Lost

Today was a lost day. I was lost, and never really accomplished anything. It was even a slow day for photos. I suppose that I was up for such a day, but it just wasn't a fantastic day in Florence.

I did walk and get time to reflect on a few things. For example, I did think about photos. Florence is, of course, a veritable Kodak moment, or I guess, a Nikon or Canon moment, or a SanDisk moment. I guess I found one camera store that even sold film, but it is a digital world, and I noticed a few things. I can't believe how many people are trusting their phone to "remember" all that they saw in Florence. Really. People who have traveled from Japan and Australia and the US are simply pointing their I-phones and Droids at sights that they probably will never see again. Hmmm--not so sure I would trust my phone for that. But then again, I saw one guy taking photos with his Canon 5D, an exceptional camera worth about $3,500 while holding a gelato the size of his head. Who knows who photos will be better, the gelato head or the careful phone photographer.

I usually address fashion on one of my foreign correspondence moments. Italy, after all, is supposed to be one of the fashion capitals of the world. And it is pretty fashionable. Here is what you need to do--imagine me. Then imagine the total opposite, and you have an idea of Italian male fashion. Lots of black or tight white shirts whether they should or not, and dark jeans. The tight part of that is what is hard--I can't imagine wearing clothes as tight as they do here. But I have it easy, as compared to women. Hear the trend here first! Short, and I mean short skirts or shorts with leggings. And tight. American women of most ages would have a difficult time imagining how tight or how short. I am guessing that this won't hit St. Cloud anytime soon, if for no other reason than people would freeze to death. Actually, the more conservative dress for women is pretty classy. A white shirt, pressed and tailored, with dark slacks. Or a skirt and boots--I have seen lots and lots of boots, some for sale and many on feet. Hard to tell on the heels--this is tough terrain for high heels.

I have been starting to gather "prizes" for the home, though I am pretty careful on the shopping. I suspect that most prizes will be edible, which might not be so bad. I had to buy myself a prize today. I had bought a 10 euro smaller bag so I didn't have to carry my big camera bag, and I got what I paid for. The bag strap/buckle broke and just came apart today, tripping its owner. It wasn't like I was carrying cobblestones but the strap broke and and as it fell, I got tangled up in the strap. There were only about 300 people nearby witnessing my grace. I fell, which is a trick with a few cameras hanging from you. No visible damage to the cameras or me, though I am sore. So, I bought a new camera bag that I had been eying. Can't have too many bags.

Actually, if I could bring back prizes, I would bring back food. I love the grocery stores, and everything from pasta to chocolate to cake mixes looks like fun--I want to bring it all back. I mentioned cake mixes because I picked one up and tried to read the directions. I am kind of familiar with making a cake, but I had no clue. I think that it would be fun just to buy a few mixes of different sorts and try and make them once I was home. I wonder if I can bring them back...

I am winding down for the night. I ate from the market tonight, and had my new favorite salami, salami Tuscan, an aged cheese of some unpronounceable sort, bread (yum!) olive oil, and my new favorite condiment, balsamic vinegar. It is very different here, especially the aged balsamics and the older bottles are pricey! Say, if it is 50 years old, it costs about $150.00 for about two ounces. But even the four year stuff is pretty good, and much better than I have ever had before. On cheese, on bread, on the salty salami, or, if you are really good and don't mind a bit of a mess, all three at once with a bit of olive oil.

Tomorrow I hope to less lost, but I guess there are worse things...maybe the next movie will be "LOST under the Tuscan Sun."

Just a few photos today, and most should be self explanatory. A different shot of David, and one of his neighboring statue. Didn't they think of telephoto lenses? A great little fruit market and another cool bike.

Another day, another post...

I just returned from dinner after a long day wandering. Apart from one HUGE museum, I have seen most of the sights that I wanted to in Florence, and feel more comfortable wandering a bit further afield Plus, I was able to do with chance at my side. I would walk, and then I would see something that I read about. I would walk further, lost, and then see another thing. I am seeing Florence the way I like it, without a guide book glued to my face. Or, if I was like some American tourists, with a GPS--turn right. Turn right. Recalculating. Make a U-turn. Arriving at castle/statue/church/art masterpiece on left.

Dinner was the best meal that I have had here, though it was but cheese and bread. But what cheese and what bread! OK, there might have been some wine involved. And a waiter who was a die-hard Red Sox fan who was so happy I rooted for the Twins. Made me want to sing "It's a small world!"

I think that I want to eat like the Italians do. Bread and jam and butter for breakfast, with good coffee. Maybe some yogurt. Lunch, who knows, but something simple. Dinner, like I had tonight. I suppose I will have to eat some vegetables occasionally. And for the record, Olive Garden/Americans use far more garlic than I have experienced. But I will have to learn to bake bread if I am to do this. There simply isn't an alternative to European bread. This is not stuff from a bread maker. What can you do in a simple oven? Or do I really have to get the three ton stone oven that some of the rustic bread is made in? Maybe I can borrow a friend's kiln! There are similarities, though bread at 1400 degrees might be vaporized.

