The Music of Rome from a musicians perspective

My personal music resume

I will start this blog with giving you a little personal history.  I come from a very musical family.  My grand father loved to yodel in the Swiss Alps.  My grandmother was a singer.  My mother was a singer and a conductor most of her life.  She was one of the first females to sing commercials on the radio.  My mother played classical music nearly every day at home.  I think there were times we (the kids, and dad) got a little tired of the genre.  My mother Shirley, was a beautiful soprano and could hit the high notes with pure lustre and sound.  My brother and sister were blessed with other talents, but Thomas was blessed with nearly a perfect pitch.  I played the part of Hansel in Hansel and Gretel in elementary school.  I even remember taking tap dance as directed from momma Shirley.  I was never a great dancer.

My mother Shirley Stephenson Schmuki during her later years

My early years as a singer

In elementary school and junior high school I played the cello.  I stopped playing it after 3 or so years because of the ribbing I got from my peers and also it was a very difficult instrument to carry to and from school up and down OAK street in 2-3 feet of snow in Colorado. It seems it was almost bigger than me.  I was very involved in vocal music in junior high and high school.  I sang in the choir and a select group of 20 or so singers Madrigal style.  I think there were about 4 singers per part (bass, tenor, soprano and altos).  I was selected many times by my choir conductor Monte Otto to sing solos in our performances. I also played the part of “The Padre” in Man of LaMancha.  To this day I still remember all the songs and most of the lines of Man of LaMancha.

Vocal Scholarship at BYU awarded

During the second half of my senior year in high school I tried out for a vocal scholarship from a professor from Brigham Young University.  He toured the country with tryouts requiring the candidates to sing six areas in Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, German and English.  After much preparation I was ready.  About 2,000 candidates across the country tried out for 20 spots.  I received the letter from BYU, that I was selected for the scholarship.  My choice was then made for me,  OFF to BYU I go with my golden voice attached. Amongst other things, I became the president of a 100+ all male member chorus.

I am retired from singing

It has been 40 years since I actually sang.  Maybe some day I will put out to the world why I actually quit singing.  In any case, I was very involved in music, classical vocal music to be specific.  I also sang vocal jazz and was the lead singer for “Miss Utah Review” with many previous winners of the Miss Utah pageant including a previous Miss USA.  For many years, I was the guy with the microphone in my hands and a supporting cast behind me.  Yes fans, I did have one talent in life, it was singing. Now I believe I have another talent…. photography. When I am dead and gone perhaps my work will get noticed.

The music of Rome

So when I talk about the music of Rome, I have a perspective that may be different than the normal tourist.  We have grown so attached to Rome because of the arts, the people and of course the music. We have attended 2 music operas at 2 different venues.  Just last night we attended a classical music orchestral concert with Antonio Pappano (director) and special guest pianist Igor Levit.  It was such an amazing experience,  We are many hours past the event and my heart is still full with the joy of it all.

Opera Concert- Roma opera greatest hits

At the Saint Andrew’s Church of scotland

This magical opera concert was in a beautiful church with perfect acoustics, a small venue and very personal. Highly recommended.

Alice with the two wonderful Opera singers at the Saint Andrews Church

Two opera singers in Rome

The 3 tenors

St pauls within the walls

We found this venue a little disappointing after our first great intimate experience a few nights earlier. The main problem was the acoustics of the church although it was very beautiful. Not nearly as intimate as there were hundreds in the crowd. Not being able to see, nor really hear properly was the main problem.

The 3 Tenors - Rome

What is the difference between Rome and the US

So what is so different about attending musical events in Rome versus the United States?  Last night it was clear with the thousands of attendees, most all were LOCALS and NOT tourists.  Most all were refinely dressed to the NINE and clearly were there because they understood and appreciate classical music.  It was a great experience.  The audience was SO respectful, during the extremely soft part of the music in pianissimo.  You could hear a pin drop.  Not a cough, no kids crying, no paper shuffling, pure respect for the artist and the music.  I remember singing solos and had the feeling of intense silence and reverence and the …. you could hear a pin drop.  This is the feeling all musical artists yearn for.

Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone

I must also mention the comfort and spacing of the seats in the beautiful auditorium Parco Della Musica Ennio Morricone unlike the seating at Kravis and Broward Performance Center where you feel your 6’1” knees hit the back of the seat in front of you.  First class please, my old man knees demand it!

Orchestra Link

Before the show

Auditorium filled up

Outside auditorium

Parking lot to get in

Igor Levit - pianist of the century

IGOR's Website

The pianist last night, Igor Levit has been touted as one of the greatest piano players alive.  Truly a genius.  I have never observed a musician with more talent who could “FEEL” the music like no other.

The streets of Rome

A few days ago we were wanting the streets in front of the forum and just shy of the coliseum, and we heard a beautiful OPERA voice.  An older man in the form of Luciano Pavarotti and perhaps his SON were singing opera on the street with the backdrop of the FORUM behind them.  Pavarotti was truly amazing and we stayed for his full set of music.  I will include some videos and photos so you can appreciate what we observed.  When his set was over, I was holding back my tears.  Music still gets to me.

Opera singer on the streets of Rome

Street Opera singer

Just take a walk, music is every where

Musicians are everywhere playing nearly every genre, and frankly it seems a bit out of place when the genre is not opera or classical. None the less, I so enjoy it all. Pop, rock, classical, country, opera… bring it on Rome!

Street musician playing for a tip

Why go to Rome?

So why go to ROME?  One HUGE answer is the music.  Go to the OPERA concerts, attend the concerts and be prepared to be WOWED.

Yodilay, Yodilay, Yodalay Hi HOOOO.  Sing it Grandpa Stephenson.

Florence or Rome, what city is my favorite?

Last year we vacationed in Italy for 4 weeks staying approximately 11 days in Rome and 10 days in Florence.  Our stay last year was May-June.  This year we are based out of Rome with an apartment for 6 weeks here.  We visited Florence a few days ago for 3 days and 2 nights.  The two cities are vastly different in almost every way.  We have enjoyed watching many NETFLIX mini series on Rome and Florence including:

Recommended Netflix Series

• The Roman Empire: a 3 season documentary narrated by some current historians but likely scattered with presumptions and rumors. When I walk the streets of the FORUM, this series sort of puts perspective and knowledge into it. I saw the place where Caeser was stabbed to death multiple times by the members of his senate.

• The Two Popes: Behind Vatican walls, Pope Benedict and the future Pope Francis must face their pasts and find common ground in order to forge a new path for the Catholic Church.

• Medici: 3 seasons (series) which interestingly enough cannot be seen in ROME. I wonder why? Perhaps they don’t like the content or how the city and leaders are portrayed. We will watch the end of this when we get back to Florida. After his father's murder, banking heir Cosimo Medici battles opponents of his artistic, economic and political visions for 15th-century Florence

Cosimo II De Medici Granduca N. 1590-1621

We so enjoyed the above series as they are well written, the cinematography is excellent, and we are assuming the historical details are moderately accurate.  Watching these series helped us have a real taste and flavor for Italy and specifically Rome and Florence.  I smile when I see the Royalty travel between on Rome and Florence on horseback and buggy as if it takes only a few hours.  It takes about 1 hour and 15 minute 120 MPG train ride between the cities.  A horse gallops around 25 MPH and walks about 4-5 MPH.  Lets just a assume a walking trotting horse and about a 170 mile travel three horse ride would take at least 12-20 hours.  In other words, DAYS.  We highly recommend the above 3 Netflix series.  Beware they may be sexy and explicit with a lot of bloodshed. Tom likes the sexy parts and Alice does not like the bloody parts.

So how are the two cities different from my perspective

The people

Rome:  We are living in an apartment and living like Alice says, “Like the locals”.  We can still walk to nearly all the tourist attractions like the Forum, the Coliseum, the Vatican and others  Walking distance can be up to 45 minutes from our location.  The PEOPLE at the main venues and attractions are similar as most of them are either tourists, tour guides, or those serving the tourist industry.  I must admit both of us are really CITY people and NOT rural people by nature.,  We love the theater, fine dining and beautiful big cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale.  The people of Rome outside of the massive amount of tourists at the attractions are very genuine, hard working and sincere.  It has been much harder for us to find that in Florence, however, I must note that our waitress Julia at the wonderful Steak house in Florence who moved there from Rome prefers Florence over Rome primarily because of the people.  She said the people are friendlier and more like family in Florence than in Rome.

The tourists

Both Rome and Italy during this trip have been inundated  by tourists from all over the world.  We have met many American tourists, but the tourists are overwhelming these venues from all over the world.  I have never been one to appreciate being in a crowd feeling like a sardine in a can.  I get very paranoid, especially now because of the issues with thief’s and pick pockets.  They are everywhere.

Rome

Crowds of Rome

Florence

Crowds of Florence

The scammers

They are in both venues, everywhere.  They are selling everything from cheap wrist bracelets, scarfs, squishy balls of GLOB you throw on the ground and they hit with a big stupid sound.  It’s a setup to not only sell you JUNK but to engage you in a conversation so either they or their   co-conspirators are finding a way to sneak in your backpack or your wallet to get the mother load.  How many Nigerians have approached me with their only line….. “Are you African?”  I want to respond with, “Are you Swedish?”  I was approached by a Nigerian who asked, “can you tell me the time?”  I responded with, “No, I don’t know the time…”  He got real aggressive and almost accosted me right there.  Glad I had Alice with me to protect me with her coat of Armor…. IBKul.

I watched this scammer on the prowl and then chased after these poor souls.

The food

We are in Italy, 99.9% of all the restaurants we see, menus we look at are of course Italian food, with course 1-12.  How many course can a fat American eat in one setting?  Florence is world famous for its wonderful Steak houses.  Aside from that the restaurants are very similar.  However, there is no question the food and nearly everting in Florence is more expensive than Rome.  There is no question the food is fantastic in both places.  I can’t ignore the fact that often times I want anything but Italian lol.  Last night we went to a wonderful SUSHI/Japanese restaurant just down the street.  Lets talk more about cost of the food.

Our favorite local restaurant, just down the street: La Lampada.

The food is fantastic serving both lunch and dinner and is actually just down the stairs from our apartment,  Our server Angelo who is the self proclaimed “Best Waiter in all of Italy” is wonderful and we love to eat there often because of the food but perhaps mostly because of our new good friend Angelo.  We can eat 2-3 course meals there with a glass of wine for under $75 where the same meal in Delray Beach would be as much as $150.  We an have a wonderful bowl of soup and a short pasta meal for less than $25.00  We got spoiled as when we went to Florence the costs were nearly as high as Miami/Fort Lauderdale.

