March 31 2022 Bologna and Florence

Bags out by 7. This hotel had hard beds, the sink stopper doesn't work, and the shower was weird, but the location could not be beat! Now we leave for our next adventure. Breakfast first, though. It's still excellent, but we are ready for a bit of a change - let's see what the next hotel has to offer.

At 8:30 our group walked the short distance to the shore for another water taxi. The water still a bit rough so when the taxi docked, Randy helped everyone off so the waves didn't dip anybody. 

By 9 am we were on the bus with our driver Nicola. Along the drive Giuseppe talked about local ship-building plants; they build a lot of cruise ships here. 

Bologna is famous for food and meats. And Risotto grows well in northern Italy. This area gets water from Alps which means it's great water. 

Giuseppe put in a plug for Italian free education and health care, although he said they pay high taxes to pay for it and there is 30 percent unemployment in some areas. He also voiced some real  appreciation for the Marshall plan after WWII. Italy was poor before the war and of course even worse afterwards, so the Marshall plan was a much-needed gift that Italy seems to have used wisely.

Bologna was surrounded by 2nd century roman walls, many of which remain. Giuseppe mentioned again that salt was a very important commodity in Italy. He said people used to be paid in salt, which led to the term salary. The best Italian salt now comes from Sicily.

Bologna was not bombed in WW2, which helped preserve a lot of the buildings. It's known a "the red city" because of all the buildings made from local red bricks. Giuseppe told us that Ferrari started making tractors then switched to cars. His friend Lamborghini kept making suggestions to improve the cars until they weren't friends anymore, so Lamborghini started making cars just to do it better. They make just 5 cars a day, entirely by hand. You can get one after a 2 year wait but not a red one; red is Ferrari's color. 

We passed of the old Romans here. Some of them have been repurposed, of course; the square is built from reused Roman bricks.

Giuseppe walked us through a great market/restaurant area. Throughout Italy they take these narrow roads, close them to traffic, and set up tables in half the road. 

Then we were on our own for lunch, with instructing to meet back at the square at 2 pm.  Aaron, Glenda and ourselves went back to the restaurant area and had great lunch. 

I don't have a clue how to take selfies but we had a wonderful time!

Afterwards we walked around, admiring the hams, cheeses and pastas in the shops. Wish we could have brought some of this home!

It very common here to decorate the corners of buildings with religious images, although this is the first one I've seen that is paired with a gargoyle. Weird.

Another thing we've found everywhere is a lack of toilet seat. Except for our hotels, every toilet has been just like this!!

Oh well, some things cannot be explained. Back at the square we stopped by the Monument to the Fallen Partisans, full of photos and names of people who died in the war. Which is sad, but it's also nice that they are not forgotten.

This was also where we saw the cutest, littlest mail car. Aaron was checking it out when the mailman came back. He just smiled at us - he knows it's a silly little car!

It wasn't 2 o'clock yet so we went into the Basilica de San Petrnio. It's a really unique church; the bottom of the facade is white and red marble, while the upper section is bricks. 

It's pretty amazing, inside and out. 

Full of tombs and statues, of course. I loved this double tomb statue of Felix and Elisa. This couple are planning on being together forever! 

Even more I loved the old medieval-looking paintings on some of the columns. 

And in one of the side areas is a brightly lit ornate box with somebody's bones in it. I have no idea whose relics these are, but they are not in very good shape.

At 2 our whole group walked back to where the bus was waiting (it cannot go into the center of the city) and headed to Florence. The terrain became hilly so the bus went through several long tunnels. Everything is so pretty here!

We went to the Star hotel, got a very nice room, then got back on the bus to go downtown. Along the way we learned that this picturesque part of Florence is full of 15th century buildings with no sewer system, only septic tanks. And that monks in Florence started producing leather goods a long time ago and now leather is one of Florence's most famous products. Giuseppe took us to a nice leather store named Misuri, where a couple of ladies told us about leather. Real leather should not have much scent and the inside and outside should not be glued together. And you clean lambskin with face cream - who knew?

There are some gorgeous 16th century fresco above some windows here. How amazing to be in a place where so much history is still around!

The Medici Palace is now a museum and is considered the heart of Florence. 

There is an amazing display of statues just outside the palace/museum - mostly of angry men kidnapping or killing someone. And naked, always naked. 

