The train to Florence from Venice was quiet and uneventful. We got in the city late in the afternoon on Christmas Eve, and had our first difficulties finding a place to sleep. Almost nothing was open, and we really didn't want to have to choose a 4-star, several hundred Euro hotel over spending the night on the street. The Tourist Information (TI) near the train station recommended a hostel, and we headed off on foot. Florence has this system for addresses that would have been curious at any other time, now it was just annoying. Every building has two numbers, one for residences, and one for businesses. So you could be standing in front of a door that was labeled 21 and 97. We eventually found our hostel, but it was closed! We headed out again, hoping the other recommendation would actually be open.
What we found was European travel is turning into for a whole generation of youth. The idea of backpacking through Europe is rapidly fading into yesteryear. Nowadays, kids from the world over, (although mostly English speaking countries, and from those, mostly Australia) are seeing Europe by train-hopping from one of these mega-hostels to another. They are really just large, cheap hotels in which you share rooms with strangers. Owned by large corporations with significant investments in them, they offer all the amenities you could want: English speaking front desk, TV's, cafeteria, bar, pool table, dance floor, pool!, sauna, and on and on. Want to see the countryside? Try our deluxe tour bus package....Need to relax, get one of our luxury spa treatments! They are nice because you know exactly what you are getting, and the sense of familiarity can be relaxing. But you can't help but wonder if this generation of world travelers are missing the point of getting out into the world. Its fun to be able to meet some fellow Americans and do things together, or stay up late playing drinking games in the hostel bar, but I couldn't help but think that they were getting the Discovery Channel, drive by & look out the window, "look kids, Big Ben," sanitized version of Europe. Get out and get dirty people!
Christmas Eve we spent getting settled, eating a simple dinner and watching Trading Places in Italian on one of the little TVs. That night Babo Natale came to the rest of Italy, and the world, while we dozed with 6 other people in our cozy little room.
Christmas morning, because everything in Florence would be closed, we took the opportunity to take a day-trip to Pisa. Apparently, all there is to do in Pisa is see the tower, take the obligatory picture holding it up, and then leave. We met a couple of American students studying abroad in Amsterdam in the lobby, and together we caught the 1215 train to Pisa. It was fun to chat with fellow Americans, but a little painful to feel the difference in age and maturity. To me there was quite a chasm between a 30 yr old Naval Officer in charge of a nuclear reactor on a submarine, and a 21 year college kid spending a semester abroad "studying" in Amsterdam. Regardless, they were good company, and something for Heather and I to talk about amongst ourselves later.
Pisa was pretty neat. It would have been underwhelming if we weren't forewarned by Rick, and everyone else we talked to about the city. We took our pictures and toured to church. Before we left, we sat and watched all the silly tourists taking pictures holding up the tower.
Before we went back to Florence, we stopped at the ancient (everything in Italy is ancient) walled city of Lucca. Luckily for us, since the crackers and cheese that Heather had snuck from the hostel that morning were gone, the Italians traditionally eat Christmas dinner out. We wandered the narrow, carless, streets until we found a very nice restaurant, each of us trying something new and sharing with the others. We had a good time watching the local families celebrating each other, and I think they had a good time watching the Americans embaress themselves.
The train ride back to Florence turned out to be one of the more uncomfortable, if not scary, parts of the trip. Over the course of a couple of stops, our otherwise empty car filled up with 10 or so haphazard youths. They wasted no time in breaking out the beer and wine, and lighting up the joints. In short order, the air was thick with marijuana, and I had to open one of the windows - I had urinalysis as soon as I got back! At one stop, their defacto leader showed up - a charismatic youth with six or eight piercings on his face, a rail-thin physique, and a sucker-fish of a cling-on girlfriend who looked like she had hit the meth pipe a few too many times. Full of bravado and confidence, he was definitely in charge of the little group.
Several of the kids wore their hair shaved to the skin, to about half-way up, and medium length above that. All of them were dressed alike, in urban-style, baggy clothes, and with piercings. I had no idea what group, or organization they belonged to, or what social principles they stood for, but I could definitely ascertain that there was something that bonded them besides hanging out on trains drinking and smoking. One look at my new American friends, who happened to be Jewish as well, and I knew that they were thinking along the same lines as I was.
Nothing ended up happening. The charismatic skinny kid offered us some of his vino and a hit from his joint, which I politely declined, while my mates all graciously took a drag. His girlfriend became quite flirtatious, and then quite lascivious. The others were much more reserved, they seemed to wait for their leader to give them direction. They got off at the same stop we did, but went off in the opposite direction.
Maybe all that tension was for nothing, but everyonce in a while you remember that you are in a foreign land, don't speak the language, and don't know the cultures. I also couldn't help remember that this is the land where nazis, skinheads, and fascists still roam and where Mussolini is revered by some as a hero. Probably it was nothing, just some young and misunderstood kids out having fun. But I'm glad that I didn't find out otherwise.
The next two days was our time to fill up on important culture. Afterwards, we would be slightly more sophisticated world citizens. Again we visited the Duomo (famous because they built it before the technology existed to build a dome to span its cathedral. So it sat without a lid for >100yrs waiting for someone smart enough to build it was born). After that, we headed to the Academia to see a little marble statue.
David defies words. Without being able to explain it, you just know when you look at him that he is perfection, a masterpiece. I could just sit there for hours, and I did, observing that statue. It's said that as soon as David was unveiled, the people of Florence knew that it was a world-class work of art and instantly became the civic pride of the city. Michelangelo's unique interpretation of the David story resulted in the creation of a pensive, stoic David, peaceful in his victory, and thankful to God. David reminded Florence of her struggles against her enemies to the North, Venice, and those to the South, Rome. The basicala David stands in was created specifically for him in the mid- 1800's and he has stood here ever since. I paraphrase when I read a quote that said that, "when studying art, one only has to study David. After him, all other sculpture is insignificant and unimportant." After shamelessly ogling for quite some time, it had to tear ourselves away.
The only thing that could compete with such a powerful moment for the soul, was an equally as inspiring one for the stomach. Florence has some of the best gelato shops in Europe, and we weren't disappointed. As difficult as it is for me to adequately describe David, I find it hard to describe the gelato you find here in Italy. Imagine all of your favorite flavors, infinitely richer in flavor, with the best fresh ingredients, and presented in such a manner that makes your mouth water and stomach rumble. Va bene, molta bene!
The next day we went to the Medicia Chapel, the huge tombs of the Medici family that reminded us of a perfect vampire lair. Huge and dark, most of the family was buried in the basement, but a few lucky ones were buried in the expansive chapel. Their tombs were easily 40' tall and 60' wide with huge statues atop each one. We kept expecting blood-sucking bats to fly out of a slowly opening crypt and attack. No pictures from inside, sorry.
After stocking up on good nightmare material, we went to the Uffuzi Gallery. This collection of art it world-famous, and there is always a long line. For us it was no exception. I think we stood in line for about 3-4 hours. But it was worth it! The gallery was chock-full of Raphael, Michelangelo, Donnatelo, all the ninja turtles. We saw Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Spring. I found it really intersting to see how much of the art was merely the same scenes re-interpreted by different artists. Some of it was fantastic, but honestly, some of it looked like it was painted by 4 year olds. By the end of the day, we definitely had our fill of the Assumption of Mary, Adoration of the Magi, the Sacrifice of Isaac (what a horrible story!), and enough Baby Jesus to last a lifetime.
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