Taste of Europe Day 3 and 4

Day 3 - this blog is called Taste of Europe for two reasons; we are eating our way across Europe and we are not staying in any one place very long, so it is is literally a taste of a lot of different regions!

Day 3 is our full day in Florence, and it started with a forced march to the Uffizi (art museum).  There is no public transportation that makes sense in Florence, it all circles the city too far from destinations and you are left on your own to walk pretty much everywhere. I smartly got advance tickets, as the line was huge, even at 9 a.m. on a weekday in off season.  the Uffizi is only #2 to the Louvre in Paris in world renown. Some really famous works of art in this museum.  Got to have a bit of culture as Florence is the birthplace of the Renaissance, and a lot of the music, art, writing and architecture that set the stage for the world as we know it, began here.

We weren't so smart to figure out where to redeem our reservation for a ticket, and were chased all over the 2 adjoining buildings in search of the booth. finally, we are in the right (short) line with the ticket in hand. then we had to go through a search and seizure gauntlet like that of an airport. We learned that a crazy had smuggled in a hammer and smashed Michelangelo's David sculpture's toes a few years ago in a nearby museum, so they are taking no chances. We had to dump our water, and lost our water carrier.  i forgot the map of the galleries and had to go back to the start. I think we were  still jet lagged as it all began to feel like too much effort!  but the museum and the building was beautiful.  I was particularly struck by the 4 Rembrandt paintings, i was literally inches away from them. The rest of the day was occupied with an Ipod history walk, a visit to an old cathedral, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio (13th century bridge that was the only one in Florence that the Nazi's spared) and lots of outdoor sculpture.

In the evening, we attended a concert of operatic arias performed in a cathedral. a nice cap on our culture extravaganza day.  i will probably owe Chuck at least a week of race car travel for this day alone!

Day 4 - No doubt the most fun day so far.  We took the train from Florence to Lucca, and borrowed bike provided for free by our hotel and rode the city walls and all over the city.  Lucca is a medieval walled city, the fortress bulwarks date back to the 13th century. Actually, the Romans built the original ramparts, but they were rebuilt at least 2 times since the 1st century BC.  everything is so ancient here, its hard to wrap one's head around it. The walls are so deep, there is a park around the top of them with a wide path.  We did about 2.5 laps (4 km per lap).  plus a lengthy ride through the city. this is more tricky than you might think, as the streets are cobbled and rough, and you are vying for space with other bikes, scooters, cars, trucks, and apparently thousands of children on school trips.

We climbed a tower that has trees growing on top.  220 steps to the top, and a great view.  We ate lunch in a piazza that used to be a roman amphitheater. We got our dinner at a market and had a picnic on the top of the wall.  A great day, and perfect weather. they are having unseasonably warm weather, but are predicting a cool down by this weekend.