Our Second Day

I awoke wide and awake at 4:30 am local time. A bit too early, so I stayed in bed and day dreamed for about an hour, before once again falling deep asleep.

We awoke late, startled that it was already 10 am. I made an espresso coffee for us, and then we headed off to the Mercato Centrale for some real food shopping.

We crossed the Duomo, and past some of the leather stalls we had seen the day before. Again Hera seemed to briefly be showing signs of Stendhal syndrome as another wave of emotion over came her.

I was about to take out my map, to be sure we were headed in the right direction, when we spied what looked like the Mercato Centrale. An enclosed market full of stalls selling fresh vegetables, meats and various cheeses.

We bought bread, parmagiano cheese, olive oil, prosciutto and Milanese salami, along with other vegetables and fresh porcini mushrooms. We looked at each other, and exclaimed to each other that porcini mushrooms are bolettes. (A type of mushroom)









We headed back home for our bruch. We dipped our bread into the olive oil. We decided not to add any balsamic vinegar, as the floral flavour of the olive oil was exceptional on its own. (Santoliva extra virgin olive oil, www.sordigiuseppe.it) Along with the parmagiano cheese, and cold cuts, we had a satisfying brunch.


The day before, we had walked past several leather shops, but Hera felt that one of the first shops had the purse she wanted. So we headed towards Santa Croce, and found the leather shop we saw the day before, to pick up a small purse.

We crossed the Arno river and gazed at the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge. The small streets and shops south of the Arno river are reminiscent of the West bank of Paris or Trastevere of Rome. We spent some time on the famous bridge filled with shops selling gold jewelry, then again walked back South of the Arno river. We walked across Pitti Palace, saving it for another day, and later bought some delightful oval cherry tomattos to eat as we strolled. So sweet and tasty, Hera saved some to seed and dry them, hoping to grow them when back home. (Winks to Elaine)





Heading back, we again sauntered over the Ponte Vecchio bridge filled with toursists, and again wandered the beautiful streets of Florence. Today was a day for unguided meandering walks. To get a feel for the city. After all, we are in no rush.




Back home, Hera fried the Porcini mushrooms in some butter and olive oil, while the Porcinin filled ravioli we bought earlier was served in a butter and olive oil sauce, along with some garlic, sun dried tomatoes, and a spice mixture we bought at the market. To accompany our meal, we had a 2008 Poggio Stella Rosso Di Montepulciano. A full bodied red, with mild tannins and a lovely lingering delicious after taste.


Talk about being spoiled. Exceptional wines, delicious cheese, and olive oil that alone makes the trip worthwhile. Settled into our comfotable apartment, we are now at home in Florence, and looking forwards to the days ahead.



Cheers,

Anthony & Hera

Travelling to Florence

It was a gorgeous warm sunny morning, when my sister picked us up, and drove us to the airport. With time to spare, we had brunch at Houston's, bought some parfume at the duty free, and roamed among the shops, and then waited some more.

The plane left on time, and headed West, giving a spectacular view of Lake St. Louis reminiscent of the Carribean.


We connected in Philadelphia, and flew back up the coast, over Cape Cod, then over the Bay of Fundy on our left, and Nova Scotia on our right, before heading off across the Atlantic.


After supper and movie, I tried unsuccessfully to sleep, while Hera watched a second movie. The idea is to try and nap heading East, then forcefully stay awake the next day to quickly get our bodies habituated to the time change.

We had a brief stop over in Frankfurt, enough to watch the sun rise, then a quick flight to Florence. The Alps were a sight to see, which soon gave wave to the hills of Tuscany.


Hopping into a taxi, with broken Italian, we arrived to our apartment. The real richness of life, are the contacts we make in our journey, and one such person had given me the name of the owner of this apartment. While the original apartment was no longer available, this apartment was a wonder to behold. Thank you Francesco & Umberto.


A charming historic building, the apartment has lovely artwork on the walls, a comfortable bedroom, and an additional loft with two separate twin beds. A family of four would live very comfortably here.

Tired, exhausted, but resolute to acclimate to the new time zone, we left the apartment for a quick stroll of our new neighborhood. We soon found out that our street is a major tourist walkway between Santa Croce Church and the Duomo, with the Palazzo e Casino Burghezie across our street.




An essential early visit to any new city, is the tourist information place. Getting a map of the city, and any helpful hints, is always appreciated. The next essential, is to find some local markets. We found a wine shop across the street, but had to walk a bit to find a super market. We picked up coffee and sugar, along with some wine. The bare essentials, as we planned to go to the Mercato Centrale the next day for some real shopping.

