Reset search
Italy
Satellite

Italy
Giardino degli Orti Oricellari

Discover travel destinations of travelers writing a travel journal on FindPenguins.
Travelers at this place
    • TravelerRome
      Day 35

      De tijd vliegt, lente in Italië.

      April 5 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      Ik ben net klaar met mijn een-na-laatste week Italiaans. Dat voelt bizar. Alsof ik gisteren pas begon. Akkoord, dat komt ook omdat ik nog steeds het gevoel heb amper Italiaans te spreken, maar ook omdat er zoveel gebeurt. En toch ook weer niet.

      Want doordeweeks is ons leven burgerlijk. School of werk. Koken (meestal ik, en de Italiaan vindt het nog lekker ook 😳), sport en bank. Zoiets. Niet spectaculair.

      Maar in het weekend kun je een hoop toffe dingen doen in Italië. Elke straathoek is mooi (dat is overigens niet helemaal waar, want los van de historische binnensteden zijn de buitenwijken iets minder appetijtelijk, maar kniesoor). Afgelopen weekend gingen we naar Firenze, omdat die stad hoog op mijn wensenlijstje stond. En die stelde niet teleur.

      We sliepen op de legerbasis van de luchtmacht in een hotelkamer die er 50 jaar geleden precies zo uitzag (geen grap), maar amper geld kostte en voor het gigantische park van Firenze ligt. Door een fietsenprogramma in Firenze, waren we binnen een kwartier in het centrum.

      Wat een te gekke stad. Veel groen, op elke straathoek geschiedenis (Italië, i know) en een persoonlijke gids. De lange Italiaan studeerde en woonde een half jaar in Firenze en nam mij op sleeptouw. Nadat we in rap tempo langs alle bezienswaardigheden waren gelopen, bezochten we twee musea die hij ook nog niet kende: het geboortehuis van Dante (schrijver en de vader van de Italiaanse taal) en Museo degli Innocenti een voormalig weeshuis. Dit laatste gebouw had een soort raam waar mensen anoniem baby’s in konden leggen. Imponerend!

      Op zondag gingen we naar Uffizi, want op de eerste zondag van de maand zijn veel musea in Italië gratis. Scheelt een hoop geld. We zagen een hoop beroemde beelden en schilderijen van onder andere Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo en ook een zelfportret van Rembrandt van Rijn. (Ik noem niet een aantal heel bekende Italiaanse kunstenaars, maar ik weet niet hoe je ze schrijft. Behalve Giotto. Omdat een schaatser dezelfde naam heeft. Tjah, je kunt het meisje uit Nederland halen, maar niet Nederland… overigens is kunstenaar Giotto hier veel bekender dan de schaatser. Waar ik dan weer niets van begrijp.)

      Verder aten we vooral een hoop. Waaronder de beroemde sandwiches van Firenze (zie foto). Kon minder.

      Terug in Rome wandelde ik donderdag met een guided tour van de Italiaanse school door een minder bekende wijk aan de noordkant van het centrum. Die tours gaan in het Italiaans en tijdens mijn eerste wandeling begreep ik 5 procent. Nu veel meer! Toch zeker wel 50/60 procent. Daar zit nog een hoop raden en context bij, maar ik ben blij met die vooruitgang.

      De komende dagen wordt het echt lente in Rome en kruipen de temperaturen omhoog. Hopelijk hoog genoeg voor een strandbezoek morgen. Dit weekend zal ook wel weer voorbij vliegen.      Read more

      See translation
    • Laurie ReynoldsHeading to Tuscany
      11
      Day 7

      Pisa

      September 11, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

      Originally I hadn’t included a stop in Pisa, but several friends recommended it, and we had an extra bit of time in Florence, so why not? It was another hot, sunny day, and Pisa was crowded crowded crowded, but the monumental complex is, well, very monumental.

      The travel part was easy, with the driver showing up at our door at 8:30 and dropping us off about 6 hours later. We didn’t have a whole day to explore more of the city, and I decided to keep us centered in the cathedral square rather than rush around to see some more monuments. This was the perfect length of trip for Joe and allowed us to see things at leisure and enjoy another café up several stories high and looking out over the tower.

