Northern Italy awaits

Back in early May -- back in those days so long ago that I had not yet bicycled down the Loire valley in France -- I wrote at some length in these pages about a trip I had planned for the end of the summer.  A wandering about through northern Italy, briefly sampling the beauties of famous tourist sites, most of which I had already seen, often at more length, in younger days.  Or at least, less older days.

I'm now less than six weeks from departure, and I thought it was time to crystallize my thoughts in my own mind, under the guise of bringing you, my readers, up to date.

Before beginning, I decided it would be wise to read what I'd written before.  On May 6.  To my surprise, I seem to have had the trip already pretty well planned even at that early date.  I had left four dates open at the end of the trip, as I waited for myself to make up my mind and to make hotel reservations.  I've now done so.  After leaving Venice, I will spend one night in Milan -- catching my breath and washing clothes.  Then I will spend two nights in Riomaggiore -- the only one of the Cinque Terre that I had not visited in the spring of 2023.  My final night, before returning to Rome, will be in Pisa.

I now have all my hotels booked, and all my train reservations made wherever train reservations are required.

I might mention that I've bought Rick Steves's guide to Florence and Tuscany, the town where I'll be spending the longest portion of my trip.  I read his Europe Through the Backdoor back in 1989, when my brother and I were traveling to Europe together. It was a good guide, but I've always had Steves pegged as a genial sort who writes guides for folks who have never done much traveling and need someone to hold their hands and give them confidence.

But his Florence and Tuscany guide is very well done and very comprehensive.  Florence is all about art, and Steves offers what is almost an Art 101 course in Italian Renaissance Art.  Along with his descriptions of art works, he places them in an historical context.  Even a little chart for the genealogy of the Medici rulers of Florence, which I considered quite helpful.

If you're an art historian, or even an art student, you probably won't find Steves's comments on art helpful, but most of us aren't, right?  I took art history classes while studying in Florence, but sixty years has dulled my memory.

The last couple of times I visited Florence, I found the line waiting outside the Uffizi ticket office -- seemingly stretching all the way  to Pisa -- intimidating.  Remembering my days as a student, when you just wandered into the galleries whenever the urge hit you, or an art assignment required it.  But I've now accepted the amenities of modern life, and have purchased an advance ticket with timed admission.  I'm assured it will save me from an interminable wait outside the Uffizi, standing and melting under the Tuscan Sun.

When I was in France in May, I lugged two weeks of clothing needs in a large suitcase.  I was both humiliated and grateful to have young Frenchmen offer to help me carry it up stairways in the Paris subways.  I've decided it's time to be sensible in my packing.  Clothes for five or six days only, and I'll do a little research to find the nearest laundromat when I'm in Florence, and again in Milan.  I'm not still a tireless 21, nor is Italy still a country where, if you wanted to wash your own clothes, you did it in your hotel sink.  Just like us, they now have what is called "laundromats."

And, really, that's about it.  Until it's time to pack, I'll just  continue refreshing my recollections of my various destinations on-line.  I fly out on August 23.  I'll tell you all about it when I get back.