My Favorite Bridges and a Whole Lot More

This week I labored with several different ideas to put together for my first broadcast off the "new season." My original idea was to simply do the Favorite Bridges Show that was planned before we left for Italy. Then after a memorable 12 day trip, I decided that perhaps I should focus on trip taking in general and the specific trip we just took. Then while in Florence I decided that maybe I should take photos of some unique experiences I was having in a city that I have seen extensively since 1992. The upshot was a show which combined all three concepts. Thus I start out thanking our friends for making our trip amazing, then I talk about my unique experiences accompanied by about a dozen photos I took during a solo day strolling about in Florence, and the concluding with the Bridges. The result was a quick (seemingly, even though the show was over 50 minutes long), lively, fun show which not covered a lot of ground, but kept me very much engaged during my current period of jet lag from my trip home, anxiety over my impending cataract surgery, and general tiredness. There were, however, two mistakes. First I queried why Ghirlandaio's painting of the San Marco Cenacolo was placed at San Marco, when in actuality it is a fresco commissioned during the 15 th century for the monastery. Second I was may have mistaken about the America Vespucci Bridge in Florence in a photo showing the westernmost bridges. No excuses. Just for me, same old, same old.

Jet lag is becoming worse each year we travel. Waking up at 4 AM in the morning (10AM Italy time), ready for bed no later than 9 PM (3 AM the next morning Italy time), and getting hungry at strange times. When I get out of bed at say 9 AM, it is really 3 PM and I would have already had breakfast and lunch......and on and on. Other bodily issues such as constipation, grogginess all the time, disorientation, and lethargy. Put that together with the prospect of cataract surgery, which admittedly I have heard is no big deal from dozens of people, I was really quite out of it this week. I was resolved not to do a show. Then mid-week I felt that in order to take my mind off the surgery scheduled for next Tuesday, I would have to keep very busy. Therefore I went to the YMCA twice since returning, put together a show, wrote a blog (Friends, Food, and Fabulous Views), did a wash, went to the local dump, went shopping, went to the bank, registered at the hospital, wrote several emails to my friends in Italy, and watched a lot of TV. It all helps.

The future for Alan's Italy is very much in doubt. I have no idea what my vision will be like after Tuesday. Will I be able to drive? Read? Watch TV? Put together another show? Everything is up in the air and will remain so until I can get a handle on my condition. Even if the surgery goes smoothly and I can see 20 - 20 long distance I will need new reading glasses for close up work like doing prep for a new show and I will have to wait until after surgery number 2 on my left eye and then some, so maybe not for weeks. I will try to keep my dedicated followers up to date.

Friends, Food, and Fantastic Views

 Pardon my immodesty, but I really do know how to plan a vacation in Italy that can be everything I wanted.

We flew into Rome and took a taxi to Siena, our first sleepover. What a feeling getting off the plane and having the Alessandro Brigante Taxi Service waiting at the exit. Fabrizio was there waiting with a sign, we boarded his car, and off we went on the 3 hour trip to Siena. What a nice guy stopping for us when the need arose and driving flawlessly while we relaxed in the back seat sleeping and watching the scenery dropping us off right at the front door of our hotel, Palazzo Ravizza, in Siena. The price of $360 euro was well worth it for us - no driving for me (ahhhhh) and no finding my way around Italy and into a big city. The hotel was spectacular with a garden in the rear with magnificent views of Tuscany. Both our rooms ( we had to switch due to a prearranged conflict in room occupancy) had views of Tuscany and were spotless and beautiful. Siena is a nice town, but we proved conclusively once and for all, not one of our favorite places. Florence has better food, better museums, and of course, no fault to Siena, our dearest friends. So we could see the countryside without my driving, Lidia and Luca came down to meet us and take us to Volterra and Monteriggioni (3rd time for me, 2nd for Laura) and the val d'orcin region with lunch at San Quirico d'Orcia, both wonderful days with loving and fabulous friends. Had ok food except for the Osteria Nonna Gina in Siena which was amazing. Saw the Campo and Duomo which are great famous locations and the Pinacoteca (art museum) which has Sienese art, not my favorite kind of art, but interesting anyway. We befriended a member of staff at the hotel, Francesco, who gave us a superb 20 minute interview while seated in the back garden.

