Day 33: Another see-you-soon and a series of surprises

Steve and I started out our last full day here in Florence (tomorrow we are going to Cinque Terre) doing something we have become accustomed to here -- laundry! We are doing our last bit before our trip to Scotland on Sunday -- and of course we put the laundry in and went next door for coffee:

We went back to the townhouse when we were done and dropped off the laundry. We picked up our family to have an early lunch before they went to the bus. What did we eat? Pizza!

We didn't go with them to the bus as we were interested in going to the Museo Bargello -- which the museum website said closed at 1:40 pm. We got there only to find out it is open until 4:00 pm. No! We could've been with them a few minutes longer! Ugh!

Well, in retrospect I'm glad we had a bit more time to explore this gem of a museum! 

A surprise was seeing the other crucifix attributed to Michelangelo (similar to the one hanging in Santo Spirito which we couldn't take a picture of), but we could take a picture of this one:

Another surprise was a whole room dedicated to Kufic art -- we had a long discussion about this art form with Max just a few days ago. I had never heard of it before but here it was:

One of my favorite finds -- which I was looking for, was the battle to be the artist who produced the doors of the Baptistry between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. Frankly I found Brunelleschi's entry better -- it's the first of the two below:

I loved all the the statues, well, to be honest I'm not fond of the Della Robia statues so I didn't take any pictures of them. Sorry! Here is a sampling of the others:

And the art:

And the building itself:

At one point I went out into the courtyard to sit down. I noticed a man and a woman sitting and talking on the next bench. The man was making notes Ina book-- I heard his voice and thought to myself, 'I know him'. He turned and looked at me and I recognized him -- I blurted out I love you to which he responded I love you too! -- it was Rick Steves!

He took this selfie with my phone. Obviously he's a pro at selfies! What a nice man!

I took over 60 pictures in the museum but have posted only a few -- I'm so glad we went there! 

We decided to head to one more place we hadn't seen before -- the piazza of the Annunciation. It was by far the most run down of all the piazzas and areas we have been to in Florence, but it looks as though parts of it are undergoing renovation:

We went into the old hospital/orphanage which Brunschellsi designed. It too is undergoing refurbishment but they have a small exhibit you can visit:

We headed back to the townhouse to rest before Steve's physical therapy appointment.

On the right is the small door Steve went through for his therapy -- Dr. Massimo Giontella was so kind! Plus the best view from a doctor's office!

Next was the long walk to dinner -- the restaurant, Perseus, was recommended by Dr. Giontella Steve said it was his favorite!

Penne with beef marinated in Chianti:

Filler/

Zucchini blossoms stuffed with veal and cheese and backed wrapped in breadcrumbs and bacon:

Steve talking to the nice family from Canada next to us:

Baked pear:

Even after eating the baked pear we stopped for gelato during the long walk home (yes, really!):

The walk at night was beautiful:

And some pictures of my 'finds' today:

A dinosaur:

Small car -- it had two people in it and only 3 wheels:

Street art:

A beautiful day!

Total steps walked: 27,036, 10.43 miles.