Quirky, Florence

I recently returned to one of my favorite cities, Florence, for a quick visit.  The historical sights are beautiful and meaningful, the people are relaxed, and it is easy to move about the city.  This visit gave me a chance to slow down and really enjoy the local flavor.

I have found I love to view the marvelous statues throughout the city:  from the tiniest miniature carvings in the Bargello to the intensely beautiful, detailed, and oversized statues on the Piazza della Signoria, near the Uffizi.  The bronze statue of Perseus holding Medusa’s head over her mutilated torso and the exquisite ripples of Giambologna’s muscular bodies truly give breath and life to each masterpiece.  And daylight offers a wonderfully different perspective than the nighttime.

Amazingly, a friend actually had to talk me into seeing “David.” I had seen the copy on the piazza, right?  But, boy, is He totally worth the wait!  And as always, I enjoyed chatting with others while waiting in the entrance line.  A Hungarian family and I had fun laughing when they wanted to understand why an American comes to Italy to study English?  Just another chance to offer an encapsulated version of my journey to embrace change and to enjoy the adventures in life!

I also enjoyed visiting the San Lorenzo Street Market, where engaging with the local vendors always lifts my spirits.  And visiting the Mercato Centrale food market, I discovered people have a crazy fondness for certain organ meats and cow anatomical parts!  I had hoped to eat a lunch at a comfortable indoor café that offered an aromatic meat sandwich that made my mouth water.  My appetite quickly went south, however, when a jovial butcher informed me the meat was really cow’s stomach, and that I “really must try some- benissimo.”  I’m pretty sure I skipped lunch that day.

The real icing on my cake for this trip, was visiting my friend, Carmen, and meeting her terrific son, who was visiting from Arizona. They good- naturedly let me camp out in their hotel room.   Carmen is a mom my age who will graduate this spring from Northern Arizona University with a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning.  I am so proud to be her friend…Girlfriend-You Rock!



$1000 euros!




vivid 3D in the Duomo



Cariela, Carmen and Kevin

My Hungarian friends!



Yum!  All 4 kinds of cow stomachs 



A picturesque variety of dried mushrooms

Sann Lorenzo street market



Michelangelo's burial site



Where my feet have traveled!



Dynamite Dolimites Adventure

   The Dolomites in northern Italy are part of the Alps and offer a uniquely different experience than elsewhere in Italy. 

 The  region was actually ceded to Italy after WWI and it has retained much of its Bavarian flavor.  Bicultural and bilingual, this area is strongly Germanic and offers visitors an unusual blend of cultures.  In fact, I heard almost no

Italian spoken in the peaceful village of Alpe di Siusi where I  stayed.

My mountain adventure turned out to be completely different from what I expected.  But I am learning to adjust my thoughts and plans as I go in order to be more spontaneous and enjoy everything more.  I didn’t realize the numerous lifts would be closed in October, so I spent one day hiking the alpine meadow at the base of the majestic and unusual limestone mountains.

I climbed to the summit of Mount Sciliar, which turned out to be one of the bigger challenges I have ever tackled. The 2700 meter hike was more strenuous than I expected and brought me clarity and a spiritual epiphany that I did not anticipate.  Trust…Proverbs 3…His time, not my time... Trusting gives an unbelievable freedom and takes away the fear.

Reaching the summit of the mountain was exhilarating.  I was able to spend a few hours with a fun German couple I met on the trail.  I really wanted to take a different descent down the mountain, but I listened to their wise counsel instead of attempting a descent that may have gotten me into some trouble.  Katrina and Monfred, thank you for letting me spend the afternoon with you!

And once atop the summit, this solo American woman, “Miss Ohio,” was even included in a schnapps toast with a kind group of Germans celebrating our accomplishment.  Wow, what a great adventure!