Tuesday and So Ends Another Italian Holiday

All right - it's Tuesday night, I'm all packed basically, I've paid the hotel, I remembered to get some euros for the cab tomorrow, I'm listening to the noises from the street, one of which sounds strangely like a woman crying, although I guess it's stopped now.  And I had a delicious dinner based, again, on the lady who runs the hotel - she and I seem to have hit it off.  Anyway, she told me about a little trattoria down the street which I've passed everytime I come and go and I had it in my head that I had eaten there when I first got to Florence and didn't like it and got the distinct impression they didn't like having a single diner.  But when I went in tonight I saw that this was a different one and very nice without being very expensive.  I ordered sort of a bruschetta with fagioli beans (which I bought some of in that Perugia bean store) and it came with three little pieces of thin toast with the soupy fagioli beans on the side rather than on the toast.  And it was all slathered in olive oil.  I grated a little salt and pepper on top and oh, it was good.  The beans were truly wonderful.  My waitress told me that they are just very slow cooked with a sage leaf and that it is the beans themselves which have such flavor, so we shall see when I get around to trying mine.  So a nice evening - I finished up with a pot of tea at "my" little place, told the man arrivederci because I was leaving in the morning and he said "maybe you come back!"  And I said "you bet your sweet bippy I will".  Tee-hee - fooled you!  I didn't really say that. :)

So, let's see what did today involve.  Oh, yes - I decided I would try again to see the Jewish Temple since last year it was closed for some special event.  There is a museum connected with it which follows the history of the Florentine Jews and apparently it is a long and sometimes good, sometimes bad history so I was interested.  I picked out a very straightforward route to get there which meant I didn't have to be always looking at the map and could look in shops instead.  Found a few little bits and pieces to buy and also found my little Christmas present to me.  Not as expensive as the IT piece I bought last year, but I really like this and will try and remember to post a picture of it when I get it home and framed.

Also, amazingly enough, saw things to take pictures of so, we'll just get started on some of those.

First are three pictures which kind of follow this huge line of people I came across and was thinking "good grief - is it a really good movie or something?" and then from a sign pointing down the street to where the line got hidden behind cars and such, I figured out that they were standing in line to enter the Accademia Museum where the famous statue of David is.  Of course, there's a lot more there than that, but I somehow have the feeling if it wasn't there, the lines wouldn't be so incredibly long.  And what a shame to spend all that time in line when old David is all over the city - replicas, but life-sized.  I guess that's why all the guidebooks say get reservations!

This shows the line headed down the street to where it at some point ends (I trust)...

Then here it is coming out from behind that tent-like thing in the first picture and wrapping around the corner, continuing behind the cars...

and after coming out from behind those cars and getting to the corner, it continues down that street until the end. Kind of a sad way to spend a lovely morning in Florence so I didn't.

Soon after that I came to another intersection, looked down the street to my left and there was a round building with a big statue in front so I went down to investigate.  It was the Rotunda di Santa Maria de Angioli.  I was seriously tempted to wander around to what was probably the front and see if it was something to go inside and look at, but I WAS on a mission, so I didn't. 

And maybe this is two separate buildings because I don't know why a rotunda for Santa Maria would have a man on horseback out in front of it...Down this way is where I found the little shop where I bought my Christmas present.  That does make it sound so expensive and it really wasn't - but I used that to justify buying it, after stocking up on the foodstuff yesterday.  And after telling the woman how I couldn't decide between one depicting the dome and one the ponte vecchio bridge, I walked outside, started up the street and there was the Duomo!  I'm telling you - it never fails to catch me unawares.  I had no idea I was somewhere where it would suddenly turn up.  So, yes, another picture of it:

Look at how it dwarfs all the buildings on this street and yet they're a fair amount closer to me than it is.

