DATELINE: Florence (2)

If you're waiting for some great tourist shots of the Arno and the Duomo you're going to have to wait another day.  With low, grey skies and threatening rain we are not venturing over the river to the heart of the city at least until tomorrow.  Meanwhile, you'll have to be satisfied with some local color and narrative.

We went out this morning in search of some foodstuffs since there was not much here except our leftovers from yesterday's lunch which will be used to make a stir-fry to spoon over pasta.  This apartment is about a 30 minute walk from the heart of Florence but there are some shops a 10-minute walk down the hill.  NOTE:  Every step down the hill means a step up the hill with loaded bags in hand!  There is a "short cut" through the grounds of the Academy of Art down to the via Romana where we found a couple of good "delis" and small markets plus two great vegetable/fruit stalls.  We bought a few things and climbed back up to the apartment. First, I put on a load of wash and we hope it will get dry before we leave next Monday.

 The nice thing about this drying rack is that I can pick it up and move it into the living room where there is more sunshine (when there's sunshine, of course).

An al fresco lunch on our patio of salami, ham, focaccia, some cold ratatouille picked up at one of the delis, some wine, some fizzy water.  That, and some lively conversation made for a fine meal.

 Here's a brief tour of the apartment.  It has two bedrooms, one bath, living room with dining table, good kitchen, bath.  It's very nicely decorated; the living room walls are a very pale pink ~ VERY pale ~ and the couches are a rich but not flashy fuchsia.  I like the look and feel of the room.  Lots of small lamps scattered around so the room fairly "glows" in the evening.

The bedroom is spacious and calm.  Very comfortable bed, lots of storage space.  Looks out on the back garden.  Pretty good reading lamps, a must even for me who doesn't read anymore.  Call them "listening" lamps.

Here's a better look at the lovely outdoor terrace.

The house is up on a rise and although you can't see the city from here, if we were in the upstairs apartment we probably would get a good shot of tiled rooftops.  As it is, what we can see is the old wall that surrounds the Boboli Gardens, just behind the house.

We went to these beautiful and extensive gardens during our last trip but will undoubtedly go again.  And to the Pitti Palace if only to gaze again on Caravaggio's glorious "The Sleeping Cupid" which always moves me to tears.  (I note only how big his right hand is in comparison to his left.  Perspective is all.)

 

The sky has gotten lighter and brighter so Mr. C  has headed out to visit his bank account at the local BNV and to look for some olives ~ It's Italy, after all, so how hard can that be? ~ and I'll go back to reading Herman Wouk's "The Winds of War."  He is such a wonderful storyteller and writer.  Next will be "War and Remembrance."  I'm  doing all this WWII reading in preparation for our visit to Normandy at the end of October.  You can't start too soon.