Italy

This is my first visit to Italy after visiting with my duaghter in Slovenia. We had a great time there in the four days we spent. Lubljana is what most cities aspire to be:clean, scenic, bike and pedestrian friendly, and fun. Italy is another story. We are in Florence now after a day in Venice. Italy is rich in history, art, and food. This is quite a change from Chinle, Arizona which has its own art, history, and food but of a different sort. The art of Michaelangelo vs. the petroglyphs, the history of the Renaissance vs. the Anasazi, and the food of Tuscany vs. the Navajo Taco all provide great contrast. I will keep each culture in mind as I tour what some consider the beginning of modern civilization and the height of its artistic efforts.

Diversion

I am visiting my daughter in Ljubljana , Slovenia. She has been here for the past year as a Fullbright Scholar and has a project dealing with how the country formed a democracy after many years of dictatorship under Tito. Ljubljana is a beautiful small city of 250,000 with a castle overlooking the old mideval part of the city and a small compact downtown . It is also a city where bikes rule. There are bike paths everywhere and most people get around on bikes and leave cars at home as parking is problematic. Many streets downtown are bike and pedestrian only which makes it a great walking city. There is a lovely and very large park just off the center of town called Tivoli which is the Slovenian equivalent of Forrest Park. The park has many trails and is always full of running fools like myself. This is a great diversion from the land of the Navajo and about as different as and environment as Portland is from Mogadishu.w