End of the first week....

Went for a walk today, up the steps to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The view was spectacular, and it was one of those gorgeous days with scattered clouds in the sky, making it all the more pleasant to be out there. The only annoying thing about it was that when we arrived at the top, we were greeted by several hundred tourists who had arrived by bus, and a number of those tacky souvenier stands at the top of the Piazzale. It was sort of like, huh... where the heck did all THESE people come from?

At the request of my mother, I’m posting a couple of pictures of the smallest apartment in the world. Here’s two: one of the front door, and the other of the infamous bathroom. You can’t really get an idea of the size from these pictures, but I don’t have enough space to really capture that without a wide-angle lens, which I don’t have. I'm also trying not to get too attached, since the folks at CAPA are trying to find us different digs. Monday, perhaps, we'll have an idea whether we're going to stay put where we are, or move someplace else. My only requirement is that whatever new place we get has a toilet and a shower in their own respective locations, and that hot water lasts for more than about 45 seconds in the shower. I don't think I ask all THAT much, after all.

After lunch and a nap, we went out again in search of an organ concert that was supposed to take place at 9:00. We never found the venue, but a troop of schoolkids playing drums led us to the steps of the Uffizi, where a community concert ensemble was playing. Now, as the veteran of a number of community concert bands, I was immediately prepared to run for cover. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this was a VERY good ensemble as community groups go, and their literature--although definitely in the "pop" vein, was quite good. So we ended up spending the evening in the open air at the Piazza Signorina, eating gelatos and listening to their take on a few American pop and film tunes. Not bad.

I do have to sneak in a couple of words about the fauna here. First, there's bats all over the place, but especially under the bridge across the Arno. I want to take pictures of them, but I've found it's nearly impossible to track a bat through a camera lens. I tried to catch one by simply pointing the camera at it, arms outstretched, but that just got me a blurry picture of something that looks something like a bat... I just can't get the thing in focus. So I'm thinking about trying to get my hands on a motion detector that I can wire up to an electronic shutter release cable. If I can do that, then I can put the camera in focus at whatever that distance is, and fire away. Hmm. Where's a Fry's when you need one?

Other fauna: went geocaching today and while moving a rock aside, stumbled across a scorpion. Ack! I didn't realize they had THOSE things here? Also heard from Judith that they have nutria here (nutria are those critters that look like big sewer rats... the ones that used to eat the levees in New Orleans), and I'm pretty sure I saw one tonight. Looked like a big sewer rat, swimming along in the Arno. I'm also seeing dogs of every shape and size, which is making me miss my own beasties. Sigh. Not much to do about that except keep writing Deb and bugging her for pictures By the way, I heard the dogs are her headphones the other day... leave it to them to choose now to start chewing things again. :-(

Well, that's enough rambling thoughts for tonight. I'll leave with this picture, taken from the front door (the street door, that is) of our apartment. It's a really pretty street on a misty night.

Ciao!
-Leanne