The ABCs of Greece & Italy! X, Y, and Z, and that Friends is THE END!!! :) See you in Asia and Australia, Join Me THERE!!

[Steppesister]

I'll pass on the Malbec, but... yes. Yes it is.

Not a winer, huh?

I find it interesting that all of you were wearing Crocs

The horrors! I haven't had a pair of Crocs since like 2010 or something. Then again, maybe I'll get a pair for work once I graduate. Who knows!

Very nice of her. And... frankly I'm not all that surprised. There are so many nice people out there.

Yes, there really are!

Sure looks like you scored on the digs.

We super did. Although it's hard to choose a favorite of our finds.

I used to do that, but I find I'm starting to slow down a little. It could also be that right now my brain is too full to even contemplate trip planning.

OH dear! But, maybe it's just yourself telling you to slow down!

I'm surprised to see a painting on the outside. Surely it must need restoration on a fairly regular basis.

I think they do that fairly often there. We saw a lot of that in Bologna especially.

I'm thinking there's no way they could have come close to tackling those stairs.

Yeah, no. Mom can hardly get down the front two steps anymore.

That's exactly what that looks like!

Old. Decrepit. Slow.

To this day, American tourists can be found in the Bell Tower, aimlessly wandering. If you listen closely, you can hear the repeated whispers of "I am not walking down those stairs!"

Meanwhile the slops and honey buckets rain from above....

Nah. The bathroom will come to you. Although for some, it Depends.

Heh, the thought of a beside commode ain't too bad now and then. Hernia surgery ain't no joke.

I have seen that and find it fascinating.

Loads in Venice for sure!

Absolutely stunning.

I sure thought so!

Woot!!!

Oh... Wait... You mean statues, don't you.
Well, that's nice too, I guess.

I was counting on you to bite.

 

[Steppesister]

I hope you are feeling better my friend!!

I am really feeling so much better now. Surgery was Saturday and today, Friday, I'm getting around a lot easier and hurting less. Thank you!

I absolutely love your posts on Venice and Florence so far!

Thanks; such fun cities!

These two cities were my absolute favorites to visit! I have been to both several times and would love to go back again someday!

And I sure hope you do, sooner than later!

Thank you for all the beautiful pictures! I do remember climbing those stairs, I was much younger at the time and it was like a death trap!!

It 100% is! What if someone collapses in there?! It'd take SO long for EMS to get in there! Maybe there's a secret elevator!!!


HEY!

I felt like a hundred years old getting to the top and back down!

Yeah, that's what I thought about 100 steps in. LOL!

The Airbnb looks like a perfect place to stay!

It was sooooo nice! I took a nice bath that night and we did some laundry too!

 

[Steppesister]

I've never been on a high-speed train or had Malbec, so I'm a little lost here, but going by context I'm going to guess you like both.

I do, I do! (Malbec, a pretty good red wine.)

WHAT?!?!?! Say that to my face!

With or without my high fashion Crocs on?

Wow, that's great service.

It super was! Very gracious of her. Spoiler alert: She did it on the way back too.

Rope Drop always works! Good to know.

Even in Europe.

Oh man, do I feel this comment.

Heh, I hear it too. Every time I stand up my joints have conversations.

Sigh...there never is.

But that's what makes like interesting and worth it. There's always more to experience and enjoy.

Larry, Moe and Curly.

Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck!!!

I don't know, I feel like I can handle quite a bit.

Well of course you can! Coming up... soon. Ish. Maybe.

 

[Steppesister]

A very quick Real Life Update (RLU)...

Life is slowly returning to "normal" (whatever that is) after my move back to Kentucky. It took me 5 days and 4 nights of sleeping in my car at mostly free campsites to get home. I saw some wonderful sites along the way including the Petroglyphs National Monument near Albuquerque where I got my bucket list snake shot. Absolutely gorgeous little gopher snake all poised up nicely for me. I'll put that photo at the bottom in case you don't like them. I happen to think they are super, super cool!

By the time I got home, my neck was absolutely wrecked even though I thought I'd done a pretty good padding job on my bed in the back. OH well, I'm old and it hurts to move and maneuver anymore.

Got home on the 1st and immediately started in on my first class (of 3) for the term. It ended up being easy and I finally passed the whole class completely on the 11th.


