Sightseeing

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Saturday was our little trip to the hill town of San Gimignano (sahn jee-meen-YAH-noh, I hope this helps). It is the epitome of a Tuscan hill town. It is unique because of it’s many towers, 14 of the original 72 still remain. It was rainy and misty so we were unable to take the picture from the high way that shows most of the towers so we just took a few pictures of individual towers when we arrived. The history is not as interesting as I thought it would be so if you want more of that you can Google it. We did visit the church there and it was quite lovely. The shopping was pretty good too.

We moved on to another well known hill town, Volterra, and had a good lunch but by this time it was raining hard and we decided to head on home. It wasn’t bad for our first road trip. Volterra actually predates Roman time. It was first an Etruscan settlement. There was a recent town meeting about whether the town should run high-speed Internet cable to the town, a local grumbler said that “the Etruscan’s didn’t need it why do we”. He was voted down. Volterra is very old and very modern at the same time.

I saw all 5 of my students this week and will have 2 more next week. It is fun to talk with them and help them with their English. I asked each of them why were they taking English and without exception they said that they hoped that being able to speak English well would help them get better jobs in the future. My students are between the ages of 20 and 48 and the uncertainty of future jobs weighs heavy on their minds. My youngest student, Chiara, is an electronic engineer major. She wants to design robotic medical devices. My oldest student, Maria, just lost her job and doesn’t know what she will do as there are very few jobs to be had. All of the students are very interested in reading the Bible and have a good understanding of what they read.

Today Mike and I went into Florence. We figured out a plan last week that would make sure we saw all of the stuff we wanted to see before we leave for home. We started out as usual on the bus. 2 of the passengers had their dogs with them. This is a very common sight. In fact, there were 2 dogs at church last week and there were dogs in the little coffee bars and restaurants we have been in. So far they have been very well behaved.

We went to see the church Santa Croce (Holy Cross). It is a 14^th century Franciscan church with some of the best paintings, frescos, and stained glass I have seen. It also holds the tombs of great Florentines including Michelangelo, Galileo, (he is actually from Pisa) and Machiavelli. Dante has a sarcophagus there but it is empty. Not sure what that is about.

We left the church and went to have lunch then on to look at the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiori(the Duomo) built in the late 13^th century. This church has the colossal dome that dominates the church and the Florence skyline. I was disappointed with the interior after seeing Santa Croce, however the exterior is beautiful. I know that earlier we had pictures of the dome and said that it was the back of the cathedral but it was actually the front. It is early spring and already there are crowds wherever we go. It must be oppressive in the summer.

That’s about it for me at this time. I know Mike has more to say so until next time, ciao. Ann

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Comments

[Taylor]

Great Photos!
Thanks for sharing the photos. I especially like the Florence Skyline and one of the olive trees and vineyards.

[John Pierson]

Continue to enjoy the commentary.
I am enjoying following you this way and find the pictures lovely.

[Trellis]

Your travels
Have loved reading your blog and a little jealous of your opportunity! We loved to go to Florence and tried to go every year we were in Naples between Christmas and New Years. Didn't every make it San Germano or Volterra. I think that Ted did when he was in college. How much does a pizza cost now? Not cheap I am sure.