I slept in very late on Saturday and I think got my body clock on a Florence agenda. Spent what few hours I was awake on Saturday grocery shopping, getting computers sorted out and unpacking.
The door you see in the center of the photo on the corner of the building is the entry to my apartment. The windows of the apartment look out over the side street.
If I turn around from where I stood to take the picture of the apartment door this is what the rest of my front yard looks like. This is the Basilica of Santa Croce and the Piazza Santa Croce.
As I take these photos it is Sunday morning and I am on my way to Church. While in Florence I go to Sunday services at St James Episcopal Church but enjoy going to the Evensong services on Wednesday nights at the Duomo.
I have included a photo of the service bulletin for the benefit of my Priest, Rev Patti, who will remind I did not go to service for her benefit, but she will know I was thinking of her.
After service I went back to a trattoria I noticed earlier that was serving eggs and bacon. A typical breakfast in Italy is an espresso and a pastry of some sort – no protein.
The eggs were wonderful and I had consumed them before I thought to take a picture. The espresso was on a par with what I get every morning at Global Delights in Eugene and the orange juice was fresh squeezed.
Today was Marching band day of some sort. Every time I turned a corner for a short period of time I ran into a band.
I think my experience did clear up one mystery for me. Being a passionate fly fisher person I have always wondered why there was no fly fishing tradition in Italy. I now understand there are not enough feathers in Italy to support both Marching Bands and fly fishing.
Today is also the day my son Spencer and his wife Abbie arrive in Florence after spending a few days in Madrid. It is a little known fact but distance in Florence is measured by gelato stops. This trip was going to be a 2 GS walk. So once again I have to explain to you I am going to the train station to meet the bus from the airport to connect with Spencer and Abbie. The train station is named the Santa Maria Novella Station. That is the Santa Maria Novella Church in the background and the train/bus station is behind the Church.
As I was walking through the Piazza in front of the Church I noticed this sun dial hanging on the wall. I stood for quite some time trying to figure it out when a priest walked up to me and asked “you understand?” I shook my head no and then pointed at him asking in sign language if he understood. The response was a shrug of his shoulders with his palms uplifted. A lot was communicated with only 2 words being spoken. There is much going on in this sun dial and I would love to know if anyone understands this. If you notice there is another component of the sundial in a perpendicular plane to the obvious one jutting out from the building. In addition I count at least 5 shadows being cast. Very complicated.
I found Spencer and Abbie at the train/bus station and the first thing we did was head straight for food and wine.
Next we were off to the first of several Gelato stops and then to the Ponte Vecchio. I think they are happy to be in Florence.
I could not figure out why this statue was so important to require this many locks to secure it.
We have come to the end of another day and Spencer and Abbie are starting to fade. Time to get some rest and start over tomorrow.