Uma's Corner

After spending 5 unforgettable days in Switzerland, we made our way to Italy — ready to lose ourselves in the artistic soul of Florence and Rome. From Swiss greenery to Italian Grandeur, we were anticipating a dramatic shift in the scenery. 🙂

We were truly excited to check out the Renaissance masterpieces and the opulence of Baroque architecture.

Roman history is one of the oldest in the world and the cities in Italy have their own stories to narrate. We felt the history come alive at every turn for us in Italy and every corner had its own tale to tell.

The Journey

The journey from Lucerne to Florence took us via Milan, where we had to change trains. We were booked on the super-fast Italo train from Milan to Florence, but we were in for a shock when our train was delayed by about 2 hours due to some issues in the track and route diversions. The crew in the train served some complimentary snacks, maybe to soften the delay-panic. Thankfully, we had also picked up some sandwiches and cookies in Milan station to eat on the way.

We met an old lady in the train, who was around 82 years old and was traveling alone from Lucerne to Logano. She was quite friendly and told us that that she had 3 houses in Switzerland – one each in Lucerne, Logano and Zurich., She kept moving between the houses and stayed at each place for a few months. I wish she could adopt me and I could help her with the staying part. 😀

We reached Florence only at 9pm that day and by the time we checked into the hotel, we were too tired to do anything else.

A date with history

Florence is also called as Firenze in Italian and is considered as the birthplace of Renaissance. The art, history and culture are so abundant there. The best thing is that the entire city can be covered by foot, and there is no need to use transport.  

With so many world-class museums and piazzas, the city has so much to offer.

We set out in the morning after a sumptuous breakfast of all the usual stuff, but we also got to eat fresh Burrata cheese there, which was so soft and gooey and when we cut that open, it had a nice creamy interior. It clearly melted in our mouth, leaving behind such a lingering taste. I have never eaten so much of cheese in my life put together. Europe was truly pampering us. 😀

The weather was quite hot, so we had packed water-bottles, caps and sun-glasses. Our backpack always had these items throughout the journey.

Just a few metres from our hotel was the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, which was a Gothic-Renaissance church, with beautiful Marble façade. There were a lot of benches around for people to sit, relax and view the church. Also, it was surrounded by a lot of restaurants, serving food and the famous gelato ice-cream. This was one place that we visited several times during our stay. And, we also saw some activities and campaigns happening while we were there.

(Pictures of Santa Maria Novella)

Our next stop was Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, which is also known as Duomo. Another masterpiece of Renaissance architecture, the dome is so magnificent that one can keep looking at it. The place was crowded with many tourists lined up to go inside the Cathedral. We decided to skip the entry and instead tried to devour the place around. The vibe was so amazing with a lot of painters doing live sketches, and selling their art.

(Pictures of Duomo)

From there, we walked some more to reach Uffizi Gallery. On the way, we crossed several Piazzas including Piazza della Republica, Piazza della Santa Cicilia and Piazza della Signoria. You might ask what these Piazzas mean. Well, these are public squares, and are mostly found around churches or important monuments. We were so surprised that almost every other road had a beautiful piazza with some form of sculpture or fountains amidst them.

(Pictures of Piazzas)

Uffizi Gallery was quite crowded as well, and people were standing in queues to enter. Again, there were many artists scattered outside, selling their art, and making sketches of people who were interested. As we had to cover a lot in Florence and we did not have much time, we skipped going inside the Gallery. There was so much more to check out in the city.

Another few steps from Uffizi Gallery, and we reached Ponte Vecchio. It is one of the iconic places in the city, and is made of Medieval stone, and spans over the Arno river. We were told that this was the only bridge in Florence that did not get destroyed during World War II. Surprisingly, the bridge was completely covered with jewellery, art and souvenir shops. We tried to take a picture from the middle of the bridge. I guess this is one place in the city, which is the most photographed, as we saw so many tourists waiting to take pictures.

(Pictures of Ponte Vecchio from the other side and the shops on Ponte Vecchio)

After spending some time on the bridge, we proceeded to Palazzo Pitti and Boboli Gardens. We decided to buy entry tickets for Boboli Gardens and check it out, to see how the gardens looked in the Renaissance city.

Boboli Gardens was a huge lush green park with various sculptures and fountains, and several steps to go to higher levels. We climbed up all those steps and checked out all the gardens and fountains and clicked some photos and videos of the view below.

(Pics of Boboli Garden)

As it was so sunny and hot outside, we decided to give ourselves a break. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant on the way, where we had Bruschetta and a Pizza, along with a cold lemonade. Then, went to our hotel to take a short rest.

