July 11, 2010

Retirees exchange greetings in Ferrara, known as the Citta delle biciclette

All week, I've been looking forward to sitting in the cool, breezy room overlooking the Tiber Valley (see the photo above), staying comfortable in the heat of the day and listening to the swallows swinging by outside the window. Tom is snoring after lunch and Amee and I are reading. The drive from Padua yesterday was long and hot. Coming through the mountains from Bologna to Florence, there were no places to stop except the freeway reststops squeezed uncomfortably among the cliffs. These were packed with the cars of families with small, squirmy but adorable children from all over Europe: Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, the Netherlands, Germany, France. The adults-only groups might wait for food and potty stops until they got to Florence, but not the kids! The stores were packed with Shrek candies, Disney toys and all kinds of brightly colored temptations designed to get them screaming with desire while the parents tried to get some juice and veggies into them. We wolfed down some panini and water and headed on our way as soon as possible. Today, by contrast, it is lovely to just sit.

Anghiari is having an artisan festival. The tiny walkways and stairways are filled with furniture being carved and finished, upholstery draped among the old stone walls, painters working in acrylics, oils and watercolors, decorated pottery and imaginative wooden toys.

We stopped by the shop of the Ravagnis, a family that makes and markets olive oil products and wine from their estate just outside town.

I have posted some of Tom's photos.

This is the courtyard just outside the tiny Albergo Griglio in Prato, outside Florence, where we stayed on our first night in Italy.