I am seriously getting into this business of unwinding.  I slept til ten o’clock!  Then I had a nice long chat with my Italian landlady (about the complaints of getting old –she’s twenty years younger and has the same issues).  Afterwards I went for my appointment at a lovely spa (the Ladies made me do it, of course) where I was thoroughly pampered, European style.  It is serious business over here.  They wear lab coats and have offices with massage tables as just one of the accessories.  Their many degrees line the walls.  I was even given samples of orange scented oil to take home with me to my masseuse in Utah.  Some things, alas, are the same the world over these days.  My poor technician told me dolefully that she and her boyfriend of eighteen years had just broken up.

I went back to the B & B to meet the faithful David who had spent the time doing laundry.  As a special treat for my long-suffering spouse, I proposed a trip to Piazza Michelangelo where the view of Florence is unparalleled, especially as the sun is setting.  Never have I seen a city that actually makes the natural landscape around it (the Tuscan Hills) even more beautiful.  The tile roofs, the mellow walls of mustard, sand, and caffe au lait combine with the muddy green Arno river, its bridges and the tolling of the church bells to bring about a scene that sets like a jewel in the magnificent valley formed by the cypress, olive, and vine-laden hills.  David is a much better photographer than I am a writer, so look at his photographs, and see if you agree!  (He said he might be a few hours getting them up, there are so many.)

As a matter of interest, my clinician (who must have been in her thirties) told me that Florence and Tuscany were just now experiencing an awakening.  For so long they have not treasured their culture.  Now, as it is disappearing under the graffiti, they are realizing they need to conserve the beauty they have inherited.  Perhaps this is the reason for all the construction around the city.  I am very glad for the Tuscans that they have had a change of heart and can’t help but wonder what prompted it.

Here are the photos.  These are bigger files to provide more detail and may make the page a little slow.

I am here to tell you that the movie Room with a View took serious poetic license!  There is no fountain in the Santo Croce square (where the man was knifed) and the Arno is blocks away!  These two facts seriously messed up our attempt to locate the Church this morning.  On top of that, most of the interior was under scaffolding, however, I still didn’t recognize it as the interior in the movie!

But on to much better things:  Cooking Lesson!  In the Tuscan countryside!  In a farmhouse that is over 1,000 years old (only some parts, the refrigerator and bathroom are more modern) and sits on a hill in the middle of a grove of olive trees!  Did you know that there are only three ingredients in pasta?  A special kind of Italian flour called Semoina (I think), egg, and salt!  The secret is in the kneading (until it is as “smooth as a baby’s bottom”) and a handy dandy chrome Italian pasta machine which eventually rolls it out paper thin.  (The lack of pasta machines during the Renaissance is what I blame for the enormous Titian arm syndrome)

Our group made spinach-ricotta ravioli and fettuccine.  It was amazingly good, almost as good as all the other goodies our hostess made, especially the tiramisu.  However, the real winner of the day was the Tuscan countryside.  Take it from me, there is no poetic license taken in raptures concerning that!  It is probably one of the most beautiful spots on earth.  It is my idea of the Garden of Eden. 

As you can tell, David had a marvelous time with his camera!

In spite of intermittent showers and some heavy-duty exhaustion on my part, today was glorious.  I discovered the Firenze Market Centrale! Had tons of fun buying presents for the fam and a gorgeous purse for myself (the most beautiful thing I’ve ever had) that David talked me into, by telling me he’d buy the ring I paid for yesterday, since it was after all our anniversary.  The wonderful Italian I bought my purse from took me into his very upscale shop and picked out the perfect purse for my personality (bad pun).  AFTER the sale, I found out he was investigating the church!  He told us what bus to take to get there tomorrow.  We parted with a kiss.  Ah Italians!

David then dropped me off at a delicious Tratorria, where I had a wonderful lunch of vegetables and Brie, roasted together.  He delivered our shopping bags to our B & B and returned to eat lunch with me.  It was a tiny restaurant with excellent food (recommended by our B & B proprietor)and there wasn’t anyone in there who even spoke English!  (Everyone seems to speak English here)

After that we finished up the afternoon in the Cathedral of the Medicis.  We have noticed that the churches here are treated much more sacredly than those in other European countries we have visited.  We are asked to be quiet, because there are people praying.  And despite the huge number of churches and cathedrals in Florence, this one holds mass every morning and night.  It was not overly ornamented, but was beautiful, serene, and tasteful.

Then I came home and crashed for three hours.  I woke up at 3:00 am last night with an idea for my novel that kept me awake.  Unfortunately, this is not a rare occurrence.

