FLORENCE 2017

FLORENCE. ITALY.

Monday may 8.

We farewelled our Slovenian hosts Mojca and Wojka who were so good to us and hope to see them in Australia as planned.

The trip to Florence was about five hours with a stop, and Glenn only frightened me once! The motorway was easy and the speed limit was 130 so the kms flew quickly under our wheels. Trucks can only use the slow lane so traffic flows swiftly and safely without the worry of trucks pulling out in front, and traffic weaving in and out. It rained most of the way and the skies were heavy so the vista was limited.

We arrived in Florence with the help of the wonderful Google Maps and returned our rental car unblemished..... always a relief!! Then we went by taxi to our accommodation; the only place not a house exchange. We waited for almost an hour for the agent to bring the keys which was annoying, especially as he wouldn't answer his phone and we were wondering if he was coming at all!

At last, full of apologies, he arrived and let us in. The unit is small but has all we need, including a very lovely lamp and a tiny balcony where we could hang our washing, with a view over terra-cotta rooftops.

We took his advice and ate a superb meal at a nearby restaurant. We had seafood, beef cheek, chocolate cake and creme brulee with wine and liqueur. Delicioso! (The photo on the right not the left which shows rabbits for sale in a butcher shop.)

 

Tuesday May 9

Our first full day in Florence so we started with a supermarket run and a forage for the right adaptor for our power board. Eventually Glenn deciphered the washing machine instructions, we had brunch and then started to plan our week in Florence.

We walked the 30 minutes to Piazza del Duomo and made our way through the crowds to the entrance to the Florence Cathedral, the city's most iconic landmark which took almost 150 years to complete.The exterior is a stunning construction a with pink, white and green marble facade, capped by Filippo Brunelleschi's red-tiled dome. Together with the graceful campanile, it dominates the medieval cityscape.

But, I was disappointed with the interior which has now been stripped of all art-work not part of the building's structure, and somehow it lacked soul. The interior is also unexpectedly secular, due in part to two immense frescos of equestrian statues portraying mercenaries, a reflection of the sizeable chunk of the cathedral not paid for by the church!

 

We walked home and had a tasty beef stew which I had prepared before we left.

We had a game of cards and then researched the other city highlights we wanted to see.

Wednesday May 10

After yoghurt and strawberries for breakfast, we walked the half hour down the hill to Galleria Dell'Accademia .

 

We queued for an hour and a half before entering, entertained by a man on a piano-accordion and a talented artist painting black and white scenes of the cathedral. We spent the next three hours with our jaws dropped, admiring the treasures of Florence.

The stand-out was Michelangelo's David, beautifully situated under a glass dome with sunshine pouring down from above. The subtle detail of the sinewy arms, the leg muscles and the change in facial expression as you move around the sculpture, creates amazing realism. The sculpture weighs six tonnes, an engineering feat by Michelangelo, who cleverly channelled the immense weight down the right leg and the small pillar behind it, so that no other support was necessary.

 

 

Adjacent rooms held Gothic religious paintings, from the 13th-14th. centuries, largely altarpieces by Andrea Orcagna, Taddeo Gaddi, Domenico Ghirlanadaio, Filippino Lippi and Sandro Botticelli.

The tapestry below was an historically important piece which decorated the front of the main altar in Santa Maria Noretta church in Florence. It bears the name of Jacopo Cambi, the embroiderer who stitched it. It is one of the highest quality examples of Florentine embroidery highly prized in the 1300's. How it survived until now beggars belief!

 

 

 

 After leaving the Galleria Dell'Accademia we treated ourselves to a spritz (yet again) and a well-earned sit down.

  

From there we walked to the central station to buy tickets for the overnight sleeper train to Graz next Monday and happily found it considerably cheaper then the on-line price!! (We love these little victories)!!

We also rang Matteo, our agent, who thankfully agreed to a late check-out, as our train leaves Florence at 9.49pm.

Thursday May 11. Uffizi Gallery.

We hadn't reserved tickets and were prepared for the possible 4 hour queue, but we're in in fifteen minutes.

We walked up the steps into the gallery where we had great views of the Ponte Di Vecchio and the river Arno below us.

