As we passed the shops of Livorno we saw some interesting items in the windows and in the street vendors shops but at the time we were too busy hoofing it to the train station to shop. After the trip was over that was one of our regrets. The prices and selection had we wanted to shop was excellent in Livorno. We'd spend more time and money there should we return. The shops seemed to be geared more for the locals and the local economy than to the tourists. Once we arrived at the train station we bought a ticket to Pisa with the intention of changing trains there to get to Florence. There was really no need. You can go straight to Florence but even with that mistake and an hour long wait for the train to Florence from Pisa, we arrived in plenty of time to walk the streets of Florence. Here you see some fellow Americans during that hour long wait puzzling over the maps in preparation for their journeys.
Once aboard the trains you'll find them very accommodating with tiny but useful restrooms, clean but not spic and span seats and train cabins, possibly because everybody and their dogs uses the trains. (See the picture below). They are convenient, mostly on time, and make for easy traveling. Plus it's a great way to meet the locals. We found everyone from the train station attendant to the daily commuter to be most friendly and helpful. And never once did I fear for my life like I might on regular American public transport.
In Florence, not only will you find shopping (that we actually avoided like the plague - remember we were on a strict budget) but you'll find the town to be bursting to overflowing with art and artists. On almost every street you'll find either an art gallery, art supply store, or street artist like the one I painted in the piece below. This is another of the pieces that I have in the April show at Gallery 56. I had two paintings of street artists in Florence in my show and they both sold. 
Everywhere in Florence things are old, old, old. And whats so really cool is imagining the generations of peoples that have walked these same streets, people like Michaelangelo, Botticelli, Da Vinci. Imagine, as my husband is doing right here, that their hands may have touched the same railings and doors that you can just walk right up to and touch yourself hundreds of years later.
One of the oddest things about all of Europe is the graffiti on the walls. Though the walls themselves may be thousands of years old, every now and then there's an odd spot of spray paint. This picture of an art gallery has an odd patch of graffiti that pointed directly to my husband. The shops behind him were very upscale art and antique shops.
Since I really wasn't looking for the shopping in Florence (due to the valuation of the dollar we could get cheaper leather jackets and stuff in America than in Europe) I explored the outskirts of Florence on the map (still within walking distance) and found that with some winding up and down the narrow streets of Florence, I could actually find the home of Michaelangelo. For me as an artist, this meant way more to me than any leather jacket or purse.
.With plenty of time to stroll the streets we found fascinating people, places and things and always there was an atmosphere of "love" in the air, whether person to person, person to city, or person to art. I painted two such lovers in this piece I titled "Amore II". Enjoy.
