I had to leave 4F today and unfortunately Francesco and Lynda were not able to meet me for breakfast. I finished packing, took the bus back to my apartment and walked to class at 11am. The school, Parola, scheduled one of their cultural activates today at 2pm to Santa Maria Novella. After class, at 1pm, I went to a favorite panini place on Piazza Santa Croce and met the school’s owner, Simone, for our walk. He also mentioned a trip they are doing a week from Saturday to Viareggio on the Mediterranean – I told him I was going to Tonfano (close to Viareggio) tomorrow, Friday, for lunch with N&M – and he knows Bagno Zara where we will eat – he has a beach house in Tonfano also.

As mentioned earlier, it has been hot, close to 90° today, but the church is beautiful. The main train station is called Santa Maria Novella as it’s very close by, and Simone gave a great historical overview of the church, its interior, architects, and artists. One major fresco was an early approach to perspective while most of the paintings and frescos are flat without perspective. The reason this fresco has survived so long is that a tomb had been placed in front of it for centuries and it was finally uncovered. He noted that the train station was bombed during WWII and the stained-glass windows at the back of the altar are all replacements.
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I was drinking water but feeling hot and parched and chose to leave our tour and take a taxi back to the apartment – good decision. I sat and read for a while, enjoying the air conditioning, finally got it in gear to put in a wash, and now I’m simply sitting at my desk and writing this. Ah!

Photos Santa Maria Novella: ​https://photos.app.goo.gl/J75WU5j3Nm9umwSN6

Up at 9, took the bus to school, had a big lunch at Trattoria Anita near the school recommended by the teacher Massimo, then bused back to the hotel, then back to school for my one-on-one lesson this afternoon at 4:30pm. The teacher Mara was quite good, and I’m feeling that the current group teacher isn’t doing it – and my classmates are of the same opinion. I explained quickly to her in English where I was, where my concerns were, and we spent the remaining 50-minutes speaking Italian. I resort to “um” and “ah” throughout, but can mostly get it done – and when I properly use a preposition or the past tense, or remember a word – I am thrilled. I am totally aware of the fillers I’m using, as when doing my public speaking in English they are not there.

The days have been quite hot, and by the final time I was back at the hotel I was feeling it. I went into the common room and asked for a beer, which was delivered ice cold in a glass – and was consumed while watching the Arno flow by. I finally got focused enough to think about dinner, and asked the hotel about a local, simple place for dinner after the big lunch. He suggested Café Gamerini which was a 3-minute walk past the consulate – really nice place, great server for whom it was his second day, and I had a croque monsieur to be more international.
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I have been trying to confirm my Tuscan Winemaker’s Experience that Jessica gave me as a birthday gift and have been having problems for a week. I called Jess and she sorted it out in 2 minutes – that was the total of my tech support for this trip so far! The trip is a 5-hour excursion to Chianti this Saturday with wine, food and the beautiful Tuscan countryside.

Class then back to the apartment for lunch and then final packing for my two nights away. I took the C3 bus and it was absolutely packed – I had to push on with my suitcase and people behind me could not get on. The bus went over the Arno and then back again to near the American consulate, which is a block from the hotel. This area is quite beautiful and I’m thinking expensive as well, and the 4F Boutique Hotel is lovely. I took the elevator (yes, not climbing all the stairs as usual) to the 4thh floor and welcomed by the staff. The room is gorgeous and looks out onto the Arno – great to open the windows in the morning and evening.

This afternoon I walked over to the Museo Novecento to meet Mauro and look at the modern art – all by Italian artists. There was a temporary exhibit and then we toured the permanent collection. Afterwards we walked to a nearby piazza and he had a coffee while I had a spritz at Colle Bereto. Mauro headed home on his bike around 7:15 and I walked to an area near the Mercato Centrale where I was having a Chinese dinner with people from InterNations – the food was pretty good! We all then went to the market (open until 12m) and had some drinks and my chianti classico was to die for. Got back to the room around 12 and crashed.
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Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/Vm3ccR6sktX5ku4A8

Monday it was back to class, with a new teacher, Massimo. I was planning on visiting Palazzo Vecchio after lunch, so I ate at an outdoor café near Piazza Signoria, Trattoria da Benvenuto (veal scaloppini, l’acqua frizzante, vino rosso – all for €21). I headed over to the Palazzo and had no trouble buying a ticket to walk through. The Palazzo Signoria is/was the town hall of Firenze as signoria is an abstraction of the noun describing a government. The Palazzo has the replica of Michelangelo’s David which is where it was initially placed (the original is in the Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze which is a wonderful art museum).

