Store Windows

There are interesting store windows to look into in Firenze.  For example, check out the shoes in Salvatore Ferragamo's:

On the sweet side, Easter is just around the corner.

This time of year, everything is ducky.

Need a statue?  Small or large?  No problem. 

For riding about town, one may want to check out a Ferrari.

Although, there are alternatives for getting about.

Hmmm.  The intriguing mask shop of Professor Agostino Dessi.  Recognize that mad hatter on the right?

Some more of the professor's works.

You never know who you might be standing next to staring in a window.

Or at what she might be gazing.

Ciao.



Firenze Sights and Sites

Our apartment is in a neighborhood named after one of its illustrious residents, Amerigo Vespucci, the explorer whose first name was modified and placed on a map as "America."  Amerigo and several members of his family appear in a painting in the nearby Ognissanti Church, also home of a famous Botticelli fresco of St. Augustine.

Amerigo had three brothers, Antonio, Girolamo and Bernardo.  Imagine, if you will, the implications if Amerigo stayed home and one of his brothers had gone off exploring.... North and South Antonio?....The United States of Giro?.... Bernardocan League Baseball?  Sorry.  Here's #3 son, the one who went sailing.

A few more sights, or sites, of Firenze, including the old bridge, Ponte Vecchio.

The enclosed walkway along the top of the bridge is Vasari's corridor, constructed at the request of one of the Medici so that his commute from palace to office (Uffizi) on the other side of the Arno River would be a bit safer.  The small structures on the sides of the bridge used to house butcher shops but, frankly, they stunk, so they were replaced with jewelry shops, which remain today.  Here's a view looking up at the city hall, as it has appeared for many centuries.

And a view of public art in front of the same building.  To the right is the Uffizi, former office building of the Medici, now perhaps the finest art gallery in the world.

By the way, that's only a copy of Michelangelo's David.  The original is indoors down the street.  Although it's off-season, the piazza in front of city hall already is filled with visitors. 

Imagine when things get busy.  Finally, a glimpse of the corner of the Baptistry, the Duomo and Giotto's Campanile (bell tower).

Much to see and explore.  Ciao.

Buon Giorno

Greeting from Firenze (Florence).  We arrived yesterday after a very nice visit with family in New Hampshire.  The Swiss Air flights from Boston to Zurich to Firenze were comfortable with good meals, including Swiss chocolate for dessert.  Our home for a week:

Actually, we're only renting an apartment in the second building from the left.  It's a nice place.  That's the Arno River to the right.  Our front entrance:

Those doors are about 15 feet high.  Not likely to bump one's head going in and out.  We were treated to an excellent welcoming meal by our landlady, Lucia.  Numerous courses were highlighted by a light lasagna, an artichoke torte, omelettes, bread, a bottle of Sassaiolo Rosso Piceno Superiore and for dessert:

Yes, those are fresh strawberries in a rich whipped creme.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Here's a glimpse of a corner of our apartment:

We're heading out soon.  Hope to have more Firenze pictures over the next few days, if not too distracted by the nearby gelato place.
Ciao.

Cartagena, Colombia

Indigenous peoples already had been living in this part of Colombia for thousands of years when, in 1533, Spaniard Pedro de Herdia founded Cartagena de Indias.  Many buildings remain from the past few centuries.

Cartagena has a history of being attacked or plundered, including one 1741 raid involving George Washington's brother (a bit of trivia).  The older part of the city is still surrounded by walls.

A clock tower marks an entrance to the city.

Scenes from colorful older neighborhoods.

Street vendors are commonplace throught the city.  Watermelon anyone?

Or perhaps a coconut?

Plenty of shoeshine business.

While there is much automobile traffic, some still use healthier modes of transportation.

Finally, a glimpse of urban Cartagena wildlife.

And plant life.

Ciao.

Panama Canal

Now nearly 100 years old, the Panama Canal was an extraordinary engineering achievement, although many lives were lost in its construction.  How does it work?  Simply stated, ships traveling between the Pacific and the Carribean (or vice versa) enter locks to raise them to higher water, then travel about 48 miles of waterways before being lowered through locks near the opposite coast.  Here's what it looks like entering a lock.

The gates are opening.

The locks were built to accomodate large ships, by 1914 standards.  The width of this lock is about 110 feet.

Plenty of room to spare, since this ship is only about 105.6 feet in width.  Understandably, rail cars are used to tow ships through the locks, rather than expecting ships to stop, start and navigate a very narrow channel without doing much damage.

Here's a carge ship in an adjacent lock.  Not much room to spare there.  Work is underway to build wider locks for the future.

Looking back over closed gates.

Most traverse the Panama Canal between between the Carribean and the Pacific.  Some follow a shorter route.

From the locks one can see the Bridge of the Americas, a main road through Panama.

A closer look at the bridge.

There's plenty of rugged Panamanian terrain.

One might imagine that the canal runs west-east between the Pacific and the Carribean.  However, because of the way the Panama Isthmus curves, the journey is actually south-north.  Here's another waterway view.

Soon it's lowering through more locks and on to the Carribean.

Ciao.

Under the Golden Gate Bridge & Puntarenas, Costa Rica

It's been a while since I've posted, but we recently traveled south from California and took some pictures.  Here are three posts, first San Francisco and Puntarenas, Costa Rica, second the Panama Canal, and third Cartagena, Colombia.  We set out to sea from San Francisco.

But not before watching a plane fly under the Golden Gate Bridge.

Approaching the bridge from a distance.

Closer...

And closer...

And underneath!

Puntarenas is a west coast port of Costa Rica, a country with much natural beauty, diversity and, I think, the largest nation on earth with no standing army.  Costa Ricans call themselves "Ticos" and enjoy an ecologically rich land of mountains, volcanos, jungles, cloud forests, beaches and welcoming communities, all within close proximity.  Add to that a great climate.  Here is a Puntarenas church on a Sunday morning.

A church window.

Here's an interesting store.

An old but colorful abandoned building.

And speaking of colorful...

Here is "Uncle Carlos' Parking Lot."  Please don't block the entrance!

Finally, some seaside vendors.

Hope to be back soon with Panama and Cartagena pictures. Ciao