Florence Day 2

Our first stop of the day was the San Lorenzo Central Market. Fun looking at all the vendor's booths. Jeff had a a panino con lampredotto from De Nerbone. They have been in business for over 150 years. Not my typical breakfast but it was delicious.

We strolled down to the Galileo museum for our 12:30 admission. It was a nice change from all of the art of yesterday. We spent about 2 hours there looking at how science advanced during the Renaissance time period. A lot of this were things Eileen taught her middle schoolers.

After some lunch, we started walking toward piazzale Michaelangelo. We started with a stroll across the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that has been standing since the 1300s. It is completely filled with jewelry shops. I have no idea how they could make money given the number there. Above the bridge is a covered walkway that has been used by the Medici family to get between the Pitti Palace and their offices (Uffizi). We didn't tour the Pitti, partly because the residences were closed for renovation and we weren't ready for more art.

The Piazza Michaelangelo was high atop the hill offering beautiful views of Florence across the river. There were street musicians playing nice music while we were there. A short distance up there was a beautiful basilica, San Miniato del Monte. We considered waiting to hear the monks and their Gregorian chant but didn't want to wait that long.

The walk back to the our room took about 45 minutes. We rested for about 20 minutes before heading to our 7:45 dinner reservation at the place that turned us away the night before. The food at antica trattoria da Tito was good, including some very tasty desserts. It was our first time trying Vin Santo, paired with a delicious piece of cake. We called it an early night and headed back to the room although I (Jeff) was up till almost 2:00.Read more