Angelo the Best Waiter in Italy

Take a look at the food of italy

Gnocchi and Seared Tuna

Mussels

Ravioli

Salmon and egg Benedict

Italian breakfast cheeses

Japanese Beer

Japanese Dinner

Charcuterie

Florence Steak

Fresh fruit with croissants

Gnudi

Italian desert

Pasta with Pesto

Veal with lemon sauce

Italian gelato

Florence steak

The sites and Venues

Florence:  Amazing, amazing, amazing,  Art and history every where.  Our favorite museum: Uffizi.  Of course you have the statue of David and others.  You also have the Arno river and all the beautiful bridges and the views of the Ponte Vecchio. All are amazing and most beautiful at sunrise and sunset.

Rome:  For me, the FORUM and Coliseum, are the wonders of the world.  Add to that the incredible churches, and of course Saint Peter’s Basilica are off the chart.    

Rome first

Borghese Gardens

The Colosseum

The Pantheon

Churches of Rome

Rome Walls

Spanish Steps

The Vatican

The Swiss Guard

The Vatican

Miss Alice

Florence next

Alice overlooking Arno River

The Duomo

Duomo

Duomo

Wedding time

Beauty everywhere

Traditional Wedding

Duomo

The David

Arno River

The winner

Rome.  It just does not feel as “touristy” as Florence.  Perhaps we need to figure out how “living like the locals” feels in Florence like it does in Rome.  Of course this is my opinion.  Both cities are fantastic and are currently inundated by a massive amount of tourists which really lessens the experience of being the wonderful venues.

Alice loves the sophistication and feel that is brought to the city of Rome. The office and business attire people are wearing. The hustle and bustle of each morning and evening as the business people commute to and from work. All the perfectly tailer made blue suits worn by the Italian men. It has and feels more like a real city …. with class.

This of course is my opinion and I invite you to Italy to discover these two beautiful cities and make up your own mind.

Are you African?

Italy tour groups: buyer beware

Blogger and photographer: Thomas Schmuki taken at the Uffizi

This is not our first dance with the tour groups

Most of you know that we spent a month in Italy last year.  We visited Venice, Verona, Amalfi, Teramo and Rome. We participated in a number of tours including group and private tours.  We are now nearly 3 weeks into our 6 week adventure in Italy and have yet to take a tour.

Overcrowded Italy

Here is my controversial commentary.  This year it seems that the overall crowd level is much larger than last year.  Last year we went in May-June.  This year we decided to go later for a number of reasons one being we thought the crowds would be less.  Perhaps there are less American families touring Italy this time of year but tourists from all over the world and especially Japan has dramatically increased.

Tour groups are just too big

Now to the tour groups.  Many tour groups of 20-35 people overtake the experience.  They all pile in front of a painting masterpiece leaving the general observer with no view.  The big crowds of large tour groups are everywhere with the tour leaders speaking every language known to man.  I am sure this is very profitable to the tour group companies.  I don't understand how the participants experience can be positive with 30 other participants.  Problems with hearing the leader from lack of attention on the very important question you want to ask but can't because the loud mouth in the group asks them all. I observe the trail end of the tour groups and see many laggers and disinterested participants. I believe this due mainly due to the size of the group.

The wonderful personal intimate experience of seeing these masterpieces is robbed by the large groups and predominantly the large tour groups that take over the venues.

Personal tous are the way to go

Alice is very strong on personal tours with only the 3 of us.  It gives her all the time to ask her great questions and me the time to snap some great pictures if I can get any line of site around the miriad of 30+ tour groups in front is the artwork, sculpture or architecture ahead.

Alice with our wonderful personal guide at Pompeii last year.

My recommendation

Recomendation: don't do tours with large groups.  I recommend no more than 10, but oh then the tour companies would have to take the bullet.

Italian Smoke Fest

This is my second trip to Italy. Last year we spent 4 weeks in various beautiful locations throughout Italy.  This year we have an apartment in Rome for 6 weeks and have yet to venture out in the city.

Controversy, that’s what I am about

This blog may be controversial and perhaps even offensive to some even close friends and relatives.  So be it.  I write from my heart and soul with a little bit of my quirky personality thrown in.

So many cigarette smokers in Italy

Let's get to the meat and "smoke" of this article.  It is clear to me that most all Italians smoke.  After discussing this with young kids ages 17-25 I asked how many of them smoke.  They all said they smoke 10-20 cigarettes a day.  I asked, "so when did you  start smoking?" The answer was almost always 12-13.  "So why did you decide to smoke?"  "It was cool and all my friends did it, it gives us something to do with our hands."   "Tell me about smoking after sex." "Oh, it's so relaxing, we both light up right away..."

Italian Woman with her stogie

Our waitress in florence

Julia, our waitress at a fine steak house in Florence

We had a great conversation with Julia before our dinner. I had told her about my “Italian Smoke Fest” blog, and I asked her about smoking in Italy. She said, “I don’t smoke, but when I was growing up and if you didn’t smoke you were NOT COOL.” She was not considered cool because she didn’t smoke. Her mother is a doctor and she smokes. Go figure.

Why nearly all Italians are thin

As a general rule nearly all Italian men and women are thin.  I have concluded one of the main reason for this is because smoking is their main diet with a little pasta thrown in.  Add to that thousands of steps a day and there you have it, thin Italians.

Just a few days ago when we were eating lunch at an outside cafe near the Spanish steps, we sat 2 tables away from 3 young women who were all smoking one after the other.  Our neighbors were so upset, they got up and left.  No one else in the cafe was smoking.  If we could have moved we would have,  Smokers, don’t you know how rude it is to blow your smoke in some one else’s face.

Smoking in Italy has been banned in public including bars, restaurants, discotheques and offices since 2005.  A majority of Italians supported the ban at the time it was first implemented,[1] but there was a lack of support from smokers and some bar owners. 5% of bar and restaurant owners immediately introduced separate smoking rooms.

Note: I have never kissed a girl who smoked. I imagine it is like kissing an ash tray.  I suppose smokers kiss smokers.

Read the warning label

I asked, "don't you read the warning on the cigarette box? " "That's all lies and propaganda."

Ok now that I have unsystematically established that a lot higher percentage of Italians smoke than Americans let me digress.

I understand I am different with a Mormon UPBRINGING

I grew up in a Mormon home where it was against our religion to smoke, drink, have sex outside of marriage and no coffee or tee allowed. When the bishop personally interviews you, violations of these rules can result in anything from humiliation to excommunication. "Brother Tom, did I see some Coke in your refrigerator?" Even though I have long left the Mormon church I still have never smoked a cigarette.  I have smoked a few cigars for the purpose of a photo.  My first cigar was smoked in the heart of Havana Cuba. I smoked the whole thing and didn't even get sick.  I have never smoked or taken marijuana in any form.  I suppose most of this is due to my Mormon upbringing  Smoking was a SIN.  Smoking marijuana a DRUG was a double sin.\

My first and 2nd to last cigar ever, smoked in Havana Cuba

My dad smoked in the Navy

When my dad was in the navy in WW 2 he said he smoked a bit. I have a feeling a high percentage of enlisted soldiers from any country smoke with a reckless abandon. After the war he never smoked. My brother Randy purposefully got kicked out of high school for smoking a cigarette.  It was his way out. My sister Tina has smoked nearly her entire adult life.  Mom and dad never knew she smoked and was very good at hiding the fact. 

You are really a stud if you smoke unfiltered

Her ex husband smoked unfiltered Marlboro's. I called him the Marlboro man, and he was certainly good looking enough to be so.

One of the original Marlboro men

European Warning labels

In the European Union, since May 2016, the Tobacco Products Directive 2014 requires tobacco product packages to carry combined health warnings consisting of a picture, a text warning and information on stop smoking services, covering 65% of the front and back of the packages.

Warnings have been required in Tobacco advertising for many years, with the earliest mandatory warning labels implemented in the United States since 1966.

So what's the point?  I admit to many vices and bad habits and luckily smoking is not one of them. To my smoking friends and relatives, read the label, take up another bad habit like photography...

"Forgive me Bishop for I have sinned.  I took 3,000 photos last week and I plan to take more." At least I am not going to hell for smoking cigarettes lol.

Italy vacation 2023 planning and day 1

He's back. You know Tom the blogger. We have just arrived in our beautiful apartment in Rome.

Before I get to the topics of the day I thought I would provide links to my blogs I wrote in our 4 week trip to Italy last year.

Pompeii City of sin:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/7/29/pompeii-the-city-of-sin

Italy city by city, my favorites:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/28/italy-city-by-city-my-favorites

photographer gear for Italy trip:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/21/photography-gear-for-italy-trip

The food of Florence:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/5/the-food-of-florence

Long walk in Florence:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/3/a-long-walk-in-florence

Verona, the city of Love:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/6/1/verona-the-city-of-love

Venice day two:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/28/venice-day-2

Venice day one:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/26/venice-day-1

flight to Italy, via Paris:

https://www.thomasschmukiphotography.com/blog/2022/5/23/flight-to-italy-via-paris

Hectic last minute preparations

If you want to meet a planner, let me introduce you to Alice. This year was not the Alice Alice.  With her heart surgery, her work and my photo shoots. we had little or no time to prepare.  We decided not to commit to the vacation until we were confident with Alice's surgery result. When the Dr came into the recovery room to speak with Alice and I, he prescribed a vacation to Italy.

This year we decided to "live like the locals" on our vacation to Italy.  The only thing we locked down was the airplane and the the apartment in Rome.

Alice's preparation was mainly what shoes to buy and bring.

My preparation was what camera equipment to bring. My biggest dilemma was which camera to bring and should I bring a backup. Our focus was different but the result will be amazing.

My chosen camera get for our Italy trip.

Train ride from Delray Beach to Miami Airport

We love to take the train from Delray Beach to Miami airport. The Tri-Rail train does not compete with Brightline. However, it drops us right off in the middle of the airport.  We love that.  You would be amazed how many people actually take the Tri-Rail to the Miami airport.

Alice on the plane with the Italian Stallion

Due to our last-minute scheduling of our flight to Rome, we were unable to book a pair of contiguous seats on the airplane. Our confirmed seats were with someone else between us. We had hoped we could talk the middle person out of their seat so we could sit together and hold hands.  So here we are in the middle aisle with three seats, and both of us, taking the aisle seat and the middle seat, waiting for the unknown traveler.   I was worried we may get a 400 pound Covid infected traveler laden with twins who she was nursing mid flight and refused to change the seat. While we are boarding the plane, I teased Alice telling her that some lady may take the middle seat, and I may mistakenly hold her hand. as the travelers boarded the plane, I looked anxiously at each person coming in one by one. Oh no this can't be the guy.  This is the guy.  Yup the Italian stallion with the look of a cross between Dr Mcdreamy and George Clooney.  His looks, his aura, his clothing ....  I knew I was in trouble.  Sure enough it was him.  He has the middle seat. I looked at Alice and she smiled.  After asking the young Sylvester Stallone if he could exchange seats, she looked at me and smiled, "I get to sit by the two best looking men on the plane". I wasn't alarmed I knew he didn't have the entire Schmuki package.   

