Traveled by train a little over two hfrom Padua to Florence to start Stage II of my Walk. I trained well for the walk, but not to deal with the throngs of people—I wasn’t ready for this, not after 18 days of relative solitude. Wow. My first quest was to get the starting stamps for my pilgrim’s credentials: first from Santa Croce and then from The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower.
Santa Croce is the world’s largest Franciscan Church with tombs of some of Italy’s greatest: Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and monuments without the tombs for Dante, da Vinci, Fermi, etc. Too much to get your arms around, but I did get my stamp.
The Cathedral, some 800 meters away, was a problem getting in. It was already closed, and the last few people were being ushered out. I pleaded with one of the security guards and he let me in and another got my credentials stamped—sweet. Mission Accomplished—then I played tourist for another three hours: seeing the statues in and around the Loggia dei Lanzi (including a copy of David); walking along the Arno, then over the Ponte Vecchio; and having some genuine gelato!