The end.

I am now in a hotel very close to the Milan Malpensa airport where I will be getting on a plane tomorrow morning and flying to Newark, NJ where I will be getting on a train and being picked up by Chris in DC's train station.  And will then drive to Huntington either Wednesday but probably not, but definitely no later than Thursday. 

Today (Monday) was just a visit to Mercato Centrale for some special aceto balsamica vinegar which I ended up not buying because I just didn't trust that it was really what I wanted.  Did buy a block of Parmesan cheese though.  I had packed a lot of my stuff on Sunday and finished up on time this morning.  Went and sat outside at a little cafe in the Duomo's piazza and as always was so glad I discovered this wonderful building all those years ago.

Then it was back to the hotel call for a cab to take me to the train station, get to my train without too much trouble, really, travel to Milan's train station, get to the Malpensa Express train completely and totally out of breath but was pleased to see quite a few young people (20's) coming in after I did and huffing and puffing just like I had done.

Finally got to Malpensa (why they call it express I can't figure out)  I would guess we made at least 10 stops at little places along the way.  And then the shuttle from the hotel where I'm staying picked me up and brought me here and I am now sitting in bed after a very nice dinner.

So that's the trip for 2019...much more fraught than I hope I'll ever have again, but the pleasant parts were pleasant.  I can hardly keep my eyes open so -

buona sera!

Saturday...a lost day?

No, I think I've finally figured it all out.  My days have really run together on this trip and I get confused on where I am in my journaling.  Like today is Sunday and I have to scratch my head fairly vigorously to figure out what I did on Saturday.  But some of it came back to me although nothing involving pictures.  Oops, I found a few - all trying to give an idea of how pretty the pink and green is with the white marble.  So here they are first:

Just magnificent I think.

I took those on my walk down to what I call the "hole in the wall" place to get a sandwich and glass of wine there.  It gets busier every year that I've been going but with just 2 people, they manage to work fast enough that the wait doesn't seem too terribly long.  You wait in the street (the line is not as long as the line waiting to get into the Duomo!) and finally get up to the hole in the wall.  It's an opening in the wall and one man stands over to one side making whatever sandwich has been ordered while the other man is taking an order from the next person and then taking the now made sandwich and putting in a special paper holder.  And then here's your drink and "next!"  And the thing is, they're not at all grouchy - they smile at you, answer a question if you have one and the sandwiches are the best I've had in Florence because they're made fresh with incredibly good bread and ingredients.  I always got ham and cheese and this time I branched out and got roast pork with a parsley sauce and came fairly close to finishing it and they are huge!  That and the nice glass of quite decent wine  came to 6 euros and held me til my 7:30 dinner date.  And see that's why when I make a trip I'm always pulled to Florence - the Duomo, Enzo e Piero, Perque, No? gelato, and "the hole in the wall".

But this time it's official...if I come to Italy again, I will do like I did when I went to Sicily (and I wouldn't mind going there again).  I'll stay in some other region, city, whatever and make an overnight stop in Florence to enjoy those 4 favorite things.  The crowds have just become unbelievable here and that takes some of the pleasure out of being here.  But I could stay further out in Tuscany somewhere and come up to Florence in the morning, stay the night and leave the next late afternoon and be quite happy with that.

And I feel like I must have done more than just eat - but I'm sure not remembering it.  I know I got Friday's post finished but that's as far as my brain is taking me tonight.  And now it's Sunday night and I have the majority of my stuff packed and will work up my nerve to ask at the front desk if someone can help me get it downstairs.  It was heavy coming here - it will be heavier leaving!

Buona sera!!

Friday and no plan...

