Sunday: Florence and Farewell
On Sunday morning we met our local guides and headed to the Academia Gallery were we got a quick course in Renaissance art. Our guides were great and Collen said they appreciated that our group really seemed interested, rather than looking like we wanted the tour over with.
Of course any art class is going to include history and culture. We were taught the meaning of the term "high brow". It seems it was the fashion at one time for the wealthy cultured folks to pluck the front hairs so as to acquire a high brow, which, along with a Roman nose, was thought to signify intelligence.
My husband immediately pointed out his intelligent high fashion status.
After the tour we were free until it was time to gather for our farewell dinner. We had planned to go to Mass at the Duomo (Cathedral) but when we got there we learned that noon Mass was cancelled that day. While they gave us directions elsewhere, we couldn't find the church in time, so we had lunch instead.
After lunch we ended up at a church (who knows, maybe it is where they tried to send us). Santa Maria Novella at one time had been connected to a convent of cloistered nuns. We were able to explore not only the church but the attached museum and cloister. The cloister allowed you to get up close to a lot of frescos and see them where there was plenty of light.
One neat thing about this church was all the stained glass--most of the churches we saw on this trip had very little stained class. However, one thing that struck us is that the people on the stained glass did not have faces.
After the tour we were free until it was time to gather for our farewell dinner. We had planned to go to Mass at the Duomo (Cathedral) but when we got there we learned that noon Mass was cancelled that day. While they gave us directions elsewhere, we couldn't find the church in time, so we had lunch instead.
After lunch we ended up at a church (who knows, maybe it is where they tried to send us). Santa Maria Novella at one time had been connected to a convent of cloistered nuns. We were able to explore not only the church but the attached museum and cloister. The cloister allowed you to get up close to a lot of frescos and see them where there was plenty of light.
One neat thing about this church was all the stained glass--most of the churches we saw on this trip had very little stained class. However, one thing that struck us is that the people on the stained glass did not have faces.
By the time we finished we were exhausted (we never realized jet lag would last so long) and returned to our room for a nap. After our nap we walked across the Ponte' Vecchio and explored that side of the river. We walked past the Pitti Palace but decided we were museumed out and so did not go into it. We got gelato across the street.
Our final group dinner was Sunday night and included steak and potatoes. Like all our group meals both the food and the company were great.
Our final group dinner was Sunday night and included steak and potatoes. Like all our group meals both the food and the company were great.
After returning to the hotel we climbed to the rooftop bar where we found fellow tour members. We all agreed that it had been a great trip.