Yesterday, as scheduled, our surrogate “tour guides” arrived at Alex and Anna's home to drive us into Florence. Karla, a friend of Alex and Anna's a retired high school English teacher, and Sara, the college-aged daughter of another friend, were very nice. Sarah was the driver, and spoke a little English. Karla was obviously here to be the main communicator, as her English was quite good—and of course, much better than our Italian! Karla immediately apologized for the rain, saying this was not a good day to tour Florence on foot, but we would make the best of it.
We parked near the train station, and headed out for a museum where Sara's father had arranged an “appointment” at about 11:00 a.m. We went in thorough a side door, she spoke to someone at a desk, and then we followed her up some back stairs to a second level where she shook hands with a middle-aged man and exchanged pleasantries, in Italian, of course. Then he shook hands with each of us and warmly wished us “Buon Giorno,” and in English, welcomed us to the museum and waved us on to enjoy our visit. After we left his company, Bev asked Karla what museum this was, as we had seen no signs to indicate where we were. She told us this was the Uffizi Museum, which Rick Steves describes as “the greatest collection of Italian paintings anywhere” for which there are “infamously long lines to get in.” And so here we were in the midst of this great collection of Italian art—without having to wait in line or pay! We spent about an hour enjoying the art, including some of Michelangelo's work.
We then walked around Florence a little more, to the Ponte Vecchio and the famous Duomo and stopped briefly to admire its awesome and intricate beauty, but the rain cut our strolling and viewing short. We then drove to Anna's school to meet up with her. Anna reported the latest news about Alex's father was that he came through the surgery without much trouble, but that the next 24 hours would be critical. We said goodbye to our surrogate tour guides, and rode back to the house with Anna and had lunch and relaxed for the rest of the day. At night, Anna took us to a ristorante near their home for a wonderful dinner. We had been going at it for quite a few days without much “down time,” so this was a welcome day of relaxation.
On Thursday, Anna had to be at school very early, so we were picked up at their home by another friend, Elisa, a young, beautiful actor, who had agreed to give us a ride into Florence because she had to go to Florence for a hair appointment. Elisa lives nearby and Anna had assured us that it was no big imposition for Elisa to be our “ride” to the city. Elisa spoke a little English and was very sweet, as she put on a demonstration of the multi-tasking that is loosely defined as “driving.” In the midst of congested traffic on the way into Florence, as well as in the middle of the city, with little cars stopping and starting, and motorcycles scooting around and between cars, Elisa was unaffected as she used her ear piece of her cell phone to have no fewer than 10 different phone conversations, occasionally turning to ask me a question, such as “Your first day in Florence?”, read from notes in the open day book in her lap, and make occasional notes while talking and driving. I know I gasped at least 3-4 times as we came quickly up to a car or truck stopped in front of us. I was convinced that the day book was getting much more of Elisa's attention than her driving—or our mutual safety—was getting! But, we did make it into Florence without damage to her car or to us. She let us out near the train station, and we walked to a tiny cafe, and had a bite to eat and coffee. Then we walked through an open air market of clothing and on to the museum behind the Duomo, featuring sculptures dating back to the 11th century. After about an hour there, we got a call from Anna and met up with her. We got the positive update on Alex's father, and we were relieved to hear that. Anna told us that Alex was back home, making “lunch” for us, so we drove home. Alex, an accomplished cook, and his “lunch”consisted of a spinach pesto pasta as a primo (“first course”) and then a secondo (second course) of a huge tuna steak on a bed of lettuce. We could have easily shared both. Bev and I did our best to eat, but neither of us could finish either the pasta or the tuna. Not to worry: the dog was treated to our left-overs. Alex told us that if things continue to go well for his father, he may get to go home on Saturday. This was naturally good news.
Alex had worked with his travel agent, Isabella, to find us a rental car. Apparently there is a lot going on in Florence because the only available car she could find was at the Pisa airport. Isabella said she is sorry the car is so expensive ($256 Euro for one week, including all insurance), and said she would continue to try to find a less expensive car for us during the coming week for the second week.
Alex had some work commitments this afternoon, so Anna would take us to the Pisa airport to pick up our car, then to their “beach house” near Camaiore, about 30-40 minutes from Pisa, to show us the house and get us set up there, before returning home. So we drove with Anna this afternoon in the pouring rain through Tuscany. Obviously we are not the only ones who find the road maps and driving directions confusing as it took us a couple attempts to locate the Avis rental building at the Pisa Airport. The torrential rains did not help matters, but we finally we did finally find the Avis building and picked up the car-- a brand-new little Fiat, with a stick shift. (Bev will not being doing any driving!) Because I had learned to drive with a stick shift, it was not a problem adjusting, and in fact the car is fun to drive! We have to bring this car back to the Pisa airport by 6:00 p.m. next Thursday, May 13, to either trade it in on a less expensive car, if Isabella can find one for us, or to renew the contract for another 10 days.
We then followed Anna to the beach house. The rain had stopped by the time we set out from the Pisa airport so we could enjoy some of the beauty of the Tuscan hills. We stopped at a market in Camaiore and picked up some groceries for the next day or two, and a bottle of wine. Then we wound our way up into the hills outside of Camaiore on roads that make Irish roads seem wide, about five minutes from town, to the beach house. The two-story house is very charming and old, like something out of a fairy tale. Even the interior walls are at least 18 inches thick, with a slate winding stairway to the three bedrooms upstairs and the bathroom upstairs. Anna was so gracious as she showed us the “tricks” of the many keys to the gate, the double-wooden front door, and the storage room, as well as the plumbing, heating and electrical systems. She then said goodbye, and headed for home in the damp and dark. This house will be perfect for us to relax and to base out of for the next 2 ½ weeks!
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