This afternoon it was just Julia and me, so we went for a walk to check out a few shops and such that I’ve been wanting to go to. One of which was the Caffe Latte. I had high hopes for this place, but unfortunately I was let down in a pretty big way. Everything about this place was terrible. The vegan quiche I ordered was pretty bland (I could have made one 50 times better at home), the woman who runs the place was rude, and watch out for the “table charge” where you basically end up paying a euro for every item brought to the table. I wish I could say great things about this place, but it honestly gives vegetarian/vegan food a bad rap. Oh and the prices were outrageous as well. Booo.

However, I am in love with the interior of this place, which looks like it hasn’t changed a bit in decades.

Julia was a doll all day long and we came home to warm up and play.

and I finally got around to taking my daily photo while Jules was napping. I love the giant windows in my room!

Radicchio and endive salad

Sautéed rapini with onions and red peppers

Nudi with pesto

This little Asian grocer/quickie store is just a block down from where we live so I pass by it often. The name just makes me laugh..

I mentioned this natural fountain area in a previous post, believe it was near the entrance from the rose gardens. While they are very close, this area actually starts the ascent up to Piazzale Michelangelo. The entire walk up is gorgeous, even in the winter. This water was flowing freely just a couple of days ago and now it is mostly frozen..

I just had to throw in this shot, to show that we really have been getting snow! They’ve obviously just had more in the hills!

Lovely little details on the path up the hill.

Gian Marco and I trespassed climbed over a fence into a lot with a crumbling old home to photograph this graffiti.

And then I turned around to find this. So perfect- I think it may well be one of my favorite shots for the trip.

I’m not much of a landscape photographer, as I’ve mentioned, but I think you can understand why the piazzale is such a popular spot among tourists and locals alike. The view is just incredible and I can only imagine how much more so on a summer evening with the setting sun casting it’s golden glow across the city.

San Miniato al Monte

A pot-head in the rose gardens..;) I was hoping to find more roses here after seeing the vibrant ones further down in the city. But, alas, these wilting white roses were the only ones left.

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Highlights:

- Obviously, the breathtaking view from the Piazzale Michelangelo

- Finding this little gem on the way home.

I walked by a random (nothing super special about it) church the other day on the way home and took a peek at the brass(?) plate on the side of it and realized that this church was 900 years old. NINE HUNDRED freaking years old!!! And then I stop and think about how old my apartment building must be. 400? 500? years old. I get goosebumps.

I’m not a landscape photographer. I photograph details in my life and the people I love.. but I have a very difficult time photographing beautiful scenes and have still not given you a wonderful Florence-scape photo.. so I am going to leave you with this video I found from a snowstorm in Florence in 2009. We’ve had less snow than this so far, butt is supposed to snow through Tuesday so I might get lucky with some snow shots.

Snow from Francesco Lepori on Vimeo.

Since it was snowing today, you’ll probably believe that I was stunned to see a few lone roses in a beautiful courtyard that I lost my way into. If there are still roses in the city that are alive, I am guessing there must still be a few roses at the rose garden so I am going to make my way up there ASAP!

The courtyard also had a sad-looking orange tree and this rather vibrant kumquat tree. The word “kumquat” makes me giggle.

Il Porcellino (Italian “piglet”) is the local Florentine nickname for the bronze fountain of this boar. Putting a coin into the boar’s mouth, with the intent to let it fall through the underlying grating, is said to bring good luck and rubbing the boar’s snout is supposed to ensure a return to Firenze, a tradition that has kept the snout in a state of polished sheen while the rest of the boar’s body has turned to a dull brownish.

My sweet beau has asked me to photograph myself everyday while in Florence for a mystery-project that he is working on, hence the near-daily self-portrait posts…

It was incredibly chilly and windy when I left the apartment today to take a quick photo. I arrived at the spot I had in mind and realized I left the attachment piece for my tripod at home. To heck if I was going to walk all the way home, so I tied my camera to the tripod and balanced it on the head of the tripod, leaning my camera on a glove to get the right angle. Dangerous- but it worked. I got so many funny looks. OH well.

Like my pretty purple scarf? My momma gave it to me for my Italy trip. Thanks Ma.

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Highlights from the past few days

- Making a fool of myself at the post office…but someone managing to ask for stamps to mail 2 postcards and 2 cards to the states in my ape-italian.

- Going to the Billa for healthy snacks and leaving with rosemary Pringles, Ferrero Rocher and then eating them with a glass of pinot grigio.

- The two guys riding tandem on a single bike…using a dog squeaky toy as a bell. I laughed out LOUD in the middle of the street. Maybe you had to be there.

- Andy bribing Julia to scoot down the stairs with a piece of dirt.. Again, maybe you had to be there.

- When arriving in Italy, we joked that the Italians would gush over fine North Face suit jackets and sleek Carhart work trousers like Americans might gush over Italian made shoes and purses. Little did we know that Carharts are sold here.. but in compelete Italian style. HELLO, Carhart skinny pants. I’m not joking.

- Not wearing a watch for the past week. Not needing to know what time it is. Not caring what time it is.

