Venetian gondola scene

I’m experiencing a surreal writer’s block when it comes to my final day in Venice.  Perhaps the Italians cast a magic spell on me that is keeping me in a fog and will prompt a return visit sooner than I would have otherwise in order to restore my memories.  Not to worry.  I have no desire to stay away.  In fact, many days I feel “homesick for Italy“.

After enjoying a deluxe breakfast at our hotel, the Ca Favretto, consisting of the standard Italian buffet fare (prosciutto, cheeses, fruits, Nutella, pastries and coffee) we spent a little time on the hotel balcony overlooking the Grand Canal on this beautiful sunny morning watching the daily tourist and supply boats coming from Mestre (the mainland).

We left our hotel fairly early this day and immediately set off on foot, up and over the Rialto Bridge for San Marco Piazza.  Once we arrived at the piazzetta di san marco, we entered the Doge’s Palace and started exploring the grounds and numerous rooms.  The Doge’s Palace, also known as the Palazzo Ducale,  is a gothic palace facing the Venetian lagoon.  Its gothic beauty is a stunning and breathtaking vision in white and took from 1309 until the early 1400′s to construct.  The Doge, or supreme head of the Venetian government resided in the palace and its many rooms also accommodated large meeting places for the Venetian  ruling families.  The palace is also connected to the prison by the Bridge of Sighs.

View from the terrace of the Doge's Palace

A royal view from the Doge's Palace

The exterior courtyards reveal at least a hundred sculptures and carvings as well as an elegant stairway, called the scala dei giganti that leads into the palace (but can no longer be walked upon by visitors).  I believe the two beautiful larger than life sculptures flanking each side of the stairs are Mars and Neptune carved by Sansovino.  Their detail is so amazing and lifelike, much like the details of Michelangelo’s David. 

Neptune and Mars by Sansovino

Inside the palace, my favorite rooms were the prison, the map room and the Sala del Collegio (large meeting room), where you can find portraits of all of the doge’s who served over time except one, the decapitated and disgraced doge who attempted a coup d’etat.  His frame has his portrait painted over in solid black.

After our palace tour, we sat for some time  just outside the Doge’s Palace on the steps of the lagoon facing the gondolas and did some amazing international  people watching.  On our final day in Venice, my little boy and I embarrassingly enjoyed a record three gelatos in one day.  My daughter maintained her dignity and figure and treated herself to just one!   If you can’t do this on your final day of vacation, when can you?  We also enjoyed a great deal of shopping on our final day and found no shortage of Murano glass, chinese “italian” glass (beware), jewelry (glass and gold) and carnival masks.

Just one last gelato!

GELATO for Jeannie and Jack!

We returned to our hotel room and popped a bottle of nice red wine while we dressed for our final night out in Italy.  While many people no longer dress for dinner in Venice, this evening was special to our family and will be remembered for a lifetime.  As we departed our hotel in search of the perfect restaurant along the Grand Canal we were once again approached by many “waiters” asking us to come to their establishment.  One young Italian man said to my daughter ”I remember you…but you don’t remember me….since you didn’t come to our restaurant last night, please come tonight”.  Since they were not located on the canal, they stood no chance this evening. 

So many guests were dining along the canal on this beautiful mild evening and this did look very inviting.  We reviewed a number of menu’s while waiter’s swarmed nearby.  One said to me “Madam, what do you want…a canal side table?  I can make you a canal side table.”   As he said that, first I thought and then I said “why yes, that is exactly what I would like tonight.”  And so it was.  The waiters picked up two tables and carried them down the sidewalk until the row of tables came to an end, and there, in the dimly lit canal light, we had the loveliest dinner in Venice.  My husband had sea bass, my son had a pizza margherita and my daughter and I had pasta.  I had heard so much about the Venetian Pinot Grigios  that I couldn’t resist and my husband ordered a red. 

Last Evening in Venice 2011

After dinner we strolled slowly back to our hotel stopping at the lovely and extremely quiet and serene Rialto Bridge for more photos.  We found many of the narrow streets and passageways deserted this evening.  We felt safe in this city and imagined how exotic this town must be during the carnival with guests roaming these same streets in masks, as they have done for centuries.

A quiet evening near the Rialto Bridge

It was a night to remember.   We departed early the next morning and took a short scenic boat ride over to the Marco Polo Airport.  What a beautiful airport to depart from.  We took a short flight over the alps to Amsterdam before making the longest leg of our return trip to Detroit.  Venice from the sky was lovely and allowed a tourist to see the winding grand canal and numerous islands, neighborhoods and boats from above this magnificent locale. 

Honestly, I had earlier reservations about visiting Venice.  I feared the birds would be uncontrollable, bugs and insects undesirable and canals smelly.  None of this was true.  Venice is a gem in a country of jewels.  Our entire trip was an adventure filled with lovely colorful Italians and historic treasures and masterpieces.  With a comfortable amount of wealth, it would be very easy to become an expatriate in this country and is easy to see why so many American and English have done so.  I believe I could adjust to living in Italy.  I just need to learn the language.

Arrivederci!

Jeannie in Florence

Who knew this story would have another chapter?  I was sitting at home in Canton, Michigan on a lovely fall afternoon enjoying my weekend off of work.  I had just finished reading Frances Mayes most recent book called “Every Day in Tuscany” and just started reading “Alibi” a book by Joseph Kanon (author of The Good German).  In this fictional story set in Venice, he describes post WWII Venice and tells the story of an American war crimes investigator who has recently completed his time in the US Army just in time to arrive in Venice for his mother’s wedding to a native Venetian.

Italy crosses my mind frequently.   I seek out books (fiction and non-fiction) that continue to educate me about this amazing country and fill me with ideas about new places to visit.  I have a real desire to return to Italy and visit the southern coastal areas (Naples and Pompei), as well as the Cinque Terre area.  My hubby and I would also love to see Milan and make a return visit to Rome.

