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Florence from home: San Marco

3/13/2020

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​I would be in Florence at this very moment if I had control of the universe, but, need I say, I’m not—not in Florence nor in control! But I can still be a solitary traveler.
     Three weeks ago my decision to cancel my trip was a no-brainer; a smart choice on my part. That travel choice is now gone, and my self-imposed quarantine has taken its place. The reality of being a solitary traveler in Florence doesn’t exist, but I can be there from home, which I will do for the few weeks. After all, I have a library full of guidebooks, hundreds of photos, and a visceral memory of it all.
   Enjoy this solitary photo journey as I visit my favorite museums and churches and walk the streets.

​Visit One: The Convent of San Marco
     Usually one of my first stops in Florence is the Convent/Museum of San Marco, and so that is where I will go today.
​     I am early enough to be the first person to walk up the staircase to gaze at  Fra Angelico’s Annunciation.
There are never big crowds here so I can stand in the doorway of each cell and contemplate each fresco depicted the life and death of Jesus.
  Then there is the first public library in Florence, designed my Michelozzo commissioned by Cosimo the Elder (1437-1444).
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    Author

         I love to travel alone, and so I do. My husband of 54 years loves to stay home and garden, and so he does. But he knows I love to go off by myself for extended periods of time. For five years (2009-2014) I rented a cottage by the sea, an hour and a half from our home, and spent the weekdays there alone. For the past twenty years I’ve been traveling by myself, primarily to Scotland (Iona, the Highlands, and Edinburgh) and Italy. When I say Italy I really mean Florence, with occasional short stops and excursions around Tuscany and Umbria and to Rome.
        A Cottage by the Sea is about my longing for silence, solitude and simplicity. When I travel I post my thoughts and experiences “On My Mind”. This section, “A Solitary Traveler” is where I post articles about my travels.
         You may be thinking, “If she’s been married 54 years, how old is she?” I’m 77. Maybe my next article will be about how to keep traveling alone as one gets older.

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