And then mom's shoe fell in the water

Tuesday in Florence... Well, after I got over my inability to figure out where I was, I finally found Academia, home of David.

Then I saw the line. Try again tomorrow. Went to Duomo. Line not as bad, but at this point I'm grumpy and impatient and have no desire to wait around. Instead, I'm comfort-fooding with gelato. A lot o' gelato.

Hey, David, Duomo ... it's not as if I was skipping anything major. My limited time here in Firenze was adding to stress level (so much, but so little), though I kept "don't worry about missing stuff" and "you're on vacation" advice in mind. It helped.

Rick Steves says Giotto's tower next to Duomo is easier to access and has better view. So, no line and a brutal 400-plus steps later, I manage to make it up ... barely. And the view is tremendous. I take pictures. Because that's what one does in situations such as these.

Eventually I meander down, feeling a little energized and motivated having finally accomplished something. I make my way down to the Uffizi, planning on getting a reservation for the next day. A friendly security guard tells me reservations already are booked for next day, so I should wait in line in morning ... or right then, but he said wait was 1.5 hours.

Drat.

Person at front of line says she had been waiting only 30 min, so I give it a shot and spend the time writing the previous blog entry. I almost get to front of line, but same friendly security guy ropes it off right in front of me. I ask him what's happening, and he explains there is a limit at a time and we still will get in.

OK, all good.

Few minutes later a woman comes by with an extra reserved ticket. Just one extra, looking for someone visiting Uffizi on his/her own.

Hi.

Advantage to reservations? No lines. But I already am at front of line, and there is actually a small reservation line. Ah, the dilemma. I abandon my people and join the elite reserves (insert political/military propaganda here).

While waiting in reservation line with the friendly family from San Francisco to go through security, our friendly security guard sees me. I already know what's coming.

"You have a reservation?"

"I do," I say, smiling and showing him the ticket.

He looks at the ticket and then back at me.

"That's very strange," he said.

I replied, "I know."

He walked away.

After all is said and done (imagine such a time ...) I get into museo about same time as my buds from other line, but only because I had to check my backpack.

But the San Franciscans refused my offer to pay for the ticket (most kind), so let's call it a win.

Uffizi was very good, very much due to Rick Steeves' guide (call it art for dummies). Only bummer was that one famous Venus painting was out on loan. Otherwise, fun/interesting/not overwhelming or absurdly long tour.

And on the tour, I kept running into the same guy (in addition to SF family) and his family... in line, inside, in the bathroom, on the way out. Granted, we entered at roughly the same time, so it wasn't shocking, but a little sign of what was to come.

I walked by Santa Croce (would return the next day when it and the leather store were open -- also gazed upon Michelango's tomb, and a couple of other famous ones. FUN FACT: Grant is not buried there.) and down to Ponte Vecchio. Some great views from the Old Bridge, especially with sunset coming. I checked the guidebook and was reminded that Piazzale Michelangelo -- way the heck up the hill from Ponte Vecchio -- was the best spot to see the sunset here. I was running out of time, so I high-tailed it up there.

After climbing the tower earlier, this wasn't easy. And the long steps toward the end took exactly three strides each for me -- which was nice, as the excruciating pain was distributed evenly between my two already iffy knees.

But I make it to the top and take in a breathtaking view (after a breathtaking climb) of Firenze below. Plenty of time for sunset. I begin chatting with these two young Americans from NJ who are here on a Rutgers study abroad program. One of them is from Wayne. Hey, I'm from Wayne! We even were born in the same hospital ... though I may have accidentally lied about what hospital I was born in. But let's just say it synced up. "Small world," he said.

They leave, I mess with all my camera settings to try to capture the spectacular sunset -- figuring a few must have come out. Then I head back down the hill, grab dinner near Ponte Vecchio and begin to meander back to the hostel.

Along the way while lingering in some Piazza, a young woman comes up to me and says "Ciao." She and her boyfriend are just staring at me. I'm wondering why these people are talking to me, then it occurs to me that these are my Turkish hostel-mates from Rome! Small world, indeed.

We chat for a minute, they ask where I'm staying. I tell them which hostel. Yep, of course, so are they. Not the same room, though. That would have been stalking. Incidentally, my hostel-mate this time was a former Florence resident -- lots of good tips. Very cool/helpful/friendly.

This morning I finally did make it to Academia and saw David -- very cool. That kid was a badass. Feels like I should write more on the sculpture, but I don't have much to add. It was remarkable to see in person. Stayed there close to 20 minutes.

They also have a small musical instrument section which included a couple of wild instruments I had never even heard of. Peeked in the Duomo, too, and will head back there after eating at the place a couple of people described as being incredible.

"Two different people have told me that this is the best food in Florence," I said to the host (who told me to come back in a little while).

He laughed.

"Well, they aren't wrong," he said.

Nice.

After those stops, going to hit a Piazza where my mother went to school during a study abroad semester in college and see if anything Syracuse still is there. Then it's off to the train and to Venice.

Probably could have spent another day here, as there is plenty more to see. That's OK -- reason to return. The adventure continues.

~~~~
Addendum:
*Food at La Giostra was ridiculous. Amazing. I didn't even know what I was eating some of the time. More on that experience later.

*Saw inside of Duomo. Art on top/inside of dome is great, as it looks like the subjects are hanging/leaning out windows.

*No sign of the 'Cuse -- not even an orange peel -- at the piazza. Sorry, mom.

FUN FACT: I might not miss my train. But then again, I might.