Late afternoon rolled around and my son and I decided to go retrieve the mail from the community mailbox.  Not long after I pulled the mail from the box, I spotted an unusual shaped envelope with an Italian postmark.   I can honestly say that there is only one item I had ever hoped would arrive in my mailbox from Italy and that is my son’s lost stuffed animal, Wolfie, that we accidentally left at the villa outside of Florence.  I keep telling my son, Jack, that Wolfie is on an extended Italian vacation, but somewhere deep in my brain I think Wolfie may have ended up in the weekly flea market in the piazza in Impruneta where my daughter purchased “a vintage watch” most likely left behind by some other tourist. ha ha

Back to the envelope.  I have said earlier that I do not understand Italian but I did recognize two words on the outside of the envelope: Avis(not an Italian word) and Roma.  We did not rent a car in Rome, only in Florence, so I ripped into the envelope slightly perplexed.   What I saw inside left me chuckling!  Written in Italian, I recognized a few more words:  May 12, Polizia Municipale, Firenze.  It went on to say:  Conducente Driver: Novak Jr., Thomas George (my hubby).  Well, the polizia caught up with us to the tune of $30,25 euros for a moving violation that I have not been able to decipher.  My guess is that we were tracked down over leaving the parking structure without paying (when those nice Italians let us out after our communication breakdown) OR driving down streets in historic Florence that foreigners in rental cars are just not allowed on.  I can still hear my daughter telling my husband “Go go - go forward into the pedestrian only piazza.”  Although we did not proceed into the square, we had already entered into forbidden territory.  The other word that resonates with me is automatizzato.  I just don’t know what that means, but I believe its definition would unlock the nature of our violation.

As I mentioned in Part 2 of this blog, be forewarned that the Italians do not suffer ignorance when it comes to foreigners using their cities and roads.  Should you decide to drive, you will be held accountable for your actions and violation’s.  Read up on driving rules and regulations prior to arriving in Florence and make sure your GPS is fully functional and has the proper plug- in converter/adaptor power source for foreign cars.  They use cameras to record cars breaking laws and do not apologize about tracking you down later.  I do not plan to rent a car during my next trip to Italy.  I will be taking full advantage of the transit rail systems and found them to be the most relaxing and fastest way to get around.

Venice My Love

Venice at last...just off the water taxi!

We stepped off the water taxi in Venice and made our way by foot down narrow alleyways, up and over canals and small bridges, each wheeling his or her own luggage, until we made it to our hotel, the San Cassiano Residenza d’Epoca Ca’ Favretto, located  in the San Polo district near the Rialto Bridge and one of the oldest areas of Venice.   The hotel was once the residence of notable Venetian painter, Giacomo Favretto.  Upon entering the hotel, the first thing you notice in the lobby is the Murano glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

We were pleasantly surprised when we entered our room and found it has a perfect view overlooking the Grand Canal with windows that you could throw open and breathe in the fresh air while watching the gondolas go by.  There is nothing like the view: the colors, the gondolas, the ancient architecture of buildings like the Ca’ d’Oro.  When you stare out of the window, one can picture this view being almost exactly the same hundreds upon hundreds of  years ago.

Window with a view

Venetian sunset

Beneath our window

Facade on building right next door to Ca' Favretto

When we first began discussing a trip to Italy, the thought of visiting Venice left me feeling uncertain about whether it should earn a spot on our itinerary.  Many have heard that Venice is a sinking city and that it must be seen before it is gone.  However, I pictured both the good and bad:  canals (and rats), seagulls/pigeons (and bird droppings), deep, dark algae water that I feared my young son would fall into during a rambunctious moment.   In hindsight, I am so pleased it was the last city in Italy we visited before returning to the states.  It has left us longing for more and provided the perfect relaxing ending to our european vacation.

Rowers in Venice

We were all very excited to explore Venice after we checked into our hotel.  We put on our walking shoes and set out for dinner and discovery.  What we uncovered this first night was amazing.  If shopping had been on our priority list, we didn’t have to look far.  Every narrow street led to stores where you could purchase glassware, designer clothing, jewelry, and, of course, masks.   We passed an open air fish market where the men of the sea were selling the day’s catch to restauranteurs, merchants, grocers and residents.  I saw fish I never knew existed, that had been caught that day in the Adriatic Sea.  Truthfully, it was hard to find a variety of fish that I had ever tasted (cuttlefish, monkfish, langoustines, marmore and eels).

Once again, the restaurants we wandered by had waiters standing out front, attempting to lure us in and entice us to give them a try.  We finally found one with fresh fish on the menu.  We ordered seafood risotto, red wine and pasta this evening and filled our stomachs in no time.  After that filling meal, we were ready to walk.  We passed many churches, a wedding party, gelato shops and an opera house luring tourists in with Vivaldi music.  Eventually, all roads led to Piazza San Marco.  I was shocked when we entered this vast square.  The beauty was undeniable. Music filled the air as a small orchestra played selections from ”Phantom of the Opera” outside a local restaurant for patrons and tourists to enjoy.  I quickly counted five birds walking about.  I had always envisioned flocks upon flocks of birds and was pleased there were more people than birds this evening.  Thank you God!  Reliving a scene from “The Birds” has never been high on my list of things to do.

Piazza San Marco at dusk

It was an amazing feeling to stand in Piazza San Marco and view the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Basilica, the tourists, and the water of the Adriatic Sea lapping the square.  I couldn’t pull my camera out fast enough to capture snapshots of all the landmarks around me while being serenaded by the orchestra in the square.  At the same time, I was afraid that I would lose my little son in the hustle and bustle of the square.  After taking some quick sunset pictures of the exterior of the basilica, palace and square, I noticed how dark it was quickly becoming.  It suddenly occurred to me that I had not seen my daughter in quite some time.  I definitely panicked and held my son’s hand tighter as I started frantically walking the large square looking for my missing daughter.  After a tense and unpleasant exchange with my husband who didn’t feel our daughter was lost (just exploring), I searched the faces of the hundreds of tourists  in the square at dusk that evening for the one familiar female I was desperate to find.  About five minutes later, she appeared with her camera in hand, casually strolling towards me.  I must have looked a little frazzled to her as I lit into her about the importance of not getting lost in another country where she didn’t even know the name of our hotel.  She said, “I know you would never leave without me, so relax.  I’m fine and old enough to explore on my own”.    This is a lesson that I am slow at learning.

Doge's Palace - Piazza San Marco

To appease my ravaged nerves, my family decided to sit a spell at the historic (and overpriced) Cafe Florian and soak up the sounds of the talented orchestra.  The Cafe Florian holds the title of the oldest coffee-house in existence (established 1720).  Shortly after we were seated, they started playing the Zorba the Greek song, and the couple next to us became engaged.    My family deferred to me this evening in an effort to cheer me up following my “Lost in Venice”  meltdown and together we shared the largest and most decadent mint chocolate chip sundae I have ever laid eyes upon.  Yes, it was outrageously priced and I believe covered the cost of the orchestra for the evening.  Yet, it was an extremely memorable experience.  

