This guy, in the Uffizi Museum, sounded just like Woody Allen only louder. He gave impromptu lectures on the artwork to his friend and whoever else was in the room. He particularly loved Titian and Raphael.
Beautiful art everywhere. This one (just a fraction of it behind Alan) covers the walls and ceilings in the lobby of the B&B where we are staying, Hotel Scoti. It is run by Doreen, a very friendly Australian woman who has lived here for 40 years.
Yesterday evening we attended sung mass in the crypt of San Miniato - well the first half of it anyway. The church is part of a Benedictine monastery on a hill just outside Florence's old city wall. The mass was sung in Gregorian chant. I had hoped to hear it sung by a choir but it was just the celebrating priest and an assistant who sang it. Both had very good voices that sounded beautiful within the stone walls of the church. There seemed to be a number of regulars there (along with the visitors). I assumed they were regulars because they knew the sung responses.
This is a photo of an elderly monk arriving with an attendant a few minutes before the ceremony began. So there were only 3 monks in attendance. I wondered how many more there were. The monastery attached to the church was huge. It would feel very empty without the numbers to fill the rooms.
The view from San Miniato at dusk.
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