The forecast today was for sunshine and temps in the high 60s, so I decided to go across the river and up the hill to Piazzale Michelangelo. The walk would include lots of steps, but I was sure I could do it!
On the way through town, I saw a handful of wine windows to add to my photo collection.
Once you start noticing them, they're everywhere! I especially like the last one, with the nail head design. I'm not sure how they qualify to get a plaque designating them as "official" Buchetta del Vino.
The view from Piazzale Michelangelo was great, and it was clear enough to see the hills beyond the city of Florence.
A little further up the hill was another place I was interested in visiting. According to legend St.Minias was beheaded on the banks of the Arno River in AD 250. He picked up his head and walked up the hill, where he died and was buried in what became the first Christian cemetery in Florence. In the 11th century the church of St. Miniato was built to house his remains.
The church has a familiar facade of green and white marble (early Florentine Romanesque), and inside are some notable artworks by della Robbia, and other Renaissance painters.
Sadly, both the facade and the inside of the church were covered in scaffolding, in the midst of restoration. I was still able to see some of the amazing artwork.
blocking some of the surrounding paintings
That indicates a relic, or sometimes a body, is contained within.
I headed back down the hill by way of some nearby roads, instead of the hundreds of stairs I'd climbed to get up here, and because of that I saw some of the neighborhood. On one estate there was an olive grove, which seemed pretty extravagant so close to town.
On the way back to the convent I needed a little break.
One problem I'm having, now that I'm depending on just my phone, and not B.J. with his, for navigation, as well as taking photos, is that the power runs down before the day is half over. As a result, I'm trying to navigate more by memory than by constantly referring to my GPS app. This method takes me down some new roads, but I always make it back to the convent!
The staff at the front desk has been nuns, and the breakfast room staff has also been nuns. Their order comes from Africa. They speak the language of their home country and Italian. Most, but not all, of the nuns speak English fairly fluently. I'm glad I have a translation app on my phone for occasional use. I also speak Italian, well - 7 words of Italian to be precise, but I use those 7 words with great frequency and enthusiasm.
My dilemma on this day was that my room had been cleaned, and used towels removed, but no new towels were added. The cleaning staff appear to be all men. After revisiting my room a few times, I tracked down one of the cleaning guys to ask for towels. He didn't speak any English. I typed the words "bath towel" into my translation app and showed him the words in Italian. He still didn't understand. He got out his phone and had me type "bath towel" and translated it into Spanish. Oh, now he understood! Problem solved, and we both chuckled about it.
I had a nice lunch at Natalino, in the square near the convent. Good ravioli, filled with cheese, with a pesto sauce, some burrata cheese and a few sun-dried tomatoes on top. Coca zero and tiramisu for dessert to balance out the Diet Coke. Hah. The bill was €33. Kind of pricey for lunch, but there's always a cover charge added at a sit-down restaurant - €3 in this case, and I should stop agreeing to water when I have something else to drink. The water is always bottled, €3 for the liter, and I hardly make a dent in it. Well, and the tiramisu was probably €7 or €8, so it all adds up!
While I was eating, I noticed on Google news that there was a planned train strike across Italy for this coming Saturday, when I'd be going to Orvieto. Reading further though, the article explained that the strike was postponed to the following Friday, when it wouldn't affect me at all. Crisis averted. It's interesting that strikes are scheduled in advance, for one day only, to emphasize the demands of the labor group. It can really cause a problem for locals and visitors alike!
Even though I'd had that delicious and very filling lunch, I needed a little something that evening, so I picked up a small panini. I was back at the convent before the Italian people had even thought about going out for their dinner.
I believe we have taken that tremendous walk up the hill via the stairs and returned the exact same way you did. It was many years ago when we were much younger but still… whew! No GPS on our phones and we too did not know exactly where we were going but managed to arrive back to our lodging. I think that makes it all more of an adventure.
ReplyDeleteThat's so funny Cheryl. There were so many steps!
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