Lake Garda and Lazise

Regine has been traveling all over Italy in a camper that she rented. She returned to Florence this week, and it was like she had never left! We had dinner, drank lots of wine, visited "cats corner" and listened to music in the piazzas.

This past weekend, after school on Friday, we set out in the camper for Verona. We had tickets to the opera in The Arena on Saturday for La Triviatta. Regine has a lot of experience with campers and camping, and it was easy to see why with all the Germans on the campgrounds! Seems to be a favorite vacation activity. The camper was nice and comfortable, although small inside, but large enough on the outside so that driving in some of the very narrow and small streets of Italy could be a challenge. Regine was an expert though!

Verona was a 3 hour drive away and Regine had identified a campground and tried to make a reservation, but had no answer at the number she was given. When we arrived, we found that the campground was closed, and there was only one other in the area. We pulled out the map and made our way up the hill to Castel San Pietro, only to find that they had no room! They advised us that the next nearest one was at Lake Garda.

Regina had been to Lake Garda before, but I never had, so we decided to head that way. It was only about a half hour drive away, and we found a camp site, and set up. The campground was very nice with a market, a restaurant, nice bathrooms with showers, a pool, and the lake below. Additionally, it was near the town of Lazise which is a beautiful walled city on the lake.

After we set up the campground, we walked into Lazise and looked over the city and had dinner. There is of course a lot of sea food there! Lago di Garda, is a huge lake, and very beautiful. The small town on the lake was medieval and also beautiful and caters strongly to German tourists. We heard more German spoken here than Italian!

I had brought a couple of bottles of wine from home for the trip, and after dinner we made our way back to the campground and talked for hours sitting by lantern light outside the camper drinking wine. We met two German men across the way who had arrived at the same time that we had and they joined us for some wine and conversation. Finally at around 2:30 a.m., we called it a night and blew out the lantern.

I know some of you were surprised that I was going camping, picturing me in some "rustic" location with no "creature comforts". Well, if you have visited me in Italy, you know that my creature comforts are few here anyway. The campground was nice, and the families around were also. There was very little "roughing it" going on!

Santo Spirito

Santo Spirito is on the Oltrarno side of the river, or the side that is not so "touristy". I have started spending more time there because it is easier to speak Italian because most Florentines live in this area. Most tourists stay in central Florence, leaving that side of the city where Florentines actually live, pretty tourist free, particularly at night.

While Regine was here, we went to the piazza one evening to listen to music. The piazza is large like most of them in Florence, and the beautiful little church of Santo Spirito is at one end. There are bars and restaurants around the sides, and at the other end a stage. In the center there is a fountain, and they have a bar which sells drinks and table service also.
Regine and I bought some wine and sat down on a bench near the stage. The weather in the evening in Florence is magnificent. There are 20 degree temperature changes between the daytime and evening, making every evening "spring like" at around 68-72 degrees. Sometimes you need a sweater, and it is August!

This night, there was traditional Italian folk music which is always fun. There were two guitar players and an accordion player. Regine’s father played the accordion so she was familiar with many of the tunes. We met a woman on the piazza who spoke Italian very well, she was from Armenia, but had lived in Florence for years.

After much wine and music, I was hungry and ordered a pizza "per portare via". (Take away) and ate it on the piazza.

The Santo Spirito area is one that you might overlook as a tourist, but if you come to visit, I will make sure you get a taste of it! Bellisima.

Public Displays of Affection

I have written before about public displays of affection in Italy, and how they are everywhere. I have made a hobby out of taking photographs of these "pda’s", and am constantly surprised that I haven’t been hit yet by someone involved. I find that they are really not paying attention to me though, and it is not so difficult.

There are many beautiful bridges in Florence across the Arno, and these are some of the best places for pda sightings. Something about the cool breezes, the beautiful views, and the water incite romance.

Ritorno a Firenze

The first day that I returned to Florence, even though I had traveled for 18 hours, and hauled a 78 lb. suitcase up 52 stairs, I could not wait to get to the bridge at sunset.

I spend almost every evening at this bridge, viewing the sunset, watching tourists taking dozens of photos, and taking photos myself of public displays of affection, the bridges, the sites, etc. I usually sit sideways on the edge of the bridge, causing much concern to passers by. The breezes are cool here, and the colors and light when the sunsets breathtaking

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I usually go to the Ponte Santa Trinita, which crosses the Arno at Tournabouni Street. The bridge is flanked on four corners by statues representing the four seasons, and on the corner is the Palazzo now owned by Ferragamo. The view off to one side of the bridge is the Ponte Vecchio, and the view to the other side is the sunset behind the Tuscan hillside and the Ponte alla Carraia.

