Our second tour of the day was to see the St. Mark’s Clock Tower. The tour was almost over even before it began. With rain in the area, there was a good chance we would not get to see the fourth and fifth levels of the tower since they are outside and it would have been too dangerous if wet. However, we decided to go anyway and chance it with the weather.

The tour started in the living room of the clock-watcher’s apartment, which is also where the weights that power the main mechanism hang. While on this level, we learned that in order to build the clock tower, several buildings were demolished to make room. Built around 1496 and completed within 4 years, this clock tower was also home to each clock-watcher and his family until renovations began in 1998.

Next we proceeded to the second level where the main mechanism is housed. Also on this level was the former kitchen, which is no longer much to see as it is now the cleaning lady’s closet.

This is the main mechanism (actually 5) that makes the whole thing work.

The third level housed the Procession of the Kings until 19^th century renovations upgraded their doors to house a more modern digital clock, the first in the world. Since the Kings were replaced, they are returned to center stage twice a year: once in February for Annunciation of the Kings and again after Easter for Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension.

The fourth level is where the Winged Lion of Venice guards the city.  On this level, the weather held up and we got to walk on the terraces on each side and watch as the Moors struck the bell to mark the time.

The last level, the fifth level, is the top of the Clock Tower that houses the Moors and the bell.  These specific Moors, contrary to popular belief, are not African males but instead, got the title of Moors because of the dark color of the aged copper. While on this level, we noticed that one Moor is old with a long beard and aged skin, while the other Moor is young with strong muscles.  This was done intentionally as each Moor strikes the bell at different times: the old Moor strikes the bell two minutes before the hour to acknowledge the time past and the young Moor strikes the bell two minutes after the hour to acknowledge the future.  Oddly, this clock is never struck on the hour, only two min before and two min after. This level also presented with several wonderful photo opps and a spectacular view of the city and the square below.

This is a view from the fourth level out over the square, past St. Mark's Basilica and the Bell Tower and over the lagoon. The two pillars near the water were used to hang people during executions, among other things.

Our guide let us pass the rope line long enough to snap a shot of us in front of the bell and the moors.

Before I forget to mention it, the design and location of the clock tower were picked specifically to welcome the ships from the sea into Venice.  The arch at the bottom of the tower opens into the main market street of Venice.  This street is also a direct route to the Rialto Bridge and the rest of Venice.

Some random thoughts on food from Firenze:

• Gelato is good, but too much can get old (we need a few days break).
• Mint is my favorite gelato flavor so far. Strawberry will make a mess on your khaki pants.
• Not all diner sandwiches are created equal. Mine was OK with a combo of ham, cheese, and tomato, while Carson’s kinda sucked. His had salami (that was an accident).
• Italian restaurants open late, so when you get up early it’s hard to wait long enough for supper. So I have decided the best solution is to simply have 4 meals a day.

Our first full blown Italian meal consisted of a variety of cheese samples, a first dish of true fettuccine alfredo, and a main course of veal with rosemary potatoes and cacciatore chicken. We topped it off with a glass of Chianti each, and the whole meal was indisputably delicious. If you are ever in this area, you have to stop at Trattoria Za-Za.

For our next dinner, Carson was more brave than I was. He ordered stuffed rabbit, while I stuck with grilled chicken. However, he did get me to try prosciutto with Tuscan bruschetta (topped with liver patte). The best part of the meal was the full bottle of 13.5% Chianti; we felt pretty good when the meal was over. : ) All in all, the meal was OK, but it did not quite live up to Za-Za.

Today was a very full day!  We started the morning off with a 3.5hr guided walk through Florence. We started with quick history of Piazza della Repubblica and the Medici family.  From here we wound our way down back streets to the Orsanmichele Church where our guide explained the differences in Medieval, Renaissance, and Mannerist architectural eras.

This is one of the things we learned about on the tour. When rich families had a large dinner or a party, they would have leftovers. At the end of the night, they would push the leftovers out through this hole in the wall. Ever eaten at one of those kind of places?

As we made our way to the Ponte Vecchio , we learned about the Queen that didn’t like riding past the butchers on this bridge (they smelled bad and were not pretty to look at) so she had an enclosed path built that lead from one palace, through already existing homes, over the meat market (that she eventually had changed to a gold and jewels market), through more homes, and eventually ending at the Pitti Palace (her country home).

This is the Queen's walkway from one palace to another as it crosses the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River.

This tour eventually made its way inside the Santa Maria del Fiore (the Duomo) and ended with an education on how Brunelleschi designed and built the massive dome.

After the tour, Carson and I hurried over to the Uffizi Gallery to marvel at the works of Giotto, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Botticelli.

Despite our feet begging us to stop, we proceeded to the Museo Galilei e Instituto di Storia della Scienza (Galileo Science Museum). Even with the really cool science tools and developing technologies, the best part was Galileo’s thumb, pointer finger, and middle finger in jars!

After all of this walking, we eventually made it back to the hotel for a few minutes of resting before heading out for dinner and an evening stroll through town.

Arrivederci!

Flashback: May 14, 2010

Well, we did it! We survived our first 2 night camping expedition! Although I wouldn’t count it as “roughing it,” we managed to enjoy 48 hours of no computers, no internet connections, and no television.

