Last Sunday I walked Axel over to his home for the next two weeks. His new Florentine family hosts children from the Europass Italian Language School Junior Camp - and they have three Siberian Forest cats. Axel was very pleased about this and I get cat photos from him regularly.
After leaving Axel, he and his new host dad drove to the airport to pick up Sebastian, Axel's fellow camper and roommate. Sebastian is Austrian and about Axel's age.
Here is Axel in his new room.
This is Simba, one of the Siberian Forest cats.
Simba injected himself into Axel's duffel upon arrival.
Another cat in the back patio, meet Ginger.
Ginger on the stairs.
This is Axel's regular breakfast. There is also a cat in this photo.
These are some of Axel's fellow campers. Sebastian is on the left and Rodrigo, from Spain, is on the right. They appear to be eating gnocchi.
Axel has been sweet enough to send us these photos, but he seems really busy. Jon and I brought him some things but had to leave them downstairs with his host family's son. I got a text later that said, "scusa mamma, stavo cenado". A few days later I texted to see if he has everything he needs and he replied, "tutto bene." I do see him on my Google map and I get receipts from Bird Scooters when he rents a scooter to roast around town. I am pretty sure he is loving life right now and I am so excited to hear all about it in seven more days.
Axel sent me this street art but I do not think it is a cry for help.
Jon and I have found some nice street art as well. Here is one from our bike ride on the Arno bike path.
Jon says he always captures Banksy-derivatives if possible.
The natural gas access doors are a favorite canvas for local artists.
We have a copy of Lady with Ermine in our dining room back home. The original Da Vinci is in Poland, but here in the Oltrarno we discovered Lady with Romaine.
And a Botticelli Venus, again on the gas access door.
Monday was July 4th and Jon and I both had the day off work. I rented an eBike first thing in the morning (aka 10am) and we rode to Fiesole on a custom route Jon had selected. Getting to Fiesole on eBike was far preferable to walking there. We went to the big overlook, picnicked outside the monastery, and then we toured the Roman and Etruscan ruins.
The ride up to Fiesole
Me riding up the stairs and hoping I do not crash spectacularly
Jon rides up to join me
Jon at the overlook in Fiesole.
A painting inside the monastery, in which the monk comforts a man, either for being a prisoner or for having very poor taste in suits.
The ruins of a Roman Temple that contain even older ruins of an Etruscan Temple.
Jon as the sacrifice on the Etruscan Altar.
Me, apparently late for the show at the Roman Amphitheater.
After Fiesole we coasted back to Florence, rested up for a bit, and then took the bikes out again for an evening spin along the Arno river bike path. Getting to see the area by bicycle was cool because that is usually just a Jon thing. Later that night, hungry, we queued up at All'antico Vinaio, a popular sandwich shop. It originated in Florence and has since opened outlets in Rome and Midtown-Manhattan, inspiring a write up in the New Yorker. It was worth the wait.
Jon and I on the white gravel alongside the Arno.
Not-so-surreptitious selfie at the sandwich place.
The Holy Grail of sandwiches.
One of the great things about working for a US company is that we have all day to play and then we work in evening. For that reason, our holiday weekend kept rolling right on in to Tuesday. Jon decided we should rent Bird electric scooters for our trip to see the Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens. The vibe on the scooter was: wind cooling my sweaty neck, rolling through the cobbled streets, my fellow tourists overheard saying, "look, a scooter, now that is the way to do it."
Jon rents a scooter.
Smirking at the Boboli Gardens
Posing with the big statue
This whole time Jon has been going on huge rides around Tuscany. You can follow him on Strava (user name chessracer) for lots of pictures and maps of his rides. He has shared a few pictures for the blog.
Nestled village
The Tuscan landscape
Jon drinks the water despite the lack of support from the Italian government.
Today Jon is on a jumbo Saturday jaunt ala bicycle and I am roaming the neighborhood. I just got back from a trip to the San Marco monastery which hosts the world's largest collection of Fra Angelico's paintings (shiny bible scenes, serious painting chops). He lived there in the 1400's after being enticed down the hill from the Fiesole monastery.
Another famous inhabitant of this monastery was Jerome Savonarola, who waged war on secular culture here in Florence, burning art and books and cosmetics in the square. This was known as the bonfire of the vanities. Eventually the people of Florence decided they did not want to go back to the middle ages, that the Renaissance was cool and art was cool. So they came for him and hung him in the town square. Not to get political, but I cannot help but think of theocratic parallels going on back home right now.
The original church bell of San Marco. It rang to warn Savonarola that the angry mob was coming. The mob was so mad at the bell that they publicly whipped the bell and then exiled it for 10 years. I knew the Florentines often exiled people... but a bell?
This cat was in the last supper painting at the San Marco.
Tomorrow maybe we will relax and watch some Tour de France coverage on TV. I am paying close attention to Le Tour because next Monday we are going to set out for the Alps to watch Stage 11 and 12 in person. Expect a full report next week.
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