Bellissima!

I took a stroll through the Giardino on Friday, Dec. 11. It was a refreshing, cool afternoon, and some flowers were still blooming, some koi were still swimming, and the garden is bedecked with a lovely Tannenbaum.

I love the work of Blub, the anonymous Florentine street artist!

“Although we can find ourselves in a sea of ​​difficulties, in life we ​​always have the resources to learn to swim. Art is one of these resources.” Blub.

If you want to learn more about this mysterious artist, see http://tianakai.com/2014/12/street-art-florence-interview-with-blub/.

Enjoying the Cascine park recently, I happened upon this monument to George Washington. I had never noticed it before.

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Not far away, smack dab in the center of the park, is a bus stop with, for an American, a very memorable name: Kennedy.

Few of us, I believe, will be sorry to see 2020 come to an end. I certainly won’t. I am hopeful that the new vaccines will eliminate the Covid threat over the next 6 months or so, and we can begin to live a life similar to the one we used to know.

But, here in Tuscany, I’m simply grateful we are out of lockdown. There are still many, many restrictions, but as long as we can walk freely, I’m good.

On the 2nd day of the less locked down rules, I took a very long passeggiata that took me to the Cascine, where I enjoyed the waning autumn colors. This major European park is a treasure indeed, as you will see in these pictures as well as in some other posts I’ll be writing soon.

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This Medieval city is so photogenic, it’s hard to stop. Please enjoy another point of view on Florence at Christmastime.

Well, needless to say, Florence is different this Christmas. We in Tuscany are now in “zone orange” which gives us a lot more freedom to enjoy the city and the city made a valiant effort to decorate itself for the holidays, but there are fewer decorations than in years past. But, Via Tornabuoni is completely turned out and a joy to see!

Here is a virtual tour for you!

Please join me on a virtual window shopping escapade, through the tony section of this great city. First stop: Chanel:

I don’t know about you, but the scrawny mannequin seems to me to promote anorexia. Who would want to look like this?!

Moschino has a pretty pink confection that I would actually wear.

Bit. for me, hands down, Pucci always wins the day. I love, love, love this summer dress and head piece.

This Ferretti outfit is attractive and the fluffy tulle collar is delightful!

And, what window shopping escape is complete without a stop for a warm beverage and sweets. Gilli is adorned for the season.

In October of 2020 I had the pleasure of spending several days in Mantova. I love this city! It is sweet to look back, especially when winter is upon us.

The Palazzo Ducale is splendid and requires at least a day to see all of it.

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Doesn’t the architecture below look like London? To me, it does.

The Palazzo Ducale goes on forever and is bordered by a moat, then a viale, then a lake. It was well defended by water when it was built.

A detail of a moat.

One of the many foods for which Mantua is faros is the sbisolana. I tried it and liked it. It is a sweet confection. Somehow I am missing pictures of mine. Weird.

Below, we are back at Piazza delle Erbe.

The famous Rotondo di San Lorenzo.