We
arrived on the eve of my birthday in the beautiful city of Florence. I was told
that the city’s vibe is much like Bombay, and I could already see why. At 9pm
on a Saturday night, it was near impossible to get any parking! We rode around
for over half an hour before we could find a parking lot which wasn’t full! By
the end of it we weren’t quite sure which area we were in, but it didn’t
matter, we had parking!! Just outside the parking lot, was a road dotted with
restaurants and pubs. People were stumbling in and out of most pubs, as we
passed by looking for a quieter place to settle. Round the corner was just the
place we were looking for – a nice little restaurant, buzzing with people
having their pizzas, pastas and wine. We had to wait a bit for our table to be
available, and I was already eyeing some yummy-looking seafood on one of the
tables. Once we had our own, and the menu, I instantly looked for the seafood
platter, and knew that the new year in my life was going to be rung in with a satisfied
tummy. J
And the
platter did not disappoint. Vidya & I dug into the fish, prawns and
calamari! Shyam ordered a rice dish and didn’t look too happy, so joined in
some of the seafood binge. Big brother, Hari, done with his veggies and wine,
was more than happy to take the tab, making my birthday-eve dinner even more
memorable!
But
there was more to come. As we got to our lovely serviced apartment, at the
stroke of midnight, the three stooges conjured to pick me up and give me a dose
of (rather labored) birthday bums. I was at least 20% heavier than my 50 or so
kgs when I had gotten my last dose back in college. But Hari’s work at the gym
ensured that he alone could carry most of the weight. It ended a one-of-a-kind
celebration with family and we were all set to get a glimpse of the Duomo next
day before riding to Rome…
Sunday
morning was as all Sunday mornings should be. Late, relaxed and lazy… We had to
checkout by 12, so that necessitated some scrambling for brunch, but that was
about it.
We headed
straight out and were lucky to find a parking spot just a walk away from the
magnificent Duomo. The entrance line looked long, but moved quickly. I had
dinked away to get some cash and by the time I rejoined the line, the gang was
right at the entrance!
The
structure was beautiful on the inside as well with sunshine streaming in
through multiple stained-glass windows, including some on the incredibly high
domed roof. We strolled around for a bit, I tuned into the ‘Santa Maria’
audio-guide, and took some snaps before heading out to shop for some good
leather goods. After about an hour or so, only Vidya managed to get hold of a
stunning pair of boots for a steal. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular
(as usual), so ended up empty-handed (again, as usual). We had a rather long
drive to Rome, so after a quick bite (PIZZAS, what else?!), we headed out to
our penultimate destination in Italy – Rome, was a calling.
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I’m sure I will come back to Florence someday. While this visit lasted only a few hours, it whetted the appetite enough for a Florence Part Deux. There are some places where, when you arrive, you just feel at ease. Florence’s similarity to Bombay, perhaps, gave me that feeling.
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