Day 12, Florence [Departing Florence and Arriving in Birmingham] – September 29, 2017

Yes, all good things have to come to an end.  Up early, we were greeted and bid farewell by Mary Virginia at 7:00 am.  That is true dedication and so "Mary Virginia."  Thank you for that special touch.  Our taxi got us to the airport in about 15 minutes and we beat the congestion at check-in and security that occurred about 30 minutes later.  Our flight to Paris departed Florence 

Departing Florence

Goodbye Florence

and arrived at Charles De Gaulle on time, which was perfect to permit us to navigate that airport for an on-time departure for Atlanta.  Although, we had 1-3/4 hr to accomplish this, all the time was needed.  We arrived in Atlanta to proceed through customs, etc. using Global Entry, which was so efficient, to be faced with long lines at TSA.  Once through that, we were off to Terminal D for an on-time departure for Birmingham.  Arrived on time in Birmingham, retrieved our bags and walked to the upstairs area to have Rachel just arriving to pick us up.  We had messaged her as she was leaving the hospital after a 12-hr shift and we converged at the same time.  Then we drove to Emily’s house for the 40^th surprise birthday party Sean had in progress.  Plenty of food and drink and great music provided by his band in a lovely outdoor setting at their home.  Wow, what a day!  Also, wow, what a fabulous two weeks.

Day 11, Florence [San Marco & Michelangelo Plaza] – September 28, 2017

Today was out last day in Florence and it was a free day.  Although we had talked about catching a train and going to Lucca, we decided to stay in Florence and have a quiet day visiting San Marco and taking a bus to the Michelangelo Plaza for a panoramic view of the city.  San Marco and its museum are only about 3 blocks from where we are staying.  The church dates from 1437 and has an adjoining Dominican convent, which was richly decorated with frescos by Fra Angelico in the 1400’s.  As we entered the first cloister, 

the Crucifixion with St. Dominic fresco is seen.   

Continuing up the stairs to the first-floor dormitory, at the top of the stairs the Annunciation (1442) fresco greets you.   

Beyond, each of the 44 monk’s cells contains a unique devotional fresco.  Here is a sampling of some of these frescos.  

Adoration of the Magi

Returning to the first floor, and entering the refectory (now the bookstore), we saw the Last Supper by Domenico Ghirlandaio.   

In one of the ground-floor galleries, we saw the 35 scenes from the Life of Christ that were painted on cupboard panels with much detail.   

Another gallery contained the Fra Angelico crucifixion scene with the saints (1441-1442).

Fra Angelico Crucifixion with the Saints

Other galleries contained numerous paintings.   

Leaving the museum, we visited the church   

San Marco Nave

View of Ceiling

Next, we walked to the #13 bus stop and took that bus to Michelangelo Plaza with great panoramic views of Florence.   

Toward the Duomo and Tuscan Hills

View Toward Ponte Vecchio

Returning to our place, we repacked everything for tomorrow’s departure so that we would not have to pack after our farewell party and dinner at Sondra Koff’s condominium this evening.
 

We gathered at 5:30 pm for our commute to Sondra’s home.  She, Marco, and Mary Virginia had cooked and prepared a lovely Italian dinner for all of us – excellent pate’, pesto, cheeses, salad, pasta, Marco’s pork dish, biscotti dipped in a dessert wine, and plenty of Iralian wine.  Needless to say, “a very good time was had by all.”  We were indebted to Sondra for opening her home to us for this charming conclusion to our time together in Rome and Florence.

Day 10, Florence [Uffizi Gallery & Brancacci Chapel] – September 27, 2017

We left early to get to the Uffizi Gallery and acquire the reserved admission tickets only to find that all entries were to be delayed until 10:00 am due to a staff meeting.  The lines were huge.  We finely got entry by 10:45 am.  The Uffizi houses thousands of noteworthy and priceless paintings and sculptures.  The top floor’s 45 rooms have paintings from the 13^th to the 18^th century.  The next floor has 56 rooms.  The Florentine Renaissance paintings are gorgeous.  The rooms are arranged by school and in chronological order with works of art by great Italian artists such as Botticelli, Giotto, Cimabue, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raffaello, to name a few.  We rented an audio guide to help explain some of the featured art works, which was a great help.  An outdoor terrace at the end of the top floor was a perfect place for lunch.  At 2:00 pm we exited the Uffize and gathered for our walk to the Brancacci Chapel on the other bank of the Arno River. 

The Brancacci Chapel 

is in the church of Santa Maria del Carmine, which was completed in 1475.  It had several renovation/modernization programs in the 16^th and 17^th centuries.  The Chapel’s frescos were commissioned by the Brancacci family in 1423 and done by Masaccio and Masolino Lippi and completed from 1481 to 1483 by Filippino Lippi.  These depict Stories of St. Peter to whom the chapel was originally dedicated.  These are pictures of the frescos:

Temptation of Adam and Eve

Note Serpent's Head is a Blond Woman's Head

Expulsion from Eden

Note Anguish on Eve's Face

Healing of the Cripple and Raising of Tabitha

Disputation of St. Peter and St. Paul with Simon Maggus

Baptism of the Neophytes

Distribution of Alms and Death of Ananias

The Tribute Money

Raising of the Son of Theoophilus and St. Peter Enthroned

St. Paul Visiting St. Peter in Prison

Raising of Tabitha

St. Peter Healing the Sick with his Shadow

Crucifixion of St. Peter