Alice with the second best looking guy on the plane. What a lucky girl!

Our first walking tour and night out

We had a great first day in Rome. After resting a bit and unpacking we went out and took a look at our neighborhood. We love it here.

The food is so cheap here!

Girls from Vienna Austria

British Embassy

My favorite model: Alice

We had a great dinner at an Italian resteraunt just next to our apartment. We enjoyed the best pasta with pesto we have ever had. 

Limoncello

Pasta with Pesto, the best ever!

We met 2 great fun couples from Long Island at the resteraunt who promised to read my Pompeii city of sin blog.  They asked me to take their picture because they saw my fancy Nikon on the table.

Our new friends from Long Island New York

Day one is over and we still like each other a lot. Looking forward to days 2-40. Please let me know you are reading and enjoying my blog. This is a lot of work, but mostly a labor of love and a documentation of our wonderful life together.

Breast Cancer my personal story - Alice Haigh

Why am I sharing this now?

As we approach the month of October which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and  the anniversary of my survival of 15 years, I thought this is the year I should share my experience with dealing with Breast Cancer. I hope to raise awareness that will encourage participation for fundraising and to remind everyone of the importance of mammograms and other screening methods. Early detection is so important and we need to remind ourselves to put ourselves first when it comes time to make and go to the  appointment. That means NO EXCUSES.

Anthony's Ladies Apparel and Ibkul

As part of me acknowledging my 15 year anniversary, I am honored to be part of promoting an exclusive IBKUL shirt in partnership with “Anthony's Ladies Apparel ”. Part of the proceeds will go to: Breast Cancer Research of Florida. The shirt will reflect some of the most important words that are part of dealing with a diagnosis. We are STRONG, LOVED, COURAGEOUS, and most of all we BELIEVE. Thank you Kristin for asking me to be a part of this.

Early detection is key

I believe early detection is the reason I am here to tell my story. I got mammograms every year and often in addition to the mammograms I would get an ultrasound. During a yearly check up with a mammogram  followed up by an ultrasound,I had developed abnormal cells in the lower left breast. They did a lumpectomy and removed the abnormal cells leaving me with with clear margins. I thought nothing of this and I had no concern, but at the end of April, I felt a lump on the left side of my left breast and it was painful. They always tell you if it’s painful not to worry about it. It’s ’s just a cyst that’s filled with fluid. Because of what I had experienced in December, I went to Dr. Levy immediately and he gave me a look of concern and told me that he was going to do a biopsy there in the office and it was gonna hurt like hell. Dr Levy gave me a little bear to squeeze and I pinched it’s head off! A few days later I got the call to come into his office to review my results.

The dreaded words  "You have breast cancer.”

In a world where breast cancer affects millions of lives, I count myself blessed to be a survivor for 15 years. This is my personal story and is very different for all who receive the dreaded words, “ Your tests have come back and it shows you have cancer”. You can’t imagine the feeling that comes over you when you are sitting across from the Dr. that has delivered those words.

My research and due diligence

Since I am a fix-it person and happen to have a friend who was more of a fixer than me, I was the new research project. My friend, Arlene Marcus was the perfect person to have in my life at that time..a Masters Degrees in Education. We kept a notebook, all hand-written with every conversation recorded with each Dr that we had a meeting with. The notebook goes all the way from the beginning to a year after surgery.  I pulled the notebook out for the first time in many years to review and WOW is all I can say. Everyone receives the news in their own way and processes it differently. Keeping a notebook was my way. There is no right or wrong way to approach your care as each and every person is different and everybody reacts differently to treatment.

Arlene sent me this hand painted rock to acknowledge 15 years survival

Nearly all of us have lost a loved one to cancer  

The journey gave me tremendous strength, resilience, personal growth and empathy for all who go through treatment. I lost a friend to the disease a number of years before, and I  who knew that I was going to be dealing with the risk percentage for each treatment discussed. This is the first time I’ve shared my story and hope in some way anyone reading this that has faced a similar battle or knows someone who has, or is just getting the news, that person will always be there as a support for that someone. As I reflect on this event in my life and discuss it, it is most important for all to remember that EARLY detection and regular screening are most important.We need to spread awareness.

Breast cancer vocabulary

Once you get the diagnosis you have to add a lot of new words to your vocabulary: ductal invasive, lobular invasive, tumor size, HER-2 status, stage of tumor, grade of tumor and so many more. Adding to your list will be doctors and their unique specialties and how important each one will be in your care and coordination of your care and treatment plan.

Navigating the maze is overwhelming as you start to think about surgery and of course everyone one, including doctors has a different opinion.

Stories of survival and sadness

I spoke with a lot of people who have been through this process, the survivors said the most important part was how they handled their treatment and why. My aunt had a lumpectomy her cancer spread and she did not survive. A survivor told me in one of my conversations, “You don’t want to be going in every 6 months to be checked.” and she compared it to constantly looking over your shoulder.

My decision became easier

Since I had abnormal cells present and removed  6 months earlier in an area and  with a diagnosis of cancer in another area, it made my decision easier. I thought about my options and decided that a double mastectomy would be my best choice. I did make the best decision because afterwards, I was told there were abnormal cells in the other breast that hadn’t been diagnosed in the MRI and other tests.

Navigating my options

The first surgery scheduled was a lumpectomy to get clear margins to help with making the decision for my impending treatment. Of course I got a second option from my lumpectomy biopsy. At the time I wanted to find the top pathologist in the country to read my radiology report and was told by several doctors that Dr. Rosen at NY Presbyterian Hospital was the best. I made that happen because the more information the better. I set up a number of doctors appointments for consolations and spoke with lots of specialists, Radiologist, Breast Surgeon, Oncologist, Pathologist, and of course Plastic Surgeons. Each doctor had a different treatment plan to offer and it was interesting to hear the information and the percentages for the risk of recurrence.

Bioidentical hormones

A conclusion was made by several of my doctors that my cancer was growing on estrogen. I was taking bioidentical hormones that were compounded for me each month and I loved the way I felt taking them. One doctor told me it was like giving a plant Miracle Grow. I came off them immediately and part of my treatment was to be on an estrogen blocker for 5 years.

Decisions made .... surgery and reconstruction

Decisions were made. Dr Levy, Breast Surgeon and Dr Russel Sassani, Plastic Surgeon, started my 4 hour surgery just after lunch and of course I asked both of them if they had taken time for lunch before starting my surgery.  I wanted assurance of steady hands.  They put me at ease and we had a few good laughs before they rolled me into surgery. To this day, Dr. Sassani and I are personal friends and I’ll always value him as a doctor and most importantly, a personal friend. I found an oncologist, Dr. Tan-Chiu, that was the best for me and will always remember her and the quality of care that she provided.

Dr, Russell Sassani

After the surgeries

I know I haven’t given a lot of details as they are very involved and at the time all of it was happening, I felt like I had fallen into a rabbit hole. There were 5 surgeries, hormonal therapy, and Tamoxifen for 5 years following. I am very happy that I still have the notebook with my notes..yes, down to the dosage of medication given to me after the surgery. If you know me, this last bit of information will not shock you. I felt it was a major surgery and I didn’t want to be in the hospital because of exposure to the environment and needing a nurse or someone to care for me. I prepared my bedroom and bathroom, sterilized and  ready for me to recuperate in. Somehow they got me home after recovery and into my bed with my tubes and totally out of it. I had hired a private RN Nurse to take care of my needs. She did everything and recorded all the information for my doctors. I had the RN for a few days and it was one of best decisions I could have made.

Fifteen years since my diagnosis, I proudly carry the title of a breast cancer survivor, but it does not define me. I hope by sharing a bit of information about my story, it instills a sense of hope and emphasizes the importance of regular screening and early detection. I am so thankful that when I realized there was a small painful lump, I immediately contacted my doctor to be checked out.

Photo shoot with Wendy, Jackie and myself - All Breast Cancer Survivors

In conclusion, my journey continues

I am most thankful to ALL who were a part of my journey and the support that was given to me by my friends and family. So MANY visits, cards, calls, and meals brought to our house and so much more that let me know I had more than a village there in my corner.

Florence

Florence

Spanish Steps - Rome

Friend Rome

Mystery Lady

Toms 65th Birthday

Boudoir shoot with Tom

Toby the cat

Christmas 2022

Christmas 2022 - Believe

Biker Chick 2022

New York, New York - Happy B day to me

Lauren and Chase

I just love this one - Palm Beach

Washington DC

Love to travel

Family

Chase and Lauren

Little Lilly with Glam Ma

There is a life beyond breast cancer

This is why I now live my life to the fullest each and every day. Yes, I am strong, loved, courageous and I BELIEVE.

For anyone reading this and dealing with the process, please know there is hope as I am here living my best life. 

Tom's turn with the Plastic Surgeon

My after photo taken 06/05/2023

I have written many popular blogs about Alice's face lift including pictures, commentary and before, during and after photos.  Not just the before and after.  I thought it would be more interesting seeing the whole process.

Alice is coming up on her 6 month appointment after her surgery.  I plan on doing a doing a final blog on what she has gone through and how she now looks and feels a lot it.

Here is a link to those blogs.  You can read each one by going to the bottom of each blog and click the link to the next one.

Alice's Face Lift Blogs

Alice looking great just 3 months after her face lift surgery

After observing her process and the great work of our friend Doctor Sassani at Take Shape plastic surgery I decided on my own to ask him about cleaning up my droopy old man eyes.  It is the first thing I see on every self portrait taken of me for over a decade. He recommended an upper and lower Blepharoplasty (Bleph).  In english it is a upper and lower eye lift.

Here is a link detailing what the Eyelid (blepharoplasty) surgery is:

Eye Lid Surgery explained by Take Shape

Dr Sassani video explaining my surgery just before I go under the scalpel

Some helpful advice from my next door neighbor

After receiving the quote I became less interested.  Our next door neighbor mentioned she was looking into it and she said of your upper eye lids are blocking your vision sort is like a drape coming down Medicare may pay for part of the surgery.  Sure enough.  After receiving verification. from my ophthalmologist, Medicare will pay for part is the surgery making it more reasonable.

Sandra, like a good neighbor, Same surgery 1 day later. Thanks for the tip on Medicare Sandra! Sandra only did uppers.

Video on our ride to surgery

Driving Mr Daisy on morning of the surgery

How about some before, during and after photos?

Taken during PRE-OP a day before the surgery. All is a go

Knock Knock time for surgery

Marked up ready to cut

Anesthesiologist - Dr. Lynch

Just after surgery before waking up

In dream land

Day 1 after surgery

Driving Mr Daisy

Driver: Mario Andretti

Post op visit day after surgery

Day 2

Days 3

Day 4

Tom and Alice Role reversal

Now the roles are reversed.  Nurse Alice get to care for patient Tom.  Chef Alice gets to make poor old Tom home made chicken soup.  Driving Mr Daisy gets to be performed by driving Miss Daisy and the list goes on.

