We attended mass in the Duomo Sunday morning. We snapped one photo of the interior of its magnificent dome before realizing that once again, No Fotos in the church! The Duomo, or Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers, 4^th largest cathedral in the world, was actually built on and around the Cathedral of Saint Reparata, original cathedral of Florence!

We then walked around Florence Centro to refamiliarize ourselves with the city since it has been nine years since last we were here. We walked down to the Arno River, looked at the Ponte Vecchio and took a photo in the covered walkway, this time from the opposite end of the arches than the photo we took in 2007. We found a lot of places to get gelato but this one was just too beautiful so I had to take a photo. You can even see the condensation on the glass from the cold but what I loved was how large and beautiful the display looked. It was early morning and I wasn’t in the mood for gelato so maybe later tonight.

We also happened on a “pinwheel” hotel and then visited the Church of Saints Michael and Gaetano. On the walk back to the apartment, we caught the city refuse collectors emptying a trash receptacle. That’s one big trashcan which they lift up over the truck to dump. By the way, recycling is big in Florence and the city is very clean.

After a late lunch, we headed back to the Duomo Piazza where we witnessed a procession just beginning from the cathedral. This one honored Virgin Mary and Jesus.

As in all the cities we have visited, they have the hop on, hop off bus tours which are a great way to see the city. This one has 3 different routes and offers a good deal for a 3 day pass. They take you all around the outer part of the city and some of the inner city that still allows cars and buses. Monday morning we hopped on a bus taking the first route and then later, took the second route up to Fiesole where we jumped off the bus for a few minutes to visit the cathedral and main piazza. The homes, gardens, views and just about everything on the route up to and back were just awesome. Wish we could visit them all.

We’ll catch the third route later this week. Probably next week, we’ll take an all day tour to Siena with a stop in San Gimignano and one in Chianti for wine tasting, snacks then later gelato! A beautiful way to spend a day and visit Siena without having to rent a car.

Between bus tours, we stopped at the Central Market, a giant building with hundreds of vendors, picked up some vegetables, cheese, olives, grilled peppers and mortadella. At the panaficio across the street from the apartment, we bought bread to go along with everything. We snacked on the antipasto goodies and then later after the second bus tour, I made Gabriella’s recipe for a green bean, potato, tomato and onion soup/stew.

Tuesday was supposed to be rainy so we didn’t plan much sightseeing. Around 10:00, after the morning rains, we took a little walk, passed a beauty parlor, and then I decided – it’s time. I returned to the beauty shop and had a cut and color Magnificent. And no more expensive than at home!

After lunch, we headed over to the Church of Santa Croce. Lordy, do the beautiful churches ever end! While in the church, we came across a statue that looks like our Statue of Liberty. Turns out this statue could be a source of inspiration for our statue but this one is different, as expressed in a poster explaining the statue: this one “differs from her stern American cousin in her more feminine form and gentle grace of her pose.” Drawings for this statue circulated prior to 1872 and the statue was completed in 1877. It is dedicated to Giovan Niccolini, a hero or the Italian reorganization when all of the city states of Italy were brought together as one country.

There are many leather stores around here so I guess I’m just going to have to purchase a leather jacket. Have always wanted one so this is the perfect place to get it. Now it’s all about color, style, where to buy, oh decisions, decisions! Might have to find another purse as well — after all a girl can’t have too many of those.

Don’t you know it, as we walked off from the Piazza Santa Croce, there were the Italian leather stores. Leather jacket; check! Then, across the intersection, a gloves shop – Italian leather. Check! A few blocks away, I commented to Jim that it would be nice to have a blouse or two to go with my Italian skinny jeans and new jacket. Jim noticed a store and guess what? Check on the blouses! Hmmm – shoes are next.

Since it was on the way back to the apartment and I wanted to see it, we visited the Church of Orsanmichele. Does it ever end? Another different but again, beautiful church demonstrating the art and craftsmanship of the Italians. Just look at the Madonna delle Grazie altar.

Finally back home, I made sugo (tomato sauce) and cooked some ravioli stuffed with cheese. The ravioli were made right in the Central Market where I bought them. Absolutely wonderful, perhaps the best we have ever eaten. Our dolce was melograno or pomegranate.

Wednesday, the 19^th, and we began the day with a walk to the Mercato Centrale for reloads on vegetables, fruit and meat. We then took the third bus tour route around the city, picking one or two more places to visit on another day. We learned another interesting fact from the bus tour narrative. The bread here in Florence does not seem to have any salt in it. We learned today that back when there were still city-states here in Italy, Pisa and Florence were at war and the Pisans blockaded the River Arno, preventing salt to reach the city (salt here generally comes from Sicily near Trapani.) So the Florentines made their bread without salt and the tradition or practice continues to today (and with pride!)

After lunch, we launched an ambitious plan to see the Church of San Marco and its museum, the Accademia where the original statue of David is located and the Church of Santa Annunziata. Unfortunately for us, the lines at the Accademia were just too long and the two churches were closed by the time we arrived.

So we walked over to the Medici Chapels and Church of San Lorenzo. Both sites were awesome. If you do not recall, the Medici’s essentially ran Florence in the 14 & 1500s. We didn’t know until now that they also produced four popes of the Catholic Church and two queens of France. Their start however was in banking. Most important of all to us young people, they were really, really into art. Sponsoring artists and sculptors and collecting art were perhaps their greatest contribution to Florence, Italy and the world.

You have to walk around to the front of San Lorenzo which is located on a large piazza – right, Piazza di San Lorenzo. Lots of stores and street vendors, and people. Probably should mention that it has been clear to us, hundreds if not thousands of young people, meaning college age, are here in Florence. They may be on exchanges, actual full-time students or students on excursions but there sure are a lot of them.

And that brings us to the end of Wednesday and our first five days in Firenze, except for supper. I fixed breaded chicken cutlets, green beans and a salad, all fresh ingredients from the market this morning. Ten minutes to prepare!

Over the next few days we plan to visit the Accademia to see the David, have dinner with cousin Marco (parents are Gabriella and Antonino from the Monteferrante clan) who lives and works here, and take a day trip to Siena and San Gimignano.