*****Boring stuff about my classes.*****

That was Evidence-based practice, which had me leveling research, analyzing it, and using it to promote a practice change in an organization. My "capstone" project (it was my last didactics course for the Masters portion of my program) was the use of essential oils and aromatherapy in the recovery room/unit for treating post-operative nausea and vomiting. Bottom line? It works.

Since then, I opened up my 2nd class: The Advanced Health Assessment for the Advanced Practice Nurse. I've already submitted 2 of the 4 tasks and know more about the male and female health and physical assessments than I ever thought was possible. LOL! This is the term I must identify my Clinical Preceptorship Sites in and cannot pass this class until I do. There were 3 papers I had to write for another part of the class and I have that done too, just not submitted for grading yet. Basically I'm stuck on that until I can secure at least 2 places and people who are willing to take me on as a student nurse practitioner. UGH. So far I've passed out 8 packets of information and pimped myself, but no luck yet. There are more urgent care clinics and a big clinic group that I'll work on on Monday.

*****End of boring stuff about my classes.*****

THEN, on the 5th I had my gallbladder taken out. It ended up being a far more involved problem than the surgeon thought it'd be and he had to basically carve my sick, under-vasculated organ off of my liver and stomach where it had developed adhesions. I was pretty miserable for about 5 days, but I am much better today and up and around even planting some flowers on my deck. Sitting on my butt studying all day has been good I guess for recovery.

So, that's what I've been up to. When I can't stand one more minute of writing papers and trying to find good research to use, I've been editing photos and organizing them. So I have made progress on this TR, but it has to take a back seat for a bit while I work hard.

OH, did I mention I've been trying to find a job as well? I'm trying to get as much school stuff done so I can take a travel contract by the end of June and I also have an interview at my local hospital for a per diem job on Med-Surg.

So, lots of irons in the fire for sure!!! So be patient, stay tuned, and hopefully another chapter soon.

 

[pkondz]

Not a winer, huh?

Oh, definitely a whiner.

Wait... Oh! Wiener. Sure that too.

Hang on... Winer!
Well, not a red wine aficionado, for certain. And even with whites I'm not at all sophisticated. But I like what I like and that's good enough for me.

The horrors! I haven't had a pair of Crocs since like 2010 or something. Then again, maybe I'll get a pair for work once I graduate. Who knows!

Actually, nurses get a pass on Crocs. Or any other footwear that works when you're on your feet all day.

OH dear! But, maybe it's just yourself telling you to slow down!

What is this "slow down" of which you speak?

Meanwhile the slops and honey buckets rain from above....

Heh, the thought of a beside commode ain't too bad now and then. Hernia surgery ain't no joke.

You had hernia surgery too??

I was counting on you to bite.

So many ways to go with that comment...
All of which would get me kicked off the boards. Still... embarrassing that I've become pretitctable

It took me 5 days and 4 nights of sleeping in my car at mostly free campsites to get home.

Yikes!

I got my bucket list snake shot.

Good for you!

By the time I got home, my neck was absolutely wrecked even though I thought I'd done a pretty good padding job on my bed in the back. OH well, I'm old and it hurts to move and maneuver anymore.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully you're neck is feeling a bit better now.

So far I've passed out 8 packets of information and pimped myself, but no luck yet.

I'm sure something will come up soon.

THEN, on the 5th I had my gallbladder taken out.

Glad you're feeling better from that.

It ended up being a far more involved problem than the surgeon thought it'd be and he had to basically carve my sick, under-vasculated organ off of my liver and stomach where it had developed adhesions.

OH, did I mention I've been trying to find a job as well?

Because you don't have enough to do?
But... I get it.
Unless you've won the lottery recently, it's a necessary evil.

Great shot!

 

[Wood Nymph]

My "capstone" project (it was my last didactics course for the Masters portion of my program) was the use of essential oils and aromatherapy in the recovery room/unit for treating post-operative nausea and vomiting. Bottom line? It works.

This is very interesting. I am prone to nausea and aromatherapy would be preferable to medication for me.

I had my gallbladder taken out. It ended up being a far more involved problem than the surgeon thought it'd be and he had to basically carve my sick, under-vasculated organ off of my liver and stomach where it had developed adhesions. I was pretty miserable for about 5 days, but I am much better today

I'm sorry to hear that there were problems. Those nasty adhesions can cause a lot of problems. I'm glad that you are feeling better.

I've been trying to find a job as well?

Good luck with the job hunt.

