This and That

The past couple of days have been a sort of montage of Florence events; I will highlight a couple.

We climbed up to the Piazzale Michelangelo again to both get some exercise and visit the cemetery behind the Basilica di San Miniato al Monte. I have a not-so-secret love for cemeteries; I enjoy the peace and general ambiance. Plus, graves are often just crazy intricate and beautiful. This cemetery was no different; in fact, due to the opulent Italian funereal traditions it was more grandiose than I was expecting. Some of the tombs were seriously the size of small chapels, forming "streets" of small, overly embellished "buildings". I was astonished that anyone would put that much thought into a memorial for the dead; however I was more impressed by the individual graves. Some of the statuary was just beautiful. I think this one was my favorite:

I mean, look at the artistry in the draping of the dress! The statue was made by a man for his "lost love".

I also liked that a lot of the graves had lanterns on them. I don't know why, but I like the idea of someone going around to all the graves at night, igniting the lanterns and leaving the graveyard a sea of glowing lights. It's comforting for some reason.

After we were done roaming around the bone yard, we made our way over the basilica. I had gleaned from internet research that if you stayed until 5:30 pm (4:30 in the winter) you might get the chance to listen to the monks sing their evening chants. We were just so lucky that we caught the monks starting their hymns down in the crypt. Jennie and I found a "comfortable seat" (slabs of marble, but it was actually cool and nice) and listened to the surprisingly good voices. You know, now that I think of it, I have never heard a bad group of monks singing...why is that? Do they only choose the good voices to sing? Or since they do it every day, does practice make perfect?

It was extremely soothing to sit and listen to those guys sing. In fact, after about a half hour we had to leave because we were falling asleep!! It was like sitting in a dark womb-like place listening to lullabies. It is an experience I hope to do numerous times in the future.


The next day we were jonesing for some green, so we headed right outside of town to locate the Ciscine Park. One of the less fantastic things about Florence is that they charge for basically all the gardens and parks. And we aren't talking like a few Euro - usually around 10. So, for a girl that likes to be out in nature and idle around, it has been very challenging. But, the Ciscine park is free!! AND it is closer to "our" side of the river. AND, on Tuesdays it houses one of the biggest flea markets I've ever been to. I mean seriously, Jenn and our friend J went with, and we were not sure if it was ever going to end! We didn't purchase anything, but I will be going back and I probs will!

I miss everyone very much and hope you are doing well!