This is the dome of the Jewish Temple which I believe is about 200 years old now.  When I got there and went in, there was an entry fee, of course, but not too bad, and there were no photos allowed, of course, and nothing printed in English inside the museum.  However, there was a brochure tacked up on their bulletin board which gave a brief history and explained a little about what was inside and I asked the woman if I could have a copy of that for while I was going through it.  And she said NO!  I could have it when I was done!  She said that when I got inside I would be given a tour by an English speaking person and they would tell me all about the synagogue and the museum and I said, well, all right - thinking this was really kind of insane that I couldn't get the brochure until I came back out.  So, I went inside and into the synagogue because from outside I could hear this impossible-to-describe voice talking and talking.  This was the guide and she had already started with a group of people sitting there in what I can only assume was stunned amazement.  I did sit for a few minutes and then decided I just simply couldn't stand listening to her so went in search of a postcard of the dome interior which was beautiful and which they didn't have a postcard of and then went upstairs to where the sign pointed to the museum and it was there and locked up, waiting apparently for the very, very strange lady guide to come up with her surely stupefied group.  So I left.  Went back to the entry place to get my brochure, the woman and a visitor? scholar?  or ?? were having quite a discussion which at one point got fairly heated, then had to get simmered down, then had to go on since things had turned pleasant again, and on and on, all the while with me standing at the window and the woman knowing that all I wanted was my brochure.  Finally(!) a group of 5 people came in to pay and go inside and so she decided she could quit speaking with this person and turned to the window.  I said that I just needed to pick up the brochure and she held up her hands like "back off" and said "Madam, please just wait a moment".  I just sort of looked at her non-plussed and by then the buyer for the 5 people was at the window, she took care of them and then, with no other recourse, I guess, gave me my (excuse me) frigging brochure.  So, WRITE IT DOWN!!  I won't be going back there either.  That was a wierd experience...

So, here's the outside of the temple which I already took this picture last year too, but I was there so I took it again - maybe there's something better about this one - I don't know.

I decided that before heading to my cheap lunch place (from yesterday) I would walk down to the river, get on the Ponte Alle Grazie and take a picture from there of the Ponte Vecchio, which I did and also took one of San Miniato way up on the hill because that was such a pleasant memory for me. 

On the way there, I passed Santa Croce which was also a VERY pleasant memory for me.  After the Duomo, this was probably my favorite visit in the city.  It was nice to see all these places again and also nice (since I was in Florence for a short time this year) to have already seen inside of them and just be able to walk by and enjoy them.

Just another view...

Then it was on to the bridge...

And here's the Ponte Vecchio - the river is much higher and muddier than it was last year - last year, it about looked dried up.

And way up on the hill is the lovely San Miniato.

Heading back to the lunch place I took this picture mainly for Chris - isn't this how Mas spells his name or does his have to "a's" or something?  I think it's Mas so you'll have to ask him if he's moonlighting. :)

A men's outlet clothing store, apparently,

After my lunch I headed over to the Piazza della Signoria where the Palazzo Vecchio is.  That's where last year I took the pictures of the incredibly gorgeous pillars that are inside on the ground floor.  But I hadn't gone up to see the rest of the building and had thought that was something I could do this year and didn't remember until today.  So I went to see how late they were open and told myself I would go back a little later and I didn't.  I'm just really kind of worn out (in a nice way).  But I did take this picture (above) which shows the square tower of the Bargello Museum (another real favorite from last year) and the steeple of the Badia Fiorentina, a church.

Back near the Orsammichele again so I took this picture of one of the massive entryways with the beautiful fretwork above.  And the next one is just a close-up of the fretwork.

And, oh my goodness I'm sorry - but I'm like the "I've fallen and I can't get up" lady except I'm in Florence and I can't quit taking pictures of the Duomo.  So I will just post these four and that will be that - my last sighting until hopefully another time.

And with the sky we had today, how could I not take these, right?

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that.  I think maybe our front desk man is slowly choking to death from the sounds of things.  But it's going on for probably half an hour or so, so maybe not.  It adds a new note to the general cacophony that is my room.  But I've enjoyed this hotel - the room has been nice (especially the second one), the man and woman who own it are friendly and very helpful, and it's in a really convenient location.

Arrivederci from Firenze!

Monday - A Great Morning, And Mostly a Nice Afternoon and Evening

And, I'm saying to myself "I think I can, I think I can..." because I want to get Monday's and today (Tuesday's) blog posted tonight so I'm not posting one after I leave Italy.  That would be kind of anti-climatic, right?

