I am now outside the Uffizi of Firenze, lining up to get in. The museum will not be open until 8:30 am but there was already a long queue before 8:00 am. I came yesterday, a bit later in the morning, but was compelled to leave because of the discouraging queue. This time the line is shorter.
This place is infested by Japanese. There are many groups of Japanese in front of me and even more groups right behind. It is both frightening and unpleasant. I will try not to be mistaken as a Japanese.
The days in Firenze were not without complications. For example, I had just deposited my luggage at the station, planning to get it back before the departure of my train to Milano at 4:07 pm, before finding that the luggage storage service would be closed from 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm. Alas. Another example: it is very difficult to secure a room here. In Roma, I had booked a room here for the first night. Upon my arrival here, the Tourist Office would not book a room for me for the nights after (it only handles bookings for the same night) and my hotel refused to confirm whether I could stay longer in there. Not until tomorrow, the hotelier said. I could not take such an attitude. I was there and would pay whatever would be charged and yet he would not let me have the room, which had no toilet inside, for tomorrow. That was unacceptable. So I tried to find another room myself for the nights after. And I succeeded, though I had to pay much more, i.e. L135,000 vs L80,000, for a very large room and could only stay for one night. The next morning the first hotel offered me the room and I refused it. Ha ha!
Despite all these, Firenze is a very very beautiful place. It is almost love at first sight.
My first afternoon here it was cloudy. But it was beautiful and poetic. The second day was a sunny day, and the city glowed in the sunshine. The river Arno is incomparable. It looks beautiful at all time and a little different every time. Every bridge over the river has its own part in forming a serene and harmonious picture of the river. All of them, the river, the bridges, the street lamps, are beautiful in the morning, at dusk and at night. Every time I walked near them, I could not help taking pictures of them.
The buildings here are old and square and had high ceilings. They are pretty. The roads look good, too.
The first sight of the Duomo brought tears to my eyes. It looked wonderful, though the inside could not be compared to the Cathedral in the Vatican. The Baptistery looked old and I did not go in. I refuse to climb the stairs to the top of any monument (there were no lifts) so I did not have a helicopter view of the city. But looking up at the sights was just as good.
There were some complications in checking in the second hotel the next morning so it was too late when I made it to the Uffizi. So I changed my plan. I went to Pisa. The Field of Miracles was worth the visit. The white marble looked very nice on the green lawn under the blue sky. There were hardly any clouds on the sky. It was hot, but I felt good.
The only bad thing in Pisa was that I had not bought a return bus ticket back to the train station because the ticket office would not take my large-amount bank notes. Plus I did not know how to buy one from the ticket vending machine. So I had to walk back and, without exception, I lost my way. Just imagine walking under the hot sun for half an hour searching for the right direction. It was lucky that I could get on a delayed train back to Firenze soon after I got to the Pisa train station.
Afterwards, I visited the Palazzo Vecchio. It was a disappointment and I paid L15,000 for it.
I then walked around again, appreciating the river and the bridges as much as ever. I walked past the Palazzo Pitti. But I didn't go in, not only because it was too late but the palace also seemed unattractive. I think Uffizi can satisfy all my wants for museums and art. I just hope that it won't be as crowded as the Vatican Museum. It is actually another form of invasion by the Japanese.
It is 8:50 am now and I am still waiting.
I will go to Milano this afternoon and stay there tomorrow. It will be my last stop in Italy. Then it will be France, the Provence, the Cote d'Azur.
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