Churches, churches, churches

Today we're back in Florence, back in class at 10:30. We are to hear all about painting, and I suspect that Bill will surprise us with information that we've not heard before. Simply to call it "painting" - that seems such a poor word for what we've been seeing in churches and museums for the past week.

But first - the day begins with another of Signora Carla's fabulous breakfast spreads. I finally sampled the cake, a different variety of which has graced the buffet every morning. Signora tells me it is ricotta, pear and chocolate, and I can taste the delicious thin bottom crust with every bite. A hard-boiled egg, a dish of fruit, a small dish of cereal, and two cups of wonderful caffee latte must hold me for most of the day. This will be an activity-filled experience.

Before class, I venture out alone to purchase tickets for the Baptistry. I discover the ticket office and a working change machine. Coins are very hard to come by in shops and restaurants, and I am delighted to receive ten one-euro coins for my paper money. Now I can use the public bathrooms! I figure if I had another two weeks here, I would function like a native.

As soon as class is over at noon, Mike and I strike out for the Baptistry. We are scheduled to meet Bill and the rest of the group at Santa Maria Novella at 1:30, so we need to get down the street quickly and see the interior. Gentle readers who have visited Florence will remember that the Baptistry is home to the Ghiberti doors, which are no longer in place. They were heavily damaged in one of Florence's awful floods, and they are now housed in the Duomo museum, which is currently closed for restoration and repairs. We have been told that the reproductions that grace the front of the building are almost indistinguishable from the real things. We have no way of knowing if this is true, but we can say that the restoration is absolutely breathtaking.

We meet Bill and most of the group at 1:30 Santa Maria Novella, which was once a Dominican monastery. What a beautiful building! And the artwork inside is also quite beautiful. After spending about an hour in the church, we walk across the city to Santa Croce, which has been characterized as Italy's Westminster Abbey. It contains the tombs of Dante, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Da Vinci, and memorials to many other Italian luminaries. Santa Croce is also home to the leather school, and we are able to watch apprentices crafting beautiful leather goods. They are taking orders for handbags made to order, and gorgeous leather jackets and coats - for a mere 700 euro!

By now it is 5:00 p.m. and Mike and I decide to head for the hotel. We drop off our coats and bags and stroll down the street to explore a toy store and a paper store. The weather is delightful - sunny and cool. What a lovely evening for a walk!

Tomorrow we journey to Assisi and Cortona. Since Cortona is the summer home of Frances Mayes, author of "Under the Tuscan Sun," perhaps we will take another stroll down the country mile to Bramasole and see if we can spot her. We'll see!