But it turned out all right.  I don't remember too much about the morning - maybe worked on finishing the wine tour post?  At any rate I decided I would go to Mercato Centrale, the huge market that I always go to at some point and get a sandwich for lunch and then look around.  So I did - got a porchetta sandwich and the place I got it only made sandwiches.  They had no soda or even water but when I asked he said I could get one "over there" with the now habitual fling of an arm.  So I pointed myself in that direction and sure enough came to a spot where there lots of tables and a cooler full of drinks and a harridan of a woman standing guard who as soon as she saw me, and before I could open my mouth, gave me a hand-waving "no,no, no - no eat here".  I tried to say I wanted to buy a Coke but no-no.  So I left and went to the cafe type place across the street from my hotel, bought a Coke and went and sat outside on a stone bench in the piazza.  The sandwich wasn't all that good after all that. :)

Anyway, then I decided I was going to spend the money on a ticket to the Duomo complex of places - cathedral, bell tower, baptistery and museum.  I really just wanted to get to the roof of the museum like Chris and I did one evening without even knowing it was there (if I remember right)  I think we just thought we were going up to the next floor.  So that's what I did and here are some pictures (probably posted in 2017 and even before cause I think this is my third time in the museum) but they're pictures.

First view and fairly crooked I guess...this is looking down the side of the cathedral where people gather if they want to go up the dome stairs to the top.  I guess it was kind of early yet - not too many throngs.

 And this is a picture of just one of the panels on the doors of the baptistery.  These doors were made by Ghiberti whereas the doors on the cathedral were made by Brunelleschi and I remember thinking when I saw them both for the first time, that actually Ghiberti's were more powerful I guess would be the word.  I took this from pretty much the side so it shows how deep his panels were - the people's heads and whatever else is in the scene stick out past the surrounding frame.  Supposedly the originals of these doors and the original of Brunelleschi's doors are in the Museum but I only saw one set although I didn't go into every single room.

And this was an actual framed painting hanging at the landing of a stairway!  It must not be all that remarkable although I liked it.

 The picture below shows the actual model that Brunelleschi built to show his plan for the cathedral.  The picture above shows a close-up of one of the lower domed parts (are they chapels inside? - can't remember) and you can see that the wood is very old and cracked here and there.

 These two are some of the tools Brunelleschi had to dream up, design and build in order to get the dome built.  When I climbed the dome in 2009, these were displayed here and there on the way up when there was a wide enough space to hold them.  I wonder if these are copies and the real ones are still up there.  But not enough to make another trip to the top!

So here I was finally at the rooftop terrace of the museum and up close and personal with the dome.  You can't really get a very good picture because of things like the house in front of it, wires, cables, etc., but I did really like the cloud effect over the dome.  Didn't even notice it until I opened the picture on the computer.  If you look at the brown brick band on the right hand side, and over to the far right of that band, you can see what is a very large crack.  But the guard when I asked about it assured me with lots of Italian and lots of hand language that it would not be falling down any time soon. :)  And later I was searching an old blog for something and, of course, there were pictures of the Duomo and the crack was visible then so it's probably an ancient crack on an ancient dome.

These people are lined up in front of the cathedral waiting to go in.  And the picture below follows that line around the corner and down the side of the cathedral to well past that guy in the black t-shirt with his back to the camera.  I remember my first visit, I just walked in.

And below, another sad sign of change...

I went down to Perque, No? (gelato) and got a small cup of very good (as always) chocolate sorbet rather than gelato.  Spoke a bit to a couple either from Australia or Seattle (like on the wine tour) for a bit which is always nice.  They were with another couple and wanted to get one of Tuscany's famous Fiorentina steaks which are served and priced by the kilogram.  They won't sell less than 400kg I think it is so I finally got to have one when Chris was here with me.  Anyway, I recommended my favorite restaurant (Enzo e Piero) and they wrote it down, looked at their maps, saw it was close enough to their hotel and decided that's where they'd go.  Hope they did, and hope it was good...

 And I have to say, I really like this picture of the upper facade of the cathedral.  The detail is so much clearer than when I take just a picture of the whole front.  This one I used my zoom some and stood relatively close and just pointed up so it's sort of showing the underneath here and there which gives some idea of all the carving that went on.  Plus, the green and pink is showing up nicely.  Bella, bella.

