Originally posted on Saturday, October 15, 2005, 07:12 PM NST.
2005? What is this?

Just as we though it might be, Florence (or Firenze in Italian) is quite a change of pace. Compared to the relaxed, small, history rich cities that we have been basing ourselves in lately, Florence is a larger, more bustling, history rich city. Simply because of the overwhelming abundance of artistic masterpieces, Florence is packed full of people all day – one statistic says that there are five tourists for every one resident. Realizing that this is a problem, city officials have put safeguards in place to address the issue – for example they now allow only 150 tour buses into the city at any given time. I wouldn’t want to be here in the busy season.

Like most of the other places we’ve visited, Florence has not barred vehicles from the old city core. You see a lot of city buses (electric I think, in any case perfectly silent), cars, trucks, and bikes (motor and pedal). Even though the narrow streets are crowded, people part when required and allow the traffic to pass. It’s not uncommon to see a car or truck move along slowly with the flow of people. Despite the reputation the Italians have of being abrupt and short tempered, no one seems to mind this aspect of life.

IMG_8980: The facade of the Duomo.

Like all the other larger cities (geographically, I’d roughly estimate that Florence and it’s metro area is comparable to St. John’s, but much more densely populated), crime and police presence seems more common. At the main cathedral today, there were no fewer than a dozen police vehicles roaming, a few ambulances, and several military vehicles – I’d say perhaps a hundred personnel. I’m not sure if this is in response to internal crime issues or terrorism.

Interestingly, after quickly selecting a restaurant for dinner, we for the first time noticed perhaps another authority. During the meal, we seen a very friendly atmosphere where everyone seemed to know each other, although is was a little tense. It seemed that everyone was part of a larger “family”. We haven’t noticed even a hint of that until today.

Despite all that, I think the next few days will be enjoyable. We’ve booked a unique type of tour that is operated by a theatre company turned travel agency that will allow us see famous works of art by Michelangelo (pictured below is a copy) and Leonardo da Vinci.

Randy

Originally posted on Friday, October 14, 2005, 06:18 PM NST.
2005? What is this?

We visited San Gimignano’s Museum of Torture today – seems like most cities we’ve visited have at least one. They proudly display originals or reproductions of tools, most originating from the middle ages. It’s all a little disturbing, and as you look at the devices and their effect on the body, they are nice enough to let you know where the techniques are still be practiced around the world. Not good vacation spots.

We didn’t have our hotel room in this town booked, so they’ve had to juggle us around a bit on the last night of our stay. It seems like the rooms in this hotel are beautiful and huge, at least by European standards. Our new room has a ceiling fresco, a fireplace, and the girl in the building next door practices with her harp while singing. It’s all very relaxing.

Just what we need before moving on to a new city. Tomorrow, we’re on to Florence.

Kim

I almost forgot to mention… Jenna Berman’s Shoot from last week was put online a few days ago over on the sessions page.

 

 

Originally posted on Wednesday, October 12, 2005, 06:22 PM NST.
2005? What is this?

We had nice weather again today. I’ve noticed that the Tuscany region seems to have a constant layer of haze on clear days. Particularly when the sun is bright and at it’s highest, it’s hard to accurately define the horizon (unless it’s nearby, of course).

We visited Siena today. Their 12th century cathedral is constructed of alternating white and black bands of marble, giving it a zebra-like aperance.

In a nearby piazza there is a bell tower, Torra del Mangia, that is also from the middle ages. It was the second tallest structure in Tuscany when it was built at 335 feet high. It’s 500 steps to the top, they charge 6 euros per person to climb it, and there was a line up.

They seem quite proud of the fact that the whole thing is just sitting on the ground… literally – it has no “subterranean foundation”. It’s difficult to think that there is anything wrong with that when you realize that it’s been perfectly safe for over 600 years.

The hotel we’ve been staying at in San Gimignano, L’Antico Pozzo, is one of the best yet. On the main floor you can take a set of stairs below ground to look at the oldest parts of the structure (the foundation and well from the middle ages). Upstairs in the lounge, you can connect your laptop to their Linux-based network to use the high speed Internet connection.

Here’s a few more pictures from San Gimignano….

Randy

Originally posted on Tuesday, October 11, 2005, 07:16 PM NST.
2005? What is this?

We are currently based in San Gimignano, a beautifully preserved medieval town that sits atop a hill with rolling fields and wineries as it’s backdrop.

Every inch of the town seems virtually untouched and when walking the streets at night you can easily picture what it must have been like when these buildings were originally built in the 12th century.

It’s interesting to me how they have in abundance here what we hold as valuable – for example, marble. We visited a store today in Volterra (just to the southwest of here) where everything from lamps to bookends are hand craved in solid marble, most things not exceeding 40 euros in price. Driving into this area after leaving the coast, we saw entire mountains that were slowly being cut away in large blocks.

