{"id":1650,"date":"2015-11-11T22:44:18","date_gmt":"2015-11-11T22:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/Travel\/?p=18"},"modified":"2020-09-19T17:06:48","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T00:06:48","slug":"italy-july-19-sunday-all-those-years-of-sunday-school-wasted","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mynerdyfriend.com\/?p=1650","title":{"rendered":"July 19 Sunday – All Those Years of Sunday School … Wasted!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day of the Markets<\/span><\/p>\n

Heading out on\u00a0 our first full day in Florence, we decided to hit the markets!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Let’s get this party started!<\/p><\/div>\n

Today was ear-marked as market day, and we had many successes – 4 or 5\u00a0or maybe 17 purses for Sofia, a purse for each of Chrystal, Jane and Andi. Nada for Kinga and me (we justified this failure by claiming to be holding out for the San Lorenzo market tomorrow). \u00a0The market stalls were everywhere in Florence along side streets and around piazzas and in actual markets. It was easy to get distracted and lose a lot of time “window shopping” as we walked, so eventually I insisted we go to an actual sight, her preference being the church of Santa Croce, where my BF Galileo is buried.<\/span><\/p>\n

Two important things I learned on this trip is that Hungarians bargain hard and walk fast. Very fast<\/i>\u2026.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
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We stopped for lunch first and at an awesome little\u00a0restaurant\u00a0in an alley (no umbrellas – good sign) that Kinga spotted, and we shared a delicious meal of ravioli, complete with an extra serving from the chef to accommodate the 6 of us, plus asparagus, beans, caprese and green figs\/salami.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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This is also where we first encountered the smooth beer [\u201cManabrea\u201d (I think)]. We had\u00a0cannelloni\u00a0(or possibly cannoli) with pistachio and orange for dessert, to which I could only say \u201cMeh\u201d<\/i>. <\/span><\/div>\n
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After espressos\u00a0we received complimentary Lemoncellos to finish up. The complimentary post-dining offerings would prove to be a fairly regular and welcome occurrence.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Kinga is the master restaurant-finder!<\/p><\/div>\n

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On the way to the church we split up so a few of us could do a bit more market shopping. Having maxed a bit on the market, Kinga and Risa wandered ahead and found their way to the famed Santa Croce Leather Market, where they teach leather goods-making as well as produce very high quality Italian leather products such as beautiful purses and jackets that ranged up to, say, a totally affordable 800 euros. So instead most of their time was spent looking at change purses … which were still about 80 euros …<\/span><\/div>\n
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I have to say that at this early point in the trip, I was already \u201cshopped out\u201d. Since I was no longer carrying the weapon, I had lots of space in my suitcase and could have fit many scarves or pairs of shoes, but I just didn\u2019t have the heart to do anymore shopping. After awhile, one purse is the same as all the rest hanging on the market stall. One scarf looks like the others. And every assignment blends into the ones before, and soon you can\u2019t tell them apart. So\u00a0I sat in the shade in front of San Croce, watching my friends walk up the street from one leather store to the next, looking for\u00a0\u201cthe jacket\u201d.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Post-market shopping calls for a little nap.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Santa Croce church was a lovely church. Outside was a very pretty facade of green and white marble. Normally it is also perpendicular (not all buildings in Italy are “leaning”).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Chrystal is successfully hiding behind her friends.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Inside was home to the tombs of a few well known people, including my heroes Galileo and Michelangelo!!! Other interesting tombs included Dante, and Machiavelli.<\/span><\/div>\n
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Santa Croce was one of the few places that I visited last year during my one\u00a0day\u00a0trip to Florence. I loved the building, the cloisters, the art and the ceilings. I had no idea that so many famous people were buried here, so I was glad that Risa could give me a tour. One of the questions that I had was if the cenotaphs actually contained the remains. In some of the churches, particularly at shrines of tombs, relics are often on display.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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The highlight of the day was the ArtViva tour of the Accademia and the Statue of David. This tour was fascinating, and it was quite different from\u00a0the\u00a0one I was on just a couple of weeks ago where we saw more of the museum but got less insight into the state of David itself. Some very interesting tidbits about the statue:<\/span><\/div>\n
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