Our hotel room at Pensione Centrale overlooked the dome of the Medici Chapels.
We were only a half block from Via Cerretani, a major avenue lined with shops displaying fashion, leather and luggage. How strange to turn the corner and glimpse the Duomo, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore.
Suddenly I understood what every church and wedding cake I've ever seen were trying to remember. Pictures cannot describe the feeling of this Cathedral. It is true that stone is alive; I could sense the marble breathing.
Next to the Duomo is Giotto's Campanille. It is as enormous as D409 (the refinery tower where I worked that sprang a leak)
-- and far more beautiful.
Climbing the tower and doing a walking meditation on the top deck was a highlight of the trip.
This view is from the Campanille. By the time I reached
the top the rain arrived.
