More Duomo, etc.

Dear friends and family,

Let's see, yesterday (Saturday) we changed apartments. This apartment changing is the result of making such last minute changes to the trip, but the new apartment might be even better than the last. Both were great, but this one has internet! It's also between the Palazzo Vecchio and Via de Tornabuoni, actually not far from the Ponte Vecchio. I took some photos of this apartment before we flung our stuff all over and messed it up.

Apartment #2 has a washer and dryer. Apartment #1 only had a washer; one reason the apartment looked so messy (with clothes hanging up to dry).

We went to a farmer's market Saturday morning, or more like a specialty produce fair. Got an absolutely delicious truffle spread, seriously addictive. Also some nice bottles of wine and cheese. There is a wine show going on in Florence this weekend, tastings in different museums and other venues. It would have been very tempting, but we already had these lovely bottles we simply must drink.

It was a lovely day so we decided to climb to the top of the Duomo, something I can't remember ever doing, although it is possible I may have done it when I was 17 and touring with Deborah Hoffman (then Mann) and Erica Lennard. Maybe they can remember. We walked by several ambulances parked in the piazza. There are many, many steps; overweight tourists must pass out all the time.





































Here is a fabulous composite photo which Don took and then auto-pano'ed of the views we had when we would come out of our little narrow steep and close stone stairway for a more expansive view and breath of fresher air.


The stone stairs climbing between the famous 2 dome construction, an engineering feat devised by Brunelleschi which made this huge dome possible. Finally, panting and gasping, we made it to the top.


You'd probably look a little hesitant also if you climbed to the top of the Duomo and had a visitation from Johnny Cash. Would he just pose nicely, or would he try to carry you away, and perhaps not be able to hang on to you, regrettably dropping you on the beautiful city of Florence? I'm reading The Enchantress of Florence by Salman Rushdie, the perfect book to read while visiting Florence or Northern India. However, it is perhaps making me a bit fanciful.  (In criticism of my blog, Aldo points out that he doesn't see the resemblance: He doesn't have a guitar, he doesn't have a black cowboy hat, he's only wearing half black, and he doesn't have a craggy face, but his hair is sweaty from climbing almost 500 rather high steps.)


View from the top. 13 photographs stitched together. The full-size has incredible detail.

Love from

Era and Aldo