postcards from the continent

When I first got here ~ "here" being Long Beach ~ I could not get the trusty laptop to work. A short conversation with grandson provided all the answers needed to get back into the cyberworld. Now it's time to get some illustrations up to prove we really did go where we said we went. Not all at once, however. A bite at a time.


This is the apartment we stayed in, Piazza Santo Sprito #7. That is your faithful correspondent in the window on the right, three floors up. The Patient took this standing in the little square across the street, on his way back from the bakery.


Every day, except Sunday, there is a market in the square. This fruit and vegetable seller set up right across from our door. There were mainly clothing and household goods in the market; also a fellow selling office goods; stationery and such, another fellow selling "antiques" of a suspiciously recent origin.


This is your daily dose of atmosphere. I took this standing on the Ponte Trinitas, looking west down the Arno. The Ponte Vecchio is behind me. I'll save that picture for another post.

Later this morning we will drive down to San Diego to stay with my sister and brother-in-law for the Thanksgiving pig-out. Niece Kaley and grand-niece Ruby (and dad Rob) are also there. I haven't seen Ruby since 2005; she is now a very precocious 2 1/2 year old. There will be 7 of us, a manageable crowd, to feast on the usual comestibles of the season. Meanwhile, I wish all a Happy Thanksgiving holiday however you plan to spend it.