December 26, 2006

December 26th

I am in Milan. We landed just before dawn, coming over the snowy mountains of northern Italy in the early morning light. It was a beautiful sight: little pockets of isolated light, scattered throughout the bases of the mountains; tiny towns still sleeping.

The airport here in Milan is replete with fashion, both in stores and in advertisements. My luggage is checked through to Florence, so I had only to go through security and to the Alitalia desk to check in. As I walked down the final hallway to the desk, I turned a corner to see, at the end, a life-sized statue of Hagrid. At first, I thought I was mistaken—too much HP on the brain—but as I drew closer, I saw I was right. It was Hagrid, made entirely of Legos, and standing there as an advertisement for Legoland in San Diego.

My flight to Florence was overbooked, and I was sent to speak with another Alitalia representative. She had to speak to her supervisor, and to my pathetically weak Italian ears, it sounded as though they were going to route me through Pisa, which is fifty miles from Florence. Thankfully, however, they put me in first class, and we land in 10 minutes.

****

I am in Florence. I almost still can’t believe it. I got my postcards at the airport, and then took a taxi to the hotel. On the way we passed through the shadow of the Duomo.

The B&B is nice, but the room is VERY small. I won’t be in here much, so that’s okay. We are on the top floor (80 steps) of a 13th century palace. My window looks out over Via Dante Aligheri, and it is so high up, I get dizzy looking down.

After I unpacked, I changed into a long, black skirt and a blue sweater and set out. Soon after I hit the streets, I nearly started crying again.

I’m in Florence.

It was the only thing I could think as I made my way to the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Gardens, where the Belvedere stands. They are so much closer than they appear on the map. It only took a few minutes to get there.

And when I got there, I could hear Dr. Lecter’s voice:

“The Duomo, seen from the Belvedere. You know Florence?”

I got teary again, and thought of Jane. She’s the only person I know who can understand how I felt. It was a good thing there wasn’t a phone nearby, or I probably would have called her, even though it was the middle of the night for her.

I’m so tired, but I can’t go to bed. It’s only 4:30.

I put my pedometer on before I left the room and clocked three miles.





The mountains of northern Italy. Taken from the plane.




Mountains between Florence and Milan.




The Arno River from the bridge Ponte Vecchio.




The Duomo, seen from the Boboli Gardens.




Wall of Fort Belvedere.




Florence from Boboli Gardens.




Tree in Boboli Gardens. It reminded me of the Whomping Willow from the Harry Potter movies.




Boboli Gardens, near the Neptune Fountain.




The Bacchus Fountain in Boboli Gardens.




Arno, seen from the Ponte Vecchio.




Street scene.




Orsanmichele (church and museum).




Bust of Dante, near the Dante museum (which was closed when I was there). Scary looking, isn't he?




Street where my B&B was located.




View from my window. Steeple of the Badia Fiorentina.