Cyanide & Happiness

Aaah, sometimes reassurance is a great thing:

SO IT'S NOT JUST IMPERIAL!

Florence Day Three: Siena

In what appeared to be a a majestic example of "winging it", we decided last night that we were going to attempt to cram in Siena. This was a town a few hours South of Florence and was said to be too beautiful to miss, so after a quick pre breakfast investigation we figured out which bus would be able to take us there and back in good time for our flight home that evening.

But first we had the little matter of Santa Croce to see. This was a basilica in Florence that contained the tombs of some pretty big and influential scientists and artists from Firenze history: Galileo, Michaelangelo and Dante amongst others were all buried here and it would have been a big shame to have missed it. After a whistle stop tour (photos here) we headed to the bus station across town to catch our ride to Siena.

By "headed" I mean "rushed like headless chicken", because it seems that for some reason any sense of timekeeping had totally been lost at some point on our trip in Italy. Although buses to Siena were regular throughout the day, the 11:40am that we aimed to get really was the only feasible option to take in order to get some decent time there. After collecting our luggage from the hotel and dropping it off at the train station's left luggage (adjacent to the bus stop) we managed to get our tickets and seats with minutes to spare. But hey, at least we were on our way to Siena and at around 1:30pm we had arrived.

It really was worth the hassle. The town itself was very pretty, both in aesthetics and sheer vibe, and I immediately regretted us not taking a much earlier bus - our return trip was leaving at 4:30pm so we really only had hours to experience it. The town square would have been so good to have chilled out in, and even walking around the numerous winding and undulating alleyways (replete with cute little archways) would have kept us occupied for hours. Instead we chose to have a hearty lunch and spend most of our time at the Duomo di Siena.

The cathedral was magnificent. I think the main thing was how different it was - it was difficult to decide where it had more of a classic or modern ambience to it, and again I felt a pang of regret regarding how we had painted ourselves into a corner time wise. But what we saw was better than having missed it, and it was with a heavy heart that we walked (read: raced) back to the station to catch our bus. You can click the following for photos of Siena in general and its Duomo.

And that was pretty much it for out time in Siena and indeed Florence and Italy as a whole. The bus was exchanged for a taxi, the taxi for a plane (with us naturally checking in our luggage just after the counter had closed), and before we knew it we were well on our way London, I for one looking forward to having my bed back that evening.

Florence Day Two: Pisa

Ah, Pisa. For most people it's the town that contains the most iconic of Italy's monuments - the leaning tower. And yes, although I will admit to initially not realising just how close Pisa was to Florence, I was pretty excited to be making the two hour drive west to see it.

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed.

This shouldn't really come of much surprise really. After all, it is just, well, a tower at an angle. I wasn't really sure what else I was expecting. But still, we did eventually go along with the whole tourist trail, including paying the extortionate fee to climb the tower as well as constructing those photos:

The rest of them can be found here.

After a pleasant yet underwhelming morning we made our way to Viareggio by train, a beach town further west of Pisa. Viareggio alone may have been worth a visit; it's a charming little town with a wonderful seafront alongside majestic mountain views and due to its accessibility would make a brilliant segue to a morning climbing leaning towers. However the real value and surprise for us was that as it was February, we were smack bang in the middle of carnival season:

It really was a brilliant experience - most of the afternoon was spent walking/strolling/dancing with the floats and performers, taking in as many of the colours and political statements as we could. And when we were exhausted with that we had sunset on the beach to bring us back down again. It was a vivid, unique experience which I feel lucky to have had been a part of. You can see the rest of the photos here.

But alas the day had come to an end and we made our way back to Pisa and then onto Florence for a late dinner. Unlike today, the next had not been planned in advance, so I was a little anxious as to what it would hold - on the other hand I think the trip had already surpassed my expectations.

Florence Day One: Firenze

It was clear from the start that timekeeping wasn't going to be a major theme of this trip. For a start I had only booked my flight a little over 24 hours before take off, but the real indication was when I arrived at an empty gate - as everyone had already boarded the plane. Yes, City Airport is super efficient and yes, in theory you only need to (baglessly) check in 15 minutes before your flight... but no, in terms of stress it pays to arrive a little early than you need to. Of course this was a once off and I had learned my lesson and would never be so lax in catching a flight again. Oh no.

But I was on the flight and that's all that mattered really. Florence was never really on my list of places to visit (the first and only time I had previously been to Italy was Rome in 2003), but as some friends were already going I decided to crash and tag along. Three days sounded like a decent amount of time to spend in the region, and The Leaning Tower of Pisa just had to be something worth seeing. Other than that though I went in blind.

Although I initially cursed the insanely early flight it did pay dividends - after leaving the airport and checking into our hotel we were free to start exploring by noon. By virtue of it being situated right outside our hotel, the immediate sight to see was the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore (photos here), a majestic cathedral with an immense dome that really did seem like something that belonged in a film. We bought a combined ticket that allowed us to climb both the dome and bell tower - there's not really much between the two in terms of views (of course the tower had a better view of the dome), but the climbs have their own sense of adventure in both. The ticket also allowed us entry into the baptistery (which was nice) as well as the museum in the basement of the cathedral (which was less interesting).