Let's compare surgeries for a minute.

• My surgery lasted about 2 hours under anesthesia.  Alice's lasted at least 8 hours.

• Alice had her eyes done just like mine except for one minor row of stitches below her eyes.

• Alice's entire face was laser resurfaced.

• Alice's had a face lift oh my.

• Alice had complications with her heart.

• Alice was opened up from ear to ear, skin stretched and tightened  and then stapled together.

• Poor old Tom just has a few stitches above and below eyes.

• Alice is still recovering. We were told face lift recoveries can last up to a year before all   numbness and tingling goes away.   

• Poor old Tom will recover in 3-5 weeks.

• Alice is the winner or the looser depending on how you look at it.  I think we are both the winner because we get to look at each other.

Now lets look at my before and after photoS:

This photo taken the same day of my surgery

This photo was taken 4 days after my surgery

This photo was taken about 7 weeks after my surgery

Lets talk about Dr RussEll Sassani

How about a big shoutout to a wonderful plastic surgeon and our friend Dr. Russell Sassani. I have been with Alice now for 3 years. Prior to her face surgery, she visited him for other work. I watched him carefully over many visits. Such a professional and the nicest man on earth. His work with Alice was so incredible, I could NOT resist dipping into Dr Nip, Tuck myself. I knew he would give me all he had to do the best job possible on this old MUG. In a months from now, we will all see his wonderful work. You of course can observe his fantastic work on Alice.

For those interested in working with Dr Sassani, here is his information:

Dr Russell F. Sassani - Take Shape Plastic Surgery, P.A.

Enjoy our Mr Tom and Miss Alice Interview ViDEO after the surgery

Mr Tom and Miss Alice Interview following surgery

One final thought

Perhaps this BLOG will be of most interest to those who are considering or have already had a similar surgery. One surprise I had which I found out the day before the surgery was that I could not do anything to raise my heart rate or even bend over at the waste for at least 3-4 weeks. No more TENNIS for Mr. Tom. I don’t know why I thought I would be out for only a week and a half.

Frankly there has been little or no pain after the first few days post operation. However, I have struggled with dry, itchy, red eyes. Seems like my eyes have had very dry hard contact lenses in them. Fluid has been flowing in them and it is similar to having suntan lotion drip in my eyes. To this day, this is still happening although the frequency and duration has been less and less. I was told the operation does not or DID not touch my eyes, however, my vision has been impacted because of the aforementioned items. As the days and weeks progressed as I looked into the mirror I really did NOT notice the difference. Now looking at the before and after photos it is quite apparent the fantastic job Dr. Sassani did. Thanks again to ALL

When we are out and about Mr Tom has to deal with the fact that all lookers are on my beautiful partner Alice. At least when she looks at me now she gets to see more of my “baby blues….”

Christmas vacation … Nashville

Thank you for your continued support

First of all I would like to thank those few readers who enjoy my blogs, and understand in many ways they are just a personal journal with photos that becomes available to the public.  I have had a few popular blogs in the past, but my readership is normally from 30-250 people per blog.  In any case, thank you to those faithful readers.  Please give me encouragement to continue along this path.

Nashville Tennessee

The second leg of our Christmas vacation was in the Nashville Tennessee area.  After having a really great time in Savannah I doubled we could ever TOP the moments we had there.

Baby it’s cold outside. How about 3 degrees before wind chill factor?

Rockvale Tennessee

We were invited to stay at my sisters house in Rockvale Tennessee just about 30 minutes South East of Nashville.  We stayed there for 2 nights.

My sister…. Tina Cranfield

Let me introduce you to my sister Tina Canfield, winner of the Parson’s School of Design Thimble award. Well, if you know Tom you can imagine a girl version of Tom.  Full of talent, and even self proclaimed OCD.  To listen to her talk made me wonder if it was me talking.  Tina had a very successful career as a Fashion Designer with her own line: Tina Hagen.  She was highly acclaimed as one of the best women’s fashion designers of her time, having worked for Calvin Klein, Ann Taylor and finally out on her own line… Tina Hagen.  Well that was then this is NOW.  Tina is now a very capable and successful interior designer in the Nashville Area.  With her artistic and fashion flair along with a regimented and educated skill in interior design, she has built quite a little niche.  Good for you Tina.

Tom in his Santa Pajamas

Alice in Tina and Bobs backyard

Tina and Alice

Christmas Eve with the famous

We had many wonderful meals and moments with Tina and her husband Bob (the retired Emergency Room doctor.). Christmas Eve we spent at one of her friends (Doreen) house whom I met nearly 30+ years ago.  We had a great evening at her friends house and got to meet and party with Patrick Cassidy, the brother of David Cassidy from the Partridge Family.  Right before we left he banged out a few songs on the piano. All I can say is WOW. Mother Shirley Jones must be very proud.

Patrick William Cassidy (born January 4, 1962) is an American actor and singer best known for his roles in musical theatre and television.^[1]

He was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Shirley Jones and Jack Cassidy. Jones was pregnant with Patrick while filming The Music Man; Patrick even kicked his mother's co-star Robert Preston in one scene when they were embracing.^[2]

His brothers are Ryan Cassidy and Shaun Cassidy, and his half-brother was David Cassidy.^[3] He is also the uncle of Arrow star Katie Cassidy.

Patrick Cassidy

It’s that Mormon Virgin thing…

We had a hoot talking about Mormonism and the days he played basketball at the Mormon church and observed how rough the guys were.  Said he thought it was because they were all sexually frustrated because they were all still wearing their chastity belt waiting for their future temple marriage as a virgin.  I wish I could have spent some more time with him.  We did seem to hit it off.  Patrick has also had a very successful career on broadway and music as well.  Darn, and he is also better looking than ME.  Oh well, maybe I can beat him in Tennis.  6-0, 6-0.  Game, set, match goes to Mr Tom Schmuki.

Doreen, Tina, Bob, Melissa

Melissa

Melissa and Alice

Tom and Patrick Cassidy

Patrick Cassidy and Alice

Christmas Morning at Tina and Bob’s

Alice in her PJ's

The whole gang

Alice and Tom

Christmas day, Quack Quack

We spent Christmas morning with Tina and Bob and had a wonderful Christmas dinner with roast DUCK.  I had a vision…… BANG, SPALSH, WOOF WOOF, “get the bird”, “thanks Fido”, “break his neck and put him in the bag…”. Yummy the duck tastes even better now.  A very fatty bird, but BOB had has ways of getting rid of most of the fat.  Thanks again Bob and Tina. Bob, did you have to pluck the feathers off that duck from Tennessee?

Quack Quack, how about roasted Duck by Chef Bob?

Christmas Day after dinner we headed out to spend a few nights in Nashville.  Only about a 30 minute drive from my sister Tina’s house. Last time we were in Nashville we were called home right as we had arrived because my father was dying and we had to get home.

Off to Nashville where country stars are made

We stayed in a hotel called The Dream Hotel, just a few blocks from the heart of Nashville. Nashville, great music, great fun, but the food, not nearly to the level we had experienced in Savannah Georgia.

The homeless of Nashville

I was surprised and anguished by all the homeless people in Nashville, living and sleeping in the streets with the weather below 0.  I saw one man sleeping on top of an air vent coming out of the sidewalk with a little extra heat. I was very happy to see many passers by offering the homeless help with food and loving thoughts during the holidays.

Baby its cold outside

3 degrees. BURR

Just outside of CM Hall of Fame

We left sunny south Florida with anticipation of cold weather, sweaters, boots, snowfall and fireplaces.  All of this came true.  I had forgotten how cold 3 degrees felt with a wind chill factor much below that number.  I had heard that South Florida may have had a small snow storm of their own during Christmas.  I “sort of” felt sorry for the poor souls who vacationed there hoping for 80 degrees, bikinis, and surfing in South Florida.  The snow fall was beautiful while we were in the heart of Nashville. I had to leave the bar to go out and get a short video to share.

Country Music Hall of Fame

Probably the best part of our visit to Nashville was at the Country Music Hall of Fame.  All I can say is you have to experience it to understand it.  The connection and history between country music and rock and roll was much closer than I had ever imagined.

Country Music Hall of Fame. Tom…,. Not so famous

Now that's a baby seat

Elvis Presley's car

Tom wishing he stayed in music

Can I have a TIP Please?

I cannot end this blog without mentioning our experiences regarding tipping and added charges at the restaurants in Nashville. Anyone who follows our travels and entertainment knows we go out a lot to dinner.  We have watched the cost of our restaurant meals rise in the last two years by as much as 35 percent or more.  Everyone blames this on COVID.

Here are a few ways the Nashville establishments add to their profit line after raising food prices by 30+ percent.  One restaurant added a TIP line on the bill to tip the kitchen staff in addition to the waitress or waiter tip.  They noted they would double any tip added to the kitchen staff.

We were surprised to see our last restaurant bill with a CASH bill and a CARD bill 4-5% higher than cash. I thought I was getting gas for my car and decided to pay by card.  The waiter noted he did not know any other restaurant in town that was doing this. I’ll take premium please and FILL HER UP!

Tip Bucket

Now to the bars of Nashville, each with live bands entertaining the guests.  After each set of music (less than 1 hour), the band members would walk around with a tip bucket to each table asking for “ALMS for the POOR”.  I thought I had walked in a strip joint with a pole dancer asking for her dues.  Don’t get me wrong, I almost always TIP the band on my own being a musician during my college days.

I have decided when I photograph a fashion show, I will have Alice walk around with a tip bucket.  “Alms for the poor starving photographer who does all these shoots for free!” “Hello Mr Photographer, can you please send me a copy of all the photos you took of me?” No TIP bucket allowed

A few TIPS from TOM

I have a tip for you my blog readers….. “BUY LOW, SELL HIGH…”  if you don’t like that one here its another: “If you liked it at 50, you will love at at 25…”  “Don’t get sore, buy some more,..”  There you have been Schmuki TIPPED.  Yes I worked on Wall Street! I had a million of these.

Off to the last leg of our Christmas vacation journey — Charleston South Carolina

Christmas Vacation - First stop Savannah Georgia

Get ready for my final series of blogs about our final ROAD trip to Nashville Tennessee.  We have enjoyed many road trips and travels in 2022.

Here is a short list of some of the places we have gone in 2022

• Orlando .. PGA show

• Annapolis Maryland for Captain Lesko’s retirement ceremony

• New York - Alices birthday

• St. Petersburg Florida

• Italy - 1 MONTH

• Florida keys - Camp Schmuki

• Las Vegas - Tom’s Birthday

• Daytona Beach - Biketoberfest Harley Davidson Road Trip

• Christmas 2022 Road Trip: Savannah Georgia , Nashville Tennessee, Charleston South Carolina

First leg of our trip - Savannah Georgia

This blog will only focus on the first location of our Christmas road trip 2022…. Savannah Georgia.