And here I found one of my favorite lions again! I saw this guy 23 years ago and I was so happy to see him again, still whole and on display!

We went inside the Medici museum's entryway - it's spectacular! Unfortunately we did not have the time on this trip to get a ticket and go through the whole museum.  But I'll bet it's amazing!

Now it was time for dinner, and Giuseppe had us booked into a small restaurant. They started by serving wonderful brusketta with spreads of olive, liver, and cheese.

The entree was brought out in large portions and served onto our plates. 

Then it was time for our last excursion of the day - out of town and up the hill to view the bronze version of David, created in 1875. 

I do not think anything compares to the original, but the view of the city at sunset is great!

May 30 - St. Mark's, Murano glass, Gondola rides, big bells - such a busy day!

Breakfast started at 7 this morning so we were up by 6:30. Relaxed over a nice breakfast, visited with our group, then met our guide for today, Lisa. We were all given an earpiece and a battery box so we could hear her even if we weren't at the front of the group. 

She took us back to St. Mark's Square for some more information. The Bell tower is known as the 'Master of the House' because it dominates the square. The church at the end of the square contains relics of St. Mark. According to Lisa, two Venetian merchants (Buono and Rustico) stole the relics from a church in Alexandria, Egypt, tucked them into a barrel of salted pork, and smuggled them out. They got by with it because the Muslin guards didn't examine pork. They brought them to Venice and they have been in St. Mark's cathedral ever since!

And there is a myth of a specific date for the start of Venice: March 25, year 421. They know it's not the exact date but they like having an exact date, so that's what they stick with.

The pavement has mostly dried up from last night's water seeping in. Not entirely dry, though, and I managed to slip on a wet spot. I fell on my knee with is not good (history of knee problem) but I also fell on my bum which has enough padding to handle it!

The style of that great fancy St. Mark's church is "flamboyant gothic". Yep, that works. 

St Mark was built as the Doge's private chapel and it's gotten some serious upgrades through the centuries, including a staircase called "The Golden staircase", in honor of its magnificent ceiling. 

One of the secret denunciation boxes is still in the front wall of this building. People could anomalously put in a note against those who didn't pay taxes on their possessions.

The great doors to the church are made form Lebanon cedars, which is lovely. 

Lisa took us upstairs to the waiting chamber outside the justice chamber, which has 4 doors. The doors were split; each one could be opened at a regular height or a super tall height. That was to accommodate the importance of person; important people got to use the extra tall opening. Status!

Trading salt is how Venice started acquiring wealth so some of the paintings depict Venice as Queen of the seas. There are several unusual clocks here. The older 24 hour clock has number 18 on the top because day started at sunset; bells tolled every hour. 

A nearby clock has an entirely different system. Venice went from 24 hour clocks to 6 prayer bells to the French 12 hour clocks. The French destroyed several symbols of the city during their domination, including many old clocks and most of the denunciation boxes.

We moved to the Senate chamber, with room for 200 senators. Next was the chamber of the Secret Police - that has a bad sound. Their decision was the final word, with no appeals. The chamber of the Secret Police had secret doors, which you would expect. Next Lisa took us to where we could look in one of the jail cells - just an empty room that at one time held 4 pallets and a bathroom bucket. 

There were torture chambers also, like the prison cells on the top of the building that were covered with slabs of lead, to really focus the heat. Water cells below the building would flood during rain.

Around the ceiling of one large room are portraits of every Doge, except one. One guy used his position so badly that he was beheaded for treason so instead of his portrait, they just painted a black cloak. Totally erased him from this version of history.

These rooms are just so fancy!

Amazing fireplaces, too! (Jack for scale)

I liked the way that, in the middle of all this flamboyant overkill, there are a few portraits done in black and white. 

Even better was the old, so much older, mural that still exists (partially) in one of the side rooms. I prefer this to gilded glitter.

In 1797 the French took over from the last Doge, so that changed everything in government. Back outside we admired the big staircase. They just loved to decorate everything they could get their hands on!

We joined Guiseppe, who gave us more info. We learned that the canals are generally 4 to 5 feet deep. And some of those beautiful old building are not connected to sewer....