Groves of olive trees, bunches of grapes, apples and pears grow wild and drop from the trees. In the countryside as you drive along it smells like wine which, in some cases, is cheaper to buy than bottled water.

We had planned to stay in Siena, but decided that we like this place so much that we are going to use it as a base to explore southern Tuscany.

Kim

PS. A solid marble egg goes to the first person who can correctly identify the two people in this photo that I took today on the way back to the hotel. Click on ADD COMMENT at the bottom of this message (and enter your email address if I don’t know you).

EDIT: Correctly identified as Jessica Simpson And Nick Lachey by Samantha Banton.

Originally posted on Sunday, October 9, 2005, 07:31 PM NST.
2005? What is this?

Although we just visited Pisa and the Leaning Tower, we found that Lucca, a town of similar size and just to the north, is far more interesting and history rich (or at the very least, they’re great on making this accessible to the visitor). We’ve spend the last two days here.

Lucca was independent and prosperous, despite wars and the rise and fall of everything around it, for nearly 1000 years. Today’s major cities in the region (Florence, Pisa, Siena) fought constantly over territory, but Lucca built and expanded a defensive wall around the city that still exists today. In 1847, only a few years before Italy became a country (in 1861 I think) a signing of paper handed it over to Tuscany.

The wall encompasses the old city (about 1.5km wide by 4.5km long) in an oblong circle with several defensive points sticking out. They were designed to repel artillery attacks, so they are thick (about 100 feet wide) and high (40 feet). There’s a path around the top now, where cannons and such once sat, that is lined with trees and is open only to pedestrians and pedal bikes. In fact the wall is so large that, from the inside, it looks like a grassy hill lined with trees at the top surrounding the entire city.

Because the town was so successful with this defense, all of the buildings, hundreds of years old, including 50 churches, were preserved.

Lucca is also the first place that I’ve found a wireless connection for the Internet.

Next, we’re driving south, further into the Tuscany region.

Randy

I decided to stay away from the Saki and instead explore the Kimono, a widely used term to indicate all type of Japanese clothing – for both men and women.

Although Japan is approximately half way around the world in relation St. John’s, I was still able to find someone who was not only born there, but also had a Kimono.

It is surprisingly difficult to get into one of these things. It takes at least two people, one with suitable upper body strength, along with a lot of pulling and tying of knots while everything is held in place. It’s sorta like a corset in the center and free flows everywhere else. I also learned that if you can’t slide your hand into the top left hand side of the neckline you’ve dressed yourself incorrectly – a custom in Japan has them switch layering on top when burying the deceased.

Rhea works as a translator in St. John’s and told us upon arriving at my place that she had just seen her first iceberg. I would like to thank her for giving me a glimpse into the culture.

The Blog is One! Happy Birthday!

Feel free to sing a song for it, but not the one that you’re thinking about – you may get sued.

Originally posted on Friday, October 7, 2005, 04:37 PM NST.
2005? What is this?

Loaction: We’ve moved on from the lakes in the north to the coastal region. As opposed to skirting along the coastline, we’ve come to one area in particular known as the Cinque Terre. For more info on this region, known as the “five lands”, take a look at Google Maps and Wikipedia.

After getting a bit of a late start on Thursday, we managed to get from town #1 (Monterosso) on the Cinque Terre path to town #2 (Vernazza) around lunch time. With not enough time to get to the next town and be sure of getting a room for that night, and too much time to explore tiny Vernazza, we did what everyone else seemed to be doing – sat on the beach, ate ice cream and took a nap.

On the second day of “hiking”, after getting an earlier start, we quickly realized that we had started on the hard end of the trail. By the time we got to town #5 (Riomaggiore), long before lunch time, we were amazed by the level path and refreshment stands along the way.

More so in this area than in any other we’ve been, there are a lot of wild, although very affectionate, cats. They are in the towns, on the paths, everywhere. We provided baby food for as many as we could along the path (which, might I add, Kim said was for herself – I lugged it all the way from town #1) we ran out before town #4. They provide good company on the paths, but often want a lift.

We are leaving this region tomorrow to get on to Tuscany, after a quick stop in Pisa.

Randy

We did another shoot tonight with Jenna. That’s a sneak peek…

She’ll be off soon to Toronto to do a runway show. It’ll be covered by Fashion Television and she’ll be working alongside some major established Canadian talent.

Jenna has always been a joy to shoot. From the first time we worked with her I could tell that she had a natural ability and love for the process.

Whenever we have a new shoot idea, we consider carefully the model that we’d like to use – and Jenna is always at the top of the list. She’s pursuing this with passion and intelligence – I really hope she does well and has fun.