EXPLORING FLORENCE .....

Friday, October 13th, 2000 Fiesole

Woke up to chirping birds outside our window. So great we slept in and didn’t get to breakfast until nearly 9. After breakfast we were off to Florence to see the town and do the laundry. Found the parking lot at Plaza Mercato Central and a Laundromat within a block of the parking. Also had an Internet place right there also. We’d saved coins for three days and wouldn’t you know it…what we needed was 5,000 Lire paper money! Met a great couple from Boise, Idaho who were also doing their laundry. Shared lots of information with them and Jim traded e-mail addresses with them. They are part owners of a small winery. Do about 100,000 bottles a year. Very interesting people on their first trip to Europe.

Jim got the money for the machine for tokens by buying some drinks and food and several postcards. Then he went off to discover exactly where we were and how to get to the things that we wanted to see in Florence. Soon the laundry was finished and after WC stop we were on our way to the Bridge. Had a great visit with the City of Florence. Ate our lunch of pieta bread sandwiches while walking. Found a great chandelier and floor lamp….good thing the store was closed as I think we really would have spent the money and had them shipped. We took photos but it’s not the same. Also saw a glass table with a metal stand of green wheat tipped in gold. Got our ice cream for dessert and went back to the Dumo to go to the Museo dell’ Opera del Duomo. It has the real statutes and gold Baptisty panels…didn’t know we’d been seeing reproductions on all these trips. The masterpiece other than the gold panels is the unfinished Pieta by Michelangelo. The marble cracked and he never completed it. It was being done near the end of his life and intended for his own crypt in Rome. The face of Nicodemus was carved in the image of Michelangelo.

Back to the car, cost as much as two days in Vicenza, but well worth it as we didn’t worry about opening the trunk, etc. as we put the clothes in after we’d finished the laundry.

Home again in Fiesole, it’s time to get dressed for dinner and another wonderful evening. Jim has taken the digital camera down to take photos of the dining room. Mailed our postcards before dinner.

Dinner with Georgette and Jean from Belgium. Another wonderful meal with good conversation. Exchanged addresses with them before we left. Jean was a neuclar engineer and is now retired. He takes classes at the university. Other interest was Architecture. Their oldest daughter is a physical theaperist, son is an architect and the second son is involved in construction. They gave us some suggestions on places to see while we are in Provence.