Well, I’m back home, yay! And I’m back to catching up my trip report.
I left off at Day 2:
DAY 2 (Sept 3):
Jet lag had me in its grip and it was raining so I didn’t venture out until just before lunch. I went out with an umbrella and walked down our street and rounded a corner and went down a side street and just wandered, peeking into shops as I went along. Eventually I found an interesting restaurant where American jazz was wafting out the door. This had to be good. I only heard Italian spoken here. I enjoyed a leisurely 2 hour lunch and people watched, Food was good but not exceptional, Taverna Divina Commedia . Still enjoying myself. Went back out into the rain and found a gelato shop, Venchi. It’s a chain but has delicious gelato and amazing chocolate. I bought a few for my hotel room to have on hand.
Eventually the sun came out and I decided to go across the Arno River to the Oltrarno to find the Santo Spirito Church and then walked across the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge). It was so hot and humid, my energy was sapped and I followed the back lanes if they were shady! I was pretty lost by now and didn’t find the church. But I decided my new goal was to find the Mercato Centrale across the River which had been described to me as a food court with a collection of restaurants in a large building near the Piazza San Lorenzo. Well, I found the Piazza but walked through an outdoor market filled with leather goods and clothing but no Mercato Centrale. As it turns out, I had walked right by the building but the entrance is not clearly marked. I found my way back to the hotel. Dinner was a sandwich in my room.
DAY 3 (Sept 4): This was an exciting day. I found the Mercato Centrale and had a delightful lunch, I highly recommend this place. I wandered all the way through and looked at all the offerings, every kind of cuisine was offered. There was even a cooking school, I watched as students prepared meals and the chefs walked around critiquing their techniques. I had a delicious Espresso at the bar. Then I had an Italian pasta dish at another restaurant, something divine with truffle sauce! Not far from here is the Medici Chapels, a chapel Michelangelo designed for the major figures of the powerful Medici family. I bought my ticket at the door. It’s gorgeous and the New Sacristy contains wonderful sculptures by him. Day and Night and Dawn and Dusk are amazing. His Madonna and Child is different from other statues. He may be the most important sculptor of all time! I’m so happy I saw this chapel.
I went back to the hotel and freshened up and headed to the restaurant on Proconsolo I mentioned earlier and ran into my friend who had just arrived from the states so we enjoyed dinner together.
DAY 4 (Sept 5) First day of the Tour: We have free time until our orientation meeting at 4 pm so my friend and I set out to see the Museo di San Marco (we bought our tickets online). We marveled at Fra’ Angelico’s magnificent Renaissance frescoes and paintings, the largest collection anywhere. There’s also a Monastery attached to the Museum and we toured it, a very old place. We found the cell of Savonarola and memorabilia of his writings and life.
We then found the oldest Renaissance square in Florence called the Annunciation Square. We had a delicious lunch on a terrace with a lovely view of the Duomo.at the cafe at the Hospital for the Innocents on this square.
Next will be an account of our first meeting with our guide, Anna Piperato, a PhD in Art History. She’s a wonderful amalgam of energy, fun and knowledge! She was the perfect tour guide, we all just loved her. By the way we had 7 people in our group.