I had my little yogurt and banana breakfast in my room which was a very nice change, got myself cleaned up and fiddled on the computer for a while and by the time I left the hotel for my day's outing, it was late enough that I could stop at my little place for a pot of tea and a very tiny treat. :)

My plan was to go to Mercato Centrale and do my grocery shopping and then go to the Medici Chapel which I had not done last year (they were either closed, had long lines, or towards the end of my trip when they weren't closed and there wasn't much line, I went to go in, saw the "no pictures" sign and decided to heck with it because by then I was really tired of that.  So I thought I would try again this year, still knowing I couldn't take pictures, but not having spent the last two weeks being told that everywhere I went!

But, the first stop was Mercato Centrale and I just truly can't imagine what it's like to live here and have that as a place to buy food.  To be emphatic...IT. IS. UNBELIEVABLE!!! And, of course, all over Italy, on a smaller scale, this is how the people are able to shop - at these markets where everything is fresh and real, and the butchers cut meat, and the fishmongers clean and filet fish, and there is every kind of cheese imaginable and fresh bread and, and, and.  I love it!!!  I made my take-home purchases, wishing we were allowed to bring porcini mushrooms home cause this is their season and they're everywhere.  And then I took these pictures which are mostly from standing in one place and pointing my camera different directions - and the building is probably about the size of a city block - maybe only half a block square, but very big.

Lots of Limoncello - has anyone ever had that?  I never have...

Yes, what you're seeing are the heads, and the very bright yellow bits are the legs and feet!  The guys on the left had black legs and feet...

These are little birds - the left front are quail - that was the only name I could recognize.

And this is all the yucky stuff - tongues (the Italian word is lingua which is neat - that means language), tripe, brains, livers, hearts (cuori), and over here on the right is I'm pretty sure testicles because the sign reads "testicoli" - could it be anything else?!  And Maria had been trying to tell me about the special cut of beef that is used in traditional Bolognese sauce (ragu) and looked in her dictionary and told me diaphragm and I thought, well, it must be something else in English.  But there in this "other parts" cabinet was "diaphragma manzo" - not sure about the spelling now, but it would mean beef diaphragm and it looked pretty gnarly.  How would anyone ever know what to do with all these things?

Then I had to go back to the hotel cause I couldn't carry my sacks of stuff around with me all day and by the time I was done with that, it would be time to try out that little wine bar place I had seen yesterday.  By the time I left the hotel it was sprinkling hard enough to need an umbrella and not really raining which was nice.  And, of course, umbrella or no, I was compelled to take pictures here and there along the way...

People probably wonder why I take so many pictures of this and I can only compare it to Mt. Everest and say "because it is there".

There's a chain store that I saw in Perugia, Bologna and now Florence and this is their current window display and I can't figure out why - they sell clothes.  But I thought my miniaturist friends might get a kick out of it - it's a surprise to see it in amongst all the high-fashion window arrangements.

The huge arch in the Piazza della Republica

and a close-up of the inscription...

This window just really tickled me - I have yet to see any Italian man dressed like this!  Maybe it's what the well-dressed truffle hunter will be wearing as he hunts winter truffles this year.  And I love that the window has "Marlboro Classics" on it.

A familiar corner - the Orsammichele

Then I finally reached the little place and fortunately there weren't many people there today, I suppose because of the weather, because once you buy your sandwich and drink, you just have to stand around and eat it or find a stair to sit on or whatever.  Of course, if you worked in the area, I suppose you could take it back to work with you (not the wine, they actually serve it in glass glasses!)  So I got a porchetta (roast pork) sandwich on delicious, hot, crusty bread and a small glass of Chianti.  Found a little door step that was protected and sat on that to eat and oh, boy it was good!  I sure wish I had known about this place last year.  Because even trying to keep food costs low, but liking my glass of wine with lunch, both last year and this I really was never able to spend much less than 9E for lunch which is way more than lunch should cost.  But this delicious little lunch cost 4E.  And here's a picture of it - it truly is a "hole in the wall" - instead of a door or window or anything it's just open to the sidewalk with a counter all the way across - you go place your order, they make it in two minutes flat and you wander off to eat.  Fantastic!

