The Uffizi Gallery, Florene - A Lesson in Art History

The Uffizi Gallery, Florence

The next morning, we ate a buffet breakfast at the hotel’s  4^th floor with a spacious terrace dining area. The best part about this breakfast was the provision of a variety of fruits for guests to choose from freshly squeezed orange juice. The juice was made by an orange juice making machine from which we merely pressed a button and an orange would be dropped  and cut into halves and fresh juices came out to the glass placed below. It was great to have fresh squeezed orange juice first thing in the morning. No wonder nobody complained about the other minor inconveniences at the hotel.

The hotel concierge printed out our emailed copy of tickets which we purchased online back in Canada for the Uffizi Gallery English Guided Tour. Good thing the tour started at 3:30pm so it gave us a lot of time to first explore the city a bit on our own.   

One of the Musicians Performing Outside Uffizi Gallery

The walk from our hotel to the Uffizi Gallery was about 10- 15 minutes. We knew that we reached an artsy place when we heard classical music before we reached the place. There were musicians playing classical instruments on the street;  some painters were painting portraits for customers and a few more were displaying their artwork right in front of the gallery.  We could feel  the spirit of arts in the air.

The English tour we signed up was at 3:30p.m. We still had to line up even though it said with this tour we could skip the line. We followed our guide to the Gallery, which housed a collection of large number of paintings dated from the late Medieval to late Renaissance period. 

Artists displaying and selling their art outside the gallery

It was interesting to learn that the Medici family was the ruling, very rich and influential family in Florence.  The Gallery was willed by the last Medici to the City of Florence.  The ruling family after the Medici’s had Austrian/German influence and organized the artworks meticulously by time period and type.  

 We learned that the pre-renaissance paintings had to be strictly religious and had to follow the Byzantine iconographic rules in creating the paintings.

  I was wondering  why were there so many paintings related to church. Now I know. All these paintings depicted ether the Madonna and the Christ Child or the Virgin Mary or Jesus by themselves, or the saints. 

 
 When
we came to the section of paintings when renaissance period began, we could see that painters stared to move away from iconic painting methods and experimented with perspectives and shades.  They also added ancient Greco Roman methods of realism onto their paintings. 










 The tour was very informational and we felt that we could earn a credit in Art History 101 after the tour.

Looking back, this tour gave us the tool to appreciate the fresco paintings at the Basilica San Francisco in Assisi where we also visited on this European trip. 

 

S.& R.T.  Our Second Day in Florence, Italy

Aug. 2012

Do People Ever Sleep in Florence, Italy?

From Siena to Florence, Italy 

We went to  our next destination, Florence,  in Italy in the early evening by bus.  The receptionist at the Canon D’oro Hotel in Siena was helpful and friendly. We chatted a little. He came from Cameroon, Africa and studied foreign languages  there at university. This explained his fluency  in English  and Italian. From the hotel in Siena where we stayed only for a few hours, it only took us a few minutes walking to the bus station.  ( My husband really did an excellent job researching all the locations of the hotels, making sure we were not too far from everything.)  The bus was already waiting and the lady bus driver nodded  when we asked if this bus was going to Florence.

Since we were the last two getting on the bus, the only seats left were two bench seats in the middle of the bus close to the door. It was fine with us as this was only a little more than an hour ride to Florence.  Because there was no proper storage space for our two suitcases  on this commuter bus, Stan and I had to hang on to them carefully. The ride gave us an opportunity to see the Italian countryside scenery.

The bus arrived at the Florence bus station at around 8:00pm but everything seemed to have closed there. Fortunately, the bus station was just across the street from the Train Station, we got a taxi from there easily and got to the hotel at around 9:00p.m.

FLORENCE

Florence at Dusk

We stayed at Hotel  Bodoni located very close to the major attractions. Our room was on the first floor but the Reception Area was on the 4^th floor, and each time when guests left the hotel, they had to hand in their room keys to the receptionist. A little inconvenient but nobody seemed to complain.

Ponte Vecchio at dusk - The most famous and romantic bridge in Florence

After unloading our luggage, we went out for a walk.  Florence also has a lot of medieval  narrow winding streets.  We kept walking on one street following the direction with the brightest lights.

  It was about 9:30pm.  In the square, there were people performing mime and drawing quite a crowd; young people sitting on the steps of the church;  patrons filled the outdoor cafés and the restaurants where American jazz music was playing was really busy; hawkers trying to sell their wares etc.

A busy place at that hour in the evening. 

