Firenze/Florence: San Miniato

The place to get the best views of Florence's landmarks, even if the air's a bit hazy, is across the river and up the hill.

But that's not all you can do over there. A simply gorgeous, and really, really old (think 11th century) church is on top of the hill—San Miniato. 

The lovely architecture and the fabulous views weren't the main attraction for us, though. We wanted to hear some Gregorian chants that are sung in the chapel every day at 5:30. 

Thinking we were giving ourselves plenty of time, we strolled the bus station to catch a 5 o'clock bus. What we didn't figure into our calculations was what is apparently a chronic problem with Florentine buses (according to a local we got to know at the bus stop). The bus we were looking for didn't appear until after 5:30, and by then so many people were waiting that it was totally sardine-ville inside. (Fortunately we were in a good spot when the door opened and we got seats.)

We made it to the church just in time to hear the tail end of the chants, which was a shame, because they sounded amazing. But, on the other hand, we were there at an absolutely perfect time, as far as city and sky views were concerned. As you can see at the right.

The interior of San Miniato was a little dark to take good photos, but trust me, it was very impressive...

And, yes, there was floor tile art!

But it was the views and the lovely gardens surrounding the church that made the trip worthwhile.

San Miniato cemetery with Florence in the background

arboreal silhouettes against the sunset sky

We hadn't seen such lush, and unusual, landscapes close up since Lake Como.

Bus service being as unreliable as it seemed to be, and any bus certain to be packed to the gills for the trip down anyway, we opted to walk it. That's where we were able to get this nice view back up the hill to San Miniato...

...as well as this look at a fine Florentine sunset...

Plus, we wanted to stop along the way anyway, at the Piazzale Michelangelo. We knew there would be more fabulous views on offer here, even though it was getting a little dark by this time. Not to mention a replica of David that makes a great addition to any photocomposition...

And wouldn't you know it, a full moon had just risen when we arrived! How perfect is that! Here's a shot with Henry's low-light super-camera...

There were lots of people up there, enjoying the mild evening and the great views...

And though it was a rather long walk back to the hotel, there were some more spectacular photo ops on offer along the way...

...plus by this time we knew where all the the gelato shops were along our route home, so we were able to re-fuel...

mango and lemon are so good, but you can't do without chocolate, either