Two Brysons in Italy
Wow, what a country.
I’ve been to Italy several times before, but I must admit the Tuscan valley area around Florence and Pisa may be the best.
So beautiful and so rich with culture and arts.
While there for Easter Weekend, I was engrossed in the old city. You walk down the street and feel transported to the Renaissance yourself. The architecture wraps you in a beauty and elegance of the old and sophisticated. Cars are rare in the narrow streets. Everyone just meanders across the narrow lanes from shop to shop, seeing things from the ultra chic to antiques of the past.
We crisscrossed the old city of Florence several times. I never tired of the views and pleasures of the area. Okay, I coulda done without a few of the hawkers with cardboard stands selling knock-off sunglasses, handbags, and watches. They were a little out of place.
At one beautiful courtyard I stopped to read a large historical marker. As I tried to match the locations on the map to the plaza in front of me, I realized the features were not there. This was showing the underground from Roman days. I marveled that they had not dug up the plaza to show the newly discovered Roman ruins. But as my daughter, Meredith, so aptly noted, how are you to dig up a beautiful Renaissance plaza just to have an older historical Roman plaza? What dilemmas they face?
We toured all throughout beautiful Florence, and even spent our Monday in Pisa. There the famous tower stands with equally an impressive cathedral and baptistery. Both of those monumental structures also lean, but just not as famously as the tower. I was surprised to learn that the tower made it’s primary shift after only the first three floors were constructed. It must have been some interesting debates in deciding to go on with additional construction. It looks like those smart enough to see the advantage in drawing tourists won out. The crowds still show up there!
Fireworks from the Brindellone on Easter Sunday at Scoppio del Carro in Florence, Italy.
Easter Fireworks
And then a dove is sent to the cart like a rocket to light the fireworks. Are you kidding me? Fireworks on Easter? ……. Yep, that’s what they did! Fireworks! Right in front of Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore!
Now I love fireworks, but I sure wasn’t expecting fireworks in front of a cathedral in Florence, Italy as part of Easter celebration. But here I was! Meredith had told me to meet here early for good viewing of some kind of celebration in front of the cathedral where they lit some kind of fire. The “fire” was fireworks!! Incredible!
The cart is called the Brindellone, and was pulled into the square by four large oxen! It stood at least three stories tall and looked to be ages old. The tradition, as I understand now goes back to the first Crusades! Over 1000 years ago! 1000 YEARS!! And all the attendants and processional were all dressed in garb from those dates, including knights in armor and ladies in waiting.
The dove is really a rocket on a wire from inside the cathedral and tied to the cart. The fire it brings is started from the rocks saved from the Crusades! Now this is some real history!
The event is the Scoppio del Carro, or Explosion of the Cart! [See http://www.italiansrus.com/articles/scoppio.htm] It is said that if all goes well with the fireworks – and there were a lot of firemen nearby – that it brings prosperity to the city for the year! It sure looked great to me!!
See Easter Fireworks photos from link in right column or from:
http://www.dotphoto.com/go.asp?l=abrysoninchina&p=1A55&AID=3416549
Meredith and I together in Florence, Italy.
A Warm Welcome in Italy
I rounded the corner and heard a young shriek: “Daddy!” ……. Nothing warms the heart more for a father than that moment of seeing his little girl bouncing in recognition and breaking in a run to give her dad a hug! That warm reception was for me last Friday on arrival in Pisa.
Sure, Meredith is a little bigger now, but the memories flooded my thoughts of the same reaction on trips years ago when I returned from Europe or Japan or Saudi Arabia when she was just a toddler. It was the same wonderful smile to warm my heart and brighten the day for a dad after a weary trip. It’s a greeting no dad could ever tire of seeing.
Her hair bounced in a quick flop, and she ran to my arms for an unforgettable hug! It had been almost five months. Yeah, we talk weekly, but it’s nothing like seeing and holding one’s little girl. And with me worrying about her in Italy on her own, the warmth of the greeting was even more special. I imagine she felt the same in my absence to the other side of the world.
Meredith even had a “goody” bag for me on arrival. The bag was great for our 1-½ hour ride on the train to Florence. She even had baguettes with cheese! Cheese!! Oh how I’ve missed cheese! There was a map of Florence with my hotel and her apartment starred. A red cap from the Winter Olympics was a feature you don’t often see. What a great welcome! Thanks Mere!
Back in the USA!!
Back in the USA! YES!! So good to be back! And the Hickory Log BBQ was great! Ohhhhhh! Is it ever goooooood!
I got in Tuesday after a long day of travel. And 10 hours in a center row seat with a bad back is too murder. My legs still hurt from that trip. At least the BBQ soothed some of the pain. I actually started out at 5 AM from Florence; took a train to Pisa; stood in a long line for a plane ride to Munich; ended up in a center row seat to Charlotte; got picked up by my son, Thad; and made my way to Hickory Log and a night in Rutherfordton with my good buddy Stan and his wife Deborah. All told I think it was a trip of 21 hours from Italy to NC.
New phone number again too. My cell phone is active now at
336-682-0948.
