The Gates

I rode a bus so I could see what New York City looked like. Next to me was a woman who complained loudly as we passed Central Park about how much she hated the Gates exhibit. It was too orange, too expensive, too solid, too ugly, attracted too many people.

The next day I rode the same bus past the same part of the park and asked the woman next to me if she was from New York and if she liked the Gates—she answered yes and yes. She told of taking her 5 year old grandchild to walk in the park under the gates and that he said, “It makes you feel happy.”

Thank you Christo and Jeanne Claude. Thank you five year old. I hope you always remember it. It made me feel happy, too.

Guys

Dante Alighieri

Benvenuto Cellini

Giotto di Bondone

Florence

I was two days in Venice but posted far more pictures of it than Florence. So here are a few.


Sunset on the Ponte Vecchio.


View from the mountain.



Tourists accumulating in front of the Duomo--probably the most characteristic picture of Florence in the summer.


The Piazza Santa Croce in Florence.


Last of the poppies.

Possibilities

Sell vegetables at the farmer's market.



Take children through the Uffizi and explain Botticelli.



Draw people's faces in the Piazza della Republica.



Sing into the night on the Ponte Vecchio.


Get a dog and take him for walks.



Pretend to be a statue.



Guide tours to Siena.



Or buy a house and build a grotto in the yard.

There are too many possibilities.

Festa del Redentore

My pictures of this Venetian celebration, which happened on July 19, came out pretty well, beginning with the preparations. The three large barges just behind the statue are the fireworks platforms. Behind them is the bridge to the Redentore church on Giudecca just completing its construction.

Here are people beginning a rooftop party.

The lagoon is filling with boats.


The bridge is complete, and people are walking across.

People are gathering to see the fireworks.




I have managed only a tiny example of the amazing fireworks display.

The holiday is a religious feast, feast of the holy redeemer, and the bridge provides easy access to the church of that name on the island of Giudecca. Read about it here in Wikipedia.

The close up photos of people on boats are by a friend.