- Learning to say “put your crocodile on the table” – (mettere il suo coccodrillo sulla tavola).

- Learning to say the word “penne” very carefully/quickly because if you slow it down to pen-ne, you are saying the male body part that rhymes with schmenis.. or if you prefer, penis.

I was reading in the Florentine (a bi-weekly free newspaper printed in English) this evening and oddly enough, there was an article about culture quirks- and one that was quite fitting for this ridiculously cold weather.

Number 3 of the list of ” Italian Truisms” was that Italians dissdain air conditioning and fear “cold breezes”.

“That’s right. They look at a scarf like others might look at vitamin C. Italians can’t stand air conditioning and are frightened of cold breezes. Yes, I’m talking about the infamous colpo d’aria. To defend against unwanted gusts of air, I believe, they wear fashionable neck scarves, which has the added perk of making them look great. So, is cold air a threat to health? And do the scarves help? An investigation into the oh-so-attractive subject of mucous gives us a very plausible scientific explanation. Mucous’ main function is to protect against bacteria and viruses, but when we’re exposed to cold air, mucous thickens. (Try not to think of that the next time you bite into the filling in your brioche.) Viruses, hunting for naked necks, will have an easier time making it to the lungs if the cold mucous isn’t working efficiently and effectively trapping the virus. Dr. Alan Greene, a clinical professor of pediatrics at Stanford University, explains that if a virus is present in the air, ‘it is more likely that an individual will become sick if he or she has been breathing cold air.’ Next time you pass one of the thousands of scarf shops in Florence, maybe you should think about your hard-working mucous and get yourself one. But make it pretty. Second only to colpo d’aria is the Italian fear of bad fashion sense.”

Today we decided to hit up Ruth’s Kosher Vegetarian Food for lunch. I saw a flyer for it in the Anglo-American bookstore last week and it is just a few blocks away.

Julia loved the dreidels…

I loved the blintzes..

I was looked upon as a fool for taking this photo as everyone who walked by looked as if they were headed straight for Antarctica.

(from the “Hey Wake Up!” book we read to Julia)

My bed and my teeny-tiny alarm clock from the previous post. Those who really know me would be surprised that the quiet little beep that it puts out ACTUALLY wakes me up.

We have a pretty good routine going so far.. and it goes like this:

Do a little laundry…maybe.. on a good day.

Then we head out for the morning to buy food for the day.

This is around the corner from our building on the way to the market.You can faintly see the Duomo in the middle of the photo.

We often pass interesting characters- like this chick with dreads- and old, pretty bikes.

My favorite outdoor vendor at Sant’Ambrogio. His is the only stand that gets any light and the morning sun draws me to him.

That and his greens are lovely.

More greens and glowy light.

Sometimes there is a spice vendor. On this day I ordered origano and anice without butchering anything too badly.

I still have a hard time understanding the vendors when they tell me how much I owe unless it is an even amount… oh well, practice makes perfect, I suppose.

After the market, on the way home, we hit the forno to pick up bread for the day. It is super cheap! A large Italian bread is little more than a Euro.

After the market we usually head home and let Julia play and relax for a bit. If she hasnt napped in the Ergo then we’ll try to convince her to take one when we return.

After making a large salad and/or other snacky things for lunch we head out again to see the city.

Monday, I took Andy to see the route I had run earlier in the morning. I ran along the river on the sidewalk a bit, then found a dirt path right at the edge of the water

You can see the path here. I ran along it for a half mile or so and then crossed the bridge in the distance to the other side of the river, ran up to the previous bridge, then home.

Someone obviously decided that green is THE color for shutters. Seriously! MOST of the shutters on buildings here are forest green. Also, I have a weird fascination with hanging laundry. I took so many photos like this when I was in Hong Kong. The photo on the right is a couple blocks from the apartment. The used book vendor sits in front of the “mercato delle pulci” or flea market –  Wonder through, old book, bric a brac and furniture stalls, where you can find almost every kind of item from old clothes to telephone cards.

After doing some reading, I think we were near the entrance to the rose gardens. There were the rows of ancient “arches” built into the side of a hill with water naturally flowing out of little fountains and down into pools at the base of the “arches”. It was so beautiful, but I had a hard time take a photograph that could really show the beauty. I’m looking forward to heading back over the river next week when the snow that we may possibly get melts.

Il Ponte Vecchio

My “Sartorialist” picture. Will definitely be doing more of these. Especially one with my hot new red stiletto pumps.

Another view from my bedroom window.

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Today’s Highlights

- Unintentionally sleeping until after 10 and when we finally were ready to go, we walked down our 53 steps and into the biggest garage-sale/antiques market I’ve ever seen. It probably took up 3-4 blocks

- The very futuristic and mini (and I mean mini) electric car hooked up to an charging station in the piazza where the antiques market was held. Juxtaposition at its finest.

- The 2-inch alarm clock that Susan and Andy came home with this evening as a gift for me. Quite possibly the most adorable thing ever.

