Firenze
Florence was not even a city we had originally planned to visit. We are so glad we came. We decided to spend two nights here. This morning we had the unbelievable pleasure of going to mass in the Duomo, one of the most incredible cathedrals in Europe. Dante was baptized in its babtistry. While we got up early to stand in line, we ended up going to mass before the cathedral even opened to the public. What a gift. We got to experience this massive structure with dozens of side alters, giant statues of the apostles and countless frescoes and stained glass windows, not as tourists, but as pilgrims. It literally took my breath away. After mass, we did join the throngs to climb to the summit of the dome, 463 steps up. Not for the faint of heart. (I haven't tried to post pictures yet, but I will). The frescoe on the dome represents Christ and the saints in heaven and hell below. From the most beautiful to the most horrific. It inspires one to heaven and warns of the pains of hell. Incredible.
After a little rest in the hostel (a whole other story) we set out for the Galleries. We ended up in the Patrina in the home of the Medici family. If the collection of Florentine art weren't enough, even the frescoes on the walls and celings blew us away. We would have to stare at different angles to see if a figure in the corner were painted or a statue. I have never seen a flat representation appear so three dimensional. We ended this days tour with the Boboli gardens. They are massive and beautiful and afford a great veiw of the city.
Tonight we will return to a festival we enjoyed last night celebrating the 60 anniversary of the liberation of Italy. We viewed the photo exhibit of the liberation and saw some flaminco dancing that made Betsy cry.
The gypsies who beg make me sad. The saddest is an old woman who literally crawls with her face on the ground with her hand outstretched. So far I have stuck to my plan not to give directly to the beggers but to look for other ways to help them. A woman at the festival collected money for all of the homeless in the city. Tonight, in the piazza, a gypsy band entertained and sold CDs. It looked like they did quite well and we did our part. The bass player reminded me of a rock-a-billy player the way he spun the big stand up around his waist and beat it like a drum.
My credit/debit card has worked to pay for hotel rooms, but it is not letting me get cast. Betsy's works. We put some money for the trip in her account but most of it is in mine. We'll need to get mine working this week. It is 10:00 here in Florence so that means it is 1:00 back home. I'm going to give our banker a call and try to straighten the problem out.
Tomorrow we go to Bologna to see St. Catherine, whose name Theresa took at her confirmation.
After a little rest in the hostel (a whole other story) we set out for the Galleries. We ended up in the Patrina in the home of the Medici family. If the collection of Florentine art weren't enough, even the frescoes on the walls and celings blew us away. We would have to stare at different angles to see if a figure in the corner were painted or a statue. I have never seen a flat representation appear so three dimensional. We ended this days tour with the Boboli gardens. They are massive and beautiful and afford a great veiw of the city.
Tonight we will return to a festival we enjoyed last night celebrating the 60 anniversary of the liberation of Italy. We viewed the photo exhibit of the liberation and saw some flaminco dancing that made Betsy cry.
The gypsies who beg make me sad. The saddest is an old woman who literally crawls with her face on the ground with her hand outstretched. So far I have stuck to my plan not to give directly to the beggers but to look for other ways to help them. A woman at the festival collected money for all of the homeless in the city. Tonight, in the piazza, a gypsy band entertained and sold CDs. It looked like they did quite well and we did our part. The bass player reminded me of a rock-a-billy player the way he spun the big stand up around his waist and beat it like a drum.
My credit/debit card has worked to pay for hotel rooms, but it is not letting me get cast. Betsy's works. We put some money for the trip in her account but most of it is in mine. We'll need to get mine working this week. It is 10:00 here in Florence so that means it is 1:00 back home. I'm going to give our banker a call and try to straighten the problem out.
Tomorrow we go to Bologna to see St. Catherine, whose name Theresa took at her confirmation.
posted by Stephan | 12:38 PM
1 Comments:
Hey guys,
I feel like I am there with you. Ålex is here, and I will share the link to this blog with her (when she wakes up) so she can post to it too. She's been here all week, and we are having a marvelous time. We spent Monday night with my gal Nancy and her friend Pia, who is a Dutch citizen and speaks five languages. Tuesday night we went to see "The Fruitbats" play at an in-store performance in Ballard, then went out for Thai food. Last night I did some recording with my ESP classmates, then we went to Columbia City for Pizza. Today we are going to look at some colleges and visit the downtown library. Tonight is dad and daughter beach bonfire, then tomorrow she is back in Reno. That's an update from our neck of the woods.
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