      I was actually a little cynical about the leaning tower before we got there, but it really does take your breath away up close. It looks like it has been cleaned very recently and it is a sparkling white marble beauty. And in spite of all the people posing to place their hands so the photo looks like they are holding up the tower, it was easy to get an unobstructed view and enjoy its intricate and ornate carved arches. Actually, there was beauty aplenty, given that there are three romanesque buildings (baptistery, cathedral and tower) all within a few hundred feet of each other. I did not climb the tower, but was more than content with the views of the outside. The cathedral and the Baptistery had lots to see and admire, too. The height of the arches in the cathedral was gasp-inducing, two rows of barrel vaulted perfection. There are also some beautiful mosaics of Christ the Pantócrato behind the altar, but it was hard to get very close to them.

      I had never heard of the Camposanto (though Michelin tells me it is as famous as the other buildings). It’s a 13th century burial ground, more than 600 graves, an open-aired long rectangular nave surrounded by romanesque arches filled in with delicate beautiful gothic lacing. It looks just like a huge cloister inside. The walls had some huge 14th century murals involving macabre death scenes and the last judgment. Appropriate for a cemetery.

      We have one day left in Florence, and no major sites left to see. I had planned to go to the Archaeological Museum, but this trip was so nice that I asked if we could do it again tomorrow. We are still undecided between Arezzo and San Gimignano (again, based on recommendations of some good buddies), but either option looks great. And yes I know there will be crowds.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsHeading to Tuscany
      1
      511
      Day 6

      Uffizi

      September 10, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

      This morning was a good time to do some wash. That will postpone the need for a laundromat trip, and it’s pretty depressing to sit inside a laundromat while you’re in a beautiful place. I had left stuff soaking last night, and my handy dandy lagarto soap was all I needed. 5 minutes of scrubbing and that was it. Walking the camino every year makes me an expert in this particular domestic chore.

      The crowds at the Uffizi were very large, especially around the Botticellis, no doubt about it. But the medieval rooms much less so. I love the slightly byzantine Madonnas. And there in front of me, at the bottom of a large picture of three saints, was a hat with a scallop shell. I had been hoping to see Santiago, but he was pretty much going incognito in this picture. I wonder why his scallop shell was so well hidden. And I’m also not sure how I was lucky enough to see it!

      All in all, the visit was not the terrible crush I had feared. Joe particularly enjoyed stopping at all the Roman busts lining the two long hallways, seeing if he could remember a bit of trivia about the particular emperor or god depicted.

      We spent a long while on the rooftop cafe enjoying being within spitting distance of the Palazzo Vecchio. I’ve found the perfect substitute for my much loved Fanta de Limón (a camino favorite). Here it’s “Lemon Soda” (and the can proudly proclaims that it’s “solo limoni siciliani”).

      I think some quality rest time is on order today, especially since we have an early departure to Pisa tomorrow. And many restaurants are closed on Sunday anyway. On the way back to our hotel, we passed the only sandwich shop that has ever been the subject of a New Yorker article, I’ll bet.
      https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/04/25/t…
      I brought two back for dinner in the little sitting area off our bedroom, and we will take a stroll along the river before bed.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsHeading to Tuscany
      Day 5

      Cathedral Day

      September 9, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

      My morning jaunt started at the train station to see about a day trip to Pisa. We have time and it’s close! Trains run frequently and are cheap. I got the Pisa info I needed and went to the Santa Maria Novella piazza (my favorite so far) to watch the day come to life.

      Since Joe is the world’s slowest cappucino drinker, and since he wanted two this morning, I had plenty of time to talk with the concierge guy about visiting Pisa for a day, buying tickets, etc. He suggested that hiring a driver would be so much easier for Joe (using him as an excuse for my taking the easy way out!). Problem solved.

      Today was our day to visit the cathedral. I had done the climbing parts yesterday afternoon, so this was all about the ground floor and below. Cathedral, museum, baptistery. The cathedral itself is not one of my favorites, though the dome is very impressive. Too bad they tore down the Romanesque predecessor. The book says it’s gothic trending to early Renaissance, but it is awfully clunky and imposing inside to my way of thinking. Though I am surely no expert. Some remains have been excavated below the current cathedral floor, going all the way back to a Roman home, an early Christian church, and Romanesque Santa Raparata. The museum houses tons of pieces that were removed from the gothic cathedral when the marble was put on; they are displayed beautifully. There’s a pieta (not completely finished) by Michaelangelo that was to be for his own tomb, but apparently he stopped working on it because he found too many imperfections in the marble. The romanesque baptistery has beautiful mosaics; some are in scaffolding for restoration, but there was a lot to ooh and ahh over.