Next on our list was the Galleria degli Uffizi (photos here). This was a pretty sizeable art gallery containing the works of various classical Italian artists including at least three Ninja Turtles - I was actually quite surprised at how many I recognised, which is both a testament to the value of these pieces and a indication of my ignorance of the deeper aspects behind the famous art we see so often.

Our final stop of the day (both due to a lack of time as well as inclination - it appears three is the maximum number of museums we could handle in a day) was to the Galleria dell'Accademia (photos here), home of Michelangelo's sculpture David, and pretty much the reason we crossed town. The visit was whistle-stop, and the gallery did have other nice exhibits too, but the highlight was definitely the sculpture itself.

For our first night in Florence we decided to meander across Ponte Vecchio (photos here) to the south bank of Florence. We eventually ended up at Gustapizza, a cute intimate little stone baked pizza place that had brilliant food at a friendly price which I heartily recommend. After that we took a punt and visited Libreria Cafe la Cite, a bookshop-cum-cafe that offers live music at night.

It was a great way to end our first night in Firenze, and after day one I was already totally glad that I had been convinced to come. Random photos from the streets of Firenze can be found here.

SMBC

I'm not saying I'm old, but...



Whatevs.

Superhanallah

Speaking of class creativity that really hits the spot, I'm really loving the stuff that comes out of Superhanallah. Not only does he hate on the Internet and hate on Muslims, he also hates on Muslims on the Internet:

Of course the reason why he's so brilliant and astute has nothing at all to do with him not being brown. No way.

A Softer World

Once again, ASW says it how it is:

Lucky how contentment comes from within though, eh?

The Annual Inevitably Cynical "I Hate Valentine's" Post

Oh don't worry: the fact that this is my tenth post of vitriolic rambling is as depressing for me as it might be for you. On the other hand, I am impressed by the sheer stamina of the theme and although I don't know how they would look, I reckon I have at least another ten posts in me. Crikey. Ten! You can click the title link for the rest by the way.

But what exactly do I talk about this year? Could it be the unprecedented increase in apparent losership (a clear sign of whippage in my opinion)? Or how about how pervasive it's becoming in places I previously thought immune (oh why Karachi, why?)?

No, perhaps what I will talk about is my increasing indifference to the theme here, not because I denounce most forms of blatant commercialism, but because I've become even more cynical about anything and everything, of which my distaste of this day is but a mere iceberg tip.

Woah there, this post almost became seriously dark. Let's bring the humour back:

But hey, at least I got my own back on the day - Krispy Kreme offered me some sweets if I was to complete the old "Roses are red..." poem at the time I was claiming. I did so, humorously so I might add, and got not just one but two original glazed doughnuts as a reward. That extra doughnut was the difference between me being exploited and doing the exploiting, and so I see no problem seeing it as a win for the little man. There's no need to thank me.

SMBC

Who said logic and love aren't compatible?

Get this comic and you get me. Although I'm not sure I understand it fully (which in itself kinda makes sense).

XKCD

Being common is a double edged sword. On the one hand it's great to know you're not alone. On the other, it sucks that you're not alone.

And it's especially bad when you don't actually like people.

A Softer World

Today's ASW works on so many levels. First the obvious - about how we're becoming a global nation obsessed with freaking sharing anything we can take a freaking picture of. Since a pictures paint a thousand words that's a lot of bullpoop being spoken, and I honestly believe that digital photography is a curse of casual society now:

But the second point is about how we seem to want to save this bullpoop for posterity. I'm always amazed at exactly how much data can literally fit into a chip the size of my fingertip, but that really doesn't mean we should. People look at me funny when I delete 60-70% of the pictures I take on holiday - but for me the comic title (mouseover to see) says it all really.

SMBC

There's a reason why we grow up:

Although I have to say that I never did pull anyone's hair at five.

Fowl Language

I know, I know: Facebook bashing is so 2013. But still, I liked this:

Luckily for me bloggers are much more secure.

SMBC

It's like inception dating!

 

Except, of course, what real world scenario ever stops at just the two levels? Navel gazing FTW.

Abstruse Goose

This is so funny! I'm always amused by people who think in this way! HA HA HA!



But more amusing that that are those who don't realise when irony is deliberate.

A Softer World

A new strip! And one brilliantly cynical too! Amazing!

I would have concluded that the nerve hitting by the above was a guy thing, except that the credit for finding the strip actually belongs here.

SMBC

I KNEW IT!!

But seriously you have to wonder right? Is everyone just making it up?

SMBC

Okay this comic isn't actually about female lawyers, but I couldn't resist reposting SMBC's latest:



I won't elaborate further except to say that really, honestly, I love females. And lawyers.

SMBC

I know this is supposed to be metaphorical... but it did actually happen each time I've climbed a mountain too:

Be happy with what you have folks, and stop chasing stuff that has no end to it. YES, YES I KNOW.

SMBC

I don't get the humour in today's SMBC comic:

Sounds obvious to me.