Charming Corners of My Summer:

Memoirs, Part I, July 1st 2007
Edited on August 13th 2007

Here I am near Aziz, My lovely and tender grandmother. Relaxing myself in my khaki chair, stretching my feet and looking around our home from my corner. Thinking about the summer I had so far, a summer full of travels. I swallowed Italy with my hungry eyes. In my two-week trip I was exposed to Italian culture: a strong blend of religion and tradition, fading out to the horizon of modernity. Italy reminded me very much of my own country. Besides many historical buildings in corners of Italy, in each little town there is a little fountain (Fontana) with drinkable water tap that offers a fresh breeze to the sunburned Tuscan visitors. People drink from it ; children play with it and I captured many of them. European cars in their small sizes suit Italian sideways and the crowd of scooter riders is a usual scene in Italy.

If it is your first trip to Italy here are some suggestions:

Don’t carry your valuables carelessly (nor in crowded places, neither in deserted streets) Leave your passport and cash in the safe at your hotel. You need your passport when you want to exchange money. You have to provide a photo Id if a police official asks you to and also when you want to access Internet from a Coffee-Net but that ID does not need to be your passport. Tabacci Shops are the most useful shop for visitors. They mainly sell tobacco but also telephone cards, postal stamps, maps and... To visit museums and galleries you can book your ticket online or by phone to avoid endless lines in front of museums, especially the ones that 4 centuries ago were a houses of rich families.

If you are Iranian as I am you have a better chance of being understood if you talk in Farsi rather than English. That is mostly because we many French worlds we use in Farsi. For example do not say: Where Can I get Bus Thicket. Instead say “ Bilite Otoubus”. Do not move your hands freely while talking. Sometimes it means something else and you don’t want to face the consequences.

Now I will have a cup of Persian tea while you take a look at these:

Gallo Shop, Roma's Airport, Summer 2007
These shiny colors make it easy to guess Gallo means Rooster.

Smart Car, Florence, Italy, Summer 2007
Now I know our Fandough (Honda Fit) is a huge car.

View of leaning Tower from Pisa baptistery,
Pisa, Summer 2007

Lucca , Italy, Summer 2007
These brooks remind me of Isfahan's Madees.

A shell fountain in The Piazza Del Campo,
Siena, Summer 2007

A Guitarist in Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Summer 2007
Piotr Tomaszewski promoting his self-support CD.