      Just a note about the timed entry tickets. Seems like it should work great, but the problem is that there is one line for which some people have timed entry and some don’t. Too complicated to explain. As a result, there was a lot of screaming and shouting and pushing when four of us made our way to the front at our assigned time, and at the direction of staff. One large group was particularly angry because they also had timed entry, but had been waiting in line for 45 minutes, not knowing they were supposed to jump the line when it was their time. Luckily there was a couple from Wisconsin with us and we stood firm. I am not sure why the staff who motioned us to the front did not come to our defense when the shouting and shoving started, but it made for some excitement!

      For the first time, there was someone else with me in the hotel’s small fitness center. Good to have another body in there moving around to keep the lights from going off so frequently. Minor annoyance, not a complaint, I am very grateful for it. We have a dinner reservation in a place highly recommended by friends. It’s in a part of town we haven’t been to, so we’ll take a cab over early and walk around a bit.      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsHeading to Tuscany
      Day 4

      Medici day

      September 8, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 26 °C

      It's getting a little hotter, pushing 90 now. I took my early morning walk around the San Lorenzo district, doing reconnaissance for our visit later this morning to the Medici chapels, San Lorenzo church, the palace. The main market was just opening and it's always fun to walk around a real market.

      We are falling into a good routine-- I walk for a couple hours, we eat breakfast, we head out to the destination, we sprinkle our visit liberally with cafe stops. After lunch, back to the hotel for Joe to nap.

      We spent the morning in Medici territory - the San Lorenzo church, which was the church for the Medici family and close to their palace. It has a beautiful Annunciation by Fra Lippo Lippi (I remember him and Fra Angelico, whose Annunciation is in the Prado, from my Spanish Art class in 1970!) We also went to the Medici Chapels, a huge, ornate, imposing pantheon with only 5 people buried inside, I guess they were the most important Medici, because the rest of the line has far more humble tombs. There are even a few Michaelangelo statues. My takeaway of the Medici family is that they had a very impressive trajectory -- from little known merchants and "modest money changers" to the creators of an impressive business empire and control of the city, along with their patronage of the arts of course!

      While Joe napped, I substituted my elliptical workout for a climb up the cathedral dome, and then to the top of the bell tower. It's been a bit complicated figuring out how I can do the climbs, which require timed entry, and still coincide the rest of my visit with Joe's timed entry for the non-climbing part of the visit. Hopefully we can visit the cathedral and the Baptistery together tomorrow.

      It was the hottest part of the day when I got to the cathedral, but the wind at the top of the 481 steps (416 for the bell tower) was so refreshing. Lots of great views after so many twisty turny steps up.

      Our hotel has been making our dinner reservations and so far so good! We had a nice walk to the plaza in front of Santa Maria Novela and then hoofed it to Armando’s Trattoria.

      Get Outlook for iOS      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsHeading to Tuscany
      Day 3

      Church with a view

      September 7, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

      I slept through the night and woke up with no jet lag at 7:15. Woo hoo! Joe was still asleep, so I headed out for an early walk, down to the center of the historic center. Lots of activity there, not the tourists, but those preparing for the tourists — street cleaners, delivery trucks, people going into buildings filled with apartment rentals carrying bundles of sheets and towels, a lot of hustle and bustle. Walking over the Ponte Vecchio with only a handful of people on it, sitting in the square in front of Santa Croce without long lines of tour groups, it was all very pleasant.

      When I am tempted to complain about “the tourists,” I usually think of my favorite billboard, somewhere outside Atlanta on an always crowded interstate. This is a billboard put up by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and it says “You aren’t STUCK in traffic. You ARE traffic.” Same applies here.

      I waited to have breakfast with Joe, and it was very good. Our destination for today was the Church of San Miniato. Romanesque, up high with beautiful views. The story of the Saint whose relics are there (at least as told by Guide Michelin) is a bit less than glorious. Apparently he was a Tuscan ruffian, not an Armenian king on pilgrimage to Rome. His miracles included being thrown into a dungeon with lions and emerging unscathed, and then climbing the hill where the church stands carrying his own severed head. The church is peaceful, uncrowded and we were lucky to hear the organist practicing — there’s always something wonderful about organs playing in ancient spacious churches!

