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On the day that I was walking past the tourist trap DaVinci “museum” in Florence, I did not know that the wooden bike out front was a phony. By phony, I do not mean it is not the original made by Leonardo himself. I mean I did not know then that the whole concept is [...] FIRST – TWO THINGS TO KNOW 1) To return to this home page from anywhere, click above on the box containing the words, “Two Weeks In Tuscany” 2) The posts are in Chronological Order, the way a journey runs, from the start to the end, instead of reverse-chronological order, the method common to blogs that put the [...] This is not at all as easy as it seems. Conventional wisdom says, go online and do a Google search on phrases such as “discount airfare” or “cheap airfare” or “airfare consolidator.” That works if you have hours of infinite patience and an attention to detail that only a bookkeeper would love. A search like that [...] One of the interesting things about travel is how the encounter with a famous scene is so different from the context my mind has built up around it that I am dis-oriented. The Trevi Fountain is a good example. In 1954, during it’s first run, I saw the movie, “Three Coins in the Fountain.” I was [...] Morning comes to Siena like the aristocrat she is, quietly, with grace and dignity befitting her age and station. The night of repose is over. Soft but insistent light of a new day pushes away the shadows, slowly but steadily overwhelming the street lamps that have stood silent watch. It’s a soft September morning. The big [...] The Basilica San Lorenzo (also known as The Dom or the cathedral), at the heart of Florence – no it is not at the heart, I’d say it is the heart – is an astounding piece of art. It is not only is achingly beautiful and awesomely executed, it is totally organic, growing directly out [...] We took a tour after dinner on one of those double-deck buses. Two hours, I recall. Maybe 8pm when we started. Dark out. After passing around and through city streets, stopping next to shuttered churches and in empty city squares, the bus cut across the river and up a winding road that climbs a high [...] Siena awakens when the tourists awaken. And they all roll downhill through curving, steep and narrow streets to what may be the most interesting and engaging public space (wiki: Piazza del Campo) you have ever seen. I have no doubt that every City Planning and Architecture or Social Studies university course in the whole world [...] This is the Italy I have been seeking. I had planned to spend one night in Lucca but spent three. I learned that you can ignore the guidebooks. In chorus they all say you can “see” Lucca in half a day. The truth is, if all you want to do is “see” it, an hour, or maybe two, [...] Lucca is the birthplace and early home of Giacamo (Jacob, we would say in English) Puccini, composer of the most sublime romantic operas. That’s his childhood home to the left of his statue. If you take the sign behind him at its face value and do the math, you will see that he is also justifiably [...] |
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