February 4, After Venice , my husband, Adam, and I continued on to Florence, because I had never been there and he thought that I, as someone who loves architecture, needed to see it. We took the train from Venice, and as in so many other cities, the area around the train station makes a weak first impression. But then we came upon the Duomo—extraordinary during the day, and even more dazzling later that evening.
The marble facade glows; it reminded me of both Florentine paper and mosques in Istanbul. The contrast between the restored and unrestored parts was remarkable.
While I missed a grander lobby that such a location warrants—the existing one is small and crammed with art and vitrines showcasing luxury goods—our room was lovely to look at.
Rooms , I should say, because we asked to change after the street noise buskers, a carousel, amplified tour guides, people in general… proved unbearable. Even the second room, on the back of the hotel, was far from quiet. In every other way, the property is terrific, and the service was impeccable.
We wished that the hotel would install better windows—or that we could pick the whole place up and move it somewhere else. Our first 36 hours in Florence were rough. Italian tourists were plentiful, too. On top of all that, the air quality was atrocious.
