My Italy Sketchbook. Day Four...Boboli Gardens, Florence

Our second day in Florence was beautiful...the weather continued to be sunny and clear, and we decided to spend our free morning exploring Boboli Gardens, as recommended by a fellow passenger on our train from Venice to Florence. As we climbed up the subtle hillside exploring the gardens, there were many beautiful places to stop and enjoy the view, as well as practice posing.

I could imagine a large party here would be fabulous on a September evening - the cool breeze, people walking thru the gardens enjoying live music and delicious food and wine. That building is the Palazzo Pitti.

The view as we approached the top of the hill was spectacular.

I believe this is the top of the Duomo.

David resting as we reach the top of the hillside garden.

As we ventured back down on the other side of the garden, there was a large sculpture of a face - I really don't know much about it, whether it is old or contemporary, but it was a good spot to see if I really do have an Italian profile. Pretty close, I think!

It was also a good spot to stop and do a little sketch - see! I told you I did some drawing in Italy!

A view from the other side (plus I really liked that lady's colorful dress!)

My sketch!

Another gorgeous spot in the garden - it looks like an outdoor amphitheater. (This is only half...this shape was mirrored on the other side)

The grotto at the end of the garden.

A pleasant little surprise...a small water fountain with two tiny heads! It was only about the size of a small soup bowl. (No, I didn't drink the water)

A small, more sculpted garden.

That was all before noon. We walked back to our hotel on the other side of the Arno River to lunch and nap before our Chianti Wine tour later that day. (I'm tired just reading about it!)

At A Restoration Hardware near you...see my drawings in the Mercer Frame Collection!

We interrupt this Italy recap to bring you this special announcement...Restoration Hardware has a new line of frames, called the Mercer Collection, and they have used three of my figure drawings for the face papers in the frames! David and i ventured out to the Perimetter mall this morning to check them out. I was very excited...the display of frames on top was the first thing you saw as you entered the store. And as we explored the beautiful store there were several other areas where the frames were on display!

These are the drawings that were used (they are cropped in the frames)

So to mark the occasion, David and I bought the 5" x 7" frame, and we got in the car...he said "do you want to open it and make sure it's the right one?" So I checked the box, and it's all wrapped in Styrofoam and taped pretty well and I thought "Nah, I'm sure it's fine". OK - for those of you who know me, you can probably guess what happened next...that's right! I opened the box finally AFTER we left the parking lot and were driving on the 285 and instead of my drawing being in the frame in the box there was...nothing. I got a blank frame. Chalk this up to another experience where I should always listen to my husband. (Just don't ever tell him I said that!)

Anyway...if you are ever in a Restoration Hardware - check out the Mercer Frames! Those are my drawings!

My Italy Sketchbook. Day Three...from Venice to Florence

So our weekend in Venice has come to an end...on our last morning I did a quick, and not very successful, watercolor sketch of the Rialto bridge. If I'm brave I may post it later! This is the view from our water taxi as we headed to the train station. Arevederci, Venezia!

We arrived in Florence on a beautiful, sunny afternoon. Our travel agent had said to just "take a cab ride" from the train station to our hotel. So we did. It was the shortest cab ride ever. Our hotel was right around the corner! Oh well...at least that's the only cab ride we need in Florence. It is so easy to walk everywhere...we really saw a lot during our 4 days in the city. After a nice dinner we walked along the Arno River. Behind me is the Ponte Vecchio. All of the little shops on the bridge sell jewelry, in case you are interested!

Apparently Italian canines appreciate the view, too!

Another bridge over the Arno.

We only walked for a short while before we realized traffic is CRAZY in Florence! Most of the people drive very small cars, such as this three-wheeled yellow car, or little Vespa scooters. Everyone drives fast, and when a HUGE tour bus rounds a corner, no one slows down - they SPEED UP and dare to cut in front of the enourmous bus!

The Piazza Ognissanti.

Only a couple blocks from our hotel was the Santa Maria Novella, a beautiful church. We visit the church later in our trip.

We crash early...tomorow we head out on a Chianti Wine tour after exploring the Boboli Gardens.

My Italy Sketchbook. Day Two...Afternoon in Venice

So after a lovely morning exploring St. Mark's Square and Murano glass, David and I were looking forward to a relaxing afternoon. We were very lucky...we happened to be in Venice the day of the Regata Storica. Also....we were staying in a hotel right next to the Rialto bridge...with a balcony...where we could watch the whole thing! The first picture shows the Grand Canal as we approached the first part of the program - the parade.

This is a picture of what the canal usually looks like - LOTS of boats! Motorized and otherwise - all driven by men who never go less than 30MPH on the water - including while they are parking! They speed into a dock space then slam it in reverse. And they cut each other off like maniacs! I thought it was crazy...of course, that ended up being mild once I experienced a cab ride in Rome...but more on that later!

