D coming in today, which meant a trip into firenze. A and E went to the internet café, so went with W to the duomo. paid 10 for the museo dell’opera di santa maria del fiore. learnt about the façade of the duomo, the competitions held, delays over many years, finally completed in 1887 from emilio de fabris’ winning entry. original panels from the ‘gates of paradise’ and other sculptures adorning the baptistery, duomo and campanile were also housed here.


it was possible to trace the development of art and even architecture as artists tackled technical problems in the depiction of human figures and the construction of grand structures. how the figures became less flat; how there was greater interaction in a Madonna and Child instead of the separate calms each was enveloped in. it was not just the evolution of a skill set but the transformation of the mindset as well. the renaissance seemed to be about the rediscovery of man, not to elevate him above the divine but to celebrate man as well. at the same time, there was also greater humanity in the portrayal of divinity. thought about the artistic evolution from the archaic to the classical greek era in which some of the same technical problems had been wrestled with and solved and wondered at the black pit of the so-called dark ages in which much was lost. still, the amount of cultural heritage that remains is breathtaking and everywhere one goes, one encounters school visits. can’t help but think of the destruction wreaked by the cultural revolution in china. the wanton destruction of history, your own past and culture. and perhaps save for a few sites, much of it still inexorably being eroded by pollution, by the burden of too much tourism, by neglect. what will there be left to visit when they finally arrange school tours?
lunch at l’osteria di giovanni, LP recommendation. had pappa col pomodoro (tomato soup with stale bread), which was good, tasted like a less tart version of spaghetti sauce. the spaghetti with cherry tomatoes was a simple dish done well if a tad too much oil (10). wine, a brunello (38), was good as well which is saying something since i’m generally quite indifferent. 177 total, with cover charge of 4 a person, steep but worth it given the ‘complimentary’ sparkling wine, donut-like appetizer, another appetizer of beef?, vino santo and biscotti. the place definitely deserved to be packed. our server thought that we were Japanese, probably not an uncommon assumption. he had some command of it though, which eventually gave the game away when W and D responded with blank incomprehension after a volley of it.
we were unable to witness brunelleschi’s genius close-up as the dome of the duomo was closed. went up the campanile instead, a ‘lung-busting’ climb up the sometimes narrow stairwell. every so often, everyone would flatten themselves against the wall and freeze to allow those coming in the opposite direction to pass. like some demented version of the ‘freeze when the music pauses’ game. the views afforded at the top were more interesting than in lucca.
had a coffee break and then off to santa croce, to find a market in the piazza. happily tested pates and sauces.

the highlight within the cathedral was giotto’s frescoes but the scaffolding which ended in a cul-de-sac made it difficult to see the life of st francis and the life of st john. this was clearly the place to be buried if you’re dead. big name tombs included michelangelo, machiavelli, galileo, ghiberti and a monument to dante.

searched for il vivoli, ‘rated the best ice-cream maker in Florence.’ 1,60 for 2 flavours. had the fragola (very good) and the limone.

piazza della signoria was next with its array of statues, including copies of david , donatello’s judith and holofernes and giambologna’s ‘rape of the sabine,’ a sensuous intertwining of human figures.
had dinner at ristorante storico letterario (gubbe rosse) in piazza della repubblica. mooched off other’s carpaccio and tortellini as i was not feeling hungry. carpaccio was good but definitely too much (raw) meat in one serving.
reached rufina at around ten. finally, 4-person bridge.

back to borgo s lorenzo as we had planned to go cycling. took a while to find the rental shop only to find, via translation courtesy of an italian woman, that the bicycles would only be ready next wednesday. unfortunately, we had left the hiking maps back in the house. still, RG said that the information office would be open so we decided to try our luck. good thing it was a different woman manning the place. no free chocolate this time round. (it’s apparently open from mon to sun, except on mon and wed afternoons.)
lunch at scarperia’s fattoria il palagio. had risotto of asparagus and thinly sliced beef with mushrooms. liked the risotto, moist and not too rich. portion could be smaller. beef was tender and tasty, again a little too salty for me.
after lunch, walked to the palazzo dei vicari, with its ‘rash of coats of arms on the outside.’

little by little, italian road signs revealed their diabolical intent. getting lost in scarperia, we found ourselves at a junction with a t-sign for the cul-de-sac straight ahead, and then ‘no entry’ and ‘stop’ on the other corners. we turned around.
or the one that said firenze, to the left and again firenze, to the right. or ‘tutte le direzione.’ woohoo, all directions! unless of course, one was going in the direction of the lone town pointing in the other direction.
started walking towards trebbio and then s giovanni in petroio. covered abt 10km of undulating road, dreaming about the perfect hike in which we would walk, sedately, on flat ground, while the most amazing vistas would dip and rise around us. there should be more travellators around.

