Around......

The step stool that Joel made for me.....  :)

Works really well.

These are pictures of the view from my windows and the buildings lining up the street that I walk on everyday from the apartment to the hotel.

This is the way back to the apartment.  At the end, you can
see the Ponte Vecchio.

This is from my dining room window.

Now, this is the view from my bedroom window.

This is sticking my head out of the window and taking the picture of the
beautiful palazzos and Arno River.

One more view.....

Now for Christmas pictures.....  ENJOY!

I wanted these after the other ones, but I don't know how to move them
In any case, this is the gorgeous Christmas tree at the hotel.  It is
decorated entirely with sugar/shortbread type cookies, and dried
orange slices.  All the ribbons are raffia as well as a red
metallic ribbon.   The Nativity scene at the bottom is adorable.

This is the front of a little store I walk by everytime I leave the apartment.
It's a flower shop and it has beautiful plants.  I always want to buy
something to take with me.

Another view....

Can you sort of see the balls hanging on the sides of
the street.   They are joined by strings of lights through the middle.

These are like icicles streaming down and then up and
down the whole street.

Here are some more of those balls.

That flower shop front, again.

Paco and I used to "admire" these balls in Frascati, until
we realized they were PLASTIC!   Well, Paci, this is a REAL
one, and they are really beautiful.

Holly Christmas!

Lots of misletoe, nobody to kiss....

I'm fascinated by this little storefrontm, as you can probably tell.

Monday, December 16, 2013
Today is going to be gorgeous, so I'm off to run around.   But before I go to the Central Market area to eat lunch and have a good time, I thought I would show you some of the people that take really good care of me around the hotel and the apartment.
My hurry up and go go go situation has really calmed down and I'm so happy about it.   Now, it's about choosing one place to visit, walk there, enjoy and learn.  And, my treat of daily gelato!!!!
So, here are some pictures of my "team" in Florence.   I will add a picture of Joel who made my little stepping stool so I could get up on the very high bed.  Also, I've included a few pictures of the Christmas lights around the streets, I need to take more, when it's darker.   And, it gets dark at 5:00 pm around here.

This is Gabriele Ceciano, my landlord and the one that looks
after me really well.

This is Cristina, the loveliest and friendliest front desk attendant.
She helps me dial to US and Mexico when I need to make a call.

This is Micael, who "tries" to teach me the technology.
He is quite the computer whiz.  

This is Irene, who sets up the happy hour and also works
as a chamber maid.  She is the hotel's baker, and her baked goods, including
several types of tarts and quiches (for breakfast) are out of
this world!

This is Maria, who makes the best cappuccino "deca" in the world
and also takes care of all of us at breakfast time.  She makes the
finger foods we enjoy at happy hour.

And, now, I'm going to try to show you pictures of the Christmas lighting!
The picture upload seems to have a mind of its own.... so let's see what happens now.

These are views from my windows and buildings along the street that I walk
everyday.