Church with a view

I slept through the night and woke up with no jet lag at 7:15. Woo hoo! Joe was still asleep, so I headed out for an early walk, down to the center of the historic center. Lots of activity there, not the tourists, but those preparing for the tourists — street cleaners, delivery trucks, people going into buildings filled with apartment rentals carrying bundles of sheets and towels, a lot of hustle and bustle. Walking over the Ponte Vecchio with only a handful of people on it, sitting in the square in front of Santa Croce without long lines of tour groups, it was all very pleasant.

When I am tempted to complain about “the tourists,” I usually think of my favorite billboard, somewhere outside Atlanta on an always crowded interstate. This is a billboard put up by the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and it says “You aren’t STUCK in traffic. You ARE traffic.” Same applies here.

I waited to have breakfast with Joe, and it was very good. Our destination for today was the Church of San Miniato. Romanesque, up high with beautiful views. The story of the Saint whose relics are there (at least as told by Guide Michelin) is a bit less than glorious. Apparently he was a Tuscan ruffian, not an Armenian king on pilgrimage to Rome. His miracles included being thrown into a dungeon with lions and emerging unscathed, and then climbing the hill where the church stands carrying his own severed head. The church is peaceful, uncrowded and we were lucky to hear the organist practicing — there’s always something wonderful about organs playing in ancient spacious churches!

We had taken a cab up, and the idea was that we would walk back to the hotel. As we descended the hill (stopping in a café for a long while) and crossed the bridge, it seemed a shame not to continue on a couple hundred meters to get to Santa Croce. A few hundred years later than San Miniato and much grander, there’s a good cross section of Italy’s best and brightest buried there — Galieo, Michaelangelo, Machiavelli, Rossini. Very very beautiful, inside and out.

I saw a lot of people eating good-looking sandwiches with the same wrapper and got directions. Turns out it’s a very famous sandwich shop. Long line moved fast! All’Antico Vinaio. Joe and I couldn’t even finish one, but it was YUMMY. We will probably return.

We followed our tried and true routine of getting back to the hotel by 3:30 or so, so Joe could nap while I went to the elliptical and had some time to write up this little piece of prose. Someone tried to get out through the fire escape, and it set off a piercing alarm. Joe did not stir, so I know he’s getting some deep sleep!

We’ll head out for dinner around 7:30. This is a great routine for us, and Joe really seems to be enjoying it so far!Read more