This was one of those days in life that I will always remember.  From the time I walked out of the train station and took my first ride on the Grand Canal, to the moment I sat and soaked up the essence of the Piazza San Marco, it was an unexpected delight.  The sights, sounds and tastes of Venice were enchanting and shall be remembered until my dying day.  Other than losing my daughter for a brief time in another country, I wouldn’t change a thing about what I experienced this day.  I can’t remember where my hesitation about visiting Venice ever came from.  I wish I had a week to spend exploring the grandeur of this lovely city.  I wish I could see this place during the Venetian Carnival or during Christmas.  

Venice on the Grand Canal

As a little girl who grew up in the shadows of the automobile factories of Flint, Michigan, I never knew that there were places on earth like this that I would one day read about and visit.  As an adult, I have greatly enjoyed visiting the American South and experiencing brief glimpses of our country’s history.  Prior to my visit to Italy, Savannah, Georgia and Washington D.C. were the closest I had ever come to learning about a city with a storied history.  Venice has taken the cake and led me down alleyways and into rooms that I had previously been unable to even imagine.

Venetian Canal

I hope to return to Venice one day.  I hope that the Venetians find a solution to the sinking problem, whether in Project MOSE (an acronym for an experimental model of gates created to hold back the rising Adriatic waters - Modulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico) or some other engineering marvel that allows this historic seaport to continue its extensive history for future generations of mesmerized travelers.  It should be on a traveler’s top ten list of places to explore and discover in person.

My family arrived in Venezia via Trenitalia and disembarked at the Santa Lucia Train Station .

Immediately upon exiting the station you find yourself  just steps away from the Grand Canal where water taxi’s and vaporetto’s are readily available.

Not more than a few minutes into the water taxi ride, I became enchanted with Venice and chose to not disembark at my stop.  Instead my family and I rode along the Grand Canal, under the Rialto Bridge, past the Piazza San Marco all the way to San Giorgio Maggiore Island and back up the canal again just to soak up the beauty and elegance of this delightful city.   These pictures I snapped during my first hour in Venice from the water taxi.  I have shared with you info I learned along the way. 

Venice was founded in 421 AD

Venice is situated on the Adriatic Sea.

Venice is made up of approximately 150 canals and 435 bridges.

Venice meets the Adriatic Sea and is made up of 117 man-made islands and 200 square miles of lagoon.

The buildings were constructed on ancient pilings fashioned from alder tree foundations.  The alder trees came from nearby Slovenia.

The first bridge built in Venice was the Rialto Bridge.  The present bridge we use today was completed by Antonio da Ponte in 1591.

The first Doge (Chief Executive of the Italian government), Orso Ipato, ruled in 726.  The Doge’s Palace pictured above (aka Palazzo Ducale) began construction in 814.

St. Mark’s Basilica at Piazza San Marco was built in 834.  It burned down and was rebuilt. 

Marco Polo was a Venetian merchant.  He traveled from Venice to China in 1271-1295.  His journey inspired Christopher Columbus.

The world’s first ghetto appeared in Venice in 1516.  It is known as the Jewish Ghetto.  Jewish people were locked into the ghetto each evening.  Jewish women had to wear a yellow head scarf and men, a yellow armband, if they wished to leave the ghetto during the day.

Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, a great composer best known for his work The Four Seasons was born in Venice in 1678 and had red hair.

Arthur Symons, a British poet once wrote:

“A realist, in Venice would become a romantic by mere faithfulness to what he saw before him”

High water (called Aqua Alta) is a common occurence in Venice, particularly between October and March.  Bring your boots.

Venice is divided into six neighborhoods: Cannaregio, San Polo, Dorsoduro, Santa Croce, San Marco and Castello.

Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Venice in May 1797.

No buildings in Venice were harmed or destroyed during WWII.

Sadly, Venice has sunk 2/5 of an inch every decade since the 1950′s.

I LOVE VENICE!

Siena Italy

Martin Luther once said, “War is the greatest plague that can affect humanity, it destroys religion, it destroys states, it destroys families.  Any scourge is preferable to it”.

Citizens of Siena, Italy in the year 1348 might disagree with Martin Luther’s statement made a century later.  Half the population of beautiful Siena died that year.  What killed them?  The plague (i.e., the Black Death or bubonic plague).  Siena lost 80,000 citizens as the black plague swept through this lovely medieval town, causing buboes (lumps) to form on the bodies of its victims, as well as great pain and suffering. 

This plague arrived in seafaring towns carried by fleas from rats aboard trade ships entering port in Genoa.  From there it made its way inland to Pisa, then Florence, then Siena by January of 1348.  By late ’48/early ’49, the plague had enveloped most of Italy and eventually Europe.  Twenty million people succumbed to the plague in Europe.  Venice lost sixty percent of its population in just fifteen months.  Milan was most successful at keeping the plague out of its city.  When the first two families showed symptoms of the plague, officials in Milan boarded up the family homes with the sick and healthy family members still inside, forever closing them off from the rest of the population.  Milan escaped with the fewest casualties. 

My day trip to Siena was met with cautious optimism as it meant an hour car ride on the autostrada.    After only four days in Tuscany, we were really becoming acclimated to our surroundings and found our way to the autostrada in no time at all.  Fifteen minutes later, the traffic came to an abrupt halt (in both directions).  People not only stopped, they turned off their cars.  After ten minutes, some began leaving their vehicles for short walks.  To this day, I was not able to discover what shut the highway down that day in both directions, causing us to be re-routed to Siena via back roads. (rumors surfaced of rock slides from the mountains, truck fires up ahead, car accidents, etc). 

Our detour sent my anxiety soaring because we didn’t have a map, couldn’t read the road signs and didn’t know if San Gimignano, Montepulciano, or Montalcino were in the same direction or the opposite direction of Siena.  So, our decision was to just follow the traffic flow.   Luckily, we made our way to Siena and found parking relatively easily, just outside the walled area of town.

