Month: November 2011

  • Naughty or Nice? No Santa to decide

    Ah, December.  This of course means just over 2 weeks of procrastination from any specific shopping, and just over one final week to face the madness in the shops. Here it’s a little harder to notice.  Either it’s an evening promenade down the two main shopping streets, or that similar rush is also starting here.…

  • A Padlock to Symbolize Your Love?

    We’re not talking chastity belts, or anything kinky that might involve leather hoods or overly complex harnesses.  Ever consider symbolizing your loving relationship with a lock?  Europeans in many cities have started in on this a few years ago, and it is something we noted last year on Via dell’Amore while doing a day trip…

  • Efficiencies of European Accommodations

    Bored by the end of the title…we’ll call that a new first.  Throughout our travels, both this year and last, we’ve encountered a few unique features related to personal energy and water usage that could really be handy in saving the world a bundle in wasted electricity. Motion sensor in the bathroom.  How many times…

  • Internet Inhibited, and damn cold!!

    It’s yin and yang.  Black and white.  Internet abundance and now none.  Yes, a decade ago, adding wifi to the list of requirements was unheard of in an apartment rental or hotel.  Now we can’t seem to live without it.  Heat might even come in second to updating my hockey pool roster.  It’s why we…

  • Re-education in Modern Art

    Everything is relative, and yesterday was no exception with our visit to the Galleria d’arte Moderna.  With the expectation of geometric shapes mashed into shag carpet, then framed and  hung on a wall to evoke some emotion…I was a little surprised to find none of it.  Once again, no pictures were permitted to capture the…

  • Aimless Walking of Florentine Streets

    So a 4 hour walk today, with only a rough direction in mind, led us to Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli Garden. The last time we looked at going into this garden, they wanted 10euro just to walk through the gate.  When was the last time you paid to walk into a garden?  Not only…

  • Celebrating 1000+ hits! Who needs validation

    I know, stats are boring.  It must be the continual manipulation of numbers into percentages that always seem to favor whatever argument the stats are used for.  A 50% shooting percentage is just that, but doesn’t tell you that over the course of 50 games, only 2 shots were taken and one happened to bounce…

  • Firenze Street Vendor Tycoons

    I just have so many questions related to street vending. If there were a video game, or app, the streets of Firenze could be a great model…and now that I have said it, the moneymaking idea is likely already in development. A more active bazaar, such as those noted in Istanbul would likely be better…

  • A Sunday drive, train style

    A beautiful Sunday here. Sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and started a mere 3 degrees above freezing. I know there may be a little envy about the weather here, but a scarf and gloves are definitely required for any kind of tourist wander about town. It’s not all Speedos and olive oil! Today,…

  • 30 euro for an Italian Haircut?

    Yeah, I too was a little surprised…but after two weeks of bad photos and the need for excessive hair product to make my mop of hair behave for a few hours in a day, a cut was required. I was a little excited, and a little nervous.  It’s been almost 11 years of going to…