Alice are you cold?

The drive from Delray Beach to Savanah was about 6 hours or so.  Captain Tom put on his MAN pants and did most of the driving while Miss Alice enjoyed the view and answered emails.

We went to Savannah just over 2 years ago and we loved the city but had our reservations about our experiences on the riverwalk.  We were certainly disappointed with the “cheesy touristy” feel of river walk.  We just couldn’t find a place to eat there that was NOT highly breaded processed food.  This time we stayed away from the river front.

During our last visit to the river front stores, we dropped in a Harley Davidson clothing store.  Alice tried on a few Harley shirts looking sexy as ever.  The store clerk said, “Wow, she looks great in that, why don’t you take a picture?”.  I said…. “No problem, I will send a copy of it to her husband…”.  Everyone got a chuckle out of it.  Alice is such a great sport to put up with all my shenanigans and quirky sense of humor.

Planters INN

We stayed in the same hotel we stayed in last time right in the heart of the historic district of Savannah… Planters Inn.  Originally built in 1844 as a dry goods store, Planters Inn offers high-ceilinged rooms with mahogany beds modeled after historical designs.  We had a great experience during our last trip staying at Planters Inn.  We were slightly disappointed across the board during this visit.  The room, the service, the plumbing and attention to detail was not at the level we experienced a few years ago.

Rather than venture out of the historic visit our 2 days and 2 nights in Savannah were spent exclusively in the Historic District.  We walked everywhere we went.  Weather was unseasonably cold with temperatures lower than most any time in the previous 30 years.  We always bundled up in our down jackets, hats and mittens before we went outside.  This made it difficult for me to handle my camera gear.

A trip to a local Bar - Chive and SeaFOOD Bar

While walking the main strip in downtown Savannah I noticed an upscale FUN bar and NUDGED Alice to go in and have a drink before dinner.  This bar became perhaps the highlight of our visit to Savannah.

The best bartenders ever!

Two bartenders, a 21 year old young stud named Michael and a slightly older male.  Of course I had my NIKON laid down on the bar.  Just around the corner was another photographer who was creating some social media content for the bar.  We connected right away.  Here is a photo I took of her:

We had already enjoyed our first drink.  I had a concoction made by Michael he called “The Naughty Santa…”.  I felt naughty just drinking it.  He must have put in 4-6 liquors, heated it with fire and cinnamon.  Yummy.  Take a look at this video.

Photographic art by Tom Schmuki

Photographic art by Tom Schmuki

After having enjoyed our first round of drinks.  me, my Sexty Santa, and Alice with … a very tasty drink of her own,  we were offered one by one the drinks made by the bar tender for the social media content creator.  I was getting more sloshed sip by sip.  The final drink was 136 proof which means 136/2 is the percent alcohol which equates tabour 68% straight SIN.  I took sip 1.  Yummmmmmmmm. Sip 2, my eyes watered.  Sip 3, YIKES.  Alice said, that’s enough for you my little light weight drinker.  I think I drank about 1/2 inch off the top of that glass.  This whole experience was the most fun I have ever had in a bar.  Thanks guys for making these memories.

Now we had to WALK to our dinner reservation.  “Oh Alice….. where are not feet?”

Note: I am a lightweight drinker. 1.5 glasses wine and I am totally done.  My first drink of alcohol was when I was 35 years old.  Good old Mormon rules of NO smoking, NO drinking, NO sex outside of marriage…. NO FUN!  I guess I am now going to HELL!  To hell I go with a “Naughty Santa” in my hand.

Dinner at 45 Bistro

45 Bistro

Our first night in Savannah we ate at 45 Bistro.  A privately owned and managed restaurant located in The Marshall House, an historic Savannah inn. The entire building was completely renovated in 1999 reestablishing the facility to its former grandeur, originally built in 1852.  The meal was just fantastic although our server was a little cranky.  Alice said she was in a bad mood because we told her we were not drinking because we had already loaded up on liquor at the bar before dinner.  I am often reminded how important the attitude of the service staff is to a great dining experience.  Even though the food was GREAT I will remember this restaurant because of our grumpy waitress.

Photographic art by: Tom Schmuki “The largest unit of soldiers of African descent who fought in American Revolution

One of the many beautiful squares in historic Savannah Georgia

Day 2 in Savannah

We had no official agenda for day 2 except for our dinner reservations later in the evening.  Off we go with NIKON in hand for a great day in historic Savannah.  First up, time for breakfast.  We found the greatest breakfast place I have ever been to…. “The Collins Quarter”.

The Collins Quarter - 151 Bull Street

Let’s go for a walk and find a cool breakfast place in this beautiful historic city. We lucked on my favorite breakfast place EVER. This place was so great we even went back our final morning in Savannah. Our server named Tom originally from Fort Lauderdale was a HOOT. We shared a wonderful treat they called “Bubble and Squeak”.  A panic fried potato cake, portobello mushroom, creamed corn, tomato puree and a poached egg.  This was so fantastic.

Bubble and Squeak

Day 2 in Savannah

We had no official agenda for day 2 except for our dinner reservations later in the evening.  Off we go with NIKON in hand for a great day in historic Savannah.  First up, time for breakfast.  We found the greatest breakfast place I have ever been to…. “The Collins Quarter”.

After breakfast we soon noticed a museum we were interested in going to, although it was not opening until 10 am or so.  Off to another cool breakfast nook to have another coffee and meet our new friend Kat, a friendly little red head. 

The Grey Market with our friend Kat

Museum- The Telfair Academy

We asked her about the museum across the way and she highly recommended it. After another coffee and pastry, we headed over to the museum.  Our first museum was “The Telfair Academy”.  The Telfair Academy contains two nineteenth-century period rooms and houses nineteenth- and twentieth-century American and European art.  We love to go to museums, I think Alice even more than me.  This museum was a very pleasant surprise.  WOW.  The art was off the chart.

This is the home to Savannah’s iconic Bird Girl Statue.

Bird Girl Statue

After lunch we ventured off to our second museum experience of the day.  This museum was much different and left me with a feeling of despair and historical knowledge.

The Ownes-Thomas House and Slave Quarters

We experience an inclusive interpretation of not only the wealthy families that inhabited this home for a span of over 100 years, but of also the enslaved people who lived and labored here.  After leaving this experience, I was humbled and saddened by the treatment of the enslaved people of the south.

Dinner our final evening in Savannah.

We had dinner here during our last stay in Savannah and had such a great experience we decided to do it again, just a block away from our stay at the Planters in.

The Old Pink House

The Old Pink House built in 1789, was originally known as Habersham House, after its owner James Habersham, Jr., one of Savannah's most important early cotton factors and founding-family members. Habersham lived there until his death in 1799. The lot was originally a land grant from the British Crown.  We had another fantastic experience and knew our stay in this great city was NIGH at hand.

The Olde Pink House - Savannah GA

I want a night cap - Naughty Santa it is

How about one more night cap at our favorite BAR: The Chive Resteraunt,  Michael was there and served us our “Naughty Santa”.  Take a look at the previous video posted in this blog.  Thanks Michael for a fantastic experience!

Our last breakfast in Savannah.  Of course we revisited my new favorite restaurant: The Collins quarter.  Alice insisted I have a traditional shrimp and grits.  Never been a grits fan and don’t even know where grits come from ha ha.  Loved the shrimp, the grits, well they were seasoned with interesting flavors but they are still grits.

Shrimp and grits - Savannah style

Now lets get in the car and begin the next leg of our trip to my sisters house in Rockville Tennessee just 30 miles from Nashville.

NO MORE GRITS for Mr Tom!

Golf my Perpetual nightmare

Even if you are not a golfer you should enjoy reading this short blog.

Hopes of becoming a golf professional

Most people who know me know that golf has been a very important part of my life from the age of 14.  I had hopes and dreams of becoming a professional, however the “PETER PRINCIPAL” stepped in, and I soon reached my level of incompetence at a handicap of about 7-9.  No matter how hard I tried, hitting thousands of golf balls, taking lessons, my game just kept getting worse and worse.  Now I do not even play golf any more.

If you have read the book “Golf a good walk spoiled” by John Feinstein you may understand at a deeper level what the game of golf can do to you.

I dream EVERY NIGHT

I am a dreamer, I mean I dream at night, every night.  I wake up many times during the night from a dream, a nightmare, etc. I go to the bathroom and sit on the POT and ponder the meaning of my dream.  Is it my enlarged prostate or the dream that woke me up?

Basketball dream as a kid

I go back to bed and often times my dream continues on through the night.  When I was a kid I would dream of playing basketball.  I played a lot of HOOPS growing up.  My parents told me I was a sleep walker.  Often times my pillow would end up in my round laundry basket in the morning.  Perhaps I was shooting HOOPS in my dreams.

A perpetual nightmare: Getting fired

I have a many dreams based around the same themes.  One nightmare is getting fired from one of my previous jobs and my bosses would ignore me as I was pondering the reason for my exit.

My dream last night

Golf is is probably my main theme of dreaming.  Just last night I had a real crazy one.  I wish I was an artist and could paint this up for you.  Picture Dr. Seuss if you can painting this up.  I am in my standard PGA competition.  I am in the HUNT for the win as the closing holes are approaching.  The next hole, a par 3. 

Picture in your mind a golf green, just the green elevated about 200 feet above ground.  Now imaging, it is snowing with Icicles stuck in my nose.  Snow is everywhere, on the green and in a front trap which is also about 50 feet below the green.  I am in the trap and found my white ball in the white snow.  There is my Titleist 1 buried half in the snow and half in the sand.  I have NO hope of hitting this ball anywhere.  With sand wedge in my hand, I approach the ball, and with a mighty thump the ball flies in another trap filled with 3 feet of snow.  Wake up Tom, this is another golf nightmare.

No bad tennis dreams

Interesting, I NEVER have dreams or nightmares about TENNIS?

Any artists out there want to paint this scene for me? Yes I am serious about this.

All I can say is, “sweet dreams” and may the grinch who stole my golf game give it back some day.

A shrink would have a hay day getting into my head…

—tom

Competitive Tennis and Golf may bring out the worst in us

This blog will be controversial but I promise will be personal and mostly accurate.  Let me first provide my golf and tennis resume and background.

Please forgive the fact there are not many photos representing the actual moments. Most of my golf and tennis career, people did not carry around their iPhone and take photos of everything. I am sad I did not properly document these times with my camera.

Golf Resume

Golf- I started playing golf at age 14 when my father took me to a par 3 course in Denver Colorado.  I immediately fell in love with the game. 