Entry to Siena

Walls of Old Siena

Siena is larger than I imagined.  Old Siena requires a great deal of walking to get around.  I spotted very few cars within the walled city.  When we set out on foot that day, I don’t think we really knew where we were going to end up.  Our goal of the day was pure exploration.   The first thing I noticed about Siena was how ancient the city looked.  It truly is a medieval city in a modern age.  You can imagine the panic that must have overtaken Siena when people began showing symptoms of the plague. 

 Some of the ancient churches in Siena (of which there are many) are very old and dark.  The lighting is what one might expect from a medieval town.   The streets are cobbled and uneven.  As I walked down the narrow winding passageways leading toward the Piazza del Campo or il Campo (town square), I noticed many tall doors that look like entryways for giants, wrought iron hitching posts for horses and torch holders built into stone walls, signs of ancient times.

Siena picture taken by Maureen Tangerine blog

 On the pathways leading to the piazza, we passed numerous pasticceria’s (Italian bakeries specializing in almond paste cookies,  sweet spice biscuits, pan forte, and biscotti).  One of the tastiest confections we discovered was what looked like dark chocolate fudge loaded with whole round hazelnuts.  Jack and I really loved this and were forced to enjoy it before the sunshine turned it into a melted mess.  Jennifer loved the cheesy breadsticks and fancy cookies from Pasticceria Bini.  Later in the day we enjoyed a great café latte at Nannini’s.

After a relaxing stroll, we arrived in the Piazza del Campo about 45 minutes later.  It is beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. 

Piazzo del Campo

It is arranged in a semi-circle, like a Roman amphitheatre.  It appears from above to have been designed in a red brick sunburst pattern divided into nine strips of travertine, all flowing downhill.   My husband and son immediately went to the line to climb the circular staircase up to the top of the campanile (bell tower).  Here, you can see the view they had from the bell tower.  Meanwhile, Jennifer and I enjoyed people-watching on the piazza below.

Stairway to top of bell tower - Siena

View from atop the bell tower-Siena

Il Campo

We continued walking and browsing many of the little touristy shops and eventually found our way to some beautiful gardens and the Basilica of San Domenico.  It was here, at this church built in 1226, that my little boy discovered the church had the head and finger of St. Catherine on display in a reliquary (little case).  That is correct, the mummified head and finger of St. Catherine of Siena, on display in a box.  This left quite an impression on a six year old and he felt compelled to walk through and view this sight several times (in Jack’s own words “disgusted disbelief”).

Picture by little Jack outside Basilica San Domenico

Sienna, by the way, is a clay used in pigments.  If the clay is treated with fire, it becomes a rich reddish- brown color.  Children with the big box of Crayola crayons are familiar with the color that takes its name from Siena, Italy.  Our family enjoyed this destination. My daughter and I browsed the numerous jewelry stores in Siena.  I found a few shops with handmade jewelry that resembled what you would see at the Ann Arbor Art Fair.  I am happy to say I brought a little of Siena home with me when I purchased a ring, bracelet and necklace.  Jennifer seemed pretty happy to find a pink rubber watch.  Jack just wanted….gelato!  This was another glorious spring day in Italy in another historical town, unlike anywhere I had previously seen.

 

Me window shopping Louis Vuitton in Florence

 

 

Jimmy Choo's

If anyone has a passion for shoes like the Jimmy Choo’s that Carrie Bradshaw gets to wear when you revisit classic reruns of Sex and the City on cable tv, then one can understand why I can sum up my Florence shopping memories with one picture  (scroll to the end to see).

We awoke this Sunday morning to ongoing drizzle across the valley.  It seemed like the perfect day to stay in the Tuscan countryside, drink coffee, nibble on almond biscotti and read a good book.  However, I knew my days in Italia were numbered.  Being a Michigander, we are used to rain.  No amount of mist, raindrops or heavy downpour would dampen my  Sunday fun day.  Plus, we came prepared for springtime in Italy and packed four “emergency rain ponchos” and one umbrella.  This was going to be a glorious day!

My husband and daughter took an early morning hike into the town of Impruneta to see what a “festa” was like in small town Italia.  They enjoyed what could be compared to a flea market in the town square.  They tried free samples of what my husband calls bread soup in a rich tomato base.  Most excellent, he informed me.  My daughter purchased a vintage watch and my hubby found a vintage ”J” broach for me.  After they returned to the villa, we loaded up our backpack with rain gear and water bottles and walked to the closest bus stop.  Just a short time later, we were heading to Florence on the 12:15 bus with no driving or parking concerns for the day.  The bus trip was less than €2 each way and we were able to sit high above the street and enjoy scenic drop-offs, rainy rainbows over the italian countryside and complete comfort as the bus driver squeezed around tight corners, often crowding the tiny cars heading “up the mountain” into Impruneta.  The following picture that David Rocco, a Cooking Channel host, recently shared on his Facebook page was taken during a trip he took to the Amalfi Coast.  This picture best shows what it is like for small or large automobiles to share the narrow italian roads with buses.  The hilly roads of Tuscany are quite narrow and trips up and down can be harrowing (much like this picture).

Twenty minutes later, give or take a few,  we were dropped off in downtown Florence.  Despite the tight squeezes, I prefer bus and train travel in Italy compared to fending for ourselves in a rental car.  

Shopping was the purpose of today’s trip to the city center of the Italian renaissance.  Florence is a wonderful mixture of historical attractions and outstanding shopping that ranges from H&M to Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo and the Disney Store.   Just as the museums have something for everyone’s taste, so does shopping.  First stop this day was the Florence Ferrari Store.  This store was bright red and white and very eye-catching.  The shop was crowded with people from all over the globe speaking many different languages.  Truthfully, many of these folks seemed overly eager to drop a load of dough on armfuls of red Ferrari t-shirts.  For me, I stood in a very lengthy line just to purchase a red Ferrari ball cap for a very special someone from Flint, Michigan (the other Renaissance capital and my birthplace-haha).

