Sunday afternoon, the last day before new virus restrictions were imposed, we climbed up above Florence to see an 11th century basilica, San Miniato al Monte. (Climb being the very operative word.)
I went inside the empty basilica and discovered why the church is named San Miniato al Monte. (Well, we already found out about the monte part.)
It turns out the church is named for St. Miniato, a rich Armenian merchant beheaded for his beliefs in the 3rd century. Guess where they keep that head he lost?
Afterward, we had dinner (outdoors, of course) and watched sunset from Piazzale Michelangelo, along with half of Florence.
The Hub fell in love with a red hot little Italian.
I fell for a tall cool one. (I really don’t think we need to mention this to The Hub.)
Florence took care of the floor show!
Barb Taub 
Fabulous pictures… that view, and the cool Italian…had to be worth the climb… 😉
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Nobody makes iced coffee like Italians!
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I haven’t had a decent Italian coffee in ages…
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Since this one involved gelato and chocolate, I think it was more an indecent Italian coffee.
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Indecent…always the best kind… 😉
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The view would be worth the climb on its own, but the basilica looks pretty as well.
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That’s what we kept telling ourselves. (We actually have a similar view from our rental house. Okay, if you go to the bottom of the garden, lean over the terrace wall, and peek through some tree branches, we have a similar view!) And it was so worth the climb!
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Gorgeous 💚 I’d fall for the tall cool one as well.
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Pretty irresistible!
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Great view, lovely photos and a very tempting tall cool one.
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Agreed! Especially because I got to keep the tall cool one but the Hub had to give up his little red hot love.
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That header photo, in particular – looks like heaven on earth. btw, tell me if you bump into my cousin in one of your cafes! Might be carrying a baby 😀
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We did see a LOT of people with babies. Parenting must be particularly difficult right now.
I don’t actually go into cafes—mostly lurk at outside tables (after surreptitiously wiping them down with my antibac wipes, of course…) And with new virus restrictions in force for the next month, I probably won’t even do that. Especially because this morning I was going to the Sant’Ambrogio street market, and the bus driver said my dog wasn’t allowed on the bus anymore. Peri is very bummed.
But I’d still love to meet your cousin. Perhaps when current restrictions expire, and you and your sister can come too?
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That tall cool one looks scrumptious!! Glad you took advantage before more restrictions. We are getting more and more here too. Sigh.
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beautiful pics! I’d like a tall, cool one!
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Italy is THE place for a perfect iced coffee!
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Yum!
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