On this particular evening, when I returned, I met Gloria in the piazza and we went for a bite to eat, and then had to rush through the city to make it to the bridge in time for the sunset. When we arrived the bridge was very crowded and the sun was dropping. As we sat and chatted, I looked above the Ponte Vecchio and asked Gloria what that large orange thing was that looked like a moon. Well, it was the moon, and I have never seen anything so beautiful. A huge orange harvest moon in July. It rose quickly, as the sun set, and I could hardly get my camera out and take photos quickly enough.

I have so many feelings about being back in the States and now returning to Florence, that I really don’t know where to begin to sort them out and write about them. Suffice it to say, I love Florence and at this point, am not looking forward to leaving here for good.......but I will think about that another day!

Connie's Birthday

During my visit to Nashville, Connie had a birthday. In February, Michele, Erika, Connie, and I celebrated Erika’s birthday’s in New York City and then just before I left we celebrated Michele’s birthday (photos of both on prior blogs). So, it was great for us all to be together in Nashville to celebrate Connie’s. This was a more "tame" celebration than those birthday celebrations of the past, but what a lot of catching up we had to do!

Amazing what things have changed and happened to us all in that time! I won't go into the details here....but it would make a good book! Last year, Michele was not with us on Connie’s birthday, but Erika, Connie and I had a night on the town which included meeting a famous Nashville DJ and a not so famous geologist from Kentucky. We ended the evening (the next morning)at Waffle House, if that tells you anything! This year, we had a nice quiet dinner, cocktails and nice bottles of wine. Good food, good drinks, and great company make a birthday special. Happy Birthday Connie!

Return to the USA

I made a somewhat sudden decision to return to the US. It is difficult to concentrate on living a charmed life when you are wracked by guilt because someone you love is having a rough time. All I could think about for weeks was that I should be there to do something about it, make it better, fix it, change it, make it go away. Of course, I don’t have the power to do any of those things, (dammit) but somehow I thought that if I was in closer proximity, it would help. What I really wanted was to make a statement to this person of how important they are to me, and that I am willing to sacrifice some of my precious time in Italy to provide support, love, caring, a shoulder to cry on, or whatever is within my power to give.

At the point that we had the final word that she would not be able to visit me in Italy, I booked a flight and headed out. The week went quickly, and I am so glad that I returned for the visit. It was a surreal experience on many fronts, the details of which will surface in other postings I am certain.

I wish I could have seen everyone, but really devoted my time to the purpose for my return. So, if you know I was there, but didn’t get to visit, my apologies. I guess this is one of the consequences for my decision to be in Italy this year. I knew there would be prices to pay, and they are surfacing all of the time. As you may have noticed, I didn't take my computer, or post any blogs. I am back now, and boy do I have a lot to say......................................

My Walk to School

Everyday, I leave my house around 8:15 to walk to school. I don’t have to be there until 9, but I go a little early to look notes from the day before, and to have a leisurely walk, and a cup of coffee. I walk out of my apartment door, and take the back road through Piazza San Petro Maggiore. This is the area where I do much of my shopping, and where one of my favorite restaurants, I Ghibellini is located.

As I turn the corner out of my apartment, there is Vivoli Gelateria, which is said to have the best gelato in all of Italy by the guidebooks. Judging by the crowds that flock there night and day, I would say it is true. Next down the street is a Greek Orthodox church, a latteria (milk and cheese shop) and the Ailmentari (sort of like a deli). As you get to the piazza, there is the restaurant with a nice covered outside eating area, and across the way, the fruit and vegetable vendor which sets up an outside stand of fresh fruit and vegetables every morning. There is a macelleria (meat shop) and a Pesceria (fish shop) and Il Forno (bakery). Imagine the smells from all of these places every morning! Some nice, some not so much.

After I leave the piazza and turn left towards school, I have a beautiful view of the duomo, and everyday I think how lucky I am to be here as I walk down the quiet street. After 10:00, the street becomes busy with tourists and cars, but my walk to school is the perfect start to the day. Oh, and can you believe that in 4 months, I haven’t had to walk to school in the rain!