It started raining yesterday and we had a terrible storm last night. What little I understand on the news in the bar (coffee) each morning it sounds like several people died and Venice is having real flooding issues. Because of the rain, today is mostly inside activities. The studio is about a 30 minute walk each way and I got pretty wet both ways today.
I have had several people (mostly female) ask what the apartment looks like. Following is a tour.
This is the door to the apartment from the inside. A place to leave the keys and notes for the roommates.
Speaking of the keys. A bit much to carry in your pocket.
As you turn and walk down the entry hallway the first door on the right is the camera da letto principale.
The hallway then empties into the living room.
Opposite the living room is a small kitchen.
The full bath and 1/2 bath are off the kitchen.
My bedroom is then off the living room.
When we lean out of any of our windows Italian style this is the view we have of the piazza looking to the right, our neighbors looking straight out and the view of the street looking to the left.
My Brother Jeff (right) and Husband Rob (left) arrived yesterday as well. I met them at the train / bus / taxi station and we took a cab back to the apartment.
A quick update on Jewelry work. The crushed stone project is polished and finished. My instructor has been very coy about how we create the glue substance that binds the stone to the silver. She explained a process that uses the hooves of horses and sounded a lot like something Merlin would mix up. After all of the historical techniques were discussed she reached into her bag and pulled a tube of Super Glue explaining this would be much easier. I was OK with that.
The next project is to start with flat sheet silver and turn it into a concave (convex?) shape for a ring. This involved math and pi and double curves all of which is very difficult for an old man who can barely see and whose hands shake. The next project after the concave ring will also be a ring that marries gold and silver in a Japanese technique.
I thought you might like to see what trash day looks like in Florence. All over the city they have used parking spaces to install trash receptacles that allow for people to sort their trash by various recycling categories. Then one day a week a truck comes by and picks up the container with that trucks recycling category and empties it into the truck. They replace the receptacles and head off to the next stop. China does not seem to have slowed recycling down here.
As I was on my way home from the studio I stopped in for bowl of ribollita and a small carafe of the casa Rosso. As I was setting at the table I realized I was looking at the Chamber of Commerce. A little more dramatic than our space on Willamette.
We have decided to eat Bistecca tonight so I need to put some pants on with a larger waste size.
Ciao!!!!