We have just returned from a trip to Florence. We took the ‘green’ option and went by train, which was an experience in itself and made the whole trip a lot more relaxing. It was wonderful to get off the train after an overnight journey and find ourselves right in the middle of the city; no ghastly airport to negotiate, and no long bus ride into town. It is not an option for people in a hurry however. The journey from Kings Cross took about 19 hours in all.
I haven’t visited Florence for quite a long time and I have to say I was rather saddened by the amount of graffiti that seemed to be almost everywhere. The local authority doesn’t seem to be on top of the problem at all. There was also quite a lot to be seen in Paris, but we mainly passed through areas close to railway stations, so it is not possible to generalise about the French Capital.
I can’t imagine the cities of Cambridge or Oxford, or places like Stratford upon Avon, which are major tourist destinations like Florence, tolerating this level of desecration. Some of the wall artists’ efforts were quite good, as can be seen by the picture above, but others were just unsightly scribbles. I am afraid that once this problem has reached such a high level it is very difficult to combat. Here in Suffolk a good deal has been done to nip graffiti in the bud, and studies show that the best way to prevent it is to tackle it at an early stage. In this connection an Acton resident recently donated a graffiti removal kit to Sudbury Town Council. By and large Sudbury is fairly free of the problem.
Apart from this quibble however, Italy remains a welcoming place and Florence a marvellous destination. February is a very good time to visit; no queues for the sites and reasonably dry weather.
