Orphans, Another Church, and a Few Goofy Pictures

It sometimes seems that one of the largest groups of people in Florence are American college students who are here attending classes. We see them on the streets together, in the cafes, and in the bars. Yesterday, we discovered one of their major hangouts, La Managere. Most bars in Italy are small with nothing more than the bar and maybe a few stools and sometimes a small table. La Managere is more like an American coffee shop with comfortable couches and lots of places to sit. It's only a few blocks north of the Duomo, so we've walked by several times and admired the look of the place, and yesterday we finally stopped to sit inside for a few minutes. They do serve food, but it looked like it was mostly filled with American students with their MacBooks and their iPhones drinking coffee.

La Managere

Inside of La Managere

Perhaps it just feels like home to them.

Yesterday morning we went to The Innocenti Museum. This is a newer museum but it is in a building that has served as an orphanage and home for children for over six centuries. There are many pictures displayed which were probably taken over the past 100 years or so, but they also have terminals set up where you can look up children who were dropped off in the 1500's. Babies were placed in a window and sometimes were left with charms or trinkets that were kept with them. You can also see many of these tiny items along with pieces of fabric that I assume were part of their clothing. We visited a home similar to this when we were in London, The Foundling Museum, but the one here has been around longer and has been to the home to even more children. Fascinating but also rather depressing.

Most of the space is now taken up with art displays rather than seeing the actual quarters where the children lived. The building is on a small piazza and over the columns you can see ceramic babies. The originals were replaced, but you can see two of the original pieces in the museum.

And we couldn't let a day go by without visiting another church. This time is was the inside of Santa Maria Novella. Greg had photographed the outside the other night, but we'd heard the inside was worth seeing. Of course, we thought it paled in comparison to some of the other magnificent Duomos we have seen, but it was a pretty church.

Santa Maria Novella

Interesting ceiling - we always look up!

Heaven

And hell.

Kind of makes me want to be sure I end up in the right place! There were some very beautiful frescoes in some of the smaller chapels around the church and surrounding the alter.

And then just a few miscellaneous photos. Here is what Greg wants for Christmas if any of you are wondering what to get him. He plans to take it to Door County and use it there.

With all of the Italian pastries available, Greg has discovered a store in the Mercato Centrale that sells apple strudel. He claims it's the best he's ever had, and we've been there 4 times to buy more.

And finally, which came first, the chicken or the egg. Did this guy dye his hair to match his pants and backpack? Or did he buy his clothing to match his hair? I'd say he's into orange.