Winding down.....
Yesterday was our last day of class so Rigmor and I are officially graduated. Actually I think what we received was more a certificate of perfect attendance, but we took it. After lunch and shopping with a colleague who needed some navigation advice around the mercato, we gladly returned home to rest. It was in the upper nineties today.
A farewell dinner was scheduled at Perseus, a brisk ten minute walk away, but Simona was absent. Her mother had fallen, again, and was taken to the ospedale. This is certainly a familiar theme to many of us with aged relatives so we can sympathize.
We had something of an odd dinner with vegetables in a rather thick tempura, cheese which we didn't need and meat filled squash blossoms to start. This was followed by very rare sliced steak over arugula and some leaden roasted potatoes. Many of the diners could not abide the very rare meat so they started their diet early!
Cantucci, biscotti in America, dunked into high octane Vin Santo finished the meal. There was no breeze tonight so no one stayed on the loggia very long after dinner, as it was still very hot.
We have a free day so we slept in a bit. Today is the feast day of San Giovanni Batista, the patron saint of Florence, so it is a big holiday. More things are closed than open...too bad we waited to buy more olive oil soap!
One thing that is open is the newly renovated Instituto degli Innocenti. Closed for a prolonged period of restoration, its doors swung open for dignitaries yesterday. As we walk down the streets that are so familiar to us now we can hear all the church bells ringing in preparation for Mass at the Baptistry across from the Duomo.
It seems that every Italian with the day off has the same idea. There is a very long queue to enter, but we are in the shade so we don't mind the standing too much. I swear we are the only Americans in line. We are practicing our Italian while eavesdropping.
Today the entrance is free...hence the lines. The Instituto is a six century old home for orphans or those whose parents could not care for them. In the early years, there was a window where the babies were dropped off. The patron was a forward thinking man who allowed the older ones to be apprenticed to artisans or tradesmen, thus insuring their independence.
Considered the first fully Renaissance building based on an initial design by Filippo Brunelleschi, it is fashioned in gray stone and white stucco. On the facade the terra-cotta medallions of newborn babies between the round arches are the work of Andrea della Robbia.
There are some interesting video histories of former residents from the 1930's. Each one remembered their experience fondly. There is a beautiful arcade filled with vibrant art, many pieces just recently cleaned and restored including works by Botticelli and Michelangelo's teacher, Ghirlandaio.
We stop on the top floor in their open air cafe, Caffe de Verone, for iced coffee and to admire the view with the Duomo on one side and the green dome of the Synagogue on the other, unfortunately marred by the ever-present cranes.
It is still early so make the short trip to the Botanical Garden. Part of the University, it is somewhat overgrown but it is also a laboratory of sorts. We enjoyed a stroll under the huge trees admiring the hydrangeas.
Yesterday was our last day of class so Rigmor and I are officially graduated. Actually I think what we received was more a certificate of perfect attendance, but we took it. After lunch and shopping with a colleague who needed some navigation advice around the mercato, we gladly returned home to rest. It was in the upper nineties today.
A farewell dinner was scheduled at Perseus, a brisk ten minute walk away, but Simona was absent. Her mother had fallen, again, and was taken to the ospedale. This is certainly a familiar theme to many of us with aged relatives so we can sympathize.
We had something of an odd dinner with vegetables in a rather thick tempura, cheese which we didn't need and meat filled squash blossoms to start. This was followed by very rare sliced steak over arugula and some leaden roasted potatoes. Many of the diners could not abide the very rare meat so they started their diet early!
Cantucci, biscotti in America, dunked into high octane Vin Santo finished the meal. There was no breeze tonight so no one stayed on the loggia very long after dinner, as it was still very hot.
We have a free day so we slept in a bit. Today is the feast day of San Giovanni Batista, the patron saint of Florence, so it is a big holiday. More things are closed than open...too bad we waited to buy more olive oil soap!
One thing that is open is the newly renovated Instituto degli Innocenti. Closed for a prolonged period of restoration, its doors swung open for dignitaries yesterday. As we walk down the streets that are so familiar to us now we can hear all the church bells ringing in preparation for Mass at the Baptistry across from the Duomo.
It seems that every Italian with the day off has the same idea. There is a very long queue to enter, but we are in the shade so we don't mind the standing too much. I swear we are the only Americans in line. We are practicing our Italian while eavesdropping.
Today the entrance is free...hence the lines. The Instituto is a six century old home for orphans or those whose parents could not care for them. In the early years, there was a window where the babies were dropped off. The patron was a forward thinking man who allowed the older ones to be apprenticed to artisans or tradesmen, thus insuring their independence.
Considered the first fully Renaissance building based on an initial design by Filippo Brunelleschi, it is fashioned in gray stone and white stucco. On the facade the terra-cotta medallions of newborn babies between the round arches are the work of Andrea della Robbia.
There are some interesting video histories of former residents from the 1930's. Each one remembered their experience fondly. There is a beautiful arcade filled with vibrant art, many pieces just recently cleaned and restored including works by Botticelli and Michelangelo's teacher, Ghirlandaio.
We stop on the top floor in their open air cafe, Caffe de Verone, for iced coffee and to admire the view with the Duomo on one side and the green dome of the Synagogue on the other, unfortunately marred by the ever-present cranes.
It is still early so make the short trip to the Botanical Garden. Part of the University, it is somewhat overgrown but it is also a laboratory of sorts. We enjoyed a stroll under the huge trees admiring the hydrangeas.
Tonight there is to be a small farewell reception and if we can stay awake long enough fireworks seen from the roof top.
Comments
Post a Comment