Jennifer, Tom and I walked in and out of many small stores selling their crafts made on site:  jewelry, leather belts, purses and wallets, stationery, serving trays and home decor.  Beautiful as many of these goods were, we had no place to store or transport the beautifully gilded pictures, vases, chairs, tables, or plant stands.   Although I did pack one rolled up duffel bag to transport goodies back home, what we did purchase had to be small, compact and easy to roll and stow.  We soon found ourselves at the Mercato Nuovo.  This landmark  is a 16th century, semi-enclosed, open air marketplace that sells everything you could possibly associate with Florence (with the exception of high fashion):  tapestries, leather gloves, souvenir t-shirts, soccer jerseys, lace doilies, purses, etc.   I immediately purchased matching brother/sister I LOVE ITALIA t-shirts from a vendor along with a tapestry of Florence.  Meanwhile, my little son became mesmerized by the crowds around the Fontana del Porcellino (fountain of the piglet), a 16th century bronzed swine fountain.  Crowds stand around and take turns rubbing the bronzed head of the swine and insert coins in its mouth.  As the water trickles out of the mouth, the coin is launched upon release, and the water pushes the coin into a grate in the ground.  Legend has it, anyone who rubs the snout of the swine while their coin falls through the grate will return to Florence.  If legend is correct, I should be heading back to Florence one day and Jack, well, he placed his coin in the pig’s mouth multiple times before the water finally pushed it through the grate.  Guess he’ll spend some time trying to get back.   Florence does donate the proceeds from this fountain to local charities.  

Il Porcellino

I had a great day of shopping.  I went into many designer stores:  Gucci, Dolce and Gabbana, Prada, Bulgari, Chanel.  Window displays often had items ranging from €300-€600.  Of all the delicious fashions I witnessed, the one that best defines my Florentine shopping experience were these precious beauties.   As I said early on, I’ll always call these shoes (and purse)  “the ones that got away.”   In another place and time, this Cinderella would have worn these shoes and taken this purse to the ball.  I think Carrie Bradshaw would have agreed with me (or at least Sarah Jessica Parker would).  Perhaps Il Porcellino is right;  I will return to Florence again and will purchase these in the vintage section on my next trip.

My Florentine Cinderella Shoes

Believe me when I say this was a day spent under the Tuscan sun.  After our frenetic pace of exploring Florence and Rome over the past week, this day was our day to soak up Tuscany and all it has to offer.  Little did I know as I woke up this morning and enjoyed my coffee on the patio, that this day of relaxation would become one of my most memorable in Tuscany.

With the time change between the US and Italy being six hours, I was often the first person awake every morning and often felt I was up with the roosters.  I especially loved when my little boy would join me outside and start crowing in response to the roosters.  As funny as it sounds, the roosters would reply to his every “crow”.  Cock a doodle doo he would echo down into the valley, hopefully not awakening the other guests at the Villa.

Pool at Relais Villa L'Olmo

This day was the day my daughter had dreamed of since the first time I told her we would be taking her to Italy to celebrate her college graduation.  When I asked her what she most wanted to experience in Italy, she said complete and total relaxation in Tuscany and laying in the sun beside a pool.  Well, today was her day!  No buses, no reservations, nothing but the pool and the countryside.  After her recent graduation from the University of Michigan, it was no surprise to me that she was exhausted, having just finished up classes and exams and earning a double bachelor’s degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology and Spanish.  No surprise here, the first thing she did this morning was head to the pool.  The sun was hot and the pool was cool.

On our way to Impruneta

After a day spent poolside, our thoughts turned to thirst and hunger.  We decided to take a short ride into Impruneta and visit our favorite little grocery store, the Coop.  The Coop is just a short walk away but we knew with groceries and a six-year-old, we could have our arms full if we tried to walk it.  All four of us loaded into the adorable Alfa Romeo and off we went.  Less than a quarter-mile around the bend, we passed townsfolk standing on the sides of the road smiling and waving at us.  Did I hear cheering?  The closer we got to the city of Impruneta, they began cheering and waving at us and the crowds grew larger and louder.  We started to feel like out-of-town royalty or the beauty queen on a hometown parade float.  What in the world and why in the world were these people cheering on our little Alfa Romeo as we made our way to town?

In no time at all, we discovered what the fuss was all about!  As we rounded a hairpin turn, we spotted sporty little race cars, convertibles, and some strange looking clown cars, heading right at us at very high speeds!  I immediately started to hyperventilate and yelled a few choice phrases.  We soon realized as we entered Impruneta to crowds of flag waving, cheering men, women and children that we were caught up in a european road rally.  Need I say more?

The Novaks from Michigan appeared to be the only car on the road heading in the wrong direction smack dab in the middle of a road rally.  All I wanted was one relaxing day in Tuscany with no driving stress, no passenger panic and complete and total bliss.  Instead, we took a leisurely family drive to the store for food and wound up in the middle of a high-speed race.  Cars were heading toward us, steering around us, often smiling, waving and honking their horns in blissful glee as the townsfolk cheered them on and waved and greeted us like long-lost relatives from Sicily (or Brad and Angelina – ha ha).  Once again, we were giddy with laughter and somewhat shaking our heads in disbelief about the situation we found ourselves in.   In the city center of Impruneta we pulled over and parked.  Before long, we noticed other locals pull into the race and steer to wherever they needed to go.  It appeared it was the norm for the road rally to occur while people conducted business as usual.  I think we were the only ”visitors” in town who didn’t know this.  Even as we walked the streets of Impruneta, the locals were incredibly friendly.  Photographers stopped taking pictures of the road rally when my daughter approached and began taking pictures of her.  It was a real paparazzi moment.  A local little old woman greeted my daughter as she approached by proclaiming “bella” and when I reached the old woman she grabbed my hand and said “Mama Bella”.  I smiled, and wanting to hug her, just walked on, not knowing what to say!  So many times during my trip to Italy I wish I could have conversed with these beautiful Italian people!

Impruneta, Italy

We made it to the Coop, purchased far too many groceries, and returned back to Villa Relais L’Olmo and another home-cooked meal.  Pasta, sauce, bread, wine, fruit and cheese made a perfect meal.

We had a chance to rest our feet for the day.  This was good because Siena and Florence were on the horizon for the next few days.  Back into the car we went for another european vacation adventure.

Still smiling after a day at the races!

Viewing the masterpieces of great artists in Florence can be incredibly inspiring.  On the other hand, it can leave you feeling exhausted and unable to focus any longer.  That is how my family felt after visiting the Accademia and the Uffizi in one day. 

After a full day of cultural immersion in the heart of Firenze, the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, it was time for lighter fare.  Dinner was at the top of the list.  It is no surprise that we ended up at the Piazza della Repubblica (literally the city center from ancient times) and not far from the Uffizi.  Sometime in the late 1800′s, some ancient buildings were torn down and the “new” piazza was introduced to the city.  An arch, completed in 1895, overlooking the piazza bears  this inscription: 

 ”Lantico centro della citta de secolare squallore a vita nuova restituito” (the old city center from its past squalor was restored to a new life).

