Great things about Italy

When we took a tour of The Vatican, we knew about the dress code from reading our tourbooks. No bare shoulders, no short shorts - although it's not clear whether or not exposed knees were OK. However, it didn't occur to us that this was the rule in other cathedrals: At The Vatican, you would be denied entry for inappropriate dress, but at other locations (like The Duomo in Florence), those with bare shoulders would be provided with paper ponchos to wear. Of course there was the art as well; we skipped many of the more famous galleries, but tried to see as much modern art as we could. This was the (villa's) neighbor's dog ; we called him Cerberus. As the non-driver, I found the Italian roads quite scenic. The Gambler had a bit of a different experience - at one point he commented that even though he was going twice the posted speed limit on a fairly curvy 2 lane road, two drivers had passed him as we drove uphill. When's the last time you got boccocini cheese at McDonald's? I enjoy visiting grocery stores when we travel; it's neat to see what's on the shelves. Chocolate covered Bran Flakes - brilliant!

Knitaly

September in Italy is still quite hot, but I did see many "inspirational knits"Forget Prada - my face was pressed up against the glass at the Missoni stores. This particular sweater was quite tame in terms of patterning, but I liked how the stitch pattern combined with the colour changes on the yoke. Too cute! Not sure what this lace pattern is - not being able to use the flash through a shop window doesn't make it any easier to identify. Not a knit, but a neat idea - a silk scarf that was basted and shirred. And of course, what better time to finish my Tuscany shawl than during our time in Tuscany! I just kept knitting until the yarn was almost gone. I think I did about 15.5 pattern repeats; maybe 16.5. Euro coin for scale. The "just cast off shot" It took a while after returning home to block it - but here it is: I ended up finishing it one month after the day I cast on - so much for my Ravelympics attempt.

Arrezzo

Arezzo has a big outdoor market every Saturday: Items range from the sublime to the ridiculous Sadly, we had limited room in our suitcases for objets d'art However, it's always easy to make room for more yarn! Like this cone of linen, for instance. I purchased it from a store called Busatti - it's apparently famous for fabrics and linens (which they manufacture themselves). They had a small cubby with cones of yarn - presumably weaving leftovers. I'm thinking of combining it with some of the yarn I bought in Florence. Perhaps to knit something along the lines of Cactus Flower?

Firenze

I spent 2 days in Florence:The first day I was there with The Gambler. He was quite happy with his Florentine Steak - all 1.2 kg of it. The second day I went there on my own (our villa was right on the train line that runs between Rome and Florence) I stumbled upon the indoor market, and also spent some time at an awesome yarn shop. It was actually kind of overwhelming - so much so that I didn't take any pictures of it! (I had visions of one of the ladies working there tossing me out - they looked pretty no nonsense) When I walked in, I was greeted by the "1 Euro per 100 g" wall. I got 6 of these - the label indicates that it's "Misto Alpaca" I also picked up this beauty for 2 Euros. It's a laceweight, and it looks like I've got alot of it... ...lots and lots of it. ************** On a totally unrelated note - is anyone else somewhat amused by all the "Election Day" daytime coverage - there's really nothing to report. I haven't seen so many somewhat irrelevant statistics since the last time I watched a baseball game on TV. I guess that's why the Fake Text Message is getting so much press. I will be interested to see how much difference there is between the exit polls and the actual results are; if there is a significant "Bradley Effect" how much have things really changed?

Toscana, duo

Another day, another walled town on top of a hill. Montalcino is famous for several red wines; the finest (or at least the most expensive) is Brunello. We took the opportunity to try a glass with lunch, but sadly, the current restrictions on liquids in carryon luggage meant it would be too much hassle to bring some home. On our way home, we stopped in an even smaller walled town; San Giovanni D'Asso. An American Artist bought a parcel of land there and has created an artwork that is a garden.The only rules in the garden are no smoking, no camping, no fires. Every so often, you will come across a sculpture, or some words carved into stone. Nothing is explained, and there are no directional signs. Discreet fences mark the edges of the garden... ...and when you emerge from Il Bosco, you are immediately faced with a traditional garden. Next stop, Firenze!

Toscana!

After our 5 days in Rome, we rented a car and headed up to Tuscany. We rented an awesome villa (60 Euros a night!), and did day trips from there.The countryside was quite hilly - some rolling, some steeper. We were very close to a walled city called Cortona. A few km from the city proper was a monastary called Le Celle I thought Le Celle meant "The sky", but apparently it means "The Cells" Either way, it was beautiful.

Tee Hee

Needless to say, any vapours emanating from this particular toilet were not of the sanitizing kind.

We're back!

Well, Internet access wasn't that great during our trip - hence the blog silence. Alot was happening in North America in the last 2 weeks; it was interesting to hear about it through the filter of European news sources. I of course have a million things to do before I am back to work tomorrow; but I can upload one vacation pic: Me knitting on the Spanish Steps. In the evening, it's a popular place to just hang out - not so much in the morning. Right after I sat down, I realized that works out well if your job is to hose down the steps daily - water doesn't dry very quickly early in the day.