Photography, Fashion
Tom Schmuki
Wynwood Walls and Model Photography- WOW

Wynwood Walls, photos and commentary from multiple shoots with models and family.  

Wynwood Walls and Model Photography- WOW
Event Experiences
Tom Schmuki
Parkland Massacre - my pain is deep, will my ...

Stoneman Douglas Mass Murder - pictures and feelings of the day

Parkland Massacre - my pain is deep, will my photography help anyone?
Fashion
Tom Schmuki
Sunset photo shoot with my daughter Allison

A fantastic sunset photo shoot experience with my daughter Allison

Sunset photo shoot with my daughter Allison

Italy

Italy tour groups: buyer beware

Blogger and photographer: Thomas Schmuki taken at the Uffizi

This is not our first dance with the tour groups

Most of you know that we spent a month in Italy last year.  We visited Venice, Verona, Amalfi, Teramo and Rome. We participated in a number of tours including group and private tours.  We are now nearly 3 weeks into our 6 week adventure in Italy and have yet to take a tour.

Overcrowded Italy

Here is my controversial commentary.  This year it seems that the overall crowd level is much larger than last year.  Last year we went in May-June.  This year we decided to go later for a number of reasons one being we thought the crowds would be less.  Perhaps there are less American families touring Italy this time of year but tourists from all over the world and especially Japan has dramatically increased.

Tour groups are just too big

Now to the tour groups.  Many tour groups of 20-35 people overtake the experience.  They all pile in front of a painting masterpiece leaving the general observer with no view.  The big crowds of large tour groups are everywhere with the tour leaders speaking every language known to man.  I am sure this is very profitable to the tour group companies.  I don't understand how the participants experience can be positive with 30 other participants.  Problems with hearing the leader from lack of attention on the very important question you want to ask but can't because the loud mouth in the group asks them all. I observe the trail end of the tour groups and see many laggers and disinterested participants. I believe this due mainly due to the size of the group.

The wonderful personal intimate experience of seeing these masterpieces is robbed by the large groups and predominantly the large tour groups that take over the venues.

Personal tous are the way to go

Alice is very strong on personal tours with only the 3 of us.  It gives her all the time to ask her great questions and me the time to snap some great pictures if I can get any line of site around the miriad of 30+ tour groups in front is the artwork, sculpture or architecture ahead.

Alice with our wonderful personal guide at Pompeii last year.

My recommendation

Recomendation: don't do tours with large groups.  I recommend no more than 10, but oh then the tour companies would have to take the bullet.

Italian Smoke Fest

This is my second trip to Italy. Last year we spent 4 weeks in various beautiful locations throughout Italy.  This year we have an apartment in Rome for 6 weeks and have yet to venture out in the city.

Controversy, that’s what I am about

This blog may be controversial and perhaps even offensive to some even close friends and relatives.  So be it.  I write from my heart and soul with a little bit of my quirky personality thrown in.

So many cigarette smokers in Italy

Let's get to the meat and "smoke" of this article.  It is clear to me that most all Italians smoke.  After discussing this with young kids ages 17-25 I asked how many of them smoke.  They all said they smoke 10-20 cigarettes a day.  I asked, "so when did you  start smoking?" The answer was almost always 12-13.  "So why did you decide to smoke?"  "It was cool and all my friends did it, it gives us something to do with our hands."   "Tell me about smoking after sex." "Oh, it's so relaxing, we both light up right away..."

Italian Woman with her stogie

Our waitress in florence

Julia, our waitress at a fine steak house in Florence

We had a great conversation with Julia before our dinner. I had told her about my “Italian Smoke Fest” blog, and I asked her about smoking in Italy. She said, “I don’t smoke, but when I was growing up and if you didn’t smoke you were NOT COOL.” She was not considered cool because she didn’t smoke. Her mother is a doctor and she smokes. Go figure.

Why nearly all Italians are thin

As a general rule nearly all Italian men and women are thin.  I have concluded one of the main reason for this is because smoking is their main diet with a little pasta thrown in.  Add to that thousands of steps a day and there you have it, thin Italians.

Just a few days ago when we were eating lunch at an outside cafe near the Spanish steps, we sat 2 tables away from 3 young women who were all smoking one after the other.  Our neighbors were so upset, they got up and left.  No one else in the cafe was smoking.  If we could have moved we would have,  Smokers, don’t you know how rude it is to blow your smoke in some one else’s face.

Smoking in Italy has been banned in public including bars, restaurants, discotheques and offices since 2005.  A majority of Italians supported the ban at the time it was first implemented,[1] but there was a lack of support from smokers and some bar owners. 5% of bar and restaurant owners immediately introduced separate smoking rooms.

Note: I have never kissed a girl who smoked. I imagine it is like kissing an ash tray.  I suppose smokers kiss smokers.

Read the warning label

I asked, "don't you read the warning on the cigarette box? " "That's all lies and propaganda."

Ok now that I have unsystematically established that a lot higher percentage of Italians smoke than Americans let me digress.

I understand I am different with a Mormon UPBRINGING

I grew up in a Mormon home where it was against our religion to smoke, drink, have sex outside of marriage and no coffee or tee allowed. When the bishop personally interviews you, violations of these rules can result in anything from humiliation to excommunication. "Brother Tom, did I see some Coke in your refrigerator?" Even though I have long left the Mormon church I still have never smoked a cigarette.  I have smoked a few cigars for the purpose of a photo.  My first cigar was smoked in the heart of Havana Cuba. I smoked the whole thing and didn't even get sick.  I have never smoked or taken marijuana in any form.  I suppose most of this is due to my Mormon upbringing  Smoking was a SIN.  Smoking marijuana a DRUG was a double sin.\

My first and 2nd to last cigar ever, smoked in Havana Cuba

My dad smoked in the Navy

When my dad was in the navy in WW 2 he said he smoked a bit. I have a feeling a high percentage of enlisted soldiers from any country smoke with a reckless abandon. After the war he never smoked. My brother Randy purposefully got kicked out of high school for smoking a cigarette.  It was his way out. My sister Tina has smoked nearly her entire adult life.  Mom and dad never knew she smoked and was very good at hiding the fact. 

You are really a stud if you smoke unfiltered

Her ex husband smoked unfiltered Marlboro's. I called him the Marlboro man, and he was certainly good looking enough to be so.

One of the original Marlboro men

European Warning labels

In the European Union, since May 2016, the Tobacco Products Directive 2014 requires tobacco product packages to carry combined health warnings consisting of a picture, a text warning and information on stop smoking services, covering 65% of the front and back of the packages.

Warnings have been required in Tobacco advertising for many years, with the earliest mandatory warning labels implemented in the United States since 1966.

So what's the point?  I admit to many vices and bad habits and luckily smoking is not one of them. To my smoking friends and relatives, read the label, take up another bad habit like photography...

"Forgive me Bishop for I have sinned.  I took 3,000 photos last week and I plan to take more." At least I am not going to hell for smoking cigarettes lol.