After four nights it was taxi again to Florence door to door and again a wonderful experience. Same room at Croce di Malta we have had for quite a while now with balcony overlooking back garden. Lunch at La Grotta di Leo, our favorite lunch place with excellent pizza, and dinner at La Spada with great food. We dined with Lidia for practically every meal. We had Bistecca Fiorentina two nights in a row!!!! Best steak ever. One day Lidia took us with her wonderful friends (and now our friends as well) to see the newly restored Cenacolo (Last Supper) by my favorite artist, Domenico Ghirlandaio, located at the Monastery at Badia a Pasignano, where we were the year before. Then they took us to a small town in the area, San Donato, a great small town I never heard of. The moral to this story is, let your friends take you wherever they want! Then we went back to Sabrina and Giulio's house for lunch cooked by Giulio and had several hours of our fun and great food. They told us of the best pizza place in Florence, Santarpia which did indeed have great pizza. We bid farewell to them. While in Florence we visited the Pitti Palace Galleria Palatina for the great works by Raphael. Slight mistake here - not nearly enough time in Florence. Once again met our friend Prof Roger Crum who brought with him to Florence 54 students and 6 faculty members. We dined with him and brought him back to our hotel Croce di Malta to show him the 360 degree view from the roof which was opened just for me. Once again bumped into one of the owners, Simone who greeted me warmly. Bought some leather products in Lidia's store including a new wallet, 3 belts, and a new side bag for me.

We took the train to Orvieto, a lovely town in Umbria, much nicer for us anyway than Siena. Dinner with Franco and Nina. Then next morning  Nina drove us back with her to Civita di Bagnoregio where she works with Franco at his fabulous restaurant Trattoria Antica Forno. Civita is a 2800 year old Etruscan town accessible only via a long walkway which is at several points virtually a 45 degree angle up to the town perched high above the Alto Lazio valley with Lubriano on the eastern side. We walked around the town again filled with several times the number of people we usually see, then dined at Antina Forno. Laura went into the kitchen to video Franco cooking what turned out to be close to 70 meals (pasta mostly) and learning some new things about Italian cooking. We now have about 20 minutes of his cooking brilliance on video. We then watched the twice yearly donkey race patterned after the famous Palio of Siena. What a hoot with immovable donkeys "strolling" around the town square, a fraction the size of the Campo in Siena. Franco then drove us back to Civita for our last evening in Italy. We strolled the eerie, dark, and empty backstreets of Orvieto before trying to get some sleep as we were awakened at 4:30 AM next day for the taxi back to Rome Airport.

A memorable and exciting trip to Italy which will be elaborated upon during about 8 - 10 shows over the next year. I will probably miss Friday evening's show as I prepare myself mentally for my double cataract surgery coming up first next week and then two weeks later. Not certain when my next show will be.

The "Last Show of the Season"

One of the easiest shows to put together and also one of the most fun experiences. I simply took the photos from the intro to the show and discussed what they mean to us which was, of course, very easy to do. I felt complete relaxed and confident although the very first photo of the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in the Venetian Lagoon gave me fits at first when I could't think of the name. After that it was smooth sailing through roughly 40 of our best photographs from our many trips to Italy. Except for a few very minor glitches at the start of the show, everything went very smoothly. We even went back to using the old stand-up microphone rather than the lapel clip on used nowadays on regular TV.

And so the "season" is now finished as we prepare for my 24th and Laura's 17th trip to Italy. I have many ideas for shows and would love going back to the once a week format we started with back in late 2011, if I can find new shows during our trip, expand on several ideas I have, and make the time during the summer when I should have enough time to work extra hours to get ready. All this, of course, is dependent on how my cataract surgery comes out. We shall see.

In the meantime, thanks to my ever present following and I hope to give you more interesting videos in the coming season.

