After Venice and love at first sight, Florence gave me an overwhelmed feeling - too hot, too many people, too noisy traffic, the Duomo too immense, the Uffizi Galleries too vast with too much to see, too much walking.
And yet - who wouldn't want to be overwhelmed?
We had a too-strong drink under the watchful eye of Michelangelo's David, at the site of the Bonfire of the Vanities. Gaped at the thousands of people queuing for hours under a lethal sun to enter the Duomo. Did a few Italian lessons on Duolingo over iced cappuccino on the Uffizi café terrace. Realised, after 3.5 hours of walking through the Uffizi, that we missed the Botticelli room and had to backtrack to the beginning. Stood before the graves of Galilei, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. Found the shirt of Saint Francis of Assisi. Had a pain in the neck after gazing in wonder at too many painted ceilings. Had knees that literally buckled from too much walking. Kept walking anyway, driven by hunger for more wonders, to the Ponte Vecchio, Porta Romana, Palazzo Pitti. Admired a street performer singing "La donna è mobile". Almost got run over by a police car pushing recklessly through a crowd. Almost got run over by one or several horse-drawn carriages. Ate cannoli.
And finally, had a glass of wine in a deserted B&B while watching the comings and goings in a back street, discussing how the world overwhelms you - with its wondrous art and its infinite masses of people.
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