My son Eric a 3 handicap

My son Ryan a lefty years ago

Eric Schmuki - so proud

Caddy - I was a LOOPER

I soon became a caddy at a fancy schmancy course in Lakewood Colorado, Lakewood Country Club.  We had a caddy shack and a caddy master just like the movie caddie shack.  All of the caddies were rated from C to A.  A level caddies were capable and occasionally caddied for professionals and local tour events.  I started as a C caddy.  Eighteen holes at Lakewood Country club is not like eighteen holes in Florida.  Based in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains LCC was hilly and very beautiful. The players drove to the course in the Bentleys and Rolls Royces.  Eighteen holes was called a “loop”, caddies were called “loopers”.  Yes kids, I was LOOPER Tom.  At the time I may have been 6’ tall and 145 pounds soaking wet. Turn sideways and you could not see me.  Occasionally LOOPER Tom double bagged it.  That means I carried 2 bags at the same time up and down the hills.  These were not SUNDAY bags but were full sized professional bags like you see on the tour.  OH Caddy, did you see my ball?  I became a very good caddy, very fast.  I was and still am very accurate in judging yardage and wind direction and velocity.  Mondays were Caddy days, they closed the golf course to the members, and the caddies could play for free.  The macho caddie master would pull out a $100 and challenge any caddies in a round and would temp us by allowing us to choose only 2 clubs he could bring.  No one ever took him up on it because he was a scratch golfer. By the end of my caddy career I had the wonderful title of A Caddy. “Oh Caddy, where is my golf ball?”

Caddy - Give me that bag

Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio

Honda Classic 2022

During one of my loops, my player looked at me and said, “caddy….. (they never called me by my name), come over here son.  Hand me my bag.”  “Yes sir”, I said.  He picked up his entire bag of clubs, walked over to the lake and threw the entire bag in the water.  He walked off and drove off in his Bentley.  I did not get a tip nor get paid.  Pay, you ask.  Base pay was predicated on our rating.  A-$20, B-$15, C-$10.  Yes, I walked the course with a huge bag for 5 miles, washing clubs, quoting distances, cleaning balls and finding duck hooks all for a mere $10.  I even had to fetch thrown golf clubs out of trees. “Caddy, climb that tree and get my 9 iron.” Did I tell you a round of golf is 4.5 hours and with travel time spent 8+ hours in my “good walk spoiled”.  I still remember every hole at LCC and always wondered what it would be like to “live on the other side…”. I never really found out.

My first set of clubs - Ben Hogan Apex

The young TOM SCHMUKI - Handicap 9. Where is that guy now?

I caddied for a wonderful man and woman who always asked for me.  I purchased my first set of golf clubs…. “Ben Hogan APEX” irons and woods from him.  I played Ben Hogan Woods and Irons for a good part of my golf life.  The irons were BLADES and only real golfers play blades. As I mentioned previously I played golf with my dad nearly every Sunday, breaking the sabbath and getting the FROWNS from my MORMON friends at church.  It was not long that I beat my dad the first time, and he never beat me again.  I was soon shooting in the mid 80’s and soon averaged between 78-82.  I hit the ball long and HIGH.  There were few par 5 holes in Colorado I could not reach in 2.  Granted the ball flies 10-20% farther there because of the mile high elevation, light air and low humidity.  When I moved to Florida, hitting par 5’s in 2 became much more of a challenge. 

Now I just photograph Golf - Boca Woods CC

High School Golf Team

I played golf on the High School golf team in Arvada Colorado.  I played number 3-6 on the team.  The number 1 player Joe Putnam ended up a professional.  I played many times in the SNOW, putting on snow mittens between shots, and when hitting an IRON having stung your hands so hard, you want to quit.  I was so cold, I could NOT zip my fly down to PEE.  OH caddy master, can you help?  He was such an A….. hole. I have to pee and my white golf ball cannot be found in the SNOW!

I wanted to be a golf pro my entire life

Photo taken during in my IbKul shirt

While playing on the team I had the opportunity to play some of the greatest courses in Colorado including the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Cherry Hills CC where the US Open was played, Hiwan country club where the Colorado Open was played, etc.  I was a self taught player, with NO lessons or tutelage.  I am a natural “hands-eye” coordinated athlete.  We could NOT afford lessons, but I look back at those years and should have really pushed it.  I had a dream for many years even into my early 50’s I wanted to become a professional golfer.  To this day I still have dreams and nightmares about it.  Over the years I have won many local golf tournaments in Florida, from multiple club championships to local events.  My average handicap as an adult was about a 8-10.  I just happened to get lucky at tournament time. The better players played flat, and somehow I brought my A game.  I stopped playing golf years ago for multiple reasons which I have discussed in previous blogs.

Palm Beach Par 3 with Ryan - Thanks Alice for a great day!

Golf Stories

Are you ready for some GOLF stories?  The real reason I decided to write this blog?  I mentioned that competition sometimes brings out the worst of us.  I have seen it in golf an tennis nearly all my life.

A story of fisticuffs you will not believe

These stories are TRUE, and I will NOT disclose names, venues, etc to protect the abusers. If you play golf you understand, on the first tee the players (foursome) determine and agree on the bets and or teams for the day.  On one early weekend day in South Florida, we agree on the bet and the teams.  I remember the BET, it was nearly nothing.  TEAMS, low net balls, .25 a bet which of course can be “pushed or doubled.”  I can afford those terms.  We have 2 riding carts for the 4 of us.  Note: I never ridden a golf cart ever until I moved to Florida.  Could not afford it and I preferred to walk.  I was always jealous of the SNOBS who could afford a golf cart.

Ok, here we all are on the green.  We have marked our balls and the further from the pin puts his ball to the hole.  His put ended up “in the leather”, he stroked it with one hand and missed the put.  He said, that was a gimme, it was in the leather.  This player was my partner.  One of the other players said, “that is NOT good, thats a 5”.  Now the two players were 2-3 feet apart.  They both dropped their putters.  Words were said, and it got HOT real fast.  My partner in his early 60’s was firm on his “its good” stance.  I thought they were going to start shoving each other right there.  NOPE,  the younger player (mid 30’s and a real athlete), put up his fist and cold cocked my partner with his fist straight on to his jaw.  He went down with a thud.  To this day I can remember the ground actually shook.  He lay flat on the ground in the middle of the green.  He did not even seem to be breathing.  The 3 of us came to his rescue and tried to assess the situation.  It seems my partner was out like a light, maybe even dead, for about 1 minute.  I was in total shock.  All this for a quarter.  Are you kidding me?  Finally a breath of life came and we awkwardly drove our carts back to the clubhouse.  I don’t know how I had the assailant now in my cart while we were heading back to the clubhouse.  I was in a fog driving the cart, and remember the slugger trying to justify or explain to me what and why he had done it. I wouldn’t dare say a word or he would have cold cocked me!

From what I understand, Mike Tyson was never brought to court.  I never ever ever played golf or tennis with either of these individuals again.

At least we got 2.5 holes of golf in. I wouldn’t dare ask fore a refund.

Me and my son Ryan at Palm Beach Par 3 - notice the IBKul shirts?

Golf story #2: Another TRUE story

Hole in 1 in 3

During a tournament at Don Shulas where I belonged to I teed up my pitching wedge on a par 3 on their front 9 and proceeded to hit it in the lake in front of the green. I then teed up another ball, lying 3 on the tee and hit the ball in the hole. Observers in the tournament thought I had a hole in one. Did I win a car? This was worse than kissing your sister. What a 3?

Heron Bay hole in one

I played for years with the same foursome, executives from Interactive Response Technologies.  We had our normal bet going.  With irons in hand, walking up to the 11th hole at Heron Bay, someone else in the group said, “how about $10 for closest to the pin.”  We all agreed.  I then said, “How about $100 for a hole in one.”  Of course everyone chimed in and said yes.  I believe I was 3rd up having lost the previous hole.  I pulled out my stiff shaft PING 8 iron (I gave up on my blade Hogan Irons), with a scuffed up Titleist teed up just perfect.  The flag was tucked behind the front trap so the bottom of the hole could not be seen from the tee box.  Off my 8 iron went, pure and perfect.  It looks good, but is it close enough for me to win the $10?  Out of the carts we went and we could not find my Titleist 1.  I went to the flag and looked down the the hole.  There it was…. Titleist 1.  All players payed up and of course I bought a plaque and bought a round of beer for the group.  No fisticuffs here.  No one ever dropped their putters in this group.  We were civilized.

Let’s get personal…..

Most everyone who knows me seldom if ever hear a 4 letter word come out of my mouth.  If I cursed at home in Colorado, my mom would wash my mouth out with soap.  Golf, did bring out the worst of me.  There were occasions I cursed more than my father, a World War II vet who could cuss up a storm.  I would scream out words on the golf course I would not even think of in my normal life.  This is all embarrassing to say but true.  Golf is NOT a game of perfect, yet Tom is a perfectionist.  Sort of a problem when I duck hook it out of bounds, or shank my Titleist 1 in the water.  I seldom even think a cuss word when I play tennis even to this day.

Golf Story #3: 74 year old golfer shoots man and beats HIM with a golf club

Very close to where I live in Delray Beach Florida a 74 year old golfer shot a man and beat him with his golf club for walking a dog on the golf course. This man is under arrest for attempted first-degree murder. Here is the article in Golf Digest:

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/delray-beach-golf-course-shooting-dog-florida-man

Tennis

Babolat man

at Valencia Bay

Now its time for my tennis resume.  I started playing tennis in High School at the same time I was playing golf.  I would occasionally play a few players on the high school tennis team and could easily compete even in those earlier years.  I played tennis as much as I could while serving a mission for the Mormon church.  Let’s call it proselytizing the tennis gods.  I took a tennis class in college (BYU) and my teacher immediately said, can you please teach this class, so I did.  Tennis was and is a much easier game for me to be consistent and know what I am going to bring to the table next time I play.  Golf was never that way.  One day I could shoot 76 and the next day 90.  I hated that!

My tour on the semi, semi, semi pro South Florida circuit

Babolat man - watch out Rafa Nadal

I have played tennis at the following clubs in South Florida: Miami Lakes Country Club (now called Shulas Country Club) and Coral Springs Tennis.  I was a “paying member” at these clubs and played for years.  I also played as a non member for a number of years at: Hawks Landing, Heron Bay, and now at Valencia Bay in Boynton Beach.  In my 40’s and 50’s I played singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. 

Sexy tennis photos - forgive me

My tennis injuries and surgeries

I was and am an orthopedic dream. They are all wishing I play tennis until I am 6’ under. After 2 knee surgeries including ACL replacement, elbow surgery and torn rotator cuff I have pretty much stuck to playing doubles.  I have won many tournaments and club championships and most every venue I played at.  Starting at level 3.5, then 4.0 and finished at 4.5.  When I was at my best I would win most all matches at 4.0. At 4.5 I would be pressed to win half my matches.