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Italy vacation 2023 planning and day 1

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He's back. You know Tom the blogger. We have just arrived in our beautiful apartment in Rome.

Before I get to the topics of the day I thought I would provide links to my blogs I wrote in our 4 week trip to Italy last year.

Pompeii City of sin:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/7/29/pompeii-the-city-of-sin

Italy city by city, my favorites:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/28/italy-city-by-city-my-favorites

photographer gear for Italy trip:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/21/photography-gear-for-italy-trip

The food of Florence:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/5/the-food-of-florence

Long walk in Florence:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/3/a-long-walk-in-florence

Verona, the city of Love:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/1/verona-the-city-of-love

Venice day two:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/28/venice-day-2

Venice day one:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/26/venice-day-1

flight to Italy, via Paris:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/23/flight-to-italy-via-paris

Hectic last minute preparations

If you want to meet a planner, let me introduce you to Alice. This year was not the Alice Alice.  With her heart surgery, her work and my photo shoots. we had little or no time to prepare.  We decided not to commit to the vacation until we were confident with Alice's surgery result. When the Dr came into the recovery room to speak with Alice and I, he prescribed a vacation to Italy.

This year we decided to "live like the locals" on our vacation to Italy.  The only thing we locked down was the airplane and the the apartment in Rome.

Alice's preparation was mainly what shoes to buy and bring.

My preparation was what camera equipment to bring. My biggest dilemma was which camera to bring and should I bring a backup. Our focus was different but the result will be amazing.

My chosen camera get for our Italy trip.

Train ride from Delray Beach to Miami Airport

We love to take the train from Delray Beach to Miami airport. The Tri-Rail train does not compete with Brightline. However, it drops us right off in the middle of the airport.  We love that.  You would be amazed how many people actually take the Tri-Rail to the Miami airport.

Alice on the plane with the Italian Stallion

Due to our last-minute scheduling of our flight to Rome, we were unable to book a pair of contiguous seats on the airplane. Our confirmed seats were with someone else between us. We had hoped we could talk the middle person out of their seat so we could sit together and hold hands.  So here we are in the middle aisle with three seats, and both of us, taking the aisle seat and the middle seat, waiting for the unknown traveler.   I was worried we may get a 400 pound Covid infected traveler laden with twins who she was nursing mid flight and refused to change the seat. While we are boarding the plane, I teased Alice telling her that some lady may take the middle seat, and I may mistakenly hold her hand. as the travelers boarded the plane, I looked anxiously at each person coming in one by one. Oh no this can't be the guy.  This is the guy.  Yup the Italian stallion with the look of a cross between Dr Mcdreamy and George Clooney.  His looks, his aura, his clothing ....  I knew I was in trouble.  Sure enough it was him.  He has the middle seat. I looked at Alice and she smiled.  After asking the young Sylvester Stallone if he could exchange seats, she looked at me and smiled, "I get to sit by the two best looking men on the plane". I wasn't alarmed I knew he didn't have the entire Schmuki package.   

Alice with the second best looking guy on the plane. What a lucky girl!

Our first walking tour and night out

We had a great first day in Rome. After resting a bit and unpacking we went out and took a look at our neighborhood. We love it here.

We had a great dinner at an Italian resteraunt just next to our apartment. We enjoyed the best pasta with pesto we have ever had. 

We met 2 great fun couples from Long Island at the resteraunt who promised to read my Pompeii city of sin blog.  They asked me to take their picture because they saw my fancy Nikon on the table.

Our new friends from Long Island New York

Day one is over and we still like each other a lot. Looking forward to days 2-40. Please let me know you are reading and enjoying my blog. This is a lot of work, but mostly a labor of love and a documentation of our wonderful life together.

Pompeii the city of Sin?

Statue of Daedalus on the cities north side

Our vacation of a lifetime is now more than a month in the past and there was so much to see, so much to take in, so much to document, so many photos to edit, and now it is time to write my next and not final blog on our trip to Italy.

Warning: This BLOG contains some explicit sexual content. I am only attempting to document history!

Let me say right at the forefront, I knew nothing about Pompeii before our visit there and the few things I read about prior to this most incredible day.  I don’t want to pretend to be a historian, an expert nor am I even a great writer.  I write with my heart and my soul and leave it all on the table.  You can agree or disagree with my thoughts and conclusions, and that’s totally OK with me.  Perhaps that is why some people enjoy reading my blogs.

Our ride to Pompeii from Amalfi

Our trip to Pompeii started with a personal driver from our villa up the 250 steps in Amalfi.  The personal drivers in Pompeii never cease to amaze me.  The drive was hazardous, treacherous, beautiful and even made me a bit “motion sick…”. The drive seems to take about 1.5 or more hours.  Our driver stayed with us the entire day and took us home to the “stairs from hell” at the end.

Driver: Aut Matteo from Scialone Limo Service (Sorranto)

Pompeii has changed

Alice had already been to Pompeii Italy before and certainly had expectations of what to see, what was there, etc. Alice was certainly discouraged by many of the artifacts that have been moved to museums in Naples as well as the barrier to get into the colosseum.  For me, I was in AWE and wonderment.  Such an amazing place.  I wish there were NOT so many people there.  I was told they put NO limit on the amount of visitors during the day since the opening after COVID shutdown.  All the workers especially the tour guides were happy to be back to work.

All the above artifacts were at the entrance when Alice visited last previously are now in a museum in Naples

What was life like in Pompeii?

Shops were open, markets were ready, farmers were in the fields. Everyone was performing his/her personal job. Streets were crowded, market was full of life, sellers sold and citizens bought what they needed. In the forum people walked, talked, discussed about problems of the town.

Pompeii Italy was a city like many Roman towns in the area.  On August 24, 79 the city was about their normal hustle and bustle with children in the street, businessmen doing their thing, and bathers taking baths in the public bath houses.

Mt Vesuvius Volcanic irruption

Mt (Mount) Vesuvius a volcanic mountain towing above the city frequently had tremors.  This day in August will be their last.  A cloud shaped pillar rose in the sky.  Volcanic ash rain down hard and fast.  Thick ash clogged every ones nose and eyes.  Sixteen inches of pumice had fallen to the ground.  Only a few survived to tell the story.  Four days later, the pumice piled up to 8 feet deep.  One last time Mt. Vesuvius surged again with poisoned gas, ash and rock as it raced down the mountains.  This BIG city of Pompeii no longer exists.  Over 20,000 people had quickly died a very painful death only to be discovered nearly 1700 years later.

Ash hardened to form a mold around the person or animal that died. Of the 1,150 bodies recovered by archaeologists at Pompeii, 394 were killed by falling pumice and the debris of collapsing buildings.

This 2,000 year old ‘masturbating’ Pompeii man is going viral

The archeologic discovery of all time

The first discovery of the site was around 1710 when a farmer was digging a well on the slops of Mt. Vesuvius. The first official excavation was in 1860 by an archaeologist name Giuseppe Fiorelli. No question, this is this most incredible archeological find ever.  Even to this day, the day we were there, they are still carefully digging and finding new and exciting relics.

