Category: Travel
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Reflections on Thomas Aquinas Seminar in Orvieto
OK. Let’s be clear. If you want a concise review of our work here at the Istituto San Lodovico, don’t read this, read Ruby’s journal. She is much smarter than me and able to sythesize more quickly. I will be ruminating over this material for months. I’ve come away with a reading list that will…
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Aquinas in Orvieto
I am a little behind in my travelogue. Our seminar has begun. Matthew Fox walks us through his work on Aquinas in the morning and we join together in some smaller artistic expression groups in the afternoon punctuated by a two hour multi-course Italian “lunch”. Of course then we don’t need dinner but with all…
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Siena – Duomo Di Siena
We are drawn to the Churches/Basilicas/Cathedrals of European Cities. When they were built the power was consolidated in the Church or at least the powerful agreed that building churches sufficed as “Opium des Volkes.” It was where the money was concentrated, the art was concentrated, and city-states exhibited their power. Nyah-Nyah-Nyah-Nyah-Nyah, my Cathedral is bigger…
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Buongiorno, Siena
Out for a walk this morning watching Siena wake up. #travel #italy
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Ruby’s Door knockers
My wife has been fascinated by the door knockers here in Italy. Apparently it is a “thing” here in Siena. These are not the kind of thing you can get, mass produced at Home Depot. So, I present to you a selection of the door knockers we’ve seen while walking around Siena. #travel #italy #art
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Siena – Arrival
Another taxi to the train station. This time not as crowded downtown and consequently it was about 10 euro less for the trip! Train travel is a classic chicken and egg problem as is the building and adoption/improvement of any services. I’ve read recently that people complain that it doesn’t make sense to build bike…
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Florence Day 4 – Stairmaster Day
Today is a climbing day. Yesterday in Pisa was only just a warm up. Google lead me down town to the Apple Store on Piazza Della Repubblica where I would meet the rest of the tour group going to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore aka Il Duomo. Begun in 1296 and completed in…
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Florence – Day 3 (Pisa, Lucca)
We would start our tour at the train station. Walking is out of the question, the bus would be an hour so a cab it is. So a 30 minute harrowing cab ride (the streets of Florence are pretty crazy), we arrive at Florence Santa Maria Novella train station. This place is alive. Hustling, bustling,…
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Pisa
Wow. Just wow!
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Florence – Rickshaw day
Yes, I said Rickshaw. Hopefully our Whatsapp machinations with our driver wil work out and we will meet him at Torre della Zecca, across the river from our hotel for our bicycle rickshaw tour of the historic city. I awoke at about 6:00 local time and once again quickly took up residence on the terrace…