 

 

 

The Uffizi Gallery is home to the world's greatest collection of Italian Renaissance Art, bequeathed to the city by the Medici family in 1743, on condition that it never leave Florence. The u-shaped gallery was originally government offices built between 1560 and 1580, and displays in chronological order the gamut of art history from Ancient Greek sculpture to 18th century Venetian paintings, but the core is the Renaissance collection.

The first corridor featured 13th-century Sienese alter pieces by Cimabue and Giotto and then the 14th-century Annunciazione bySimone Martini.

 

La Tribuna

The Medici clan stashed away their most precious masterpieces in this exquisite octagonal-shaped treasure trove...a small collection of classical statues and paintings adorn its wall, upholstered in crimson silk, and 600 mother-of-pearl shells painted with Crimson varnish encrust the domed ceiling.

After reaching saturation point, we crawled home to our little haven and gratefully collapsed into our chairs!!

 

Friday May 12.

Today we went to the heart of Florence's university area to Chiesa Di San Marco and the 15th-century Dominican monastery where both gifted painter Fra' Angelico, ( made a saint by Pope Paul 11 in 1984), and sharp-tongued Savonarola piously served God. It was from here, after Savonarola eventually became prior, that he fanatically railed against greed, luxury and the corruption of the clergy. 

From the cloister we walked into the Pilgrims' Hospital where we saw Fra' Angelico's realistic portrayal of perspective and nature in the 'Deposition of Christ', and at the top of the stairs, his most famous work, 'Annunciation'. 

 

We strolled around the 44 monastic cells, decorated with devotional frescoes by Fra' Angelico and his fellow friars, including the spartan, undecorated rooms where Savonarola lived.

 

 

We were hurried out by an attendant locking up behind us because we hadn't realised closing time was 2pm!

The next item on our list was the shopping for Glenn's belated birthday present, the planned Italian leather wallet. We talked to a lot of people and ended up at the Papini family, leather shop, supposedly the best with an established reputation to uphold! ( hopefully he won't leave this one on the bumper-bar of the car!)

 

We sat in Piazza della'Republica and had a cold beer while the crowd surged past endlessly. I can't imagine what peak season must be like!

On our way home we bought the makings of dinner, supplemented with some 'tip-pruned' fresh herbs from a generous roadside garden!

Saturday May 13

Washing day.

A slow day with a walk down to the local stadium where there was great excitement due to a big soccer match between Florence and a Roman team. There was a lot of security and the bars were full of people having a beer before entering the stadium.

We heard the next day from the man at our preferred watering hole that Florence had won 3-2.

On the walk back we bought yummy, sweet pastry treats to eat after dinner.

Sunday May 14.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there. We had lovely, long phone calls from our children and grandchildren and managed to ring Glenn's mum, Laurel as well, which made our day.

Our three weeks on the go is starting to tell so we had another slow day. 

 

We walked down to the Botanical Garden of the Museum of Natural History of the University of Florence and smelt our way around the roses. It was interesting to see the way the garden was arranged into plant areas such as poisonous, medicinal, oriental, ferns, aquatic etc. The garden is a unique, scientific collection with many rare plants.  It was a quiet green haven not far from the bustle San Marco Square, hidden behind high stone walls.

We made our way home stopping at our local bar for a couple of cool ales. 

 

Monday May 15.

Our last day in Florence.

We went for a long walk around our local area and ate ice-cream sitting by a waterway, watching the ducks.

 

 Then came time to pack and give our little flat a clean before the taxi came at 8pm to take us to the railway station. We ate our packed sandwiches for dinner while watching the departure board for our train details. Eventually we boarded the train about 10 pm, found our couchette, shared with three other people, and settled down for a restless night.

 

SLOVENIA

Monday May 1 .
Today we caught the bus from Venice to the airport and picked up the car we had booked. The process was very long as there were four people ahead of us in the queue and the paperwork was involved.
Eventually we found the car in the carpark and Glenn, very carefully, drove out of the city. We used Google maps on the phone to guide us to Slovenia. Most of the way was excellent freeway and the trip took us about two and a half hours, excluding a stop to explore a market along the way.

  

We arrived in the tiny village of Svino, and after several attempts to locate our exchange place, we met our hosts Mojca and Vojko, a very welcoming and friendly couple. They immediately sat us down and shared a bottle of local rose with us on the terrace. They have a home, as well as two separate apartments which they exchange or rent. ... and a beautiful garden.

The surrounding countryside is lush, hilly and beyond beautiful.

