Last day in Florence and heading into the Tuscan countryside…[Day 1 of tour]

Had a wonderful last day in Florence! Started our day with a trip to the market to buy ingredients for a dinner in our apartment- homemade ravioli, porcini mushrooms for the sauce, and salad fixings- yes, I do love markets!

Our museum fix for the day was the Museo del Bargello- it is to sculpture what the Uffizi is to painting– just spectacular! A few of Michelangelo’s best early pieces, two of Donatello’s Davids, and much more… all this housed in a fabulous 13th century palazzo.

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Baccus- an early Michelangelo piece- just 21 when he sculpted it.

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One of Donatello’s Davids… beautiful…

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Three generations and seven sculptors in the Della Robbia family… very interesting glazed terra cotta pieces…

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Okay… I couldn’t resist putting this one in the post… Keith and I sat down to rest and there right in front of us were these tight buns… somehow looking at the sculpture from our resting position gave us a new perspective 😀😀

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Ponte Vecchio with dark storm clouds- although the storm went around Florence.

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A little bit of cultural observation and enjoyment of “everydayness”. This man has a wonderful woodworking workshop in the open air courtyard that our apartment looks out on. He has been deconstructing old crates and other things- I have really enjoyed watching him from afar. He makes me smile!

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The dinner result of our morning shopping…

We ended our day with a wonderful concert of great arias. We have so much to be grateful for!

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Travelled today to Pistoia on the first day of our time with the tour group. Pistoia is a beautiful small city with very few tourists. The square is amazing – from the 12th century. And the Duomo has a relic of St. James- Pistoia was a stop on the pilgrims’ trail from Rome to Santiago de Compostela along the el Camino.

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Miles upon miles of tree nurseries around Pistoia. They export the trees all around the world- quite amazing nurseries with all types of trees!

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The Duoma and tower- in an incredible Piazza with children riding bikes and wedding parties!

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In the Duoma with the relic of St. James. This cricifixion painting is dated to 1250.

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Keith relaxing in Pistoia. We had a wonderful group dinner in Pistoia outside, under the Duomo tower. Perfect!

3 thoughts on “Last day in Florence and heading into the Tuscan countryside…[Day 1 of tour]

  1. Thanks for sharing, it all seems awesome so far. I visited with Eleanor today and found her resting her back in bed but she is perfectly fine and in need of nothing so far. I will keep in touch with her and you continue to have fun.

    Denise

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      1. Love, love your pics and blog. Thank you for taking us along. Brings back some awesome memories. Enjoy!! 🍷🍧

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