Week 12 - Last Minute Things to Do

 Week 12

Sunday - Monday, Nov. 14 & 15

It's raining and staying in to do the blog and read.

On Monday, between rain showers, John goes into town to send packages to Japan and Morro Bay.
He comes home with wine 😃

Tuesday, Nov. 1

It's still raining, still don't want to venture out, so it's computer and more reading.  

I do some cleaning.

The Cleaner's Closet

Looks so much shinier!

The sun comes out for a bit...

I look out at the trees - big birds.  
I try to look them up - they seem to be partridges (but no pear trees here 😏)

My sketch of what I see

Wednesday, Nov. 17 - Errands today?

Rain has stopped.

Street is still wet

Errand day...
We need to get seats for the train to Rome.
I want to buy some things - souveniers?
Lunch?

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We get our seats for Rome at SNM train station.

We walk toward Piazza San Lorenzo and stop in the Mercato Centrale. 

We have lunch here

Upstairs is where there is a lot of fabulous food!

Produce, fish, meat, spices and bread

are down stairs

 

We buy some pesto spices and bread, then head on toward Ponte Vecchio.
There is an artist there I want to buy from.
But first...

Street Art

Then we stop and buy the art of this street vendor. 

Amazing color, perspective and draftsmanship.
We buy his rendering of Ponte Vecchio.

We need Coffee and Prosecco at Carrefour.

Cannolis at the Porta Romana Bakery.

Wait in the Park for the 4:35 #38 bus for home.

Waiting in the Park

Cannolis from Caffé Petrarca

In the evening 

ZoomChat with the Ancient Mariners

Paula, Susie, MarySue, Candy,
Melinda and Christine

With Jan

Then a Zoom with Anthony (No screen shot of that Zoom)

Thursday, Nov. 18 - Pitti Palace

Have been putting off going to this massive Museum because it sounded too much - Rooms, Costumes, paintings, sculptures, furniture, artifacts, views to the gardens and the Firenze landscape. 
We decide to go in if there's no line.  At 2:30 or so we arrive...there's no line.

We go in and are pleasantly surprised at how engaged we become just by entering.

The doorway from the
Livingroom(?)

I was so engaged in the art (paintings and sculptures) of the Palatine Gallery, I didn't take any photos. Noted artists, their paintings of events and stories, portraits of nobles and people that lived and ruled in Florence, mythological gods and their stories are all in this Gallery.  Lots of history to be recalled in this place of art.

Then to the Gallery of Modern Art - I expected what we would call modern art, abstracts, cubism, surrealism - no, modern meaning neoclassicism to the 1930's.  I was able to breath and enjoy pieces of places here in Florence that I have visited and admired.

Loggia della Lanza

Piazza della Signoria

Abazzia di San Miniato
al Monte 

I just like this face

After 2 hours of viewing,
we stop for refreshment at the museum café.

I am happy in this beautiful palace

When we get home, I make soup and we watch videos of Rome to prepare for our last Italian adventure.
The William Neidinger Lecture series:
St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican City

Friday, Nov. 18

We do laundry, look for my pillow slips (no luck) and buy the caldeners I wanted.

A note...

John discovers this sign by "our" Carrefour Express

The doves over the entrance

Bar d'Angolo

We have a 30 minute wait for our bus so we have a café latté.

I tried to make lunch reservations at Il Latini for our last weekend here in Florence - no luck - they said a week ahead is when we should make reservations.  (Should have done it a month ago... Next year.)

Saturday, Nov. 19

Rest and relax it's a little gloomy today.

I work on another watercolor

Reflecting on the tree
I'm watercoloring

The sun comes out for a bit.

John enjoys the sun

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That's our week for now.

Next week we will be doing more of the same.

Getting ready for Rome, 

then Home