 And then since I had the ticket I went into the Baptistery and decided that I would take a picture of each panel.  But by the time I worked on them this morning, I'm not 100% I accomplished that.  But here they are anyway.

I'm trying and trying to think what I did after that.  It was heading towards evening.  Oh, I remember.  I was going to go to that concert that I forgot to go to on Wednesday.  So I went home, cleaned up a bit, must have had a bite of something for dinner and started walking.  The place was quite near the river and Florence was jumping with some early nightlife.  Got there and learned that it was a concert of "the three tenors" rather than the violin concert I had been expecting and one tenor would be more than enough for me - it was in honor of the original 3 tenors who were quite a big deal quite a while ago.  So I inquired and found out that the one I wanted would be performed tonight (Saturday) and figured I would try again, although I wasn't sure that my ticket would be accepted because of course, I had reserved for the Wednesday.  But now it's a moot point because the woman who joined me one evening when we were both solo dining and she was going the next day to a pottery class, got back in town and I had an e-mail from her this morning saying she was back along with a lady she had met in the class and would I still like to have dinner?!  So, yes, of course I would and could I recommend a restaurant?  Well, of course I recommended Enzo e Piero and I am really hoping they might have Peposo on the menu tonight.

Oh and that reminds me - I remember what I had for dinner last night at a restaurant right here on the piazza and that was chicken cacciatore which I had never had in all my years of eating Italian food.  The taste was really wonderful - just on the verge of being spicy - but I've read that it got its name because hunters out hunting would take a rabbit or something else they had caught, and cook this for their meal.  So it's considered a very rustic dish and that was my only problem with it.  I ended up with three ends of drumsticks which sure don't have much meat, and there were bits and pieces of bone that I would chunk down on and have to delicately remove.  It was really kind of a mess but I kept at it because it was really really good.

And you know what?  This is probably the end of this post because that's about as much as I did yesterday.  I did do just a bit more Christmas shopping just in case my kiddies are wondering.

A note to anyone who read "Jumping Back into Italy"

I had an e-mail from Chris pointing out that he was confused because he thought it meant from Lyon but then there was a harpsichord in the middle and then what looked like a textile museum of some sort but no more writing.

And, of course, he was right, darn it!  So I have now gone back and filled in the missing text of the only interesting part of the visit.  Well, I found the setting of the harpsichord interesting and also the statue of a dog on a roof.

Sorry to not doing so well with this trip's blog but then I'm not doing all THAT well with this trip!

Jumping back into Italy ...

after setting in the missing post from Lyon.  This will cover the trip to Prato, one of the places I thought might be nice for a short and easy visit.  It certainly was easy getting both there and back on the train (about 18 minutes!) and it certainly was shorter than I had imagined it would be mostly because most everything that was a "sight to see" was closed on Tuesdays or the long lunch, or whatever.  But it was a road trip gol' durn it so that was good.  And again, I feel like I've already posted about it but if so, I can't find it.  So I'll post the few photos I have from the trip (mostly all from one museum) and that will be that.

My train left Florence at 10:25 or some such time and 20 minutes later I was walking out of the station in Prato.   This first picture I took when the train stopped at another Florence station (I think there are maybe 3) just to show that it isn't all incredibly old buildings like in the historic center.  These apartments would probably be cheaper than the photos I posted yesterday!   

 I stopped at a tourist information center located in this big pretty and peaceful park right across the street from the station and then sat a bit on a bench just to enjoy the quiet.

 You cross over a bridge to get into the town and it's a lovely river - I wondered if it was the Arno, but no it is the Bisenzio River.  It was still morning so you can just make out the hills in the distance.

 This is a shot of the original walls that surrounded the city and kept it safe.  Historically, there were a lot of problems between the folks of Prato and the Medici in Florence.  And actually almost every town, village, etc., had these types of fortifications usually way up on the top of a hill (like my little Montefioralle that I visited on my first visit to Florence) .  I think Prato's are still basically all there.