We all arrived at Devil’s Lake State Park Friday night with enough time to pitch our tents and eat a hot meal of brats and dogs before the sun went down and the s’mores and bats and black cat came out.  Yes, that’s right, we didn’t see any raccoons or snakes, but we did have a cat wander through our site and later munch on the chips that were left open on the table, all while we were cuddled around the fire.

That first night was a bit rough on everyone. From the bathroom being down the hill and through the wet grass, to laying on the hard earth in bags that didn’t allow you to roll over, to the sound of a cat vs. raccoon (or cat or small child) fight around 2am in the woods beside our camp, I would have to say that we all managed a few extremely interrupted hours of sleep.  However, it was still enough to get us going with the rising of the sun and the awakening of the 2 chatting crows in the trees above us (at 5:30!)

Saturday morning brought with it superb weather and the need for a good hike.  We started at the visitors center on the north side of the lake and hiked the west trail along the water front. About half way down the path, we stopped for our first geocache of the morning and found it with little difficulty. As we proceeded along the waterfront and made it to the main road, we made a hairpin turn and started hiking up the hill. Up the stone steps. Then more hill. And more steps. And more hill… Until we came to the first look-out point.  While here, we paused to absorb the breathtaking view and watch as five turkey vultures circled the trees and glass calm lake below.

After the required group shot at the top, we continued our way along the top of the hill, past the EMS repelling training, and on to our next geocache.  This one, however, was not as easy as the first.  After a while of hunting with 5 people, we decided that this one would have to wait until another day.  So, we made our way back to the trail and started down the hill.  And down the stone steps. And down the hill… Once back to camp, it was time for lunch, knitting, games, and a desperately needed nap!!!

3 hours later, I was up, refreshed, and ready to start on supper.  Now, I do have to mention that several people were not keen to my idea of doing steak fajitas for supper as it would be too much work.  AH HA! All that it took was a few extra minutes of prepping peppers and steak at home to create a meal that is better than burgers and brats (again).

After dinner, we pulled out the s’mores and popcorn to enjoy another relaxing, cozy evening.  We all retired early and slept hard, only to once again wake up early.  As we all started to migrate back to the fire, we enjoyed a quick breakfast and promptly started to break down camp. The weekend was over as quickly as it began…

Thank you all for a successful weekend!

Last summer I got tired of working around all of Carson’s t-shirts, so I finally did something about them… I cut them up and turned them into a quilt.  I started in October and had it ready for Christmas.  When all was cut apart and reassembled, it turned out to be a bit wider than a queen mattress and 8ish inches longer.

This got me into wanting to try another quilt.  So, when some friends of ours announced that they were pregnant, I jumped on the opportunity to make another, smaller quilt.  I think they both turned out pretty cool.

Last you heard, I was complaining about Nintendo. Well, this past weekend Carson and I were on a mission to scour Madison until we found WiiFit.  It didn’t take long. We started at the mall: Game Stop, Sears, Toys R Us, Best Buy. On the way out of the parking lot, we decided to stop at Shopko.  And yep, I bought their last one! Yeah, Me!  I got it home, cleared out the living room, and started my yoga.  WiiFit is definitely worth the wait.

I spent a little over an hour messing around with it on Sunday.  The first thing that you do in the game is to test your balance and your posture, then it tells you how old your body really is… It said I was 35! That punk Carson only registared 27! I retook the tests later in the evening and had already dropped several years off of my body. Hopefully, if anything, WiiFit will help me to track my progress (I also work out several days/week at Curves.)

My only note regarding the use of WiiFit, make sure to stretch when you are finished.  Even if you don’t feel like you did a work out, the following morning your body will tell you otherwise!

I recently made two huge steps towards accepting the influences of my husband: 1. I fully admit that I like the iPhone and 2. I want my first Wii game: WiiFit.  This being admitted, I stopped to fill my car with gas, then swung by Toys R Us to see if they have any WiiFits in stock.  Come to find out, the guy who was helping me informed me that they received a shipment  yesterday, and he just sold their last one “ten minutes ago”!  (If only I had waited for the gas) Now, the part that I don’t understand: when I asked him when they might be expecting more, he told me that they don’t know when more are coming until they show up… So, why don’t they know?  I have asked managers this question regarding other items at other stores and the only answer that I ever get is “We don’t know.” Not: in a couple of days or next week or next month.  They aren’t even able to give me a guess-timate.  Also, I don’t understand why nobody will let me do a rain check for anything Wii related, it is no different than doing a pre-order. I understand that Nintendo thinks that they are better than everybody else and these products are under very high demand, but why won’t they let me pay for one now (or at least a down payment) and pick it up when it arrives (on the truck that they don’t know when it will arrive).

Hello All! For those of you who haven’t met me, I’m Amber (Carson’s wife)! Carson has been trying to talk me into starting to blog, so I figure I’ll give it a shot 🙂 I work for a prominent daycare center (1-2 year old room) here in Madison and yesterday was the first day for our summer program. It is always stressful and physically draining when you have an entire classroom of new kiddo’s who have never been away from home for more than a couple of hours or slept an entire night in their own bed. On a bright side, this week we got the shingles on our roof… Well, they are on the roof in a pile, not spread out yet. But they did pour our garage floor and our front porch! Thanks for listening (or reading)! B-Bye!