#16
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Sounds right up my street! Are you visiting/have visited Florence? |
#17
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Not this time.
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#18
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When Kathy and I were there, the wine was the highlight, well there were many highlights, but some of the local table reds there were better than a 50 dollar bottle here. Our best wine was a bottle we bought for 5 American dollars in the local grocery store after a long day of scooter riding on Capri. We had a little picnic about 10 PM at night sitting on the church steps overlooking the town square. One of the best days of our lives.
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PS. I love guitars! |
#19
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The weather so far has been pretty much perfect. Temperatures in the day low 70’s, with perhaps a 10 degree drop at night. Just enough rain to refresh the air, and that at night, mostly.
Breakfast at our Ferrara BnB was entirely homemade, 3 breads, 3 jams, and most importantly, brewed coffee comparable to my own efforts. We are in the medieval section of town and within walking distance of all three items on Linda’s hit list. |
#20
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Having had virtually no prospect of a sale at Cremona, I have been dragging my JB-15 Black Limba from hotel to hotel here in Italy. The good news is that I have a guitar to play. And better, the German string company “Optima” gave me a set of string I had not seen before which I put on. They are geared for a vintage sound, somehow, and though they are labeled 13-55, the owner insisted they actually have lighter tension than conventional 12-53. They don’t seem to have altered the setup, and they really do sound great to me.
The Cremona event was nearly as loud as NAMM, much louder than any real guitar show I’ve attended, and I cannot but wonder if anyone was able to hear my guitar well enough to appreciate it at all. Perhaps I will still have it for Tom’s Guitarapalooza. Then many of you can be the judge. |
#21
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BRUUUUUCE!
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#22
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We are attempting to average 100eu a day for our hotel expenses. Venezia was the most expensive by far, so somewhere else had to balance it by being semi-poverty level. That is what we just moved into a little hotel on the beach (Adriatic) in the town of Rimini. Rimini is the birth place of Federico Fellini and also, I am told, where upscale Ducati rebuilder Bimoto is/was based. I do not know how to get pictures from my phone to my server w/o my desktop computer, so you’ll Have to take my word for it, but our off season rate rooms are 45 eu for the nicest quality we’ve experienced so far.
October in this part of Italy is unseasonable warm this year, apparently, and I have not needed to either take off my light weight long sleeve shirt, or add another layer, for the entire trip! 62f to 73f the whole way! Last edited by Bruce Sexauer; 10-14-2018 at 08:01 AM. |
#23
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You seem to be enjoying this Italian tour despite the health problems - I take it that issue was resolved? I'm sorry/not sorry the black limba didn't sell - I would very much like to see and hear it. Did you have any luck on the fiddle front? I think you were looking to buy a good violin?
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Hatcher Woodsman, Collings 0002H, Stella Grand Concert |
#24
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My goal,was to find a fiddle within . . . Or near . . . A certain budget. I am sure my readers can relate. I found several within my budget that failed to bring me joy, and one that did , but at just less that twice what I can spend. I imagine my experience was not unlike that of many who discover my guitars but are on a Collings/Bourgeois budget. Maybe I can process my way out of this hole, and maybe some of you can too! That one fiddle continues to play in my head.
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#25
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I believe, increasingly, that my recent health problems passed with the second stone.
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#26
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Excellent news for sure!
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PS. I love guitars! |
#27
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Great news, and thanks for sharing your experiences there. Anywhere on the continent of Europe is on my bucket list...
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#28
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Me too!
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Stay well now and enjoy the trip! (Isn't that this meaning of life???) Paul
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4 John Kinnaird SS 12c CUSTOMS: Big Maple/WRC Dread(ish) Jumbo Spanish Cedar/WRC Jumbo OLD Brazilian RW/WRC Big Tunnel 14 RW/Bubinga Dread(ish) R.T 2 12c sinker RW/Claro 96 422ce bought new! 96 LKSM 12 552ce 12x12 J. Stepick Bari Weissy WRC/Walnut More |
#29
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La dolce vida!
Linda and I did WhatsApp eq of FaceTime with Laurelyn tonight, and I realize how much I love her. I may even trade the car I am letting her use for the guitar she made with me. Like I need another guitar. I am simply loving playing the guitar (JB-15 Limba) I have with me. It seems fantastic, and whether it is or not, if it can seem it, it is. |
#30
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Linda and I are up against our last night in Italy. We spent the day in Parma and had Pandini for our last lunch. The day before was Bologna, and too little time was spent there. We agree that in retrospect, aside from the good company that Tad and Nancy Laird provided, we’d happily trade our two days in Venice for two days in Bologna. Maybe next time.
Tonight we are staying in the Idea Hotel a double stones throw from the Malpensa airport. Linda chose this particular business because of a review she read that said there is a little trattoria a block away which is a contender for best in all Italy. In a couple of hours I’ll have my own opinion on the subject. |