The silver lining of staying home on a Saturday night and going to bed at a reasonable hour (more reasonable than I care to admit) is that I was able to rouse myself at 7am on Sunday morning to get out for some much-needed exercise.
I have only done this a couple of times before, so it remains fascinating to me to see the city in the first hours of the day. There is always more going on than I would have expected. Even on a Sunday morning there are street cleaners everywhere, sweeping up the detritus of the night before. There are a few others running, seizing the opportunity to enjoy the city before the tourist siege begins. I am able to run along the river while the sun is still low enough that I am in the shadows of the buildings, which is helpful given that it's probably already 70+ degrees outside.
After the exercise portion of the program is over, I slow down and turn in toward the center of the city. I criss-cross through some of my favorite squares while the market vendors are just starting to set up for the day and the clink of dishes spills out from the coffee bars. A few more people are up and about now, a well-dressed young man here, a young family there.
Just outside Piazza Repubblica I encounter the first large tour group of the day, eagerly following their guide toward one of the many landmarks of this historic city. As I turn toward the Duomo, I think to myself "How lucky am I to live here?" I think back on my experiences as a tourist in wonderful European cities, looking around at the people who lived there and thinking how lucky they were, wondering if they realized it. And now I am one of them. I still can't quite believe it.
Most of the time, I am now officially one of those people who rush past the Duomo without really noticing because I'm too busy dodging tourists. But on this Sunday morning, I stop to look up at its grandeur. At that moment there is not one single person sitting on its front steps. It is peaceful and amazing. And I find tremendous happiness that I pass by it almost daily and can admire it any old time I feel like it.
Lucky me.
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Thank you so much for sharing Maggie, I know how different it feels to have the piazzas all to yourself. It is such a great feeling, you'd think I would get up early more often. I am so glad it rejuvenated you! XO
ReplyDeleteI know tourists are very important but aren't we lucky to be around to experience such places without them.
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to be able to join in with this great new linky party, even if my post was rather different from what you might have expected. Had I known beforehand I would have rescheduled, but then it is real life, it is part of La Dolce Vita.