still, we made do and it was pleasant to be deep in the italian countryside, where cities fell away and nothing to drown out the sound of running water or the crunch of gravel under our feet. except for the cars that came and went at intermittent intervals. like the rain, though it never got too heavy and without which there wouldn’t have been a rainbow. wildlife highlights were few (given the gravel-crunching). half the group saw deer, though we all saw the wild hare. strangely enough, there were no other hikers on the trail.
pleased with our attempt at exercise, we then headed for the coop in borgo. it took us a few passes to get there but it was the largest one yet to our excitement. our grocery bill came to 72 and included more stuff for the bbq, mineral water, ice-cream, yoghurt, fruit juice, tomatoes.
dinner in again. had instant noodles with sausage and lettuce. finished off with pear juice, which was very good indeed.

first stop today was borgo san lorenzo to pick up hiking maps as A said that the tourist information office was only open on mon, wed and fri in the mornings.
the plan after that was to do some wine-tasting. A had called earlier to book a wine tour and was quoted €16 a person. soon realized we should be asking about wine-tasting instead, which was free and did not require booking in advance.
headed to greve for lunch. turned out to be much further than it appeared on the map. which led to a series of principles/theorems. (1) the hunger distortion effect. distances and traveling times are directly proportional to the state of hunger. (2) visual verification of physical landmark before vehicular separation. (owing to a longer-than-expected walk in pisa.) (3) travel is about losing our way and finding ourselves. if getting lost was going to be a common occurrence, we might as well make it sound good.


finally reached greve’s triangular piazza g matteoti after a long and winding road. got to g da verrazzano as it started to rain. had the vegetable soup (lots of beans, yummy) and grilled pork chops, tasty though a little too dry. E’s osso bucco was good. 140 total.
afternoon of wine-tasting followed, at vignamaggio (where kenneth branagh filmed ‘much ado about nothing’) and then castello di verrazzano, where the british lady fed us 12 year old balsamic vinegar. the gorgeous honeyed taste was the highlight of the tastings (for E as well) and went for the princely sum of 46 for a 100ml bottle.
the vineyards here did not offer sweeping spectacles a la napa valley, or apparently, south Africa. but it’s lush and verdant everywhere, the fields dotted with white or yellow or red flowers, with a burst of violet (wisterias?) here and there. if only it were sunny.
the buildings ran the gamut from pale yellow to ochre to burnt siena to the occasional grapefruit pink or blood orange red or stone.
took the highway route back which turned out to be so much quicker that giddy with excitement over the extra time, we stopped in grassina to walk about and then wondered what attracted our attention in the first place. and still, we were early enough to make it to the cooperative (or coop) supermercato to pick up more stuff.
dinner by E: lovely chicken soup and salad of rucola, tomatoes, mozzarella tossed in a sauce of wholegrain mustard, mirin, olive oil etc.

had a good sleep and was up at 7 plus. think the cold helps.
headed for lucca, neatly enclosed within 4km of city walls. agreed with RG’s verdict that it was 'quiet without being dull.' climbed up the torre delle ore (clock tower, 207 steps) for panoramic view of the city (€3,50). should have gone up torre guinigi instead which offered the same views in the shade of an ancient holm oak.


saw san michele in toro’s exquisite façade topped by the titular saint as well as the 'severely asymmetric façade' of duomo di san martino, which housed civitali’s tempietto, a gilt and marble octagon.
lunch at buca di sant’antonio (since 1782). had cold rabbit salad and roasted goat (capretto). former tasted of chicken, latter quite good if dry in parts. dessert of doughnut in chocolate sauce (which sounded better than it tasted) and coffee. E had vol au vent (aubergine and salmon) and gnocchi (oof, heavy) and A had the tripe and veal shank. service fluctuated depending on the waiter. came to 108.
after 2 hour lunch, headed to pisa’s galileo galilei airport to pick up W. blamed road signs for our being late, including a right turn announced by an aeroporto sign just before it with no other prior indications.


pisa was another blank from 12 years ago. after parking in a residents-only blue lot, headed for campo dei miracoli. the leaning tower was once again open for admission but the price was steep (15) and one had to book ahead. the duomo is an ‘archetype of the pisan-romanesque style.’ the huge interior, filled with high arches and, unusually, light, featured a pulpit by giovanni pisano, with exquisite sculpting.
dinner was back in rufina, at the only restaurant still open, il retrovo. (the other joint, take-out pizza, was reportedly not up to scratch. 'like sbarro.') had half a cappricciosa pizza, which was a little on the salty side. 45 for 4.

arrived in rome at about 9 in the morning via KLM. sigh, no individual entertainment screen, but quite happy with breakfast of pancakes with fruit filling.
took the leonardo express from the airport to roma termini station (€9,50 and 30 min) and then the local train to firenze (14,31 and about 3.5 hours). 2nd class was new, clean and comfortable, a far cry from the chinese trains i’d been assiduously avoiding. after the 2 breakfasts, lunch was mineral water and a lion chocolate bar.
met at firenze SMN by A and E. late lunch at il grillo, which faced the santa maria novella church. shared prosciutto & funghi and diavola pizzas, antipasti of tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, ham and a seafood soup (more like seafood in tomato sauce) and bottle of chianti rufino. 56 total. then gelato (fragola and caffe), the first of many delicious cups to come.

