Um, so sorry we missed your birthday America. And maybe this is an awkward time to tell you that we’ve kinda been seeing other countries for a couple months. But you really look great, and it just feels so natural to be with you again. P.S., Got any decent beer in the fridge?
Paris is a city that knows how to honor its heroes. From Napoleon’s mammoth tomb, to Charles De Gaulle’s sprawling airport, to Gustave Eiffel’s gargantuan tower (which is not only named after old Gus himself, but is also engraved with the names of dozens of French scientists and mathematicians) this is a place that celebrates …
A. When it’s a financier. I’m in line at Eric sweet-mother-of-heaven-that-tastes-incredible Kayser this morning, mulling over the vast array of calorie bombs, when the gentleman in front of me steps to the counter and says in a booming Texas accent: “I’ll have wunna them chocolate muffins.” The sales clerk’s already icy expression chills by a …
Public service announcement for friends and family back in America: The World Cup is happening. (If your acquaintances from other parts of the world are in unusually jolly or somber moods, this probably has something to do with it.) Anyway, France had a big win against Nigeria tonight and we happened to be on the …
Turning the corner on a rainy night in Beaune, France, we were stopped in our tracks by what we saw. The town’s main cathedral, Notre Dame (always a good guess for the name of any French church), was lit up with an animated light show featuring blossoming flowers, flying birds, flowing water, and more. We …
A rainy Monday in wine-drenched Beaune, France, has offered an opportunity to briefly review the events of the past several days. It’s been a real change of pace for a couple reasons: We’ve been spending a lot of time in the car, especially the long drive over (and partially through!) the Alps from northern Italy …
Apologies for the longish post, but we’ve been without Internet in the wilds of Tuscany for the past several days and have some catching up to do… Vernazza is serious about not sleeping in. This tiny, pastel-colored jewel of the Cinque Terre is dominated by a bell tower that shatters the silence every morning starting …
Continue reading ‘Saddle sores and persistent ringing in our ears’ »
Italy is one of the most-visited places on earth, with every nook and cranny having been well documented by a multitude of travel writers and photographers. But even after nearly a month here, we regularly encounter people, places, or processes (oh, how the Italians love their inexplicably arcane processes) that surprise or confound us. Of …
Maureen’s sketch of the day, from a private watercolor lesson she took this morning with J.Isabelle Cornière, an art instructor living and working here in Florence. It was painted en plein air (that’s fancy-artist-talk for “outdoors”) in the Bardini Gardens across the Arno River from the major sights. The “plein air” here has been blazingly …
Well, that certainly went by too quickly. Two Saturdays ago we arrived by train in Venice, and now we’re on another train, headed to Florence. It’s a sad moment saying goodbye to the beautiful city that’s been our home for two weeks, but we’re also ready for the next stage of our European adventure. The …
As we near the end of our two weeks in Venice, we’ve been looking for things to see and do that we might not have gotten around to during a shorter visit. Here are a couple examples of what we’ve been up to after crossing most of the “must-see” sights off the list earlier in …
Continue reading ‘Sardines, a saint’s tongue, and Scrovegni airlocks’ »
Maureen’s sketch of the day.
Why twelve? Because there’s just no way that ten could be enough! Click through the photo album to see the dozen most vivid memories of our first week here in Venice. Meanwhile, we’ll be out collecting new memories for week number two. Click any photo for larger view and description.
This one’s a doozy! I could watch thunder and lightning over the Grand Canal all night. (Hopefully you can, too, since I keep posting these videos…) This is looking out our window in the other direction from the previous video I posted. The building at the right with all the lights is the Venice casino. …
If it has to move into, out of, or across Venice, then it’s probably moving by boat. Our apartment has three big windows that overlook the Grand Canal, making it a great place to sit and watch the world float by (something Maureen has been doing a lot of, since she’s been stuck indoors for …
Continue reading ‘What’s happening on (and above) the Grand Canal’ »
If strike one was the fiasco at the supermarket, then strike two is what happened at the pharmacy. Or, more precisely, just outside the pharmacy at the vending machine. There are no 24-hour drugstores in Italy (or at least in Venice). Apparently they rotate shifts throughout the day to ensure at least one is always …
Venice has to be among the most photographed places on Earth. I’ll add these pictures to the pile… Click any photo for larger view and description.
It’s easy to get lost in Venice. The maze of alleyways (calli), passageways (sottoporteghi) and bridges (ponti) can easily disorient even those with the best sense of direction. But if you keep wandering, you’ll eventually encounter a yellow sign pointing toward one of the major landmarks–Ferrovia train station, Rialto Bridge, or San Marco. Alas, there …
…of course, pretty much anyplace would be from the window seat of a Trenitalia train. It’s been a relaxing change of pace to sit and watch the Tuscan scenery roll past–especially after a frenzied trip from our hotel across town to Termini train station this morning. The friendly folks at the front desk called us …
We’ve had a great time in Rome. Check out the photo evidence here. Click any photo for larger view and description. Four-hour train ride to Venice today, and it will be nice to sit in one place for a while. We’ve been walking about 8-10 miles per day–stats courtesy of FitBit–and our feet will appreciate …