 Musicians performing on the Ponte Vecchio in Florence

Florence has a number of bridges. Ponte Vecchio is a beautiful covered bridge lined with numerous shops and  houses. It is a well know landmark of Florence.  The view from the bridge is beautiful! It was said that Hitler liked this bridge so much that he ordered to have this bridge preserved while all the other bridges in Florence were bombed and destroyed during Nazi's invasion of the city.

One can see Ponte Vecchio often in postcards, magazines and artwork. It is a beehive of activities at night.

Ponte Vecchio - a very lively and busy place n Florence at night

We liked the ambiance and atmosphere so much that we went back to Ponte Vecchio on our second night in Florence.  There were always musicians performing on the bridge while a lot of young people just sitting down on the curb, hanging out and listening to the performers for hours.

Same thing as in the squares; lots of people were still strolling on the streets late at night. We wonder - Do people go to sleep in this city?

We were tired from the activities and  headed back to our hotel around 12:00a.m. but made the mistake of turning into one of the side streets and had a heck of time finding our way back.





These winding streets were like a maze and you could get lost easily there. A lesson was learned here – Always make sure we could locate the little street on our map before turning into there so that we could find our way back to the hotel.

R.T.  Florence, Italy

Aug. 2012

Spanish Steps, Our Last Night in Rome

Spanish Steps, Rome

I heard of this famous point of interest for a little while and wanted to visit it for sometime. But Stan at times is reluctant to visit what he terms ( tourist traps ).  I had to do some convincing before he finally agree to visit this place on the last night of our stay in Rome.

We walked from Inn Giovy to the Spanish Steps in the evening; it was still challenging in this high temperature and humidity. But the walk was worth it as we discovered some interesting sights on the way. One of  them was the Via Quattro Fontana or 4 Fountain Road.  At this intersection there are 4 fountains, one at each corner, a monument with streams of water spewing out of mouths of water related Roman Gods such as Trident.

Finally we found ourselves standing on the top terrace level of the Spanish Steps. I have seen pictures and video of the Spanish Steps which did not do justice to the beauty and grandeur of these famous steps. It would be possible for any cameras to capture all four levels of these steps, each level has 12- 14 steps, bridged by a good size landing at the top.  But no camera or video devices could possibly convey the atmosphere of this place.

There were many people sitting on every one of these steps; friends chatting, families and kids laughing, lovers kissing, old couples holding hands and just sitting and looking, men, young and old, in groups or alone, sitting, standing by the posts and watching, young women in their beautiful dresses, giggling, posting for pictures, tourists gawking and frantically trying to catch the beauty and actions on their digital cameras, hawkers with their bags full of LED light gadgets throwing a few of them in the air demonstrating  their lighting power, others with soft drinks and beers trying to make deals to potential customers,  It was a place, full of actions and things to behold.

Stan and I took our spot, sat down and did what everyone was doing; sit, watch the world go by and soak up the atmosphere so that in the future, we could recall this beautiful night and talk about the memory we have of this unforgettable evening.

We walked back and ate at a restaurant called Leon’s and ordered fettuccine and clams, my favourite pasta dish but not on the menu. The chef/ owner made it especially for me and it was delicious! ( But he also charged me double the amount of the regular pasta dish on the menu. I guess if you asked for something not on the menu, you need to pay for it!)

R.T., 4^th and last night in Rome

Aug. 16, 2012

On the Way to the Forum

Rome - A gigantic living museum!

Love the ruins and buildings in Rome!!! Rome is just like a gigantic living museum.!

Coming from North America, we marvel at the numerous spectacular buildings that took years, sometimes decades to build.

We are surprised that developers have not gotten their hands in Rome as there are not a lot of modern buildings.

Ruins and historic buildings everywhere we turned

There are still so many ancient ruins in the area.  Imagine the difference if Rome had allowed a 70 story skyscraper to have been erected next to the Colosseum!










Even though the temperature in the shade reached the high 30 degree centigrade, the lineup to see the Colosseum was very long.   When the going got tough, the tough got going.

As people in the long lineup were wilting under the  relentless hot sun, hustlers waving high priced 'skip-the-line' tickets began to pester the people waiting in line.

 " The Aristocrats skip the lines. Only the phbiens line up." One guide said to his group tour audiences. Another guide shouted, " For only 15 more Euros, you will avoid the lineup and get the benefit of a guide."

 We ignored the touts and persisted.  Finally, after about 20 minutes, we were inside the gate.  Once inside the gate, a second offer came: " An official guided and skip-the-line tour for only 5 more Euros."  I guess our patience paid off and we took the offer. ( It would cost 5.30 Euro to rent the audio guide. So we got a better deal with the 5 Euro offer.)