 

[KathyM2]

Thanks for the update!! Glad you are feeling better!! So, pardon me for not following everything...you are living in Kentucky...just for the summer? And then AZ for winter? is that the plan or did I miss something? That sounds like a crazy long and uncomfortable drive...ugh...I don't think I could handle that at 20 nevermind now lol you are a brave soul!!

 

[Steppesister]

T is for: Truly Pastalicious!​

With a big glass of a bold Tuscan Cab poured generously, I have intentionally taken the evening off of a very long day. I had a nail appointment, a phone conference with my Program Mentor, a job interview, and visited 4 potential clinical sites to pimp myself as a poor Practitioner Student who REALLY needs a Preceptor!!! The groveling is real. It felt weird having scrubs on again after almost a year off of work while I focused on classes. Okay, let’s keep exploring Italy, shall we?

Legs still quivering worse than Grannie’s Thanksgiving Carrot Jello Salad, I wandered out to where the others were waiting and we rendezvoused for lunch. We didn’t know where we’d end up so started sorta wandering. Italy is very “wanderable”. Very.

(Random door stuff that I came to love)​

However, wandering is much better suited to some personalities and hunger tolerances than to others. If you’ve read this TR for long enough, you already know to whom I am referring. My dad was “at that point”. He’d have been happy with KFC. The rest of us…were not. However, Florence is full enough of wonderful little Osterias, Tavernas, and Trattorias to satiate everyone’s palate and budget. And we struck gold.

The bad news is that I just spent 20 minutes trying to edit and enlarge one of these photos in order to read the menu in sleuthing what restaurant it was. Sorry, that’s my max effort. It’s Ristorante Something-or-other in Florence which narrows it down to approximately 3500 restaurants that it could have been. Well, okay, let’s say it was within a 10-minute walking distance from the Cathedral, so it was definitely one of probably 300. It doesn’t matter really though, because the chances of any of the 3 readers I have left of going to Florence and wanting to eat at THAT restaurant are about as good as Comer going to prison for using the FBI in taxpayer fraud.

Anyway, we all thought the menu looked great and we chose to eat outside at a lovely little area set up with about 10 or so tables, some big, some small. Sadly, while I’d have loved for this to be a really high-quality Dining Review of a fantastic restaurant in Florence’s City Center, it’s not going to be. Not only can’t I even tell you what the place was, I can’t show you a menu either. So, my food descriptions will have to rely on memory (which sucks worse than gallbladder surgery) and luck. Feel free to dispute anything I say here.

(The unreadable posted menu. Sorry.)


(The other menu that I was unsuccessful at reading to try to find the name of the place from. Also, this shows Dad desperately trying to figure out what the menu says using Google Translate. )​

It is a bona fide sin for bread to not be delivered to a table. Yes, there was balsamic. Yes, there was olive oil. For those to be missing on an Italian table is also a sin. It’s true; I saw tables without them on the dome ceiling paintings that depicted Hell. But one bread isn’t enough, so we ordered a trio of bruschetta as well to start with our wine, cokes, etc… One was something yellow-ish, one was a pate that was VERY good, and the 3rd a tasty classic bruschetta mix of tomato and herbs.

​

Each of us ordered a main course as well and holy smokes were they great!! Everyone super enjoyed what they got and not much was leftover. Here’s what I remember of the dishes:

I was in the mood for some authentic linguine and clams. It was perfection. Not complicated, not overly messed up with fussy herbs and stuff… just olive oil, butter, white wine, salt and pepper. It wasn’t dry, so I’m guessing a bit of clam broth as well. I had no problem eating it all and used my scarpetta to finish it off.

​

The girls shared the green pasta with ricotta and hazelnuts. They raved, and it too met a timely demise. That’s all I can say; they didn’t share so I have no idea if they were lying or not.

​

Dad is a tough nut with food. He ended up with the most pedestrian of the dishes- a plain grilled chicken cutlet and oven-roasted potatoes. Booooooring.

​

Mom’s, on the hand, was exquisite! Hers was truly the best at the table, and it made me, for a minute or two, regret my clams and linguine. But only for a minute because she let me share a bit of hers, so I got to enjoy both. Hers was a butternut squash and sage ravioli with a luscious leek-cream sauce. Gosh dang, that was good!

​

More than satisfied and satiated, it was time for heading to the Uffizi, which makes me quite pleased with myself that it starts with ‘U’- how serendipitous that that worked out so well without even trying. The stars do align now and then.