The Brothel’s of Pompeii

One of the most interesting and personally intriguing things about Pompeii is the Brothel found in the hearty of town.  The crowd was big and space was tight to get into the brothel that was buried in that terrible day in August 79 AD.  Our tour guide was attentive to show us all the SIGNS on the street leading to the Brothel. 

Our tour guide was attentive and very knowledgeable, Alice loves to bend their ears

I found it interesting our tour guide was carful to show us each and every phallic symbol “male penis” sign guiding its customers to the ever popular Brothel.

Phallic Symbols point the way to the Pompeii Brothels.

Because of the crowd I was unable to get proper photographs of all the interesting artifacts in this historic site.

Prostitution was permitted both socially and legally in Pompeii, and it was seen as a social norm for Roman men to engage in regular visits to the Brothels. Brothels had no stigma within the city, seen as a typical shop offering services like any other.

Pompeii once a popular vacation spot for high-class citizens, extravagances were bountiful in the form of exotic foods, fashion, and prostitutes. During the long-standing excavation of Pompeii, archaeologists have discovered at least 25 separate brothels scattered all over the city with each giving away numerous secrets to the city’s erotic past.

How about a Big Mac?

When you enter the brothel, you see the incredible frescos on the wall.  Sort of like walking into McDonald’s trying to choose between a Big Mac and a Quarter Pounder knowing nothing on the menu is good for you.  The moment you eat a Big Mac, the sensation is YUMMY. Tell me my friends, an hour after you eat a Big Mac, how do you feel?  I like McDonald’s because of their french fries and their custom blend of Diet Coke made only for McDonald’s.

Fresco’s a menu of choice

The most well-known feature of the brothel are the erotic frescoes that are found lining the hallways above the door lintels. There are eight notable frescoes in total, although only seven are still in surviving condition. Of the frescoes still intact, five of them depict different sex positions between a male and female. frescoes illustrate the positions of Women on Top, Missionary Position, Doggy Style, 69 position and Anal sex. The sixth fresco shows a seated male accompanied by a standing woman; the male gestures towards what scholars believe to be a smaller sex image. The seventh fresco features a prominent deity, Priapus, a male god of fertility known for his permanent and pronounced erection, surrounded by two stylized erections. The eighth fresco is in incredibly poor condition but is believed to depict yet another sexual engagement.

The frescoes were originally discovered during an excavation in 1862. They can be dated back to 72 CE. This is because there is an impression of a coin within the walls' plaster that can be traced back to this date.

5 major flavors on the Menu

After studying the remaining frescoes, archaeologists have guessed there were five major services provided; intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, active anal sex, and passive anal sex.

The truth of these Pompeii brothels and the prostitutes within was, in fact, harsh and quite heartbreaking.

And then there are the beds found in these Brothels.  They were made out of stone, including a stone pillow of sorts.  Perhaps the owners did NOT want their customers getting too comfortable.  Even though there were no doors in each separate “bay” I am sure there were drapes, linens, and lots of “sexy” smelling perfumes.  Candles and incense galore I would guess.

Pompeii brothel, The brothel beds of Pompeii —- COMFY

Extra FIRM for me…

I’ll take a Big Mac, order of fries and a Diet Coke Please… to go!

The SEX Workers - Prostitutes

The majority of the sex workers within Pompeii were slaves who lived a harsh life until they were of no further use to the brothels. They were given only the basic essentials, with all the payments from their clients going to the brothel owners. It is suggested from the city’s remains that a large number of slaves were of Oriental or Greek origin, ripped from their families and taken into the slave trade when Romans or traders invaded their land.

Confined to the premises, the workers rarely saw the outside world, being under complete control of the brothel owner at all times. By being completely closed off, the salves had no other distractions from their work. Despite this cruel lifestyle, the workers were meant to put on a smiling face, with punishments if they misbehaved.

Lastly, although sex was an accepted and natural experience for the Pompeii men, prostitutes still lacked respect. Stigmatizing women that made them ineligible for any alternative and respectable work, committing them to the lower class of society.

The Roman word for brothel was lupanar, meaning a wolf den, and a prostitute was called a lupa (“she-wolf”).

What was it like to be a Woman in Pompeii?

Generally, the role of women was a domestic one. Women completed domestic duties and raised the children. Upper class women were often educated and could read and write. Wall paintings of women holding writing implements reveal that this ability was revered in Roman society.

The City of Sin?

This is where my moral conscience sets in.  I wonder what the state of morality was during this time and before.  The 10 Commandments given to MOSES by GOD on Mount Sinai.  Commandment # 6: “Thou shalt not commit adultery”.  In my MORMON growing up world this meant NO SEX before marriage, NO promiscuity ever, and NO having SEX with someone else outside your marriage.  These sins were severe even to the point of church excommunication.  Yes fans, I went on a mission for the Mormon church.  I was one of those young lads in a white shirt riding bicycles two by two and knocking on doors to convince the world they to repent and be baptized.  I have long left my Mormon upbringing and have not been to church for well over 30 years.  In any case the foundational thoughts still prevail in some part of my brain.

It seems from my studies that the Brothels of Rome were common and popular.  The treatment of the  “women of the night”.

Prostitution by definition is the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.

What Are the Different Types of Prostitution?

  • Street: Clients solicited on the street, park or other public places. ...

  • Brothel: Premises explicitly dedicated to providing sex. ...

  • Escort: Client contacts sex worker by phone or via hotel staff. ...

  • Private: Client contacts sex worker by phone.

I digress, back to the moral conscience.  Did the Romans have NONE?  Are we all actually given a conscious as human beings even if we have never been trained nor tutored in the Judaeo Christian society?  We (the Mormons) were taught that at the age of 8 humans have the innate ability to discern and choose between right and wrong. They called it the “age of accountability”. I guess Exodus chapter 20 had not been written yet…

Did I miss the point

Of course I did. There are so many things that I could have written about this incredible place, including the incredible architecture, plumbing, advanced civilization and history of this amazing place. Perhaps another blog. Better yet, I suggest you go there yourself and discover one of the most incredible places on earth.

I will be adding a video to this post on the near future which will include videos from my GOPro, Alice’s iPhone and photos taken from my Nikon Z6 II.

Thomas Schmuki, Delray Beach Photographer

View a video on our visit to Pompeii Italy

If you are interested in some references used in this blog and other interesting links:

https://www.pompeiitours.it/attractions/brothels-of-pompeii/





Italy City by City - my favorites

We have had the vacation of a lifetime with a month in Italy. I thought it would be interesting for me to pull out some of the highlights in each city. This may be a very difficult task but I will focus on those moments and events that come to my mind most. I hope you enjoy this. This is a short list of my favorites and Alice may have a totally different list. This is NOT my final blog on our trip to Italy as I have a few more topics in mind. A little encouragement from my readers may help me create them.

