......said Florence....

I'm off to Florence, which is a refreshing change from the western European mediocrity of what I'm used to..... Nothing against Leeds, Brussels, Paris and Luxembourg, but I've kind of seen them before....



I've seen Florence once before:
Uffizi

This time rather than the tail end of the year, it's approaching spring... So hopefully I'll see a slightly different perspective on the city.

Florence airport is closed, so I have to fly to Bologna and then get the train down...

I arrive in the airport early in the hope of getting a Shiatsu, but lady luck has put m at the other end of the airport, and clock watching followed by a sprint seems to defeat the purpose of Shiatsu slightly..

I arrive in Bologna after an air trip reading this....



...while listening to...



I need to get a bus to Bologna station and then a train to Firenze, so there's lots of humphing around bags. Once I'm on the train, the views of Tuscany I had looked forward to were shrouded in mist, I'm completely chilled and unprepared for this trip - I have no idea how far Bologna is from Florence... no phrase book.... no map, just an iPod and a book. I blame the gym.....

I get out at Florence station and I manage to find my hotel, its on the dodgy side of the station. Only one block dodgy, but I still feel like less of a tourist. It's a nice hotel, and the first thing I do is head to the gym to chill out a bit..

30 minutes jog later, I'm swearing at the cheap weight machine..... The fitness rooms in hotels are just an encouragement to do something, there little advantage over a few press-ups in your room, but I head down anyway and do some of the free weights.... afterwards its into the pokey one man sauna.... then sleep like a baby...

....The conference turns out to be in a department of the University which is in a Villa at the top of a hill. It's really quite nice, and as the spring haze hangs on the lush green hills of tuscany it looks pretty marvelous....










I had assumed that Aula di Superiori Fisica translated as Hall of Advanced Physics, turns out its nothing so grand, its a little classroom with fold down wooden chairs and slanted desks, and reminds me of the scene with the nun in the Blues Brothers.

Day one passes without incident, and I get back to my hotel about 9.30pm, its then off out tot he supermarket for a picnic style dinner after I've been for a jog on the treadmill. Touristing round florence will have to wait, cos all I'm interested in is bed....

.....Day two off meetings is similar, except this time I risk getting the bus up the hill rather than a taxi, at a Euro for the 20 minute trip its pretty good value for money, and I feel more like I'm integrating as I bop away to the Beastie boys on my ipOd with all the other commuters(Although granted they are probably listening to something a little more cultured and refined than Hello Nasty):



At night I manage to sneak off early for a quick gym session before we meet up for dinner.

It's a touristy but quite quaint traditional Florentine fair:

antipasti


Wild Rabbit Pasta


Florentine Steak


Escalope


Mushroom Risotto


Tiramisu


....washed down with...

Chianti


Its a good filling meal and after the jog, and the slow eating of 7 meals, I feel vbery chilled, we head off for a walk through the centre:







After friday, I'm pretty knackered, so rather than another night walk round Firenze, I opt for a quick run, a sauna and then a relaxing night in bed with some DVD's and a book.....

That puts and end to the trip to Florence this time.. I didn't see much, but I'm now an old hat at booking into Hotels with Gyms and keeping fit while I stay... It makes for a much more relaxed me during the boring meetings, but maybe I see slightly less of cities..... Will I ever make it to outdoor jogging???? Hmmmm I'm not sure.

Florence day 4: The trip home

I get a good sleep and head down for a breakfast quite late. I've packed all my clothes which are starting to smell pretty bad - maybe I should have brought more than a rucksack for a 3 city two week tour.

All thats left for me to do is have a leisurely wander around Florence for the last time. I want to pick up a few gifts from the markets and send my inevitable postcards.

I had listened to bloodsugarsexmagik the other night, and I decided that today I should crack out One Hot Minute:



It's actually been ages since I listened to this album. It's great when you forget about an album you love so much and get to come back to it. This is by far my favourite Red Hot Chili Peppers album. BloodSugarSexMagik is an undeniable classic, but One Hot Minute has so much edge to it. It's pretty brave to start a followup to such a commercial success as BloodSugarSexMagik with a song like warped, but I think it's a great entrance for Dave Navarro.

Along with several other bands, I worship Jane's Addiction. They are a band which defy definition. About all you can say is that they are Jane's Addiction through and through and that they have excellent musicianship. They are a band that no matter how hard I try, I can't turn people onto them. People either know them already, or they hate them immediately. I think Dave Navarro's work in Jane's is some of the most under rated of all time, he skirts over so many styles, that it keeps their music fresh to this day.

Anyway - as I wander aimlessly round the winding sidestreets, I have the spring in my step of the Chilies funk, coupled with the dark moody rock of Navarro, churning away in the background. I really love how this brings out the rock demons in Chad and flea:













At one point I even come across a Scottish Market:



This is just bizarre. I have various people trying to sell me Scottish things for extortionate prices. It turns out that it's Scottish week. I'm quite impressed that they even went as far as to make sure it was pissing down to give you that real Glasgow feel.

