Monday, August 13, 2007

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.




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Welcome back!

Nazy said...

Dear Beautiful Tameshk: Welcome back! Missed you oceans my friend! I'm glad you had a good time. It was so obvious that you were. I can't see any of the pictures you have posted. I will try again at work to see what's goin on. I spent a summer vacation in Tuscany three years ago. It was all a lovely time until some bad news arrived and we had to leave quickly. Italy still owes me the rest of that trip, which I will take someday! In the several trips I have taken to that country, each time I come across some new gift, a new surprise. I am so glad you went and saw it and now you hold it in your heart, as Italy tends to do to all. Come and visit sometime.

Nazy said...

And now I have seen the photos, too. Very interesting. Tameshk, your camera seems to have a special lens. It is one that sees more than the rest of us and our equipment can! Thank you.

Nazy said...

Tameshk Jan Salam. Are you back? You are so quiet. I miss you.

Anonymous said...

سلام تمشک عزیزم. خیلی وقت بود نخونده بودمت. خوشحالم که سفر خوبی داشتی و حالا با انرژی بیشتر زندگی میکنی. منم دلم یه سفر میخواد. شاید برم یه طرفی...شاد زی و...دوستت دارم

Anonymous said...

salam roja joonam. nemidunam az deltangi chi begam? ba'de inhame vaght umadi ama hamash 2 saat didamet :(( kash anzali dide budamet.1 rooz ba'd az inke bargashty tehran ma raftim anzali.hosseinam ke aslan nadidam :( ba inhame deltangi che konam? omidvaram karat be behtarin shekl anjam beshe.va omidvaram ke zude zud biyayi va in bar ye dele sir pishet basham.doostet daram.booooooooooooos

alireza shirneshan said...

salam roja khanum,neveshtetun ra khundam kheyli bahal bud va azun bahal tar axayi ke gerefte budin,dar morede un axe juye ab tuye italy ham bayad begam ma ham dige tu esfahan havaght ye madee mibinim yade axe shoma mioftim,rasti harvaght khasin chayee bukhorin ye fenjun bebakhshin ye ghurish ra ham be hosseine aziz bedahid,mokhlesim.