Italian Adventures: Catching Up - Saturday and Sunday

Saturday - In the morning we went to the Santo Spirito market and into the church - Batista di Santo Spirito! It was designed by Brunelleschi around 1434. The outside is quite plain, but inside is amazing! There was a copy of Michelangelo's Pieta which was gorgeous, and the wooden crucifix at the altar is attributed to Michelangelo, so that was neat to see! Next we went to the San Ambrogio market, which was really good, I got some delicious peaches and strawberries. Then we headed back to the chocolate festival!! I got a dark hot chocolate which was basically pure melted chocolate and piece of chocolate cake - it was amazing!!! Total chocolate overload. :) We came back to the apartment for lunch and spent the afternoon reading and doing homework. Suzanne and I spotted some people in costume on the Ponte Vecchio in the evening, so we went to go investigate. It seemed like a pre-carnivale event and was a lot of fun! We took lots of pictures!

Santo Spirito

Basilica di Santo Spirito

Possible Pre-Carnivale Pictures

Sunday - We went to Pisa!!!! We had some trouble figuring out the trains - you have to validate your ticket before you board. But we made it there and figured out how to get to the Piazza Duomo where the tower, baptistery, and cathedral are located. We took lots of pictures and then stopped by a local cafe for a snack. I got a delicious apple pastry. Then we went into the cathedral (Duomo) - it was so amazing! We got to take pictures which was awesome!! :) Inside the Duomo we saw Giovanni Pisano's pulpit and a mosaic of St. John by Cimabue. The Assumption in the dome was absolutely gorgeous - it's by Orazio and Girolamo Riminaldi. We had to pay 0.30 to use the bathroom, but it was worth it to see the sign explaining how to flush the toilet - "Approach hand to sensor to get water flush." It was a gorgeous day yesterday so we spent some time sitting in the sun. Then we bought some postcards and headed back to the train station. We got on a different route back to Florence, it took 2 hours instead of 1, but we saw some gorgeous countryside.

Pictures from Pisa....