We settled into our lovely apartment until hunger eventually drove us into the nearby, small town of Kobarid in search of food. We chose the recommended Restavracija Kotlar and had excellent grilled squid with spinach and potatoes, followed by a traditional 'Kobariski strukelj 'dessert. Every housewife in Slovenia, it is said, prepares hers in a slightly different way and 'signs' it with her fingerprint in the middle. The ingredients are steamed dough, walnuts, cinnamon, bitter chocolate, butter, breadcrumbs and raisins. Delicious!

 

Tuesday May 2.
Today we explored our immediate surroundings, the tiny, picturesque village of Svino.

 

Our walk through the village and out to a swiftly running creek and waterfall was a delight. The spring flowers are just beginning to burst into life and the horses enjoyed a nose rub.

 
 
We drove again to Kobarid where we went to the War Museum which has graphic photos of the first world war against the Italians, and very moving, detailed, diary documentation from soldiers of the Austrian/Hungarian empire. The conditions and extreme deprivation they endured were inhuman. There are many memorials of the conflict as this area was on the battle frontline.

 
We came home and indulged in another drop of local, non-preservative wine, provided by our hosts who produce quite copious quantities of the nectar! We Mundays seem to fall on our feet!.
Chef Glenn is again providing dinner. Rice and fresh veggies. I would cook but my free time is taken with blogging!

 

Wednesday, May 3
Mojca, our hostess, kindly did our washing while we explored further afield. We drove to Bovec, in the heart of the Triglav NP, among the peaks of the Julian Alps where the Soca River originates. It is stunning at every turn and not surprisingly, was used as the shooting site for the Walt Disney film 'The Chronicles Of Narnia. '
The Bovec area is also known as the land of Slovenian superlatives because it has the highest-lying mountain road to Mangart's saddle (2072 m), the highest- lying road pass, Vrsic (1611m), and the highest-lying ski slope Kanin-Sella Nevea (2300 m), and the Boka waterfall.

   

We dipped our fingers in the blue- green water of the Soca River and were sorry we missed seeing the Polish Olympic kayak team enter the water. We saw others carrying kayaks down the steep bank to the river which has warnings everywhere about the dangers of the rapids for the inexperienced.

Above the river we explored the tunnels cut by hand through the the mountain, where heavy guns were installed to protect the strategic pass below the Kluze Fortress.

Thursday, May 4.

We awoke to steady rain so had a slow start to the day and a leisurely brunch. We finished some postcards for the family and ventured out for a coffee and a bit of shopping, and a quick foray into the town tourist information centre. It's cold today.... 10c so hope tomorrow is better as we plan a day in Ljubljana.

Friday, May 5. Ljubljana.

 

Today was a big day out starting with a 2hour drive to Ljubljana along the beautiful Soca Valley. Glenn needed all of his concentration powers for the narrow winding road which snaked its way through picture perfect villages and around hairpin bends as we climbed high over the mountains and down into the .valleys. We stopped at a bar for a coffee and a break along the way. Thanks to google maps we arrived and found the parking station without any trouble . It's centrally located so it was a few minutes walk then to the Triple bridge, Preseren Square, the park and the centre of the compact city. Almost all places of interest are within 15 minutes walking distance and buses and the bike-share system, along with the free mini electric shuttle make it easy to explore.

 

Our first stop was the bustling central city market where local fruit, vegetable, plants and handcrafts were available for sale and stall-holders prepared and cooked local, traditional dishes (and others), on the spot. There were crowds of happy people eating and drinking and the hardest thing was deciding what to eat. We chose just-roasted, suckling pig which was so... succulent, with roast potatoes and capsicum, followed (a bit later) by strawberries and creme- brulee !!!! We resisted the wine because driving in the alps on the opposite side of the road requires having all your wits about you, for driver and navigator!

We wandered through the mostly-pedestrian old town and along the riverside promenade and absorbed the sense of history, noted the calm, slow pace and the human-friendly scale of the small, graceful city. The entire population of Slovenia is only 2.8 million, compared with Sydney's 4 million.

 

 

We then went to see the Castle in the middle of town, home to various invading forces over the centuries, now used for performances, conferences and cultural activities. We took the funicular railway to the top, watched the video, wandered through the cells and climbed the circular staircase to the top for a panoramic view of the city and surrounding countryside. 

