Italians have a phrase that describes figuring out the ins and outs and the ways to get by in life. I love it!

 It is l’arte d’arrangiarsi and I practice it daily.

Wandering around my new neighborhood in Florence, I feel I am definitely in the right place at the right time! I won’t tell you where exactly, but I’m living a 5 minute walk from the world famous Arno river and in an area bounded by streets named the following:

Via Giotto

Via Orcagna

Via Cimabue

Via Arnolfo

Via Ghirlandaio

Via Fra Giovanni Angelico

Yep, I’m in the right place for an art historian

I’ve only been back in Florence for a couple of days, but when I saw this caution on my phone I had to laugh. Truer words could not be spoken! It’s true for Google maps and a lot of other things.

Heaven can wait! I found my paradise on earth, in Italy, specifically Florence!

Freshly pressed pomegranate juice. My favorite beverage on planet earth! In my favorite eatery in Florence, certainly in Tuscany, maybe in Italy!

As you can see by watching the barrista press the fruit, it takes a lot of physical strength to make this elixir of the gods!

I’m late in posting this crazy American painting from the Swope museum in Terre Haute. I have a special connection to this admittedly weird work of art and maybe someday, I’ll explain why.

Here’s to you, Saint Nicholas.

Cross over the Alps and paradise appears! The weather conditions change with every trip and it is always beautiful.

Below, just outside Florence the clouds broke. This is January in Italy.

I’ll pray for you while I’m gone.

Happy to just be passing thru!