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On our way to finding our cabin, we pass by the Lawn Club again and ask someone to take our photo in the huge lawn chair.
The sun was getting low and it would soon be dark. We needed to unpack, and get cleaned up for our first dinner on board the Silhouette.
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The Mediterranean seemed more like a huge lake than a sea. There was barely a ripple on the water, and the ship was so stable, we may as well still have been back on shore for all we could tell.
On our way to dinner, we stopped by the pool area. You could hear the music, and the merriment and excitement permeated the air. There was a disc jockey and a guy driving the lighting. There must have been several billion watts of power to drive the lighting system and the lasers.
The ship cruised through the night, heading north to La Spezia, Italy. We went to breakfast and watched as the ship entered the large bay, where it would drop anchor, and we would be taken ashore by tenders.
La Spezia, the provincial capital, looks out over what is romantically referred to as the "Golfo dei Poeti" (Gulf of Poets). It is a large and beautiful bay, well protected from any storms that might rage from the sea. La Spezia knew an extraordinary development starting from the second half of the 19th Century, when the great Naval Arsenal was commissioned by the Savoys, and today it boasts of being the home of Italy's largest Naval Base. It is a city of moderate size with a population approaching 175,000.
At the end of the Second World War, La Spezia became the point of departure for the survivors from the Nazi concentration camps. From the summer of 1945 to the spring of 1948 over 23,000 Jews managed to leave Italy clandestinely for Palestine. After lengthy tormented vicissitudes, the ships Fede, Fenice and Exodus managed to take away everyone from the Spezia gulf, to the point that on the Israeli geographical maps La Spezia is called "Schàar Zion", Door to Sion.
Today La Spezia is the gateway to Florence, Pisa and "Cinque Terre", the beautiful rugged coastal region and terraced villages of the eastern Italian Riviera. Pete and I actually spent some time in Cinque Terra several years ago, and hiked the trail between the five small coastal towns, and the scenery was amazingly beautiful. I remember Pete suggesting that we take the high trail between two of them, and nearly dyeing of thirst, as the trail took us high up into the hills, around some grape vineyards, and we only had one small bottle of water between us. The sun baked the hillside, perfect for the grapes, but torturous for two lost waterless souls. That was one adventure neither of us will ever forget. When we finally made our way back down to sea level, and the next town, a large mug of beer NEVER tasted so good, either before or since.
This was our very first experience of what would become a daily routine. We would come to the Silhouette Theatre after breakfast each morning, and one person from our group (there were lots of large groups, but for Pete and I it was just the two of us) would walk up onto the stage and receive our "number" for the tour we were on for that day, and we would affix this number to our shirt, and then have a seat, waiting for our number to be called. The M.C. would endlessly repeat the instructions, over and over, as the guys would come straggling in over the period of about an hour. When our number was finally called, we would then go to either the forward or the aft boarding area to board the tender that would take us to our tour bus on shore. If the ship was tied up to a dock, we would just walk onto the dock and find our tour bus. The wait time in the theatre varied, and was dependent upon how long it would take the port authorities to clear the ship so that we could be allowed to go ashore.
The bus ride from La Spezia to Florence was about an hour and a half. Our guide on the Florence Tour, a very sweet young woman, was actually from Pisa. She had a great sense of humor. She was a student at the university there, and she said that there are many options for students to choose from in the way of a major, but that there is NO School of Architecture. This got a huge laugh from everyone. She told us that the leaning tower of Pisa is but one of several architectural structures in the area suffering from the same fate. The humor in her statement is so Italian.
When we arrived in Florence, the motor coach dropped us off near the Accademia Gallery. The street was jammed with tourists lining up to get into the Museum. This is one time that I was happy to be a part of a tour group, as our guide simply walked up t the door at the head of the line, showed the guard her papers, and we walked right in.
The first thing to catch your eye when you enter the gallery is the Rape of the Sabines. The sculpture represents an older man defeated by a young and vigorous opponent who grasps a young woman with a forceful gesture. The three figures in the Rape of the Sabines are constructed along a spiraling vortex which, in its spatial movement, induces the spectator to move around the statue and offers infinite viewpoints.
By far the most beautiful statue if Florence, or the world for that matter, is the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. He stands, looking at his opponent, the giant Goliath, with a stone in his right hand and his sling draped casually over his left shoulder, a perfect picture of confidence and bravery. Art critics can pontificate for hours in excruciating detail on every aspect of this work by the master, but simply standing before it in person, there are no words to describe the feelings that pour over you as you gaze at this magnificent work of art.
After spending some time in the museum, we left there and walked by the Cathedral of Santa Maria Del Fiore, the second largest cathedral in the world.
The cathedral was begun in 1296 and it took 140 years t complete. It can hold 3,000 people.
The Piazza Della Signoria is he City's largest square and represents the historical and commercial center.
The Palazzo Della Signoria (Palazzo Vecchio) dominates the Piazza, with a copy of Michelangelo's statue of David adorning the stairway. Completed in 1314, the Palace later became the seat of the City's Government.
There will be more to come on Florence in the next chapter.
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