While in the area, I did take a picture of the duomo since I just happened to be passing. :)

And that's all the pictures because after that I went to the Medici Chapel and I ended up wishing I had just stayed mad at them from last year.  They were open, there was no line so I went in and the price this year was 9E and then another 2E because they were having a special exhibit (which all the museums in Florence are always having special exhibits and so the price is always more than just the entry price.  So 11E to get in.  I asked her if there was anything in English that would help me know what I was looking at and gee, no there wasn't, but I could get an audio guide for 5E.  I thought about that, but then thought well, if there was a not too expensive booklet type thing I could get that and then not only know what I was looking at but have pictures to take home with me (since it still is and always will be no pictures).  So, not being too happy with the whole thing and thinking it better be pretty spectacular, in I went.  Went to the gift shop and there was a book which she said yes, would explain what was in the chapel.  It was eight Euro, but, again, I thought well, I'll have some pictures.  So we're now up to 17E to see this place.  But even if I had just bought the guide, it still would have been 13E.  (And, love Florence or not, I have to say both Perugia and Bologna totally, TOTALLY outshine Florence on this issue - very low entry fees (or none), and most places allowing photos - not all but a majority I'd say.)

The special exhibit was on the ground floor and was all connected to when Maria de Medicis (of the Florentine Medicis) married King Henry IV of France, whom I just finished reading about and who seems to be pretty highly regarded in history.  The exhibit was attractive and actually had English explanations along with the Italian which was nice and so was easily worth the 2E.  But...moving on to the chapel, I was really put out (although strangely, not surprised) to find that the actual chapel is undergoing some kind of restoration which involves lots of scaffolding up high and down low, is the rest of the exhibit about King Henry IV with I forget how many but lots of very large paintings of his various exploits, I guess.  I don't really know because I was so ticked off at the whole thing, I didn't look at the paintings - they weren't even in color! :)  They had been painted especially for the wedding (or maybe for King Henry's funeral?) and were monochromatic.  So, basically pretty much everything in the chapel was behind something - either scaffolding or huge pictures standing all around the floor.  The dome was beautiful...sorry I can't show you a picture.  And that was that - 17E for basically nothing.  If I had thought anyone there could speak enough English to understand me, I really think I would have been hard pressed not to tell them that I think it would be at least courteous to say that the chapel at present is undergoing renovations and is not "at it's best".  So it's probably just as well that they didn't speak real good English and I couldn't speak any Italian! :)  So, to use a favorite phrase - WRITE IT DOWN!!  That's it for me and the Medici Chapel!

It had been such a chilly, damp and drizzly day that I decided to go to a little trattoria on my street whose menu mentioned they had ribollita.  So that's what I had for dinner, along with a nice mixed salad and that made a real comforting meal.

And I don't think I have anything else to report - I did a little shopping and looking in shops here and there throughout the day, but nothing earth-shattering.

Sunday - A No Picture Day But a Good Day

I already e-mailed you on Sunday to announce my arrival in Florence - so I'll just enlarge on that a little.  I don't have a single picture to post cause it was a busy day until I got to Florence and then for some strange reason I went out walking without my camera.

Before I went to the train station and actually left Bologna, I decided to see if the Vodaphone store and the store where I bought my heavy sweater would be open on Sundays.  The Vodaphone store wasn't going to be (so I remain ripped off but probably would have even if they had opened) and the clothing store was going to open at 12 so I had to just kind of wander aimless around til then.  I wanted to return the sweater but it turns out most stores in Bologna don't do returns - just exchanges.  Fortunately there was that other sweater I had liked so I got that but I was disappointed not to get my money back because while I was wandering around aimlessly, I heard two American women talking, struck up a little conversation with them and almost wished I hadn't because they told me that the exchange rate had really gotten bad - since I had come over here.  At one point, it was $1.56 to buy a Euro, according to them.  It was about $1.29 when I left home and, of course, had gone down as low as $1.18 or $1.19 in the summer.  But, hey easy come, easy go I guess and the next time I looked at least it was back down in the $1.30's.

