Climbing and Playing and Walks (Oh, My!)

What the heck day is it again?  Oh yes, Sunday.

Yesterday, Sara and Zeph and Alec went to Cinque Terre and so Carina and her family and I slept in, and then walked across the river and up to the Piazzale Michelangelo, where there are amazing views of all of Florence.  Then we walked up, up, up even higher to the church of San Miniato.  I am still astounded every time I walk into a church here, to see paintings on the walls that are clearly centuries old.  It was a warm day and a good walk.  Then, we went back across the river at Ponte Vecchio.  That was a MOB scene!!  I think the fact that it was the weekend probably added to the crowds.  The kids had gelato, so they were happy.  Not much else to tell.  Oh wait, maybe there is.  On the way back, since I had my backpack with me, I stopped in to my new favorite leather store to see my new favorite Italian, Stefano.  I ended up buying the laptop bag that I have been coveting, so now I have my cool Italian leather bag to take home with me.  (And, my wallet is significantly lighter).

After the kids got back, we all spent some time with Emma's homework and got an hilarious lesson in Swedish.  My apologies to everyone Swedish who has ever lived, because I think we found new ways to mispronounce every word.  However, it created multiple opportunities for raucous laughter.  

Today (Sunday), I got up early enough to get respectably dressed and go to Mass.  Since there is a church about every two and a half blocks, I didn't ahve far to walk.  I sat in the back of the church, and actually understood some of the sermon.  I took it as a Sunday miracle.  

I do have one thing to say about the Catholic church, and I don't think it's specific to any continent: the few times I have been inside a church in recent years, the average age of the people there is pretty dang high.  Today, I think I may have been the youngest person there.  It's absolutely none of my business, because I am not a practicing Catholic, but they need to figure out how to bring younger people back into the fold, or in abut fifteen years there are going to be a whole lot of empty churches on a whole lot of Sundays.  (And even though I am not a practicing Catholic, something about the ritual of knowing what to say and when, when to stand or sit or kneel, even when everyone there is speaking a foreign language, makes me calmer.  Perhaps I should go more than once a year...)

Came home, ate amazing pastries for breakfast, and then we all (well, except Sara and Zeph, who decided to have a little day to themselves in Lucca) went to the da Vinci Museum.  This place is very small, but it has prototypes od all kinds of daVinci inventions, and many of them are hands-on.  It's set up very well, with a dosplay for each invention that has a replica of the original drawing, and then an explanation (in five languages!) of what the machine was meant to do, etc.  There was also a room with da Vinci's art (well, reproductions) and stories around each piece.  This guy was amazing.

Quote of the day from Emma (age 8), Carina's daughter.  "I am sad.  He was really smart, and it's too bad he is dead."  Well put, Emma.  If Leonardo were alive today, his head would probably explode with ideas.

And the end of the day??  Swedish pancake happiness.  Per made them for all of us, and we had pancakes, jam, and ice cream for dinner.  Now, we are all sitting around the table drinking, which is a very nice Sunday evening activity, while the two little ones are playing in the garden with the tortoise.

Life is good, indeed.

Ciao!
Giannina