The Duomo

This commercial makes me sad, I never want to be so caught up in a text message or a facebook post or anything so trivial that I miss something truly beautiful. It reminds me of a very telling time in my past.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyLlD1-vKWA

I was in Florence Italy for the first time. Florence is beautiful. Everything about it is beautiful, the buildings, the people, the food....everything

This was the view from my tiny little hotel room (not a really beautiful place but the view........)

This was before digital photography but you get the idea........beautiful.

Anyway, I was on this trip with someone that I would normally never travel with. It was a business trip and those tend to make for bizarre traveling companions. She was a cute girl, very smart, from a rather wealthy family. This was not her first trip to Italy and she was not nearly as impressed as I was.

I've been lucky enough to go back to Italy since then and it still impresses me. I'm glad for that, I don't ever want to become as bored as this girl appeared to be at the ripe old age of 27.

We clashed a little, but it was minor..............................until The Duomo.

The word Duomo actually means cathedral but for most of us when someone says The Duomo they are referring to the Florence Cathedral. It is unbelievable. It is still the largest brick dome ever constructed, it was begun in 1296 and consecrated in 1436. The facade is various shades of green, pink and white marble

it is a truly magnificent work of art.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Cathedral

Well on the day that I went to view the Duomo, my traveling companion really wanted to go shopping. As I gazed at this amazing structure all I could hear was the chirp of "do you want to go to Fendi?" "Oh. look there's the Prada store. Don't you want to go to the Prada store?"

I advised her several times that she did not have to stay with me and could go shopping. She just pouted and said "no we can go look at the big church".

 I have never understood the need some people have to be attached at the hip. Just last weekend a girlfriend asked if I had to go to the bathroom when she got up to pee. I said no, she gave me a look. Ok fine, I have to pee. I'm 42 years old,  why am I still being asked to go to the bathroom with my girlfriends, shouldn't this have stopped after high school. My point is this. if she wants to go shopping, go shopping. I want to look at the Duomo and I do not need you here rolling your eyes about it.

But she stayed, and she continued to roll her eyes about it. When she made one last comment about yet another stupid store I lost it. 'Listen, just go to the blanking store, I don't care, I don't want to go shopping and I'm sick and tired of hearing you bitch about it!"

The look on her face still makes me smile. She just turned and marched off into Prada leaving me alone in the hustle of the Piazza del Duomo......which is what I wanted all along.

It was such a great day, I strolled through that beautiful city, drank too much espresso and ate little slices of zucchini pizza. I watched street performers and painters, walked along the Arno and yes, I did shop, along Ponte Vecchio. Ha ha!!