No posts until today (31st) as we are now back and there was no internet connection at second flat.
Saturday 26th May
We walked down from Pisa Centrale station and passed the Church of Santa Maria della Spina on the banks of the river. It was built in the Gothic style in 1230 and enlarged in 1325.

Our next port of call for lunch was the Orto Botanico di Pisa - the botanical gardens founded in the 16th century. It has an arboretum, greenhouses and some areas planted with medicinal herbs.

Naturally we headed into town to the Piazza del Duomo to catch our first glimpse of the leaning tower.

The leaning tower is actually the freestanding bell tower of the cathedral. It is 191 feet high and leans over 12 feet from vertical (3.9 degrees). It is a beautiful structure and was even better than we had imagined.

Adjacent to Pisa Cathedral in the Piazza del Marcoli is the Baptistry of Saint John with its large dome.

The main doors of the cathedral are made of bronze and are 3D depictions of the life of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.



Friday 25th May
Today seems to have been church and museum day. We began by exploring the church of Santa Maria del Carmine. The ceiling is beautiful with lovely paintings in the dome.

The most visited chapel in Florence is here, the Brancacci Chapel, with exceptional frescos that were originally painted in the 14th century.

The cloister outside was an oasis of calm and tranquillity.

In a smaller chapel there was a fresco of the last supper with, unusually, two cats under the table.

Later we visited the Church of Santa Maria Novella which shows some Moorish influences with the black and white edges to the arches.

Here there were even more beautiful frescos showing some amazing detail in the garments.

To complete the day Glenys and I visited the Galileo museum which gave the history of maps, astronomy and time keeping.

 

Tomorrow we are heading to Pisa by train and then on to San Vincenzo for some time by the sea.

 

 



Thursday 24th May
Today we crossed the Ponte Amerigo Vespucci to view the Santa Rosa Weir built several hundred years ago to control the River Arno to allow shipping further up.

Our main aim today was to visit the "Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novello", a pharmacy/parfumerie that has been housed in this building since1612 but had its beginning in the late 14th century. We were treated afternoon tea here in the small exclusive tea room.

The interior is beautifully decorated with chandeliers and painted ceilings.

Many of the rooms are decorated with highly ornate wooden cabinets.

There is a small museum inside showing some of the herbalist's equipment.

We finished off the day with a session for Christopher at the local playground.



Wednesday 23rd May
Today Glenys and I had booked tickets to climb to the top of the Duomo but first we explored the Baptistry. The ceiling is an amazing mosaic depicting the gospels.

The first level is the gallery round the base of the dome, several hundred feet from the church floor.

The most amazing sight is found when you look up to the interior of the Duomo. There are beautifully painted frescos all round.

We continued upwards to complete the 436 steps to the top and were rewarded with breathtaking 360 degree views of Florence.

Later in the afternoon we visited the Uffizi Gallery - the most famous in Florence.

In a nearby Piazza we saw the copy of David by Michelangelo. This is a full sized copy as the original was being damaged by the Florentine weather.

The Uffizi gallery is in a lovely building and consists of extremely long corridors with rooms off.

 

There are some very famous paintings here such as "The Birth of Venus" by Botticelli,



 



 

As you walk along the corridors you can see that each section ceiling is painted with different scenes

 

 

We rounded off the day with some excellent local food at the fruit and vegetable market.



Tuesday 22nd May
Today Glenys and I took the 90 minute train ride from Florence to Siena. The entrance to the old town is through the Porta Cammolia, a gateway in the city walls.

The church of Chiesa Di San Pietro Alla Magione is just inside the old walls and dates from 12th Century.

The streets of the old town are very narrow and are lined with ancient buildings.

The road eventually leads to the Piazza Del Campo, a large area in the centre where, twice a year, the famous Palio horse race is run round the edge.
https://www.discovertuscany.com/siena/palio-siena.html

The Piazza is also surrounded by ancient buildings.

To one side of the Piazza is the Fonte Gaia, a fountain designed and built around 1420 but was in such bad condition that the original was replaced by a copy in 1869.



Monday 21st May
This morning on our way to Bardini Gardens, we passed by part of the Vasari Corridor, a secret way for the De Medici family to travel from the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Piti.

The Bardini Gardens overlook the Florentine skyline and are well worth the climb to get there.

Thunder and heavy rain interrupted our visit but after an hour the rain did die away and we were able to enjoy the Baroque steps through the middle of the terraced garden.



Sunday 20th May
We were all stunned by our first view of Florence Cathedral with its colourful marble exterior.

As we walked to a nearby park we passed the UNICEF research centre in Piazza della  Santissima.

The Duomo really dominates the nearby streets.

On our way back to the flat we visited the Leonardo da Vinci museum which has models of many of his inventions.