We walked 12 miles today, per my watch, which I’m sure wouldn’t lie. It is 85 degrees right now at 10:30 p.m., but with humidity feels like 91 (and that stat is from somewhere official, not my guesstimation). Can you even imagine how toasty it was mid-day? It’s a true testament to how much I love this city that I wasn’t safely indoors under AC protection all day.
It was a super fun day though, I really, REALLY, love this city. The key is to stay away from every busy street. You might think that’s impossible, that every street is busy, but it’s really easy to actually avoid the crowds. When we had to, by necessity, pass thru the tourist area to get to another area, we literally cringed. It’s just mobs of people; it’s hot, crowded and miserable (well, at least for me, but I hate crowds AND heat.) What amazes me is how few tourists actually venture off the main thoroughfare to side streets. We walked lots of streets that were very quiet—you’d think you were in a completely different city.
We had a great time shopping, stopping for drinks and lunch, and getting lost in the little canal streets. We let ourselves find dead ends left and right…it was part of the fun (unless there was no shade on the street, and then it wasn’t fun.) You can’t help but take beautiful pictures here, the lighting is beautiful, and everywhere you look it’s just so breathtaking. The only bummer was the heat, which clearly, I talk about nonstop. The kids lasted about 4 ½ hours this morning, and then we dropped them off at the apartment to rest and re-hydrate. John and I kept walking for the next three hours, stopping for a Spritz (I just like the name of the drink…John gets them, but I actually stick to dry white wine, but I like to say, “let’s stop for a Spritz” because it just sounds so much better.)
We found some really beautiful glass vases today, and I’ve got my eye on some artwork that I’m pondering. Plus, I found my sister a birthday present which was fun and it was a family event, everyone weighing in on the color and style. There is definitely some good shopping here. There is also a LOT of glass here, and therefore, lots of potential for glass damage. Plus, there are 5 million signs saying “please don’t touch”, for the obvious reason that everything is so breakable, but for some reason, having those signs makes it THAT much more tempting for the kids to touch. Romeo walking around with his little backpack, trying to buy glass animals (which he is obsessed with almost as much as stuffed animals), nearly bumping into things left and right. Danger everywhere.
The kids are in love with the three cats that live in the garden at the apartment. Romeo and Gia are constantly trying to coach them out from their hiding places away from the heat. They have even managed to succeed a few times. Our landlady is the sweetest thing, she saw us in the garden this morning and had a stack of cards and bookmarks for us that were reproduction prints of her husband’s artwork (the entire apartment is filled with his art—he’s a professional artist locally). It really is a fantastic flat, I would stay here again in a heartbeat.
Tomorrow is our last day, and I’m going to try and enjoy every last minute and not be too sad and too greedy. We’ve had so much time, and it’s been such an amazing trip, I know it sounds positively spoiled to even think of wanting more (which doesn’t really deter me obviously.) I don’t want it to end…not just the traveling (which I love), but the time with John and the kids. Life is so busy at home, it seems like 7 weeks goes by before you even have a chance to pause from the “daily grind” of stuff. I’ve got to build in ways for the family to slow down and be together more. It’s hard to duplicate this kind of intense family time together though and that's what I'll miss the most.
Signed, ME {lv}
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