Our guide told us a few interesting facts about the Colosseum:

1. The stadium is larger than a lot of modern stadiums.  It can comfortably seats 75,000 spectators, which was the number of attendees in some gladiatorial events.

2.  The Colosseum has 80 entrances and the people of Rome of all classes, including women and slaves, could attend the events for free.



 Because of the popularity of these brutal events, the Government issued tickets for entering the Colosseum.


The tickets had three numbers.:
A. The first number showed the gate which the ticket holder could enter.
B. The second number was the level.
C. The third number was the seat number.  These ticket were free!

  They served to boost support for the Emperor from the often restless populace.

The renovated part of the corridors inside the Colosseum

The corridors inside the gates are very modern looking.

 In fact, I would not be surprised  if the Colosseum is allowed to be totally renovated; it could hold a modern sports event.

Inside the Colosseum, Rome, Italy

3. There were two pathways for the gladiators, the entrance and the exit (for transporting the dead gladiators).  The Guide also told us that in order for the games to function in ancient time, a time when machinery did not exist.  Hundreds of slaves were dong the work of electricity in modern times.

Part of the Platform & the Passages Below Where the Slaves Worked During the Games

 These poor souls were toiling in extreme heat and restricted spaces in below ground human powered 'machine rooms'.  They were turning giant turntables of ropes and long wooden spokes to raise wild animals such as lions and rhinos to the surface level platform to face the helpless gladiators.  According to the guide, professionally trained gladiators didn't die.

They were spared because they were simply too expensive to be constantly replaced (killed).  The regular gladiators were untrained and they were from the dispensable slave class, criminals or prisoners of wars.  

4. Is the 'thumb-up thumb-down' gesture from the Emperor true?  The answer is a big NO.  The Guide said the thumb is about the size of your nose.  If no one can see a nose clearly from 200 feet away, then no one would see the Emperor's thumb.  In fact, the Emperor yelled out a specific word to spare the life or kill the defeated gladiator  in a clear, short Latin command.  The scale of the violence and bloodshed could not be imagined by modern men.  Vespasian, of the Flavian family, who built the Colosseum or the Flavian amphi-theatre, had thousands of gladiators and animals killed during the first three months of its inauguration. 

Colosseum at night

When we were inside the Colosseum, we had this overwhelming feeling of its past rushing at us.

 As we were standing at the ground level looking across the Roman Emperor's seat where a Christian cross now stands and annual Good Friday Mass is celebrated, we can almost hear the screams and cries of the dying, the roaring of lions and the howling of wolves.....

The Colosseum is definitely worth a visit. The sheer size and the engineering marvel is something to behold. With an knowledge guide, we have learned so much about ancient Rome.  Boy, are we ever glad that we live in the modern time!

S. & R.T.

Rome, Aug.15, 2012 

Siena - where the Palio Games Takes Place

Italian Trip - Day 5

St. Peters Basilica, Vatican

We went to the Vatican after breakfast. Normally it would have been very convenient to go there by Metro but this morning there was bus replacement instead. There were lots to see we  spent far more time than we had budgeted for.  The Vatican Museum is a huge museum. Before we could get to the Sistine Chapel, we had to go though a maze of other exhibits which took quite sometime. Sistine Chapel is located at the end of the entire exhibits.

The La Pieta, St, Peters Basilica

When we finally went into the Sistine Chapel, we were with hundreds of other people standing in this big hall, no chairs, very crowded, looking up to the ceiling to admire all the paintings. We saw many bible stories and characters on the ceiling.  The paintings certainly demonstrate the genius and hard work of Michelangelo.  He spent years suspended from the ceiling and painted the ceiling with extraordinary beauty and precision. Some of the 3 dimensional paintings were so real that we could not tell whether some of the columns, figures on the walls were real or painted work!  We were also amazed by the restoration work undertaken by the curators at the Vatican Museums.  The colours are as fresh as right after Michelangelo completed the fresco paintings.

We ate at a restaurant right outside the museum before we went to pick up our luggage at Inn Givoy. We did not see Givoy so we just left the hotel but she came running after us to kiss us goodbye. What a warm hostess!  Unfortunately when we were to the Rome Termini, the last direct train to Siena had already left.  The only option was to book the 10:30 pm train to Siena.  There was a small inconvenience, however.  This train stopped at Chiusi at 12 midnight and we waited for the 4:30 am train to Siena. We and two other passengers were stranded in Chiusi at midnight.  We tried  to sleep in the sitting position for four hours, with limited success.