Now for some drama… Just as we were paying the bill and getting ready to leave, we started to smell smoke. It wasn’t, you know, like smoke from a Traeger. And there were certainly no campfires in the alleyway nearby. This was that nasty gag-reflex-inducing acrid stuff made of wires and other stuff that probably shouldn’t be burning. Soon, we saw smoke too. It was coming from the doorway of the business? Shop? Residence? Across the alley from where we were sitting. Then, this guy comes out coughing a bit, but really not all that concerned appearing. We lingered a bit, because hey, who doesn’t enjoy a bit of 911 action. I mean, maybe we were about to see the historic district of Florence turn into an apocalyptic once-in-a-thousand-year event started by some guy who fell asleep with his bong. Pretty soon the fire department showed up and the captain started to interview this guy who, from what we could tell by the overdone Italian hand motioning, told him it was all okay, nothing to see here, it’s all under control, etc..

​

Honestly, we all agreed that it appeared he had been doing something that he shouldn’t have been doing, was about to get busted for it, and was trying so very hard to deflect. We didn’t stick around to find out as time was marching on and we had a lot more to see, but we did enjoy the post-lunch show and made our way to the vast and wonderful halls of Uffizi.

 

[pkondz]

I had a nail appointment

The horror!

Or...

a job interview

Hope you get it/got it!

and visited 4 potential clinical sites to pimp myself as a poor Practitioner Student who REALLY needs a Preceptor!!!

Whoa... okay, it was a full day.

The groveling is real.

Wear kneepads. It helps.

Legs still quivering worse than Grannie’s Thanksgiving Carrot Jello Salad,

If you’ve read this TR for long enough, you already know to whom I am referring. My dad was “at that point”.

Uh, oh... And yes, I knew.

He’d have been happy with KFC.

No offense meant, but... anyone who goes to Italy and wants KFC...
Do they even have KFC there? I would hope that Italy has banned that abomination from the country.

It’s Ristorante Something-or-other in Florence

Oh sure! I've heard of it!
Whatshisname went there. Said it was really good.

Comer going to prison for using the FBI in taxpayer fraud.

No idea what this refers to... and I'm okay with that.

Sadly, while I’d have loved for this to be a really high-quality Dining Review of a fantastic restaurant in Florence’s City Center, it’s not going to be. Not only can’t I even tell you what the place was, I can’t show you a menu either.

This TR is going downhill in a hurry!

Also, this shows Dad desperately trying to figure out what the menu says using Google Translate.

Don't knock it. I've had to use Google translate several times for my mom recently trying to decipher German legal documents.

It is a bona fide sin for bread to not be delivered to a table. Yes, there was balsamic. Yes, there was olive oil. For those to be missing on an Italian table is also a sin.

Love it, but... after a while I just want some butter!

One was something yellow-ish, one was a pate that was VERY good, and the 3rd a tasty classic bruschetta mix of tomato and herbs.

They look really good.

I was in the mood for some authentic linguine and clams. It was perfection.

mmm...

Dad is a tough nut with food. He ended up with the most pedestrian of the dishes- a plain grilled chicken cutlet and oven-roasted potatoes. Booooooring.

Yeah... that does look boring. Looks like it was cooked well, though, at least.

Hers was a butternut squash and sage ravioli with a luscious leek-cream sauce.

Whoa!
You guys sure scored on the restaurant!

More than satisfied and satiated, it was time for heading to the Uffizi, which makes me quite pleased with myself that it starts with ‘U’- how serendipitous that that worked out so well without even trying. The stars do align now and then.

I bet I can guess what the next chapter is gonna be about!

I mean, maybe we were about to see the historic district of Florence turn into an apocalyptic once-in-a-thousand-year event started by some guy who fell asleep with his bong.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Grannie’s Thanksgiving Carrot Jello Salad

My first cookbook had a recipe for a jello salad with shredded cabbage and carrots. My mother-in-law grew up on a farm that didn't have electricity and told us how they could make jello in the winter by putting it on the porch. I think jello must have been a big deal years ago.

It is a bona fide sin for bread to not be delivered to a table.

I agree. And it is one of the things I miss when eating at a Disney restaurant. Italian restaurants should put bread on the table.

Hers was a butternut squash and sage ravioli with a luscious leek-cream sauce.

That looks really good.