Monks started the city and it grew from there. Apparently they thought this would be a defensible place, although I don't understand that. Big tree trunks were brought in from the Alps and packed together like cigarettes in a pack to form the bases in the water; there isn't any room between them, which helps keeps them from rotting and provides the tremendous support needed for those tall stone buildings. 

There are 4 bridges across grand canal, with the Rialto bridge being the most historical and most famous. 

Guiseppe said that places with piled up gelato are not good because it probably isn't fresh (our personal research contradicted that). 

And everything here runs on boats, like ambulances and funerals. Burials are only allowed on one one island and a body may lay in the public cemetery for 20 years; then it has to go. Probably cremated.

Guiseppe took us to the Murano factory, where we watched a guy working on a piece. Every piece is signed by the artist.

When the piece was complete, it was still so hot that a scrap of paper laid across it burst into flames. It needs to cool in a closed cabinet for a full day or it will break easily.

Next we went into a room where we heard a lovely sales pitch about the blue glass made with cobalt, green glass made with copper, and red glass made with 24 carat gold. Lilac glass is supposed to be very special, too. Nevertheless, we didn't purchase any today. They have an amazing glass horse sculpture, though, that I would have brought home if I could.

Our little group went back to St. Mark's square - it seemed to draw us in. Seeing these amazing sights did not get old!

Surrounded by endless beauty and culture, our guys got goofy. Jack was tired of being the shortest guy, so naturally...

Glenda and I tried 3 times to find a restroom. The 3rd time was public restroom which, we discovered, cost 2 euros, which we didn't have. So we all just went back to the hotel for a restroom and a nap. But we made sure we were up in time to go on the tour-sponsored gondola ride! 

The gondolas go very close to each other and to buildings, especially when turning a corner.  Besides all the beauty, we also saw some of the problems. The water can be very damaging, and sometime the water smelled like sewer.

But it is such a beautiful way to travel!!

Our gondoliers had to duck each time we went under a bridge (and there are 300 bridges throughout the city) but they were very experienced and made it all look effortless. 

Surprisingly, even after all this it it wasn't very late, so we headed back to St.Mark's square (of course). Now it occurred to us that we could go up to the top (via elevator). So we did. At the top it was pretty cold and windy, but well worth it. There are 6 big bells up there, right over our heads!

Typically, every piece is decorated. The wooden blocks that hold the bells in place are wonderfully carved. Even the little pieces that attach the bells to the wood have little faces in them!

And the view is wonderful!

At 6 pm Randy and I went into St Mark's church. There was a mass starting so we were very quiet and respectful. It's an amazing amazing, amazing building but surprisingly dark and dusty, and a large part of it is scaffolded off. A priest came in, sat down with his back to the congregation, and started chanting softly in a sing-song, wavery voice. The congregation softly murmured back. Very softly, since there were only six people there. I was surprised that there were not more people here for the service.

Before long we quietly left. Outside we ran into Jack and Natasha who had tried to enter but were turned away, probably because mass had already started.

It seemed like time to look for gelato. Joe said he'd catch up with us. It took quite a bit to find the place we were looking for. Everyone except me had an idea; I know I am terrible with directions!

Eventually we found it - Venchi. They sell candy and gelato so we got some candy (expensive).  But just a few doors down was a more reasonably priced gelato store. Ignoring Guiseppe's advice, we got some here. And it was really, really good!

The cherry and hazelnut was a very good choice.

Joe had not appeared yet and we started getting worried. We did some serious back-tracking and searching, and I walked back to the hotel and left a message for him to call Jack when he got in.  We were getting ready to split into search teams when Joe texted. He said we were the ones who were lost. 

Natasha showed up with some pretty Murano bracelets, so I asked her to show me where she got them. I bought some, then brought Glenda here, too! Loved the doorknob on this place!

It was finally time for dinner. We were served long thin bread sticks, and Glenda finally got ice with her soda. The food was good; Randy got quattro pizza with mushrooms, ham, pepperoni, and artichoke hearts, while I had pasta carnito. And Randy ordered a huge beer. The waiter was friendly and didn't hurry us, letting us relax as long as we wanted before paying. I was going to take a bread stick to feed pigeons but the waiter said it's crime to feed them. Dang it.

Once more we headed back to square, this time without Jack & Natasha who went for more gelato. We walked, talked, and enjoyed the square. By 8:30 Randy and I went back to hotel because it's been a really full day.