All that said, while I have enjoyed my meals, I have not been overwhelmed with the sense of "I will never eat again so this rests on my tongue." Tonight was the closest, and that was more because of the feeling that I could eat like this and do it myself. Though unpasteurized cheese (and that bread thing) might a bit of a stretch, I could do this. No one would ever come to my house--all I would serve would be bread, cheese, perhaps some salami, and a stray tomato or two.

I saw a lot today, but nothing striking that I could capture on film (electrons?). There is more laundry, captured just like 1980s Fujichrome. I saw a cool reflection, and it didn't hurt that it was on a Fiat 500L that was a great color. There is a view of the bridge, and one of the north side of the Arno River. If you see the two towers in the middle, to the right of the dome, you are looking at the neighborhood where I am staying. Those are the two towers that I can see from my room. The lion is just cute. Roar, and all that. Three are pictures with color, a villa, a lane, and flowers. I watched this woman make marbleized paper for more than hour today--what a cool thing to make! I think I will try that when I get home. It might even be easier than bread making!

Seen in Siena

I made a day trip to Siena today, and I can say it was so worth the time and effort to get there. It's an easy 90 minute bus ride so it is close. I was on the "Rapido" bus so no stops but still pretty countryside along the way.

Of course the tourist had to visit a few churches, though to just call them churches is a bit of an injustice--Lake Holcombe United Methodist is a church--these are edifices and monuments. The photo of the candles and the shrine was stolen at the Basilica, the smaller of the two major churches though remarkable for a church that is 800+ years old. I did buy and light two candles...one for me and one for others. I figured I needed a whole one, while my friends could share.

The larger church, the Duom0 takes your breath away. In Florence, all the decoration is on the outside and while impressive to look at it from that perspective, it basically has the charm of a pole barn on the inside. Well, OK, a NICE pole barn but one none-the-less. Not so in Siena. Certainly they were competing to be more magnificent and if so, Siena wins hands down. The stone work and all the contrasting colors of marble is so visually arresting that it takes your breath away. It is impressive from the outside, but the inside boggles the mind. Here is how stunning it is: You barely notice the four statues by the Mike guy who did David. Admittedly they are smaller works, but still. They are just swallowed by the splendor. The view from the top is no less impressive. I would have loved to visit that roof top gardent. It perhaps helps that Siena is built on several hills, and they give it a scale that Florence doesn't have since it is so flat, though the hills were challenging, especially in the rain.

Monday, Monday

I feel like I am posting early today, mostly because I "home" early today. It was a rainy gloomy day, and while I certainly am waterproof, my cameras are less so. Of course they would have been perfectly dry had I brought my rain jacket but it was warm and dry in my suitcase.

One highlight was a great lunch. I haven't talked much about food, in part because I haven't exactly been starving at any point of my trip. But I am functionally eating--when I am hungry I find something to eat so I can keep walking. The rain encouraged me to sit and eat, and it was a good meal, though not amazing I want to meet the chef I'll never have a meal this good again. And it was expensive, at least for me. I have been more likely to eat off the street, so to speak, with sandwiches (of sorts--I have avoided the tripe sandwich which seems to be so popular here) or bread and cheese from the market. That is fine with me, though it might be one more reason I am traveling alone!

What made lunch fun was the company. I sat near three women from California, and they were funny. Two of them had just been in Rome for two weeks so they could be "one with Rome." The third was a daughter, who I really suspect came for a week to make sure her Mom didn't buy a villa somewhere. They brightened the day, and they shared great advice about Rome, though I think they thought I was a heathen for only giving it a day. They were renting a car, and a convertible Mini-Cooper was mentioned several times. One more reason I am taking the bus into Tuscany...

The pictures were a bit flat today, no doubt due to the weather but also because I am not exactly sure what I am doing. I am "covering" this place kind of like I would if I was working for the paper and looking for feature photos. I don't think that the photos are bad, and they tell part of the story, but if my goal was to find a photo or two to sell, I have not succeeded. Maybe once I am out of the city proper. I guess if nothing else they are better than average tourist pictures. I have one of the best cameras in the world, good lenses, and I am in Florence--how hard can it really be?

I know some people know I like cobblestones, and Florence does have some cobblestone streets. Actually, they are missing one, the 33rd up and 16th over as it is my bag so it can commune with my cobblestones from Paris, London, and Prague. A few fall flowers, the only fall colors I have seen, peek out around a gate. I had to post another photo of a Fiat 500, if for no other reason than the color. This is the newer one, probably from about 1968-9, that put out 19 horsepower or so. It is the safer one--it has a more substantial bumper, of course. As much as I want one, the thought of it and a Ford Explorer meeting at an intersection scares me.