 

Saturday May 6

We had a sleep-in and a leisurely breakfast and then drove to Bovec, about 23 kms from Svino, to get the Cable car to ski fields in Julian Alps. It's about 2,000m up the mountain, over several valleys and it took 50 minutes each way. The views were stunning and there were quite a lot people enjoying the last of the winter snow. We had lunch at the top and then Glenn trudged through the snow to the nearest chairlift and looked longingly at it, while I (the non-skier), remembered the uncomfortable boots, wet bottom, mountain of clothing to be removed for a toilet break and myriad other discomfits!!!

 

We continued further up the Soca valley to Trenta, to the Juliana Alpine Garden, a beautiful terraced garden with a waterfall running alongside it. About 600 different plant species prosper in the garden, including endemics known to grow solely in Slovenia. It was a serene place we enjoyed immensely.

 

 

A  bit further down the valley we stopped to cross one of the many swinging bridges across the Soca river which give access to isolated houses. The power of the river, swelled by melting snow, is irrestible to the many kayakers who love the challenge of a swift and bumpy ride downstream. It is obviously training ground for Olympic teams too, as we saw several of their vehicles pulled in along the banks at access points to the rapids.

 

Sunday May 7

This is our last full day in Slovenia.

We walked down a track from Svino village to Korabid and asked a local boy which way to go at a fork in the track. We followed the way he indicated and it took us past a small, beautiful waterfall and eventually into the town. We wandered down streets we hadn't been before and then out of town into the surrounding meadows. They are full of early spring flowers, crisscrossed with walking/bike tracks and  providing benches for weary walkers. Many people walk and the pace of life is much slower than ours at home. Sometimes in our rush I think we forget to take time to smell the roses and enjoy the tranquility.

 

Through the town and out the other side we walked to the Napoleon Bridge and gazed down into the torrent of blue-green water rushing below. There are memorials there, a reminder that this area which is now so peaceful and beautiful, was once the front line between opposing forces in WWI, where many people lost their lives.

  

Back in the village of Kobarid, we had a late lunch and a chat to a local man and his wife beside us in the restaurant. He is an historical author and he spoke about how much life has changed now there is no fear. The borders are blurred by the Euro Zone and people are peaceful and more prosperous.

It has been a special week.... A walk back in time to a rural community where people tend their veggie gardens and their animals and prepare wood the next winter. The  country side is lush, green and extremely beautiful. It brought back memories of my childhood in a country town ... An uncomplicated time.

VENICE

2017.


Another thank you to our son Ben for getting us to the start of this trip to Europe.
We had a long haul from Sydney to Venice via Bangkok and Dubai- about thirty three hours from departure to arrival! The Emirates A380 plane was really comfortable and we both sleep fairly well.


VENICE
Sunday..23April
On arrival in Venice and  following instructions from our exchange man Gianluca, we caught the bus from the airport to San Marco Square where we then bought weekly tickets for the vaporetto (boat) and met Gianluca without any problems at the appointed place on the Grand Canal. He took us to his tiny apartment and after a run-down on its peculiarities....took us on a short tour of our immediate locality to show us his favourite supermarket and restaurants so we could get our bearings...and the left us to our own devices. We ventured into the local supermarket and bought provisions and then went out for dinner at a local trattoria and had red wine and pizza... Of course!!! It is Italy you know! And we got lost.....of course!!!  

  

Bed was a godsend and we slept until 10 am the following morning.


First impressions.
There is amazing stillness and quiet. There is no traffic noise, barking dogs, lawn mowers, loud voices, music. The only sound I can hear now is the tolling of a church bell and the footsteps of a single passing pedestrian, the distant chirping of small birds and cooing pigeons.


Monday April 24
We set out with a plan to follow a walking tour of six hours duration. We caught the vaporetto to San Marco Sq and took the long way round so we could see the famed buildings alongThe Grand Canal from the water as they were captured in the paintings of Canaletto. 

We met an interesting couple from the USA and exchanged details with the view to a future exchange.
Then it was into the thronging millions of colourful and vibrant people taking selfies, queueing for entry into the cathedral, the camponile, food and souvenirs. From under the magic clock tower of Piazza San Marco, we left the city's centre stage to enter another world: the winding lower gut of golden consumption, the Mercerie.' The streets have always been lined with shops offering status products such as silks and spices and were the only ones originally paved with marble blocks. We poked in and out of every interesting little shop, church, nook and cranny and got thoroughly and happily lost.

