I had my 11am-1pm Italian language class today and actually moved one notch lower in the classes to be better able to comprehend and converse. Other students in our group are from Germany and Brazil. After class I had lunch with a Persian classmate who lives in Brooklyn and has a rug and antiques gallery in Manhattan. His name is Nader Bolour and he is the owner of Doris Leslie Blau Gallery – I looked them up online and the antique rugs are amazingly expensive.
After lunch, the Parola Italian Language School organized a tour of the area. Our guide, one of the teachers, gave most of the remarks in Italian with some English thrown in. We looked at Santa Croce with Brunelleschi’s dome on the chapel, then passed the home of Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) and the Ristorante Enoteca Pinchiorri in the Relais Santa Croce Hotel which is considered one of Firenze’s finest restaurants.
He also pointed out the mark of the high-water level from the 1966 flood which was 22 feet – in 1967 I remember seeing a water line on the statue of David. We ended up at Piazza Signoria and I enjoyed seeing Cafe Rivoire there where I would go with Mauro and have cioccolato caldo while he had his espresso. We also saw what is described as graffiti by Michelangelo on the wall of Palazzo Vechhio.
I met Nan in the late afternoon and walked around the Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio. The market is only open in the mornings and is filled with meat, fish, produce, sweets and clothing stalls around the outside. The Cibrèo Caffè and its associated restaurants, food market, etc. are world renowned. After Nan headed home I went to the supermarket to get some things and ended up also buying sushi for my dinner - after my big lunches its great to have a smaller dinner.
After lunch, the Parola Italian Language School organized a tour of the area. Our guide, one of the teachers, gave most of the remarks in Italian with some English thrown in. We looked at Santa Croce with Brunelleschi’s dome on the chapel, then passed the home of Michelangelo (di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni) and the Ristorante Enoteca Pinchiorri in the Relais Santa Croce Hotel which is considered one of Firenze’s finest restaurants.
He also pointed out the mark of the high-water level from the 1966 flood which was 22 feet – in 1967 I remember seeing a water line on the statue of David. We ended up at Piazza Signoria and I enjoyed seeing Cafe Rivoire there where I would go with Mauro and have cioccolato caldo while he had his espresso. We also saw what is described as graffiti by Michelangelo on the wall of Palazzo Vechhio.
I met Nan in the late afternoon and walked around the Mercato di Sant'Ambrogio. The market is only open in the mornings and is filled with meat, fish, produce, sweets and clothing stalls around the outside. The Cibrèo Caffè and its associated restaurants, food market, etc. are world renowned. After Nan headed home I went to the supermarket to get some things and ended up also buying sushi for my dinner - after my big lunches its great to have a smaller dinner.