So, after I got that done, I went back to my place, got my cases, Maria called me a cab and walked me downstairs, we said our goodbyes and off I went to the train station.

And then, as stated in the e-mail...

I got my ticket

Remembered to get it validated (mainly because I saw another woman validating hers)

Got to the right train gate (granted I got on the wrong car, but still...) - and in my own defense it was mainly because I had asked a very nice Spanish lady who spoke excellent English if she knew anything about a TV screen that was supposed to tell us where our car (this train had assigned cars and seats).  She didn't, but came back in a bit to tell me that yes, there it was and it was saying we had to be waaaaay down "there", so off we went and the train came in and she said this is our car  and was pointing to the place on our tickets where it said "2" which is what the train car had on it.  But, having had an assigned car once before I knew that the 2 she was pointing to was "class" and not "car" and that my car number was 11.  But at that point we all got on - I don't know about them, but I could never have made it back down to car 11 in time - and, sure enough I was in the first class section.  Very nice by the way.  But I didn't want to get kicked off, so I started trekking down and when I got to the second class section, I managed to pull my suitcase through the very narrow row of one car and then gave up and sat on the little stairs between the cars the rest of the way.  It was only half an hour - it was one of the fast, snazzy trains.  So that was all fine.

Got off at Florence and walked straight to my hotel (looking at the map once)

Got my 3-ton suitcase up the stairs by myself!

Discovered they had changed my room (uh-oh)

I was really tickled when she showed me my new room - it's a nice amount larger, the bathroom is inside instead of down the hall and the light is brighter in here.  I was worried it wouldn't be the same rate and asked and it is, so that's nice too.  I think maybe the reason why, though, is because this room faces the street where as my old one didn't.  My old one was nice and quiet, this one is pretty insanely noisy until at least midnight.  But I'm headed home Wednesday so that's all right too. 

Just a few things left to tell about "after the e-mail".  I missed an incredible photo op with the duomo today - don't know why I didn't take my camera except that all I had on my mind was gelato and finding a bancomat.  But, as usual, got to the end of a street, was staring around trying to figure out if I was supposed to be where I was, turned around and BAM! there it was.  And it was SO magnificent.  The sky was exceptionally blue today, the duomo seemed exceptionally white and sparkling and it just positively thrills me when I see it.  It is SO huge and appears so suddenly.  Walking back, it was a quarter to five and all of a sudden, the bells in the campanile started ringing like crazy.  Probably went on for 5 minutes or more and was just beautiful.  I stopped at a good vantage point to look way, way up and sure enough - I could see one of the bells swinging back and forth.  Have I said that I love the duomo? :)  I do...I wish I could be with any of you making a first trip to Italy and watch you discover it.

The little place on my street where I had stopped in for a pot of tea in the afternoon is where I went for dinner.  Turns out they do that "buy a drink, eat along with it" thing for 6E so I was happy about that.  Oh, and I had asked the woman here where she liked to get gelato and that was the reason I had taken such a walk.  I had to walk down past the duomo and on a little side street right across from Orsammichele was her gelato shop called "Perche No" which she told me means "why not?" which I think is a perfect name for an ice cream store and which has now become a favorite phrase with me.  (Did I already tell everyone this or only Chris?)  If I only told Chris, the FYI it's pronounced pear-kay no and I find myself saying it to myself now whenever I'm deciding to do something (like spend money - perche no? I say and I spend it).

While I was in that area, I noticed down the next tiny little street a place with a big throng of people outside it and went to investigate and it's a tiny, minute little spot that sells sandwiches for 2.50E and glasses of wine - 3 sizes, 1.30, 1.60 and 3.00E (which must be a beer mug!) so I'm going to go there tomorrow and see how it is.

On the way back to the hotel from dinner, I bought a yogurt and banana at a tiny market for my breakfast in the morning, cause my room has a fridge.  I also bought a scarf because I've been just sort of freezing in the evenings and plus which, every woman in Italy wears one.