In 1299 the city began the project and selected Arnolfo di Cambio, the architect of the Duomo and the Santa Croce, for the building. In 1504 both Michelangelo and Da Vinci were both retained to paint frescos in the Palazzo and the stories abound of them not being happy working near the other. In 1540 Cosimo I de' Medici moved his official seat here from the Medici palazzo. When Cosimo moved to the Palazzo Pitti, he officially renamed his former palace to the Palazzo Vecchio, the "Old Palace". Cosimo commissioned Giorgio Vasari to build an above-ground walkway, the Vasari corridor, from the Palazzo Vecchio, through the Uffizi, over the Ponte Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti. Vasari also directed many other renovations and created artwork in the Palazzo.

The palace gained new importance as the seat of united Italy's provisional government from 1865–71, at a moment when Florence had become the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Although most of the Palazzo Vecchio is now a museum, it remains as the symbol and center of local government; since 1872 it has housed the office of the mayor of Florence, and it is the seat of the City Council. I saw at one point what seemed to be a government meeting with carabinieri providing security.

Florence has a long-standing relationship with Kyiv, becoming sister cities on July 27, 1967, a year after the devastating Florence flood of 1966. In 2021 Ukraine gifted a statue of a poet to Florence, which continues to stand inside the Palazzo. 
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Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5wUMydDukDmrNxXt7

​I walked over to N&M’s house and we drove to Lynda & Francesco’s new home which is in Oltrarno, the other side of the Arno from the center of town. Their home is beautiful, you can see the architectural details and layout from Francesco who is a now non-practicing architect. They made a great meal that began with a primi piatti of special ravioli they picked up in Tonfano yesterday (they just took a drive to the beach house for the day), then salad and sliced pork for secondi, and then the special gelato that Maura brought along. I brought them a bottle of wine and also brought one for N&M.

I really enjoyed getting to know their kids again as it’s been many years. Mina is 15 and will be starting high school, Yosef (nicknamed Boghi by Mina). Mina speaks English quite well, Boghi is shy so I couldn’t tell. I also learned that they have purchased another B&B near the American consulate, and this is with new partners. They want me to spend two nights there this week to give any suggestions for the place (I did that with previous of their B&Bs).

After lunch we drove back to Firenze, but first stopped at a lovely church above Piazza di Michelangelo called San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain). It started construction in 1013 and stands atop one of the highest points in the city. It has been described as one of the finest Romanesque structures in Tuscany and there is an adjoining Olivetan monastery where the monks make famous liqueurs, honey and herbal teas, which they sell from a shop next to the church.
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The church has changed little since it was first built with the nave’ patterned pavement dating from 1207. The center of the nave is dominated by the beautiful freestanding Cappella del Crocefisso (Chapel of the Crucifix), designed by Michelozzo in 1448. The terracotta decoration of the vault, along with the crucifix above the altar, are by Luca della Robbia.

Back in Firenze I hung out with N&M for a bit, then walked home with a jar of tomato sauce by Nan which became part of my pasta dinner that evening after my Alta Cockers call with The Bird (Feigenbaum), The High Llama (Heckman) and Mitch (Greenberg) – Alta Cockers is Yiddish for old farts.

​The four of us, who are friends almost from kindergarten, still have a monthly Zoom call that started during the pandemic. This call, like our one previous during my adventure here, has three time zones involved – Pacific, Eastern and Central European. We enjoy catching up with each other, sometimes talking about medical issues, sometimes real estate problems, sometimes acting jobs, and then Italy. One thing I shared was that it’s harder for me than anticipated to learn Italian – and I realized that part of it relates to age – and everyone else confirmed their similar issues. When thought about, it is to be expected, but certainly not celebrated.

Photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/hkHBLhjLMM819APj9

Today is one month since I arrived on 14 April, and I was mostly at home with my intent being to spend time studying Italian – and I have done a bunch. I’m also such a homemaker now, doing 3 loads of laundry and picking up my dry cleaning and shirts – who knew! We are in a warm spell, with temperatures in the low 80s (26° C) each day and wonderful sun. Jessica bought me a Tuscan Winemaker experience for my birthday, and I made a reservation today for next Saturday. Tonight I’m making pizza for dinner.

I have had the opportunity to attend Salone di Mobile in Milano on a number of occasions over the past years - and I just received an invite for this year - 7-12 June. This is the show's sixtieth anniversary, showing off all the wonders of Italian contract / furniture. The timing is perfect as it is before Rebecca, Bill, James and Ben get to Firenze. This year it won't involve a plane flight - just the train. 
(https://www.salonemilano.it/en).

Lynda and Francesco invited me to lunch tomorrow, and Nan told me she and Mauro were invited also, so they’ll pick me up.

​After class I did some walking around and ended up in Piazza Signoria. I found a nice café with outdoor seating right in the piazza and did some great people watching while enjoying chicken parmigiana.
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I felt somewhat overwhelmed in class today as they have been studying things in grammar that I do not know. I spoke to the school and asked about other options for me to keep progressing and they suggested some individual lessons – so I’ll have one next Wednesday.

