Indiana University

A very romantic view of my alma mater.

Piazzale Michaelangelo

The number 12 or the number 13 bus will take you up to the Piazzale Michaelangelo in the hills above the Altrarno in Florence.

It holds a lovely bronze version of David.

Perhaps the view is better at sunset. Is that a mobile phone tower atop the Giotto Campanile?





















There are panoramic views of Florence.

John James Audubon

These are swans in the Limat River in Zurich.

Looks Like Georgia O'Keefe

Arezzo

I go to Arezzo to see the Piero della Francesca fresco cycle La Legenda della Vera Croce. One of the years I visited they were restoring it, and we climbed on the scaffolding to see it up close. At the top of the hill is another church with a Piero of Mary Magdalene.



Maybe your living room would look better gilded.

Further up the hill is a park with these views.  This picture is a favorite.

From Airplanes

Sierra Nevada

Chicago

The Fountains of Rome

In Vatican City.

In front of he Pantheon.

In Trastevere.

At the foot of the Spanish Steps.

In the Piazza Navonna.

Near the Piazza Venezia.

Piazza del Popolo.

Near the Villa Medici.

Painting of the same view.

Piazza Navonna.

Barbarini?

Mercato Centrale

The next time you are in Florence be sure to visit the mercato centrale or central market, an imposing building near San Lorenzo that holds the main fresh food market.

Cook a chicken for dinner.

Get some vegetables to go with it.

Or a little cheese.

Add mushrooms.

And some other stuff to go with it all.

Try some nice Italian wine.

Get a hot sandwich while you're shopping.

Or stop by the bar upstairs for a coffee.

In the midst of all that art is a little real life.

Looks Like Praxiteles

I suppose it is difficult to explain the attraction of this store window in Venice.

Believe it or not, the man in the window reminded me of the classical statue of Hermes holding his son. It seemed a modern parody of an ancient feeling.


This is the original on which the parody is based--not my picture. Self parody is common in America but extremely unusual in Italy. Strictly speaking it is not me doing the imitating.

Or he's just a guy at the beach who is stuck minding the baby.

Looks Like John Constable

Yesterday approaching Portland.

Italian Police

This is Rome.


This is the intersection at the Piazza di Venezia in Rome.


This is Florence.

The Park

I have long had the fantasy that as an old woman I would live in a tiny apartment near the Giardino Borghese in Rome, that every day I would walk there and sit on the benches to watch the people walk by. Then I would have coffee in the cafe in the park.
The view

Boating on the lake.

The Casino

Bellini

Rossini

The Villa Borghese.

I don't know if it is necessary to actually live out this fantasy, but I practice having an Italian breakfast with brioche and cappuccino standing up at a bar.

I have taken lessons in how to make coffee at home in the aluminum gadget and what kind of coffee to buy: Lavazza crema e gusto. My Italian doesn't improve. I think there is too long between times and I am too old.

Rome has an unusual beauty that seeps into the soul.