We spoke to one artisan producing traditional ceramic and papier-mache Venetian masks and he kindly took us into the back and showed us his mounds and explained the entire process to us. We met his wife as well and talked to her about the paints, gold-leaf and varnish used to decorate the masks. It was fascinating.

 Eight hours later we had only done half of our walk so bailed out and caught a vaporetto home. We dined around the corner on linguine and seafood pasta with the obligatory house red.

Tuesday April 25
We started the day with a substantial breakfast of egg, toast, yoghurt, coffee and apple.
Then we had a foray into the local supermarket to stock up with goodies. We both love the challenge of attempting to decipher labels, making the currency conversions and trying the local delicacies.
We then met Gianluca for an aperitif at Capitan Uncino restaurant at Campo San Giacoma Dall'Orio.

The square is particularly lovely with tall shade trees and lots of space for children to play. It also had a community veggie patch and a water fountain and was lined with coffee shops and restaurants. We had Spritz, a pink/red, delightfully light and delicious, wine based Nth Italian drink, and herbed bread and oil and a long talk. We look forward to seeing him in Australia in November with his girlfriend.

After we left Gianluca we went home for lunch and researched the way to the Jewish Ghetto which he recommended as interesting. 

 We caught a vaporetto across to the other side of the Grand Canal and walked through the maze of streets and alleyways to the Jewish Ghetto. There are several plaques on the wall in memory of Venetian Jews who were sent to Nazi concentration camps. 

We walked further until we reached open water and could look over the Canale Delle Fondamenta Nouve to the city cemetery island of San Michelle. Venetians are buried here and after ten years their bones are removed to an ossuary so the grave site can be reused.

Eventually, we could walk no further so caught a boat home and collapsed with a hot coffee.

Wednesday April 26
We awoke to rain and a much colder day so we rugged up and headed for The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, the second most visited museum in Venice after the Accademia.
The collection includes representative examples from the major movements of the 20th century and an entire room of Jackson Pollocks! Others include Max Ernst (whom she married), Picasso, Braque, Chagall, Mondrian, de Kooning and Surrealists Dali and De Chirico. Included were Brancusi's 'Bird in Space', and sculptures by GIacometti, both old favourites of mine. There were also some colourful, naive paintings by her daughter Pegeen, who inherited some of her mother's joie de vivre but tragically died at 42. 'It must have been this same spirit of fun that lead Mrs Guggenheim to erect something besides a palace outside on the Grand Canal - take a look at Mariano Marini's joyously obscene equestrian statue, the Angel of the Citadel!'

 
Mobiles by Calder floated above our heads as we shuffled through the packed exhibition and we were eventually spat out the other end into the beautiful back, sculpture garden where Peggy, along with several of her dogs, is buried.

After leaving the museum we wandered along past a shop front with wood sculptures of everyday items of clothing and accessories. The ability of the sculptor to achieve such realism amazed us.

 

Because the weather was so wet, and we were close to St Mark's Basilica, we thought we had the chance of a small queue.

 

 We were lucky and only waited about five minutes before entering. The interior was very gloomy, probably due to the heavy skies and the fact that there was repair work in progress on a large window so the gold mosaics were not so vibrant. The mosaic floors were beautiful and it is wonderful to walk over the undulations where time and and millions of footsteps have altered the surface.

Thursday. April 27

More rain and cold today and a late start after a well earned sleep-in.

Firstly we shopped for food. Then, following Gianluca's suggestion we caught the boat out to the remote Castello island of San Pietro which is surrounded by boatyards. The main purpose was to see San Pietro di Castello which was Venice's cathedral before Napoleon made San Marco the seat of Venice's patriarch.

 
The cathedral was extremely beautiful, light and airy.
We then made our way through the sea of umbrellas in San Marco Piazza,
called it a day and went home to thaw out. Interesting to hear that Sydney had morning temperatures of 11c too.

Friday. April 28
We returned to Castello to have a look at The Arsenale, which holds a unique place in the prehistory of the Industrial Revolution. Although Henry Ford sometimes gets credit for inventing the assembly line, the Venetians were using the same methods 500 years earlier to produce vessels which were identical as Modal T's!
As a result, all Venetian ships used uniform spare parts, available at all ports so ships could be quickly adapted for trade or war and all ships could be boarded by any crew who would immediately 'know the ropes'.
In 1423 it was said that the Arsenale employed 16,000 men and during the fighting against the Turks it cranked out a ship a day; on special occasions to impress visitors like Henry III, King of France, the arsenalati produced a beautiful galley between the antipasto and dessert courses of a state feast!