Although tired, we still managed to cover a significant portion of the tourist areas of Florence. We past the Duomo, and meandered about, coming across several street stalls selling various items of leather. At every turn, art afronts the eyes. At one point, Hera seemed to be suffering a bit from Stendhal syndrome, as she felt a wave of emotions over take her.





Our feet tired, we spied a charming restaurant called Mangiafuoco at 24/R Via Guelfa. We started our meal with a mixed salad. Hera had their truffle ravioli, a delicate mushroom filling with a simple buttered and sage sauce, while I had their creamed porcinini pasta plate, more robust in its earthy flavours. The half liter house wine we ordered had a full nose of scents, with soft peppery flavours that complemented our meals wonderfully.


Getting back home, we settled into our new home. Opened the chilled bottle of Villa Rasina Soave Classico. A refreshing, clear white aromatic white wine with subtle fruity notes. We ensured our WiFi internet connection, enjoyed our glass of wine, and though still relatively early, we were glad we manged to stay awake until 7 pm.

Snuggling in bed, we closed our eyes. Our home for the next few weeks...

Photographer's note: Throughout this trip I will use my Panasonic Lumic G1. Mostly with it's kit lens (14mm-45mm). I like to travel light. I will shoot hand held on manual mode or sometimes on Custom mode (exept night shots). So far all my shots are done in Vibrant film mode. All my images are only slightly edited. To shoot my architectural shots I use Live View to get my compositioal lines right in the camera.

Cheers,

Anthony & Hera

New York Day 8 "Our Last Day"

Once again we stepped out to a gorgeous dry 26 degree day in New York. Our last day was going to be spent similar to our first day, but without the horrendous humidity we endured.

At first Hera was thinking of not bringing her camera, but I convinced her otherwise. She decided to shoot today in black and white, although I tried to convince her otherwise to no avail.

Walking North in the East village we came across the oldest church in New York City, St. Mark's-in-the-Bowery Church, dating back to 1799. The church stands on the same site as the original 1660 chapel that the Dutch Govenor Peter Stuyvesant on his large bouwerie, which is Dutch for farm. Two aged statues depicting native Amerindians, one named "Aspiration," and the other named "Inspiration" stand outside the church.



The adjoining cemetary holds the tombs of Governor Stuyvesant, along with seven generations of his family, as well as several other notable people.

We walked down this diagonal street that I had earlier wrote is one of the few true East-West Streets, that the wealthy of the time saved from the Grid structure that was being imposed on Manhatten. As the wealth moved further North, these mansions were taken over as brothels. Organized crime moved in, the parties caused such a racket on the streets, which is where we now get the term "racketeering" to described such criminal activities.

Walking West, we crossed The Bowery Street. North of here it is 4th Avenue, while South of here, into the East Village, Little Italy and China Town the street is called The Bowery. Govenor Peter Stuyvesant larger bouwerie (farm) played a role that I am sure he never envisioned.

Heading towards Greenwich Village we came across delightful small cobble-stoned street called Washington Mews which once housed the stables for the wealthy homes around Washington Square. Grass sprouting between the cobble stones, lovely flowers on windowsill flower boxes, and ivy climbing the walls of these low houses.


Unlike the week before, when mobs of people walked streets closed to traffic, Greenwich Village was back to normal. Locals and tourists alike roamed the streets. The various angled streets are wonderful places to stroll. Each street seems to be an enclave of its own. Picturesque buildings of various sorts, a wide variety of shops and boutiques, and of course, restaurants of all types.


You do not have to spend much money to eat excellent food in New York. That is not to say, that spending some money on a fine restaurant does not give you value for your money. We found a wonderful restaurant called Sant Anbroeus (www.santambroeus.com). We sat outside and we each ordered a glass of their Savuto'Odoardi 2005 for $11 a glass. It had a wonderful multi-layered nose. So often we have tasted some wines with a phenomenal aroma only to be disappointed by its taste, but that was not the case with this wine. Its flavor was a complex of dark fruits, good structure, with a long smokey aftertaste.


Hera ordered their mildy spicy "Fusillone All'Arrabbiata," while I had their home made ravioli with ricotta and baby spinach. Each plate was delicious. Just perfect on such a wonderful day. We even had the company of a little bird that kept visiting us throughout our meal.



To end it off, we each had a double expresso and a wonderfully light Tiramisu.


Rested and without the humidity we had endured the week before, we headed deeper into Greenwich Village. Walking into various shops and boutiques, as we meandered about the multitude of small streets.

While here for just a week, our neighborhood felt like home. While it is our last day, it will not be the last time we visit New York.

Notes from Hera (the photographer) : During the entire trip I have used a Panasonic Lumix G1 camera, with a 14mm-45mm Lumix lens ONLY. Most of my shots were shot on Manual mode f stop set at f/8... Every black and white image was shot in the camera. I did slight editing to all my images. Almost all the images were shot hand held, except Infared shots and night shots at the Brooklyn Bridge.

