The main item on our list today was to make it to the Jewish quarter and check out the synagogue and Jewish museum of Florence. We ate breakfast in the flat and then took a meandering path to the synagogue and museum—stopping in to check out La SS. Annunziata di Firenze when we stumbled upon it en route—which we toured (donning kippahs as part of the process).
We then called an audible to walk over and check out Piazza della Liberta, which houses both Porta San Gallo, which was completed in 1327, and L’Arco di Trionfo dei Lorena, which was completed in 1738. The square and the two structures weren’t really called out anywhere that we’d been looking online…and we understood why once we got there—just not much to see. But, it was definitely well removed from the tourist area, which was a plus!
From there, we walked to the Museo Galileo and spent time there looking at the range of scientific and medical instruments that had been collected over a few centuries.
We grabbed lunch nearby and then headed back to the flat, popping in to the Basilica di Santa Trinita on the way. It turned out, we were both pretty pooped, so we did a few housekeeping/planning things and then just vegged for a few hours before heading back out for dinner.
We wound up staying very close to the flat and getting…Chinese food! But, it was kinda’ upscale and tasty.
Tim had not really done night photography in Florence, so we swung by the apartment to grab his gear and then went for a much longer walk than we thought we would—checking out the night scene and largely failing to find any any interesting photo subjects. But, it was cooler and there was a breeze and there were still plenty of people out and about without being the crowds that we kept wandering through during the day.
An interesting/memorable experience of the day:
Benton: going into La SS. Annunziata di Firenze, which was incredibly plain on the outside, and finding some of the most elaborate and intricate artwork inside it.
Tim: getting the check at lunch with “tips are not included” circled by hand, so then trying to add a tip to the bill and being told by the waiter that they couldn’t add tips with credit card payment.
