Firenze, Italy

@ossobuco,

ossobuco wrote:

What is the italian for flame roaring from eyes?

Occhi di fuoco (eyes of fire)

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@fbaezer,

Yeah, so don't assume we're not interested or I'll throw you some occhi di fuoco.

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@ossobuco,

I apologize, I re read.

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Yes, do see the Accademia, Dag. Not only is the original David there, but also Michelangelo's "Slaves"...half-finished, look like they're trying to escape from the marble. Fascinating to see the master's chisel marks up close. (You can walk right up next to them.) Many other artworks worth the time, too.

Re: churches...I was very fond of Santa Croce. Wonderful Giotto frescoes plus the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo and so many others. Cenotaphs for Machiavelli, Dante....I could go on and on.

Speaking of pickpockets...the churches are the worst places for them. It's always shadowy inside and people are always looking up. Perfect targets. Take a shoulder bag and put the strap over your head so it crosses your chest. Impossible for them to pull it off that way, so they don't try.

(Sigh.) I wish I was going with you.

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Ossobuco wrote:

Francis, Il Traditore, I'm the loud one, you're the expert.
What would you be checking out if you were Dag?

Obviously, my joke, as often, was a failed one:

Quote:

There is no author who has not sensed the edge of their scythe or shaken with fear at the very idea that a translator took over their work. And there is no one who has said it more clearly than that old Italian ancestor who, enraged and full of apprehension coined a phrase that has been yelled vividly for centuries: traduttore, traditore! ("translator, you're a traitor!").
A necessary evil, though, translation is much more than a task. It's an art of the interpretation; a poetry of the semantic values; a sensible way to approach the content as well as the form, where a greater knowledge of the subject material is often more important than the command of the language.

As so, I cannot recommend any of the extraordinary beauties of the city, it depends on the aesthetic preferences of the visitor.

However, as it seems that Dag prefer the outdoors, I would take a walk on the least touristic parts, starting in Ponte Vecchio and up the hills, passing by the Oltrarno quarter, visiting the Giardino di Boboli and the Palazzo Pitti till the Piazzale Michelangelo.

But it's just me...

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@Francis,

nah, i knew you'd be back to explain it to us who are too lazy to look it up. in slovakia, whenever we don't understand something we say "what's he sayin? is he insulting us?"
eh....that is also a joke...and also gets lost in the translation

i like walking up hills though. ..and gardens....and churches and run down places.... glittery palaces less so - but i'll see one or two.

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@Eva,

eva wrote :

Quote:

Take a shoulder bag and put the strap over your head so it crosses your chest. Impossible for them to pull it off that way, so they don't try.

but someone still managed to open mrs h's handbag and pulled out her wallet while we were on a bus in berlin - luckily not much money in it - but a bit of a nuisance about credit cards etc .
she agreed that the safest place is one of those bags you carry under your shirt - makes your chest bulge a bit , but that's ok .
simply carry the equivalent of $20 - 30 dollars in coins or small bills in a secure pocket - i like the front pockets (velco secured) of cargo pants - not fashionable but pretty secure .
btw berlin was the only place anyone ever stole from us - not south-america , not italy , tunesia , marocco or other countries .

have a great time , dag !
hbg

yes , santa di croce is beautiful !

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@hamburger,

for me it was spain. Madrid and Barcelona - in both they tried to steal things from us. Morocco felt perfectly safe compared to Spain.

but I hear ya, I will be careful..if i can figure out how that's done by then.

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@dagmaraka,

hi , dag !
these lightweight nylon bags are quite handy - when we are in foreign countries we even cram our passports inside .
even going to toronto , i find it handier and much less bulky than a wallet .
sometimes i'll loop the string around my beltloop and put the thingy into my cargo pants pocket - not fashionable but pretty secure .

and walk , walk , walk - i'm sure you are used to cobblestones - you'll be nicely tired out by night - a little vino or whatever and you'll sleep well .
have a great time !
hbg

http://www.wanderfritzen.de/shop/images/84210-590_t.jpg

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Hmmm, the only place I ever felt like anybody might try and steal from me was the European terminal at the Athens airport, and they were wearing uniforms. But this may be a benefit of traveling in a large male body clad in dirty, tattered clothes.

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I've met some zingari, a few times, one of them vulnerably funny for me, when I was bleeding before a surgery - wild fibroid, blood starting to trickle down my leg - and looking desperately for a bathroom walking on the Corso at the wrong time of day for a traveller then... gypsies in filmy attire all about my bag just after I had asked where was a bathroom...

but in time I started to look at the whys, and on and on..

More memories -
A semi fancy restaurant wouldn't let me in.. it was only noon..

a bakery lady told me where to go, but no luck...

so I was vulnerable.

We ended up walking quite a way looking for a caffe, and found the penultimate rich place, via condotti and walked into Caffe Greco.

Well, hey. Tourist attraction, historic place, good bathroom.

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@ossobuco,

Smiles now, years later.. I had no, or almost no, iron stores.

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@ossobuco,

Tomorrow morning, I wake up, pee, take a shower, brush my teeth, put on makeup and clothes...and go to ITALY!!!

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@dagmaraka,

Buon viaggio e divertiti, Dag!

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@Francis,

Merci!

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@dagmaraka,

How exciting! I can't wait to hear about your adventures.

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@dagmaraka,

don't forget the....... camera!!!!!!!!!!

Have a fab time

course you will - yay yay yay Very Happy

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camera charged, cell phone charged, ipod charged, passport packed... clothes not packed yet, but i am DETERMINED to just bring the bare minimum. we shall see how that goes this time.

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@dagmaraka,

<snort>

Buon Aventura! Can't wait to see photos!

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@dagmaraka,

Leave some room in that suitcase, ya hear? I went 28 days without buying any stuff in italy, but blew it on the 29th, in Firenze..

(Oops, I forgot the Lucca tee shirt. And it fits now, littleK.. glad you talked me into keeping it!)

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Firenze, Italy

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