Eventually, I float into Tearjerker. The Chilies aren't known for emotion and beauty, but this song has it all. The chorus just tears at your heart strings. I assume it's about Hillel Slovak being left on the floor - if it's not then don't tell me, oir it won't jerk tears.

I love how the person backstage in a dress turns out to have a beard. The Ambiguity in the Chili peppers is often lost on people, but it's here in droves on this album - probably because of Navarro - black dresses and fishnets:



Before long, it's time to head back to the hotel and pick up my bags before going for my plane at the airport.

Florence airport is tiny, and theres nothing to do, so I find a socket, plug in and update a few blog pages. Once, we finally get into the air, there's some beautiful views of the alps:







Once I get back to Amsterdam in the evening, it's a few phone calls to decide what my choices are for Saturday's evening entertainment. Eventually, I head off to a Bulgarian birthday party. I stay for a little while, catching up with old friends, but my travelling has taken it out of me and before long, I'm making my apologies and heading off to bed.....

My own bed....

Good Night.

Florence day 3: The Uffizi

The day after the social dinner is always the same. Everyone's a bit bleary eyed - not because of drink or anything(or not usually), but more because you are networking and basically remaining working from 9am until about midnight. It makes the days a little slower.

We have a session to run in the conference, but it's mainly pulling people together and then fielding questions afterwards. Our audience isn't that big, but we get some good discussions and contacts after it.

Eventually, I have done my work for the week and I can escape. My boss is heading home, so I'm back to appreciating travelling with only my iPod for companionship.

It doesn't take me long to decide that I'm heading for the Uffizi:



It also doesn't take me long to decide that the Downward spiral is going top remove the conference brain from my head. Before long I'm wandering along corridors and through rooms of old antiquities while Trent Reznor provides the atmosphere:




Here's some of the highlights:
Botticelli:



Michaelangelo(Notice how the men in the background are naked and almost perfectly studied, yet the woman could get a job as popeye's stunt double if she drew anchors on those biceps):



Caravaggio:



I quite enjoy it, but the period of art is not quite my thing. I much prefer the Musee D'Orsay in Paris. I used up most of my energy on all the Religious works, which are beautiful, but after the 200th, they all look a bit samey. It's still a very nice museum, and beats sitting in meetings.

I'm glad when I get to the bar, not for the reason's you'd expect, but because you can get out on a terrace and look at Florence from a good height. I hang around here for a while getting some photos:









Outside, I have a wander round the statues of famous painters. My knowledge of Italian renaissance painters doesn't stretch far beyond the teenage mutant hero turtles.....



So I take photos of the four of them.(Or try to, but I think Gallileo would have made a good replacement if Raphael couldn't turn up):









By the time I make it back to my hotel, I'm foot weary and knackered, so I settle down to a few DVD's for an hour or so and then set out to seek a Pizza before retiring early:



I'm ready for home, and only need to buy a few presents and send a few postcards before heading off home....

Good night.

Florence Day 2: Social Dinner

Another good breakfast and we head off for our morning walk to the venue. Florence is a bit like Paris,the city looks different in every light, and I think I take as many photos of the Arno this morning as well:



We are far more active at the conference and I give a few presentations.

Tonight is the social dinner, so we escape early and get freshened up and relaxed before we head off for a few beers for dutch courage - you spend a whole day talking to the same people and then you have to talk to them at night as well. Luckily the Social dinner is in a Medici hunting lodge out of Florence, so I have more things to put in my blog.

My boss has opted to avoid the social dinner and head off to visit some Italian friends who have come over from Venice.

I catch the bus at the venue, and it's then about an hour away. The description told us 15Km, but we should have taken it with a pinch of salt. It's closer to 40km. I can't see anything out of the window other than that it's a very clear night and you can see the stars really shining.

Eventually we arrive. The dinner is in the Castelllo Mediceo di Cafaggiolo. It's in Mugello where the Medici family originated:






We get a description of the history of the castle by two women in period dress. After 20 minutes, I realise that one of them is speaking Italian and the other is speaking English, but her accent is so heavy that she's impossible to understand.

We head up to the banquet room, and have good big Italian feed, with some very good red wine. We get carpaccio, pasta then beef filet and it's rounded off with Tiramisu and espresso - you can't help but love this lifestyle!!!

I doze on and off during the long bus trip home. I can't help thinking there could have been a venue nearer to Florence. When I get to the station, I walk a friend to a hotel, and then manage to walk in the wrong direction for my hotel from the Duomo. Damn big churches - they look the same from all angles. I end up with a longer walk than I'd planned along the Arno - but I keep my spirits from thinking of my blistered feet by enjoying a little BloodSugarSexMajik:



This album just keeps giving, and keeps my feet tapping along to the beat.

Eventually, I get home close to 2am, and head to bed ready for another day of presentations tomorrow....