It’s been two weeks now since we returned from Italy and
it’s time for just one last post. As I think about our time there, the camera
doesn’t really do justice to the experience. There were so many different
sounds and sensations as we travelled around. Sometimes we didn’t have the
camera with us and at other times we were too engrossed in the action or
ambiance of the moment to think about taking a picture.
Siena must have been one of those times. There are no
pictures on the camera of this fascinating place and yet I have many vivid
pictures in my mind of this medieval city. Two images stand out.
We had been walking by the steps leading down to the piazza
when Lyle noticed a hearse parked near the entrance. A vehicle in the narrow,
cobble stoned, crowded street was unusual in itself, but a hearse...! We had
only walked another half block or so when the funeral procession itself rounded
a corner. The tourists and other passers by melted back
against the walls of the stone buildings to allow the procession to pass. The pallbearers
walked by first carrying the coffin and a group of about fifty or so mourners
followed also on foot. It would have been disrespectful to take a picture and I
didn’t notice any cameras being raised. Instead there was a strange silence in
the otherwise noisy street. It was very hot and the other thing I noticed was
that the mourners were without exception dressed in shorts, t-shirts and other
casual summer gear.
My second mind picture was that same night. Lyle and I ate
at one of the outdoor restaurants in the piazza. We were seated at the edge of
the track that was being prepared for the horse races the next weekend. The
food was fine – unremarkable, but fine – however, the view was outstanding. We
were facing across the oval to the clock tower, which reached above the peaked
roof of the massive city hall. It was the kind of view you might expect to see
on a postcard. When we first sat down the sky was a Mediterranean blue, but as
we sipped on our wine and nibbled at our pizza, the overhead dome merged to an
inky black. Behind the clock tower a full moon gradually emerged over the
rooftop.
These are pictures that will stay with me, but the one I
will share with you now was taken in Florence. It was also one of those
unexpected moments. We had been walking and hopefully making our way to the cathedral
when we rounded a corner to a shadowed square. Probably if we had been
following a guidebook we would have known what to expect but we weren’t and so
it was a great surprise to see numerous gargoyles arranged around the area.
There was even one suspended on a wire between two of the buildings. The
picture here is of a group of three gargoyles with Laura, our daughter-in-law,
and me standing between them. The gargoyles are very white sculptures with
strange animal like heads.
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| Sue, Laura, and Gargoyles |
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