Pietrasanta (LU), Italia July 27, 2005

Modena(???), the birthplace of Luciano Pavarotti and the home of my favorite vinegar, balsamic. But isn’t Modena north of Bologna? Florence, my next destination, is south of Bologna. I’ve got to get off! But the ticket agent said, “binario tre (track 3) confirmed by the “departing train” sign and a platform attendant. Sensing my agitation, the young man sitting beside me offered in Italian, “this train goes to Milano.” They obviously made a last moment change of tracks. An announcement made in Italian only, on a poor public address system, was more than a declaration that my train was delayed, as I made of it.
I still don’t understand why there was only a slight stirring of the people on the platform rather than a mass exodus following the announcement. I seemed to be the only bewildered person exiting at Modena.

My journey started back in the beautiful Bronx, 5pm the previous day (July 26). The people at Eurofly, my airline, suggested I arrive 2 ½ hours prior to my 9:55pm departure, so 2 ½ hours should be enough time to get to JFK airport. I opted to use public transportation since I was actually packed before the last minute, unlike my usual practice. The trip began auspiciously, the Bx20 bus arrived on time and it was air-conditioned. The ‘A’ train departed shortly after I boarded, also air-condition. I was certainly getting my dollar’s worth from one end of the line to close to the other end. The final leg was the Airtrain from Howard Beach station to terminal 4. The four-minute ride on the Airtrain for $5 was less of a bargain. Don’t make my mistake of thinking that get $15 change for a $20 bill when requesting a $5 Metrocard. I did get a Metrocard with $24 credit (they give you $4 bonus for every $20 paid). An attendant explained the automated card machine is only able to return up to $6 in change.

The security procedures were interesting. I presented my flight ticket and passport to a man who examined it with another man for some time. After the obligatory Q&A: Did you pack your bags yourself? Are you carrying any electronics? Have any been repaired recently? …Etc., he allowed me to proceed. I convinced the ticket agent to permit me to board with a bag and a backpack as carry-on. I was invited to traverse a circuitous route to get to the security station, while others passed directly through. I was told that I was “selected” for special treatment (could it be profiling (the beard, the backpack)?). The inspection was surprisingly brief considering the “special treatment”. The bags, my shoes, and all metal object on my person, were x-rayed. The bags were then opened but not unpacked. A paper disk was wiped around the inside of the bags; a machine then analyzed the disks. May be technologies’ answer to bomb sniffing dogs.

The flight departed on time at around 10pm with the Airbus about half full. I enjoyed parts of two movies as I went in and out of consciousness. One was about a couple of psychotherapists (played by Dustin Hoffman and Lilly Tomlin); the other way “Ray”. It took me quite a while to figure out the remote control for the individual screen we had (give me a computer any day). Considering the fact that this is an Italian airline, the food was nothing to write home about, so I won’t. Suffice it to say I’ve had better lasagna.

Getting back to Modena, I managed to make my way back to Bologna, then to Florence, After another confusing change of tracks, I connected with a (s)local to Pietrasanta arriving 7pm local time (1pm EDT). From start to finish the journey took 20 hours. I did enjoy seeing so much of the Tuscan countryside ‘though.

August 07, 2003
Pietrasanta (LU), Italy



The weather continues to be blazing (literally). There have been fires in the hills above Serravezza, a town neighboring Pietrasanta. They fight the fires by dropping water from the sea by helicopter. Other areas of Europe are experiencing similar fires and record heat and drought conditions. The near 100 degrees F. we’ve had is still nothing compared to the 120+ in Baghdad.



One of best refuges from the heat is the air-conditioned studio. But, it takes time to get rolling each morning. We often finish dinner around 11 pm.



We mistakenly thought a dinner on a terraced restaurant by the sea would be some relief. There was no breeze at all. I can’t recall such a calm, being so close to the sea.

The other night we had dinner with friends at a unique location in Lucca in the shadow of the Roman Aqueduct. To reach the restaurant we drove in and out of the arches of the ancient structure, built by the Romans to bring fresh water for hundreds of miles, from the mountains to Rome.


Our companions included three National Academician Sculptors, including a former President of the National Sculpture Society, a painter, a Director of Music Region of Lucca, a playwright/director, a lawyer/sculptor, and me.

August 07, 2003
Pietrasanta (LU), Italy

The weather continues to be blazing (literally). There have been fires in the hills above Serravezza, a town neighboring Pietrasanta. They fight the fires by dropping water from the sea by helicopter. Other areas of Europe are experiencing similar fires and record heat and drought conditions. The near 100 degrees F. we’ve had is still nothing compared to the 120+ in Baghdad.

One of best refuges from the heat is the air-conditioned studio. But, it takes time to get rolling each morning. We often finish dinner around 11 pm.

We mistakenly thought a dinner on a terraced restaurant by the sea would be some relief. There was no breeze at all. I can’t recall such a calm, being so close to the sea.
The other night we had dinner with friends at a unique location in Lucca in the shadow of the Roman Aqueduct. To reach the restaurant we drove in and out of the arches of the ancient structure, built by the Romans to bring fresh water for hundreds of miles, from the mountains to Rome. Our companions included three National Academician Sculptors, including a former President of the National Sculpture Society, a painter, a Director of Music Region of Lucca, a playwright/director, a lawyer/sculptor, and me.

We finally arrived in our destination, in Italy after some happistances and some travails. We encountered my kid cousin Steven by chance on our flight from JFK (New York) to Munich, Germany. He was returning home from a school reunion in Irvington, NY, where he grew up. He was very near my daughter's home in Irvington, which happens to be the same place that Steven and his sister attended Summer Camp when they were growing up in Irvington. Steven was unaware of this coincidence. Steven's father, my young uncle, who lives in California, keeps in voice contact with me via MS Messenger service.
After arriving in Munich, I noticed that my flight was different from my traveling companions, who had obtained their tickets in Italy. My flight had already left. Fortunately, the clerk at Lufthansa Service desk was very helpful in rescheduling me on the same flight as my friends, at no additional cost to me. The flight was much later than the one I was booked on, about four hours later, so we had a lot of time to explore the new terminal in Munich.
The flight to Pisa from Munich was brief and pleasant via a Lufthansa partnership with Dolomites Airlines. We arrived in Pisa Monday 4:30pm local time. We took the railroad connection to Pisa Centrale, a ten minute ride from Pisa Aeroporto, where we were given the runaround as far as a connecting train to our destination. Luckily, the train was delayed which gave us a chance to move our extensive baggage from on track to another as the train people played track roullette. Fortunately, we met a young Italian, who turned out to be a computer systems engineer, who was heading in our direction. He seemed to understand the garbeled announcements about the various changes. We disscussed a new optical router system that he is working on here in Pisa.
Finally made it to our apartment in Querceta about 7:30 pm local time. Had a well deserved shower and a delicious meal in a local Trattoria. 'till next time... Ciao