The Great Italian Robbery

Our first view of Florence is the graffiti covered walls leading from the train station to our hostel a few blocks away. Is this a joke, we think as we wonder how some urban montrosity has managed to swallow what we had envisioned as an artistic and grandiose Italian relic to the Renaissance. We soon discover that the streets are narrow and maze-like, much like Venice, but with more layers of old and new. The old doesn´t seem as well preserved as we had imagined, and the new is like any other big city--glass-fronted, over-priced shops and concrete walls without distinction. As you walk through Florence you do come to the light at the end of the tunnel when you emerge into the various piazzas filled with buildings from a time when efficiency and the economy didn´t matter as much as art and expression. The best of these piazzas is the Piazza San Giovanno containing the famous Duomo and the Cattedrale di Santa Maria. The buildings are both pieces of exquisite architecture and the facades, containing paintings, sculptures, and intricate detailings, are works of art. If you can ignore the hordes of tourists crawling like ants around these buildings like they are giant cupcakes, then you can see some breathtaking art for free.

Free is not a word I would often use to describe our experience in Florence, or Italy for that matter. We felt robbed at every museum. We would blindly shell out 10 and 12 euros a piece without really knowing what to expect inside. We only had two days in Florence so we prebooked tickets to the two most famous museums, the Uffizi and the Accademia. Wittnessing the lines that snaked around the buildings and hearing the stories of tourists waiting for hours, we assumed the 10 euros must be worth it, right? Well, the Uffizi has quite a collection thanks to the Medici family, but it is small in comparison to, say, the Louvre in Paris, which costs much less and has smaller lines, and the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., which is free.

Apparently the Italians think very highly of their art or they´ve discovered a way to sucker us all into thinking very highly of their art. I will admit Le Primavera by Botticelli, which resides in the Uffizi, is a beautiful piece of art that I´ve always wanted to see, but I didn´t like the smugness that surrounded my experience there. If we were hoping for more at the Accademia, we were soon sorely disappointed. Accademia is home to Michelangelo´s David, and not much else. David is one magnificent and large and largely endowed sculpture...but that was no secret from the magnets, t-shirts, boxers, postcards, and everything else that can be screen printed that we saw in numerous shops in town. There were several other sculptures, but not enough to fill the 2 hours we had planned for the museum.

After about 45 minutes in the museum, probably half spent admiring David, we left to catch an earlier train to Pisa where we hoped to absorb as much tourist cheesiness as possible by visiting the leaning tower of Pisa and taking an obligatory photo holding it up. Pisa did come through for us, and we had a good laugh watching tourists from all over the world, old and young, smiling at cameras while holding their hands up to an invisible wall like a loosely instructed Tai Chi class. A friendly chat with some fellow American tourists over a pizza, and a gelato to wash it all down did us some good as well.

The hour and a half train ride from Florence to Pisa, however, was not so satisfying. For all of those out there with Eurail passes, do not under any circumstance scratch out or try to change a date. Caitlin and I were under the impression that we had somehow paid for our train from Venice to Florence since we had to pay a reservation fee and they didn´t stamp our pass, which they had done in every other country. So we changed our last entry date to the current date to Pisa so as not to waste a day. Subsequently the rude Italian train attendent yelled at us in badly broken English as we stared blankly at him until the words "100 euro fine" came out of his mouth. We tried to argue that we would just write in another day and pled ignorance and innocence, but it was to no avail. Italy once again robbed us of 50 euros a piece.

Our budget suffered more in Italy than any other country we visited combined, and we could not wait to leave. We constanlty felt suckered and cheated and taken advantage of by the Italians, but what can you expect from a country that thrives on tourism and has to contantly deal with ignorant tourists. Luckily we bought a plane ticket to Spain a day earlier than expected due to the cheaper price on flights. To give Italy credit, we really enjoyed our time in Venice even if it was expensive, and our two day whirlwind in Florence wasn´t all bad. Even if we felt that the museums were overrated, the same cannot be said for the Tuscan countryside.

Our first full day in Florence we took an afternoon trip to Chianti about 45 minutes outside of the city. Of course we had to shell out 42 euros for the tour, but it was the one thing that we later felt was worth the price. We weren´t so optimistic at the outset because it was raining, but the rain did cause our tour group to be small--Caitlin, me, and two girls from Mexico in a van with a driver. The driver was friendly, and as we drove to the edge of the city along the winding road to the wine country of Chianti, Florence´s city walls and narrow streets finally gave way to a relief of open, rolling hills textured with the deep greens of the tall cypress trees and peppered with terracotta, cream, and sunburnt villas. Even in the rain the Tuscan countryside was everything I had dreamed it would be. It is not overrated in any way, and seeing its colors and inhaling its vastness is something that must be done in person.

The actual town of Chianti was quaint but touristy. We only stayed an hour before heading to Vicchiomaggio, a castle and vineyard, for a tour of the winery and a wine tasting. The view from the castle was spectacular, and the castle, it turns out, is actually more of a resort complete with pool, hotel, restaurant, and church. As you can imagine it is a popular place for weddings. With some wine, bread, salami, and olive oil in our stomachs, we thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon drive through the countryside back to Florence.

That night in Florence we did see the best thing that Florence has to offer, and it was free. The view from Piazzale Michelangelo is probably the most reproduced photo of Florence, and we made it just in time to watch the sunset. From the Piazza you can see the whole city and the Duomo sits prominently near the center reminding you why so many people come to see Florence. We sat on the steps of the Piazza watching the sun, observing the other tourists, taking pictures, and absorbing this confluence of cultures that only a tourist attraction can unite.