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We got up about 8 after a very good night's sleep. Must have been all the walking!
After breakfast, we walked over to the Mercato Centrale, the Central Market, a block square two story building with stalls for meat, chicken, cheeses, pastas, etc. on the main floor and produce on the second floor. Fascinating place to wander around in.
The photo to the left was taken at the Mercato Centrale. The cut cantaloupe was standing more upright when I lined this shot up, then a man picked it up to smell it. When he put it back down, it fell into this position. Not what I originally intended, but...
Then we walked back to the Museo di Storia della Scienza, which had several rooms dedicated to Galileo, including his telescope. Very enjoyable.
We had lunch at the Queen Victoria (sandwiches, fruit salad, and lemon ices) and tried to cool off. We've been told that the weather was more like July than May.
We walked back to the Mercato Nuova, another grouping of vendor stalls. Near one side of the Mercato Nuova is a small fountain called Il Porcellino, which is a bronze boar. Its snout gleams because of a superstition that any visitor who rubs it will return to Florence some day.
The four photos above were taken in the vicinity of the Mercato Nuovo. The one on the left shows a double row of parked bicycles - lots of bicycles in this town. The second one on the left shows a string of souvenir Chianti bottles. These are primarily for tourists. True Chianti wine comes in a traditional green glass bottle, not these straw wrapped bottles. The two photos on the right are of Il Porcellino, showing its well rubbed nose. The rightmost photo has his nose being rubbed.
Then we walked back to the hotel for about 20 minutes of air conditioning before meeting our rescheduled tour group. This time, we showed up at the correct location and the bus arrived just a few minutes late.
Once the bus was loaded, it drove to Fiesole, an ancient town in the hills near Florence. It was originally settled by the Etruscans, then the Florentines used the area as a summer home to escape the heat of the lowlands. It wasn't that much cooler... Several sights were pointed out to us, but we weren't allowed off the bus. Something about the mayor of Fiesole wouldn't let them disembark passengers there. Yeah, right. A more likely explanation is that most tour participants would probably leave the bus and never come back! It looked like a nice town to explore. Perhaps on a future trip???
So the bus wound its way back into Florence and let everyone off near San Croce, which includes the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo. We didn't get to go inside, just admire it from the piazza. There's a Star of David incorporated in the facade as the man who designed the church was Jewish. The convent liked his design anyway. He's buried near the door...
The photo on the left above is of the designer of the church of San Croce. The center photo is a detail over one of the entrances of San Croce. The photo on the right shows the Star of David on the facade of San Croce.
We then walked back to Piazza della Signoria where the guide explained the various statues again. There was a rose wreath (this is a portion of it) placed in the piazza to commemorate the spot where the religious leader Savonarola was burned at the stake in 1498. There were a lot of barricades in place there, also, as the president of Italy was due in Florence the next day...
We crossed the piazza and continued to the Uffizi. Our guide gave us a decent tour of the museum, even though the temperatures inside were unbearably hot. The tour ended in the museum, which allowed people to return to see anything they wanted in more detail.
We exited the museum and spent some more time on the banks of the Arno watching the scullers again. The two photos above show one of the scullers in action.
After cleaning up a bit, we walked back to the Trattoria Garga for another dinner (we had even made reservations the night before). It's a very popular place, especially for the locals. However, the tourists are finding out about it. Our room was mostly Americans tonight... I understand that there's a book available containing the recipes used at the restaurant. Wonder if Amazon carries it..... Another delicious dinner. And we wound up splitting each dish (one for two people is the way to phrase it) except the cheesecake. We each had our own piece! No sharing!
And so ended our last evening in Florence.