Nightlife in Florence

We have been trying to do as much as possible while staying here..... and homework is done... but only just before going to bed! This month there is the Maggio Fiorentino festival which means there is a lot going on...
On our first trip across the Ponte Vecchio we noticed a small church with an announcement board outside.

There was a concert that night.......

so obviously we went.
The violinist Ilya Grubert was excellent.

Then a few days later we went to a concert conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Again obviously excellent.......if rather weird being in their New Opera House which is technically not finished.

So we had firemen walk through just before the performance and there was no champagne during the interval.....no license!

Next we went to a dinner with music. At the Teatro del Sale which is owned by Cibreo

Food was excellent although there was a little too much choice and we had to try everything!
It was fun watching the preparation in the kitchen....

..... the music was also fun.....

An entertaining evening .........to be recommended. However be warned the room is extremely noisy!

Next we went to a modern ballet.....

....... in the Teatro della Pergola.

The ballet was fantastic......

and it was also a very interesting old theatre. It has a lot of history!! Built in 1652 for initially the 'Nobile', it was opened to the public in 1718.  Still  a long time ago!

Volpaia and Greve in Chianti

We decided to go for lunch in Volpaia and see some  Chianti scenery!!

We went last year and sat on a restaurant terrace in Volpaia during a thunderstorm! We decided to return this year  and hoped to have a nice sunny view.  No such luck!

By the time we got there the sun had disappeared...... we made it through an overcast lunch, although beginning to get a little cold towards the end......

However we can definitely reccommend this restaurant, La Bottega.

 Food is excellent.......

and extremely reasonable in price.....

 As is the wine.  And of course we had to buy some....
 We now need to go back again next year so that we can appreciate the view!

The hamlet is very charming and has some apartments to rent. However it is a little isolated!

But has lots of beautiful roses on many of the old buildings.....

Volpaia also has two other places to eat, a casual cafe/bar

 and a restaurant open only in the evening....

We took a back road into Panzano and checked out the irises...

and the poppies...

and then on the Greve. It had a Slow Food market going on.....

We  just about got half way around the square.....

Checking out Falorni en route......

and ended up being tempted by a lot of what they offered....

 and then we had a huge thunderstorm with torrential rain. By the time we got back to the car all the cars were sitting in about 12 inches of water!  In about 15mins!

Bologna... for a change of scene.....

We decided to go to Bologna at the weekend as it is just over an hour from Florence by car. This has a beautiful historic centre and not many tourists!
We headed for the Santo Stephano  Basilica first or as it is known there, Sette Chiese, the 7 churches from the 8th-14th centuries......
This part dates back to a temple on the site in the 1st century!

In this part the pillars now need a little help!

The  cloistered area was very peaceful....

However on the other side it was anything but peaceful...... we happened to be there when they have their antique/brocante Saturday market....

Which was fun to check out.....

And was very colorful....

All the buildings there are fantastic...

with  red window shades being the predominant colour.......

And one walks around the place under porticoes......so it doesn't matter if it rains. However we were there in 30 degree (90F) weather and were very happy to walk in the shade.....

The emphasis is on food in Bologna and they have some fantastic food stores.....

They also have a fabulous bookstore...... where we spent a lot of time. We were happy to find that they sold Italian grammar books, as we feel that we need to do some homework before our next exam!

We were quite taken with the Neptune fountain

particularly with the detail.....