I will attempt to go from city to city and point out a few things that bubbled to the top of my list in each city. This is an impossible task as each day we spent every waking moment and then some taking tours, visiting sites, taking thousand of photos, etc. Some moments are sort of a blur to me. This is a very good exercise to bring back clarity. The good thing is we have thousands of photos and videos to go back over to fill in all the details later.

Venice

About the city of Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges.

Venice was our first city to visit on our trip to Italy. I really had no idea what the city was going to be like even though I had read about it and seen television shows about it.  We only spent two nights and three days in Venice. I would love to have spent at least one more day there. I believe it may be a very difficult city to live in if you don’t have a boat. The photography here was incredible. I just couldn’t stop taking photographs of the gondola riders and “captains”. I call them captains but they probably have a much more official name.

Gondola ride

This probably will end up one of the most memorable events of this trip for me. It was so incredible, so perfect. It was the golden hour of the gods when we went, right at sunset. Just before we entered our one hour trip the weather started turning bad and our gondola captain was concerned about it. The ride with Alice through the canals and rivers of Venice was most amazing and incredible. Words cannot describe nor pictures re-create the experience.

Our “captain” a very nice man. Very fit and needs no Peloton.

Taken right at sunset, maybe my favorite photo of our trip

Touring the town by foot and taking photos

The town of Venice seems to be built on a myriad of canals and waterways. Inside the heart of Venice very narrow roads and alleyways. No cars allowed. Only walking. I felt like I was a rat in a maze. It was very easy to get lost. I guess this was the fun of it. Walking around the city with my camera in hand and taking photos after photos. I couldn’t help taking so many photos of the gondola riders and passengers.

Verona

About the city of Verona

Verona is a on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city munipality in the region and the second largest in northeast Italy. The metropolitan of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,310 inhabitants.[5] It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs and shows as well as the opera season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.

Verona was the second city on our vacation to Italy. To get to Verona from Venice we had to take a water taxi to the train station. We took a train from Venice to Verona. These trains are not like the trains we are used to in the United States. They are fast, clean, and efficient.  When we arrived in Verona at the train station we took a taxi cab to our hotel which was located only a few blocks from the Colosseum. We were both a very concerned about the “neighborhood”. Not the greatest location if safety is your main concern.  We only spent two evenings and three days in Verona.

Photographing the children musician by the Colosseum.

I was so very impressed by the children and young musicians in Verona. They had congregated near the Colosseum and we’re all practicing their own chosen instrument. They were all very focused on developing their craft. It was a pleasure to see young kids without a phone in their hand.

Music theory taught at a young age to these talented lads from Verona

Opera night at the Colosseum

There is no question in my mind that this evening will be the most memorable evening and event of our entire vacation for me.  On our way to dinner we walked past the Colosseum. It was about 6:00 PM there was a full-blown orchestra, choir, opera singers practicing and rehearsing for their performance soon to come. We were just so happy just to see them practice. We were even happier to find out that we could get tickets for free and sit nearly upfront to hear this incredible performance by the most professional musicians I have heard in a very long time. Alice kept pinching me just so we knew it was real. It was in the evening I will never forget.

Opera was held just in front of this government building adjacent to the coliseum

View my 2 minute video on our Opera night. Turn your sound on!

A visit to Juliet’s house

On our last day in Verona we ventured out on her own and walked to the main part of old Verona city. We found Julia‘s house, I couldn’t find Romeo. Where art thou Romeo? It was fantastic to see Juliet‘s house and enjoy this time with Alice.

Florence

About Florence

Florence is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.

Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.

We took the train from Verona to Florence. It was about an hour and a half ride. We stayed in Florence for 11 days. There are so many incredible things we did in Florence it is almost a blur to me at this moment. The art, the history, the food, the people.

Scooter ride in Tuscany

This was great fun for me. No a 50 cc scooter does not compare with my 114 cubic inch Harley, but it was so much fun. Take a look at my video which also include a very interesting tour of a private winery in Tuscany.

The Uffizi museum

The Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the large building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by Giorgio Vasari built by the Medici family.  We took a tour and of course I was overwhelmed. I was focused on getting the photographs while Alice paid close attention to the tour guides every word.  I was so impressed by all the tour guides that we used in our trip to Italy. They were all very educated, very engaging, They loved their art and history. We could’ve spent days there and never seen all of it. Wow. I plan on doing a separate post on the incredible art we saw in the Uffizi.

The statue of David

Again words could not describe the feelings when seeing this marvelous work of art for the first time. What a blessing to be able to see it in person.

David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo. David is 17 ft sculpture created 1501– c. June 8, 1504. I stood in the very spot the sculpture was created my Michelangelo.

David… The perfect man

Amalfi Coast

about the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region. It’s a popular holiday destination, with sheer cliffs and a rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-colored fishing villages. The coastal road between the port city of Salerno and clifftop Sorrento winds past grand villas, terraced vineyards and cliffside lemon groves

To get to the Amalfi coast we took the bullet train from Florence to Naples. From Naples we took a private ride to our hotel location in Amalfi. This was a most beautiful and incredible ride over and around the hills of Amalfi. The roads were narrow, curvy, and dangerous. Thank goodness we had a professional driver that could handle it.

Once we arrived at the street level of our villa I was very surprised to learn we had a 300 step climb to get to our Villa.  I think this small detail was left out of the marketing materials lol.  Even after arriving at our hotel villa we had to go up a number of stairs to our penthouse room which had the most incredible view I have ever seen.

The Amalfi coast, no stair master required

I took this photo from our patio at Villa Rina.

Cooking lessons

We took two cooking lessons at our villa in the Amalfi coast. Our first lesson wants to learn how to make limoncello. Let me give you one big tip: it’s all about the lemons. The lemons and Amalfi coast are probably the best in the world for limoncello. Most important thing is to only use fresh lemons pick that very same day. What a great experience.

Our second cooking lesson was fresh home made pasta. This was great fun and I think the results were fantastic as the food we made was served to all the guest for the villa that night.

Our boat rides to Positano and Sorrento

The destinations were fantastic but we are both very pleased with the ferry rides to and from Amalfi to Positano and Sorrento. Such a beautiful ride.

Not the boat we took, but I took this from our ferry

Pompay

Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore. ― Google

The only remaining Pompey corpse, all others brought to museum in Naples

Teramo

About Teramo

Teramo is the capital of the province of Teramo.

The city, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast.

To get to Teramo from Amalfi we took a private car over and around the Amalfi mountains to Naples. From there we took a Train to Rome.  From Rome we took a bus ride to Teramo. We went to Teramo to visit Alice’s good friends Brian and Julia.   We spent two nights in this beautiful country house. We had such a great time and it was such a different experience than the hustle and bustle of the big cities we had previously been in. Brian and Julia were such incredible hosts.

