Dear Friends, we set off on Friday
after the shocking news of Ron James’ death had sunk in, to visit Siena.
Gianluca, our driver, took us there & as he was in the bad books for
smoking in the car, he was doing his best to get back into our wallets, by showing
more grasp of English than he had up until now. We fell in love with Siena –
walked and walked for the two hours free time we had – lit a candle for Ron in
a sweet little church and another for all the parents we have lost. We loved
the little shops, found a pair of sunglasses for Wes that cost 5 € in a
delightful market, looked down alleys, into shops & were entranced by some
lovely local art.
Inside the Dome and
the glorious view
Wes thinks I didn’t give you the
right idea about our morning tea the other day and perhaps he is right – it
felt like Florian in Venice, was glorious gold in decor and had the biggest
Easter Eggs you could wish to see. It was peopled by visitors like us and
regulars who went there every day and were treated like family.
Finally we ended up at the rooftop
restaurant of the Hotel Excelsior – it only took 20 years for them to get
permission to open this. It has glorious views of Florence and we three enjoyed
a stunning meal with good service, fine wine & great conversation. We
exchanged gifts and were sorry to part. Tanya has greatly contributed to our
understanding of Florence, its history and its art.
Prawn salad with mango & mozzarella cheese with tomato & basil
Easter Eggs big enough to contain a Teddy Bear & Gelati
not to be touched – anything on display is not genuine, you need to go into a
shop with lids on the vats and you know the gelati is made freshly each day.
The drive there and back was lovely,
through Chianti country and by the time we were dropped off at the Accademia
again, we were hungry for lunch. So off to our favourite restaurant –
Accademia, where the waiter greeted us like long lost friends, produced a
complimentary glass of prosecco, told us we had to drink the best red on their
menu – nebilio grapes, tasted to me like old-fashioned claret, agreed that
rabbit would be good for Wes and fish of the day for me and brought us a Fra
Angelico salad while we waited. My fish was boned at the table with a spoon
& fork – Wes said his rabbit was the best he had ever tasted and I finished
my meal with a large glass of limoncello, while Wes downed two short blacks.
The place was full of regulars and until a group of Yanks walked in we were the
only visitors. We tried to advise them, but they went for pasta and house wine,
so we gave up!
We walked to the Ice Cream shop and
had a small gelati each sitting outside in the sun, then visited the Americans
in Tuscany Exhibition, which left us a little under whelmed, before making our
way back to our palace for tea and coffee. Our waiter appeared with a small
plate of special biscuits as well. We had hoped to get to the Church of Santo
Marco at night for some classical music, but after all that wine, we had no
hope.
Wes had a hot chocolate like the
picture above & the room we were in is very popular with
post-wedding, pre-reception parties.
I have also forgotten to tell you
about the little shops – a bean shop run by three sisters, who disagree all the
time. One side of the shop is devoted to people food & the other side to
dog food. The beans and rice are in open sacks and you can’t just choose for
yourself. There is the bakery, the sock shop, the picture-framer, the
green-grocer, the man who has everything, the Stanley knife shop, the list goes
on & on and we are entranced by them all.
Today was our last day here. We
celebrated by ordering poached eggs at breakfast (they are on the menu) and
after 20 minutes and much clattering of heels up & down stairs they arrived.
We suspect no-one knew how to cook them & that a local restaurant came to
the rescue.
We have just discovered it is the end or start
of daylight saving & we get less or more sleep tonight, now sure which.
Hopefully our watches will do the right thing at 2am. We met Tanya at 9am to
stroll through streets, but discovered she wanted us to go to the Museo del
Bargello, which has some wonderful Donatello sculptures. Then we had coffees
& tea in a little place where it is a privilege to be allowed to sit down.
We saw a man who makes leather boxes
and pouches, a lady who does fine work under a magnifying glass, we found Dante’s
home & church, visited an Offertory that is over 700 years old, did a tour
of the Dominican Church, Santa Maria Novella (facade),
and finally popped into the old apothecary’s shop that is now popular all
around the world for its herbal & flower essence remedies.
We wandered back home through the
wonderful pageantry that is Florence and were pleased to get our tray of tea
and coffee and unwind. Wes wanted the results of the Queensland election where we
learned that his good friend, Deane Wells, has lost his seat after 22 years. We
can only imagine how he is feeling at the moment.
Tomorrow is the start of the last
part of our adventure. I’ll write again from Rome.
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