Good luck with the job search.

 

[rdkeim]

I've been reading long enough to know yes, it was Dad But your lunch at the no-name restaurant looks very tasty. You seem to have a knack for finding the good places. Anxious to read about your next stop!

 

[Steppesister]

Oh, definitely a whiner.

Wait... Oh! Wiener. Sure that too.

Hang on... Winer!
Well, not a red wine aficionado, for certain. And even with whites I'm not at all sophisticated. But I like what I like and that's good enough for me.

Closer.... closer....



Wine is so subjective for sure. And for every wine taste out there, there's a winer.

Actually, nurses get a pass on Crocs. Or any other footwear that works when you're on your feet all day.

Had a job interview yesterday; they made it very clear no Crocs allowed. Ah well, my Hoka's work.

What is this "slow down" of which you speak?

Seems like the only place I get to do that anymore is on vacation.

ou had hernia surgery too??

Oops!!! NO, but I had just read about how to assess hernias on the male patient.

So many ways to go with that comment...
All of which would get me kicked off the boards. Still... embarrassing that I've become pretitctable

All I can do is lob the balls at ya.

Because you don't have enough to do?
But... I get it.
Unless you've won the lottery recently, it's a necessary evil.

Yeps... out of money in a bad way.

 

[Steppesister]

This is very interesting. I am prone to nausea and aromatherapy would be preferable to medication for me.

I'd for sure make sure you have some one hand if you ever need surgery. The most research has been done with peppermint, but orange, ginger, and lavender have all seen success too.

I'm sorry to hear that there were problems. Those nasty adhesions can cause a lot of problems. I'm glad that you are feeling better.

They sure do! I remember when I'd get a gyne surgery patient out to recovery, the surgeon would always warn us if there were lots of adhesions and up the dilaudid we could give and to expect more pain.

Good luck with the job hunt.

Thanks! I keep plugging away at my search and know I'll land where I'm 'supposed to'.

 

[Steppesister]

Thanks for the update!! Glad you are feeling better!! So, pardon me for not following everything...you are living in Kentucky...just for the summer? And then AZ for winter? is that the plan or did I miss something? That sounds like a crazy long and uncomfortable drive...ugh...I don't think I could handle that at 20 nevermind now lol you are a brave soul!!

Hi Kathy,

So, here's kinda how it works, but admittedly it's always changing and fluid! I AM back in Kentucky after spending the Winter in Tucson, Arizona. I get the best of the climates in both places. However, even though I just got back here, I REALLY need to find a job and ideally a travel contract somewhere. I have my name in the ring for a position in Oregon since I still have an active license there and one in Louisville, KY. I just don't know... pros and cons to both and I may end up at neither one. I won't drive if I end up in Oregon so will have to find a car.

 

[Steppesister]

The horror!

Or...

Okay, okay nail appts aren't so rough, but it was nice to be able to fit it in during my busy day.

Hope you get it/got it!

I should know by tomorrow.

Whoa... okay, it was a full day.

It super was!

No offense meant, but... anyone who goes to Italy and wants KFC...
Do they even have KFC there? I would hope that Italy has banned that abomination from the country.

Spoiler alert: we broke down and ended up at McDonalds one day.

Oh sure! I've heard of it!
Whatshisname went there. Said it was really good.

See, still getting good reviews!

This TR is going downhill in a hurry!

You mean it started out respectable at some point?

Don't knock it. I've had to use Google translate several times for my mom recently trying to decipher German legal documents.

Oh I'm not knocking it! Anara and I used it multiple, multiple times after we left the others.

Love it, but... after a while I just want some butter!

I agree, a little variety now and then.

Yeah... that does look boring. Looks like it was cooked well, though, at least.

It looked a little dry to me, but I didn't taste it either.

Whoa!
You guys sure scored on the restaurant!

We had such good luck except for a couple REALLY stand out flops.

I bet I can guess what the next chapter is gonna be about!

UFIZZI!!

 

[Steppesister]

My first cookbook had a recipe for a jello salad with shredded cabbage and carrots. My mother-in-law grew up on a farm that didn't have electricity and told us how they could make jello in the winter by putting it on the porch. I think jello must have been a big deal years ago.

Really?! How fun to make it without putting it in the actual fridge, but I suppose it just has to get down below a certain temp. I agree, kinda a thing of the past. I remember one my mom made with cottage cheese and frozen strawberries, and other with pineapple and carrot in orange jello. SOOOOOO good!