Piazza della Repubblica

The piazza drew us in because it appealed to every member of our family.  The large rectangular piazza is surrounded by restaurants and cafes, shopping, a carousel, street entertainment and small carts and vendors selling leather goods,  paintings, scarves, t-shirts and Italian souvenirs like mini statues of David, magnets of the Coliseum and shot glasses showing the Duomo.  Jack took a twirl on the timeless carousel while Tom and Jennifer purchased leather journals from a vendor.  

Afterwards, Jennifer and Tom enjoyed a visit to the H&M.  It was several stories and had many european items for men and women that we just don’t see at H&Ms in the states.  This was one of the first times I saw my husband embrace shopping and purchase a number of items for himself.  

Jack, Tom and Jennifer approaching the Palazzo Vecchio

It didn’t take us long to find a little restaurant right off the piazza with immediate seating.  Note:  servers in restaurants throughout the touristy areas regularly stand at the front entrance encouraging tourists to come to their business.    This is especially true if you are walking around with a young, attractive woman like my daughter.  Waiters literally beg you to come to their establishment.  One time when we relented and were seated, we found all the back room workers come to the front of the restaurant and stand around the doorway sneaking peeks at our table and taking turns to bring the table items we might need (extra napkins, more bread, a refill of water).  We would giggle because the attention was a bit overwhelming, but not uncomfortable in any way-just entertaining.  

As we felt we were always in search of the perfect dining establishment, we often passed many restaurants in search of a great discovery.  All I can say is that sometimes our choices were a hit and sometimes they were a miss.  This evening’s choice was just right.  The house wine hit the spot, the bruschetta with pâté was tasty and the seafood pasta a wise choice.  I’d say the pasta was the perfect choice, but my husband debated this day between the Tuscan T-bone and the pasta for some time.  He went with the pasta.  When he excused himself and went to the washroom, a waiter brought out a very, very large Tuscan T-bone to serve the couple at the table across from us.  It was a sizzling gigantic masterpiece.   The waiter prepared it table side by slicing the meat from one side of the t-bone and placing it on a plate, then slicing it into bite size pieces for the lady and then repeated with the meat on the other side of the bone for the man.  The aroma was overwhelmingly delightful to the senses and made me so glad that my husband was not around to witness what he missed.  I had heard that Tuscany was well-known for its steaks and now I understand why.

Piazza we almost drove into (note horse drawn carriages).

My little son, ever excited about the possibility of dessert, insisted that when we leave the restaurant we head to the closest gelato shop.  Shortly after leaving our restaurant we found a lovely looking gelato store, Gelateria Lorenzo on Viale del Sole, not too many steps away from the piazza.  We were in the middle of ordering, when a determined woman (I won’t say Italian woman even though she spoke the language) barged into the shop and placed her order between my husband and son’s and mine and my daughter’s.  It was almost as if she were a member of our family, like our grandma,  the way she slid right in there and ordered without waiting for our family to finish.  The most insulting part was that the gelato worker fulfilled her order, accepted her payment, and sent her on her way.  This was the only time we encountered this degree of rudeness on the entire trip.  If this poor excuse of a woman was so desperate for her cup of gelato, then by all means serve the slob and let her go on her way.  I told her she was rude and left it at that.  There, take that.  Unfortunately, she probably does not even know what the word rude means.   This was a disappointing experience and left me announcing to the family that I think my gelato was made with powder and tasted bad.  I said ”Lets make it a point to never frequent that shop ever again – as if we are in the neighborhood every other week.”  Even if the gelato was not made with powder, the experience in that shop soured the gelato and made it hard to digest. This was in stark contrast to the “Old Bridge Gelateria” in Rome. That gelateria, just across from the Vatican, was the best we had while in Italy.

As the sun was beginning its descent in the sky, I became anxious to return to our car and make the journey up the mountain and back to our villa before dark.  We walked from the Piazza della Repubblica about thirteen blocks to the Viale Rosselli.  We spotted the gelato shop that called the taxi for us and soon found the underground garage where we parked.  A few minutes later, we drove up the steep incline and spotted a single closed gate across the opening.  As there was a pole with a slot for what we assumed was our credit card and parking ticket, we first inserted our ticket and then our credit card.  Nothing happened.  Being the intelligent Americans that we are, we did this several more times, with no response.  While I considered the prospect of my husband ramming the gate with the rental car in order to get us “home” before dark, he pushed the silver button.  Si (yes) a man said.  Parla inglese (do you speak english?) my husband asked.  No – No we heard.  My daughter yelled out Parla espanol? No-no the man said.  Lets just say our italian language skills did not work well at this time.  We tried to explain that we were inserting our credit card and the machine did not want to take it and we were trapped in the parking garage.  The voices (there were three italian people talking) on the other end of the intercom could not understand us and they were speaking soooo fast we could not understand them.  We were experiencing a true language barrier and it was essentially stand-off time.  Sitting there in silence for several minutes, thankfully with no cars behind us, the three of us (I don’t think Jack, my little boy, was paying attention to this) were contemplating our options.    For some reason my mind kept returning to gate crashing.  Suddenly, up the gate flew and I told my husband, lets get out of here-put this car in drive and go.  As soon as he exited, he pulled over and said he needed to find a place to pay for parking.  My daughter and I convinced him otherwise and off we went.  Due to language barriers, I think this one was on the house and the three voices on the other end of the intercom were just glad we were gone.    

Off we drove, into the sunset.  We did, indeed, make it home just as the sun sat.  It was time to try another bottle of wine.  This evening it was a Santa Cristina Tuscan wine.  It is mostly Chianti and the vintner mixes in 10% Merlot to soften the flavor.  Nice!

 

Dusk in Impruneta

Overall, this was a beautiful day.  Driving and parking proved to be stressful once again.  The museums were awesome.  The shopping – awesome.  The food – awesome.  Every detail, except one hussy in a gelato shop, was perfect!  Tomorrow would be another wonderful day in Tuscany and our plan was to stay home, lay by the pool and relax for the day.  Oh, and sample more Italian wine!   Buona Sera!

The day we were looking forward to with great anticipation had arrived!  The day was to include a visit to the incomparable, palatial Uffizi Museum and the unpretentious, unassuming Accademia.  The only part of the day that we were not looking forward to involved the drive down the mountain (as I call it) to Florence.

