Addenda

I forgot to mention about Florence -- excuse me, Firenze -- that there is apparently a major restoration project going on all over town, which means that virtually all the important sites are covered in scaffolding. This is great news for future visitors, for the structures involved and for the town itself, but it plays hell with photographers and visitors like me who are here now. (Yes, I know, poor me. It's reality checks like this one, and like getting rear-ended -- thankfully with no damage -- 40 minutes out of town when we first left SF that Saturday in May long ago that are keeping us from just blissing out entirely and turning into shafts of pure light ascending into the heavens for all eternity.) If I were planning a trip to Italy, I would skip Firenze for at least the next year or so, until most or all of the major reconstruction work has been finished. That's your travel tip for the day.

I also wanted to say that I don't know why we call this town Florence if we're from the US or the UK when the residents here call it Firenze. Firenze is such a much more beautiful name, don't you think? We don't Anglicize San Francisco or Los Angeles to Saint Francis or The Angels, do we? So why the language difference? Firenze sounds so much better -- as do Roma and Venezia and Napoli. Hmm.

That's all I've got for now. Tomorrow we are on to Venezia, and the adventure continues.