Typing at 35000 Feet
Did you know you can now use a laptop computer on flights across the Atlantic? At least Lufthansa has now begun offering such a service if you have a WiFi connection. They were even giving out 30 minutes free time to all travelers the other day for my flight to Charlotte.
So I coulda written out this posting at 35000 feet above Nova Scotia. At least I could have, IF I could have gotten my laptop to fit on my tray. But how do you use a laptop when the seat in front of you is reclined into your lap? If I had put the laptop on the tray, I would not have been able to type because the screen would have been closed down on my knuckles! It just don’t work!
Lufthansa Torture
Guten Tag! I’m in Munich now. Yea, 12 hours of flying and still not to Italy. This is just my first stop. How many airports am I gonna see over the next few weeks? ……. Ahhhhhhh, I don’t want to think about it.
My back already feels like it has been twisted on a medieval rack of torture. In fact, the seat from my Lufthansa flight will probably be in a museum some day as a form of modern “rack of torture”. It sure was for me. How do they justify seats like that? It sure ain’t for people my size. I had to bend my legs out to just sit behind the seat in front of me. And when the lady in that seat rolled her seat back, I was scrunched up like a stuffed pretzel.
And my seat didn’t recline more than an 1”. The check in attendant agreed to get me legroom, didn’t he? This is legroom? You gotta be kiddin! He don’t know his planes.
Okay, it was the back row next to a wall panel, but there was another 6-8” clearance to the wall. Why didn’t the seat just recline to the wall? At least the girl beside me was small. She was young Hong Kong professional headed to Italy for vacation herself.
The plane flew through the darkness of night over the vast plains of China, and on over Russia near Moscow, before bending back into Munich. At least at nighttime everyone was pretty quiet. Most everyone looked to be sleeping fairly well. The lady in front of me sure was. My lap must be pretty comfortable.
A Hollywood Baby Birthday Party
One of my local drinking holes,
The Hollywood B
aby, is always looking for a good reason to have a party.
The owner’s birthday was the latest reason.
So last Saturday night was another great party in Dongguan!!
I even got a personal call from one of the hostesses in the early evening to show up as soon as possible. They wanted me to bring my camera and take pictures. Seems I’m popular for taking pics, if nothing else. Only at the time, a friend of mine and I were some distance away having dinner at that great Japanese restaurant I visited a few weeks ago (See Royal Garden Hotel article and photo link). We got back to the Baby late, but it’s never too late in Dongguan, especially for a party like this. I’m told this one ended around 6 AM.
The bar even took the opportunity to get out the wedding dresses again. Yes, I said “wedding dresses”. You see, the other owner, Frank, got married just a few weeks ago, and the bar went all out and got white wedding-style dresses for all the barmaids or hostesses to wear. So here again on this Saturday, this time for Michael’s birthday, they dressed the girls in all white again! And as always, the girls looked great! It was qui
te an event.
The cake was good too! It was decorated with one of those incredible candles like we had for Edmund’s birthday. [I wonder if I can haul those back on my flights to the States?? - I doubt it.] It fluttered and then spread its petals into small candles on each tip. Really neat!
The band was in great form as always on a Saturday night, and the crowd was happy. Toasts were popular for Michael on this occasion, and everyone had a great time. I took some 150 pictures. Write me for the link, if ya want to see those pics.
Happy Birthday Michael!
Mirrors and Lights
Why is it bathrooms have notoriously poor lighting and lousy mirrors? Or is that just the places I stay? It has been recently.
When I got my apartment I looked closely at the rooms and television, but didn’t really pay much attention to some of the little things. My bathroom mirror was one in particular that I should have paid more attention to. I did notice the lighting was weird. The modern style living area has two antique looking chandeliers that hug the ceiling….. Are they ever short?!?! And the two bedrooms have cartoon figures on the overhead lamp covers!?!?! Who used these rooms last? Oh well, I don’t look up too much.
But I do try to look in the mirror. But it isn’t very easy. The only one in the apartment is in the bathroom, and it is barely big enough for me to see my face. It can’t be more than 10” by 12”. Man, is it small! And then the light in the bathroom is some high recessed fixture with one of them curly fluorescent bulbs. To say the least, I don’t have to worry about seeing my ugly mug in the mornings…. much less any other time.
And I find lighting in most bathrooms to be pretty poor. Don’t you? Why is it the lights in hotel bathrooms have to be behind your head when ya stand at a sink? All ya get is a shadow down your face. So many now get fancy with those neat little halogen lights, but all they do is shine the top of my head. I don’t need to see all those new gray hairs! Give me a good bathroom with lights and mirror!
Jacqueline and Eric cut wedding cake!
Jacqueline, Eric, and Bingo
Well, I wasn’t disappointed. Not in the least. And I sure didn’t go away hungry. You eat pretty well when ya get 13 courses and food doesn’t stop being delivered for several hours. Even started with a barbecue pig! Made me feel like home!
I’m talking about the Wedding Reception for Jacqueline and Eric last Friday night. It was beautiful! The Hotel Shangri-La is exquisite, and the planning for the event was evident in a wonderful evening of food and entertainment.
