First and foremost, happy birthday to Raven (whose here with us) and Jer (whose stuck at home with Kitty - J/K Kitty. I love you. Don't hate me.). Raven tells me that his family wants me to update. So, I'm updating just for them. They should feel special. ;-)

The last few days have been a whirl. There is far too much in Florence to cram into one week, but we've managed to cover most of the important stuff. I'll just cover the most important stuff.

We've had two wonderful guides so far. The first gave us a tour of San Miniato, a lovely church in the hills overlooking Florence. Sidsel, the guide, gave us the history of the building and the art work within. Apparently, this is one of the churches popular for local weddings. And with the magnificent views, I can understand why. (I'm going to try and insert a pic below. Hopefully it works.)

The other guide, Christina, took us through the Galleria Palatina at Palazzo Pitti, the late residence of the Medicis. The Palatina is perhaps one of the best renaissance collections in the world, and certainly the best in Florence after the Uffizi. The collection contains a wealth of Raphael, del Sarto, Correggio, Ruben, and Titian among others.

One day this week we left Florence and took a day trip to San Gimignano. This small walled city about an hour and fifteen minutes by bus from Florence is a gem. (Unfortunately, it's also a major tourist site.) Although San Gimignano is never mentioned in Shakespeare, Ralph presented it as the type of city Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote Romeo and Juliet. Verona, the setting of that play, has overgrown its walls and become a hopping provincial capital in the last four hundred years.

Today we were at the Uffizi and several churches. Several of us gave our artist presentations today. I presented on Raphael (who was totally better that del Sarto, on whom Justin presented). And I'm not going to bother going through who everyone else presented; they're not as important as me. ;-) The Uffizi probably ranks up there with the Louvre when it comes to art galleries. Botticelli's most famous works are there, as well as several Da Vincis, Michelangelos, Raphaels, del Sartos, and many others.

Christine Parker and I presented on Santo Spirito, which is a lovely and beautifully designed church by Brunelleschi, and Sarah Enloe and Cassie Ash presented on Santa Felicita.

Now I'm writing and getting ready for dinner. Tomorrow is our option day. I wonder where everyone will go?

(Picture: The view from San Miniato)

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