My first day, continued

Let's see, where was I? Oh yes, the Baptistery. And then the Duomo. I was there a bit before the crowds which was nice. I walked around the whole thing, admired the Campanile, and took some photos before joining the queue to go inside. I wasn't as moved by the inside as by the outside, it is a lot plainer than you might expect, almost restrained. And all the people with their cameras and chatter didn't seem conducive to reverence. I sat on one side and contemplated for a few minutes (resting my feet for the next stage). Then I was off in search of the Paperback Exchange, a highly recommended English language bookstore, located in a small side street just beyond the Duomo.

Now let me just pause and say something about the streets here. The great thing is that in the area of the Duomo there are now whole blocks that have been designated for pedestrians only (more or less, do watch out for the bikes though). This has infuriated the cab drivers and confused almost everyone else. The trouble is you get used to strolling around in the street and then suddenly there is traffic again and you have to jump out of the way. Clearly I haven't mastered the signage, plus I seem to be expecting the traffic to behave like it does in England and Australia, that is, come at me from the wrong side. How I got this confused I don't know but I've had several near misses. The other thing is that the sidewalks are about the width of my hips. This means that people are always stepping out into the road to let others pass, or walking sideways which is also dangerous. The streets are narrow (my hips aren't) and the buildings high and so you miss a lot just getting safely from one end of the block to the other. I have to stop and look back to see what I've missed. You can't be watching the pavement to avoid disastrous falls and taking in the scenery at the same time alas.

I'm stopping here to head off to the Institut for a very full schedule of talks. Those chairs are so uncomfortable that it will be torture to keep from constant fidgeting. Will pick up the saga tonight. Looks like another beautiful day here. More later.