The art of Italian window dressing....

The first two shop fronts are located in Prato, i still dont really know what to make of them and to be quite honest they scare me... A knight defending the valour of some incredibly tacky craft lamps???... ...Italian Michael Jackson Mannequin meets Captain Snooze or something more sinister...??? 

...The hog head hanging outside the deli , in case its not clear, is wearing spectacles on the end of his snout, it was a disturbing find, him glassily staring, his leg hanging separately nearby...

...the strapping young lad in green velvet is, like the hog, a Sienese resident, these encounters took place whilst rambling in the gothic splendour of Siena...

..........a giant Sienese steak dressed in the fruits of nature as an enticement to enter the restaurant it was arranged in the window in such a way that is was like a shrine which demanded reverence....

 

No Falsi Firenze

Grande Italiano men in molto piccolo cars what more could you ask for?

Fiat 500 the Italian's pride and joy...

local fishing hole + local coffee hole complete with local old guy who is always there + gatto urn on local street = fabulissimo

a horn to die for and some of Prato

The bike horn we came across in Milan... The next day i was sitting at a fountain, in a Piazza, in Prato.  Not really knowing what to do next we took some shots, we were being rained on by the fountain and the clouds, then all of a sudden some fairy folk were milling around a bus in yellow and red outfits, i managed to capture a wee man in his haste to get on the bus... 

Impending image bombardment hope you are ready

Yeh so im feeling a tad delirious... i will blather on for a bit to make up for the lack of blathering so far... Have any of you checked this so far??? I think it is an easier way to disperse my pictorial/ verbal reports than facebook etc.  

In case you were concerned or curious, i think the delirium is being caused by a combination of jet-lag, fantastic coffee, blocked sinuses and sensory overload- a 600g steak cooked in the traditional florentine way, super delicious vino- rosso (red) and bianco (white)  whilst watching soccer match in square and at other times, pastries, tomatoes that are so red and succulent it is as if they were grown in the gardens of the gods, Buffalo mozzeralla i would like to roll around in and eat at the same time until obese..... 

Im heading off for a tuscan wine tour soon which is great but im feeling sorry for myself.  Why you ask??? Well i wont get the full experience because of my sinus situation and cold.  The nose of the wines will not be available to me in my compromised state... 

anyway here are some photos....     

  

I attended a screening of a soccer match last night, it was amusing.  We all stood in a square parking area backing on to a Cathedral.  People's Vespa's were being collected by trucks if they hadn't moved them.  We drank delicious vino from the bottle which we had purchased at the local supermarket for something like $7 (it is as good as the $20-35 bottles at home).  So the wine is amazing and comes in prima packs for convenience, the Italians are very thoughtful and practical when it comes to consumption.         

Prato Bedroom Soundtrack

1. churchbells 

2. vespa whine 

3. intermittent rain 

4. silence and wind