My Sacred Italy: The End

Saturday and Home

Saturday, our last day in Florence. Tomorrow we catch the train back to Rome and fly home…one Virginia to Australia and the other to Munich.

We have had a wonderful week. Done all we wanted. Seen all we wanted. We have breathed in Florence and its wonderful history. We have experienced Alessandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus and Primavera. We have passed by Michelangelo’s David and the Hall of the Prisoners.

We have visited Matilda’s tomb in Rome and visited her birthplace in Lucca. We have visited Tuscany, tasted wine, eaten the best Italian fare available, walked till our legs ache, climbed to the top of mountain top villages and loved every minute.

The streets of Florence have been our home for six days. I am inspired and I know my writing will be infused with the history, the people, the art, the architecture and the cobblestone lanes.

And most important of all we have visited Cosimo and his grandson Lorenzo de Medici as they stand guard outside the Uffizi – look for the Magdalene Trilogy by Kathleen McGowan to understand their significance.

Today we have retraced our steps, crossed the Ponte Vecchio, stood in the Palazzo dell Signoria, walked by the Cathedral di Santa Maria del Fiore, the Florence Baptistery and the Church of Santa Croce.

The Arno River is sparkling today. We dodge rain showers as we shop for last minute gifts.

Tonight we dine at Cafe Gilli in Piazza della Republicca. Outside the crowds are growing. It is Saturday night. The buskers are out. The beautiful Carousel plays its tune as the children laugh and squeal.

I am content, sated. My head is full of stories, of people places and events. I will try to do them justice.

Sunday morning we clean our apartment and take a cab to the train station.

We are at journey’s end but the stories have just begun.

fino alla prossima volta (until next time)

Grazie Italia