May 18 and 19 May 20 May 21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25 May 26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31 June 1 June 2 June 3	Tuesday 5/21/02 It’s another early morning. We got together in the lobby at 5:45 to go shooting. It’s interesting how we have to unlock the building when we go out this early... This morning’s destination is the area around the Duomo. It never gets direct sunlight on the facade - too many buildings in the way - so early morning is the best time to get even lighting on it. And no people in the foreground. The three photos above were taken in the piazza in front of the Duomo. The one on the left shows a detail of the carvings over one door. The center photo shows a cross in the piazza with the Duomo in the background. The photo on the right shows some of the intricate carving on the pillars for the Loggia di Bigallo, one of the museums in this piazza. We just had to contend with the street cleaners again. If the truck wasn’t spraying right where we were standing, he was parked in the middle of the picture.... But they do a good job, so we worked around them. After shooting in the vicinity of the Duomo for a while, we wandered back by the Ponte Vecchio (photo on the left), then back to the hotel for breakfast. Breakfast in Florence consisted of coffee or tea, juice (orange or grapefruit), yogurt (assorted flavors), and assorted breads, including croissants, hard rolls, and crackers. Also butter, jams, and a spreadable cheese similar to cream cheese, but tastier. When we picked up our key from the desk after shooting, we mentioned to the man there that there was a foul smell in our room. It reminded me of the smell when the cat brings in a mouse and we don’t find it until a couple weeks later. He bolted for our room, but assured us that there was no mouse.... The smell hung around most of the time we were there. Finally decided it was the sewer. While we had his attention, we asked if they had a fan we could borrow for the duration of our stay. It turns out that both Michelle and I are used to sleeping with a fan on (white noise). It also kept the room cooler. They did have one and it was in the room when we returned. We both slept better after that. Ursula showed up about 10 for our daily tour. This morning, we took two taxis to the Piazzale Michelangelo, a big parking lot that overlooks the city. There’s a bronze copy of Michelangelo’s David in this parking lot (this photo was taken the next morning). And, at this time of day, lots of tourists. We took some photos here, but this was mostly a reconnaissance mission, scouting locations and seeing if it’s worth coming back when the light is better. It is. The first photo of the Ponte Vecchio was taken from this location. There was also a nice view of the old town wall from here. We walked back to the main part of town, stopping at the Rose Garden on the way. This is just below the Piazzale Michelangelo. Quite extensive gardens and the roses were in full bloom. So were the gardenias and lemon trees. Quite delightful to all the senses. The photo on the left above was taken from the Piazzali Michelangelo and shows the nice view of the Duomo from here. The photo on the right was taken from the wonderful rose garden I just mentioned and shows the city skyline with the Duomo and its bell tower dominating. Sometime during this day, I took this photo (right) of the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio from one of the back streets. It's a bit different from the usual photograph of this landmark. On down the hill through the town gates and past the Ponte Vecchio to a wine shop, where we were to have lunch. This was a very warm day and that made the walk seem longer than it really was. The wine shop is owned by the same couple that own the hotel. They don’t normally serve food there, but we were a special case. It was air conditioned inside, which felt good! Since they’re not really set up for food service, the accommodations left a bit to be desired... Small stools to sit on at a very cramped table. Lunch was untraditional, too, a selection of antipasto dishes, including a couple of kinds of crostini and something called tuna of Chablis. It’s a poor man’s tuna, evidently. It’s really pork that’s been marinated, then stewed, then baked. It’s as flaky as tuna and tastes a lot like tuna, but it’s not. Naturally, the wine we had with lunch was quite good. However, I felt the meal was overpriced and not really filling. After lunch, we walked across the streets to the Palazzo Pitti, which was the second home of the Medici family way back when. We left our tripods at the wine shop, as they are not allowed in the Boboli Gardens, which are directly behind the Palazzo Pitti. Originally, these were the private gardens of the Medicis, but they’re now public property. The gardens are quite lovely and quite formal. The photo on the left below shows one of the appreciated shady walks. The three photos above were taken at the Boboli Gardens. The one on the left shows the wide shady walks. The photo on the right shows the Florence skyline, dominated by the Duomo and the Palazzo Vecchio from near the main entrance to the gardens. The center photo is the view of the city from the Kaffeehaus, a restaurant on the grounds. We spent a couple of hours there, then returned to the wine shop to reclaim the tripods. Along the way, we found a street vendor selling cool water. Sure tasted good! The three photos above are also from the Boboli Gardens. The one on the left shows Shirley, Bill, and Ursula enjoying the view from the Kaffeehaus. The center photo shows one of the stranger statues on the grounds. The photo on the right is a statue of Pegasus. The photo on the left shows a statue near the exit to the Boboli Gardens. It’s of Bacchus on a turtle. Then back to the hotel for a nice shower and a bit of rest. Betsy and Shirley wanted a full dinner, so reservations were made for them. Judy, Michelle, and I opted for something simpler. We found a quiet pizzeria not far from the hotel and ate there. Short, simple, and we were finished in time to do some evening shooting. We returned to the hotel to get our gear and discovered that the man at the front desk couldn’t find our room key! The keys here are like old-fashioned skeleton keys and are attached to huge metal knobs. Ours had a bell shaped piece of brass on it with fringe. The knob was about 1.5" long and an inch in diameter. Attempting to put that thing in a pocket would immediately pull a person’s pants off!! No way do you carry it around. It’s left at the front desk whenever you’re not in the hotel itself. Needless to say, we were perturbed. The man insisted that we must have left it somewhere, but I remember Michelle handing it to him as we went out the door to dinner. He let us into our room (which was locked) and said he’d continue to look for it. We grabbed cameras and headed for the tower for some evening shots from there, including a nice sunset. The three photos above were taken this evening. The one on the left shows the Palazzo Vecchio with evening light. The center photo is our view of the Duomo and its bell tower. The photo on the right is a sunset shot. If you look closely, you can just see the River Arno reflecting the sunset. The hotel had just started a new service that day, serving wine in the tower, so we all had a glass and had a nice time, shooting, talking, and watching the sunset. Bill was on the lower level of the tower working on his book. We stopped on the way down to let him know about our missing key. He’s as concerned as we are. When we got back down, the man at the front desk asked if we had found our key. I responded “No, have you found our key”. He seemed upset by the implication that it was their fault. He had found a copy of our key, but seemed upset that we were concerned for our safety and the safety of our possessions. He’s one of the owners and insisted that we were quite safe. We took the second key, but made sure the chain was on and moved the desk over in front of the door. Anyone attempting to enter our room that night would have made a great clatter.... Michelle told me later that she didn’t sleep very well that night, worrying about someone coming in. Next...