Florence

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Florence

Today we started walking towards the Orgnissanti. We stopped at a print shop from which Aviva bought a print of grotesques the last time she was in Florence – unfortunately, no small ones so we passed. We went into the Orgnissanti, which has works by Ghirlandaio and Botticelli, who is also buried there along with Amerigo Vespuchi.

We went outside and around to the right and entered the cloister and refectory which has a “Last Supper” by Ghirlandaio.

We walked down the street and found a hole-in-the-wall that served Indian and Arabic food. We had doner (that’s chicken) sharma – they guy split a fresh-made pita, then put spicy red sauce, shaved chicken, white sauce, letuce, tomato, onions, french fries, more chicken, more white sauce – a whole lunch in one pita, amazing! And it was really, really good! A very nice change from all the Italian food we’ve been eating.

We walked across the piazza outside the Orgnissanti, then walked along the Arno to the Carraia bridge and crossed over. We walked to Santa Maria del Carmine, which has the Brancacci Chapel inside. The church almost burned down in 1771, but the chapel wasn’t damaged. Which is very good because the chapel has one of Massacio‘s most famous works, the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Eden.

The church has a nice cloister also.

We walked up to the Ponte Vechio, snacking and shopping along the way. We crossed back over the Arno and walked to the Duomo, then back to the hotel to drop off all the stuff we bought and rest a few minutes. We walked back to the Duomo and went in the Bapistry.

Then, we went back out to find a ceramics shop Aviva had read about (which wasn’t that good), then walked to the San Lorenzo open-air market; if you want to see and hear the bells, click here for a short QuickTime movie. We stopped at Lorenzaccio Ceramica Toscana again and ordered a custom made vase (should arrive in about 6 weeks); we talked with the guy operating the shop this day (and the last time we walked in) – he was really nice and very happy to make a vase to fit our mantle. We ate dinner at a place between San Lorenzo and the Duomo (nothing special), then walked back to the hotel.

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