followed an LP walking tour which took us to santo spirito with its minimalist exterior magnified to epic scale, conveying both simplicity and grandeur. described by bernini as ‘the most beautiful church in the world.’ the piazza in front of the church was pleasantly tranquil. the walk took us past santa felicita (unable to locate the ‘weirdly erotic’ deposition by pontormo) and palazzo pitti.

and the ponte vecchio, one of the few things i remember from my trip 12 years ago. what little else remains is the memory of the summer heat, the pickpocketing attempts, a strike, and my general irritation with the place. also caught a glimpse of the gorgeously pink and green tiled duomo, as impressive as before.
made it back to the car before the rain fell. the parking fee at stazione SMN came to almost 20. as it was a stick-shift ford ka, A would be doing all the driving. an auto car with more drivers would have been ideal but the cost of rental was an absurd €1,000 higher.
found italian road signs rather mystifying, and not just because it was in a different language. little did i know.
had wanted to stop by the supermarket but we just missed the 7.30pm closing time.
after a winding uphill drive and then turning onto a gravel path, we arrived at our villa. it was nestled between two other villas, the whole lot tucked away just outside of rufina. it was ochre, that pleasant shade of yellow dotting the tuscan landscape, if slightly brighter in tone. the kitchen and living room were on the first floor. and cable tv, alas featuring thousands of useless channels in german, italian, spanish, french, from the middle east (iran, iraq, palestine), sex channels (with arabic? script!). the 2 bedrooms were on the second floor. oddly enough, the room with the twin beds had the attached bathroom. turned the heater on for the night as there was a chill in the air after the rain.

housewarming (travaux)

a high-powered lawyer hires a bunch of illegal immigrants to redo her house. hilarity ensues.
if only. the uneasy mix of French farce, surrealism/magic realism and social commentary ultimately had this housewarming leaving me cold. nice though to see carole bouquet in a much more likeable role after her turn as the femme formidable in the final season of sex and the city.

murk

a man suspects that there’s more to his paraplegic sister’s suicide on her wedding night than meets the eye. wackiness ensues.
ok, not quite. but despite the fact that it’s in Danish (a foreign language usually helps) and has a colour-palette dictated by the title, the thriller's weak attempts at scaring the audience make murk a no-need-to-see.

we feed the world

director erwin wagenhofer had some familiar criticisms of globalisation (small business vs big corporations with only an eye on the bottom-line) but the film was miles away from the strident first-person docu-style of michael moore. nevertheless, some facts stuck: the price of european agricultural goods sold in africa is one-third the price of locally-produced goods, effectively decimating local agriculture. the film also points out that we don't think about where our food comes from. even if we read about it in 'my year of meat' or 'fast food nation,' watching the mass production and assembly-line slaughter of chickens still has the power to jolt. not just from squeamishness, but to wonder at the cost exacted of producing 50,000 chickens a day, of the feed required, which comes from jungle-cleared plantations in brazil. is global demand for food too high to be sustainable?
yet the flip side is that global hunger persists despite the fact that more than enough food is produced to meet demand. as economist amartya sen had previously demonstrated, famine is not really about inadequate food production, but the result of various socio-economic factors.
the ironic title is also the slogan of pioneer, one of the world’s largest seed producers. however, the genetically-modified seeds can only be used for one season, whereas traditional farming meant that seeds for the next crop could be saved from the current one, thus saving on the purchasing of new seed.
www.we-feed-the-world.at/en/index.htm

inside man

is there such a thing as the perfect bank heist? or more precisely, the perfect bank heist movie? one that is diabolically clever and yet lies within the realm of plausibility. ‘inside man’ is not that movie, but it'll do in a pinch. enjoyed how spike lee made use of the multi-ethnic setting of new york, thus firmly anchoring the movie in a specific city instead of an anonymous, interchangeable one. still, given the top-draw cast of denzel washington, clive owen, jodie foster, willem dafoe, chiwetel ejiofor (dirty pretty things), one could be forgiven for expecting more. given the paucity of movies foster’s been involved in in recent years, one had to wonder what exactly drew her to the role of madeline white.
and the decision to have the film released under the PG rating, which necessitated the muting of foul words, was just fucking annoying and totally distracting.

singapore gaga

a warm, whimsical and altogether wondrous musical odyssey through the mrt stations, underpasses, and the nooks and crannies of singapore. the premise is a simple one: to explore singapore through any and all kinds of music. in john cage's 4'33", which is performed by margaret leng tan at a void deck in the movie, the piano is silent but it does not mean that there is no music. the point is to listen intently to the background noise we take for granted and find the music inherent within. tan pin pin listens well and is generous in sharing with us what she has heard.

the movie flits easily from the high culture of avant garde music to the populist culture of school music lessons to the one-dollar ditty of the woman selling tissue packets. it shows us worlds we might not normally be privy to: a madrasah's sports day, the ferrying of migrant workers.

the result, in 55 compact minutes, is a fascinating mosaic of singapore in which a genuine empathy and compassion for the overlooked and the ignored comes shining through.