Firenze: Santa Croce
Given my recent obsession with Assassin’s Creed II, I went to my photos from a few years ago and went through my photos of Firenze (Florence), Italy. While going through them, I found this photo of the Basilica di Santa Croce, or Church of the Holy Cross. It’s a pretty spectacular building. I didn’t go inside it, but the facade is incredibly impressive.
I didn’t go in, by the way, because we were on our way to a wine, bread, olive and truffle oils tasting that was set up by our guide. The lemon olive oil was so good, I bought a bottle. I’m pretty sure that I was overwhelmed by the constant barrage of incredible architectures and sights, so I focused on getting to the tasting rather than enjoying the sights. Too bad.
This shot was taken from the top of the Duomo. It certainly evokes great memories.
Video Games: obsession? addiction? educational?
I’ve been playing Assassin’s Creed II lately. I’ve been playing it a lot. It’s great. What I’m enjoying about the game is that I get to play in Firenze, Italy. I’ve also played in Venezia, but it’s Florence (Firenze) of which I’m most enamored because a few years ago I had the joy of visiting the city. I’m feeling a significant emotional attachment to the game because I’ve been to the city. Is that weird?
While there, I climbed the 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo and, while there, snapped some shots of the city and the surrounding area. The photo above is shot from atop the Duomo with Giotto’s Campanile on the left. If you’ve played the game, you’ve climbed the Campanile (bell tower) as one of the viewpoints in the game. The reason I’m posting this is that I’ve climbed this in real life and in the game. Mind you, in the game, it is the late 15th Century and the city looks a little different, but the roof-line shown above is one with which I’ve become familiar with in-game.
Why I’m posting this today? I feel that maybe I should write about it and then the obsession will dissipate. Of course, now that I’ve pulled out the photos from four years ago, I’m probably going to be more interested in the game. Ooh…irony…you’re not very nice.
Via is the way to go. Or video games. Whatevs.
If you’ve never been to Canada, you might not know Via Rail. It’s kind of like Amtrak, only Canadian. It travels from the east coast to the west, right through the Rockies. Apparently it’s beautiful. I’ve always been curious to cross Canada this way. Enjoying the sights without having the pain of driving myself sounds awesome. Now, if only I had a giant wad of cash to get rid of.
BTW, if you check out the building at the bottom, it’s Electronic Arts in Montreal. Now that’s a way to transport yourself to another world for about $49.