Great meals in their garden

Visit to the Fortress of Civitella del Tronto

The Fortress of Civitella del Tronto is one of the largest and most important military strongholds in Europe and is situated on the top of a rocky cliff at an altitude of 600 m, a strategic location to control the borders between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal State.
It is about 500 metres long, for a total surface of 25,000 square metres

The first building dates back to the Middle Ages, but it was renovated by Philip II of Spain in the second half of the 16th century and subsequently by the House of Bourbon (1734).

Fortress of Civitella del Tronto

Rome

About Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazio region.

Romes history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[9]

To get to Rome from Teramo we took a bus.  The bus ride took about three hours. We were in Rome for 11 days and was our final city on our fantastic vacation to Italy. We packed every day with tours and personal walks.  It was unseasonably hot in Rome.  We certainly understand why everyone in Rome takes a Siesta between 2 and 4 PM. It was just too hot to be outside.  Many establishments actually close our doors between two and four including pharmacies.

Vatican City and Saint Peters Cathedral

I am personally still digesting the majesty and historical impact of this place. I will remember it forever. I plan on writing a very personal blog on religion and my feelings as I walked through this hallowed grounds.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City.

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelango, Carlo Madermno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world by interior measure

Our tour to the forum and the Colosseum

We had a fantastic tour guide take us to the forum and the Colosseum. Again that was such a great experience. Everything was absolutely breathtaking. Again Alice pinches me to make me realize this is real. The photography was off the chart.

the Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Founded: 8th century BC-608. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men.

Magnificent temples the site of triumphal processions and elections

The Colosseum

The Colosseum is an oval amphitheater in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world today, despite its age.

Construction started in 70 A.D. and only took 10 years to complete. As is to be expected, there were a lot of deaths at the Colosseum. It was used for entertainment (mostly fights, of course) for just shy of 400 years and in this time, it is estimated that 400,000 people died within the walls of this particular amphitheater.

Let me put this in my perspective for a minute. The ancient Romans spent a fortune to boat the fiercest and wildest animals from Africa to Rome Italy. Lions and tigers and bears oh my, and of course anything else that would or could kill a man and eat him up in front of tens of thousand of onlookers. Now lets put these animals in a darken dungeon for 4-7 days, don’t feed them or even give them water. I can tell you being in Rome, it is HOT there. Lets pack this stadium on with the Romans thirsting to see blood and guts. The animals are worth a lot of money to the Romans, it took a lot of effort to get them there. Lets throw in some “worthless slaves” all adorned in costumes to entertain the crowd, open up the doors and let out 2-dozens of blood thirsty animals. Now lets watch the poor souls get bludgeoned to death. Oh MY!!!! 400,000 or more of them.

Note: Alice won’t even go to a boxing match because it is to barbaric!

The ancient Rome coliseum

A great day at the colosseum

The upper left photo is where the winched the animals up to the stage so they could attack the costumed slaves.

The upper and lower right photos were taken from ground level where the slaves and animals were staged before the match

Our final night with Ilian Rachov

Our final night in Rome was a most incredible experience with my good friend Ilian. I have been privileged to know this man for a number of years now. After photographing his work at a show at the Versace mansion in Miami we have been following each other ever since. Ilian was gracious enough to give us an entire evening of his life. I photographed him in his studio in the heart of Rome and then we went for a very fun walk as I took some more photographs of him. We then had a very nice drink and chat with him in the courtyard of the Spanish steps.  During our walk to our hotel Ilian purchased some sandwiches to deliver to his homeless friend on the streets of Rome. He delivers this man sandwiches every day. What kind soul he is. Not only a fantastic artist but a real person. Thank you Ilian.

Ilian Rachov, painter and a great human being

Ilian Rachov, Alice Haigh and Tom Schmuki

Photography Gear for Italy Trip

This blog is dedicated to those camera buffs interested in the camera gear I chose to bring to Italy.  I will not only itemize the gear but also provide some commentary.

The camera equipment I have brought and enjoyed in Italy

Camera body: Nikon Z 6 II

A lightweight fantastic mirrorless camera. Issues: sometimes focus and the amount of time between turn on and ready to take the shot. Latest firmware is installed.

Nikon FANS

I have been so pleased to see all the Nikon’s in use here in Italy. I must say I have seen more photographers with Nikon’s than any other brand. As a matter of fact it seems you could add Canon, Sony, etc and still not equal the number of Nikon’s I have seen. YEA. I love my Nikons.

GoPRO Hero 10

If you have been following me you have seen many GoPro videos taken on my Harley Davidson rides. I usually mount it on top of my helmet.

So far in this trip I have taken 1,833 videos with an average length of about 20-30 seconds.  Love this thing, however I forgot to bring the proper cables to attach to my Iphone, therefore using the videos in my active daily flow is not nearly as easy as using the IPHONE.  We look forward to siting down on the couch with POP CORN and viewing the videos of this wonderful trip.  I am sure I will be creating some published videos soon incorporating the videos taken from my GOPRO.

iPhone PRO 12 PRO MAX (Tom)

I have taken a few videos on my Iphone but mostly photos when my Nikon was not available.  Most of the time when I wanted a video, I used my GOPRO 10.

IPhone PRO 13 PRO MAX (Alice)

Alice has been clicking and taking videos the entire time.  I wonder who took the most? I am so very proud of Alice’s photography and videos. What a great student. Maybe soon the student will become the master.

Lenses

Nikon 24-120 F4 S

My newest lens.   I am in love with the range, of course I wish it was faster like my other 2.8 lenses. I love the new programmable ring which I use for F stop. I now wish all my lenses had it!

Taken with Nikon 24-120 - Amalfi Coast

Nikon 80 1.8 S

This is my favorite Nikon lens and takes the greatest portraits. Beautiful bokeh (background blur) and fast focus. I had intended on using this lens for a model shoot in Rome that unfortunately did not work out.  For this trip this lens has been used the least and a better choice would have been my 50mm 1.8 or 35mm 1.4.

Taken with 85 2.8 in Positano

Nikon 28 2.8

This lenses almost a pancake lens. Very small and lightweight. Almost a perfect ken’s for street photography. I am surprised how much I have used it on this trip. Focal length is great, it is fast 2.8, and the results are very sharp and clear.

Rokinon 2.8 13 MM Fisheye. Manual

I love to shoot with fisheye lenses. They are artistic. I know there are many who don't like the results. I'm so glad I brought it. Many great shots taken specially inside beautiful chapels with painted ceilings.

Taken in the Saint Peters Basilica with 12 MM Fish eye

Let me repeat this is a manual focus lens and focus can be tricky for the non professional. I grew up on a totally manual camera including focus.

Nikon FTZ lens adapter. 

This adapter allows me to use any of my F-Mount lenses on my mirrorless Nikon bodies. For this trip this lens adapter is only need it for my fisheye lens.

Flashpoint Zoom Lion Z R2 N

Seldom used but when I need it the results are fantastic.

Flashpoint Zoom Li-ON III

Have yet to use this flash on this trip but if I will be shooting a model in Rome I will be using to flashes including this one.

