Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Assisi to Florence

On the way to Florence, we took a ferry to Isola Maggiore, the only inhabited island on Lake Trasimeno, with a current population of 35. St Francis lived on the island as a hermit from 1211. Today it looked like an off-season place.





On the way back from the island, we mingled happily with a classful of Italian teenagers on a field trip with their mathematics instructor. They sang to us, we sang to them, we all sang together on "Yellow Submarine" and "Volare". Love the serendipity of travel!

We'll be in Florence for six nights, I think. The Strozzi Palace Hotel is a boutique hotel situated right in the oldest part of Florence historical center, in a lively pedestrian area. Art set out to do the laundry and I went looking for an optical shop to fix my glasses, which got sat on back in Orvieto. I got lost and ended up at the laundromat, where Art was holding forth with other English-speaking travelers while he waited for our two loads to be done. I went back to the hotel, took another look at the map, and found the optical shop.

Our group took a short historical walk on the way to dinner. There's a richness in this city we'll be exploring all week.

6 comments:

Linda Reeder said...

Oh, how fun! Singing with Italian teens! You really are getting contact with locals. It makes traveling so much more meaningful.
And then a day to take care of the necessities. Very good.

Deere Driver said...

Enjoy!

#1Nana said...

The photos are great. I loved the singing...when we were evacuated from Nicaragua when I was 9 months pregnant, one part of our journey included a taxi to the border of Honduras. It was an old American car and we were squeezed in with other Peace Corps volunteers and at some point in the journey the radio was tuned to an oldies English station; they all broke into song and seranaded me with "She's Having My Baby." Serendipity!

Deb Shucka said...

Love the pictures. Love how much fun you're having. It's so cool that you're having these adventures.

Ms Sparrow said...

Some 'bag lady' you are, traipsing all over Italy! I went back thru all the pictures you've posted and it looks like a marvelous trip. Good for you, getting away from all the political ads and quirky weather. Enjoy!

Cheryl Kohan said...

What an adventure! Those doors are simply beautiful! Was St. Francis the only occupant of the island in 1211 or did he just keep to himself? Just 35 people there in 2010 is amazing.