David, Fiesole and ludicrous laundry

Today was a day to have a break from the little streets, tourists, Vespas and cars by leaving the city but before we could we had to drop in on David.

On our last visit to Florence, we were two of the thousands in the Galleria dell'Accademia and of course for good reason, to see David.  On our return this time, we wanted to see if the winter season had reduced the numbers and also see the parts of the Gallery that we weren't able to see, as it was too hot and overcrowded.

We had pre-purchased tickets but at this time of year, it is not necessary. Winter in Florence reduces the crowd numbers.

We passed through the airport-grade security and scans with ease and then passed through the other exhibits before entering the gallery with David.

The other exhibits in the gallery cover the textile trade and manufacture in the of 600 years past.  Very interesting to see this history preserved however no photography allowed at all I'm afraid.

There is not much I can add to the photos of David, it is one of the most marvellous statues in the world.

After our visit, we finished our tour of the gallery and then moved on to our initial plans of leaving the city.

We purchased four 90 min tickets that allowed travel on Florences buses and then boarded the number 7 bus to Fiesole.

It is a short ride to Fiesole, it took only about 20 minutes but when we hopped off the bus we felt like we were worlds away from Florence, the Vespas and narrow streets.

 Our first stop was the to walk up Via Giuseppe Verdi and view the amazing panorama of Florence.

We then returned to the centre of Fiesole and then went along Via Portigiani to the Roman and Etruscan ruins.  Entry to this site also included the museum, which had many impressive artefacts that had been recovered from the soil.

It was then time for lunch so we popped into Ristorante Fiesolano where I had Pappa al Pomodoro followed by a Penne type pasta with a wild boar sauce. Katie had Ribollita followed by Ravioli with butter and sage.

After lunch, we caught bus number 7 back down the hill and a first for us, our tickets were checked by an inspector who embarked halfway through the journey. Amazing in all the times we have been on city buses and trains we have never had our tickets checked.

We then relaxed a little at the hotel and then went across the road to the very handy Lavendaria (laundromat). With the number of clothes we needed to wash, we selected two machines, loaded both and started number one fine but the second machine wouldn't start.  Our clothes were in it, the door was locked on it and there was nothing we could do.

I called the number on the wall for 'emergency' many times, but there was only a message service, I left many messages.  Katie even walked back across the road to our hotel and asked for assistance from reception. The receptionist came over and even he couldn't get it to work or get an answer on the 'emergency' number.

At this stage we had finished one load and put it in the dryer, but the other load is still in the machine, dirty and inaccessible. Our apartment windows look over the street and we can see the front door of the Lavendaria, we know from previous nights a man comes around 9 pm and hangs around till at least 10:30 to then close and lock up the place.  Our hope is he will be here tonight and can provide assistance.

The afternoon passed with no call back from the 'emergency' number, could we have to leave Florence with a load of washing locked in the washer? 

For dinner this evening it was a quick walk around the Duomo then a stop in the Conad supermarket to collect some supplies. Very basic meal of salad, cold cuts, cheese and bread.

Then at around 7:30pm we looked out the window and saw our mysterious man at the Laundromat, Promptly, Katie and I dashed for our jumpers and jackets and fleeted down the stairs and across the road. 

We asked this unknown man about the faulty machine, he said it was ok.  It was at this point seeing his face for the first time I realised he was not Italian. We tried to tell him it was not ok and our washing was stuck in a broken machine.  He told us he has fixed it. Still unsure by his reply, we walked into the laundromat and saw our machine filled with water suds and spinning. 

Shocked, we went back outside to find out what we had done wrong. The man told us nothing, apparently, we had done nothing wrong and the machine was not faulty.  This was getting difficult, believe me, the conversation was not clear.

In the end it turns out when we closed the door on the front of the washer we didnt turn the locking handle firmly enough to activate the machine, all our mystery man did was come in to clean the laundromat, saw a load was set up and ready to go and then gave the  handle a firm jerk.

I'm pretty sure we did try that but now we know. He also mentioned he had received no phone calls or messages and the 'emergency' number is to his boss, who might not even be in the city.

We then waited for the wash to finish and then ran the clothes through the dryer, in this time I chatted to the man.  He was originally from the Phillipenes and moved to Italy in 1989.  He came here to make a better living.  He was interested in Australia and its animals, he likes it in Italy but i do think he is a little disappointed with his career and its progress.

At completion of the drying cycle we folded our clothes and said our goodbyes to the unknown man from the Phillipenes.

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