The next day, Thursday, was fantastic. Leigh told us the night before that we had to be at breakfast at 8:30, so I set my alarm to give myself an hour, as though I were back at mandala. Well, when my alarm woke me up at 7:30, I realized our mornings had just become a lot easier. All we have to do here is wake up, dress up, and show up. So we had our breakfast, very light food, and then we walked to the center of Settignano to ride the bus. Pietro had a tour planned, and we followed it gladly.
Leaving specific visits to other days, he took us on a general tour of the city, showing us all the main attractions and museums. We bussed into the Piazza San Marco and walked from there to the Duomo at the center of the city, the dome of the Santa Maria del Fiore. Pietro gave us twenty minutes to walk around and meet back up, and we used the time well. The streets were absolutely packed, and even so early in the trip, we felt a sense of deja vu looking at the crowd. Most of the street venders here are selling really cheap generic stuff, and we always see the same five venders. First is the man selling prints of the art in the city. The second sells little splattering balls which he throws lazily at a board on the ground. The third has a display of hats, and the fourth has a rack of sunglasses. Fifth is a man selling wooden letters which connect in a train. There were a few more original people among them, like the people painting impressions of people.
Gracsyn and I strolled around the Duomo together, and one of the artists called her over. “Mia bella! You are so beautiful!” he called with gestures, pinching his own face to point out her dimples. She couldn't help but smile. He spoke good English and offered to sketch us together, my face on David's body, and the two of us in front of the duomo. We declined, but thanked him, and walked waving away. She wiped her cheeks free of four Italian kisses.
On the other side of the dome, we met a lady playing her violin in the echoing street. We stood mesmerized for ten minutes, until more of our group met us and we all went back to find Pietro. Our guide told us later that most towns in Italy, especially the large ones, have two main squares: the religious and the political centers. In Florence, the towers of the two buildings are built to exactly the same height, to symbolize equality of power. It was to this second square that we went next, to the Palazzo Veccio, or “old palace”. We saw the replica of Michelangelo's David standing out on the square, flanked by several other giant statues. We only stayed a few minutes before we flew off to the Ponte Veccio, the old bridge, lined with both beautiful romantic vistas and jewelers, suggesting that it has been carefully engineered to bring revenue in from wedding proposals. From the bridge, we walked east along the Arno river, past shops and stores until we got to a stairway leading up to the piazza Michelangelo, which held one of the grandest views of the city which we have seen. We ate there and found gelatto at the bottom of the hill on our way back home.
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