Buena Note!

Today began with a hair-raising taxi ride to the Uffizi Museum—custodian of the finest gems of the Renaissance.  I was thrilled to find that among its most treasured paintings was the original of a print hanging in a gilt frame in my family room.  I had inherited it from my father who had had it since before I was born.  I did not know who the artist was, or that the lady depicted was a Medici princess (Medici’s were the First Family of Florence, patrons of Michelangelo and many great artists).

While Renaissance art is not my favorite, the four hours we spent in the museum were delightful.  Afterwards, we dined on coca cola and torte on the terrace overlooking many of the great buildings and sculptures of Florence.

We then took a fabulous stroll down the Ponte Vecchio where all the greatest goldsmiths in Florence have shops.  I decided I absolutely HAD to have a new gold band and that I would purchase it with my inheritance money.  (I’ve had it for 2 years and haven’t spent a dime).  I found a beautiful filigreed gold band that is very typical of Florence.  It looks lovely with my wedding rings and will be my 37th anniversary band! 

The views from the Ponte Vecchio are splendid.

At about four we stumbled serendipitously into the most fabulous restaurant right on the river.  I had a pear salad and the most delicious pizza made from all sorts of white yummy cheeses and mushrooms.  For dessert we had lots of little mini creations, which were the specialties of the house.  We sat for 2 1/2 hours.  I’m trying to teach David to live in the moment. (Comment from David – GG was living in the moment.  This was our waiter.)

Plans for tomorrow:  Following Lucy Honeychurch’s footsteps in Santa Croce, shopping at the Market Centrale for bargains.

Monday: A cooking class in the country  (my crazy ladies would do this)

Later in the week: A day trip to Puccini’s hometown with an evening of my favorite arias (my ladies like them, too), a visit to a local spa (also something my ladies would do).

Thank you D.B. for publishing Waltz and granting me such a wonderful opportunity!

We arrived at our B & B (lovely and modern with a balcony and a 21st century private bath and TV that gets the BBC and lots of other foreign stations) around 2:00 pm yesterday and promptly went to bed and slept soundly until 5:00.  We then roused ourselves, showered and dressed and braved the streets, trying to find a recommended restaurant.  Unfortunately, the Italians were very helpful, pointing us in contrary directions, until we gave up and settled for a lovely dinner at Il Clarinneti around the corner from our B & B.

Our dinner was great.  I  had prosciutto and melon to start and shrimp and clam linguine (homemade noodles al dente)   And of course I had wonderful chocolate gelato for dessert.

That was about it for Day One.  Remember, I am still nursing a hip back to health, and haven’t been able to exercise.  Plus, in Chicago, I had been forced to sprint at full speed, towing a bag, down the concourse as our flight had landed just as the final boarding call was announced for our flight to Munich!

Today we got up and breakfasted on yummy bread and jam and juice.  Then, following our ablutions, we caught the bus for packed tourist area of the Duomo—Florence’s cathedral, which David will attach pictures of.  It was magnificent, but far far more crowded than I remembered from 40 years ago.  The bronze and gold doors of the baptistry were stunning, representing the very first work of Renaissance Art.

After lounging in the comparitive calm of an outdoor cafe (another gelato!) where the proprietor accosted all passers-by guessing at their native tongue, we enjoyed the gorgeously modern Duomo museum.  The sculptures which had been taken out of the Duomo were truly breathtaking in this cool, skylit environment.  My favorites were the amazingly modern bronze of Mary Magdalene.  She was set at a distance and appeared to be gazing at the altarpiece (a crucifix), though they were two entirely different sculptures.  My other favorite was the unfinished pieta by Michelangelo.  We spent several hours doing a very liesurely tour.  It is so nice that we have 2 weeks here and don’t have to worry about anything except what my crazy ladies would be likely to do.  It was hot and crowded and we were tired, so we splurged on a taxi to take us back to the B & B, where we are reading up on Michelangelo and the tour guide for the Uffizi—the greatest repository of Italian Renaissance paintings in Europe—where we will visit tomorrow.

In thinking of what my crazy ladies would do if they were here (if you don’t know, the whole reason for my trip is to research my next novel—The Crazy Ladies of Oakwood: Vol. 1, the Florentine Escapade), I have decided that at least one of them would take a cooking class.  This is not something I would do (I hate cooking), but definitely something one of them would do.  They would also visit the birthplace of Puccini and hear a concert in his birthplace—a short train ride away, so we are going to have to figure out the Italian train system.

Visiting here in my 60’s is a whole lot different than when I was 20!  But, so far a good time is being had by all.