We arrived in Florence, Italy after our day in Lucca. Our train came into town just before sunset so we walked along the road that runs besides the Arno River. This river divides old and new Florence and is the place to be to sip a beverage, chat with friends, and await the stars as night falls over the city.
The next morning we found pastries and made our way up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, a favorite spot for locals and tourists alike to look out over the city.
Farther up the hill we arrived at Chiesa do San Miniato al Monte, a beautiful, old abbey.
When you walk in you can hear the monks chanting and singing their prayers. The only lights come from the open front door, a few windows, and the glow of candles. In this lovely, dark abbey I lit a candle for my grandfather who passed away 10 years ago. He was from Italy and I thought it would be a good way to honor him and send him a hello by lighting a candle in a church here. I never came across any in the Vatican (my grandpa was Catholic so that place seemed ideal) but there were many candles here. In a quiet moment grandpa and I said hello and I prayed that our family will always remember his strong love and hope for each of us.
The day ended with a delicious dinner at a small restaurant, Il Teatro. Our waitress was kind and smiled, corrected our broken, struggling Italian and applauded us with a ‘bravo’ when we said something right. The carpaccio (thinly sliced, salted beef served with arugula and slices of parmesan) was delicious and a new food experience for us. We also enjoyed pasta. Stead had pesto, I had seafood in a white wine butter sauce. So good!
On the way home we came across a opera rehearsal that was happening in Piazza Delia Signoria. We went that way to look at all the beautiful statues at night – the music made it extra special! Neither of us are much for opera but there is something to be said about taking in the music in the open air of Italy on a warm summer’s night.
