A bright morning in the industrial east of Florence . A warm humid night gives way to an already warm morning, as we take on the full title of tourists in residence, in order to sample renaissance art and history in the only way we could find. It was hot yesterday up to 34 and climbing. So a short bus ride into Florence and step into super tourism. Canons to the left of me canons to the right of me and still I rode on. A day of mixed fortunes, to sample the external magnificence of the Doumo, mosaic adorned doorways, the statues, busts, buildings and basilicas that seem to litter the streets. 10th Century here, 14th and 15th there, marble statues on piazza corners, surfing the crowds. Roman, medieval and renaissance scatterings everywhere. The some what underwhelmed feeling around the Ponte Vecchio. The bridge filled with shops selling jewellery and heaving with Europeans and Americans buying gold and silver. The measure of the disappointment is difficult to acknowledge really. Trying to separate the building from its current iteration and see it for its history and what it represents.
I have noticed something over the time that we are away. The further off the beaten track we are the more we are able to engage with people and learn more about life, aims, projects, dreams and aspirations. The more we end up diving into the tourist trap, to absorb the history that’s laid out before, the more we are lost in the crowds, the opportunities just seem to not be there. Maybe that says more about me. Lovely days people.
“We have to dare to be ourselves, however frightening or strange that self may prove to be.” May Sarton.
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