And that was Sunday and I'm sorry there wasn't a picture anywhere.  But no bad news either! :)

Some Saturday Sightseeing

Saturday will be mostly pictures of my journey to and my visit in the Pinoteca Nationale, the National Picture Gallery.  I also went first thing in the morning to the Vodaphone store to tell them that I still couldn't get on line and this time got a young man who took a lot of time working at it (using my computer which the girl the day before hadn't) and finally got me on-line with my new SIM card (that I had bought the day before). And see?  That was something else I did Friday and had probably blocked out! :)  So I went back to nel Cuore a very happy camper especially when I got on line and saw how many nice e-mails I had waiting for me.  Then I worked on photos and the blog a little and then I started out to the Gallery.  Another beautiful but chilly day.  Oh, that was another thing - I actually went into a store which had cheaper clothes than I had seen anywhere in Italy and bought a big heavy sweater.  There was another one that I tried on, but I thought this one would be better.

So, off we go.

First thing I had to do was take a picture of the church just down the street from me.  I had been asking Maria about a building I had seen with a wall just full of pock marks which I thought had to be from gunfire.  But I couldn't quite imagine that kind of fighting during the war because the men would practically be standing in front of each other to shoot - although I guess they'd be shooting at the buildings hoping to hit someone inside?  Anyway, she couldn't think where I was talking about but did tell me to look up to almost the top of this church when I went out to see a half circle gouge in the upper ledge which had been caused by a bomb or mortar shot or whatever that came down just at that point and that was apparently the only damage.  When I got there, I looked and sure enough, there it was.

The whole front (pretty much) of the church and...

The gouge in the ledge.

And this is the building I asked Maria about.  I showed it to her when I got back and it turns out that is her bank building and she just never noticed or at least it didn't register.

I continued on, having mapped out my route pretty well.  Walked past so many beautiful and tempting shops.  I saw a store that sold all kinds of salts and peppers among other things and there was some of the red salt January and Maggie brought back to me from Hawaii!  Small world...  (Ooh, there's a big man/woman fight going on outside my window as I type this...)

Went around a slight curve in the road and there were the two towers, still kind of far away and as I've mentioned before, photos are tricky here because everything is so close, plus, there are electric buses so there all the overhead wires for those, bunches of signs, plastic over so many buildings or parts of buildings.  But I took one anyway. :)

Notice the plastic around the bottom.  But isn't that a great old building on the right?

I thought I must really be moving into new territory and at the next intersection turned to look for the street name and was looking into the Piazza Maggiore.  Just from a different location that I had seen before.

 And good grief, here's more naked men, but they just seemed so dramatic for what appeared to be just a building.  Probably had been a palazzo in the past maybe - every building seems to have been.  And they really were this gilded gold. 

Now I was closer (too close to see the short leaning tower) so I took another one and when I saw it with all the tram wires crisscrossing around it, I decided to crop everything except the tower and then got kind of tickled when I saw it - just looks so sort of insignificant or something.

I passed this pretty church (at least I assume that's what it is).  Kind of run down probably but it actually really is this lovely creamy yellow and has the pretty decorations painted on it.

And this little area wasn't really a courtyard I don't think.  Although you had to walk through a little arched walkway to get to it.  It butts right up to a church and was so very peaceful and lovely.  And from an open window in one of the upper floors of the building at the back, came the sound of someone playing a beautiful piece of music on the piano.

Finally I was getting to where I thought the gallery should be and of course was seeing no signage saying "go this way" so I asked someone and they didn't seem to know what place or what street I was talking about.  Walked across to the next street so I could see what it was and found that all I had done was walk slightly past where the gallery is located.  Isn't it kind of amazing that you can walk past their most important art museum and not even know it?  But you can and I did. 

Decided to have a little lunch before I went in so I wouldn't get hungry and have to quit again.  And this is where I got in free because I was old. :)

I had passed up one thing that I was really tempted to take a picture of - I hadn't seen any signs but assumed it was "no photos".  But as I wandered through thinking "oh my gosh, more madonnas and babies and more crucifixions", I saw other people taking pics so I went back and took this one first just because it was so huge and so gold.  This would be from the 13 or 14th century because they had all their works categorized by age which was interesting.  I was amazed at how much gold was used this long ago - even on what appeared to be quite modest pieces.

