#2934 a micro-memory of Florence

I am in my office, putting up a little piece of art that I bought in Florence. It's small, maybe 8" x 8" for the mat and 4" x 4" for the art. I loved the color and the features of the city. I have it in a spot that doesn't really showcase it, but where I can easily see it when I'm sitting at my home desk. 

art by Paolo Lazzerini

Maybe what I love about the little painting the most is the memory of the store from which I bought it, and more specifically, the memory of the man who was working in the shop.

On our first day in Florence, Lizzie found a wine window close to our hotel. (I wrote about it in post #2927.)

Lizzie at the wine window

Across the street from the wine window was a little art shop.

Arte Viae shop

That's it on the right with the arched door, Arte Viae. Lizzie said that maybe we could go back there before we left because she thought she might find a pretty magnet or some other souvenir. We like to buy from small local places when we can as opposed to a kiosk that has the same stuff as the kiosk next to it. I'm actually not sure why we didn't just go in at the time, other than we'd had four glasses of wine that afternoon, and sometimes bad shopping decisions are made when you've had some drinks. (I'm thinking of a particularly tragic souvenir I bought in Puerto Vallarta after waaaaaay too much tequila.)

On our final morning in Florence after breakfast, we went back to the little art shop. It was just opening for the day and we walked in. It was very small and very cute and colorful. Click on the link above to take a peek at the website. The man in the shop explained that all of the art was by a brother and sister who grew up in Tuscany. Most of their art focuses on Tuscany and Florence. Their styles are similar. The piece I bought is by the brother.

I found the prices to be quite reasonable, so I bought a few little things, as did Lizzie. As I was checking out, the man at the counter told me about a special he had on a couple of products, and he said he had already told my friend about them. He nodded his head toward Lizzie. 

"That is my sister," I told him. 

"Oh! Your sister! Yes, I can see now a resemblance, and your voices are the same," he said. He stopped what he was doing and he got a faraway look in his eyes. "My mother and her sister used to travel together," he told me. "I can remember them planning trips, then going for a week or a few days. They were always so happy to do that." He looked over at Lizzie, who I think was still looking around. "It is unusual for sisters to travel together, I think," he said. "It is wonderful you travel together, and share these experiences. And I thank you for telling me, because it makes me remember my mother and my aunt, and it has made me happy." 

Well, I'm pretty soft-hearted about stuff like that, and I could feel my eyes get tight and a lump in my throat. I gathered up my purchases, thanked him for his time and for his beautiful shop, and we left. So, whenever I look at my little art piece from Arte Viae, I will remember the shopkeeper who remembered his mom and his aunt because two sisters from the U.S. came into his shop on a rainy October morning.

#2613 back from Costa Rica

 

Pura vida, friends! I am back from a week in Costa Rica, and let me just tell you, it was fantastic! The country is so beautiful and so full of life. Being there was nothing like I expected and everything I hoped it would be. I had prepared myself for being wet from constant rain. The reality was that although it did rain every day while we were in the Arenal area, the showers were mostly for a short period of time, then it was over. I hoped that my sister and I would have the opportunity to sit poolside, taking in the sun, and we absolutely were able to do that. I hoped that the excursions and transfers would be hassle-free, and they totally were. The only thing I spent any time worrying about was not walking too near or touching any trees because of snakes. (I was warned not to walk too near or touch any trees by the guides, so I wasn’t making that up!)

Lizzie wrote on her blog every day of our trip. If you want to read about our daily adventures, please check out  http://www.meetinggrace.com/ She is a fantastic writer and has posted lots of photos as well. 

Over the next several days, I’ll be reminiscing about the trip here, covering stuff like why I didn’t need to pack as much stuff as I did, food, hotel info, micro-memories, and other miscellaneous stuff. I’ll post photos too. To start with, the photo at the top of this post is me sitting pool-side at the Kioro Hotel at the base of Arenal volcano. That’s her over my shoulder, showing off all her gorgeousness. Seriously, that volcano is enormously photogenic. I’ll have to count how many photos of I have of her in various states of cloud cover. I remember rhetorically asking how many photos I actually needed of Arenal. One of our guides, Francisco, heard me and said, “Probably a thousand!” I don’t have a thousand, but there are a lot.

There is a question I’ve already been asked a few times, so I’ll just cover it right now. The question, of course, is “What was your favorite thing about Costa Rica?” Truly, I loved everything about the trip and my very most favorite thing about it was being with my sister. We had so much fun! I totally loved sharing the experiences with her. I did not get tired of being around her or ever wish that we could split up for a bit of alone time, which is pretty unusual for me because I like my space. As much as I like going places with MT, my sister is pretty much my ideal travel companion, probably because we are alike in so many ways. Plus, she’s just damn cool!