Old man super duper league

Always ride my motorcycle to my tennis matches

I was just asked to play in an upper level seniors league on Tuesdays at Valencia Bay playing teams from Palm Beach County.  Requirement: over 55.  I am 67, I qualify!  I am assuming there will be some 3.5 players, most 4.0 players and a scattering of 4.5 players.  Hey, we are all old and we just think those are our numbers lol. Actually they only used to be our numbers in our prime…

Throw those trophies out

When I realized no one cared about my 2 big boxes of tennis and trophy ribbons from club championships to longest drive, to hole in ones, I carried the whole box to a dumpster and gave it a good toss.  I probably did this in disgust from my pitiful golf game.

Delray OPEN tennis tournament 2022

A short story:

One of my unnamed partners, a VERY good player had a very hot temper.  Often times during our matches he had words with our opponents.  On 2 occasions those words ended up in dropping of the rackets and chest to chest name calling, with fists knuckled up.  As his partner, I was so embarrassed.  Non cussing Tom who only heard the word “FLIPPING” from missionaries on a mission.  I guess that was their way of pretending to say …..ING.

An observation:

I have caddied at a high level for women’s golf, and observed men and women’s tennis on a USTA league tennis level. I am amazed how “competitive” the women are.  They take their game, the rules and the whole experience at a level much higher than what I have observed on the men’s side.  I am sure they have their way of chest to chest, fisticuffs and cursing.

Womens tennis league. OHH are they competitive!

When I played USTA tennis, I observed how different my partners and teammates would be and how competition drives many to call out balls in and in balls out.  Unfortunately I was there long ago.  Years ago during a 3.5 singles match in Miami Lakes, my opponent called a ball that was 6 inches in the court out.  I said, “what did you say”.  “Out” he said.  “Really?”  Your kidding right?  He said no.  So on the next point he hit a ball on my side of the court, and I called a ball that was 2 feet in out….. “OUT”.  “How does that feel?” I said.

Bryan Brothers

Tom at Valencia Bay

Alice with my new Babolat

Son Ryan with me on courts

Gabriella Bongiovanni Tennis Pro

Jeff Bingo Tennis Pro at Delray Tennis Center

In conclusion - what is the lesson here:

So what is the point here?  The point is, competition can and does bring out the best and the worst of us all.  One of my greatest attributes: “competitive”.  One of my worst attributes: “competitive”.

Maybe we can all just have fun and get along.  Maybe twenty five cents is NOT worth decking your opponent for a “in the leather miss.”  Maybe we can call “marginal out” balls IN.  I believe anyone who plays tennis with me sees me as that person. Let’s leave our guns at home and NOT shoot a passer by walking his dog!

Remember, its just a game!  My gaggle of golf and tennis trophies now mean nothing to me.

Did you ever wonder why Tennis players don’t bet on their game like golfers do? What is your tennis handicap? Lets do this!

Note: I welcome competitive sports enthusiasts to share their own experiences in the comments below! Come on, be brave!

Anatomy of a Facelift from a mans perspective

This blog will not only cover the events and process of getting a facelift but I cannot help but interject some of my humor and personality into the process.

Let me say this straight away, Alice’s choice to get a facelift was entirely her choice with no nudging or encouragement from this tennis playing photographer.  I have however, been 100 percent supportive of her decision to do it.

Disclaimer

If you are considering a facelift or any of the procedures defined herein, I highly recommend you discuss this many times with your doctors and friends.  NOTE: I am NOT a doctor, I am not even a professional writer.  I am a professional photographer.   Any medical information found here must be taken with that in mind.  GO TO YOUR DOCTOR and do your own research!  This document is my experience and my point of view. If you want an expert on F-stops and shutter speed, talk to me!

Alice’s Self Maintenance

We have been together for 2.5+ years now, spending nearly every hour of every day together, supporting each other in everything we both do and love. From moment one I found myself with a wonderful person who is totally into what she calls MAINTENANCE.  Maintenance from hair cuts, manicures and pedicures, facials, massages, acupuncture, waxes, botox and now even multiple visits to the Palates parlor to stretch, bend, lengthen and well, just feel good.  She has also been to her very good friend and plastic surgeon Dr Sassani multiple times with various beautification procedures done to her face.

Just in case you wondered how Alice looked a few weeks back. No surgery required lol. Dr photoshop was involved.

Dr Sassani

Alice originally met Dr Sassani when he performed her breast surgery after her survival from breast cancer more than 14 years ago.  They have been great friends ever since.  He is a great man, very talented and I immediately trusted him when I met him.  During one of her recent visits to Dr. Sassani, he had mentioned to Alice that “its time” Alice.  I am sure she had discussed face lifts with him many times in the past.

If you want to schedule a visit with Dr Sassani, click the following link:

Dr Russel Sassani

Knowing Alice, she had been reserving funds in a separate bucket for this procedure for a number of years now.  She is a planner.

Lets meet with the doctor to get all the details

On the 26th of October of this year we met with Dr Sassani to discuss the surgery and the process.  We were both convinced we are a GO.  So what did this mean?  It meant a totally NEW diet void of many things she likes, and unfortunately it means void of things I like as well.  The two weeks prior to her surgery she had to maintain a strict diet:  off all vitamins, NO alcohol, no tomatoes, no salt, and the list goes on.  No wonder I am now 85 pounds soaking wet!

Her surgery was scheduled for Wednesday November 2nd with another pre-operation meet on Halloween.  So what was on the agenda?

• Neck Lift (Platsmasplasty). I think this was one of the key areas Alice wanted to improve

• Brow Lift Surgery

• Blehparoplasty Survey: to remove excess skin from both upper and lower eyelids

• Laser Resurfacing: a rejuvenation procedure that uses a laser to improve the skins appearance or treat minor facial flaws.

Alice’s original theory was to to do the lower half first, and come back and get the other half done.  Based on her conversations with many friends who have been through this she along with the Doctors advice decided to do it all at once.  Only one time under anesthesia, etc. etc.

We checked into a hotel near the doctor surgical center the night before the surgery so we could arrive quickly after the surgery and the drive back in the morning after the surgery would be just a few minutes.

Lets take a look at a few photos I took of Alice a few days before her surgery:

Alice just a few days before her surgery

No doctor photoshop

Surgery Day: Wednesday November 2nd.

7:30 am: Arrival at the doctors surgical center in …. Pajamas.

Lets go do this thing

Knock Knock, Paging Dr S.

8:30 am or so: Dr. Sassani arrives and preps her for the operation including some lovely little rubber band pony tails.  He also marked up her face with a pencil so he can know where to work, cut or say a prayer.

Time to mark your face up

Got to love those pony tails. Dr S didn’t realize how blessed Alice is with all that hair

9:00 am or so: I left the surgical center as she was clearly going to be wheeled into surgery.

Tom off to the Harley Davidson dealership

We forgot to pack any shirts for me so I headed from the surgical center to the Harley Davidson store to buy a shirt or two. What a great excuse to visit my favorite store. Here I am sitting on a beautiful new ORANGE Harley CVO. I did get my shirt! I will just dream about this bike…. Oh Santa?

I just couldn't resist

Alices LONG 8+ hour surgery

I checked in multiple times to find out the status of my beautiful little blonde.  All going as to schedule.  HUMM, I thought the operation would end around 2:30 pm.  Was told by the surgical center that was an error and her surgery would last until at least 5:30 pm.

6:00 pm or so I arrived as Alice was just waking up from anesthesia still wearing those sexy pajamas.  I was informed she had a few issues in the operation, one being her left arm was sore from the position it was in under anesthesia and the other being she had problems being incubated due to her “deviated” or misaligned esophagus with her wind pipe.  She was warned she would have a sore throat. Alice was unaware after many previous incubations that she had this issue with her throat. We will drill down on this later!

Right after surgery, waking up

In my PJ's, still groggy

Released from the Surgical center

7:30 pm or so we finally left the doctors surgical center toting a wheelchair to use at the hotel. I have to admit this was very hard for me to see.

Here are a few photos of our first night.

How about some Peas?

Cold gauze, NICE

Did I tell you I am an RN….. Retired NERD

I earned my nerd degree from a lifetime of computer programming and using a slide rule as a calculator in high school!

Nurse TOM about got fired

Our first small disaster was when we could NOT find the CREAM for her face, WOOPS we left it at home.  No problem I said, “lets try this other cream.,,,”  “STOP, STOP,” tears flowing down her face.  “That burns, TAKE IT OFF!”  I still feel bad for doing this!  Well, I just put a very small portion on her sunburned face.  Now off to find the correct ointment: AQUAPHOR.  Found it at PUBLIX.  Now a night time of frozen peas and ointment applications.  Poor girl, I felt so bad for her.  She was clearly miserable in in pain.  Her swollen eyes, and sunburned cheeks were the main mystery points.  The “FACE LIFT” portions were not really even felt or discussed.

Night 1: in my opinion was very difficult and I wish I could have done MORE to make Alice comfortable.  How about another frozen bag of peas on those eyes!

We had scheduled a 11:00 am follow up at the doctors surgical center.  All went well and the doctor was pleased with Alice’s status.  We checked out of the HOTEL and NO I did NOT ride her back on the orange Harley Davidson CVO only because I was wearing my sandals.

Oh did I tell you, NO CHEWING allowed. In addition to a very limited choice of food items no chewing was allowed and no straws either.  FUN FUN.  I can’t wait to get my face lift. No food, no achohol, no sex, no fun!

Lets get Alice home and in Bed

45 degree Pillow, only allowed to sleep on your back for 2 weeks following surgery! NOOOO!

Day 2 Friday november 4th

Now it is definitely time for me to put on my A Game.  I have acquired many tiles in the past few days: Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, Chef Tom, Nurse Tom, Dishwasher MAN, PEA BAG man, Uber driver, Driving Miss Daisy, Personal Care provider, Laundry man, wash the blood out of your hair man and many others.  I have certainly tried my hardest to fulfill all these titles and others to the best of my abilities.

Heart rate escalates, scare #1

Friday morning was a beautiful sunrise. Cool and no sun out yet.   Let’s go of a walk around the block and work a little of this anesthesia out of the system. The walk was less than 1/4 of a mile, about 1 time around a 440 track.  Alice walked briskly with a smile on her face. All was good.  Alice picked up something off the floor at the house, bending over,  A BIG Mistake.  Her heart started racing and her Apple Watch showed heart rates of 150-160+ and would occasionally show 100 or so.  I put her right to bed to settle her down.  I immediately called the doctor and discussed the situation and the thoughts were that perhaps she had a reaction to her antibiotics.  Off to Walgreens to get a different antibiotic perspiration.  We of course had hoped this was the solution.

Day 3 - Saturday November 5th

Sunrise, no sun out, feeling good, let’s go for another walk around the block.  All was very good,  Alice’s pace was as fast as her pre-surgery pace.  Chef Tom fed her another great breakfast and we relaxed during the day.  How about a few more episodes of our new series OZARK.  We watched about 1.5 episodes all snuggled up on the couch.  While on the couch Alice said, “I feel like I am going to faint…”.  Her heart was racing again.  Thank goodness for the apple watch witch gave us details I could not even believe.  Again 160+ and once in a while, 100.  I thought her watch may have been broken.  After about 1 hour or so of this I decided we must take her to the hospital immediately.