There was another InterNations event this evening at an art gallery that is part of the Accademia D’Arte and was an exhibition of the results of a Master Class taken by one the InterNations people I met. Barbara had graduated from the Master Class on Wednesday and had two of her paintings shown. She has been focusing on portraits of two women from Africa, who are also her friends, and the work was OK. I got to the facility by bus, 30-minute trip, and headed back fairly soon. When I was looking for the return bus stop, I had walked too far, turned and saw the bus coming, and ran for a half a block while the driver waited for me – how cool.

After my big lunch it was a grilled cheese sandwich for dinner – Swiss on fresh bread – nice. Bed after some Netflix (first time watching in a while). Also had a good talk with a friend in Sonoma – a good day.

After class today I took the bus to N&M for lunch and got to see Nan’s missing tooth in person. She was having some issues with a front tooth, went to the dentist, and he pulled the tooth in prep for an implant. I told her I’d bring over a straw for her to use.

One thing that’s very interesting in Italy is that I don’t have any trouble sleeping through the night. Back home I would be up various times each night, sometimes had trouble getting back to sleep after getting
up – but it’s not happening here. Yay!!

After class today I went to visit the Church of Santa Croce which is literally around the corner from the school. The Basilica di Santa Croce (Italian for 'Basilica of the Holy Cross') is the principal Franciscan church in Florence and when the site was first chosen, it was in marshland outside the city walls. It is the burial place of some of the most illustrious Italians, such as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli and the composer Rossini.

The Basilica is the largest Franciscan church in the world. Its most notable features are it's sixteen chapels, many of them decorated with frescoes by Giotto and his pupils, and its tombs and cenotaphs. The construction of the current church, to replace an older building, was begun on 12 May 1294. The building's design reflects the austere approach of the Franciscans. The Primo Chiostro, the main cloister, houses the Cappella dei Pazzi, built as the chapter house, completed in the 1470s. Filippo Brunelleschi (who had designed and executed the dome of the Duomo) was involved in its design, to honor the Medici, which has remained rigorously simple and unadorned.

The bell tower was built in 1842, replacing an earlier one damaged by lightning. The neo-Gothic marble façade dates from 1857–1863 and was designed by the Jewish architect Niccolo Matas, working a prominent Star of David into the composition. A monument to Florence Nightingale stands in the cloister, in the city in which she was born and after which she was named. In 1966, the Arno River flooded much of Florence, including Santa Croce. The water entered the church bringing mud, pollution and heating oil. The damage to buildings and art treasures was severe, taking several decades to repair.

In the refectory there is a modern metal column with signs showing the height of flood waters at the church over the centuries. Vasari’s Last Supper in the refectory was terribly damaged by the 1966 flood and took over 50 years to repair. It is now hung on two cables that can raise the piece if there are flood warnings. The lovely cloister is a great place to relax and enjoy the greenery and feel surrounded by history - even more than just walking through Firenze. It is warm today and now at 5pm it is 79°.

I got a couple of things for lunch on my walk home, and once home I was just sitting down to eat when the power went off. I had put on the A/C and thought that was the problem. I looked in the circuit box and saw that no breakers were tripped, so I called my landlady who was super responsive. She had someone over in about 30-40 minutes and he flipped another switch on the meter itself that got things working again. When he was gone for about 3 minutes the power went out again, Martina got him and he came back. When he talked to the utility, he found that the problem was not in the building or apartment, but a was a neighborhood issue. It should be fixed this afternoon or latest tomorrow morning (this being Italy, that means maybe tomorrow!).

I have a dinner out with my InterNations group this evening.

Photos from Santa Croce: https://photos.app.goo.gl/RgwwTsNyQC5ht1d59

Headed out to class around 10:30 and dropped off some shirts to be laundered along with some dry cleaning. I also stopped by the hardware store near Sant’Ambrosio and bought a little clock for the kitchen and wrist watch (I forgot to bring one) with a total for the two of €20.

After our 11-1 class Parola said there would be a one-hour meeting at 2pm to learn Italian hand and arm expressions – how fun and funny. I went for lunch at a simple sandwich place on Piazza Santa Croce, then back to learn the expressions. There were photos of 20 hand/arm expressions (link below) and then a page to match the expression to a statement, e.g., what expression goes with che bello?

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1nq5bap4uaaaq8x/AAA-o2IlOCh8s2u-J0U6sKbba?dl=0
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At 3pm I headed back to the apartment after buying a few things at the nearby small supermarket, Carrefore, and also got something at the pharmacy – all to be ready for my other Italian lesson at 4pm today and then client meeting at 7pm. It was warm today in Firenze, about 80°, and I even had the A/C on in the apartment for a bit – it’s the top floor and can get warm.