DAY 15

Saturday 5th July 2008 8:45am Assisi

Breakfast was on the little balcony at the Hotel Il Castello overlooking the carpark construction and the valley beyond and across to Saint Mary’s Church where we were yesterday. I have eaten a croissant and a crusty roll with jam, a pear and some cheese and a cup of tea.

It is another clear blue day. Dozens of swallows dart around madly and I could hear a peacock earlier. Now the sound of buses idling, people talking and moped buzzing up the hill drown out any notion of serenity.

5/7/08 10:05am Assisi

There is not much haze this morning as we drive in the bus down the hill from Assisi. It would have been lovely to stay longer in Assisi. A music festival begins there tonight so it will be very busy. After checking in to our hotel, the Il Castello, yesterday we walked up the narrow streets dodging cars and motorcycles. Little shops selling souvenirs, artwork, clothing, sandals and food line the lanes. The quality of the artwork here is high. I loved the pictures in glass by an artist who was being exhibited in a little gallery. We filed into Saint Francis’s church making sure we respected their requests for silence, no photography, and proper dress attire. This is a beautiful old church and many monks and nuns wander about as it is still very much in use. We visited the tomb of Saint Francis and the chapel on the upper level. This morning Michael and I visited this church again and were incredulous at a large number of Italian teenagers talking out loud in Saint Francis’s crypt despite the prompts of “ssshhh”.

We had a later start today as it is a short trip to Firenze (Florence). The extra sleep was much needed.

5/7/08 11.17am

Our seat rotations in the bus have taken us back to once again being seated in front of Phil and Kris. We can hear them whinging again. She has said “I definitely won’t be doing a trip of Europe like this again. I don’t want to eat anymore pasta. I’m hanging out for a Starbucks. Wish I was back in New York. The last time I saw an iron was in a Novatel hotel. I don’t want to see any more dead people in boxes. Blah. Blah. Blah.” It really is stupid because they really have not embraced this experience at all. At night they go to their room straight after dinner. On the bus they either sleep or whinge. They don’t try to converse to any of the locals in their native language. They really are a miserable pair. I bet they’ll go home and brag about the trip to their friends, when really all they did was whinge and be critical.

As we approach Florence along the motorway through some treed hills Deborah is telling us about the history and culture of the city.

5/7/08 6.40pm Florence

I can hear a cicada or something similar chirping in the trees outside the open window of our hotel room at the Hotel Mediterraneo in Florence. We arrived at lunchtime at a park overlooking the River Arno and the city of Florence with the famous Duomo in the middle of the view. We posed for a pre-arranged group photo then had a quick lunch of Caprese Foccacia and Coca Cola at a little take away café. Everywhere we go there are African men selling things on the footpath – junky stuff.

We walked to a square with our guide then were free to wander with map in hand. We made for the Galleria Academia where the original statue of David stands. The outside of the gallery is cruddy and covered with graffiti and situated halfway along a narrow alleyway. We joined the queue in the hot sun waiting 30 minutes before being allowed entry. We spoke to a young attractive Asian-looking Canadian woman who was on a Contiki tour full of rowdy partying Aussies. She wished she was on a Trafalgar Tour.

We went through the metal scanners, bought our tickets for €10 each, then went in. The Statue of David by Michelangelo is spectacular. It stands alone on a pedestal under a domed celestial window so light pours down onto the white marble masterpiece. When you see his unfinished works still in raw marble nearby, and then look again at David it is really awesome to consider the fine craftwork that went into its creation. Imagine the reaction of people at the time when Michelangelo finished David. It has such grace, power and emotion. The expression on David’s face shows the anguish as he prepares to throw a rock at the unseen Goliath.

We bought some water and walked back to the Duomo where the queue to go up to the dome was too long to consider joining. We went into the cathedral but it is a poor interior by comparison to the churches of Saint Francis’s and Saint Mary’s in Assisi, and others we’ve seen.

Eating pistachio flavoured ice-cream we walked on through the crowded streets to the Pont de Vecchio where historic shops line the bridge selling gold jewelry. Florence is the centre for hand-crafted gold jewelry. We made our way back to our hotel along the River Arno. Like rome, Florence appears dirty and unkempt with graffiti, homeless people in the parks, rubbish everywhere and untrimmed grass.