Lucca to Rome

We didn't push it this morning. Got up slow, packed up, and Helen picked us up at our door at 10:00 and whisked us off to the train station.  We got on the train to Florence and had plenty of space.  We had decided to spend a few hours in Florence since we had to switch trains anyway, and it would seem a shame to skip it entirely since we have no strict itinerary.  We found the fancy bathroom that costs one euro to go in. Shiny and clean and not very many users.  Then we found the place where you stash your luggage when you don't want to carry it around for four hours. And then we set out in search of lunch. 

We went to the Mercato Centrale, walking through and past all the purse and belt sellers. There was one sandwich place with a long line, and it was Jon's inclination to get in that line. First we wandered around and saw all the butchers and tourist packages of noodles and herbs and then we went back and got in line. All the signs were handwritten in Italian, there were no concessions to the many tourists. Take it or leave it. When we got up to the front of the line, we picked two things that sounded okay but who really knew. Panino di Porchetta and a Piatta de Lampredotto.  We knew it would be a pork sandwich and a plate of something.  No English spoken at all, but it was an equal opportunity situation because there were tourists from all over in that line. We squeezed into a table with other diners (all the dishes and cutlery were real and you had to return your tray to the rack yourself). After a few bites of the saucy meat on the plate, I knew I didn't want any more of that. I stuck to the greasy sandwich with the crunchy, tasty pork. I texted Helen:

We are eating lunch in the market. Maybe we got tripe. Not sure. Piatti di Lampredotto. What is that anyway?

-- I think it's eel. Let me check. Might also be tripe which is typical.
-- No, you're right, it's part of the intestine, almost tripe but not quite. How delicious.
(green vomit icon)
-- Very typical Florentine dish for...centuries. Medieval? And not intestine but stomach. Much better. Yum. 

I didn't really eat it. Jon did. I had a pork sandwich that was greasy and crunchy.

-- Good choice.

Then we went back out to wander through the streets with the crowds of tourists in the light rain. Eventually we bought a small umbrella from one of the many enterprising salespeople moving through the crowd.  We were looking for the piazza with the sculptures and we found it. There were tour groups and bus loads of people crowded into the space but that was fine. We were just momentary voyeurs. 

Now we are at the piazza with the outdoor sculptures and wet tourists. Piazza della Signoria.
--Perfect. That is NOT the real David. Just sayin'.
Oh I remember learning that. Smart to leave him under cover. Who's the big guy with the fountain? In Greece it would be Poseidon maybe.
-- Yes. Neptune=Poseidon=Nettuno in Italian.
-- The big building on the left -- (she later identifed as palazzo vecchio or "old building") there was once an attempted coup and the rebels were killed and hung out of those windows for all to see. Which I believe also marks the birth of the word "defenestration."

Note windows behind David replica.

A useful spot in the rain.

We made our way through the throngs and the buses and the ambulances and the motorcycles, back to the train station. Retrieved our luggage and got on the train to Rome. Excellent time for naps.

I just can't not take this picture every time.

Even though I had said we could try to figure out the bus system, I went back on that when Jon said we would have to walk 21 minutes after we got off the bus. We took a taxi instead. It was a long way and it was worth it because at the end there was a very big hill. We would have been very tired by the time we got to the top, even though we travel light.

Ronni's apartment is at the top of the hill, at the end of a small road, almost on the top floor of a fancy building. This apartment is rented by the State Department because it is used to host receptions and dinners, sometimes with only a day's notice (and then the caterers come into her kitchen and take over). Crazy.  Marco is out of town so Ronni did all the hosting tonight. She works full time and she also had a full meal ready for dinner. She says we haven't seen each other since 2019. We had plenty to catch up on. I am sure she has been hosting people since she got here. She says they are ready to come home but she wouldn't have missed this.

From Ronni's balcony, St Peter's Basilica, I assume.