In the evening, we thought of exploring the market-place to get a feel of the shopping in the city. We went to Mercato di San Lorenzo, where there were lines of stalls and shops selling leather products, regular touristy items like fridge magnets, keychains, t-shirts, bags and other souvenirs.

From there, we headed over to Vivoli, a shop recommended highly by my daughter. Though google maps said that its only a 1-kilometre walk, it felt like we kept walking through the alleys and narrow lanes.. 😀 Vivoli is a place that’s quite popular for Affogato. There was a long queue outside and we had to choose our Affogato first and pay for it, and then get the delivery for it. Affogato is an Italian dessert, consisting of vanilla ice cream or gelato, over which a shot of hot espresso is poured. The hot coffee poured over the ice cream melts it and makes it bitter-sweet. I won’t say that it was my favourite during the trip as i couldn’t quite make out the taste of it. Either it should be coffee or should be ice-cream.. 😀

(Pics of Vivoli and Affogato)

For dinner, our hotel receptionist recommended Shake Café near Santa Maria Novella for trying out some vegetarian stuff. We drank a Mushroom Latte coffee there, which had cinnamon, mushroom, maple syrup etc. and was advertised to reduce stress and enhance the immunity. To munch along, we got a Falafal Wrap, which was amazing.

Day 2 – Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa

The next day, we had an early morning guided-tour at 7.30am from behind the Florence railway station. As we would have skipped breakfast in the hotel, we requested for a take-away from the hotel, and they were so courteous and generous that they packed a heavy picnic basket for us, consisting of fruits, muffins, croissants and juice. It was as if we were going away for days. 😀

We assembled at the meeting point and boarded a double-decker tourist bus. Luckily for us, we swifty boarded to the second level and got the first seat on top, which allowed us an unhindered view of the entire road in front of us, giving a feel of Tuscany.

Siena

The bus journey started off from Florence and took us through vineyards and rolling hills. Our first destination during our day trip was Siena. Siena is a city which feels like it is frozen in time. We were dropped in the parking lot from where we trekked for about 1 kilo-meter to reach another meeting point where we met our guide. Before starting off the tour, our guide told us to take a bio-break in any of the cafeterias as we might not have access to public washrooms in any other place. And a smart way to use the washroom is to buy a cup off coffee or something to eat. 😊

We passed shops selling huge pizzas and we were so glued to the sight.

Once we were all back, the tour started with a short walk to the shell-shaped Piazza del Campo, where the famous horse racing takes place. We were told by our guide that the race is an annual event, and is competed between the 17 neighbourhoods of Siena and they all have their own flags and emblems.

(Pics of Piazza del Campo)

Just a short walk from the Piazza was the stunning Siena Cathedral — which is one of Italy’s true Gothic masterpieces. There was a marble façade, completely black and white, with intricate carvings, and detailed mosaics. Inside the cathedral, there were vivid frescoes, and panels carved and inlaid on the marble floor (heard that it took several years to complete that). Every corner felt like a piece of art. It’s a place that captured the grandeur of medieval Siena and we were awestruck at each and every artwork on the floor and the ceiling.

(Pics of Siena Cathedral)

San Gimignano

Next, we drove through the heart of Tuscany to reach San Gimignano. It is known as the “Town of Five Towers.” This city definitely belonged to some ancient medieval age, and felt like nothing had changed since then. Old buildings with medieval stone towers rising above the vineyards and olive groves, this place had made the time to stand still. There were shops in those buildings which were selling all kinds of artwork and leather products. We wandered through the charming alleys, tried some pistachio gelato and Tiramisu, and felt connected to the history of Tuscany.

In the afternoon, we stopped at a family-run winery in the Chianti region for a delicious wine tasting. We got some breads, cheese and pasta to go with some white and red wine. The food was delicious and so was the wine, especially with the surroundings of vines around.

Our final destination was Pisa. The place is known for its iconic Leaning Tower. We tend to automatically tilt our heads seeing the tower, to match the slant. 😀

We had seen the pictures of the Tower, but seeing it in real was a completely different experience. There was a duomo behind the tower and a lawn spread across. We sat there, relaxed for a while and soaked in the beauty of the place. Before leaving, we picked up a Capuccino and then took the bus back to Florence.

I feel that Italy has something for everyone – history, art, food, nature, music, lifestyle. One can easily get pulled into the alleys and get lost in old times. Devour more of Italy in my next blog on Rome. See you soon there. 🙂