Wednesday, June 24th:
After checking into my wonderful B&B and unpacking, I headed out to explore Florence. My first stop was GROM for some gelato. I wandered around a little bit and then headed back to catch the parade of men in tights and a few cute little boys also with flags and drums as part of the Festa di San Giovanni (Festival of Saint John the Baptist). Every year, on 24 June, Florence celebrates the feast of its patron, San San Giovanni. A huge crowd lined the parade route in Piazza Signoria. I managed to work my way in to get a few shots.
After the parade, jet lag really started to set in. I wanted to find a place that served dinner early. I was given the suggestion of Boccadama, which is located in Piazza Santa Croce. I asked if I would be able to get to it since the famous Calcio Storico Fiorentino soccer match was taking place in that area. She assured me that it was not in the blocked off area. After wandering around the area of Piazza Santa Croce, I gave up and headed to find the other suggestion given to me, Yellow Bar. This restaurant was recommended for good pizza. I found the spot marked on my map, but it was on block too far towards the Duomo. I headed back to my B&B, searched Yellow Bar on my maps app on my iPod Touch and realized that it was located just around the corner from my B&B and was so easy to find. When I got there, it was packed! There was a line of people waiting outside. I knew I would never last, so I went inside and ordered a pizza to go. After all that, the pizza was not very good. It was cold and the edges were very burnt.
The evening event of the Festa di San Giovanni was fireworks at 10 pm. I heard them from my bed but was much too tired to head back out to see them in person. It was a good thing I knew about the fireworks. Otherwise, I probably would have thought Florence was being bombed. I watched USA upset Spain in the semi-finals and then fell asleep.
A note about editing photos - picnik was easy to use (although all in Italian so it took a few tries to find the correct editing tools I needed) but this computer takes forever to save each photo, so I probably won't be posting many more photos (at least from this computer). I also tried pixlr express (which was faster) but it saved the photo in a way that does not open after being saved. I am not sure what I did wrong but it is much to late to figure it out right now.
More later... Ciao!!
Comments (8)
Great Photos. So exciting to see this parade. Have fun.
Posted by Barb Cabot | June 26, 2009 1:51 AM
Posted on June 26, 2009 01:51
Thanks for posting photos, very cool!! Enjoy the rest of your time in Florence!
Posted by Chiocciola | June 26, 2009 2:20 AM
Posted on June 26, 2009 02:20
Thinking of you. :)
Posted by leslie | June 26, 2009 7:16 AM
Posted on June 26, 2009 07:16
Nice to see that sei arrivata sana e salva! And how nice of them to arrange this parade for your arrival! Enjoy, eat well, i'll be following your posts, and I'll see you soon!
Dana
Posted by dana | June 26, 2009 2:26 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 14:26
Hi Girasoli, how fantastic to be there during this wonderful celebration. Great photos! Grom, yum! Thanks so much for posting and keep on having fun!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | June 26, 2009 2:36 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 14:36
Thanks for these wonderful photos, the festa must have been fun to see!
I don't know why, but I have the worst luck finding restaurants in Florence -- maybe it's the medieval streets, but I have more problems there than anywhere else finding a specific address.
But I hope that you're soon able to find better meals once you've had time to settle in.
Posted by sandrac | June 26, 2009 7:11 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 19:11
Wow, what a great way to start your trip! Love the photos. Enjoy every minute. I will be looking forward, with great envy, to your posts!
Posted by sheri | June 26, 2009 7:16 PM
Posted on June 26, 2009 19:16
Love the photos! I hope one day to be in Florence for the Feast of St. John the Baptist. Bummer on the pizza; maybe the pizzaiolo had the night off.
Posted by María I. | August 4, 2009 5:48 AM
Posted on August 4, 2009 05:48