Sunrise Over Florence.

I woke early today to actually catch sunrise over Florence.  We've had clouds most mornings but by mid morning the sun is out and we are shedding sweaters and jackets. Here is the view from our hotel rooftop around 6:00 AM. When you imagine it, add a chorus is spring birds in full throated exaltation of the new day....

I am trying to hold on to Venice while Florence is filling my mind and heart with stories and images. We've been in motion non-stop since we left Mystic on Friday morning. Venice feels like a dream. One of those dreams you want to have over and over. The moldy palazzos with gilt ancient frescoes, the over the top grandeur (might be an Italian theme) of Saint Mark's Square. The colors of the stucco houses on Burano. Children chasing each other through the squares. Dogs trotting along by the canals, accompanied or not. Elder couples strolling arm in arm over the canal bridges. The waiter who greeted us like family and told us that he'd be up early the next day to study bee keeping. I could go on and on but my cappuccino is getting cold. So here are a few photos. 

We are so lucky to be traveling with Vicky and Joe.  The hey are gracious good humored companions with great map reading skills.  I'll share more a about Florence in my next post. Ciao for now!

Italy, here we come!

We are packing and fretting and dreaming about our trip to Italy, a mere four days away.  It is 4:00 AM, and for once, my insomnia is more related to the excitement of travel than to worry.  Whenever I'm preparing for a trip, I'm aware that buried somewhere in the periphery of my imagination is the idea that the entire population will cheer "It's about time you got here!  We've been waiting for you!" Does every traveler have the same fantasy?  I'm choosing clothes as though somehow Italy will transform me into the beautiful sophisticate I've always dreamed of being.  Hmm.  Spain didn't do that for me though it did open a new capacity for wonder and a deeper appreciation for the continuity of the human experience over the millennia (for better and worse).  How is it that travel feels like a home coming?  You know, how you seem to find familiar faces in a crowd thousands of miles from home...  How slowing down and taking it in makes every place feel like you've finally landed where you belong.  I think its a coming home to yourself and your travel companions and I am so looking forward to having this time with Scott and our dear friends Vicki and Joe.  Something about taking time explore and savor the unique and universal beauty of a place which make me feel like I belong in a way that I often do not feel.  I'm practicing Italian though I won't have nearly enough vocabulary to even order a complete meal in Italian,  Yet I love the challenge and the risk of using another language.  I'm feeling grateful to Natalia, friend and voice teacher for putting me through the paces on Italian pronunciation.  I can no longer sing Bel Canto  but I can make those beautiful open vowel sounds.  Let's see how it plays in Italy.