fragile

Aaaah, Murano—I'm so not into the 

tchotchkes, but the chandeliers . . .

church talk

I can't go into an Italian church without lighting

a candle—or taking a picture.  I found beauty in all 

of these: the candles in the Gesuiti in Venice,

the gilded ceiling of the basilica San Marco,

 the dome of St. Peter's in Rome,

 Titian's Assumption over the altar in 

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice,

and the filigreed window of a 

small church in the Cinque Terre.

boats

At the get-together with Eric tonight, I met a NYC

blogger named Mame, who told me about a blog

she loves: by a guy in Scotland who puts up

pictures of boats, just boats.   I'll have to find

it and check it out; meanwhile, I'm inspired.

Siena

We did a day trip to Siena and caught the

highlights, starting with the beautiful, detailed Duomo

and the Piazza del Campo, where they run the Palio.

This is a hillside city—

not a problem for these pigeons, who've found the perfect perch.

my favorite Venetians

I've never ridden in a gondola (except for the 

traghetto, which you ride in standing up, 

just to cross the Grand Canal).  But I'm 

fascinated by the gondolieri, who ply a trade

like no other.  Not such an easy job, and they have to

drum up their own business.  And a gondola needs

to be very well cared for if it's to last.

hiking in the Cinque Terre

We did hikes at all levels—mostly easy and intermediate

in my case, but one day my brother David and his friend Cory

took off on a straight up, straight down killer (imho) hike. Cory's

wife, Lori (yes, that's right, Cory and Lori—great people)

and I took the (sort of) low road—thank you, Lori!

street shrines

These are everywhere. According to one of my daughter's

Florentine profs, they exist simply to remind you to pray.

Okay.

locals

Took these shots in Murano (the man who 

delivers the all-important bubble wrap), 

Venice (a guy who's very much at home on his boat), 

Florence (a waiter with a great face), 

and Siena (I couldn't walk in those shoes 

on cobblestones if you paid me!).

lock up your love

They're trying to stop couples from doing this

on the Ponte Vecchio, so the lovers have moved

a bit upstream to the Ponte alla Grazie to keep

the tradition going (you write your names on the

lock and toss the key in the water). 

Of course, in the Cinque Terre, on the Via dell'Amore,

 they're all for the lucchetti d'amore—and 

have set up a special place for them.

from the ridiculous to the sublime

We encountered this newly engaged couple

near the train station when we arrived in Venice,

 and—on a completely different note—this
elegant bride and groom in Rome.

9 hours in Rome

Hey, you can do a lot in 9 hours, especially if you and your

big bro are the two speediest people on the planet. 

Here's a sampling: Buzz through the Vatican, 

check out your fellow tourists (and a random
gladiator) in front of the Pantheon,

toss a coin (to guarantee a return to Roma) 

into the Trevi Fountain, 

then commune with the hottie Roman riot polizia

(I asked the cute one on the end what the demonstration 

was about and he said, "E contro il racismo" (it's against

racism).  So I said, "Hey, I'm against racism too" (in Italian, of

course) and he gave me a smile and a sexy Roman shrug.

reflections of Venice

I know it's a cliche, but still a beautiful one.

This is the Frari church, reflected in the canal

and seen from the window of our apt., 

one of my fave stores (on the Campo San Barnaba),

and a wonderful reflective wall on the Grand Canal.

uno spritz a l'Aperol

My favorite thing to drink, but try 

ordering it in the States.

In Venice, everyone drinks it, at cafes . . .

   and also at bacari, where they serve

delicious cicchetti (the Venetian version of tapas).

Burano

This is the island north of Venice famous for its lace

and colorful houses.  My best advice: Go early—the

hordes were arriving just as we were leaving—and

whatever you do, don't forget your camera!

real food

So you go to the market (which we did in Venice,

because we had an apartment with a great kitchen)

and buy fresh fish (I ask them to fillet it)

or chicken (I ask them to take the head off --!!) 

and maybe zucchini blossoms (fabulous fried in a light
batter, then sprinkled with just a tiny bit of sugar).

Wash it all down with Prosecco and follow 

it up with fresh fruit—perfection!