Return to a Favorite Theme

I love old photos. I love old photos of Italy more than anything. As I indicated on the show, I like to find the exact location of an old photo and compare the photo to the modern view trying to find as many differences as possible. As I point out on the show, it was easier to create shows centering around the much more familiar places such as Florence, Rome, and Tuscany generally. Varenna was difficult because I was not as familiar with the town, despite having been there a half dozen times. Therefore this album took a lot of time to pull together; really the largest quantity of time in recent months. It was well worth it as I thoroughly enjoyed the longest show I have had in a very long time at slightly over 57 minutes. Although I have enjoyed the recent shows, this time I was truly enthralled by a topic that has always fascinated me. That tells me a lot. In the future I must try to "get into" my ideas to a greater degree; a great lesson considering there is yet another Italian trip coming up very soon.

As for the actual broadcast experience of which I like to talk, the only issue was the sound was again, lower than in past years due I believe to the different microphone I now use - a small one attached to my lapel. Even Ellen said I had it was too far from my mouth at first, but next time I may put it even closer. Other than that it was an outstanding video of a show that I truly loved doing. Ellen and I seem to be interacting on the air a lot more lately which I have always wanted as it gives more of a real feel of a live broadcast than just going through the material on my own. Now that I now longer have guests on the show I like this approach. Even when I used to listen to Imus in the Morning on radio, I loved the way he interacted with his staff. It gave a great down-home feeling to the live broadcast.

Next week I am deviating from a model which I have practiced for quite some time, i.e. doing a bi-weekly show. I will do my first back to back broadcast in a long time. There a few reasons for this. First I have a lot of material with what I assume will be a treasure trove after the next trip. Second, I will not know the future for a while. Missing two straight weeks because of our trip plus the uncertainty of my condition after cataract surgery on June 14 and June 28, I would rather keep moving now. The topic will be easy for me - simply an analysis of the photo montage that forms the basis of my show's introduction. I will spend a few minutes discussing the meaning of the selection of the photos, where they are taken and why Laura photographed them.

Patience, Patience, Patience

Patience is not something of which I have an abundance. This is a trait of mine that my followers know all too well. Walking out of the studio on Friday evening after doing what I assumed to be a very successful show without the DVD of the show in hand was a peculiar feeling for me. Friday turned into Saturday into Sunday into Monday and I heard nothing, except that apparently Ellen had left a message on my phone indicating that she would drop off the DVD of the show Monday afternoon. It occurred as scheduled, and I watched it and did the uploading to Youtube, as my viewers already know by the stunning image of Lake Como which appears as the lead image.

It is in fact a nice, crisp show and I looked and sounded more relaxed than I have been recently. Back in the groove again I was confident about my material and looking forward to the broadcast. People always tell me how relaxed I look, but the truth is sometimes very far from that. In this case I was very at ease. Unfortunately I made a couple of errors calling a "vaporetto" a "wheel chair" during the segment at the beginning initiated by one of my viewers who asked about the access ramp at the Florence Santa Maria Novella Train Station. With respect to accessibility for the physically challenged I spoke about the wheel chairs I have often seen around Venice, one of the "easiest" places for the physically challenged to navigate around because of its predominate flatness - except for the bridges which are the only hindrance.  Later in the show I misused a word,  "pummel" instead of "plummet." Attempting to describe the fall of the Fiumelatte water I interspersed the two words. The water plummets not pummels. I am not that upset about those errors, since, after all, I am an amateur. If I had made such a mistake in a mathematics classroom of such a magnitude, then it might be a matter of concern.

Nonetheless, I had a wonderful opportunity to describe two of the truly amazing times we had on Lake Como, a destination for us that has been filled with incredible moments. The Trattoria Baita Belvedere with its spectacular views of the lake and Bellagio and the town of Fiumelatte with its charming town and small water fall were memorable times. I now turn to a show that began to be formed in my mind when, sitting in the lobby of our hotel in Varenna, Hotel du Lac. I noticed a book of 19th century photos. Yes, dear viewers, it will yet another Then and Now show, so if you like that kind of thing, please tune in, hopefully, Friday evening, May 6.

