We started off the day with a little Brunelleschi and his Hospital of the Innocence where he utilized simple proportions of a square in 3D to create an arcade with a sail vault which reintroduces classical language to the city of Firenze.
Next we went inside the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata where we cleverly used “Studiamo Architettura” to be taken into the Chapel of San Luca, a meeting place for a lot of artists.
Today we also saw the Convento di San Marco (which has famous frescoes by Fra Angelico), the Palazzo Medici (the medici family was basically like an ancient mafia that was kicked in and out of power in Firenze way too many times to count, but nonetheless had a significant effect on the art and architecture of the time), the Basilica di San Lorenzo (the church without a façade! But two very significant sacristies, one by Bruneleschi and the other by Michelangelo which houses some dead Medici), the Battistero di San Giovanni (the baptistery of the duomo there which was
highly impressive because of the time of day we went with light streaming in), and the Chiesa di Santa Croce (which houses the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante, Galileo, and Machiavelli). 
After this our full days tour was complete, and we headed to San Miniato across the river and on top of the hill as suggested by our tour guide to hear the Gregorian chanting in the crypts at sunset. This was perhaps the most rewarding experience of the entire trip. As soon as you opened the doors to the church, you heard the chanting and were drawn to it not by guided signs or following other people, just by simply following the music. There is really no way to describe the experience, I can only describe the place which was a vaulted space where columns interrupted your full view of the service going on in the “front” of the crypts. After we got our fill of chanting, we headed back to our awesomely situated hotel and went out for dinner and gelato as usual. ~Heather
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