Siamo Arrivati - Roma to Chiusi to Firenze

We have arrived in Italy and made it to Florence in spite of a few minor glitches.  And just how much luggage do we have?  Too much.  When everything was laid out in CA, it didn't seem like so much.  Once we got to Rome airports, we both said, "What were we thinking!"  

Our flight here was long and neither of us slept.  That made travel to Chiusi, our first stop, a bit difficult.  However, our bikes and suitcases all made it here on our flight, a first for us, albeit the first time we did not take a British Airways flight....we'll certainly continue to avoid that airline.  We managed to purchase 2 carte argenti (senior rail cards for a discount for the next year on train travel) and tickets through to Chiusi at the airport.  Once in Chiusi,

Assembling the bikes - got air?

we took a taxi to the Albergo where we put together our bikes and went for a walk around town.  Of course, I had some problems with my bike, which in the end - found this out in Florence from a bike mechanic - were two bent parts:  Thank you TSA for bending a piece of my front brake and my rear derailed.  Oh, also thanks to TSA for allowing me to carry a floor pump and 6 knitting needles, but not a specialty wrench to secure the couplings on the frame of my bike.  US Airways was great, as they took the pouch with the wrench without charging us for another piece of luggage.  (British Airways had charged us for another bag with knitting right after 9/11. ) 

Overlook in Chiusi

The next morning was clear and gorgeous in Chiusi as we prepared to walk to the train station for the trip to Florence.  Before leaving we met Giulio, our Pienza landlord (1 October to 10 December) who took our suitcases, bike boxes and assorted "stuff" to store until we arrive at the apartment.  He was wonderful about taking all those heavy pieces, full of fall, winter and beach clothing that we neither need nor can carry until then.  Our train was delayed part of the way there, but otherwise it was an uneventful journey.  

Florence is a beautiful city.  That says it all.  We went to a very small synagogue for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur.  It is one of the two progressive (reform) congregations in Italy, the other being in Milan.  There were about 40 people at services, all very friendly.  The service was personal, which was an unusual experience and special in ways that are impossible to describe.  Thank you to Kathie Burton for connecting us to Sharon Strauss, a really nice woman who is a member here and sister-in-law to her rabbi in NC. On Yom Kippur we opted not to go all day to the orthodox shul, but rather did half of a Carol-planned scavenger hunt about Dante's  Devine Comedy.  

Carol (I) read a book called Dante's Florence, written in 1933, that described the location and historical aspects of 32 plaques in the historic center of the city.  

Dante at Santa Croce

Each as a quotation from La commedia (this is how the title of the book is written in italian, and by the way the language is not capitalized.)  The book described the context of the quotation within the story of the work, plus what occurred in the place or to the people it references.  Of course, I made a chart in preparation for the trip.  

Dante's hope, outside the Baptistry

We found all but 4 of the plaques!!! over two days. Back to Yom Kippur, we rationalized the hunt by saying Dante's purpose was to describe our sins and how we "make good" to end up in Paradise rather than in Hell.  Seemed appropriate for the day.  This one is my favorite: "If e'er it happen that the Poem Sacred, to which both heaven and earth have set their hand, so that it many a year hath made me lean, overcome the cruelty that bars me out from the fair sheepfold, where a lamb I slumbered, an enemy to the wolves that war upon it, with other voice forthwith...Poet I will return, and at my font baptismal will I take the laurel crown."  Dante was exiled at age 23 from his beloved Florence, and never allowed to return, although others were.  He died at age 56 in Ravenna after longing to return to Florence.

We did a non-traditional tour, not going to any of the usual tourist sites, other than to read Dante plaques if they happened to be there.  The other will await another visit over the next few months.  And, we have been here several times previously, so have been to the various chapels, churches, museums and other sites before.  This was a special, and fun for both of us, visit.

One more comment about Florence.  The city had 70,000 residents in Dante's time (about 1300) which is a lot of people, although fewer than the number of tourists 16 September 2013.   As we walked the streets he walked, we both realized how small it actually was.  It is hard to imagine feuding factions living literally a stone's throw from one another.  To see that Dante lived so close to Beatrice, whom he loved as a young man, and whom he saw get married and die at age 22, was an eye-opener.  To know the history of this city and its people made walking the streets absolutely exciting.  

Brett, our gracious hostess

Sunday evening we had plans to go with Brett Lalonde (Beth Am family, mom is Linda Brill and dad is Jim Lalonde) and her husband Piero and 2 1/2 year old son Vincenzo to a Truffle festival.  Unfortunately, Vincenzo got a fever and intestinal problems about an hour before we were to leave, so he and dad stayed home.  Brett didn't mind taking some time off and letting dad take care of Vincenzo, so we still went.  There was a long, close, and pretty violent thunder and lightening storm while we were sitting under tents with metal frames, in a wet field. Scary....

Carol and Roger at the Sagra Tartufo

It was a lot of fun to spend a little time with Brett and to finally get to a sagra.  We had never been in the right place at the right time to go to one before.  Another Italian experience to check off the list.   

Tomorrow it is on to Verona.

Safe

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