Blog Archives - A Cottage by the Sea

Trash disposal in Florence~

9/27/2016

Now that I’m home, I getting rid of more stuff. This massive purging, along with purchasing less, translates into less trash. And yet, we have to deal with it. Our town dump has all kinds of recycle bins, offering many ‘green’ opportunities. I put trash in a big garbage can and my husband takes it to the dump. Seems like a satisfactory solution for the suburbs.
Living in Florence, however, you don’t need an outdoor garbage can. Individual households sort according to recyclables, organic and trash, and dispose of it in underground containers located on the sidewalks throughout the city. It is a remarkable way to deal with trash in urban areas. Here are some pictures is worth a thousand words.

Morning walk in Florence~

9/24/2016

Yesterday was my last full day living here this time. I always say this time to leave open the possibility of returning. Hope generates positive opportunities. We reap what we sow. Please enjoy my last morning and evenings walk with me.

Too much for sale in Florence~

9/23/2016

      Living-at-home includes attending the festivities of the town. Last evening I wandered about the 'Marche Francais"in the Piazza of Santa Maria Novella, with locals and tourists alike enjoying food and wine.
     I didn’t buy anything. I wasn’t hungry, and after purchasing alpaca yarn to knit an afghan, there is no room in my suitcase. But there is more to this refraining. I love salty, greasy food, but I try to say away from indulging. I also try to stay away from buying. There is too much stuff in the world, more than we need, but not distributed equally or fairly to the world’s people. In buying a piece of clothing, I add to the greed of the privileged by encouraging the fashion industry to manufacture more than we can physically use. Go into any store, in the U.S. or in Florence, and see more pieces of clothing than will ever be purchased. No problem, get rid of the excess somehow: change the current style, market using young bodies to express hope of a rich, carefree life, one that will forever remain young and sexy.
    And then there are leather stalls in Florence? If all those purses and coats are genuine leather, what about the animals? Where are they raised? How are the slaughtered? How are their carcasses disposed of? Sorry to burst your bubble, but all of this has to do with saving the environment.
     For the past seven years I have bought new few piece of clothing or other household items. Most of the gifts we give are from the put-and-take at our town dump. I travel instead. I am a little sorry that I bought that yarn for the afghan I’m knitting. There must be folks out there with stashes of yarn to share, and I can do with out alpaca. I’m learning.

Bardini Gardens again~

9/22/2016

For my garden loving friends. Needless to say, I had a lovely day walking, looking and writing.

Morning coffee in Florence~

9/21/2016

If you want to feel like you’re living-at-home away from home, join the locals and stop in at the same bar every day for your morning coffee. I’ve found one just around the corner from my apartment, near the Ponte Vecchio--a tourist mecca, but not at 7:30. Just us locals.Today the bartender had my cappucchino ready for me by the time I had paid the cashier. He’s there every morning; we locals can count on him, just as he can count on us. I live here and he knows it.

A day writing in Florence

9/19/2016

My writing is coming along; well at least I’m writing. One of the articles I’m working on is entitled ‘Seven Days Writing in Florence’. How can I write about writing if I don’t write? I write so I have something to write.

Yesterday was a day for inspiration and writing. The two go together. First stop, the Convent of San Marco, where Fra Angelico lived while decorating each cell with a fresco from the life of Christ. Cosimo de’Medici, who inspired the building of convent and established its library, retreated from bustling Florentine life to his private cell there to write. Stepping into his sparse cell was enough to keep me going. Examining the manuscripts in the library, reminded me of the hard work involved in any creative process.

From there I took a half hour ride on Bus 7 from Piazza San Marco to Fiesole. The road to the left of the church leads to a favorite writing spot of mine in the park below the Monastery of San Francesco overlooking the Tuscan countryside. Except for a few strollers, I was alone with my computer. The small monastery, with cells for only eight monks, always inspires me. All there was in one tiny room—a book, paper and pen, table, chair and pallet. No distractions.

Locks of love in Florence

9/17/2016

Locks of Love. Florence isn’t the only city to have them, but how could lovers resist placing a lock on a gate surrounding the bust of Cellini on the Ponte Vecchio? And even with a 50 euro fine! Just think of the time it takes to remove them? I know that periodically happens because on another visit, I experienced the locks ‘here today, gone tomorrow’. I wish I could see the removers at work, but they probably do it at night.

The other day, however, I did see someone arrested for climbing. First I saw her, with boyfriend innocently standing by, climbing over the locks of love fence. I couldn’t tell if she was adding one or just examining those already there. Either way, I thought how blatant and foolish.
A little later, there she was again, climbing the fence into the Fountain of Neptune on the Piazza della Signorina. Then appeared two police, a woman and a man. The lady gave them her passport, and the four of them (boyfriend reluctantly going along) entered the Palazzo della Signoria where the police station is located. The building wasn’t open to the pubic so I couldn’t follow them. I’d love to know the end of the story.

A living-at-home moment in Florence

9/15/2016

I have to keep conscious of my commitment to live in Florence for two weeks. I’m not a tourist, although I do tourist-like things; I’m not permanent resident so I don’t have to fill out forms or documents. I can live in the moment, but that is the challenge. This morning I renewed my promise to stay present. How easy it is to get my mind moving forward to the next meal, next activity, next worry. This is true wherever I live but for these two weeks, without the obligations of life at home, I have the opportunity to practice living in the moment, which will help me when I return to the everydayness of my life. Stop, really look and listen. This is the only moment you have.
Today I had two ‘living-at-home’ moments. I met a friend for lunch andI bought a plant. Once a week an instant garden center appears for a morning along the portico at Piazza della Republica near the Post Office. Gardeners come from the country to sell plants and flowers. I bought a cyclamen for 2.50 euro to make my kitchen table homey, to be a home in the moment.

Villa Gamberaia: a fieldtrip from Florence

9/14/2016

Villa Gamberaia, overlooking Florence. Bus 10 from Piazza San Marco to Settignano, and then a fifteen minute walk. Yesterday the Villa was closed to the public, but the gardens were open. It is no wonder that for centuries the rich and powerful have escaped from the city to the hills, where the air is cool and the view exquisite. There is the Medici villa at Carregi. Fiesole attracted the Romans, Bernard Berenson to Villa I Tatti, and Frank Lloyd Wright to rent Villino Belvedere.
http://www.villagamberaia.com/visiting-the-gardens/

Santa Maria Novella

9/14/2016

     I visited Santa Maria Novella yesterday afternoon. Although I’ve never thought of it as my favorite, I always seem to spend time there soon after I arrive in Florence. This time I took a notebook tour, computer notebook that is. A very leisurely, solitary way to do it. In fact, I’m considering doing so at other churches I tour.
     This Dominican church has a rich history in Florence, beginning in the mid-thirteen century when monastic orders were building churches all over Europe as a base to carry out their mission (with public assistance). Florence was no exception.
     The Dominican mission is to preach, teach, and confess. Interesting to note that the Dominican Fra Girolama Savonarola (1452-96), who became over zealous in the order’s mission until he was burned at the stake in Piazza della Signoria, was not mentioned in the tour. Maybe he’ll appear when I tour the Convent of San Marco where he lived, but I’m thinking the text on these tours is committed to giving a positive spin.
http://www.museumsinflorence.com

Inside the church

In the cloisters