I Almost Cried

We explored more than I had expected this summer since our original goal was to immerse ourselves in the day to day life of a small Italian town. Most excursions were clumped together in day trips such as Assisi, Urbino, Gubbio, Loreto with our good friends Phil and Sue Anne who stayed with us for a memorable week. We also visited Serra de Conti, Jesi, San Giminanno, and the Le Grotte Frasassi, each held its own magic. We did manage to fit in Cinque Terre, which was at the top of my "must see" list in Italy for two glorious days. The five towns were isolated and cut off from the world until 100 years ago and tourism did not exist until the 1960's. These jewels are perched on incredibly steep mountains that literally fall into the sea, it's history speaks of hardship and a determined people to tame the most difficult of terrains by terrace farming. Now it is a paradise for hikers. Jim and I set out from Loreto to Monterosso al Mare, it was only 4 miles but the assent is about 1,000 ft up and then 1,000 ft down. For those 3.5 hours we were entirely captivated by the beauty and wonder of nature, it was the most magnificent hike I have ever done.

Our son Eric and Aya, his girlfriend, visited from Japan and they wanted to see was Venice, so we went. Yes it was crowded, no it did not smell, and yes I think it is the most romantic place on earth. Wish we were there with about 1/10 of the people but eating our picnic lunch of prosciutto, tomatoes, gorgonzola cheese with Italian bread on the steps in St. Marks Square was priceless. Another great side trip was Perugia with our daughter Beth and her girlfriend Aaryn, what a treat, literally chocolate everywhere.

Winding down and starting to count the days until we return home, Jim started thinking about Florence. The last time we were there was 12 years ago (literally for 6 hours), I had gotten unexpectedly sick so the visit was cut short. We went, our new motto is "never to put off what you don't have too". Found a reasonable hotel right next to the Ponte Viccchio (thank you Karen Brown) with a view of the Duomo. Our main goal was to get to the Uffizi, we were ready to embrace the masters of Renaissance Italy. We decided to jump into a guided tour which whisked us up to the front of the line. The guide, in a very logical and informative way, moved us from one master to the other with wonderful details of the life and times of Florence as well as of the artist and artwork itself. Anyone who has ever wanted to see Michelangelo, Donatello, Da Vinci, Della Robbia or Botticelli up front and personal has got to experience this museam which by the way is the oldest in Europe. I could not say I had a favorite Rennissance artist until I entered the room with Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus" and "Primavera", I almost cried. They were enormous and took my breath away they were just that beautiful! The artist was sensitive, seductive, innocent and telling a story all at the same time. I think I could have stayed there all day. Lucky for us there was a special exhibit of Caravaggio's work and his students as well so we stayed in the museum until our heads started spinning. The Duomo had Jim glued to its facade later that day and he only pryed himself away to then attach himself to the doors of the Baptistery. We of course saw Michelangelo's "David" in all his splendor. I will attempt to put up some of the photo's but it will just give a glimpse of the genius of the time. I never came close to crying looking at my Jansen's.