For the first time since we got back, Dave and I took a walk around the town. We walked past Santa Croce, Piazza della Signoria, and Ponte Vecchio. We were both surprised how few people were outside. The tourists seemed to be sparse and we only saw one group of Japanese tourists. When we left in October, the streets were still filled with tourists. Today, we were able to walk around without bumping into anyone.
Since we've been here, I haven't been able to visit one of my favorite churches in Florence. Santo Spirito, pictured here, is my favorite. I love the austere exterior, which was just left unfinished supposedly. Usually we go to Santo Spirito at lunch time or dinner time when the church is closed, so I haven't been in since I left Florence in 1999.
I took a lot of pictures today because the camera Dave got me for my birthday last month works really great even when it's quite dark outside.
I wore a scarf and light jacket and was still cold when we went for our walk. It said on my computer that it was only 50°F. I have finally given up reading temperatures in Celsius. The only ones that have any meaning for me are 0°C and 40°C, which are very cold and very hot. The subtleties of the Fahrenheit system appeal to me. I like to know when it's 50°F and not 51°F. So, when I read that it was 10°C, I figured that it wasn't that cold. Then, we got outside and with the added humidity, we realized that we weren't prepared.
Even though it was cold for us, it was so pleasant to be walking around again, looking at the lights, watching the people, and seeing the monuments all lit up. We'll do some more visiting in the near future because we almost can't believe we're back in Florence.
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