This is the one I had wanted to take a picture of - well it's a portion of it.  And you can probably see why I wanted a picture.  Here it is a painting from the 1300 or 1400's and there he sits with a model of the 2 towers on his lap!  And the leaning one is already leaning and has had its top cut off.  Is it just my imagination or is he looking a little concerned about that leaning tower?  Neat-o!

It's very difficult getting pictures of the paintings because there is always light shining on them no matter where you stand but I took this one because it wasn't a religious one!  Please don't get me wrong - I have nothing at all against religious paintings but one does begin to long to see a picture of something else.  In this one, it's very fuzzy I know, but when you look closely (or larger) you can see this teeny-tiny dog on the table and another teeny-tiny one in the back room.  And the poor woman on the left hopefully complained to the artist about the strikingly black shadow (hopefully that's what it is) under her nose!  I kind of like how the man's got his hand on her arm, too - like he thinks she might try something foolish.  It doesn't look particular affectionate.

Same thing here - another family portrait.  The poor woman here seems to have a very flat head.  But it's a nice little group, I thought.  I forget what age we were up to by here but it would be later.  The collection ranges from the 1300's up into the 1700's.

And then I came across another wall-sized painting down at the bottom front of which was another model of Bologna - this one the entire center city surrounded by its walls.  Loving miniatures as I do, I really enjoyed seeing this.

I had seen this picture on the way in.  You go up a double curving staircase and on the first landing is this huge painting.  That's Christ in the center because he has a halo but I thought after studying it that surely it must be something other than the last supper because there were dogs wrestling, great platters of foods, etc.  Decided maybe it was the wedding feast where he changed the water into wine.  So on the way out, I took a picture of it this time - I couldn't get the whole thing in the picture - it really is BIG.  Then I went back to where a staff member was sitting and we managed to communicate enough for me to ask was it the wedding feast (ended up saying "vino to..." and was searching for a word for "water" (aqua, idiot!) and she knew right away what I meant and said "si, si".  So that's what it's portraying.  Looks like a good time was had by all.

The next three are of the incredible upper wall and ceiling painting over this beautiful staircase.

This first one is a portion of the trompe l'oiel  on the upper walls which is so realistic looking it's really hard to believe there are no columns and balconies up there.  I think it helps the illusion that the ceiling is so far away.

This is the center section of the ceiling.

And this isn't the best picture ever, but it's pretty much the entire ceiling - incredible, no?

The next four are all of the same building that I came to walking back from the gallery.  I call it the building of many parts cause it had little towers, dormers, porticoes, I don't know what all, and I wish I could have found a way to get some of that captured.  But that's why there are four pictures - I kept trying! :)

Coming to it from behind

This made me think when I saw it that there must be more to zamboni than an ice smoothing machine or whatever it is zambonies do to ice.  So I looked it up and found that Anteo Zamboni is an Italian hero because he tried to assassinate Mussolini.

This is a picture of the plaque in the Piazza Maggiore which honors him and once I found the plaque, then I had to try and find out what it says which led to looking up Anteo Zamboni only to learn that he did this when he was 15 years old.  There was a parade and he shot at Mussolini and missed and was immediately captured and hanged on the spot.  15 years old...

That was my sightseeing for the day.  I had to do my packing, of course and wanted to work on my blog some more.  Had been working on that for a while when all of a sudden a little sign popped up "you only have 2 hours left before you run out of time".  This after I had just been there in the morning and the guy had got the new card properly inserted giving me another 30 hours!!  The frustrations of Vodaphone.  The store was closed Sunday so I couldn't do anything about it but I know that what happened is the girl told me the first time I went that it wasn't working anymore because I was out of time, even though it was showing I had 4 hours left, so I bought the new SIM card.  So, for whatever reason, Saturday night the computer was obviously still using those 4 hours and I was getting close to running out.  In other words, the new SIM card was a waste of money - I didn't use one minute of it.  But don't worry - I stayed happy - just ticked at Vodaphone.

And that's it for Saturday.  Sunday will be very short because I gave away all my secrets in that e-mail I sent to everyone when I got to Florence. :)

Right now, I'm going to go find me a bowl of ribollita soup and a glass of red.

Ciao!