An unexpected sight outside the Uffizi with my son!

That morning, and each subsequent morning in Tuscany, we awoke to the sound of roosters crowing  in the distance.  It began at daybreak each day and was not annoying in the least.  It was rather old-world and charming.  Also, we slept with the shutters wide open and had no window preventing the refreshingly clean Italian breeze from entering our loft.  After hearing the unusual siren scream from Rome still echoing in my head, this was a pleasant way to awaken each morning.

After a quick breakfast and pre-arranged reservations to see Michelangelo’s “David” at the Accademia scheduled for 11am, we courageously piled into the Giulietta for our fifteen mile drive into town – Florence, that is.  As we embarked, with the experience still so fresh in our mind of the previous day’s disoriented drive, our plan for the day was to finding parking near, but not inside, the city and take public transportation the remainder of the way.  

Which brings to mind that old cliché: “the best laid plans of mice and men oft’ go awry.”   This is putting it accurately.

Upon exiting the autostrada we quickly became disoriented and found ourselves twisting and turning down narrow, steep hills and turning into alleyways.  We knew we were approaching Florence, however, when we saw traffic become quite heavy, parking become extremely scarce and the number of vespas pick up.   Honestly, there were no free parking spaces to be found on the outskirts of  Florence. 

In a nutshell, I learned upon my return to the U.S. that Florence has different degrees of parking spaces:  yellow lined spaces are handicap spots, white lined spaces are for residents and require a resident permit and blue lined spaces are for visitors/anyone.  No blue to be found.  Paranoia about getting too close to the city, disagreements about parking in residential zones and the general feeling of being lost, combined with the pressing reservation we had at the Accademia at 11, left us feeling frazzled.  We soon realized we were not going to make it to the Accademia in time.  Ciao David!   It was nice to have been so close to seeing the real you – perhaps next time!

Along came an older,  handsome, well dressed Italian man (picture Ralph Lauren).  As he approached on the sidewalk, my husband jumped out of the Giulietta and into action, speaking quite good Italian.   Do you speak English, my hubby asked.  Little - not much, the distinguished man said.  My husband, relying heavily on the Italian CDs from the library he had honed his language skills on during long drives into Detroit for work, started to speak the language before my very eyes.  I was quite impressed.  He tried out many phrases (I could tell, even though I can’t speak a word of the language and was embarrassingly perplexed the first time someone used Buongiorno on me in Rome).  Essentially, he told us about an underground parking garage not too far away and how to enter the curved ramp tunnel that leads down into it.  Thankfully we found it (at 11am coincidentally).  From there, we walked into the closest gelato shop, not for the gelato – much to my little one’s dismay- but to ask them to call a taxi for us.

The taxi arrived to save the day.  Literally five minutes later a taxi pulled up and carted us off to the Accademia, despite the fact that we were late for our date.  One item to note:  the taxi driver informed us in pseudo italian-english, that as a taxi driver he is allowed to drive down streets that private car owners are not allowed on thereby getting tourists around town faster than say, the bus.  He was worth every euro we paid him.  He dropped us off about a block from the Accademia and when we arrived, we explained the situation to the Accademia doorman standing guard at the door.  Once again in Italian, he told us to “stand over there.”  I didn’t really know what over there was, whether it was a line for late people or a line for people who must return later, but we did as we were told without asking another question and about five minutes later, found we were the first people in line for 11:30 entry.  I love Italy……they had no problem at all with our tardiness, much to my highly stressed-out relief.

The next couple hours at the Accademia were magical.  After seeing more than our fair share of fourteenth and fifteenth century Jesus, Mary and  Joseph masterpiece paintings at the Vatican Museums, we were once again treated to several more.  We also saw an unforgettable sculpture called “The Rape of the Sabine Women” by Giovanni Bologna.  The sculpture in Italy is unlike any sculpture I have ever seen previously.  The intricate details bring the pieces to life.  After we spent a few moments running our fingers around the rim of some two thousand-year old musical instrument to “make it sing”, we walked into a room with a long hallway that led to what we were waiting for.  The David by Michelangelo is everything we thought it would be and so much more.   

In 1501, at the age of 25, Michelangelo began working on a seventeen foot tall piece of marble that he knew would become the David (from the biblical story David and Goliath fame).  In person, from the vantage point of the viewer, this young man, David, is a perfect sculptural specimen with somewhat large hands and head in proportion to its body.  Not only is the form of this young man perfect, it has veins, muscles and such definition that it appears lifelike.  No pictures are allowed of David, which only adds to its mystical beauty and encourages all of us mesmerized by it to run to the gift shop to purchase every piece of DAVID kitsch imaginable.  I controlled myself and purchased  a postcard that I can share with you.

The Accademia is well worth the visit.  In addition to the David, the Accademia houses many other incredible pieces including an entire ancient sculptural indoor patio, as I would describe it.  One of the sculptures that resonates with me was a lifelike mother laying on a sofa with her hand on her little boys head saying good-bye to him for all eternity, then dying.  If the David did not tug at my heartstrings enough, that sculpture reduced me to tears.

Upon exiting the Accademia, we were exhausted and could not fathom how we would have the attention span to fully appreciate the Uffizi that afternoon for our 3pm reservation.

Luckily we passed a little sidewalk cafe not far from the Accademia that was serving some enchanting brick oven pizza and sandwiches with immediate seating availability.  As we sat there, I couldn’t help but notice while I waited on our pizza, a delicious looking delight was being served to the masses.  This is what it looked like:

Tiramisu Florence Style

This was truly a unforgetable Tiramisu dessert, much like the coffee in Rome.  We each had our own bowl…no sharing today!

Refreshed and well fed, we were ready to conquer the Uffizi.  The Uffizi Gallery was built in 1581, originally housing bureacratic offices.  Our visit revealed room after room after room of fascinating historical antiquities.  The names of some of the rooms alone reveal the treasures found within: Lippi, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael and Andrea del Sarto, Rubens, Rembrandt and the list goes on and on.  In a word – OVERWHELMING!   In another word – IMPRESSIVE!  The museum tour begins in the first room with thirteenth century Tuscan paintings and continues on through the ages, ending with great european masterpieces from the eighteenth century.  My six-year-old had a few of his own comments to describe his experience – “I believe I have seen some of these paintings at the Vatican Museum”.  Upon further review, he was correct.  The Uffizi and Vatican do have some form of consortium agreement and exchange originals and copies of masterpieces (paintings and sculptures).  My son was correct that he saw duplicates on display between the two museums.  Not a bad observation from a small child.

