Day 27 - The Color of Italy

It's been a good day today.

• Slept In. After getting up really early yesterday for the Ufizzi (and not getting to bed until late because Marc had all of his slides up on a laptop) it was time for some quality snoozing. But I was out the door promptly at 11AM. :)
• Shop Around. The hostel employee I met when I first got here pointed out a farmer's market, so I decided to go take a peek. It was pretty cool. I got a ridiculous amount of strawberries, some brazil nuts, some dried apples, and some water for really cheap. At 1.50 euros a kilo, I think the nuts are cheaper here than they are at home. I also got some bread to go with it. I got the wheatiest looking loaf they had, but still got burned. I guess oil and vinegar are mandatory for eating bread in Italy because they primarily have baking soda tasting bread. :P
• Hit The Parks. I went to the north side of town to see a park or three. Once I got far enough away from the city center, the parks were nice and empty. I've got some pictures of them that I'm eager to share, as well. I'm almost trying to find excuses to take movies now so I can fill up my CD before I send it back.
• Hit The Stibbert. There was this museum on the map not close to anything. Since I was in the neighborhood, I dropped by. Um. It was nuts. A guide escorts you and a few other people through rooms filled with antique everything. I was never much of an arms and armor fan, but the sheer quantity and quality of this collection was astonishing. Then you moved onto the living quarters with ridiculously expensive furniture. I looked up at one point and noticed a Grecian Urn sitting on a cupboard. The amazing thing about this was that I could have just reached up and touched it. I didn't because I respect the damage touching does to pottery over time (Heck, David's left foot has suffered irreperable damage from all the people who wanted to touch it, and it's solid marble.), but somehow just knowing I could made the experience more compelling. There were chandeliers and mirrors more elaborate than I've ever seen. There was a table that appeared to made out of close to 80 different types of marble. I saw other furniture with colors of marble I didn't know existed. The oranges and blues were particularly striking. There was more antiques (including guns, lots of guns) and porcelain and suchnot, but because you have to stay together as a group, you don't get nearly enough time to really examine things. I was tempted to buy a book at the end, just to see what I'd seen, but they were broken up into multiple books (Three books? Nobody said anything about three books.), all in italian, and pretty pricey. And of course, you can't take pictures.
• More Parks. The park in back of the Stibbert was very nice. It had a lake with some more wildlife to photograph. I'm sure the gals out there will love the ducklings. :) It also had a fake egyptian temple for no reason I can fathom.

That's really about it. It's been relaxed and lovely. Perhaps I've finally found the right balance so that I can sightsee and relax at the same time. Okay, so if you were wondering about the subject line, here's what it means. Green is the official color of Italy, and in addition to seeing a lot of lovely green parks, I also got to see a green robe worn by Napoleon when he went to Italy in the Stibbert. That was behind glass, but I understand the need for precautions there.

Okay. I suppose this is kind of out of place, but dad made a comment about being jaded concerning art, so I thought it might be worthwhile to talk about what I get out of art, and what I don't.

• Majesty. Some art is just so massive or well composed you have to marvel at it. David is a perfect example. But a lot of cathedrals have the same effect.
• Skill. David is again the best example. Unlike most sculptors who worked in plaster, then transferred to less forviging materials, Michelangelo worked directly in the marble. It's insane. And the skill that goes into a lot of the other works is very impressive, too.
• Meaning. Art often tells stories. I like stories.

Well, my time is almost up, so I'll talk more about art next time, but if anyone wants to discuss it, the comment link is now open. :)