Magmod flash adapter

Purpose: to attach different modifiers to flash including gels and bounces. Once you use magmod’s you never go back.

Tripod: Manfrotto MINI tripod (Made in Italy)

Seldom used.  I have yet to be comfortable with using a tripod.  I love to MOVE around and hit many different angles at a fast pace.

Low Flipside Trek 350 AW pro camera bag

I have loved this bag for this trip. I purchased this bag from Adorama while we were in New York. I am very happy with this bag.  Only downside is my 13.5" Macbook Pro laptop does not fit in it. Huh????

Interesting Statistics from Metadata

Here are some interesting statistics from the metadata available in Adobe lightroom regarding my lens usage.

Number of camera clicks

Rokinon Fish Eye: 593 clicks

Nikon 24-120: 5,793, Most common focal length used: 24MM with 1,625 clicks. many came clicks between 35-50 MM, surprising smaller amount above 100 MM

Nikon 28 MM: 1,172

Nikon 85 MM: 683

Lets review

After reviewing these numbers, the statistical analysis confirms my prior assessments on the usage.

If I had to do this all over again, I would NIX the 85 MM and put in my 35MM 1.4.

The food of Florence

Dinner always starts with wine. I love red wine.

From a non foodie

I believe Alice can be categorized as a true foodie, which in my opinion is someone who knows a lot more details about resteraunts, the preparation and even the ability to recreate it in her own kitchen. I have always called Alice a great CHEF while I am a pretty good cook. There is a great difference between the two.

I am not a foodie nor a chef, but I have always loved great food. I am opinionated you will from my commentary ons this blog.

What I have discovered about the restaurants in Italy including all three cities we have visited Are the following similar items:

Every lunch and dinner you're given a bag of bread. The bread especially in Florence has no salt in it. And they are proud to say that.

You are the salt of the earth

There seems to be a long history of Florence NOT using salt on any of its bread products including bag of bread, pizza dough and others. Salt was historically a matter of money and contention with ROME. Florence refused to use salt to support the romans in their salt as it was commonly used as a precious commodity even to the value of money. To this day, NO salt in Florences bread products. I miss the salt.

Note: Since I have been with Alice she has used little or NO salt in her cooking and food preparation even to the level of her guests bringing in a SALT shakers of their own to make their point. I normally add salt to everything she makes. I am the salt of the earth. HEY, you only live once.

A bag of bread, in Florence the bread is unsalted and has little taste.

Water, would you like flat or sparkling

Every Lunch and dinner the waiters and waitresses ask you if you want water. They then ask you if you want sparkling or still. We always ask for still water And it comes out in a sealed glass bottle and the water taste fantastic. When your bottle of water runs out you just ask for another one. The price of the bottle water is from 2 to 4 Euros each.

Could I have that menu in English please?

Nearly all the menus are written only in Italian. Very few menus have English as an option. Sometimes it is moderately easy to translate the words into their English counterpart but others it is nearly impossible.

Check please

It is always always always a struggle to first get your check and then to pay for your food. There is no rush to push you out of the table for the next patrons. they have no problem with you sitting at a table for 2 to 3 hours. It seems almost common.

Tipping

Tipping is an odd thing. They don't even know how to handle a tip. It seems I don't even expect one. This is very odd! When you pay for your bill on your credit card they bring out a machine swipe your card and there is not even a spot to add a tip. I guess it is customary to pay cash for tips. I understand the workers in the restaurant are paid a fairways and not expected to earn their income on tips and gratuities. This presents a whole different way of thinking and service by the restaurant staff.

We have both been amazed by how hard the help works in these restaurants. They have great pride in what they do from the bartenders to the waiters and waitresses and all the help involved. They all work hard with a smile on their face. This makes the dining experience a very pleasant one.

It seems nearly every restaurant we have been to excluding a few have the standard staples of pizza, spaghetti, and other Italian dishes.

You want Italian food, you got it!

Good luck finding a Mexican restaurant. We were told there was one with mediocre food and average margaritas.

If you love pasta and pizza you love the restaurants in Florence. Having observed many of the beautiful dishes deliver to the patrons of the restaurants in Florence, it is most common to see pizza and pasta.

We have both found by eating the carbs associated with Italian food, when we are hungry we are very hungry and it happens fast.

What I love most about the restaurants here are the people.

The Italian restaurants here in Italy don't seem at all like the Italian restaurants in the United States For the reasons I have described above.

Gelato, a staple in Florence

Gelato is an Italian frozen treat originally created in the 16th century. It is made with a lot less fat and is churned at much slower speed to prevent air. As a result, you get a denser texture and more intensive flavor. We have had lemon, pistachio, coconut and chocolate. My favorite so far was the pistachio. During the heat of the Italian summers I have been craving for this each day.

I have already had 4 servings and can’t get enough. Yummy.

Mother and child enjoying a Gelato in style!

Gelato stores are everywhere and they are always crowded

Wine, Wine and more wine

We have a new respect for Chianti wine from Tuscany and perfect for the hot weather. Our favorite was a Chianti was a mix of 80% Sangiovese grape and when drinking with the cold cuts from a charcuterie board, it cleanses the palate as the wine seems to wash away the heavy after taste. We will be putting a few bottles of Chianti Classico in our wine fridge for the summer months. It’s the perfect red for summer!

CHARCUTERIE BOARD

A selection of preserved foods, especially cured meats or pates as well as cheese and crackers or bread is also a staple at most all Italian restaurants. They restaurants have great pride in the presentation of their charcuterie boards. They can clearly define each cut of meat and where it came from, and how it was cured. We like this very much, however it seems very salty and we only occasionally order it.

Sample charcuterie board with pate. I am NOT a fan of Pate1

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

Every restaurant serves pizza and it seems nearly every customer orders it. The pizza is plain and simple, the crust is thinner than pizza crust from the US and for me does not really have much taste. The sauce, oh the sauce!

Ham and mushroom pizza was one of my favorites so far

Spaghetti Italian style

I have ordered spaghetti many times and I must say I do love the spaghetti from Italy. It is much different than spaghetti in the United States. It is simple and uncomplicated with tomato sauce and sometime cherry tomatoes in it. They don’t serve large portions of it here, but the amount seems just right. The noodles and the sauce are mixed carefully before placed on the serving plate with care. It goes great with their Italian bread (no salt and all)

Diet coke - coke 0

It seems to be the simple things in life that make us happy, something familiar. There is no Diet Coke here, but restaurants will be happy to serve you Coke 0.

Coke 0 in Fancy little 10 ounce bottles

The Florentine steak

Many restaurants in Florence have their butchered cows hanging in the window allowing their steaks to cure. The servings are large and plentiful. I have had 2 steaks in Florence and they were both fantastic. The taste is nothing like the taste of meat in the US. The Italian steak made of young steer of heifer that, combined with the specific preparation, makes it one of the most popular dishes of the Tuscan cuisine. Only seasoned with salt and pepper.

