Every Summer Story Has An End, BUT Wishes Do Come True.

Myth has it, stroking this guy’s snout with intention guarantees your return to Florence.

You can clearly see by his well worn nose that other Florence lovers have tested the theory. I first rubbed this nose in 2018 and have returned to Florence five times since. Wishes do come true! Being able to return has been a blessing because each visit has presented the prospect of experiencing the city in new and interesting ways….this visit was no different, especially since the Italian temperature presented a challenge.

Getting up and out early is not exactly my favorite way of navigation, but intense Firenze heat, like this,

demanded it.

Luckily, there is much to do in Florence before the heat takes over. You can visit the Piazza della Signoria where the Fountain of Neptune is located.

Walk about twenty steps from Neptune to see Perseus With the Head of Medusa.…always an amazing sight….and FREE to all!!!

Take another fifty steps, hopefully with a ticket in hand, and enter the Uffizi Gallery. Without a ticket, the wait can be long.

Everyone in this line is eagerly awaiting air conditioning and the beautiful Botticelli paintings like Primavera.

Slowly wandering the ancient streets of Florence is a hot weather option.

I found this gentleman singing to an enthusiastic audience.

Or, if nothing seems of interest, grab a sandwich or hang at one of the local eateries for chips and drinks.

Crawling the wine window circuit is also a unique way to spend time.. These wine windows, or buchette del vino, are small windows dating back to the Renaissance. Wealthy wine producing families and artisans who made their own wine could sell the wine directly from their homes through these windows. Because there was minimal human contact, these wine windows became really important during the bubonic plague as they helped slow the spread of the disease. Here are a few examples of currently functioning wine windows.

Many wine windows no longer function at all, but stand as testimony to ancient times…..

Some have been cleverly repurposed into mailboxes.

I am told that there are over 180 of these wine-serving, but socially distant, little gems in Florence…they dot the city, and looking for them offers an opportunity to explore the less frequented streets of Florence.

In fact, literally, the streets and sidewalks of Florence are worth a closer look. Scattered around town, embedded in the pavement, are brass plaques engraved with solemn information.

These plaques are called Pietre d’inciampo or “Stumbling Stones.” They are small brass plates engraved with the names of victims of Nazi persecution and serve as a memorial to those murdered by the Nazis. The plates are placed in the exact spot where the victims were arrested…and once we saw one of the plates, it was impossible not to look for others.

This marker identifies the spot where David Genazzani was arrested… written are his birthdate and date and place of death.

The largest marker we found had twenty-four names on it. It is located outside the historic city in the sidewalk in front of what once was a hospice. These victims were already sick; some already dying. We did what the term “Stumbling Block” implies…we stopped and remembered the victims.

Florence is a remarkable city, and for me, made even more remarkable by these “Stumbling Stones” that for a time, forced this humble traveler to look down.

I am ending this junket with an upward look at Florence…this is a view of the Duomo from our hotel window. We were so close that we not only heard the bells, but felt their vibrations. Living with this view for five days was beyond awesome.

We’ve been to Sicily and Venice and Florence…. My thanks to my traveling companion, Ashleigh Henry, who is always ready, willing and able to embark upon an adventure, and many thanks to all of you who traveled with us by reading this blog.

I don’t know the when or the where, but please look for me when travel calls my name again…..BECAUSE wishes do come true.

Love, The Unseasoned Traveler