by Botticelli, Michaelangelo, Leonardo daVinci, and
many others. We also see the Academia building, where Michaelangelo's
David is housed.
We stroll thru the streets of Florence where the many fine and fancy
stores are located. We pass more street entertainers and find a
restaurant(Osteria Dell'Agnoco)where we have dinner with wine. Kathy & I
split a steak, Katrina has pork. The bill was not near as gentle with us
as the La Tavern. It was another great day....and we are tired.
Lights out: 12:15 am
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