post on Sunday Jan 16th from Renee

This is a short post...I wanted to put up some recent pictures!  We went to Fiesole, a short bus ride up outside of Florence, yesterday afternoon--it overlooks Florence and has some beautiful old churches. Friday night at 5 p.m. we went to the Vespers service at San Miniato al Monte.  The church was built around 1000 A.D. and it is said that St. Minias, who was beheaded, carried his head up to the top of the hill and that is why the church was built there over his relics.  The "white order" of the Benedictine monks are still living there and we heard them do Gregorian chants (the psalms in Latin) in the crypt of the church. Beautiful. Even the boys admitted this was quite interesting!  There is quite a cemetery behind and surrounding the old church with very impressive mausoleums and statuaries.  I've also posted a picture of a part of the old Roman wall around old Florence on the southern side that is still intact.  You see the old "Porta" or huge cement towers with openings into the city at various spots, but the wall is also intact still in areas.

It is a challenge speaking Italian--all of us trying to practice our Rosetta Stone Italian.  Also adjusting to all the differences here--most shops are closed between 1-3 or 1-4 every days and the restaurants don't open at night until 7 p.m.  The dryer we have has a "spinner" which is basically a centrifuge that wrings the clothes out but doesn't dry them!  The boys did the grocery shopping today without me as I have a wicked cold and they did an impressive job!



San Miniato al Monte

  

View outside Fiesole



copy of David in Piazzale Michelangelo



Mausoleums in cemetery behind San Miniato al Monte



old Roman walls still around Florence on southern edge

view of Florence in am light



boys in Fiesole