So even though I have a dearth of patience, thanks nonetheless for your's.

Almost There, But Not Quite......

I wouldn't have believed it possible. When I finished the show, and feeling very relaxed that it was a good one, I actually felt that we have finally mastered the new equipment. I confidently gathered together my things, cables, computer, notes, etc. but heard mutterings coming from the console. Never a good sign. Ellen was desperately trying to "finalize" the DVD but was having trouble with the remote control. Who would have thought it! Yet another issue that we had yet to have. After 120 shows there was actually something left that hadn't been screwed up. While I was seated and watching her go through this process, someone came into the studio who knew me, but, of course with my poor memory for such things lately,  I didn't know her. She and her husband were producers of their own cable access show, and wanted to know why I wasn't at the Board of Producer's meeting last week. I told her that I didn't know it existed, but would like to attend. Yet another thing I have committed myself to. We finished the show at about 5:45 and it was now about 6:15 and still no video. I left and told Ellen to keep me informed. I have yet to see the finished version. That is the reason that the show has yet to be uploaded to Youtube. It should be a few days away, but if I have to do the show over (which would make me very upset), it could be longer.

Farewell to Tuscany.....For Now

The last show in the "Tuscany Series" was more or less successfully recorded yesterday evening. I use the word recorded as opposed to broadcasted because apparently Ellen forgot to flick the switch which would have made the show live! I didn't realize this until I got home and Laura wanted to know if we did a show. I told her we did and I have a supposed DVD of the effort. I had a feeling something might have been up when I looked at one of the monitors and noticed the WPAT Channel 23 Logo was on the screen. Then I simply forgot to say something because generally I don't have much of an idea what goes on behind the console. Fortunately I did have the DVD. We went out for the evening and didn't get back into the house until after 11, but then I broke down and watched the show which was recorded well enough even though the volume was too low and the photos appeared to be not quite the usual standard. I went to sleep annoyed, once again (or I should say "yet again") determined to end the whole project. As usually occurs for me, after a good night's sleep (actually "good" might be stretching the point), I changed my mind and downloaded to my computer, uploaded to Youtube, and made copies for Woodstock Public Access and Panda TV (Tivoli, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and Rhinecliff). Now I am putting the punctuation mark on show # 119 with the blog post!!

The experience of traveling around Tuscany with both Lidia and Luca has evolved to the point where that in itself is worth the trip to Italy. In this case last time we were in Italy we simply told both of them to take somewhere amazing. We were not disappointed. So for shows 117 and 118 Lidia was the hostess and architect of a wonderful afternoon, and for show 119 Luca planned the trip. As I indicated on the show last night, we had made an almost circular journey around the town of Volpaia when we were in Chianti in 2009 and again in 2010, but this time visited this almost perfectly charming town. The video of the show clearly shows our fascination with small, quaint Tuscan villages. All the towns came into existence as outposts during the various wars between rivals Florence and Siena during the Middle Ages and transitioned to vacation destinations in the late 20th century. Both Lidia and Luca chose extraordinary lunch locations, Lidia in Rignana and Luca in Volpaia. I described the later in great detail, even asking Luca in an email to indicate the various bruschette (plural for bruschetta). He and Mary, as Laura later reminded me, ordered appetizers only while I (for some reason) ordered a lasagne. Next time I will probably go along with whatever my friends choose. For our upcoming trip in late May/early June I have chosen Siena and again asked Lidia and Luca to take us to places that actually I have chosen. Maybe THAT is a mistake. We shall see.

I now pivot back to Lake Como doing the next two shows related to the town of Varenna, the first, # 120 related to day trips while staying in Varenna that were easy and very rewarding and # 121 yet another in the long line of "Then and Now" type presentations. I am excited although both are in moderate to severe states of incompleteness. I have my work ahead of me. Those last two will complete the material obtained from the trip we took in May and June of 2015.