If it’s Tuesday I must be seeing what?

I love to travel.  I love to learn.  I love beauty.  However, right now my poor traumatized brain is on cultural overload and I’m not sure how to reconnect the frazzled synapses.  Thank heavens today is a free day and I will use this medium for recollecting, literally re-collecting, my experiences.  As you can see from the picture, we did Venice this week – boy did we do Venice!  I’m very proud of myself in that I didn’t get too terribly lost among the canals and deadend streets and ended up every night in my own bed – I have to claim small victories and make them powerful metaphors.  In other words, being in a new place, learning new things, surrounded by beauty makes finding home so sweet.

8 AM on Monday morning we boarded a bus taking us to the Florence train station and hence on the high speed train to Venice.  Luckily we were guided unto the right Vaporetto (water bus) and down winding streets to our hotel.  We were finally settled at 2:30 with instructions to meet at St. Mark’s square at 3:30.  All we had to do was follow the yellow signs somewhere at each turn – right.  Some were handprinted on whitepaper, do we trust them or not.  Most were missing.  We just followed the crowd and amazingly found our way and arrived at the right spot, on time!

We attacked St. Mark’s church first including a hike up to the upper balcony where we stood with the famous four horses to survey the crowds below.  Then we started walking to view the architecture.   That felt good after the train ride for the first 1 1/2 hours.  Then I hit the first of many walls standing in the way of my physical and mental abilities.  But I persevered valiantly on behalf of boomer women everywhere who don’t want to admit the effects of aging, especially in front of a much younger crowd.

Dinner on our own.  I found a great little restaurant near the hotel where I had the Venetian specialty of squid cooked in its own ink and served with polenta.  Magnificent washed down with the house white wine.  The best part of Venice was a single room with private bath!  Simple pleasures are to be savored.

The Academie was our first stop on Tuesday morning.  I was fortified with a lovely breakfast at the hotel – hard boiled eggs, hard rolls, cheese and salamis.  No amount of food intake can keep up the pace of the sensory intake we received during our 3 hours of viewing Bellini (not the drink, rats), Titian, Tinteretto, and heaven knows who else.  To revive, I headed to the nearest Vaporetto heading out to sea.

Salt air, wind in the face, soft atmospheric surroundings and few tourists.  Heaven.  I ended up on the island of Murano where the famous glass is blown.  More beauty.  More street pizza.  More shopping.  Then I decided it was time to head back to my current reality.

I checked out the Doge’s palace.  I think Tintoretto burned the place down in order to get the commissions of rebuilding the place.  Talk about high renaissance overkill.  However, it was extremely impressive and gave me an appreciation for the greatness of Venice as a world power.  The best part was actually walking through the bridge of sighs.  You can see all the tourists taking selfies while we walked the walk.  Dinner, sleep, another day.

Another church on Wednesday morning.  I think the Italians were lucky.  They  only had to go to their parish church and possibly the cathedral on grand occasions.  We have to go to every fricking church in every town.  They are beautiful, but there is a lot to be said for poor churches that couldn’t afford decorations…we don’t have to look at them!  Then off to pick up lunch, head to the train station and get to Florence, then Pistoia, then the public bus to the Villa.  We arrived at 7, ate dinner, read Robert Browning’s poem on Lipo Lippe, and collapsed.  Another day.

Thursday was an audience with the Mayor of Pistoia and reception.  Classes all afternoon, more art history at 7 and then dinner.  Another day.

Uffizi Gallery.  Need I say more?  If I thought I was wiped by Venice, I was wrong.  Florence kicked my butt yesterday.  3 1/2 hours of nonstop intake.  1 1/2 hours for lunch to recuperate.  Then another 2 hours looking at the Medici chapel and tombs.  Another hour fighting crowds to buy oil paints and then the slow train back to Pistoia.  We left at 7 AM and arrived back at 7 PM.  Dinner, wine, another day.

This morning I hiked up to the monestary we can see above the villa.  Up and above are the key words.  It was about 4+ miles round trip. The air was cool, the company delightful, the view magnificent.  Yes, I huffed and puffed but I made it!!  It helped knowing I have nothing else for this day except this entry – and I definitely see a nap later this afternoon.  After lunch I plan on making a quick chocolate run into Pistoia.  One can only take fruit and cheese for dessert for so long.  This week I added pistachio, pear, and super dark chocolate to my Gelato flavor collection – so there is a small amount of sugar entering my system.

Well, I’m signing off for now.  Tomorrow will be my reflection day.  The rest of today is for restoration of this ancient ruin!