Wednesday, June 13, 2012

put it in your pocket and take it with you


FLORENCE





Overwhelming beauty in Florence. Every facet, every gilded rafter and crumbling cobblestone speaks. All they say, though, is, “eat something. Drink something. Look at this, look at that. Life goes on, and in what fine style.”


Richness and movement in stone. Intensity and passion held static but forcing the eye to movement. Emotional investment in the content is palpable. The Duomo! How much detail in color, in texture, in composition can you pack into and onto the exterior of one structure? Every other square made me reevaluate my answer.




Man do I love me some pointy pines. (I now can identify these as cypresses. They are THE tree of the Mediterranean countryside.)

How can people live in such a beautiful place?! How does anything ever get done? I would just walk and stare and eat and stare and smile, never writing, never asking for anything more than what I had.

We had. The most. Incredible. Gelato. Ever. Rich, light, smooth, with one delightfully crunchy bite of coffee bean.

I was bored of shopping until I touched the buttery leather we had talked so much about. My mother wanted a jacket, a jacket, a jacket from Florence, so we were on a mission.

Apparently there’s a 10,000 euro fine for buying fake designer purses off the street. It sounds crazy to fine the customers rather than just the sellers but after spending a little time in this leather market I’m pretty in favor of the fine.


The Italian government is serious about protecting their artisans and their manufacturers. They know they have a treasure, and they’re not down to let Chinese bootleggers destroy that market. Even though the fine is mostly about protecting the big brands like Prada and Gucci, small manufacturers benefit too because if you can’t get a fake Gucci you’re totally happy with a real leather no-name bag or wallet or coat from one of them.

My bag just broke and I started using the one I bought in Florence yesterday. Wow. It’s awesome and so beautiful. Thank you, Italian government, for protecting the leather industry!

There wasn’t much time, but there was no way I was going to miss Santa Croce. I stood before the tombs of Galileo and Leonardo DaVinci and Dante. I wish there had been more time. Contemplation of greatness can’t be done in a 20 minute dash.

There are many holes in the wall serving decadent-looking sandwiches and little glasses of wine. Two patrons can stand at the counter at once; we breezed pass many pairs like this, always in the shade.

We had no time to eat ourselves, or even to pause for a picture. How opposite we were than the diners, deciding spontaneously to feast on the street because there was nothing else they needed to do. Their only aim was enjoy each other and some food and wine for a moment before ambling on in their beautiful, beautiful city.

PISA

The leaning tower is a fabulous stage prop.




We had pizza in Pisa and life was absolutely grand. It was good to relax, to sit back after a full day of running around to enjoy some deliciousness that could really make us feel like we had arrived.






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