The bride was absolutely stunning. She changed twice, which I am told is common at such Hong Kong events. And Eric was very handsome and surprisingly entertaining. I’m not trying to take anything away from him. It’s just that Eric is usually rather reserved and quiet. On this night, he was certainly enjoying the attention, and taking advantage of the respect being afforded him. He was a gentleman and courteous partner with his beautiful bride on this, their very special evening.
I was more than a little surprised about one other thing. I never expected to be playing Bingo at a Wedding Reception in Hong Kong. But, believe it or not, it fit right in, and was a good ice breaker for guests to share information about the bride and groom. When we arrived at our table, I noticed the bingo cards at several place settings and thought it was odd. Soon everyone was scrambling to check their card. They had to find me one, since somehow there wasn’t one at my place setting. …. Not that it mattered, considering I didn’t turn many numbers. But it was fun. ………….. I wonder if I missed any numbers, since they were calling ‘em in Cantonese!!
No telling how many pictures were taken by the photographers. There were actually two photographers, one for stills and another for video.
Emcees were busy orchestrating the activities from
assuring everyone got their picture with the bride and groom, through the bingo games and even a cute game where the bride and groom caught bread popped from a toaster between their faces. And then there were toasts. Oh yeah, wouldn’t be a Hong Kong or Decca party without a few of those. Not as many as usual but very good indeed.
The biggest surprise of the evening caused a rumble through the Decca tables about midway through the meal. Not understanding the Cantonese, I asked my neighbors “What’s going on?” To my surprise, the response was “Malcolm and Mandy are getting married!” We were all in shock! And very joyous!! It started another round of toasts at their table in their honor. You see Mandy and Malcolm work at the Hong Kong showroom and main office respectively. Malcolm handles project management of our hospitality projects, and in such, I do a lot of close work with he and his people. Almost a bigger surprise was that they are getting married on May 7. I guess I don’t get much time to acclimate myself on my return trip from the States. I will now have to stay another day in Hong Kong for another wedding! I can’t wait!
I finally left after midnight. Jacqueline and Eric were with family graciously receiving the guests as they left. Eric and I recounted the time he escorted me from Dongguan to Hong Kong on my first trip by train. He was a great host then and a wonderful host on this evening too. And now he has a beautiful bride to share his life! Congratulations to Jacqueline and Eric!
Photos of the event can be found from the link to Eric’s Wedding in the right column. Amazing… I’ve now been to weddings in China, Thailand, and Hong Kong in the last year!
A New Look!
Time for a New Look! ..............
No, not me! I'm talking about this website!
I first visited China a little over a year ago. I thought near this anniversary would be a good time to revise the look of this blog. Hope you like it.
That’s the Hong Kong harbor in the picture. I took the picture myself from the Sheraton Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui during the Symphony of Lights celebration on a Saturday night last summer.
On the right column, you can still find links to photos I post; links to Previous Postings; as well as a link to Meredith’s blog of her experiences in Italy.
The clock strips give you real time here in China, and back in North Carolina - for a real sense of my “homes” being on opposite sides of this world. Those “sitemeter” and globe icons track readers by count and location from the server used to access this site.
Let me know if you have any trouble with new look and use of my
A Bryson in China blog. And, as always, please let me hear from you! It’s easy from the “Email Me” link!
Enjoy!
Gene
Around the World in 21 Days
Well, why not!
I want to go see Meredith in Italy, and so why not just stop there on my way to the States for Furniture Market.
So round the globe I go.
And this ain’t no April Fool’s joke!!
YES!! I will be home in a few weeks. For Easter, I travel to Florence to enjoy Easter with Meredith. I get to the States on the 18th. I’ll spend the next 9-10 days between family and Furniture Market events. So I will be all over North Carolina from Waynesville to Greensboro.
I continue on to Las Vegas (somebody has to do it) for a hospitality show on the same day the Furniture Market officially starts in High Point. So I only get to take in the events leading to Market in NC.
I continue on to Decca offices in Dallas in early May, before heading to Denver for a few days with my sister’s family.
And round the world, literally, I head on back to Hong Kong in early May to get back to work again.
Flight Schedule:
| 13 Apr 06 | HK Munich | 2310 - 0545 (14 Apr 06) | LH 731 |
| 14 Apr 06 | Munich - Pisa | 0905 - 1040 | LH 4068 |
| 18 Apr 06 | Pisa - Munich | 0830 - 0950 | LH 4079 |
| 18 Apr 06 | Munich - Charlotte | 1130 - 1515 | LH 428 |
| 27 Apr 06 | Charlotte - Las Vegas | 1120 - 1308 | UA 2137 |
| 29 Apr 06 | Las Vegas - Dallas | 1242 - 1730 | HP 395 |
| 1 May 06 | Dallas - Denver | 1830 - 1927 | UA 1143 |
| 5 May 06 | Denver - San Francisco | 0834 - 1009 | UA 893 |
| 5 May 06 | San Francisco - HK | 1237 - 1800 (6 May 06) | UA 869 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
Look out BBQ joints, I’m on the way!! No fish heads or chicken for three weeks!!