I agree. And it is one of the things I miss when eating at a Disney restaurant. Italian restaurants should put bread on the table.

Absolutely. My favorite bread service (aside from Sanaa, of course) is at Hollywood Brown Derby. Yummy with that salt.

That looks really good.

Good luck with the job search.

Thanks, Sue. Taking it day by day. I should hear tomorrow on the local one. If I take the local one (I will if they offer it) I won't be able to take the Oregon job. Airfare is just too expensive to make it worth flying home to do my minimum shifts.

 

[Steppesister]

I've been reading long enough to know yes, it was Dad But your lunch at the no-name restaurant looks very tasty. You seem to have a knack for finding the good places. Anxious to read about your next stop!

He's such a funny guy. But all in all, it was so good! It's hard to truly wreck pasta but this was exceptionally good!

 

[pkondz]

Wine is so subjective for sure. And for every wine taste out there, there's a winer.

And the occasional wino...

Had a job interview yesterday; they made it very clear no Crocs allowed. Ah well, my Hoka's work.

Really? Huh. I just figured it was a nursing staple.

Seems like the only place I get to do that anymore is on vacation.

You? Not according to this TR!

Oops!!! NO, but I had just read about how to assess hernias on the male patient.

Ohhhhhh

All I can do is lob the balls at ya.

Spoiler alert: we broke down and ended up at McDonalds one day.

I've done that. But... we were in the former East Germany shortly after The Wall had come down and there simply were no other options.

You mean it started out respectable at some point?

I agree, a little variety now and then.

No. BUTTER!!!

UFIZZI!!

Gesundheit

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

It’s Ristorante Something-or-other in Florence which narrows it down to approximately 3500 restaurants that it could have been.

Hang on...writing this down...

Sadly, while I’d have loved for this to be a really high-quality Dining Review of a fantastic restaurant in Florence’s City Center, it’s not going to be. Not only can’t I even tell you what the place was, I can’t show you a menu either. So, my food descriptions will have to rely on memory (which sucks worse than gallbladder surgery) and luck. Feel free to dispute anything I say here.

So you ate some food at a place. Got it!

It is a bona fide sin for bread to not be delivered to a table. Yes, there was balsamic. Yes, there was olive oil. For those to be missing on an Italian table is also a sin. It’s true; I saw tables without them on the dome ceiling paintings that depicted Hell.

Dad is a tough nut with food. He ended up with the most pedestrian of the dishes- a plain grilled chicken cutlet and oven-roasted potatoes. Booooooring.

So...yeah, it's boring. On the other hand, I'd eat it.

Hers was a butternut squash and sage ravioli with a luscious leek-cream sauce.

Squash? Yeah, I'm out. Gimme the grilled chicken.

Now for some drama… Just as we were paying the bill and getting ready to leave, we started to smell smoke. It wasn’t, you know, like smoke from a Traeger.

Too bad, that's some good quality smoke there.

Honestly, we all agreed that it appeared he had been doing something that he shouldn’t have been doing, was about to get busted for it, and was trying so very hard to deflect.

 

[Steppesister]

U is for: Uffizi!
******** WARNING, NAKED ART AHEAD!*******​

Little did we know how extensive the Uffizi would be! I knew it housed many of Italy’s most famous works of art but had no idea how crazy huge it actually is and how many of the artists and specific works I’d recognize.

As with the Cathedral, we had timed entry tickets for 3:00 which meant we had a little time to kill before we could enter. And as they say, (this is a rule) if you have a little time to kill, gelato will do the job nicely!!!

​

We entered an area that was sort of the breezeway between the two wings of the galleries which ended at the Arno River. Looking to our right and not far away at all was the Ponte Vecchio! HELLO!!

​

Honestly, this wasn’t even on the agenda I’d put together, but there it was and very well within walking distance to see. Plus, with over an hour to spare, we all agreed to head that way. It doesn’t take effort, at all, to come across those glorious gelato shops that seem to be as ubiquitous as $ixbucks and Dollar Stores around here. And it is almost impossible to walk past. With zero restraint, despite being overly full, we stopped. With much deliberation and angst over which flavor to go with, we each made our decisions. Now, a word on Italian gelato: The portion sizes are colossal and because it’s so delicious, that’s not a problem. I ended up with strawberry and the girls each got something tasty, but I don’t know what.

