Various - Recent London Purchases on Shuffleplay
Cloudland Blue Quartet - Bandcamp Sampler
UK - Night After Night Live Set 2012
Brian Eno - Desert Island Selection
Slept reasonably late after yesterday's early start...
Sunny...
A quick trip to the nearby supermarket for breakfast provisions...
Out and walking into the centre...
...past Piazza San Spirito...
...and the Palazzo Pitti...
...and on over the Ponte Vecchio, with its plethora of jewelry shops, including "U-Boat" with its 4,000 euro watches..
..and others, seemingly run by dogs...
...all watched over by a statue of Benvenuto Cellini, Goldsmith, sculptor and painter...
Our target today was the cathedral...
But, before reaching there, we passed through the Piazza della Signoria, with its population of statues...
...around the Fountain of Neptune...
...including the guy who owns the internet cafe pictured yesterday...
...and Perseus with the head of Medusa...
...and The Rape of the Sabine Women...
...and the Loggia dei Lanzi with its four virtues, only two of which I pictured...
We ventured inside the impressive Palazzo Vecchio, the city's town hall...
...where groups of schoolchildren were being educated by figures from history...
On towards the cathedral, stopping only for some strawberries...
Finally, we reached the Piazza del Duomo - which was jam-packed full of tourists...
We took a much needed seat and were eyed up by this wee monkey looking for food...
Inside the the cathedral...
Who? Me?
...and below the dome...
...where the throng gazed upon Jesus on the cross...
There was much hubbub going on until, suddenly, a voice sounded saying "Silenzio!" and then a load of stuff in Italian about said Jesus - it sounded like something The Silence from "Doctor Who" might say - if they were Italian and worked as priests in a cathedral in Italy...
We obeyed the call to silence...
Outside, we bought a ticket which allowed us to climb to the top of Giotto's Campanile, and which also afforded us entry, within 24 hours, to the crypt under the cathedral and to the stairs leading to its roof...
Up we went...
...noting a bell that, presumably, no longer rings...
The views from the top were superb...
When taking these pics of the people on the roof of the cathedral...
...it seems I was spotted...
The beast was about its business over Florence (if you pardon the expression)...
The views continued to be superb...
The building with the green roof was to be our lunch target...
The Exec Producer was loathe to look down...
Those people look like ants etc etc...
Going back down the steps was hard on Mr CBQ's 55 year old knees...
...but he made it and on we walked to the Basilica of San Lorenzo...
...and the nearby street market, where Anne partook of a lovely new bag...
...before we entered the market proper...
...and made our way upstairs to the food hall...
...where freshly prepared pasta was our chosen sustenance...
Yum...
Followed by a take away coffee on the steps of the church...
Back to the cathedral and into the Baptistery - allegedly the oldest building in Florence, where these three...
...watched over the tourists looking at...
...seemingly saying "Ta Dah!"...
Our next target was the cathedral museum - we walked behind the cathedral to reach it...
Thankfully for my tortured legs, much of it was closed...
But we did see Michelangelo's "The Deposition", which depicts Jesus newly taken from the cross...
The figure of Nicodemus at the rear is said to have the face of Michelangelo - and the sculpture itself was said to have been created by Michelangelo for his own tomb...
Now, what are these people...
...including the Exec Producer, looking at....
The Gates of Paradise of course...
...which were once on the doorway of the Baptistery and are situated here while a new home for them is built around them...
The walk home...
...included a revisit to the Piazza della Signoria - now with the sun in a better position, photo wise...
Back over the Ponte Vecchio...
...with views both ways...
...and jewelry shops run by dogs...
...for more yummy ice cream...
Quite a queue but it was worth the wait...
I popped to the supermarket again, this time for some beer...
...and we enjoyed the very quiet sounds of Brian Eno...
...before heading back out for dinner...
Back over the river...
...for candlelit goodness...
A wander around the over the other side of the river environs...
...before heading home...
...past this intriguing piece in a nearby gallery...
Another long, enjoyable day...
Highlight of the Day : Sightseeing...
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