And this is close up - pretty darned tall.

 
This very fortress looking building was built for the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick for when he had to come up north I guess.  I had read that unless they had a special exhibition going on, it is basically empty inside but that you could go in and up to the crenellated towers to look out over the view.  But it was all locked up so that was that.

This was so kind of weird but neat.  I hadn't eaten before I left Florence so I stopped in at a cafe that served the standard not so good croissants, the strange idea of a sandwich that the Italians seem to have, espresso, etc.  I asked if there was a bathroom and it was downstairs and he pointed to another room where the stairs were and when I got there here was this very old clavichord(?) or whatever this size is called.  I don't think it's a harpsichord because they are smaller I think.  But who would expect to find it on display in this kind of ratty type place and with a blackboard sign posted that "restrooms downstairs"?

The next four pictures are just pictures from my wandering trying to figure out if there was anything I could get inside.  There wasn't, so here are the outsides of I know not what - there is nothing outside any of them to tell you what they are.  Well, obviously three are churches, but...

The shadow on the piazza is from the Imperatore

Now, my wandering pays off although I was about melted into a puddle by the time I got there!

Apparently, Prato has been an important source of all sorts of fabrics since way back.  The sign below this picture that I took a shot of only goes back as far as this particular plant where the museum is now housed (the 1800's).

And the one below I think describes (with the left side not all there) the workings of the huge red brick thing in the picture above.  This museum was filled with cases showing various things, but it was also a place where all fabrics were manufactured and is just beautiful.  So much wood, such red brick...

The one above didn't work as well as I had hoped but I think you can see if I explain what it is and what I did.  This is a small sample of a long velvet cutwork piece that was amazing.  We all know what velvet it but this has two layers of it on top of the white base.  The first layer would probably feel pretty much like a nice plush velvet.  The dark blue top layer was what was amazing.  When looked at close up and from the side it's like looking at eyelashes (short, but there) and you can sort of see that here if you look to the bottom of the long dark oblong in the center where you will see a bit of dark blue sticking out above the white.  I've never seen anything like it and I forget what they dated it, but it was old.  In fact, most everything I shot pictures of was much older than the 1800's mentioned above.  A lot of it was 14th and 15th century!

more velvets above...

and these lovely panels I don't exactly understand. I don't know why I didn't take a photo of their card.

This is obvious the front & sleeve portion of a bodice and was so very gorgeous.  It may have been for a gent because the shoulder is very large...

The one above is the bottom of what looked like a brand new dresser scarf or stole made by some very accomplished weaver.  The pattern was at both ends.

and another piece of blue and white weaving.  Below is another section of clothing fabric, in fact, I assume it is to make a complete sleeve which would be set into a bodice. Looked at in original size, it looks like some form of embroidery.  After seeing so many gorgeous "pieces" of clothing I thought to myself "what must it have been like to open your closet in the morning and think, 'hmmm, wonder what I should wear today?'"

Below is a stunning embroidered piece with a LOT of gold thread work...

And even more stunning!

And then upstairs is the fiber museum which made me think I should call Heather and tell her to get over here. :)

All the acrylic bins have different types of raw fiber in them that you can feel the difference between them.  The first one was filled with fibers from animals and, of course, alpacas had the softest and were obviously the finest in every way that mattered.  Heather is becoming quite accomplished in spinning her alpacas' fiber.

The one below was just cute - I chose the section that showed the 50's through 2000.

See what I mean about beautiful - the wood ceiling,  the presentation of information, they have really done a stellar job with this museum.

This wasn't a loom like you see women weaving on - it was something that did something else.  How's that for good information?!

This sign refers to the picture underneath it which I am not happy with but it was very dark and both sides were different and I just couldn't decide how to capture the hugeness and impact of it.

These were used for carding the wool.  Thankfully, Heather has more modern means!

The one above was walking back to the Prato station.  At first I thought it was a real dog but turns out it is a statue of one!

And the river was even prettier when I went back over it in the late afternoon,