Wednesday February
26 2020
26 2020
Florence, Italy
3:13 am, forget you
clock! I have no plans for the day until dinner. Roll over and shut
them peepers, And I did until 7. Yay, me !
clock! I have no plans for the day until dinner. Roll over and shut
them peepers, And I did until 7. Yay, me !
Long slow shower.
Long slow breakfast. I didn’t get out of the hotel until close to
10. This is the way a vacation should be. ‘Everyone’ says go to
Cinque Terra. A series of small former fishing (now tourist mecca)
villages. Five in all, stretched along the coast. Except for the
first and the last the ones in the middle are inaccessible by
anything except boat and now a train. ‘Everyone’ says go, you’ll
love it. Well I’ll go but I’m not gonna like it! I’m not ! I’m
not !
Long slow breakfast. I didn’t get out of the hotel until close to
10. This is the way a vacation should be. ‘Everyone’ says go to
Cinque Terra. A series of small former fishing (now tourist mecca)
villages. Five in all, stretched along the coast. Except for the
first and the last the ones in the middle are inaccessible by
anything except boat and now a train. ‘Everyone’ says go, you’ll
love it. Well I’ll go but I’m not gonna like it! I’m not ! I’m
not !
I want to go toModena where the balsamic vinegar is made, and Enzo Ferrari was born.
I want to go to Parma where the cheeses is hatched. I want to drive
like an Italian. So I think I’ll go check out renting a car for a
couple days. Joe’s junker cars wanted $250 for 4 days. Sorta big
named wanted $200 (but offered no liability insurance), Budget Renta
Car wanted close to $300 with full insurance, both car and liability.
A far cry from the $90 a week some places on the internet advertised.
Maybe, you can buy Balsamic vinegar other places than the source.
Maybe I can look at red cars someplace else. I’’ll have to work
on that one while I am in Cinque Terra and not liking it.
So off to wander the
streets of Florence. No destination, just look and see things without
a guide and at my slow turtle pace. It has suddenly turned cold and
windy. Overcast with a hint of rain being threatened. Over breakfast
I got a glimpse of sun rays through the clouds. I was watching the
rays move across the city and was waiting for them to spotlight the
Douma. You know, God looking down on the church of Ash Wednesday?
Well it stopped just shot of making it. Guess God wasn’t feeling
particularly benevolent this Wednesday. I was alright in my hoodie,
but my gloves would have been nice to have along.
streets of Florence. No destination, just look and see things without
a guide and at my slow turtle pace. It has suddenly turned cold and
windy. Overcast with a hint of rain being threatened. Over breakfast
I got a glimpse of sun rays through the clouds. I was watching the
rays move across the city and was waiting for them to spotlight the
Douma. You know, God looking down on the church of Ash Wednesday?
Well it stopped just shot of making it. Guess God wasn’t feeling
particularly benevolent this Wednesday. I was alright in my hoodie,
but my gloves would have been nice to have along.
For some reason mycamera and I are not on the same page today. It doesn’t want to
focus on what I want it to focus on. I assume I clicked a software
switch someplace in it’s brains and can’t figure out which witch
is which. I’ll just have to go old school and use manual focus. I
can’t remember using manual focus since ….. ahh …. 1969? Even
then you had assist. You ad 2 hemispheres that you had to move to
become a circle for the shot to be in focus. Today, I had to use my
eyes!! Oh, God the inefficiency.
I am becoming a near
Italian for my coffee. If you order your caffeine and don;t take a
seat it costs less than if yo sit your butt down. So I am now a
coffee stander. I still want a cup of coffee not a shot. At home
coffee is an experience to savor. Here it is consumed, like a drunk
coming off a bender. Coffee on counter, straight, no chaser, thrown
into the mouth. Cup slammed on the marble counter. Ciao, and gone !
If it is a Latte’ maybe two gulps. Try that I Starbucks and they
would call the aid car to remove the unstable person from their
premises.
Italian for my coffee. If you order your caffeine and don;t take a
seat it costs less than if yo sit your butt down. So I am now a
coffee stander. I still want a cup of coffee not a shot. At home
coffee is an experience to savor. Here it is consumed, like a drunk
coming off a bender. Coffee on counter, straight, no chaser, thrown
into the mouth. Cup slammed on the marble counter. Ciao, and gone !
If it is a Latte’ maybe two gulps. Try that I Starbucks and they
would call the aid car to remove the unstable person from their
premises.
Without my Applewatch and phone today I would be someplace south of Rome. There are
no reference points. it’s mostly flat, and the part that isn’t flat
is like the rest that isn’t flat. Where the might be a visual
difference there is a building in the way. I am forever begging
people for a general direction to get where I am going. The watch
vibrates wen I am getting close to a choice. Back home it is easy.
Snow is east, water is west. Not always, but as a rule you can follow
it. I did manage to work my way back to try and recapture a few
images I either poorly exposed or missed yesterday. It was nice t be
fee of the reins and tethers of a guide for a day. Not nearly as
informative, but I guess that is why you pay extra for free range
eggs. (that doesn’t make any sense)
I generally don’t
have lunch, per se. I might snack in the afternoon, but to eat real
food isn’t what I do. But as was passing a smell grabbed me and
pulled me to a stall, and forced me to order a sandwich with that
magical animal the pig roasted to crispness and covered in black
truffle sauce. I almost burst into song and started high kicking
around the square. That was absolute best sandwich I have ever had.
It is a meal that is very close to the top ten.
have lunch, per se. I might snack in the afternoon, but to eat real
food isn’t what I do. But as was passing a smell grabbed me and
pulled me to a stall, and forced me to order a sandwich with that
magical animal the pig roasted to crispness and covered in black
truffle sauce. I almost burst into song and started high kicking
around the square. That was absolute best sandwich I have ever had.
It is a meal that is very close to the top ten.
On the way back to
the hotel I heard a thud on the walkway behind me. I turned and saw a
late middle aged, perfectly presented woman on the curb. She had
fallen and dropped her purse and shopping bag. I put out my hand and
helped her up and a man came by to offer further assistance. We got
her up and going, I handed her her bag and exchanged thank yous and
you’re welcomes. I took a few steps and thought, pickpockets are
rife in Rome. This is Florence. Where is my iPhone? Where is my Apple
watch? Are my pockets still zipped? Everything was as it should be.
Then I thought “you touched another person’s hand”, and reached
in my pocket and bathed my hands in alcohol. Oh, what YouTube and the
news have turned me into.
the hotel I heard a thud on the walkway behind me. I turned and saw a
late middle aged, perfectly presented woman on the curb. She had
fallen and dropped her purse and shopping bag. I put out my hand and
helped her up and a man came by to offer further assistance. We got
her up and going, I handed her her bag and exchanged thank yous and
you’re welcomes. I took a few steps and thought, pickpockets are
rife in Rome. This is Florence. Where is my iPhone? Where is my Apple
watch? Are my pockets still zipped? Everything was as it should be.
Then I thought “you touched another person’s hand”, and reached
in my pocket and bathed my hands in alcohol. Oh, what YouTube and the
news have turned me into.
I had dinner
reservations for 730. I wonder if I’ll get the early bird special?
reservations for 730. I wonder if I’ll get the early bird special?
p.s. If I don’t text you as I normally do, it is becaise it cost me $.30 for each text and I only put $10 in that part. I can receive for free. — Also off to a small town for a few days. Not sure about the internet, so may be MIA for a day or so.
I love the story of helping the old lady and how it illustrates the paronia that has gripped us all ! Still can't be too careful in Italy and 20 years ago my waist bag was relieved of 1000 euros plus my ID cards on a metro in Rome … day 1 of the holiday .