BAC Italy 2011

June 20 - Florence

Inside the Duomo in Florence

I met the Ashland group in Piazza Republica this morning and joined them for a walking tour of the old section of Florence. (Ann wanted to rest her feet, knees and artificial hip). The tour went to the Duomo and then through narrow streets to the Ponte Vecchio . It ended up near the Uffizi . The chaperones of the group were each responsible for a small group of students. Jeff and Chloe had to stay with their group, so I walked back to the hotel and took Ann to Trattoria Anita where we had an inexpensive fixed price meal. Ann had rice with tomatoes along with tuna carpaccio. I had pasta with tomato sauce along with rabbit. We both had a mixed salad.

As I was touring with the Ashland group, Ann went to the Brancacci Chapel in the Church of Santa Maria del Carmine to see the frescos. She also saw a film about them. This took place in the Piazza del Carmine , sometimes known as the ugliest square in Florence.

Christal, Nadine, Emma, Chloe, Sky and Jeff in our Room

Jeff called after we got back to the hotel. He and his group were tired and hot and wanted a place to relax. We invited them over to the hotel. We spent a delightful afternoon chatting and rehydrating on our terrace.

After they went back to meet the rest of their group for dinner, Ann and I went across the Arno to Ristorante del Fagioli . We split appetizers of bruschetta and crustinni with liver pate. Ann had a good vegetable soup while I had ravioli stuffed with ricotta cheese with a light lemon sauce. We also split a portion Italian meatballs.