Firenze

May 1-2

After saying goodbye to our wonderful Airbnb in the countryside, we headed back to the Florence airport to return the car. On the way, we popped into Siena for a coffee and croissant. Another cute town, but once again, everything was closed, because May 1st is Labor Day in Italy. So. Many. Holidays. We did find a cafe that was open, but for the most part, the city was really quiet.

Upon returning to Florence, we had another successful and incident-free return of a rental car and headed on to our next Airbnb. Once we were checked in, we grabbed lunch and then mom and I went exploring. First we found this parade, presumably for Labor Day.

I’m pretty sure I use to work with this guy:

We also spent a little time shopping before meeting Michael for some food and a few beers at Brew Dogs Pub.

When we got home for the night, I let Michael cut my hair. True story. My last haircut was in Madagascar, and for those of you who are diligent readers, you may remember that it was a disaster. I spent some time “fixing it” when I got back to our hotel with a pair of tiny bathroom scissors. It has now been growing out for about 2 months and is still super short. However, the back was starting to develop a really great mullet, so with a pair of kitchen scissors and a few beers in him, I let Michael cut the back of my hair. All I wanted was half an inch to an inch off the bottom section, in a straight line.

It was stressful. I was concerned. Michael got really into it and had an excess of confidence, which I attribute to the beers. He got a little crazy and took a big chunk off one section. When I freaked, he said – “don’t worry, the other hair will hide it”. Mmmhmm. When it was all over, he said in a serious tone – “let me put in a few long layers”. Funniest thing to come out of his mouth all day.

The next morning after washing and blow drying it, I have to admit: it’s pretty good. Good enough at least. I’m going to have a lot of explaining to do to the next professional that cuts my hair, but for now, it works.

Our airbnb host gave us two free tickets to the Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, so the next morning, mom and I headed in that direction. On the way, we saw the Florence Baptistery of St. John:

And the Duomo:

And then we did a little bit of shopping!!!

And then, finally, we made it to the museum.

Note: that is not the real David. It’s a replica that sits outside this museum. The Museo di Palazzo Vecchio, which translates to old palace, is the town hall of Florence. Built in 1299, the palace has had numerous uses over the years, and as many names to accompany those uses. In line with many of the museums and palaces that we’ve visited in Italy, there are beautiful ceilings, beautiful statues and beautiful views.

This statue is an unfinished Michelangelo statue.

Plus another really cool map room (although the pictures don’t do it justice):

Me and mom with a bunch of fleurs de lis (I had to ask google what the plural of fleur de lis was):

And this painting that I thought was especially beautiful for all of the rich colors.

And this painting, the Nativita by Maestro del Tondo Miller:

So I just googled this painting to make sure I was calling it the right name since the name card was in Italian. Funny thing is that the common name for this painting is the Madonna of the UFO or the Madonna of the flying saucer. It has Mary and the infant St. John holding Jesus. In the back, right corner, there is what appears to be a man watching a UFO.

They don’t really know who painted the picture, but it is attributed to Filippo Lippi in the museum who is called the Maestro del Tondo Miller which is after the title of one of his last works. That is strange to me. Can’t we just use his name?

The reason I took the picture in the first place is because mom told me when we were looking at it that she believes her grandparents may have had a replica in their home. I now wonder if the replica also had the UFO!!

After the museum, we went to meet Michael for lunch at a really cool tiny place called Ristorante del Fagioli.

It was a sharing kind of meal and it was delicious. Osso bucco, pesto gnocchi, panzanella and fagioli. Panzanella is a popular Tuscan chopped salad of bread and tomatoes. Fagioli is a traditional Italian dish. This variation was very thick. I think some are more like a soup.

The meal was incredible. Everything was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Unsurprisingly, Italian food has not disappointed.

Fashion shots outside the restaurant:

Post lunch gelato:

And then a hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo to work off that gelato. Here are a few shots in the rose garden on the way up the hill:

And shots from the top:

That night, we had another great meal at Santarpia, a pizza place in a less touristy part of town. The most notable part of this dinner was when they misunderstood mom’s request for 2 ice cubes in her glass and instead brought her two glasses of scotch. Upon Michael’s prompting, the two scotches were consolidated into one ridiculously large glass of scotch:

Two days were not nearly enough, but we still have a bit of travel to do, so now it is off to Croatia!