Quiet Week at Home

 I don't have much to report this week.  We spent a quiet week at home.  This does not mean we were bored in the least.  Each time we think we will have a boring day we find something new to hold our attention in its grip.

We finally made it back to the Uffizi Gallery after 34 years.  I am not ordinarily grateful for my 5'9" height, particularly when catching my reflection in a shop window, my back arched in the horrid slouch I developed after years of bending to converse with my many diminutive friends. On that day, however, I was uniquely able to see over a vast sea of ponytails, sun hats and bald spots in order to appreciate the masterpieces of the Renaissance.  My God, that place must be hell on earth for claustrophobics!  On the one hand, it is encouraging to see so many people of all demographics interested in art and culture. On the other, I was way too close for comfort in the era of a pandemic.  Or any era, for that matter.

After touring the Ufizzi,  The Bargello, The Medici Chapel and The Palazzo Vecchio (not all on the same day of course) we had it up to our eyeballs with the Renaissance and strolled over to Florence's modern art museum, called...wait for it...The MOMA!  We shared the museum with one other person. Clearly, no one knows of its existence.  Both the building and the exhibitions are lovely. And more important, you can breathe in there.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, we also went to the Gucci Museum because it's there and we have the time and why not?  It, surprisingly, was really cool. The exhibit focused on the various ad campaigns Gucci ran over the decades. Even Harold, who is not a fashionista by any stretch of the imagination, found it interesting.

Today's discovery was a beautiful Reading Terminal Market-ish place only a ten minute walk from our apartment.  Harold enjoys food markets the way most people enjoy Disney World. 

At a single booth, the vendor insisted we taste four kinds of pecorino cheese, two kinds of prosciutto, two focaccia loafs and multiple varieties of olives.  We bought a substantial portion of everything we tasted, and he threw in a bottle of wine for a mere 30 euros!  What a deal!  The prosciutto alone would have cost that in Philly.

This weeks random thoughts:

1.  CLEANLINESS:  These are the garbage receptacles in Florence.  They are all over the place and people actually use them!  One is for paper, one for plastic, one for glass, one for organic material, and one for whatever you have left over after you dispose of your paper, glass, plastic and organic material.

I am fully aware that New York and Philly are much, much larger than Florence and have much more litter to contend with, BUT, they could learn a lot about cleanliness from the Florentines. The street sweepers are out constantly. There is not a scrap of paper to be found on the streets, and the streets are stuffed with people eating all kinds of things in all kinds of wrappers and containers. It's truly amazing.  If US metropolitan areas could achieve even a third of the results that are on display here, the quality of city life would improve dramatically.

2. MUSIC

It is undeniable that America's largest export is pop culture.  ALL THE MUSIC we hear in restaurants or trattorias, from the buskers on the streets, and in retail shops of every kind, is American.  You hear everything from Frank Sinatra classics (okay he was Italian) to Billie Eilish.  The guys who drive their cars too fast through the streets with their radios blaring are playing American songs.  Whenever we do hear Italian music, which is rare, the song of choice is 'O Solo Mio. Are you kidding me?  This is what the Italians think American tourists want to hear a thousand times over?

3. SUN DRESSES

They are everywhere.  I read online before arriving that Italian women do not wear shorts no matter how high the temperature. This is true.  They don't even wear Bermudas.  On hot days, any female over the age of about 25 wears a sun dress.  They all look lovely.  The streets are adorned with billowing, linen and silk frocks. I've now purchased three, and I must admit they are cool and comfy, even on scorching hot days.  And I feel pretty...oh so pretty...

And here are a couple photos of the iconic Duomo, because you just can't go to Florence and not include it in your travel journal.  No matter how many times you see it, and we've walked by dozens of times, you simply cannot stop your jaw from dropping. It is an insult to Brunelleschi to try to capture it with an iphone, but he's long dead so...

Weekly stats:  Who's counting?

Next week:  Venice for the Biennale!