You know you are back in Maui when....

your neighbor drops by with a bag of lychee!



With a removable skin like cardboard,







a texture of a grape,




a taste reminiscent of melon, and a seed like a loquat -- heaven!

That terrific (if goofy) band....

Outside the Pitti Palace, a band of French students entertained for almost 2 hours for spare change.... Enjoy!

Those Baptistry Doors

(Yes, these are the copies, but what the heck.)

Maui

So now we are in Maui, recovering from the bad colds and bronchial infections we got in Italy, and adjusting to the 11 hour time change....

Next week we expect Tom's sister Maggi and husband Bill, and his brother Bob and wife Lee Ann for the Thanksgiving holiday. I'll be test-driving a new camera, so expect some photos of all the festivities.

Florence On Strike!

A couple of days before our departure from Florence, I set out in a rain storm to the far side of town, looking forward to seeing the Museo San Marco, an old monastery that had housed both the evil monk Savanarola and the Medicis (when they were in a contemplative mood). It is known for dramatic frescos by Fra Angelico, and the best examples of his work.

As I approached the piazza in front of the monastery, I had to dodge tour buses for the last couple of blocks. As I walked up to the museum, I noticed groups of people with various types of matching outfits walking along, with a few carrying flags and placards.

Hmmmm....


And then I got to the door of the museum.


Three languages, one message: closed for a strike. Occupational hazard for tourists in Italy. When I stopped a small group of marchers to ask about the museum, they told me that the demonstration about the strike was already over, but since it was almost 11 AM they were going to take the rest of the day off. (By the way, the scribbles you see on the sign were reactions from disappointed museum-goers, also in three languages.)

So no Museo San Marco. So, I took a bit of a detour, and walked through town on the way back to the apartment to finish up all my shopping.



By now the weather had resolved into sunny skies, so I loaded up the ipod for the Rick Steves walking tour, and retraced my steps through town, taking in many of the sights I had already seen, and a few I had walked right by, never dreaming of what I had missed. The Baptistry, tower and church of Santa Maria del Fiore, along with the famous Duomo; the Piazza Republique and its carousel; the Piazza del Vecchio.





One of the many statues in the Piazza del Vecchio.


And then something new -- Chiesa (church) di Orsanmichele, which was originally a grain warehouse, with a loft for storage. Because of its origins, the inside of the church is two bays next to each other, each with an altar, quite different from the cross-shaped interiors of most churches.
A della Robia medallion on the exterior.

You can compare the approach to scupture with this pre-Renaissance saint....

and a Renaissance grouping on another wall.


An interesting altar inside.



The cupid outside the Piazza Uffizi ....


And then back across the Ponte Vecchio, and a bit of packing.




Our final day in Florence it was again raining heavily. Tom and I braved the streets of Florence to return the rental car he had used to get to work. It was not a serene drive -- in addition to rush hour traffic, we also battled the GPS. The GPS was understandably unaware of the construction detours we found, but also seemed entirely unaware of the one way streets. As we ran out of patience, the unit showed us turning right while announcing we were to turn left. Fortunately Tom noticed the parking garage behind us, and we found our way.

Once the car was checked in, we walked to the Science Museum, which is undergoing renovation. It is the home of many models of Galileo's telescopes, as well as a few parts of the real thing. It also houses his real middle finger, raised in salute to the Inquisition.


Then it was back across the river, a quick lunch, a speedy taxi ride to the train station, and the long trek to California.

Almost home again....

After a 40 hour trip (yes forty hours from the time we hopped in the taxi in Florence, to the rain-soaked arrival and transfer to the hotel in the outskirts of Rome, to returning to the Rome airport less than 12 hours later for our departure, to entering the USA in Washington Dulles, to SFO and the cab ride to Berkeley) we have arrived. I suppose we could continue the hour count with the return trip to Maui, but we are too tired to contemplate it at this point.

We still have a few photos and reports of our last couple of days in Florence that could not be posted due to poor wifi along the way, so we'll get to those in a day or two. Meanwhile, a few visits with family and friends, and consideration of a rescheduling of our return to Maui.

Note to self: I can survive a month and change of season and socializing in a reasonably nice outfit with three pairs of pants and four tops, raincoats are a good thing, and never forget the Zicam and sudafed.

More notes to self: it is really cold here in Northern California. The colors were lovely while landing in Washington DC -- we should plan a visit next fall when the leaves are turning, especially now that Washington DC is a more inviting place. (Um, yes we had been planning the leaf-peeping tour of New England when the Florence gig came along....) Martha's visit to Florence was a lot of fun. Wifi is essential....

More later....

Shopping to Beat the Band

On my own today as Tom was working hard to finish his project, I left promptly at 10:30 for Santo Spiritu, a church not too far from our apartment. when I arrived I found the church semi closed, since Mass was going on. Of course -- All Saints' Day. So I masqueraded as one of the parishioners, and took a seat for the ceremony. I recognized quite a bit of Latin, then wondered if it was Latin or Italian -- maybe "Agnus dei" sounds the same in both languages? Anyway, the priest presided alone, without any assistance, and sang the Mass, quite beautifully. Afterward I wandered about snapping a few photos, and then worked up the nerve to enter the sacristy, where a few souls had been drifting in an out. It turns out that is where they keep the Michelangelo's crucifix. It is rumored that he presented it to the monks as a gift in appreciation for their not noticing that he was dissecting bodies to study how they worked.

Lucky things I didn't dawdle anymore -- a rather grumpy monk threw us all out a few minutes later.

This is the Michelangelo crucifix at Santo Spiritu.

So off to my next stop, Santa Maria de Carmine, known as the home of the Brancacci Chapel, containing a frieze of frescoes by the master who rediscovered perspective. And what did I find? Another Mass! So, I adopted my most respectful pose and joined the congregation. Two Masses on one day. I'm set for at least a couple decades.




Unfortunately, it turned out that the chapel requires reservations, even though there are not so many tourists right about now, and the chapel is pretty far down on the must-see list. So I decided that rather than wait to find out, I'd heed the large sign (in English) posted on the door that reservations were ABSOLUTELY required, and move on.

I managed to find the same restaurant we discovered our very first day, and had my third meal there. I was feeling a bit like a regular with my penne, followed by pork chop with sauce and sauteed potatoes.

My next destination was described in my guide book as a department store similar to Penney's, but it was a lot more colorful and lively than I remember Penney's. Martha had been looking for earrings and scarves and such when she was here, and we were within a few feet of this store, but had taken another turn and missed it. Here it was all the time -- Earring and scarf heaven, and not expensive. From there I wandered slowly through town and back across the Ponte Vecchio, which is becoming the normal route. As I approached the Pitti Palace, though, I heard music. Some sort of band. A crowd had gathered, and the band was not only playing but performing, and the crowd was having a great time. The musicians were French, and had put out an instrument case that slowly but surely filled with coins, then paper money. The concert lasted almost two hours, and I was exhausted and I wasn't even playing!

The band, by the way, can be found at http://fanfare.ec-lille.fr/.

A few views from around town:
The two photos below are from the Ponte Vecchio, looking at either direction.

This, by the way, is what the Ponte Vecchio is all about -- wall to wall gold!

Next post I will try to load a video of the band....great fun!