Florence to the Dolomites
Oozing our way through northern Italy
Our trusty train to Florence Stops in Montecatini Montecatini Terme As they call this terra firme Old as salt upon the hilltop Cosmopolitan below Famous for its thermal baths Timeworn villas in rose But not so much our simple abode On the sleepy side of the road Conveniently above the kabobs
Back on the train We dash to Firenze And 400-some stairs Up the great Duomo Up to the frescos Naked and sprawling Mildly appalling Glorious and gorious Possibly demented Depending on your point of view
Then to the crows nest To spy an endless city Then down we go For another stroll To the most famous buns in the world Soon we're aside the naked man The unabashed statue of David Confident as a giant Humble as a pie With a glint in his eye One hell of a rock chop, Mickie
Then it's back to Montecatini Craving that panini A walk across town To the woody funiculare To look back down in the dark Streets still warm Cafes swarmed And all are fresh out of pasta Not even a pizza To stave us offsta A 1,300-year-old church Still claims the summit But then we must plummet To some late evening chow below Where a kind fellow Hails us a taxi But oh, no I forgot the address But no need for sobs He knows the kabobs And safely we're back In the nick of a knack For some benissimo bobs Crafted and served By brothers of a clan From Pakistan
In the morning we scoot Back into Florence Gallery Uffuzi awaits But our train to the north To the great Dolomiti Keeps our stay quite short We sail like the wind To Bologna and Verona Wander the cobble streets We see the arena A grand coliseum As Roman as roamin' in Rome A gelato later We're back on the train Scorching the rails to Bolzano
A quick look around A bus out of town We're off to Castelrotto In the South Tyrolean Alps A spotless town Where nobody frowns Beneath the craggy heights Not like the bloody war That ended all wars When the Italians won over this place
We awake like cicadas For a hike to Seceda Marvelous, magical spires Lunch at a hut All smiles and glut With our fellow hungry hikers And a snooping, pooping cow Bread, cheese and meat Reinvigorate our feet And down through the meadows We roam
On day number two All I wanted to do Was a little via ferrata But a threat of rain Could make that a pain So I thought maybe not I oughtta I instead cabled high On Sassolungo the massif The long trek down Made an excellent consolation A worthy destination
On day three it rained indeed So we hiked on up to the Jimmy Hut A Maryland pair joined our kerfuffle With wine and cocoa in the mist Day four was no bore And sunny galore We hiked halfway 'round the 'Lungo Yes, it wasn't to be Via ferrata and me So I must return for another go
Back to Bolzano To explore the old city And sneak a quick peek At Otzi A man of the ice I'm sure he was nice When he was killed 3,000 years ago A splendid museum Allows you to see him And the intricate gear he was toting A solo traveler perhaps Shot in the back Who fell to the snow Where it snowed and snowed And snowed some more And the man who'd entice Became buried in ice So long, long, long ago
And we're off once more A slow train to Venice And a ferry to send us Along the Grand Canal Check into our digs Rooftop view is amazin' But no time for lazin' So we lose ourselves In the maze of crooked streets And lesser canals To find ourselves In the piazza of San Marco Later in the dark Our fellow lostees All staring like us At our Google maps Our heads going numb From the digital crumbs Showing us every way but home
Another day Lost in the maze But we find our way To the palace A worthwhile start Then a museum of art The hours wither Hither and thither Before we meet a couple From Georgia And share a private gondola Our esteemed gondoleer Finds the way clear He's fifth generation So nothing's amiss We're floating in bliss A tour of the world of Venice
In the morning we ferry With no time to tarry And aim our train to Trieste With two hours to wander More history to ponder Then a bus to Rovinj, Croatia A fabulous seaside facia Then it's on to awesome Dalmatia For the next fine journey of the leg
Nest Stop: Croatia