I went to several markets, including the one that has the lucky symbol of Florence, a bronze boar. Like lucky pigs everywhere, you pet him (yes, it is very visually a him) and then put a coin in his mouth and if it drops in the grate below, you will be lucky or your hair will grow or something like that. I like the woman in the little market on the edge of the city center, if not for the color, certainly for the wrinkles. As for the cat, who knows? The color contrast, maybe? Or is because I got to say, "stupid cat." Poor David. Even iconic masterpieces have to suffer an occasional pigeon or two. I think that there might be a life lesson in this!

The next next post

I started my morning with breakfast, of course, at a small little Italian (aren't they all?) cafe, and while I was scarfing own my croissant and my bread and jam, and washing it down with an Americano with milk, I fell into a conversation with the couple next to me. Suffice it to say that there are no Starbucks here but this woman from the US was trying to explain to her new Italian boyfriend what coffee was like at an American coffee shop. She kept telling him about Venti's and half half vanilla latte's with or without foam that you bought and then walked around with, and he was incredulous. He finally asked me, the guy who was laughing out loud at this point, if these travesties to coffee and the coffee shop were true. Sadly, I confirmed the sad state of life in America...

I did have the chance to attend Mass at a nearby 15th century church. Of course, you say--Jason going to church and finding a convenient 600 year old church. Both are true. I know the term is perhaps overused, but amazing came to mind. I felt like I stepped back a few centuries in time. Yes, it was in Latin and I smelled like incense for hours, and the music from the monks and sisters lasted just as long. Maybe that is why I noticed Sisters/Nuns most of the day. They are so rare a sight in the US, but seemingly common here.

Americans are here, but I think that they are the minority of tourists. You can spot them easily, and they are painfully obvious. They are loud, take up more space, even the non-super-sized versions. The level of rudeness that I have seen already has been shocking...were Americans raised by wolves? Also obvious is the use of money belts/pouches under clothes. Certainly every Italian is just waiting to rob rich Americans--I watched one woman of a certain age virtually disrobe as she searched for a two Euro coin from her pouch, which was not only under her shirt but apparently under her bra as well. Can't be too safe, I guess. No wonder why there is this negative perception of Americans. Notice that I am excluding myself from this group. I have earned a slight break after being here 30+ times or at least I hope so. Also, with my haircut, I look like a Pole, or perhaps a Bulgarian. In the photos, I challenged a great scene with my visage--I might like the tables alone better.

I thought that there were some interesting grab shots of the tights and the puppy--bikes are everywhere. The outside of the building is a civic building, but I found it more interesting just because of where it was. There was a Hillfiger store almost below, with a Hermes store across the street and, of course, Tiffany nearby. The foot is David's but it isn't the part that is most photographed. Still, that Mike guy was pretty good. The couple was just cute. They walked single file on the narrow sidewalks, but at ever street crossing he waited for her so he could hold her hand. Sigh...

The next post

I have no real idea as to what day it is, but I think it is is Saturday. It was a beautiful day today, and I only recently got back after a long day. It was great to walk around in the 70+ degree weather and under the bright blue skies.

A few thoughts about Florence and the trip so far. It is a wonderful walking center and I took advantage of that. I can only assume that I trek around at about 1.5 to 2 miles an hour, so I am not power walking, but when you are slow and steady for 6-8 hours, the miles add up. I am a bit footsore tonight. Too many cobble stones and curbs, I guess. It can't be my shoes, since I basically wear orthopedic shoes!

Speaking of shoes, this is a city of shoes. In Prague, you turn the corner and see a crystal store, but here you are likely to see a shoe store. Or leather store, I guess. Even me, who has less than a finely attuned shoe sense (see above), can see that there are some beautiful shoes for sale here. You know, the shoes that would last about 45 seconds in a Minnesota winter, with the high heels of an impossible stature, or of leather that is tissue paper thin. Nice, but not very practical.

The quote of the say from a young American woman who exclaimed "I am having an art orgasm." while looking at the panels of a 15th century door. Granted, this the door is pretty amazing, but still. Second best quote, again from an American, was overheard at the international market, a surprize that I found. I was just sitting there eating my sausage (maybe it was a Polish sausage) from the Polish booth when I heard, "Let's go back--I'm tired. All I wanted to see was that church, and I saw it." Her friend asked, "Which church did you want to see?" The other person responded, "You know, that Catholic church..." That narrowed down their day...

As for the photos, I went to several markets today, including one that rivals or tops Pike Place Market in Seattle. It was beautiful, and I found a great sandwich and was enjoying my meal until I saw the the meat markets which sold not one but three or four types of tripe. Who knew that there were grades of intestine to eat? Yuk. Other photos are largely self-explanatory--the curchy one is the inside of the Duomo--more about that tomorrow. The musician is in honor of Dick Stoede, whos is missed. The statue is my favorite so far, though it is disturbing. An Italian chocolate to the first person who tells me what the statue is, and why it might be disturbing while being beautiful.