A Christmas Postcard



Ponte Vecchio, at night

Today, I spent a quiet Christmas sending emails, skyping, and chatting with friends and family. This after getting up late, having a 2 hour walk this morning, followed by a lovely ham and cheeze omlette for lunch.  It was sunny and 12 degrees today, so I walked up to Piazzale Michelangelo, which is basically a big parking lot with a copy of Micheleangelo's David in the middle of it.  There was hardly anyone around, and there are the most fantastic views of the city from the Piazzale - watch my video below if you don't believe me! 

Yesterday, I took myself to a gospel Christmas concert (see blogpost: Pump Room on the Arno) performed by the Sue Conway Victory Singers and the Orchestra della Toscana. It was great fun. I also stayed up late and went to the midnight Mass at the Duomo, which was grand in every way. It was especially nice to see the cathedral "in action" as a church and not just a tourist destination.  The usually dull inside was all lit up and Vasari's dome interior remains truly breathtaking. It's hard to see it now if you just visit the Duomo, so seeing it in its full splendour made going to the Mass all the more worthwhile. What I won't do for the sake of art!


Glass mosaic tile ceiling of the Baptistery (mid 11th Century) - stunning!

I've also been playing tourist this past week, visiting the Palazzo Strozzi, the Baptistery, and the Palazzo Vecchio - all places I haven't been before and it was fun exploring the city on my free time before classes start again on Jan 2.

Detail of Baptistery Ceiling

I also bought some new clothes, and had dinner out with one of my teachers (Franscesca) which was fun.  My gym also had an Xmas party on Friday night, so Francesca and I went together, which really made me feel like a local.  All in all, it was a fun and relaxing run up to Christmas Day. Buon Natale.

These luminous street lights on Via Tournabuoni actually contain olive trees - very fun.