More Florence Scenes, 2017

There's always plenty to see apart from the churches and museums...

Love those rusticated walls

Also the really old towers that pop-up here and there

At one of the fancy clothing stores downtown

Where 1,148 euros will buy you this cute pre-stressed dress;
shopping tip: maybe check at the Goodwill first; wait, no,
the Goodwill would throw this in the rubbish bin

Walking past the Orsanmichele (we call it the Orson Wells)

The kind of gelato joint Vicki now says to avoid

It was a bit nipply on a few of the days we were there

Vicki says the sculpture is of gelato droppings

A favorite place in Florence I never miss...in the main square,
where they tortured, hanged, and then burned Savanarola at the
stake; thus always to demagogues

Accompaniments to the gelato droppings

Ditto

Outside the Uffizi, Vicki has commissioned a work of art

We climbed it in 2013 but would have had to
stick around into the next week to get
reservations for 2017; perhaps in 2018; we've
both read Ross King's Brunelleschi's Dome
since 2013 and want to have another look

So if you're really smitten by the neo-classical thing, you
can have your own at one of the several stores like this

Fair warning: I can't remember how many times during our travels
I've walked into a bar/cafe/restaurant, asked whether they have
wifi, and then been served a glass of white wine...

Florence Scenes, 2017

We interrupt our tour of churches and museums to present some more pedestrian scenes of the great city. The museums and churches will continue after a another post or so.

Our sosta, secluded, perhaps a half hour walk to the historic
center, ten minutes by bus

Thus

Gorgeous food store next to the Market; adjoining it was a
nice traditional resto where we had a lunch

My bread salad

Vicki's lasagna

Dessert; not pictured: my roast pork medallions, which we will
attempt to replicate for Turkey Day

The big city market

Trash removal in the big city

In English too

 

At the Florence Rubber Duckie store

At our favorite restaurant one evening, the Antico Ristoro di
Cambi, about to devour 1.1k of bifstecca fiorentino

Maybe I over-salted it a bit; it looks rare, I know, but they age
it for 18 days before cooking

Another evening, Vicki at a cooking class

A beautiful della Robbia fountain near the
market

Peeking into Brunellechi's Spiritu Sanctu church, 15th, rive
gauche

Note that the roof-top figures on the left are surmounted by
pigeons and that those on the right are not; why? is it a sign of
favor?

Tourists ever coming and going

Alas, not a rubbish bin that conveys a city's
self-regard

Uffizi, 2017: Renaissance Fun, 2

And now, the exciting conclusion of our fun day at the Uffizi...

A Memling Madonna and Bambino, 15th

Cranach's "Three 14-Year-Olds At the Mall"

Durer's portrait of his dad

A Steen

Velazquez self-portrait: what would the Prado
give for this?

Specimen Theotokopoulos

Rembrandt self-portrait #1,358

A Watteau, yes! seriously! The Flute Player, 1725

A Rubens Bacchanal

Mini-Me in a pissing contest with Bacchus

Rubens selfie, 1628; a gift to Cosimo III

Seriously important: Rafael's Madonna of the
Goldfinch

Ditto: Verocchio's Annunciation, with some help from his young
pupil, Leonardo, who did the angel and the background; 1475

Definitely Leonardo

Titian's Madonna Urbino

Detail from helpful model #269

And how better to end than with the Uffizi's premier entry from
Mister Fruity Butt Pants, known as Caravaggio, his Doubting
Thomas