A:

Friday was a good day to stay put as there was a "sciopero" ie strike of public transport right across Italy today because of the new financial measures. Mick knew this because he is able to read "La Repubblica" quite well now and he read about it the day before. He says these newspapers are really good value for him as he spends ages poring over the stories with the aid of his dictionary.

We needed to do a bit of shopping. First stop was the San Lorenzo markets, the scene of the second of the two shootings a few days ago. We had tasted some balsamic vinegar infused with cherry and matured in cherry wood during our cooking class on Monday, so we bought some of that to bring home, as well as some fruit and vegetables for the next few days. Next stop was a booth quite close to our unit where we could buy tickets for the football (soccer) game on Saturday night between the local team ACF Fiorentina and Atalanta BC in the stadium in Florence at 20.45 ie 8.45 pm. (M: As old hands the passport requirements didn't come as a surprise this time!) We had coffee standing up next door at the Chioscho - for one Euro each- the best value we have found in Florence- and then walked around some of the interesting (M: and less touristed) streets before having lunch in a small sandwich shop with about 8 different types of local bread.

M:

We headed home in the rain and updated the blog and dealt with emails (and yes - had a little rest after all our labours!). I did a bit of research to check on screen times for the Ligabue 3D concert film, but it seems to have finished its run, and was no longer on. This called for plan B - which was only just around the corner at the Odeon - a lot closer in the bad weather!

A:

At 4.30 we went to see the film "The Artist". (M: It is a silent movie which has gathered a deal of critical acclaim. It even has the old style screens with the occasional comment or dialogue on them.) These screens were in English (and subtitled in Italian) so they were easy to follow. We recommend it.

Saturday - McBride Family Christmas gathering.

We started the day with an early morning call to Phil and Sandra's place to wish the McBrides a happy Christmas as they were gathering there. This got us off to an early start for the bus to Siena which is a semi- walled, medieval town about an hour from here. We saw a small amount of snow on the side of the road on one of the higher stretches on the way. It was very cold at the start of the day in Siena and we were glad of our good coats. We did our usual thing and collected a map- they charge you 50 centesimi here for one- and then sat in a cafe with coffee to plan our morning.

First was the Campo which is the scene of the famous horse race each year - il Paglio. Next to that is the Museo Civico- a museum which holds paintings of the Sienese school including a fresco called "Allegories of Good and Bad Government" by Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Much of the "Bad" is hard to see due to deterioration. Simone Martini's famous Maesta (Virgin Mary in Majesty) is also in the museum and was completed in 1315. (M:Just when you think your palate may be becoming a bit jaded by such a rich diet of art, new works come along and surprise you. Sometimes this is as much about what they try to say as how they say it!)

M:

The campo has its own tower, the Torre del Mangia. I have been to the top before, but given that so far this trip I have scaled every tower and plumbed every well, I decided to maintain the uninterrupted record. It's a stiffer climb than Pisa, with more steps, more uneven steps, and a narrower stair well. There were only about half a dozen of us in the tower at once today. I can't begin to imagine what it must be like at the height of the season! And the views of Tuscany are something special - especially in the early morning light. I'll put a picture in the album.

A:

Next stop was the Duomo which has a facade of green, red and white marble and an amazing marble floor but the best panels are covered over all year apart from Aug 21st- Oct 27th where visitors are charged double to enter ie 6 Euros. There was no explanation as to why they do this at this particular time of the year. There is another extraordinary pulpit crafted by Nicola and Giovanni Pisani- similar to the one we saw in Pisa which was designed by Giovanni Pisano who is the son of Nicola.

The head of St Catherine is actually on show in the Chiesa di San Domenico and this was our final stop. The rest of her is buried in Rome. (M: And I must say she looks remarkably "composed" for someone who has been dead a long time and whose head is a 4 hour train trip from her body!)

We managed to arrive at the bus stop to check the return times just as a bus was leaving so we jumped on and were back in Florence about 1.30 and ready for lunch. This was a delicious affair in a trattoria called Marione which is at the end of our street. Back to the flat for a quiet read and email catchup and we were off to the football game. (M: Forza Fiorentina!)

M:

The trip to the game was an adventure in its own right. The stadium is adjacent to one of Florence's other two stations - Campo Marte. It is only one stop away. Tried to buy tickets on the machine. No luck - station does not even appear. Tried to find someone to ask. Queues at the ticket office were out the door. Eventually found client services tucked away in a corner where only the most enterprising of clients may find them. Asked where you got (a) tickets and (b) the train. Answer (a) easy to say - good old tabacchaio. But why, at a railway station, does one purchse tickets from somewhere other than the ticket office? Answer (b) came in a flood of rapid Italian from which it became clear that there were so many conditions about which trains and from where that we had better proceed one step at a time. Anne got the tickets and I found one of the very helpful boards that lists all the station's departures in chronological order, noted a couple that would stop at our station, took down their numbers and checked the departures board to discover that the 1910 train to Rome, now delayed by 35 minutes, would do the job at 1945. And it did!

It was an easy walk to the stadium, and the dual requests for passports and tickets were no surprise. We found our seats in the stadium (much smaller than Rome!) and settled in for a cold evening of rather patchy play. There is a very different football culture here. It would be wrong to say it is less physical than Australia or England, but it would be right to say that every contact gets milked histrionically for referee sympathy resulting in a rather disrupted pattern of play. The medics run nearly as much as some of the players - they are on the field so often! The crowd, one-eyed Fiorentina fans with the exception of a few hardy Atalanta followers, were worth the price of admission on their own! Fiorentina squandered a 1 - 0 lead to go behind before equalising in the last few minutes to pull a draw out of the fire. Both Fiorentina goals were excellent. Oh, and did I say it was cold? (A: About seven minutes from the end, Atalana scored which made the score 2-1 in favour of Atalanta. At this point there was abuse from the crowd near us and a significant number of them left. About five minutes later Fiorentina equalised! And by the way Atalanta is a town in the north of Italy.)

We went back to the station to discover that there were no trains back to Florence after 11 on a Saturday night.(Even when there is a game on!) So much for the websites claiming they ran extra trains! We found a cab - blessed warmth! - which took us back and the driver provided entertainment as he swore at his fellow drivers in a good humoured kind of way.