Ciao, Firenze!
“Buon-giorno, amore!”
Ahh, it is good to be back! For everyone who missed me, :-) I’m back and alive. No matter how good a hotel living is, nothing beats sleeping on your own bed. It’s been a crazy two weeks of flying, hotel food, conferences, and then getting sick on our return. But, Florence (Firenze to the locals) was beautiful! And we got to see Milano too, which was a metropolitan by comparison to the ancient Firenze.
We went there for a networking conference among Euro-Filipino churches and glad to converse in Tagalog for five days. But the moment they started speaking Italian, I knew I was nowhere near the US. Got to see the spread of Florence. Everything is ancient and elaborate. The cars are tiny compared to the giant SUVs in the US, but the drivers are something else! Well, actually, Italians drive like the Filipinos would in the Philippines - no rules. Crazy, exciting, scary, fun and totally felt like we were back home in Manila.
We spent a day in Pisa too, and of course saw the leaning tower, one of the Middle Ages’ 7 wonders. Flawed and totally a beauty. Milano was next and we toured the place like locals do - on trenos (trains), autobuses.
Like our churches in the Philippines, there were a lot of “tiangge” vendors lining the streets of every landmark, selling curios, replicas, leathers at prices you can haggle with for hours.
But I didn’t buy any real leather, no. Although it was too tempting, since Florence is the leather capital of the world. Bags, boots, coats, jackets… I fainted when I saw the stickers. Even at the 50% marked-down outlets ouside of Firenze, Guccis cost 1500 euro. Arggh.
So I had to just gape and let my mouth water at the thought of wearing super supple leather boots. I did buy a nice cashmere beanie cap and told my husband “merry Christmas!”
(flickr photos here)
Tags: Euro-Filipino Christian Networking Conference, Florence Italy, Milano
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POSTED IN: FS Miscellany, Personal Experiences, Travel and Tourism
November 14th, 2006 at 12:48 pm
welcone back. did you visit the places that i recomended that you visit.? i have been in Firenze many times and i always stay at via Mondela at the Piazza Strozzi. it is very near the Tiangge. the other place that i often stay is at via dei Bianchi which is close to the Duomo de Firenze. did you visit some of the fashion houses of Milano? i know the feeling when you saw the tag prizes to the leather goods. but you have to know the place where to go to get a bargain. when i was in Pisa two years back, they still have some cable at the leaning tower.i go nuts looking at the cars that are so small and looks like a toy.glad that you back.welcome back.
November 14th, 2006 at 1:09 pm
i see that you have taken the pic of ponte vecchio. did you buy some gold there. when i was there the carabinieri nabbed a gyosy when he snatched the purse of an old american tourist. ponte vecchio was formerly a butcher shop. that buthcer place you will now see upon the approach of the bridge from the south end. i see also that you took the panoramic view of the Firenze. it is more awesome pic if you went up into the tower of the Duomo, there u can take pics of entire city. the baptistry at the leaning tower is awesome. did you observed the placements of the marbles on the floor and the walls. they are like mosaic. i did not know that there are marbles with those kind of colors. beautiful. did you push the leaning tower to let it stand a little bit?o forgot to ask you - did yoy visit the Giardini di Boboli behind the Palazzo Pitti. This is a grand example of magnificent Italian gardens.if you have visited the Palazzo Vecchio and have seen the movie Hannibal (sequel of Silence of the Lamb) you can see the couryard and the balcony where Hannibal disembowel the police capt and hang him at the balcony with the guts sticking out.isaw you took the pic of the Duomo and the leanign tower and the baptistry in Pisa just right at the Piazza dei Miricoli. i love Italy very much. i have stayed in Italy many times when i was still working for a Japanese firm that has an office in Rome. beautiful pics. how come i cannot give my comments for the pics that you posted?
October 14th, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Glad you liked Florence. Next time, try to pay a visit to the village of San Gimignano, the medieval jewel of Italy! The Piazza della Citerna is a square irregularly shaped and is paved with bricks in a herringbone pattern. It is bordered by austere houses built in the Middle Ages, several of which are topped by the high towers which are the basis of San Gimignano’s fame.