The Duomo and The Dipper

Some of today's precious moments:

• Waking up to the sound of the Duomo bells
• Red poppies along the road during this morning's ride
• The old lady downstairs who returned the blouse that fell off my clothesline onto her terrace, now a new friend and neighbor
• The vision of Convento Monte Senario at the top of today's climb
• Discovering a Dilletante race happening in Bvigliano while passing through this tiny village on our bikes
  
• Little Giovanni's smile and his persistence in asking me on a date
• The smell of cyprus and pine in the mountains during my descent and the endless visions of unblemished tranquil roads that surrounded me on my ride today
• The 3 new cycling buddies that I found on the road
• Watching the Giro di Francia in real-time, as I've been doing daily for the past month. But enjoying it so much more than ever before. Narrated in Italian, with Italian perspectives, with the focus on Italian riders, in the same time zone, watching it as it happens, kilometer by kilometer. Not just highlights. L'ottimo!
  
• A ride on my city bike at dusk through the Piazza Signoria while listening to a symphony in the background
• Admiring Giambologna's mythical bronze statues surrounding La Fontana del Nettuno
  
• Buying zucchini flowers at Piazza delle Cure on the way back from my ride
  
• Chianti, bread, salami and salad for dinner
• And at the end of the day, before I went to bed, I opened up the window to look at my view of the Duomo, as I do every night, to say a prayer of thanks....and there above the Duomo, in the night sky, shining brilliantly above the cupola, was the Big Dipper, creating a brilliant semi-circular frame directly above the curvature of the Duomo. The universe and I are truly in sync.