Typical T-bone steak dinner after server sliced it up for us

Photos and commentary of many of our meals in Florence

Alice looks great in candlelight!

Very reasonable prices

It has been our experience in all three cities we have visited thus far that the prices in our chosen restaurants have been very reasonable. As a matter of fact, we are convinced it is more expensive to eat a comparable meal in a Delray Beach restaurant than in the restaurants in Italy we have gone to. I could gustimeate the prices are anywhere from 30-40% cheeper than in South Florida.

More photos of our food experiences in Florence

The following photos are just a sampling of the many wonderful meals we had in Florence.

Bon apetit

We have both thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the restaurants in Florence. We ate out every meal from breakfast to dinner. All is good here. Come on out and enjoy

Prego

Chef Alicia and Cook Tomasso signing off

A long walk in Florence

This beautiful river is just a few blocks from our apartment and we walk here multiple times a day

Recovering Plantarfasciitis

When we started dating 2 years ago I was suffering with Plantar fasciitis in both feet.  I could not walk the mall without pain and differing in my feet.  I had been suffering with this for well over a year.  Took me entirely out of tennis my bi-weekly tennis games and other sport activities. Soon after our first few dates we had started planning our vacations together with great concern that I could walk the distance and steps required for an Italy vacation. Alice did all she could do to help cure my feet woes. Visits to podiatrist, orthoditcs, massive amount of nutrition pills, collagen, just to name a few. Nearly 2 years later my feet are much better thanks to Alice!  Both feet are still numb and or tingly at times.

Pelotom - My effort to be 35 again

November of last year I purchased a Peloton stationary bike because biking seemed to be one of the only exercises my feet and knees could take. Burning nearly 1,000 calories a day for the last month on my peloton before our trip I had hoped to get in shape, not only to look better but to be able to walk miles and miles each day.

When I met Alice during the beginning of covid she was walking 5-6 miles a day in her old neighborhood of Riverwalk.

We both love the health application in the apple phone applications as tethered to our apple watch. Every night we compare stats to determine the "winner" in each category. We look closely at heart rate, miles walked, trends, blood oxygen and others.

Our nightly routine

Every day we get home, turn the air conditioning on and check our health numbers on the iPhone. We were patting ourselves on the back with an average step count of about 15,000 steps per day until we read a post from someone who is averaging 30,000.  Reminded me of competing with the Peloton studs I somehow can't compete with. Never to forget there is always someone way better than you.

OUr competition. actually only mine

  • Alice beats me in step count every day by an average of 1,000+ steps…. makes no sense to me

  • Alice beats me on step length every day, again what?

  • My blood oxygen numbers are normally better than Alices, averaging more than 95%

  • Resting heat rate, I will give Alice a tie

  • Calories burned, I win, because I am a man and Alice says men burn more calories than women.

Sample screen print from Alices iPhone

Our steps are often as if we were in a 3 legged race. One, two, one two.

Tom walking the streets of Florence very close to our apartment

Apple Technology discrepancy. Steve Jobs where are you?

We have noticed a major discrepancy in steps taken between us.  Alice seems to walk 1,000 or more steps a day even though she is always at my side walking.  It also notes her stride is longer.  I believe both statistics are erroneous.  I have a long gate being 6'1" tall.  I just think the devices are not calibrated correctly.  We will do our own calibration tests soon by putting both phones in my pocket.

There are other challenges walking the streets of Florence.  They are very narrow with a small walking path that normally fits no more than one person. Watch out for speeding scooters, bike riders and taxi cabs. They would rather run you over than give you a chance to get out of the way.

This narrow alley way is everywhere, small paths and bikers, scooters and taxies speeding past you

Peloton studs I am coming for you!

Venice Day 1

Airport in Venice

The airport in Venice compared to the airport in Paris France was clearly a much different experience.  Flying in we could see the town of Venice and the water taxi’s and private boats buzzing down the waterway towards Venice.  Once we landed it was not long before we found our luggage and prepared to leave.  

Internet and cellular woes

Our very first struggle was dealing with internet and cellular connectivity.  Alice has a much stronger need to stay connected with her business and clients.  I was keenly focused on getting my next blog out which meant internet connectivity and maybe cellular services so I could transfer photos and content from my phone to my laptop.

Tmobile and Sprint you get 0 stars

Frankly this was a miserable experience for both of us.  Alice called and communicated with TMobile/Sprint left me wondering how the call center technical support people could actually hold down a job.  All we wanted was a breakdown of the expenses she would be charged by using her phone internationally in Venice  as if she were still located in South Florida. Of course we also needed to know what we needed to do to make it happen. It took 45 minutes before I took over the phone call and dealt with the imbeciles at Tmobile/Sprint.  After working in technology for nearly half my life and in call centers a good portion of that I understand most operators are just trained to READ a SCRIPT and really have no formal technical training.  Very frustrating. Of course at the end of the call they want you to give them a 5 star rating so they can keep their job. TMobile, you are fired.

I had a similar experience myself with TMobile.  We still are not confident what we are going to be charged for cellular phone calls, internet connectivity and or data or data roaming services.  We hope to not see a big huge LUMING bill when we get home.  Any help or advise from my colleagues would be much appreciated.

Boat ride to San Marco

The boat ride from the airport to San Marco - Venice was a lot of fun.  We rode with about 8 other passengers, and the ride took about 30 minutes.  I believe the cost for each of us was about $35.00 each.  It was a lot of fun and gave us a glimpse of the amazing city and area of Venice which is really mostly waterways with man made levy and land. 

Damaged luggage

After departing the water taxi, we lugged our luggage on route to locate our hotel.  We had discovered that somewhere along the trip the airlines had broken or sliced one of the wheels on my TUMI luggage which made it difficult to roll around. Lets see if TUMI’s lifetime warrantee will cover this damage.

Where is our hotel room?

Just locating our hotel room was very comical.  There seem to be really NO street signs or address, but just a bunch of very small alley ways.  I was initially very distracted by the beauty and immensity of the glorious courtyard of San Marco square.

San Marco Square

Considered one of the finest squares in the world and certainly Venice's prime attraction, it is surrounded on three sides by the stately arcades of public buildings and on the fourth, by Basilica di San Marco's riot of domes and arches and the soaring St. Mark's campanile. You will see many photos and videos we took in and around this square as it was basically only a hundred yards away from our Hotel entrance

St Marks Basilica

The Saint Mark’s Basilica

The Saint Mark’s Basilica, the most important church in Venice, and one of the most important and renown churches and landmarks in the world will celebrate its 400th anniversary since it was completed, the way we know it today, in 1617.

The Courtyard very close to our Hotel

The courtyard where it all comes alive and floods every evening during the winter months and high tide

Bands playing in the court yard. Amazing and romantic

Being without cellular connectivity google maps was worthless to us. Since we We asked one of the street vendors where our hotel was… He said, next left.  We took a look down the “next left” and there was nothing that appeared to be anything like a hotel.  We were lost and spent a good amount of time wheeling our luggage around to finally find our hotel which was down an alley way and certainly did NOT appear to be a hotel at all. The name of the hotel we stayed at in Venice was the Bellevue Suites. Now take a look at this door and you will understand why we couldn’t find it.

