Dave's Digs and a Great Place for Tourists

Florence was the first major Italian city we visited. It was one of the few cities we visited that had a clue about tourism. Automobiles are not allowed in the tourist district (Although some !#%^*&%$$ing careening mopeds sneak in. I would like to put a stick in a front wheel and watch the stinking riders catapult through the air in to a waiting pile of dog crap. Then I would beat the moped to a pile of unrecyclable junk. Other than that, mopeds are ok.) The city is virtually trash free, what few dogs we saw were leashed, the street vendors are licensed, bathrooms have toilet seats as well as tissue (Is this Italy?), theft is very low and the every square inch of the city is devoted to making you enjoy parting with your money.
You feel good in Florence just walking through streets teaming with thousands of tourists infected with having a good time. Side-walk cafés invite you to sit and enjoy while wonderful shops have a way of presenting things you don't need in a manner that makes them essential. (Do I really need this bronzed bust of a Roman Chicken?)

"Paolo, Paolo, where for art thou?"
"'Thou' is in the window of the Palazzo Vechio hotel." Palazzo Vechio translates to Old Palace. Old, yes and only a two star. A two star hotel in Florence is equivalent to Cabrini Green housing in Chicago.

Our bathroom/shower was just that. A shower with a toilet and sink in it. The water went everywhere, wetting down the sink, Carol's beauty stuff, my shaving kit and...the single roll of toilet paper. Fortunately, I salvaged it before it was soaked completely through. (Three sheets for Carol, four for me. Well...I saved it, didn't I?)

	The real Palazzo Vechio's (built in 1322) original function was Florence's town hall. The inside is, as you would expect, filled with antiquities. The Tower has a huge bell to warn of fires, floods, bad guys and the start of the evening movie.

	Rome and Florence are stuffed with Pieta's. Why is Christ always half naked? Probably, the artist is showing his ability to sculpt the muscles and bones of the body.	This patethic statue is John the Baptist.. Carol liked it so much that we have twelve pictures of it. I think it looks like a Biafrian refugee on a hunger strike.

Neptune Fountian completed in 1575. A Roman sea god surrounded by water nymphs. Huge, he is, I think, holding snakes. Red faced, he is looking away because he is naked and Carol was gawking at his...ah, snakes.

The nymphs are green because they have been standing with their backs to Neptune for 425 years and never had a peek. I told them, "Don't sweat it. It's no big deal".

Coffee, anyone? Cafe Machiato? Cappuccino? Cappuccino was named after the Cappuccino monks. They wore brown robes and were (some of them) bald. Hence the name of the brown coffee with the white milk on top.

We love stopping at places like this. Even if they soak you for a drink and a Cornetto. It's worth it for the romance, the ambiance or if you're thirsty. The pleasure of spending three quarters of an hour over a single cup of coffee, talking and watching the people is exquisite.

See the statue of David in the back at the left. Don't be fooled. It's a copy. We don't tell everyone.
On our first visit, we thought seeing this copy (It's massive in it's own right.) would serve to check off that box. Wrong. Wrong. The real David has to be seen in the flesh...er, marble.

On to the Duomo