Never happened before. At about 3:45, about 30 minutes before I leave for the studio and all ready to do a show, I sat half asleep on my couch, or so I thought. In actuality I was totally asleep soon after I sat down. I suddenly awoke at about 4:25, groggy, I did not know what I was supposed to be doing, glanced at the clock on my wall, and suddenly bolted upright realizing I had been asleep and was supposed to be driving to the studio roughly 15 minutes away. I rushed out of the house, got into my car, and hastened to the town, where I arrived at 4:45, the latest I had ever gotten there. Nonetheless, the show started without a hitch, except for the fact that sound didn't start until about 15 seconds into the opening segment, not an atypical glitch considering all the problems of broadcasting we usually have. The only thing I was afraid of was not being sharp enough to concentrate on the broadcast, so I tried to wake myself up.
As I look back at the show, I do not see any indication of the fact that I was indeed groggy, once again too critical of myself. The show was part 3 of our Tuscan segment of last year's trip. During this segment I asked Lidia to drive us to two close to her house, yet evocative Tuscan towns. She chose two similar and dissimilar towns, typical for Tuscany. Alike in that they both originated as fortified, castle towns, growing up around the "rocca" and yet preserving the early Medieval flavor. Unlike in that the first town, Montecarlo, was bustling with people, while the second, Seravalle, was completely quiet and subdued. In fact the latter was so devoid of activity of any kind that we could not even find a restaurant or for that matter any person on the streets. Our car was the only one parked at the foot of the town, and the only place we could find to eat was a snack bar where we discovered some ice cream, hardly the typical Tuscan meal we had expected. First of all we arrived a bit too late, about 3:00. Even though in most Italian towns, lunch is served until 3 or 4, this one may have stopped serving at 2 or 2:30. We saw tables outside restaurants, but clearly the action was over, if it had ever started at all. Second, Sunday is not an exciting day to be out and about in Tuscany. Empty of tourists apparently, but no other town activity as you might find on a weekday, as we found out the next day when we went to two bustling towns.
I originally had decided to make Montecarlo one show and Seravalle another, but changed my mind when I realized that the Montecarlo part could not possibly give me anywhere near 40 minutes of broadcast time. I combined the two naturally considering the whole day as a show complete with the tour of the two towns and the pizza party back at Lidia's house with her family. The next show, San Miniato and Vinci, was also supposed to be two shows, but I again will combine them into one, as we did both on the same day. Then I run out of shows based on the May/June 2014 trip to Italy, and unless I want to suspend broadcasting for two months, have to come up with some more material.
In that regard I have two shows on the burner which I haven't looked at for months. Yet they will form two very nice shows. One will be a show I always wanted to do, Shopping in Florence, and the other on the Streets of Rome. The later may be changed to a show in which I focus solely on one street, arguably the most famous, via dei Fori Imperiali. That will finish up the season before heading back to Italy for more material. When I get back I could hustle to create more broadcasts or work on another idea I had during a recent visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan. While I was there last time alone, I photographed the Renaissance art of which there is plenty. I will call that show, Italian Renaissance Art at the MET. I like that actually but it will require a lot of work.
In the meantime I must begin to think seriously about what I intend to develop while we are away. It's gotten to the point where before we go anywhere, I first decide where to go based on future shows. The list has begun to be formed and in all likelihood there will be once again a Tuscan part with Lidia and Luca, and a Civita di Bagnoregio part with an anticipated tour by local celebrity, Franco Sala. Next it's Venice where we are staying at a new hotel, in a new area, very closely the Venice Biennale where we will both be as nonparticipants this time around. The off to Lake Como for probably more villas and some spectacular scenery.
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