Today I wandered around the Oltrarno after the hairdresser. Great window-shopping!
I like the teapot chandelier below!
I want this…hat?…fascinator?...chissa!
Art by Clet:
Florence (Firenze)
More Clet in Florence
My walk home
Starting at my 2nd favorite place in Florence, my yoga class #2
The sights on my walk home:
A favorite design by Clet below:
A favorite florist below:
And, look what was waiting for me when I got home! A box I shipped to myself in Florence from myself in the USA! Wooop wooop! Funny though, I shipped it on November 18 and received it today, January 25. At least it arrived!
Things you wouldn’t automatically think of…
…when moving to Italy.
For example: Internet infrastructure is a big issue in Tuscany, specially Florence. The city regulations and archeological sites make it very hard to dig and build, and the narrow architecture messes with wireless signals.
Generally speaking, I can’t complain about my internet or phone connections in my apartment, but then I live on the top floor of my palazzo (large building), where there isn’t, I would assume, as much interference. But the second I step outside, all bets are off.
Still, it’s a lot better than it was even a few years ago. A small price to pay to live in such an incredible place.
Women’s March, Florence
Small but strong. The Women’s March took place all over the world this weekend. We had a small but vocal cohort in Florence and I felt proud to be a part of it.
We met in the Piazza in front of San Lorenzo. I thought about this important church and its history within the story of Florence, and felt honored to be there and to be living now, and to be a part of this beautiful city’s fabric.
My new friend, Jen, kindly knitted me a pink hat for the occasion!
Please, let there only be one Trump term.
Santa Maria Novella, Firenze: fruits and vegetables
If you’ve ever been to Florence and walked around the city enjoying architectural masterpieces, you have no doubt spent time appreciating the gorgeous green and white marble exterior of the church of Santa Maria Novella.
I was meeting a friend recently and we agreed to rendezvous in front of the center door of the church. I got there early and had time to study the high-quality marble carving of the panels to either side of the main door.
These white marble panels were clearly carved by a master sculptor, for the quality of the carving is very high. A variety of leaf types are depicted in the stone, as well as many recognizable fruits and even some vegetables. The background of each grouping of edible plant parts is a grouping of fasces, tied with a ribbon to create the bundle of rods, a symbol utilized in the Roman empire and reused ever since.
In the grouping above you can clearly see oak leaves, plums, and apples.
The relief above looks like laurel leaves are depicted as well as what look like potatoes. Potatoes? I’m not sure.
I think the fruits above might be peaches?
In this picture, I think I see acorns, oak leaves, and apples. Perhaps those are poppy heads at the top?
This picture seems to include grapes.
I hope you will tell me what you see. I’m sure I’ve missed many things!
Yoga, finalmente!
I finally feel like I have my yoga arranged here in Florence. It took me over a year to get this figured out; usually I was in language school during the daytime yoga lessons in Florence, and typically I am not motivated to leave my warm, cosy home to go to a class at 8 p.m. Italians think nothing of having yoga lessons at 8 p.m. on an average weekday evening. That just doesn’t work for me.
So, here is one of the 2 studios I now frequent on an almost daily basis. This studio is 10 minutes from home and is so lovely! Just look at it!
I’ll post of photo of my other favorite studio soon.
Do Italians love opera?
I’d say SI to that! I was lucky enough to attend the production of Bizet’s Carmen at Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence tonight, and I’m a believer!
A security gaggle.
I am always entertained by the groups of Italian security police who gather at whatever place they need to protect. If there is more than one of them, they get together to talk, with their machine guns pointed at the floor.
I don’t know how these guards would act if a crime was being committed, but I do think that they are probably missing out on a lot of petty thievery. This picture was taken yesterday at the Florence train station, and I would bet anything that someone was having their pocket picked while these officers chatted about….who knows what?
I hope Italy and Florence never have a serious event where serious security is needed.
For the men: Pitti Uomo – Pitti Immagine
Are your sore eyes in need a handsome sight? If so, you should high-tail it to Florence in mid-January.
Pitti Uomo – Pitti Immagine is the world’s most important (so they say) platform for men’s clothing and accessory collections and for launching new projects in men’s fashion. Created in 1972 Pitti Uomo is held in Florence twice a year. If you missed the show this month, you can catch the next iteration in June.
Walking home from yoga the other day, I saw this handsome man wearing a full-length fur coat. I was pretty sure it was faux, and he confirmed that it was.
You can read all about the show here:
http://www.pittimmagine.com/en/corporate/fairs/uomo.html
get back, lauretta! 
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