I was a tad less ape-like today in that I was able to order 3 (though we ended up with 4) bottles of wine at the enoteca. I also was able to tell the cashier at this little stop-n-go type cafe/cigarette shop what we had ordered so that I could pay for it.

Look! I found a little Italian bambina in my room!

Fresh flowers from the market make everything more lovely

Me -and a sleeping Jules- in front of side door of the Duomo and in the Piazza del Duomo.

*****

Today’s Highlights

- Hearing 2am renditions of ”my heart will go on” by a street player with accompaniment by stumbling drunks leaving the bar

- Debasing some of the most famous Renaissance art of all time by putting such phrases as “hold still – let me fart on your head” and “kneel here while I put my balls in your face” in the mouths of those depicted in sculpture. (ps. it really looked like they were performing such actions)

- The very much Italian man at the market -selling plastic alarm clocks and random, worthless kitchen gadgets- belting out, loudly, “Jesus Christ. SUPER Star.” (No joke. I about died.)

- Top notch Italian boutiques with sophisticated, ambient music such “Hotel California” and “Tequila Sunrise”. I mean, EVERYONE needs a little American 70s music while trying on Fendi shoes- right?

- Techno/disco cover of “Don’t Worry Be Happy” in the Coin “department” store.

A morning caffe.

Daily market goods. This made our lunch and dinner.

THE best pasta of my entire life. No joke. (uncooked in picture)

“Le fragole hanno scelto fresco dalla foresta.”

Strawberries picked fresh from the forest.

One of my favorite shots so far.

The vehicles here make me double over with laughter at least twice a day.

It is Carnivale season.

Everyday scenes.

“Duo caffe, per favore.”

Sidewalk cafes and bicycles.

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Today’s highlights

-little boy dressed up in a beaver suit at the park

-acting like an ape-person at the market. Apparently I cannot speak Italian OR English and I just go- “uhh.. derrruhh. guhh” and use the stick-out-hand-with-money-and-hope-the-shopkeeper-is-honest method.

- the crazy gypsy lady who followed around the piazza, shaking her cup at us for a full 5 minutes

- first gelatto experience (on crack) = scaldare/warm waffle con nutella e gelatto alla stracciatella (chocolate chip/shavings)

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The market just around the corner from our apartment.

carote

peperoni

Basilica de Santa Croce

The wine shop (also around the corner) sells wine out of these wooden casks. We watched as our bottles were filled with wine, corked, and hand-labeled. The wine we got ended up being less than 4 Euro per bottle.. and that includes the bottle retainer. If we take the bottle back to be refilled, we dont have to pay for the bottle next time- just the wine!

Later in the evening I decided to go for a stroll to see The Duomo. I should have known from the first missed turn that the night would turn out to be a bit of a disaster. I could not, for the life of me, find any of the streets that Google said I should take to get to the cathedral. I walked way longer than the 10 minutes it was supposed to take.. then I walked some more and I still hadn’t found any of the streets I needed to be on. I considered breaking out my first bit of Italian for the day “Scusi, dov’e Il Duomo?”. I’m not even sure that is the correct way to ask for it… but that is what I was going to say. then I entered an intersection and looked to my left and VOILA! PRESTO!

I walked around the entire perimeter, trying to find the best vantage point to take a photograph (the one I saw had scaffolding in front of it) and that is how my night really got screwed up. I circled around the Duomo and ended up in an area I didn’t recognize. Long story short, I ended up in the opposite direction that I needed to be and spent a good hour walking around trying to find my way. I finally stumbled across an English bookstore and bought a map and an Italian-English dictionary. Even WITH the map, it took me another hour or so to get home. The streets are so confusing here.

When I was most of the way home, I stumbled upon a 99 Euro-cent store where I bought a bag of these treats labeled as “trecciole con cacao”. I ate the entire bag the rest of the way home to soothe my flustered self.

The Great Synagogue of Florence and in the background the hillside town of Fiesole.

I let these words guide me.

Population: ??? (I keep finding varying answers from 1,110 to 3,000)

Lovely attributes: quirky little independent shops in the place of chains (I saw none!); Thai, Indian, and Italian food (all of my favorites); vegan-friendly (the coffee shop has hemp, rice, almond AND soy milk); dreadlocks everywhere (ok, I saw like 5); the entire town is walkable; the best little food co-op, yoga studio; rock-climbing, hiking and mountain biking right at your fingertips; ski resort is 5 miles up the road; a non-stop bus into Boulder; secluded in the mountains, but a major airport is very easily accessible (by bus even)…

I could go on and on.

Coming back in town from our looking-for-homes drive there was the amazing view of Mt Meeker and Longs Peak. By the time I got my camera out we were a little too far down the road to get the best view- but it was oh so beautiful.

The cutest town hall building ever.

Coffee Karma. You can credit your friends’ accounts for a free coffee. LOVE.

Wheat, soy, dairy, AND nut free bread? YUM.

I found this amazing blue wall and Joshua happily let me photograph him in front of it.

So handsome I can barely stand it.

These two are my favorites.

He makes me laugh every.single.day. I love this man.