Day 15 (6/19/11):

When we woke up bright and early the next morning, we again enjoyed the nice little breakfast that came with our hostel for the weekend. It was nice to have everything already laid out for us!

Even though we really wanted to see Santa Croce, we decided not to venture in that direction this weekend. There was a special annual (?) soccer game going on in Firenze for the weekend, and it was taking place right in front of the church, so we didn't think we would be able to enter. Yesterday we tried, and we weren't able to get even close! I'm not sure on the background of the soccer game, but apparently it is VERY exciting for the locals in Firenze!

Instead, we decided to go see Santa Maria Novella since it was close to our hostel, the train station, and the marketplace! Inside the church was interesting, but many of the wall paintings were so worn that you couldn't see them anymore. I think the best part of the church was the large wall with scenes from the life of Mary depicted on it. It was SO big, and really interesting.

Once back outside, the girls headed to the marketplace while I stopped in the Santa Maria Novella museum next door. It was not what I was expecting, so I'm glad the entrance was for free. I had to walk through a perfumeria to get to the other parts of the museum, walked through a courtyard, and then saw a small chapel-type room… and that was it! It was good to go, but I wouldn't go again.

I met up with the girls in the marketplace, and we headed to a restaurant to get some lunch. We went to Trattoria Za` Za`, and ate pretty excessively haha… We assumed our meals and appetizer would be small portions, but there was SO much food! We got an antipasto to share, and then each got a main dish - mine was pasta in a Bolognese sauce, Jackie got fettucine with pesto, and Donna got a salad. It was another large meal in Firenze!

We spent the rest of the later afternoon at the marketplace, browsing around and trying to negotiate prices with the vendors. It was a fun afternoon! Afterwards, we caught our train home and were back in Rome around 8:30 p.m. to settle in for the night.