Bologna and Florence - Mississauga Festival Choir Europe Tour 2017

Bologna, also called by some a food capital of Italy. This short stop allowed us to enjoy the city by walking around the narrow alleys.

We run into some market stores on the way to a restaurant. Meets, cheeses and fish set outside of the stores made the alleys even narrower.

Of course we tried the local specialty Ragu ala Bologense for lunch before leaving the city and heading towards Florence (In Italian Firenze).

First stop in Florence was the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (Home to the Medici banking family) and the orange trees in the garden.

The walking tour also took us to the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore. Construction of the cathedral was begun in 1296. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white.

We did not stop into the cathedral, but moved towards the river and the old bridge. It is the only bridge in the city that was not destroyed during WWII. The bridge continues to feature stores of local goldsmiths, just as it was centuries ago.

After the quick walking tour of the city, we went up onto one of the local hills for some dinner and enjoyed the excellent views of the city as well as the Giardino Berdini park.

Mississauga Festival Choir had also a performance in Florence in a 17th century, baroque style, Church of San Firenze.

Ended the day with a nice dinner at a local restaurant.

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