Travel in the Slow Lane: April 2025

Sunday, April 20, 2025

Train Ride to Bari (Feb 6, 2025)

As I said yesterday, we spent part of the evening packing up for the next stop. Both of us hate this part. Especially this time since we both liked Florence so much.

Our luggage waiting to be lugged.

I also have to admit that when Florence was added to the itinerary, I was concerned about getting from there to Bari, which is just over 700 km (435 mi) away. There were always travel options, of course, but some were better than others. While we were in Rome I bought two tickets on Italo, Italy's high-speed train company. The trip was scheduled to be over 5 hours long but we like the train--it's more comfortable than flying--and so at around 1030 am, we were on our way.

Fe and I on the train.

Everything started off fine--we had our snacks, the seats were comfortable, we both slept a bit, read on our phones, etc., but things slowed down though as we approached the Adriatic coast. For some reason the stops at the stations leading up to Bari seemed to take longer and then the train itself was stopped for 40 minutes. The train announcements were in both Italian and English when things were going smoothly, but they changed to Italian only during the delay. I asked the conductor what happened and he said that a truck and train collided on an adjacent track which caused the wait while it was cleared.

Our apartment host was meeting us at the apartment so we messaged her updates on the situation. Travel tip: be sure to put What'sApp on your phone when going to Europe since it's what most everyone uses here. We used it for the dentist in Spain and a few of our apartment hosts which really helped out. It was around 11 pm when we got to the apartment and the host showed us around and made sure we were comfortable. She was great and really looked after us during our stay.

Living area

Kitchen

Jams and rolls

Bedroom

Bathroom

We were both exhausted after that looong trip, so we dropped our luggage and went to bed. I'm sure I will be up early to explore the town though.

Friday, April 18, 2025

Last Full Day in Florence (Feb 5, 2025)

Florence is a beautiful city and--believe it or not--I think I like it better than Rome. Just barely, though. I spent the morning walking around to see things I may have missed before.

Sculpture in the Garden of Valfonda.

Lots of websites say this is a public garden and I waltzed right through a busy reception area to get in, but I noticed everyone had nametags so I think it's for conference attendees only. Good thing I have practice looking like I belong.

Altar in the Church of Saints Michele and Gaetano. Usually I get a photo of the outside, but for some reason I didn't for this one. The facade was like a lot of others I've seen, so that may be why. Follow the link if you want to see it.

Madonna and Child by Andrea della Robbia, ca. 1480

On one of my earlier walkabouts, I saw an interesting building that was the Orsanmichele Church and Museum. It was eight Euros to get in and there was no time when I saw it first, so I promised to get there later. Today was the day.

Marble Tabernacle, ca. 1359

St. Anne's altar, ca. 1526

View of the ceiling

The church itself is pretty small, but (as the full name implies) there is a museum, which was included in the price of the ticket.

Christ and Doubting Thomas, Andrea del Verrocchio, 1476-1483

St. Peter by Donatello, 1410-1412

View from the museum window

Walked past the Duomo again--in the morning light.

Display of Moka coffee pots. I learned to use one here and I got one when we got back--from Amazon--I couldn't afford it in Italy!

Colonnade just before the Ponte Vecchio

View of the street where we do our grocery shopping.

Brought back focaccia for lunch before Fe and I head out.

After lunch, Fe and I went out to see one more major site, the Santa Croce church. The draw here is the collection of famous tombs inside as well as the art.