In this episode of the quite good PBS series “Dream of Italy,” you will shop in food markets, cook with a professional, admire some of Rome’s many architectural masterpieces, learn to create mosaics, appreciate gelato, meet a renowned street artist and dance in a quadrille. Whew, that’s a lot! But it’s an enjoyable video.
Graffiti
Abandonment
Bittersweet moments seen in Florence yesterday:
A temporarily abandoned Curious George:
And a poor, little evergreen tree, still dressed up for Christmas, but with no place to go!
Signs in Florence
Walking through the well-worn streets in Florence, I am often entertained by the signs I encounter. I like to walk slowly and take in all the wonderful messages all around me.
For example, the following sign below is very, very clear about their products. It is outside the butcher shop and says, “Fresh meats, cattle, sheep, pork, poultry and game.” Wow, that’s a wide ranging offering!
The lower sign (in picture above) expands the offerings slightly. It reads “Meats for sale, fresh meats, cattle, sheep, pork, poultry and rabbits.”
The bicycle shop below caught my eye for the colors and fonts. I sometimes think of buying a biciclette here, but fear it would be stolen and so I doubt I will buy one.
Yikes! Snow in Rome?!
Temperatures are set to plummet with the risk of several centimetres of snow in Rome on the night between Sunday 25 February and Monday 26 February.
https://www.wantedinrome.com/image-wall/rome-snow-warning-on-25-february.html
The same cold front from Russia (with love?) will smack down the U.K. It even has a name: the east beast!
Horticulture in Florence
It seems like in every season, something wonderful is in bloom in Italy. Right now it is mimosa.
Also beginning to bloom are the camellias
I walked down a wide avenue in western Florence yesterday, where I noticed a long line of street trees that have been severely pruned in the Pollarding method, a pruning system involving the cutting of long branches of a tree, done to promotes a dense head of foliage and branches.
Pollarded trees look brutal against gray winter skies.
Colder weather arriving in Italy, ski resorts are thrilled
Italy
The Italian Alps and the Dolomites will experience some of the lowest temperatures of the winter in the next week and many domains will also see significant fresh snowfall. The heaviest snowfall will be above the Aosta Valley where Cervinia (1,520m) can expect up to 45cm of fresh powder. The resort already holds close to 4 metres of snow base beneath top station at 3,480m and when the visibility is decent the skiing is epic. However next week the daytime temperatures here will be far below 0ºC, -7ºC the average high at resort level, so skiers will need to bulk up thermal layers. Today in Cervinia all 15 lifts are open and skiing is on fresh and dry groomed snow at all elevations.
Lesser known Venice
Read this interesting article by Dr. Susan Steer, an art historian specialising in Venice. Her MA concentrated on the city’s art and architecture and her PhD on Venetian Renaissance altarpieces.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/tours/venice-things-to-see-and-do-beyond-st-marks/
get back, lauretta! 
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