Dring our travels I beleive in traveling light in camera gear. My Lumix G1 is a wonderful camera that creates good quality images to my liking. Some of my photography from Lumix G1 have been enlarged as large as 20"x30" wall art prints...

Heavy duty camera gear doesn't make you a good photographer. The camera is just a tool of the craft...

I have several audio visual shows planned from my trips. So therefor what I have shared with you at this Blog are just tiny teasers.

Cheers,

Anthony & Hera

New York Day 7

It was another gorgeous sunny day, 25 degrees and dry. It felt amazing. It is hard to believe that just a few days ago, the humidity was so oppressive.

Like we usual do, we started our day in our neighborhood. We stopped by Yonah Schimmel (137 East Houston Street), where the first knishes of North America were made. Knishes are more or less baked, never fried, balls of mashed potatos. Hera had the mushroom knish, while I had the original potato knish. Of the two, we both prefered mine.


Then we hopped into the metro and headed off to Coney Island. Once again, as I have said before, do learn the transit system. Getting to Coney Island simply meant taking our usual train, this time into Brooklyn, and getting off at the last stop. Stepping out of the train, one can smell the fried food, we are there.


Coney Island has defintely seen better days, but it is the original grand-daddy of amusement parks. As long as you are not expecting the latest high tech amusement ride, and can take the kitchiness in stride, you will have a good time at Coney Island. If you enjoy going for a swim, bring your bathing suit as there is a large beach and a long board walk to enjoy as well.


Children run about laughing and screamining, as they race from ride to ride, while a church choir sang lovely songs.


Back in town, we head off to McSorley's (15 East 7th Street ), the oldest pub in New York, established in 1854, with saw dust strewn on the floor, the place is filled with history. Pepe our bartender informed us that there was only two beers on tap, McSorley's light and McSorley's dark. We ordered one of each, refreshing and delicious, it was happy hour so we ordered a few more.



Our neighborhood is such a cross section of the world. Food from a variety of cultures can be had here, from Thai to Polish, and everything in between. Not only is there a huge variety of various ethnic foods, they run the gamut of price ranges, from inexpensive eateries to pricey bistros. Something for everyone, and for anyone's budget.


We ended our day back on the Brooklyn Bridge, as the sun started to set. A few short days ago, the nights felt like an oven, but tonight, for the first time, we were sorry we did not bring our jackets. The view of Manhatten is spectacular from the bridge, and in the evening, New York takes on a different personality.



Cheers,

Anthony & Hera

New York Day 6

We stepped out of the apartment and almost felt chilly at 25 degrees... and dry! What a wonderful feeling! It was a brilliant sunny and clear day, and we were off to Central Park.

Central Park is another New York icon that everyone knows, but that people too often do not take the time to explore. For excitement, weekends are probably best, with loads of people and street performers everywhere. While there are particular "sights" in Central Park, the true joy comes from the delight to slowly stroll through a quiet park, away from the noise and hustle and bustle of one the world's greatest Metropolis.


With the brilliant sun, Hera decided that today she was going to shoot infra-red. Infra-red is light that our eyes cannot see, and her infra-red lens filter effectively blocks out all visible light. Thus all her shots, must be shot on a tripod with long exposures. But is sure beats the days when we had to be careful that our infra-red film did not get exposed from simply being too hot, and having to load the camera inside a light proof bag.


We meandered in the lovely park, around pretty lakes, through romantic tunnels, over lawns and fields, the variety is quite amazing. Hera trudged along with her tripod, but she was in infra-red heaven as she so often said.

It is amazing how quickly one adapts to one's surroundings. The peaceful quiet of the park suddenly broke, and we were jarred back to the noise and traffic of New York. Back on 5th Avenue, we walked past several of the high end designer stores that we visited a few days ago, Hera picked up an item at Armani store.


We also walked past the Rockefeller Centre, that now had a Lego city sprouting up along the promenade. Children were having a blast creating small Lego buildings, that workers slowly added to the developing complex. There was even a line up today to walk into the Lego Store!


Walking along 47th Steet, we found ourselves on Jewelry Way. Store after store of fine jewelry. Even on the street corners, there were jewelry "vendors" plying their trade.


We stopped in an Irish Pub for supper, quench our thirst, and rest our legs. Without the heat and humidity we had suffered through over the past few days, today felt wonderfully refreshing, and our clothes were still dry!

Recharged, we made our way to Times Square.


Times Square is always a joy no matter what time of day one is there. And no matter how often one has been to Times Square, it is equally a joy to walk around and about it, criss crossing back and forth. Billboards and bright lights, stores and people, this place, more than any other, is New York.