I know there are a lot serious things going on in the world right now.  With the events in Istanbul (both at the airport recently and yesterday’s coup attempt), Nice, last week’s train wreck in southern Italy, Orlando, the Brexit fiasco, black men being shot so often by police, police being shot by snipers in Dallas and the new Trump/Pence ticket in the US (Are we trying to out stupid the UK?), it sometimes seems that the little pieces of fluff I put out here are kind of trivial.  But then I second guess myself and think we need a little humor, maybe some insight, some beauty and some things that just make us smile.  Hopefully this will make some of you smile.

We had just returned from one of our trips upriver and were settling in for the night when we heard distant drumming.  It started getting closer and more insistent.  What could we do but go investigate?  Following the noise, we soon caught up to a procession with drummers, royalty and champions (who all happened to be carrying crossbows).

Well this looks like fun!  They were getting ready for the annual Lucca Crossbow Tournament.  I followed along and since stills just don’t tell the story, I took some video .  My video skills need some fine tuning and later I found that my lens had a little piece of fluff that you can see at points, but I think you will get the feel.

This group seemed to halt and then I heard a second group coming from another direction and rushed ahead to find this.

And then a third!

A fourth.

And finally a fifth. Thomas Bechard, if you read this, this one is for you.

They were all heading to the piazza in front of the Duomo where the contest was to be held.  Once they arrived there,  we were treated to more drumming, music and flag waving.

It was not until the next night that the actual tournament got under way.

Setting the target.  Are you kidding me?  That whole building is in danger.

The shooting station.

Shooters at the ready.  This next one is the shocker.  Nearly every shooter hit that small target.  It got so crowded some bounced off just because there was not much more room.

We didn’t last until the end so I am not sure who took home the tapestry, but it was a great event and we had so much fun.  On the way home we encountered this under a street light and it just seemed fitting to end this post.

I do hope some of you got a smile out of this.  Holly and I sure did.

Buona notte!

Hi Friends!  Jim has been doing such a wonderful job maintaining this blog, but today is my turn!

This is a post about treasured visions becoming reality.   The idea of moving to Italy always had attached to it the picture of playing the piano in Italy.  Somehow they have always been linked.  When we first arrived in Lecce, I knew that if I just calmly stayed alert to ideas and opportunities I would find the right place to practice.  Our first night wandering the town we passed under some beautiful, old open windows where the sounds of an aria were wafting out.  Jim and I sat and listened for a while and were enchanted.  A while later we heard live piano music and the idea was sparked.  After passing the windows daily and coming to learn that it was an art gallery, the day came where I felt my natural reticence subside and I walked up to the owner and said (in my best Italian), “I have heard a piano inside.  I am a pianist and I am looking for a place to practice while I am here.”  He smiled and said, “Well you could play here.”

From then on I would go to the gallery called Muimart every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and play for hours.  It was definitely a dream come true.  I made dear friends in the artist/owner of the gallery (Adriano) and another artist across the street (Leonardo – not da Vinci, was the first thing he told me :))

I think Jim was able to capture the scene in a few of these pictures and the video.   On every visit, I was greeted with the most amazing generosity of spirit and appreciation for the music.  Some days I was even greeted with sunflowers and a kiss of the hand.  All in all, truly magical and I will never forget these people and their warmth.

Here is how it looked from the outside.