Day 5 Florence, See Uffizzi to Venice; July 20, 2008

Like Renaissance art? The greatest Italian art in the world is concentrated in one fantastic museum, the Uffizzi in Florence.

Imagine a grand Italian Renaissance building, built in the 1500's in the shape of a long U. Now make the legs longer. Put the best art on the top floor, so people climb up 2 stories to start at one end of the U, gaze with amazed oohs and aahs at paintings they've only seen in books, and exit at the other end. Decorate the long corridor with real Roman statues and busts of such heros as Nero and Agrippa, and add the Medici power brokers of the 1500's. Now put a line of 1000 people outside, just hoping to get in for their own once-in-a lifetime glimpse. That's the Uffizzi!

Fortunately, we had a reservation for 8:15, the earliest time slot. That meant we had to really book it to get there on the bus after breakfast at our hotel. I dropped the group at the entrance and ran across the courtyard to pay for our tickets. My wait in line was less than a minute. I took the tickets back to our people, and in one more minute we were in! Show your ticket, go through security, show your ticket again, go through the turnstile, climb the stairs, and show your ticket again at the top. Wow! That's the easy way to see the Uffizzi! Call Italy for a reservation 2 months before you go, and choose the early morning. The 1000 people in the line isn't bad compared to how long it gets by lunchtime!

We saw Boticelli's Birth of Venus and Spring, Michelangelo's Holy Family, an El Greco, the Duke of Urbino and his wife, and lots of other priceless stuff.

Back to the hotel, pick up our bags, drag them to the further bus stop, and ride up to Pizzale Michelangelo. It's a great view spot from the hill across the river; you can see the cathedral and the Uffizzi and the river and the whole town with mountains in the background. It was fabulous! We took wonderful pictures and I saw a great black Audi sportscar that made a throaty sound. I chased it across the parking lot, ducking between the cars to get a picture. What a great time!

Piazzale Michelangelo is also a favorite spot for thieves. Larry spotted a man going near our bags, and moved over a few steps to take hold of my red suitcases. He called Dick to come over, and the guy disappeared into a group of dark-looking young men! Larry saves the day again . . .

On the train to Venice we met an American opera singer of Uruguayan descent, who had been in Italy for a month working. He sang for us on the train; an aria from the opera La Traviata. When he finished we all applauded! He had a nice spirit about him, and he missed his family, so we (especially Dick) talked to him for a long time. In fact, so long that he missed getting off in Bologna and had to go all the way to Padua to turn around!

Venice is always amazing. We took the water taxi down the Grand Canal to St. Mark's Square, then dragged our suitcases through little medieval streets (no cars in Venice) to our hotel. It may not be very fancy, but it sure is old! Plus it reeks of character. The one shower for 3 floors is fortunately outside our door. So is the toilet. No air conditioning, just a ceiling fan. On the other hand, we do have hand-blown leaded glass windows overlooking a little canal on the gondola route, the location is perfect, and there's a bidet we can use in our room . . .

The best bell tower in Europe is the one in St. Marks Square. That's because it's the only one with an elevator! The views all over the city and the water and lots of islands and huge bells that ring back and forth make it a really cool experience.

The second time the bells rang, 10 minutes later, Larry wanted to leave. By the 3rd time, we were holding our ears and ready to get out of there!

Wander Venice in the evening; the crowds are much less and it's magical. Wish my whole family was here!

Day 15 Back to Amsterdam, Coming Home Tomorrow! June 30, 2008

5 hours, hotel to hotel, that's what it takes to change cities around here.
I took the train this morning from Brugges to Amsterdam, and it was much less stressful than when I went from Utrecht to Brugges! I only had to change trains once in Antwerp, and I'd been to the very cool 4-level Antwerp station on the way in, so I understood the layout.

My hotel is a real jewel. My room is up 85 steep, narrow stairs (yes, I actually counted them.) It's on the top floor and the toilet is in a little room down the hall; same with the shower. It's super tiny and very plain, but it has a lovely leafy view out the window, and it's only two blocks from the Anne Frank House, right in downtown Amsterdam, and it's cheap and clean. This is the street with my hotel.

15 minutes after I checked in, I was back out and on the way to the Rijksmuseum. Two heavenly hours I spent exploring only the best of the best of their collection, because the rest is closed for renovation and not on view. This is definitely the way to see a museum! Don't waste time on the lesser masterpieces, just go for the gold. In fact, for one of their new acquisitions they spent a cool 12 million euros! The main painters I studied were Vermeer, Jan Steen, and Rembrandt. It was really fun, and Angela can be jealous all day for me!

I knew that the Anne Frank house is open until 9:00, and the lines are gone in the evening, so I did that after the Rijksmuseum closed. The building you see at left is actually her father's business. There was another building hidden behind, which couldn't be seen from the street. So they hid behind the warehouse.

On the way I stopped into a supermarket, looking for both supper and breakfast, and came out with a nectarine, 2 rolls, lots of chocolate (your souvenirs) and something labeled "luchtige" yoghurt. The cognate is "light" so I thought that meant lo-cal. OK. But it really meant "airy," like whipped. So I had airy yoghurt, and it was great!

Some of you may remember when we took you to the Anne Frank House about 1990. Well, they've changed it a lot since then! They bought 2 buildings next to it, to give you a better visitor's center-type introduction to what you will see. They also have blacked out most of the windows, so it will seem more like when the Frank family hid there. I was very involved. In fact, when I realized I'd finished the house and was returning to the visitor's center, I walked backwards against the flow to see it all again before I left. The only entrance to the house was behind the cupboard you see below. The church steeple at the top of this post is what she could see from her attic window.

It is amazing to me how one bright teenager could express so well what she felt and what happened to her. She actually became the voice for millions of others who had no voice. She taught us the horror of the Holocaust, by personalizing it for us.

Otto Frank (her dad) did not read the diary until after he came back from the concentration camp. All his family was gone. Miep (one who had helped them hide) presented the diary to him, but he faound it too painful to read for awhile. When he finally did read, he was amazed. They had had a very good relationship, but he never knew she had such deep thoughts and feelings. He felt like she was an entirely different person than the daughter he knew. He concluded that most parents don't really know their own children. Is that possible? I have thought a lot about that, and I think he's right.

I kind of didn't want to let go of the moment, so I just sat down on a bench with my back to the canal and ate my yoghurt and nectarine and looked up at the old warehouse with the secret annex in back. I guess I don't have any desire to check out the famous Amsterdam nightlife!

The picture just above is the neighborhood, and the picture to the left is the warehouse from across the canal. It's right beside the red awning. The next 2 doors to the right are the visitor's center.