      We had taken a cab up, and the idea was that we would walk back to the hotel. As we descended the hill (stopping in a café for a long while) and crossed the bridge, it seemed a shame not to continue on a couple hundred meters to get to Santa Croce. A few hundred years later than San Miniato and much grander, there’s a good cross section of Italy’s best and brightest buried there — Galieo, Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Rossini. Very very beautiful, inside and out.

      I saw a lot of people eating good-looking sandwiches with the same wrapper and got directions. Turns out it’s a very famous sandwich shop. Long line moved fast! All’Antico Vinaio. Joe and I couldn’t even finish one, but it was YUMMY. We will probably return.

      We followed our tried and true routine of getting back to the hotel by 3:30 or so, so Joe could nap while I went to the elliptical and had some time to write up this little piece of prose. Someone tried to get out through the fire escape, and it set off a piercing alarm. Joe did not stir, so I know he’s getting some deep sleep!

      We’ll head out for dinner around 7:30. This is a great routine for us, and Joe really seems to be enjoying it so far!      Read more

    • Laurie ReynoldsHeading to Tuscany
      Day 2

      Arrived in Florence

      September 6, 2023 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

      When we were waiting to deplane in Barcelona, the guy behind me got a call from the friend he was meeting up with and learned that the immigration control line was two hours long. Since our flight to Florence was leaving in less than an hour, and the next flight to Florence was at 8 pm, I was a bit concerned. But I had made a resolution that this was to be a no-stress zen trip, so I just crossed my fingers.

      Turns out the liine was endless, but there was a separate line for connecting flights. Our very own security check, our very own immigration official, and we were through in a few seconds. Made the flight to Florence in plenty of time, then whizzed out of the airport since we had no checked luggage, and got a taxi to our hotel.

      Our hotel is a bit faded, but it checked all the boxes - in an old building, in the historic center (though on the edge), with a fitness center and elliptical. And the staff are oh so helpful and friendly. After lunch in one of the four cute cafés within a stone’s throw of our hotel, Joe took a nap while I went to the elliptical. I was determined not to take a nap (that always messes me up with jet lag), so I got Joe up and we walked down to the real action near the Ponte Vecchio, Piazza Signoria, Duomo. It is CROWDED. Definitely high season. But we don’t notice it much in our area, where most of the patrons in our lunch café were Italians.

      500 m walk to the restaurant for dinner, across the river — Cambi. I am always a sucker for pasta, and the tagliatelli with mushrooms and cream sauce was quite good! Lots of people eating steak florentine, but a big chunk of beef just didn’t appeal.

      Time for bed, hoping to wake up early but if I sleep in, oh well.      Read more

    • TravelerEurope
      Day 4

      Day in Florence

      May 12, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      Woke up early to see the David (again). Then just strolled through Florence over the Goldsmith bridge, passed the Palazzo Vecchio, Palazzo Pitti etc. Took a quick nap and then went out again to buy post cards and the like, drank an Aperitif and took some Pizza back to the hostel.Read more

    • TravelerEurope 2022
      Day 37

      Welcome to Florence

      September 10, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      And now I'm in Florence! After some go go go action in Switzerland, it's now a change of pace to the small town, laid back Florence. The canal that goes right through the city is beautiful! To catch the sunset, I walked up to the Piazzale Michelangelo (learning this was a VERY popular place to watch the sunset on a Saturday evening!) There was a street performer so I joined the crowd to sit and watch the sunset on the steps! Quite lovely! And of course I had to cap it off with a pizza! (I'm constantly shocked by how cheap food is - 3 euros for a bottle of wine and 9 euros for a pizza is considered expensive!) - treated myself with an Aperol Spritz 😉 (thanks to Anne and Bridget I know what it is!)Read more

    • TravelerEurope 2022
      Day 38

      Church Hostel

      September 11, 2022 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      So my first night in Florence I'm staying at a hostel that is literally located in a giant old church! Super cool idea...hostel had great vibes and was right along the canal so fantastic location! Super neatRead more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Giardino degli Orti Oricellari

    Join us:

    FindPenguins for iOSFindPenguins for Android

    • 2024© FindPenguins
    • Home
    • About us
    • Blog
    • Group Tracking
    • Press
    • Terms
    • Privacy Policy & Cookies
    • Support
    • Legal notice
    • English