Birth of Venus

Spring (Primavera)

There were so many memorable works of art on display at the Uffizi.  The standouts in my opinion were “The Birth of Venus” and ” Spring (Primavera)” by Botticelli and Leonardo’s “Annunciation”.  I recommend the Uffizi Gallery for families with members of all ages.  As they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and at the Uffizi Gallery, there is a little something that will resonate with everyone.

Santa Maria Novella Church in Florence

The day was not yet over and we still had so much more of Florence to discover.

The day we took the train from Rome to Florence and rented a car in Florence to drive into the Tuscan countryside was a day full of drama, adventure and navigational challenges, to say the least.

The Roma Termini (Rome Train Station) is nice:  easy to locate, navigate and lots of nice shopping while you wait for your train.  We took the train to the Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station (Florence Train Station).  The ride was smooth and very comfortable.  Since we were travelling with a six-year-old we chose to travel with first class reserved seats on Trenitalia.  After complimentary soda pop and our choice of some cheap champagne or wine served in plastic mini glasses, we arrived in Florence just two hours later.  The train travelled very fast through mountains and over some of the most beautiful landscape and hilly, green countryside I have ever seen in my life. The homes, the farms, the campaniles in the distance and the green, green fields were refreshing to see after leaving the cityscape of Rome behind.

Tuscany from the train

Taken onboard Trenitalia enroute from Rome to Florence

 

I found the Florence Train Station to be a little dated and depressing in comparison to Rome’s.  We waited there with the luggage while my husband navigated the side streets of Florence on foot over to the Avis car rental agency, a few blocks away.  A short time later, he drove up in an Alfa Romeo Giulietta.  Cute car!!

Our Alfa Romeo Giulietta

This is where the real fun and excitement began on the 12th of May.  Shortly after jumping in the car and driving away from the Florence Train Station (literally minutes), we found our GPS did not connect to the lighter in the Alfa Romeo (the connection was not the same as in the US).  We were not prepared for this but knowing the GPS has some battery charge, fired the GPS up and prepared ourselves for detailed directions to Tuscany from the streets of central Florence.  This did not happen.  The GPS began ”Acquiring Satellite” and entered this mode and stayed that way the entire time we were in the historic and heavily congested downtown area of Florence, Italy.  Right out of the train terminal, we turned right when we should have turned left, and ended up on the narrow, cobbled, pedestrian-crowded streets of old Firenze.  At one point we looked up and found we were in the shadows of some enormous structure.  As it turned out, we were looking directly up at the Santa Maria del Fiori, more commonly known as the Duomo.  As we approached a public square, we were encircled by crowds of people and some were pointing to a sign in Italian that I could not read.  Later, we found out that it said no autos in the piazza.  At this point, the only way out of this location was in reverse through a crowd of hundreds.  After several more rather comical mistakes, we were on our way.

It took some time for us to find our way out of Florence and navigate towards and over the Arno River and onto roads leading to Tuscany.  A few helpful Italians told us to follow the signs to Siena to get to where we were going, a little town about fifteen miles outside Florence called Impruneta.  We stumbled upon a park along the way, the famous Piazzale Michelangelo,  along Viale Michelangelo overlooking Florence.  What a sight to behold, and to think we just stumbled upon it while lost.  We stopped and walked around and met a young couple from San Francisco who took our picture and saw one of the town’s “Davids” overlooking Florence.  After we finally made our way out of Florence (we now understand why Rick Steves and a few friends of ours told us not to drive in Florence), the GPS started working.  It began taking us on a strange course, often leading us to one-lane dirt roads leading up mountaintops.  It didn’t take long for us to ditch the GPS and follow the signs on the major autostrada.

Overlooking Florence and the Arno River

One of Florence's "David's"

Bridges over the Arno River, Florence

We were booked to spend five nights and six days in Tuscany at the Relais Villa L’Olmo, close to the little town of Impruneta.  It was a relief to finally arrive at this destination.  No one really wanted to get back in the cute little Alfa Romeo after the twisting and turning drive to the top of a hill that overlooks the great valley below revealing the Chianti region of Italy.   Every beautiful picture of  Tuscany that I ever saw just scratches the surface of the beauty of this area.  The rolling olive trees,  twisting grape vines, and beautiful flowers in bloom were a welcome sight after springtime in Michigan.  We quickly unpacked and decided to not go anywhere that evening but to a local supermarket to buy some staples to take us through the next few days.  This was our home in Tuscany:

Villa Relais L'Olmo in Impruneta, Italy

Our visit to the ”Coop” (grocery store) in Impruneta was beyond my imagination.  Fresh produce, bread, baked goods and seafood surrounded us, not to mention the wine selection.  We purchased grapes the size of balls on a pool table, strawberries that tasted like they did from childhood and were enormous in size, and seafood unlike anything I can purchase at my grocer in Canton.  We spent many euros (even though the store was a bargain).  We paid a few euros for bottles of wine and purchased far too many, less than a euro for pasta and sauces, and less than fifty cents for giant bottles of soda pop.  (Sure beats the 5 euros I paid for the Sprite in Rome)  We bought packages of fresh basil and mushrooms as well as some biscotti that we would take home with us. 

We returned to the villa and I can’t believe I made dinner for the family, but it had to be one of the best tasting and most memorable dinners I ever made.  The pasta and sauce with fresh mushrooms, basil and seafood (mussels, shrimp, crab, calamari, baby squid) with a few bottles of wine and fresh bread eaten on our patio.  We pushed the umbrella up at dusk, ate outside and overlooked all of Tuscany that evening on that patio.  This is a moment forever etched in our memories for all of us and a highlight of the entire trip, worth every bit of stress we experienced driving in Florence.   Impruneta’s bell tower rang every hour to welcome our arrival and remind us that we were in another land.  I still cherish the sound of it. 

Although we didn’t want to leave the Relais Villa L’Olmo anytime soon, we had previously booked our visits to the Uffizi Museum and Accademia for the next day.  We all knew when we went to bed that night that a drive back down the mountain, on the autostrada and into Florence was in store for us the next day, but it was too glorious a day to get hung up worrying about what tomorrow would bring.