- Florence

We slept well - it wasn't so noisy last night (it is during the day) so we're keeping the room. We ate, cleaned up and got out of the room.

The Duomo	The Duomo facade is under restoration

We started walking towards a couple of jewelry stores Aviva likes; she's been here enough that she doesn't need a map to find a few items of intense interest! She bought a few things. One of the stores had closed. Then, we walked towards Santa Maria Novella; there's no photography allowed inside.

"Martyrdom of Saint John Evangilist" by Filippino Lippi

"Nativity of the Virgin" by Ghirlandaio

"Wedding of the Virgin" by Ghirlandaio

After visiting the church, we walked further towards another jewelry store Aviva likes; I bought a pair of cheap lightening earrings. We walked back past Santa Maria Novella and stopped at a trattoria Aviva likes (she became friends with a waiter there that's moved on to open a restaurante nearby), La Madia at Via del Giglio 14. Lunch was quite good - we'll probably come back here once more before we leave Florence.

We had lunch here - it was really good!
This is a place we wanted to try but didn't get a chance - next time....

We shopped at the open market at San Lorenzo; I bought a Fiorentina hat (that's the local soccer team) and Aviva bought a few gifts, including two portrait plates and a pitcher for us from a neat little ceramics shop, Lorenzaccio, where we'd shopped on a previous trip.

The card from the ceramics shop
The portrait plates we bought - we were told that couples would commission such plates when they were married

We stopped at a couple of buildings with frescoes remaining on their exteriors.

Painted building facades

We happened by Masacio's house

We walked down Via de Pucci to San Michelino Visdomini (another church of course). Inside is a very old Pontermo, painted in his twenties. It was really dirty and needed restoration badly. We walked down Via del Servi to Santissima Annunziata and the Foundling Hospital.

A panorama of the Piazza Santissima Annunziata

The fountain at Piazza Santissima Annunziata

In the center of the panorama above is Santissima Annunziata. The church has an interesting structure - it has an entry collonade followed by a square courtyard, then the church itself. There's a cloister with frescoes, some by del Sarto, and a small chapel, by Vasari, which are usually closed. But, after I gave the man 5 Euro for a 3.50 Euro book, he took a few of us to the cloister and the chapel.

The facade of Santissima Annunziata

The two lentil decorations at the entrance

Below are images from the entry square.

On the right is a fake window with a woman looking out
A man with a mean fish
Two of the many frescoes on the walls of the square

Below are images from the church interior, the cloister and the Vasari chapel.

A detail from a paining - remind you of anything?	The ceiling above the altar	Vasari does Vasari, from the chapel
A fresco from the cloister

We crossed the piazza to the Foundling Hospital - this was set up to receive children that parents couldn't keep. There is a door at the far end of the collonade where foundlings were left. This has become a museum - we saw the show that was up.

Ticket for the Foundling Hospital
The vaulting over the entry is painted; on the left is a detail

There are images like this on the outside of the hospital	The door where children were left
A painted ceiling

We then walked down to Santa Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi, which has a Perugino fresco which we couldn't see.

Aviva loves the small European cars - this one is a two seat electric car

We had dinner by the Duomo at Buca San Giovanni at Piazza San Giovanni, 8; it was pretty good.

Then back towards the hotel and a gelato (of course) and then to bed.