Florence

Florence, Fiume Arno

Hanging off the Ponte Vecchio are many shops, as usual I find something I can't quite believe like buildings hanging off the sides of a narrow bridges supported by what looks like wood or it could be metal beams (whatever) keeping these houses from falling into the fast moving Arno. What is the Feng Shui of this?  Yes! Italians do have their own form of Feng Shui although it doesn 't have a formal name there are many rituals, myths and consequences. 

The Ponte Vecchio has been like this for oh many hundreds of years (1345 - 1564). I have a lot of fears  one of which is living in a cottage hanging over a swift moving river -  I could never - although I must admit I do live in southern California.  The weather as you can tell from the photo is anything but sunny California weather.  It's not cold but it's damp and it hasn't stopped raining since I arrived. Here's what I think Florence is saying "If you can stand the weather come and stay for awhile". It's a test - not quite an advanced chemistry test but a test non-the- less.

Ponte Vecchio

Yesterday I went to two famous museums in Florence.  Don't do it, it's useless unless your able to see something and say "Okay I saw that" and them move on.  Not me I have to stand in the front on the side in the back taking in the soft relaxed figure of a boy who conquered his fear.  My advise is enjoy one of these amazing museums at a time.  By the time I went through the Academy and the Uffizi I was exhauste.  It's way to much beauty to take in.  Staggering sculptures tower the viewer.  How about David?  I had thought I would cry when I went into the Sistine Chapel instead by the time I got there I was just stunned.  Here in Florence I went directly to the Academy to see David and I cried.  Well okay I chocked back tears - twice.  I had to walk away and try and look at other work which I managed to do poorly through blurred eyes.  Even though I saw photo's of this sculpture thousands of times nothing could prepare me for what was in front of me.

Did you know that Michaelangelo asked the pope if he could have "that piece of discarded marble" for his own personal use? He was working on commissions and deadlines but he just happened to find this discarded piece of marble that had a giant David written all over it.  Who discards gigantic pieces of marble?  "Okay Nino let's let this one go it's just not big enough".  "Fine let's just chuck it over here behind the Domo". How do you discard a piece of marble, it had to be enormous I mean BIG.  Okay I'll try and stop but really it said "discarded piece of marble" on the little blurb in front of the statue.  Oh god it's so easy for me to find a bone - hummm maybe I shouldn't say god in this town how about "Oh darn" not quite as affective but a bit safer - who knows.