Siena - Where the Palio Games Take Place Every Year

Our connected train came at round 5a.m. At around 6:00 am, we stumbled to the Albergo Canon D'Oro and slept for 5 hours until checkout time.  We kept our luggage at the hotel and made the best of our remaining 5 hours to explore Siena.  As soon as we stepped out of our hotel we were overwhelmed by the sight of a complete medieval town right in front of us!  A tunnel like passageway took us from the hotel to a Piazza at Siena and right away we saw churches and buildings packed together in a charming way that only medieval era buildings can evoke.

The Winners of Palio Games Parading in Siena

A little later we heard drum beats, cheering and marching noises. A large group of young men leading at the front, flags waving marching through the streets and the famous Piazza el Campo, followed by women and other people like family members of the team and tourists as well. We were told that this was the parade of the winning team for the annual Palio Game ( a horse racing game held at the Piazza). We missed it by a couple of days, how unfortunate!

We walked around the narrow winding street and were awed by the beauty of the individual houses as well as the whole town.  We thought of our son Eric, who learned about Medieval Times when he was in elementary school and did a big project on it years ago.  We remembered how he was fascinated by all the Medieval and knights stuffs. He would have loved seeing all the neat houses lining side by side in a circular shape encircling the old town with its thick huge city walls, towers and turrets, narrow winding streets and the Torture Museum in this well preserved Medieval town. ( We walked by the Torture Museum but did not go in there.)

Piazza Del Campo, Siena, Italy - A Charming Medieval Town

Our stay in Siena was only a few hours as we had to board the late afternoon train to Florence. But it gave us a glimpse of what a Medieval Town looked like. It was exactly like the the pictures we saw in the children's storybooks. I always thought that those pictures of old houses and buildings in Cinderellas and Sleeping Beauty were only fairy tales houses. Now that we have seen them with our own eyes; these stories come alive for us.

S.& R. T.  Siena, Italy
Aug. 17, 2012

An Excellent & Affordable Accommodation in Rome!

We got up at 8 am and were able to enjoy the lovely breakfast  offered by Inn  Givoy.

Givoy, the owner of Givoy Inn,  always has a nice smile and  never missed the opportunity to greet  and converse with her guests. She owns the apartment unit in downtown Rome and converted it into a number of hotel room units each with a 3 piece bathroom, and a balcony opening to a central courtyard.  The unit was air conditioned and it was comfortable for sleeping each night when we stayed there.

Breakfast Buffet at Inn Givoy's

A buffet breakfast included with the room charge was served each morning from 7:00-9:45a.m. The breakfast  was nicely layout on two long tables consisted of different kinds of Italian ham, bacons, homemade yogurt,  salad, bread with olive cream spread and tomatoes ( yummy !!!),  different kinds of cereals,  numerous Italian pastries,  croissants , cappuccino, fruit juices, cheese and served in a spacious dining room set up nicely with white tablecloth and dedicated for guest use. 

Of our three weeks European holiday, we stayed four days in Inn Givoy, the longest in one hotel during our entire trip. Givoy was always very friendly, helpful and patient whenever we had any questions about where and how to get to where we wanted to go. The location of the hotel is a plus because we could walk to the train station in 5 minutes and most attractions are within 15- 20 minutes. This close proximity to all the main attractions became very important to us as we walked  around under the August scorching sun each day.  In the late afternoon, Stan did go back to our hotel, took a shower to cool off,  changed his sweat drenched clothes, rested a little and met me at MaDonald’s . We went out again after the sun went down. As boomers, we want to travel frequently but  without breaking our bank accounts. Our stay at Inn Givoy, given its affordability, convenience and Givoy’s warm personal touch, was one of the highlight’s of this trip.

The hotel is just steps from vie del Nazionale and there are many points of interests along with numerous shops. Many shop owners posted notices on their doors  informing potential  customers that they were closed for holiday during the month of August.  With our North American mentality, we could not believe that at the height of the tourist season, the shop owners are willing to close shops for a month. 

( Unlike North Americans, many of whom are too busy to take their holidays and end up working in their offices,  Italians take their annual holidays very seriously and would prefer spending time with their families on vacation rather than doing business.  It could also be that Rome is so hot in August business people have another month as their peak tourist period.)  

On our second day in Rome, we roamed around freely,  visiting ruins,  museums and going in and out of shops. We did find some shops opened and Stan was very patient while I shopped.  I did get a couple of nice Italian design outfits at great prices.   In the evening, we went to enjoy the night scene of the coliseum. 

RT., 2^nd Day in Rome

Aug.  15, 2012