Happy Holidays from Florence!!

Hi All!!

Happy Holidays from Florence!! I hope everyone is having a splendid season with the loved ones and all that jazz. Nick and I are still hanging out here, though our time is winding down, with Monday coming a lot sooner than we thought!! We head out on the 29th, with me going to Oakland to see the Mom, and Nick heading back to Prescott to HIS Abby before he goes to Bolivia two days later!! He goes to Bolivia for 40 days on a school-organized trip to see how Bolivia's small farms are being able to feed an entire country with enough left over for export. That's about all I understand about his upcoming trip so I will leave it with that. If you want to get in touch with him, his email (which he says he will be checking) is TheMaticore@yahoo.com.

We have been walking all over Florence, with our most recent destinations being the Piazzale Michelangelo, a well-known viewpoint high above the Arno, and the Basilica of San Miniato, which sits on the hill overlooking the city. It was began in 1098 and is one of the most beautiful, albeit less well-known, churches in the area. Unfortunately, we weren't there when the Gregorian chants were being performed, because this particular church is known to have some of the most incredible acoustics in Italy. Before our long hike up the hill, we celebrated Christmas, or the first days of Hanukkah, in true Melamed-Johnson style by going out to eat, and looking at art :) However, we did give a nod to our heritage today but stopping by the Synagogue, though we were not allowed in because of heavy security measures which require appointments, and personal identification by another person. Its a beautiful temple, and we hope to be able to visit it at another time. We also stopped by the local Kosher market and bought some challah that turned out to be remarkably good!!

On the art side of things, we have so far been to the Church of Santo Spirito, to see the wooden crucifix attributed to the VERY early years of Michelangelo's career, to the Accademia where much time was spent enjoying the unfinished "Prisoners" and also the David, we later also went to the Church of the Santissima Annunziata that holds frescoes in the atrium by Rosso Fiorentino, Pontormo, and Andrea del Sarto among others. In this vein we also headed back across the Arno to San Felicita and gazed at Pontormo's Deposition for a good half an hour. This is really a must see for anyone visiting, though you may not find it in guidebooks (so much the better I say, because its always empty!)

Nick also went on his own to the Museum of the History of Science, which usually has the telescope of Galilieo, but in true Italian form it was on loan to another museum! He was disappointed but overall the trip as so far been a great success. We have covered a ton of ground in terms of Florence overall, and been able to see so much of the city. We have also had some absolutely amazing meals! We have been to two vegetarian restaurants that were delicious, Il Vegetariano and Il Sediano Allegro (Oltrarno). Other restaurants that I would definitely recommend (and if you want further information on any of these or the art spots, PLEASE email me!) are Osteria de'Benci, La Giostra, Donatello's (in his Renaissance workshop), and Aqua all'Due.

The only unfortunate thing has been that where most cultures are completely shut down for only two days of Christmas, Italy takes three to also celebrate the Saint's day of Saint Stephen aka San Stefano. So because of this, we might not be heading to Bologna tomorrow, but we still have tons to do in Florence including some shopping, lots of people to buy gifts for!! and the Medici Chapel and the Palazzo Vecchio among other sites to see!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season, and I hope to see some of you when I get back to the States on Monday. My cellphone number at home is the same as it has always been, and please email me with any questions, comments, or just to say hi!! melamed.johnson@gmail.com

All the love, and seasonal greetings!!
That Girl in Europe