BAC Green Roads Of Tuscany 2009

I should have been coming home today, but a strike at the airport stopped that. So, I did some more sightseeing. I went to the Medici Chapels first. I really wanted to see the tombs carved by Michelangelo and I wasn’t disappointed. They were unfinished but truly magnificent. The main chapel was under restoration as it was the last time we were here. It is very dark and gloomy, but the marble inlays on the altar are outstanding.

Leaving the chapel, I wandered over to the San Lorenzo market. It’s a two-story indoor market filled with vendors selling fruit, meat, fish, cheese, flowers, wine, etc. The area outside surrounding the market is filled with stalls selling leather goods and other non-perishable items.

Then I walked up to near the Accademia and wondered through the Museum of San Marco. The main attractions here are frescos by the early Renaissance master Fra Angelico. This was a monastery in the 15th-century. All of the monks’ cells have frescos done by Fra Angelico and his students. There is a two-room cell that housed Savonarola who was a very right-wing Christian who over through the Medicis, burned books, paintings, etc. and was eventually was burned by the Florentines when they came to their senses.

Perchè no! Gelateria

When I left the museum, it was getting hot (did I mention that it has been in the mid-90’s the last few days?) and I was getting tired of walking and becoming saturated with all of the art. So I bought a panino and started walking back to the hotel, stopping mid-way for a gelato at Perchè no!, a gelateria recommended by my cycling friend, Dave Nasatir. It’s also in the Rick Steves’ guide book. The coffee crunch with chocolate was a real treat.

When I got back to Hotel Silla, I gathered my luggage and had them call a taxi for me. It took me close to the airport to Viva Hotel Alexander Novoli. There were no sights to see around there but the hotel had a very good wireless connection. So I had time to spare to catch up on all of my internet stuff.

I had to have dinner in the hotel tonight because there were no other restaurants around. I had sliced pork with a curry sauce and a mixed salad.