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"If there were one place in the world where you'd go, where...?" Jack asked Lucy.
"Florence," Lucy answered.
"Italy, ohh... I haven't delivered any furniture to Florence yet, but I'm told it's nice," said Jack.
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"Oh, but I do have... my passport," said Lucy."You have your passport!" Jack replied.
"Yes, I do!" Lucy answered.
"With you?" Jack asked Lucy.
"Yes. Well, just in case I need to quickly leave the country, you need to have...," Lucy explained.
"That's perfect. That's great," said Jack.
Jack opened Lucy's passport, "Oh, you're right. You're not very photogenic at all."
Lucy took back the passport from Jack.
Jack clarified, "Just joking! There aren't any stamps in that."
"Yeah, well, I haven't gone anywhere yet. But, you now, I'm planning a trip to Florence really soon, so, you know, I'll go," said Lucy.
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"I just wanted to give you this before all the presents started to pile up. I was droppin' off some furniture in Little Italy. I look in a window, and..." said Jack.
Lucy opened the gift, "Florence!"
"Florence," Jack replied.
Lucy stared to the miniature of Florence from Jack, "Thank you. It's really beautiful."
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"Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan. But Jack, Jack gave me the perfect gift: a stamp in my passport. He took me to Florence for our honeymoon," said Lucy on her way to Florence with Jack.
***
August 5, 2010. I was in train on my way to Firenze (Florence). I could saw a reflection of my smile in the window glass of the train as my mind went back to 9 years ago when I watched a movie called “While You Were Sleeping”. Yep, it was a movie that inspired my journey to the capital of Toscana (Tuscany).
Train from Pisa took me to Firenze in 1 hour and 15 minutes. As the sun reached its highest position, I arrived in Santa Maria Novella Station. “Hey Jack! Hey Lucy! I’m in Firenze now!”
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| The Duomo |
My trip started in Piazza del Duomo. It’s not far from the central station, only 10 minutes of walk from there. The major attraction in this square is Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore or famously known as The Duomo. The construction of the octagonal dome was finished by Filippo Brunelleschi after 140 years since it was built by Arnolfo di Cambio for the first time. The dome is no longer the largest one. However, it still remains the largest brick dome in the world. To the right of the duomo, there is Campanile di Giotto (The Bell Tower) which is covered with red, green and white marble. Opposite to the duomo, stands the octagonal-shaped building called Battistero di San Giovanni.
It was 11:45 am but the sky was shyly hiding behind the clouds. 15 minutes later, the rain started to wash the city. “Oh nooo, my holiday is over!!” In order to stay calm, I decided to have a lunch with hope the rain would stop as I finished the lunch.
No pasta or pizza for lunch, but I ended up eating at Turkish restaurant. I knew I was in Italy! But I was too tired to ask the waiter/waitress about the ingredients of pasta or pizza to make sure it’s halal. A turkish guy who owns the restaurant, was very happy to welcome me. I could finally escape from his so many questions, as a woman came to a restaurant. After ordering her food, she came to my table and asked if I was from Indonesia. It seemed my face was so Indonesian. I said yes, and she joined me.
She is Indonesian. She has already lived in Firenze for a couple of years and works for a shop owned by her friend. At the other corner of the restaurant, I could see a turkish owner was puzzled by my familiarity with this woman. She marked some must-visited places on my map. Felt really happy to meet her, and was happier when I saw the rain already stopped. A turkish owner still tried to have a conversation with me when I paid for my bill. He won ‘the battle’ when he successfully got me to let him know my Facebook account.
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| Stadio Comunale Artemio Franchi |
Artemio Franchi, the stadium where I headed. I walked for about one hour to get there from Piazza del Duomo. Stadio Artemio Franchi is located at sports complex in Viale Manfredo Fanti. The stadium is the home for Serie A team, Fiorentina. I’m not a fan of La Viola though, but I’m a stadium hunter. As a football fan, I think it’s a must to visit a stadium in the city where you stop by. Moreover, during that time, there was a rumor of Emiliano Insua’s transfer to La Viola. Crazy thing in my head was, if I went there maybe I could accidentally meet Insua. My craziness was increasing as I saw some boys in Fiorentina training suit were walking not far from the stadium complex. Did I finally meet Insua? No! The transfer was never happened.
Left the stadium, walked through Via Campo D’Arrigo – Via Lapini – Via Pagentina, crossed Fiume (river) Arno via Ponte San Niccolo, climbed stairs from Piazza Giuseppe Poggi. “Here I am now, Piazzale Michelangelo.” The square is on a hill that offers stunning view of the city. The panoramic view on the postcards I used to stare had become real. My own naked eyes witnessed the magnificent Firenze. What a really beautiful afternoon!
As I felt satisfied enough with ‘the show’ that delivers a feast for the eyes, I walked down from the hill. When I crossed Fiume Arno via Ponte alle Grazie, found out many padlocks were locked to a fence of the bridge. I had no idea what this is all about. Later, I was told that it has to do with the old love legends. The legend suggests a couple to attach a padlock to any surface of the bridge, and then throw away the key to the river. Your love will last forever as none could ever unlock the padlock.
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| Ponte Vecchio - Love Padlocks |
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| Palazzo Vecchio - Loggia dei Lanzi - Uffizi |
Piazza della Signoria was my last destination. Only need a few steps to get there from Uffizi. This L-shaped square was built in 13th century and serves as a center of political life of the city till now. The town hall of the city, Palazzo Vecchio, is located on one side of the square. The entrance to the Palazzo Vecchio is flanked by two statues: a copy of Michelangelo’s “David” on the right side and a Bandinelli’s “Hercules and Cacus” on the left side. There are a Fountain of Neptune and a statue of a lion called Il Marzocco in front of the right side of this town hall. Il Marzocco holds the coat-of-arm of Florence, il giglio (the lily). Another interesting building in the square is Loggia dei Lanzi. It’s an outdoor museum which is a house to some notable statues such as Cellinis’s “Perseus with the Head of Medusa”, Giambologna’s “The Rape of the Sabine Women”, etc.
Actually, there was still one place I’d like to visit. It’s the city square, Piazza della Repubblica. I heard that some historical cafes in the square - which were once meeting points of city artists and scholars – still open till now. They are Caffé Gilli, Caffé Paskowski and Caffé delle Giubbe Rosse. But my watch alarmed me that it’s already 06:00 pm, and I had to catch my train back to Pisa. My imagination of a beautiful afternoon while drinking a cup of coffee in one of those café had to be postponed till I return to Firenze sometimes in the future.
I had spent a wonderful seven-hours in the city that is considered as the birthplace of the Renaissance. Moving from one place to another totally on foot, made me able to enjoy the warmth and the friendliness of the city. It was tiring, but there were a lot of park benches offer a temporary pit-stop when I felt the pain in my feet was going to kill me. When I walked along the banks of the river Arno, I could feel a gently touch of a warm summer breeze on my skin. I enjoyed every single step I took in exploring the capital of Toscana.
God gave me the perfect gift: a stamp of Firenze in my heart!
Inspiring Journey! :)
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