Day 10 - Firenze, Italy

118 K - 73 Miles

Slept in for a change in Bologna this morning. Felt good. Worked on the blog a little, haven't updated for three days. Just too busy trying to find things, I guess. In any event I'll catch up some in Florence; I've scheduled a no-ride day there to get my license, catchup on whatever needs catching up on, and so veg out a little.

Man, have I ever more had problems with my directions this trip. I guess everything is relative, I didn't have them at all during my Spain/Portugal jaunt. I should count my blessings, huh? Well, no. In Spain and Portugal I didn't have a GPS so I went back to the old paper trail, maps. Here I'm supposed to have directions and, it seems, half the time I do not. But I don't have the paper either.

Part of the problem is related to outdated maps. Some of it isn't. I've had places where there was obviously new highway construction all over the place. Then there was the inability to find an entire island back in Croatia. Probably not Garmin's fault. Those sneaky Croats probably moved it.

In any event, I got here today and found the address given me by the FedEx website and, surprise, they aren't there.  Really frustrated at yet another potential case of Garmin not knowing where some place is, or some business not providing correct information to their customers, I just said to hell with it and went to my hotel.

Adding insult to injury, the Garmin couldn't find the address of my hotel either. So, I pulled out my newer one, the one I bought for the car. I'd brought it along as a backup. It found the hotel for me. It's not convenient to use like the mounted one, so I probably need to update my maps for it. But I'm sure Mr. Garmin will want a small King's ransom for that.

In this case, it turned out to be FedEx that hadn't properly updated their web page information. After checking in I went on line and see whether the package had arrived. They confirmed it had and was waiting pickup. Am I the only one who thinks they should say "where" it is awaiting pickup? They just say at the distribution center, but do not say where that is. Or least, I can't find it. But, fiddlely-dee, I'll worry about that tomorrow. Right now, I'm in Florence (Firenze), Italy, and I'm liking it.



Some Tuscan countryside.

I guess I've mentioned this one-handed picture taking can lead to some weird shots, haven't I?

The famous Arno river flowing through Firenze.

Why famous?   The usual answer to 10. down or 15. across in every crossword puzzle ever written:  River in Italy, 4 letters.

Nice aerator, I guess..but I don't know the purpose.

A view into the corner above.

The usual Roman-esqe monument

Some of the most narrow streets I've ever seen.

Came into this great square with several outdoor restaurants off to the side.  Haven not eaten or drank anything since breakfast I was ready for this.

Above, the view from my table.


Adjacent, some wonderful pasta and fruiti de mer.
(Morgan...this plate's for you.)

It was especially good with several nice Coronas.  That was a pleasant surprise.

After my late lunch I exited the, it turned out, small square, and entered the big one.

This guy is just full of wonderful buildings.  I thought the central one very Islamic looking.  I don't know what it is, but that's what it puts in my mind.

This is the entry to the big "mosque-looking" one.

Another view.

My inevitable restoration.
(And, again, that's a good thing.)

Heading back to the hotel I come upon this street musician.  The two little girls were just having a ball dancing to his music.

The Florentine equivalent of the Petit Baccus?

(A Nantes restaurant we enjoy)

And home for the evening.  Tomorrow I hope to get reacquainted with my driver's license.  And some more of Firenze.