​

That's because my trip notes for that day look like this:

​

Yep, the day we did nothing apparently.

Anyway, we ate it under the portico that overlooks the Arno River then wandered to the Ponte Vecchio to say we’d been on it. Yes, it’s picturesque and yes it has some pretty cool history. Stolen shamelessly from the internet: “Built very close to the Roman crossing, the Ponte Vecchio, or Old Bridge, was the only bridge across the Arno in Florence until 1218. The current bridge was rebuilt after a flood in 1345. During World War II it was the only bridge across the Arno that the fleeing Germans did not destroy.”

And there ya have it. Now, it generates huge sums of taxes from the high-end tourist trap shops that occupy it.

This was the best photo of it I was able to get from closer to the Uffizi:

(Even the utility access are extra)​

Now, back to the halls of art we waddled, full of Italian delicacies and ready to explore. We had no idea that the sheer size of the place would send each of us in parties of one or two to our own directions fairly quickly. It was just too big, there were too many people, the rooms made it difficult to keep track of anyone and each had his or her own taste in what there was to see.

I peeled off, Mom and Dad took in what they could, and Mikki and Anara paired up and mostly stuck together.

Now, one word of observation: outside, in the Plaza Corridor, there is a “Hall of Fame” so to speak. Here some of the most notorious politicians and famous scientists, artists, builders, you name it, are given places of prominence for generations to remember.

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One gave me cause to pause: Machiavelli.

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If you have studied history at all, you might remember that he was a horrible tyrant who valued being authoritarian in his political beliefs; he believed that a good ruler rules by fear of punishment rather than by being loved through obligation. Suffice to say he was ruthless in actions, amoral, and religion-less. It struck me that even with a history and leadership tenure such as that, his statue still stands as a testament to what was. There were others that I’m sure led unsavory, probably what would now be unpopular lifestyles, such as Nero and Ceasar, whose busts were inside, and yet there they stand. Perhaps, they may bring someone to contemplate, “Never again”, or “I’m grateful for what we have now.”, or “How can I lead differently?”. There was no ridiculous, infantile tearing down of history in Italy such as we saw here a short couple of years ago, when small groups of out-of-control anarchists thought it was their job to erase history as if it was their own to rule over. I would present that there are better ways to ponder, reflect, debate, and disagree than to destroy what we have, even if we don’t or can’t appreciate. <steps off soapbox>

Inside, we indeed found treasures hundreds and hundreds of years old. Paintings, frescoes, statues, furniture, and other artifacts mostly from the Renaissance era when the Medici Family reigned over the vast Kingdom of Florence and Venice. “Commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici, first Grand Duke of Tuscany, the building, was conceived to house the “Uffizi”, the administrative and legal offices of Florence. The work was entrusted to artist Giorgio Vasari, who designed an edifice with a Doric column portico, in a style that was both elegant and severe, established “upon the river and almost in the air”. Here is the full website if you want to read more:

https://www.uffizi.it/en/the-uffizi/history

A view from one of the many windows:

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I slowly wandered from room to room and viewed the works of my favorite, Botticelli, but also LOVED seeing the Titian, da Vinci, and Rembrandt pieces. The styles of each were showcased so well and I appreciated that the museum has taken security steps to keep any vandals from destroying these priceless pieces. Every room had a docent to watch over the crowd and I more than once utilized their knowledge of a piece that I wanted to know more about.

Aside from the incredible paintings and statuary works, the ceilings almost took my breath away. More than once I simply took a seat and stared at them just to appreciate the detailed work of the “odd” subject themes.

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This is a great article about those ceilings specifically and honestly, those alone are worth a visit to this museum!!! (With way better photos!)

http://www.ornamentalist.net/2015/06/grotesque-obsession-uffizi-east-corridor.html

Anyway, another major highlight that can be a challenge to get a view of is “The Office”. It’s roped off so you can only view it from outside but it’s totally over-the-top. The nacre ceiling of this room is jaw-dropping, along with the 16th century hardwood furniture and other things from the official office of the Medici Family Business.

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I took so many photos in this museum it is actually ridiculous. I won’t share them all, but brace yourself for an avalanche of Renaissance Art. If you are bored with marble busts, paintings, and all of that, please, just scroll on through. I’ll meet you on the other side of the photo dump for a tale of Lost and Found….

Continued in next post(s)...