Life is good in la citta bella

As I type this, I can hear the afternoon bells chiming from the campanile that stands next to Florence’s Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Of course, I can hear them. The apartment that my wife, Mary Pat, and I will be staying in for the next month is barely a block away from both the campanile, the cattedrale and its famous duomo.

We’re just beginning our Italian stay. And already we have visited Cinema Odeon , Florence’s classy movie house that features, on occasion, English-language movies. Next up: Ridley Scott’s “Robin Hood.” Hey, I’d see an Adam Sandler in the Odeon. I guess I can sit through another screening of “Robin Hood.”

It’s either that or head for Cannes. But that would be too expensive. And, hey, the coffee in France isn’t half as good as it is here in Italy.

Below : Some of the things to see in Florence.