So as the parade and race was getting under way, we saw many of the teams warming up - here is a team in blue shirts and an orange boat - I loved the colors!

Here is a shot of the Rialto bridge as the crowds began to gather. I felt so awful for all of the spectators who perched atop the bridge to watch - as the race got started, the cops removed everyone from the bridge! The streets became very crowded.

As the afternoon went on many spectators appeared in the windows up and down the canal...

Here is our group watching from our perch. I think we ended up spending 7 hours eating, drinking, reading, watching and talking! It was a lovely afternoon.

The parade was wonderful - all of the teams participated as well as several boats in a "pageantry" style - lots of colorful costumes, as if they were royalty from long ago arriving in Venice.

More parade shots...

I hope this works - this is a short video of the younger competitors rounding the marker. As the teams make the turn, you can hear the announcer call out the order by team color "rosso verde bianco celeste".

I do have a couple of sketches to add - I'll post those later!

My Italy Sketchbook. Day Two...Morning in Venice

Our second day in Venice was very busy. We started the morning with a tour of St. Mark's Square, or Piazza San Marco. It was a wonderful tour with a native of Venice as our guide. Before I get into the portion of the tour in St. Mark's Square, a bit of info she shared about gondolas...that have always been painted black.

Also, gondoliers have always been male. Currently, one woman is in training to become a gondolier. Her father was one as well. When asked how the Venetians felt about this, she said...in all honesty...that most people feel that gondoliers are more than just men driving a boat - they have almost a mythical status, and have always been male. I got the impression that as a female Venetian she wasn't all that thrilled with the idea.

As our tour got started we talked a about the Basilica, which housed St. Mark's tomb. The remains were stolen in the night...there's even a mosaic depicting the theft!
The outside of the Basilica has more than 400 columns, of all different kinds of precious marble. It really was beautiful.When large buildings were being constructed, trees were buried under the ground to give additional support. Many refer to this as "the forest under Venice". There was a great picture in the square depicting how trees were placed close together, buried in the ground as the base for the heaviest buildings. It was also explained that if someone cut a tree down without authority, they were hung on the next closest tree and left on display for three days. (Our guide explained that this is also why it is considered bad luck to walk thru the two columns at the edge of St. Mark's square...it mirrors walking between the two trees where the accused would hang) We then went inside Doge's Palace, stopping in the courtyard to admire the architecture. In the lower left, you can see one of many large well heads that were used to collect fresh water. Providing fresh water to the people has always been a challenge for the Venetian people. If one was caught tampering with the precious public supply, they would be hanged.

A beautiful staircase in the courtyard.

This carved face shows one of the elements of Venetian government. If you wanted to accuse someone of a crime, you would write the accusation, sign it, and have two others witness it. Then, the accusation could be placed in the mouth. If the accusation proved to be true, the accused would face justice and the accuser would remain anonymous. However, if anyone ever falsely accused someone, everyone who signed that paper would be in big trouble. I'm pretty sure more hanging from a tree was involved...

Inside Doge's palace...the gorgeous LaScala d'Oro, or Golden Staircase. (Photographs were not allowed after this section.)

Me standing next to that amazing staircase in the courtyard.
After our tour of the square, we were invited to take a boat ride to the Murano Glass factory. Once we made sure that we would get a ride back (there are many free rides over there - but you have to buy some glass if you want a free ride back!) we decided to hop on the boat and head over to the factory. The view from the boat heading away from the square.

Inside the Murano Glass factory, we watched as a master glass artist, who I believe over 40 yrs of experience, create a vase and a small glass figure. Glass blowing is becoming an endangered art in Murano - in the 1960's there were over 60 glass artisans, now they have only 15. It's sad to think that these respected artists (click on the Murano link to learn more) have fallen prey to a common problem - to study to be a master glass maker requires time and commitment, often with very little pay, and many of today's youth are unwilling to do that. As our guide said "most want to play soccer".

I have my own theory as well...our whole tour of the factory was one long sales' pitch to buy, what I thought, was very "dated" and "tacky" looking glass. Very little was said about the history of the factory, it's place in the Venetian history, it's legendary glass making techniques. The master glass blowers must feel like they are trained monkeys at this point, shilling for the tourists who pour thru rather than creating "art". But I digress...(oh and there's the one shot I got of inside the showroom before I was told "no pictures!")Waiting outside the factory for our boat.

The sidewalk and shops near the glass factory.

Well all that was before 1:PM! I will have to share our afternoon in Venice watching the Regata Storica in the Grand Canal in my next post!