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.