APR 6, 2020
I am updating our travels of the past 7+ weeks as we have been halted by the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s not been easy to focus on past photos and narratives as we sit in Lagos, Portugal after spending 2 weeks in voluntary quarantine. The whole world is shutting down and we find it difficult to contemplate returning to the US given the chaos and governmental missteps we see on the news and read online.
We are in a small area on SW Portugal that tends to be a tourist destination when tourism is doing well; currently here it is not. Thankfully! The main cities in Portugal, Lisbon and Porto, have ever increasing reports of the disease. It’s much slower here and the country instituted an effective lockdown 2 weeks ago. You can go out for fresh air and to the grocery stores and pharmacies. Restaurants if open are for takeout only. People are very good at social distancing. Grocery stores offer a spray bottle of alcohol for disinfecting your cart and hands on arrival and if so inclined on departure. In the last week the beaches and the public promenade along the river through the heart of Lagos have been closed to all.
We are in a spacious 7th floor flat with comforting views of the town and the sea. Every now and then a dot of a fishing boat appears. We can see a blinking lighthouse in the distance after dark. We can stay here at least until June 30. Maybe by then it will be safe to return to the US. If the increasing number of cases continues we will seek an extension to our stay here in Portugal until it’s safe to go home.
FEB 21-22, 2020 – Florence, IT
Seems the coronavirus is making big headlines now and stock markets are tumbling as we wonder about our week long stay in Italy. We transited by train through Milan where Italy’s outbreak was first recorded. Hopefully we got through early enough to avoid the bug…..
We took the overnight train from Dijon to Milan and then rode the Italian train connecting Milan to Florence. It was a nice “sleeping” cabin vs a couchette, allowing for 6 berths instead of 8 (hard to imagine!). We got a cabin to ourselves only because when I asked the conductor about finding a cabin for the 2 of us to be in, after being ticketed for separate cabins, I in a women’s cabin and Thom in a men’s, it turned out that I was the sole occupant of the cabin assigned to me. So we both “moved” in.
There was a welcome box with some juice and a small bottle of Prosecco!!! Maybe there was one in Thom’s assigned cabin but he didn’t wander to see. We artfully stowed the various luggage pieces to allow for the door to the sink to open – nice amenity and also keep the one available seat accessible to sit in. We unpacked our “linen” packs that included a pillow in pillow case, a duvet, and a hand towel. Quite nice. The mattress was comfy and all would have been just right if there had been a way to turn the heat off. The cabin was barely tolerable with the door open as the hallway was quite chilly. That wasn’t a particularly good idea when we were sleeping though. And if we opened the window the noise was pretty intense. So it was not a very good sleep given it was probably 90 degrees. At 2am we tried to get assistance but the conductor turned the same knob we had tried and nothing changed.
After spending at hour in Milan (6-7:10am) having breakfast we got to Florence around 10 and made our way on foot in to the old part of the city in search of our Airbnb flat. We had been advised to follow the check in instructions provided by the host and to watch the video of getting into the building and the flat. It was only due to the video and seeing the entrance door that I was actually able to figure out where our flat was. The address and directions when using google would have not been directly to the building’s door. I googled the address and then went to street view to find where in the small plaza the entry was located.
Our first day visiting was Saturday, February 22. We walked to the very nearby mandatory sites of Florence – the Piazza del Duomo and Piazza della Signorian next to the Palazzo Vecchio and the Uffizi Gallery. Many people wandered about the vast plazas and took selfies. The architecture is stunning! We wandered across the bridge Ponte Vecchio and enjoyed everything Italian surrounding us!!
Turns out we were in the 5th floor penthouse overlooking a small square where there was a small church undergoing cleaning or repairs of some sort. Workmen were on the roof nearly every day of our visit. There was a poster/sign in front of the church advertising a 3 Tenor concert. I researched the event and bought tickets for Tuesday night. What a nice concert – such a pretty little church turned into a small auditorium. In addition to 3 tenors, there were 3 musicians – a bassist, a pianist and a mandolinist, and 2 young ballet dancers. It was a really enjoyable show and with about 30 in the audience, it felt like we were being entertained in our own living room. Such a treat.
FEB 23, 2020 – Florence, IT
Over the course of our weeklong visit – we saw the mandatory sights, include the Uffizi Place, an incredible art museum showing mostly renaissance works, the Medici Palace also with great works of art, the Petti Palace and the adjacent Boboli Gardens (where the Medici’s moved to on the other side of the Arno River to get away from the stink of the “city”, with lots of art; and l’Academie which houses Michelangelo’s David and other art. On a long walking day we found the Piazzale Michelangelo which offered extensive views above the city, a crowded but very beautiful spot.
On Sunday after several hours in the Uffizi we went to the Santa Maria del Fiore/Duomo complex. We were slightly interested in the museum but it’s only accessible with the multi-entry ticket needed to climb the dome, the bell tower, take a tour of the cathedral and enter the museum. We opted instead just to walk into the cathedral which is free. We were lucky the line was only about 5 minutes long. It’s amazing. We timed it late in the day after learning on Sunday night there is a Vesper service with Gregorian chant. We entered slightly before 5, for the 5:15 service and enjoyed the giant space and beautiful dome with no one else around. By the time the service started there were perhaps a dozen others sitting in the chapel area on the north side, just west of the transepts.
FEB 24, 2020 – Florence, IT
Today we visited the Medici Palace in the heart of Florence. Basically one floor is a large space of many rooms with art covering nearly every inch of wall space. The ceiling frescoes are amazing!!! And even the carpets in some of the large rooms were something to be admired.
From there we walked across the river to see if the Baboli Gardens might be open. No, as it turns out they are only open when the Palace is open, which is not on a Monday.
We took a very long-way-round walk to get back to the flat and stopped to admire the incredible view from high up at the Piazzale Michelangelo. It was a lovely afternoon and the place was as full as you can imagine, with amazing views of Florence, the River Arno, and the hills beyond. Tuscany is just about perfect….
FEB 25, 2020 – Florence, IT
It was a busy day today, starting with the short walk across the river to the Petti Palace and the adjacent Boboli Gardens. Again a large palace with many rooms and spaces portraying SOOO much art from the Renaissance. The Baboli Gardens are extensive and all up hill. We decided to walk out the back way rather than retracing our steps. It was a nice walk through the narrow streets and neighborhood across the river from Florence.
We had an appointed time to go to the Galleria dell’Accademia and meet Michelangelo’s David. There’s nothing that describes the first view one has when approaching this exquisite marble statue. He’s also quite tall!!!! And such a beautiful piece of workmanship… We spent nearly forty-five minutes just sitting and admiring the handsome creation.
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