Our Hotel in Venice, down a narrow alley

Charging our devices dilemma

Now tell me again how we connect to this strange 3 pronged electrical outlet

Once we arrived at our hotel, our next challenge  was to begin charging all our electronic devices that had been depleted along the way including phones, watches, laptops, camera batteries and others.  We had previously purchased 2 converters on Amazon. Neither one of them seemed to work, or was it we just did NOT know how to use them? We were stuck, unable to charge our depleted phones and other electronic devices.  The front desk was perplexed. He even gave us a converter which also seem to not work.  Once we plugged it in, we still determined neither his device nor the devices we purchased from Amazon worked. After discussing this again with the front desk, all units seemed to magically work.  We then began to charge our devices and joined the “free world” of Al Gores invited internet.  Yea, we were in.  A big sigh of relief. What were we gong to do with out charging phone, camera, laptops, etc. NO BLOG and no work.  Yikes. What I finally discovered is that both the Amazon devices and the device provided by the hotel worked, but only worked on a subset of the outlets. The front desk was NOT aware of this problem. How many stars will I give them?

Our first afternoon in Venice

We spent the afternoon discovering this amazing place called Venice. Much of this time was spent in the courtyard just a block or so from our hotel.

Tell me a bit about Venice

Venice, known also as the “City of Canals,” “The Floating City,” and “Serenissima,” is arguably one of Italy's most picturesque cities. With its winding canals, striking architecture, and beautiful bridges Venice is unlike any other city I have ever been to.

Our first night in Italy and date night was spent exploring the city, having dinner and taking photographs. 

Model radar is always ON

In the early evening I noticed a modelesque woman outside a store.  I told Alice, I would love to photograph her.  My WING MAN took over and went and asked her if I could photograph her.  Sure enough she was a model and right in the middle of doing a shoot for Banana Republic.  She gladly obliged and here are some of the photos I took of her.

Beautiful model in Venice

Perfection all with natural light

This young lady was a real pro

The flooding of Saint Marco Square

On our way back home we veered back through the Saint Marco Square only to find out the entire square had basically been flooded.  I guess this happens often this time of the year and during high tide.  The flooding was about 1-2 inches of water and seemed to be seeping out of the “man hole covers” in the middle of the square.  Alice refused to trudge through the water in her favorite new tennis shoes OC, white and comfortable.  She loves those shoes and has been bragging about them ever since we bought then in Delray Beach.  “I must save the shoes says Alice”, as she refused to get her tennies wet.  I smiled and knew she would walk an extra mile to keep her favorite new shoes white and dry. We finally found a long route around to keep her socks dry.  

Flooding in there courtyard

Flooding in the courtyard

At least I kept my shoes dry

Day one in our 1 month vacation of a lifetime is complete.  Just another Tom and Alice day, with no sleep for over 24 hours for me and just less than that for Alice. We are still running on adrenaline.  Maybe soon we will crash!

Italy Trip Planning - my first blog about our trip

Map of Italy

A birthday gift from Alice

It was my birthday last year when I was surprised with Alice’s offer to fly us Business Class to Italy.  Due to her business commitments and scheduling we decided the best time to go would be the month of May.  We finally set our specific dates from May 23rd through June 23rd.  One month in Italy.  WOW! The plane tickets have been purchased and we are flying Air France to Paris, then a plane with 1 hour layover time to Venice Italy.  We are a bit concerned about the short layover time.  We are assuming if we miss the connection, Opps, lunch in Paris and we take the next flight.

I have never in my life flown first class or business class.  I smile at the SNOBS in the front seats as I clank people on the head with my luggage as I am passing by.  Alice tells me they want you to fall to sleep on the plane as we fly over the “big pond.”  Here is a photo of what the business class seats look like on Air France.  Oh Alice, where are you?

Air France Away…

When the lights go out the bed goes down. Oh flight attendant, where is my cognac?

Amenities of flying business class

Some of the amenities of flying Business class on this airline include: socks, an eye mask, a tooth brush and Clarins skin care products. We will be offered a multi course meal designed by a rotating cadre of top chefs. Starters include things like lobster or shrimp, foie gras, hot bread and of course French butter. Alcohol is complimentary. I think we will be drinking wine and a cognac after dinner.

Time to plan

As of September 12th last year (my birthday) we have been planning our agenda.  Alice has been to Italy two times in the past, last time being about 11 years ago.  I have basically never been out of the country except for cruise line ports in most of the Caribbean.  I have never been to any country in the Eastern Hemisphere.  Go figure, my heritage is German and Swiss.  Where do you think I got my blue eyes and blond hair from?  Yes I have most of the features of a handsome German man — NOT.

Alice the master planner

Let me introduce you to a planner…… Alice.  She has diligently spearheaded our agenda including flights, cities to visit, hotels, tours, etc.  Of course she has included me in every decision.  Take a look at the stack of books and brochures Alice poured over to plan this trip.  If I move that stack of books I get the “don’t move those books.”

Italian Trip Planning

Just a subset of all the books, periodicals, internet queries (GOOGLE) and of course Rick Steves video series

Lets buy some luggage

Of course we needed matching luggage. I just hope there will be enough room for my Nikon ha ha.

New luggage arrived just in time

Tri Rail test ride

We decided to try using Tri-Rail from the Delray station to the Miami Airport.  In our planning mode we decided today to test the theory.  We love it.  The train takes about 1.5 hours, just a few steps to the shuttle which takes just a few minutes to the airport.  All in it takes 2 hours from the train station in Delray Beach to walking in to the airport and checking our bags.  I highly recommend this!  Here are a few photos of our Tai-Rail planning day:

Cities we are staying in

Venice, Verona, Florence, Naples, Sorrento (Amalfi Coast), and Rome.  

Some of the tours we have already booked

Tours we have already scheduled: Vatican and Saint Peters, Colosseum and underground Rome, cooking classes, Pietrantoni Palazzo Colonna and others.

Ilian Rochev - an amazing artist and talent!

I also plan on meeting my friend and fantastic artist Ilian Rochov in Rome.  I hope to be shown many of his great works.  He is also going to help coordinate a few hours with a model in Rome.

I will be bringing my Nikon mirrorless camera with just a few lenses and flash. Alice is concerned about what fashion to bring, I am concerned about what camera gear to schlep around the country. I plan on taking many fantastic photos and writing and sharing my blogs with those photos as much as I can.  Stay tuned for my next blog which may be the day we leave.

Read all my blogs

You can read all my blogs in reverse order as I have created them. I am always amazed when I run into people who I never knew would read my blogs but have been all along. Just follow the link air the bottom of each blog to the previous blog. This makes me very happy. Support me with some encouragement and you will see some great blogs with photos on our trip of a lifetime to Italy.