The night was meant to start at a gin bar called Little Lon Distilling Co, selected for its testament to Lon, the person I have most consistently called a legend for 20+ years. But it was shut.
Cinque Terre
I have been on the fence about taking the kids to Cinque Terre, renowned for its hiking trails linking intensely coloured villages cascading down craggy cliffs. I didn’t know if I had the stamina to experience this magic against a soundtrack of whinging and arguments. But after our time in Firenze, I realised it couldn’t possibly be worse.
Florence: the not name of my imaginary third child
Ah Florence.
I arrived with magical illusions for this city; the long lost name for my daughter, pipped at the post with Matisse for my first, and then Elspeth second time around. My third daughter will definitely be called Florence, I vowed… until I had a 2 and 3 year old and renewed that vow in the form of a totally different one to never have more children.
A train to Firenze
A train from Venezia to Firenze; Venice to Florence.
The whole of the world calls half of Italy by names that the Italians don’t; and then wonder why the Italians wave their arms around all the time.
the venetian lagoon
An intense amount of evaluation led me to forfeit our business class train fares to Florence and take a day trip to Burano island with Imogen instead. And then catch the train at dusk by myself with a mountain of luggage and two really exhausted kids, one on my lap because there weren’t enough seats on the train let alone any in business class.
Venezia - Part one
Venice.
Conflicting reviews on this place but since my Italian boss ordered me to go, I had no choice. I am indebted for this arm-twist. The charm of this place stole my heart; ancient buildings, artisans, inner goth, gourmet food and canals for roads - yes, you may not know that unique fact about this place.
Dolomites
A couple of months ago, Karl was doing some research on Italy; a concept that escaped me entirely. He raised the subject of bringing car seats for the kids, noting that the Italian standard was just a booster seat and that whilst that might be acceptable for Matisse, it was 300% illegal by Australian standards. At the time, I was feeling irresponsible and claimed if it was OK for the Italians, it was OK for me.
Leica M10 + Voigtlander VM 35mm 1.2 ii
I bought a Leica M10 - to use my favourite lens.