Florence - Monday

Yesterday's birthday party for David was a great success and everyone was feeling pretty happy as we gathered for breakfast at Anne's. Everyone did their own thing this morning. Kevin took the train to Pisa to see the leaning tower. Anne spent the morning with Sahjo. Anne -Catherine and Jean-Daniel explored shops, and David, Wally and I had a close look at the Church of Santa  Maria Novella.  You will see a stained glass of the Madonna of the Snow in the pictures of the day plus a photo of the cloister. David wanted to go to the pig market which features leather products so you can see him patting the nose of the famous bronze pig. Then we (except for Kevin) met up for a 2 PM feast of Bistecca Florentine at the famous Antico Fattora.  The six of us the walked to the house where Elizabeth and Robert Browning lived their entire married life. They had a huge apartment with rooms which are furnished just as they were when they lived in Florence in the middle of the nineteenth century. There was a grand piano in the bedroom and David entertained us with a piano solo. Apparently a person can rent the premises for a personal stay ( at considerable cost) as long as you are willing to have the rooms open for a few hours three days a week. We met a delightful British couple in their eighties (big Browning fans) there to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and staying in the house for three nights. Afterwards David, Wally and I walked home via the English Cemetery where the Brownings are buried. You can see that Wally was taking most of the photos today. Let me assure you, he was present!