The football game between Florentina and Genoa was fun despite the fact that 5 students under one umbrella doesn't offer heaps of protection from the rain. Good group bonding occurred! The final score was 2-2. After the game we went to a local Irish pub to celebrate St Patrick's day with a Guiness to warm us up.
Other thoughts and things that I have been doing include: Going to see an English movie " Anna Karenina" with a friend from school. The actual Odeon theatre where the movie played was very ornate and beautiful in its own right and was a gorgeous traditional theatre where we even had "half time". The movie was very good too.
Taking a train trip to Lucca which was a lovely walled city with an ancient amphitheatre in the middle. There were lots of stalls and you could either walk or hire a bike (3 euro per hour) to go around the 4 km rampart. Pucchini's birthplace was interesting too. I preferred Lucca to Siena.
My Italian family got extremely excited when the smoke at the Vatican turned white to say a new pope had been elected. Papa Francesco from Brazil.We all watched extended live coverage on the tv and then celebrated with wine, panettone and some Italian liquor. It's fun to think it was only the week before that Claire and I were at the Vatican City.
There were lots of plant nurseries that we sped past on the way to Lucca. I saw a typewriter at the antique fair in Lucca that was just like the one we had when we started our business in 1989! We thought we were so clever to actually have a typewriter to create documents!
As well as remembering to validate your ticket before getting on a bus or train , you also need to push the green button to open the train door to get on or off. I still find it strange to see dogs on trains and in food places but I must say they are generally well behaved. Some of the fast trains even have 2 floors and there are hot points to charge your phone etc. WiFi is also available on the fast trains. The trains are all very smooth running... Unlike the bone rattling trains we have in NewZealand!
I went to the church of Saint Lorenzo with Julienne one day. There is a picture on the wall inside the church showing him being grilled over a fire to try to get him to renounce his faith. After he' d been on the grill for a while, he was asked if he was ready to renounce his faith, to which he replied " No... But could you turn me over to cook me evenly?". So, the story goes that he is the patron saint of cooks.
I watched a DVD with my family which was called " Habemus Papum" and was released 2 years ago. It was about a cardinal elected to be Pope but he ran away then came back and resigned. He couldnt handle the responsibilities of the position.We had the Italian sub titles at the bottom to help me and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I actually understood.
Florence streets are rapidly filling with tourists all carrying different, brightly coloured umbrellas. It's like watching a carefully orchestrated dance of the umbrellas as they swoop left and then right, up and then down, as people pass each other on the narrow sidewalks. It makes walking In the rain slightly more enjoyable with this impromptu spectacular performance.
My local bus trip to the chic, hilltop suburb of Fiesole was a wonderful way to enjoy the not so common at the moment sunshine as well as panoramic views over Florence. Il Duomo rises up on the landscape with the Arno river meandering into the city in the distance.I took the number 7 bus from piazza San Marco which took about 25 minutes and only cost 1.20 euro.
Last Friday night I went to a chorale concert at the Santa Trinita Church which is only about 4 minutes walk from home. There was a group of American students travelling and performing free throughout Italy. The acoustics in the church were fantastic and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. The students were from a school in New York.
On Saturday I went on a Florence for Fun tour to the Chianti district. It was well organised and we took a bus that wound its way over the hills to a place whose name I have forgotten but was just as I expected. Bellissima ! We hiked for about 2 hours ( but it was an easy, if somewhat muddy, hike) and finished at a local vineyard. We were given a tour of the cellars before sitting around tables to enjoy typical Italian food and of course partake in wine tasting. It was a fabulous day and we were lucky to have a break from the rain. I highly recommend Florence for Fun as they have been especially helpful in booking several train tickets for me, arranging a student discount to the football and generally providing a wonderful, efficient and friendly service for visitors to Florence.
On Sunday I took a fast train to Bologna. It only took 35 minutes each way and cost 48 euro in total. The day was wet and cold but I can imagine that on a nice day Bologna would be a pretty place to visit. The library there has a glass floor through which you can see the ancient city below. The Bascilica San Fredrico (? ) was very nice. The main streets are covered by lovely stone (?) archways which helped keep me dry-ish. I tried Totellini Bolognese but wasn't actually overly impressed. The tiramisu to follow was really good though. When I got home I fell asleep on my bed at 6.30pm and only woke because I was cold at 2.30am. I climbed into bed and slept like a baby until 7.00am.
Another thing I have noticed in Florence ( and especially in Lucca) is the young boys of around 10 years of age with their carefully coiffured , upswept hairstyles. It looks cute because of their age. I think they might enjoy practising for a future role as a Romeo.
Dogs with coats,complete with hoods with little ears sewn on the hood, make me smile. Unfortunately, there's a lot of dog poos around on the pavements which are left by lazy dog owners.
One last thing that I have noticed is how closely parked the cars are in the streets. Vey often there is only about a 5cm gap between the car in front and another 5cm behind. While they drive fast, in general I think the Italians are actually good drivers.
Ciao for now!