 

 

As we walking along the canal beside the Arsenale wall on our way out, a busker started playing his saxaphone so we stopped a while to listen to his beautiful music.

We ate delicious pizza for lunch nearby before going into The Naval History Museum.
Only the boat section of the museum was open but the interior was impressive because of its immense size and the number of very large boats on display.
The most ornate was The Royal Barge. 
Despite more rain, we walked over The Rialto bridge, through the city market place and caught the vaporetto home. The rain stopped and the sun came out so we finished the day in Campo San Giacomo Dall'Orio, sipping yet another glass of Spritz, watching the kids kick a soccer ball while their parents chatted with friends. The Italians are a relaxed and social people who make good use of their public places.

Saturday April 29.
At last we managed to catch the garbage man...... Well ... actually Glenn chased him down the alleyway in his pyjamas!!! The system here is unique.
Garbage is kept inside and can be taken each day before 8am and thrown in the garbage boat at our nearest vaporetto stop. (Mundays are always too late for that!)
OR the dustman rings the doorbell between 8.30 and 10am and you take the garbage to him.
Today we made a sandwich for lunch and sat on a rarely vacant bench seat under a tree in the sun to eat at nearby square and watched the world go by.
Eventually we decided go to the Rialto market to buy dinner and came home with salmon, prawns, asparagus, sundried tomatoes and strawberries and lemons. We really enjoyed the shopping experience where we took a ticket and waited our turn. The locals all jostled and chatted good-naturedly and chose fruit and veggies at the front of the huge stall and threw them to the vendors at the back to be weighed. We took our produce home and later prepared dinner.

We then went to the Doges Palace which was very impressive.

 
 The queue was short and we were quickly inside the huge colonnaded courtyard, audio tour in hand. This grand gothic palace, the facade restored with white Istrian stone and Veronese pink marble, was the Doge's official residence for nearly seven centuries, where he lived on the first floor like a caged lion, unable to leave without permission. The lavishly decorated second floor chambers are the real highlight, and house the 22mX7m painting, 'Paradise', by Tintoretto's son Domenico.

Outstanding was Sansovino's 24-carat, gilt, stuccowork, Golden Staircase.

The Grand Council Hall, was the largest space in Europe without supporting pillars. Around the ceiling are portraits of 500 prominent Venitians.
We walked over the famed 'bridge of sighs' which prisoners crossed on their way into the dungeons, ducked our heads under low stone ceilings and tried to imagine the hellish existence of men imprisioned there. We did read that the wealthy were able to buy food and clothing to improve their lot, but the poor did not have that luxury!

Our seafood dinner was a standout, prepared by Chef Glenn and served with a good wine.

April 30

This is our last full day in Venice and we are weary after so many days walking and exploring. We read a few articles and recommendations about San Simeone Piccolo, (across the Grand Canal from the railway statio), and decided to attend Mass. The 11am service was fully sung in Latin by three men; a tenor/organist, and two baritones. They were wonderful to listen to. The priest also sang. I grew up with the Latin Mass so really enjoyed the experience although the 1.5 hrs duration was a little much for Glenn!!

 

We sat in a nearby park in the sun for awhile and then bought gelato and explored the very busy railway station. In a small backstreet we bought an irresistible screen printed scene of Venice from a local artist named David Ariel. Our first souvenir.
We ended our week in the beautiful Campo San Giacomo Dall'Orio with a spritz! It's our favourite square (and drink), and not far away.

Highlights
No aggression
So many helping hands to assist a wheelchair person on/off the vaporetto.
No anti-social behaviour.
Daily shopping for fresh food.
Families in the squares relaxing and socialising.
No graffiti.
No traffic noise.
Church bells
Peace and quiet.
No 'nanny state' rules for kids on bikes.

Tonight at 7pm we went into a small supermarket (they are all small) to buy food for dinner. The elderly woman at the checkout handed her purse to the young man on the register. He unzipped it, took out the required amount of money, zipped it up and handed it back to her while she packed her groceries.
I think that is wonderful!