Did I tell you the Apple Watch worked flawlessly telling us vital information about Alices heart? We have now configured the Electro Cardiogram application and practiced it for future use.

Come on, smile for the camera on this beautiful day! Day 2

Breakfast from the photographer

Home made beef veg soup

Delray Beach Medical Center Emergency room

Our drive to the Emergency room was less than 5 minutes from door to door.  I could walk there in less than 10 minutes.  Walked in the door, told them of her problem, they immediately took her vitals and I saw a panic look on his face.  She was immediately taken in for an EKG, blood work and further tests as I was asked to wait in the lobby.

In the lobby:

Over the intercom I hear: STAT Code blue in ROOM X, STAT Code blue in ROOM X.  My thoughts were racing that something real serous was happening to Alice.

Alice, are you OK?

Alice in the ER after her heart issues. Heart already calming down

A story I could not believe

As I sit in the lobby waiting for more information, an ER nurse met with a group of about 6-10 people right behind my head.  This is what I heard from the nurse: “the patient had parked her car while it was raining, got out of the car and realized it was rolling… She then decided to try to stop the car by getting behind it….. the car proceeded to roll over her with wheels going right over her torso.  Fireman and police had to dead lift the car to release her.”  My ears were on fire.  What?  How can this be?  “She should survive with multiple injures to her rib cage, face and others.”  I observed the family in shock. I hope the patient is OK and will recover fast!

A nurse came out in the lobby and said, “Alice Haigh…” I was then ushered into her ER room.  They put her on an IV with a prescribed DRIP to settle her heart down.  At about 10:30 pm we met with a doctor who described her situation and she would need to meet with a cardiologist.  11:30 pm: her heart rate had settled down quite a bit.  Now we are waiting for admittance to the hospital.  We had been told it could be many hours before she was admitted.  I decided she would get better rest if I went home, only 5 minutes away, almost like I was in the lobby of the ER.

Alices hospital food. YUK!

Day 4 - Sunday november 6th

8:30 am on Sunday, call from Alice: still in the ER.  “I am hungry, bring me some STEEL CUT oatmeal.” Absolutely within 15 minutes she had her oatmeal hand delivered to the ER.  At about 10:00 am or so she was admitted to the hospital with her own private room.  I called it the Honeymoon suite.

Day 4 - OUCH!

2:00 pm we met with the cardiologist and it seemed all was under control with the medication they had put her on.  Her heart rate was resting at 75-85 a very normal rate for her.

4:00 pm released from the hospital and the long 5 minute drive home.

I don’t think we will go for a walk tonight!

Day 5 - Monday November 7th

I played tennis in the morning with Alice at home taking care of her MUG.  In the afternoon we drove to the Doctor Sassan’s office/surgical center for a follow up visit.  “All is going ahead of schedule and you are looking great” says Dr. Nip and Tuck.  Are all Dr Nip Tucks this handsome?Nearly 1/2 of Alices stitches were removed on this visit.  Here is my estimate on stitch count: 50-65 staples behind her hair line and behind her ears, and another 200 or so stitches on chin, eyes, and other locations.  All the staples remained on and were not removed during this visit.

Stiches still in and OHH that sunburn hurts.

Day 6 - Tuesday November 8th

Pretty in pink, and I am talking about the shirt.

Let’s talk about the FOOD chef Tom…. Scottish Salmon based in garlic butter, capers, lemon and love. Served with a wedge of lettuce!

Chef Tom... Salmon

Day 7 - Wednesday and Hurricane Nicole

When we went to the gas station on Tuesday we were wondering why the station was so full of cars waiting in line for GAS. We were so pre-occupied with the surgery we were unaware our neighbors were preparing for another Hurricane. We got lots of rain and just a little wind. Alice called it a SNOW Day. So I made her home made home made spaghetti and meat balls.

Spaghetti and meat balls by Chef Thomas

Alice day 7 looking better

Day 8 - Thursday - More stiches removed

Dr Sassani and assistant removing staples and stitches.

Hurricane Nicole came and went with no damage to the house or neighborhood.  Off to Dr. Nip and Tuck for another follow up visit.  Anticipation of removing the stitches and staples was high because Alice has been complaining about how tight they felt.  During her visit, all staples and stitches were removed except for the “gully” behind her ear.  Gully, that is a technical term I leaned from the doctor.  I watched Alice squirm as the stitches and staples were removed.  “You did take some pain pills today…” says the doctor.  Alice… “NOPE I stopped taking those long ago.” I think she had wished she took some before the visit.

Thanks you Dr Ricky Schneider

A follow up call received today from my old friend and 20+ year tennis partner and cardiologist giving us good information about next steps for Alices heart fluttering. Thanks Ricky!

Day 8 after stitches removed

Alices First 2 weeks photos

Day 2

First Day after surgery

Day 2

First day after surgery

Day 2

Day 2

At home

Day 3

At home

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Day 7

Day 8

Day 8

Day 9

Pretty in Blue

Day 10

Day 10

Day 11

Day 11

Day 12

Day 12

Looking better Alice

A follow up blog will be written

I will be writing a follow up blog covering weeks 2-6 including photos, commentary and a touch of humor. If you like my blogs, please let me know, I work by encouraging remarks!

You can read ALL my blogs in reverse order by clicking the link on the bottom of each blog which will provides the previous blogs link. You may be surprised to find out what my most popular blogs are…… “Pompey a city of sin…” is an example.

Stay tuned.

Biketoberfest or Bust

Biketoberfest 2022 on Main Street. Photography by: Thomas Schmuki

My a few years back on one of my favorite Harleys… a 2003 100 Year Anniversary Heritage Softail.

About the event

Biketoberfest is an annual event held in Dayton for motorcycle enthusiasts.  This year was the 82nd Annual event held in Daytona. Motorcyclists come from all over the world.  Some drive their bikes from California, Canada, etc.  Others have their bike either shipped or towed there on motorcycle on a trailer.  How many bikers attended Biketoberfest 2022?  The estimated count is over 125,000 leather clad, tattooed throttle twisters.

Biketoberfest is held in October for all the German Beer drinking HOGS and is smaller than Daytona Bike Week which is held in March.  Biketoberfest is smaller in scale and attendance than Bike week in almost every category.  That is probably why I prefer Biketoberfest over Bike Week.

Biker festivals are filled with vendors selling leathers of every kind, bars and bands, but mostly it seems the main event is just people watching.  Take a cruise on main street.  This seems to be the main attraction.  Just before going home we cruised main street twice with GoPro in hand or on helmet.  Main Street during bikers festivals are filled with vendors, bars and biker centric clothing stores like: Harley Davidson clothing, “Biker Chick”, etc.

My history with the event

I have lived in Florida now for well over 35 years and have been riding BIG Bikes in Florida nearly all that time.  I have mostly ridden Honda Gold Wings and Harley Davidson motorcycles.  I would guess I have attended approximately 10 or so Biketoberfest rallies in the past 35 years.  I attended a few of them with my son Eric and many of them I attended alone and met up with my very good friend Craig Bachelor. I normally stay one or two nights and then ride back to South Florida.

The ride

The ride is long but not too long.  I-95 is filled with biker enthusiasts all packed up headed north for the festivities, the beer, and the crazy people.  Our ride north to Daytona was delayed half way through by a strong rain storm.  This may have been Alices first ride in the hard rain.  “Welcome to biking Miss Alice…”. She took it with a smile.  We found a bridge with dozens of other bikers to hang out while the storm passed.

I normally ride my bikes on the highway on cruise control.  This allows me to loosely grip the handle bars and enjoy the ride.  Frankly I am nearly as comfortable riding on the Harley as riding in a car.  Lets face it even in a car after 100-200 miles you are ready to get out and stretch your legs.

I purchased a comfy seat and larger/taller windshield so Alice could be more comfortable riding as a passenger. She has a great big wind breaker in front of her….. BIG old TOM.  This may be why most motorcycle riders are FAT, to break the wind for their riding partner.

My Harley - Road Glide slices through the wind with ease.  The BAD: terrible sound system which cannot be heard at all past 45 MPH.  Maybe I will upgrade this!  I get about 180-210 miles on each fill up.  Just enough to have to get gas one time along the 250 mile one way trip from Delray Beach to Daytona.

For a fun less than 2 minute video on our ride to Daytona, click the following link:

Video on our Ride from Delray Beach to Daytona

The riders by category

Alice was quick to notice the different categories of bikers on our short trip to Daytona.  Of course I was aware of these categories, but she brought them to my attention again.

Let's face it a motorcycle is a BIG Toy.  Motorcycle salesman know this when you walk in the door.  Some riders use their BIKE as their only mode of transportation, but most don’t.  Now lets not be offended by my categories:

The crotch racketeers

Photographic art by: Thomas Schmuki

These are the motorcyclists that have and ride motorcycles built for racing.  I had a Honda CBR 954 RR.  What does the RR mean?  “Race Ready”.  My RR was specked out at 180 MPH.  I think it went 0-60 in first gear in literally a breath or 2.  These bikes are FAST, ATHLETIC, and a major rush to ride.  They are NOT comfortable.  My knees hurt mostly on this platform.  My RR may have been one of my favorite bikes to ride of all time.  After 1.5 hours of riding my body said,  “GIVE ME A REST.”  How fast did I go on my 954?  NOT TELLING!  Let’s put it this way, at about 100 MPGH the bike is just PURRING along in its comfort zone.

Who rides the crotch rockets, rice burners racing bikes anyway?  Mostly younger, athletic, young men and some young women.  The bodies are toned and often times they look like they just left a body builder contest.  Lots of biker babes wearing swim suits.

The more ERGONOMIC the bike the more comfortable the riding position is and the older the riders are…

A beautiful white Ducati parked in front of our hotel. Santa oh Santa?

The I have arrived riders who love to show off their new toy

It seems to me although I have not done an official survey the predominant of current motorcycle riders, mostly HARLEY DAVIDSON riders are 40+ years old, have already formed a BEER gut, wear expensive jewelry and their bike is truly just a TOY.  Some of these riders are seriously great riders but many of them scare me the most.  Honey, lets go buy a Harley….  It will be our first bike ever, isn’t that cool?  A standard Harley Ultra Classic motorcycle is 877 pounds, dry with no luggage or gasoline.  Add gas, luggage, 2 200+ pound adults and this successful business person is balancing 1,300+ pounds of weight.  This of course is a recipe for disaster.

Perhaps I fit somewhere in this category.

Did I mention the expensive cigars in this category?

The … I spend every penny on my bike so it it is the coolest bike in town category

I am trying not to be judgmental here, and in many cases I may be wrong.  I have read “The Millionaire next door” book and understand you should not judge a book by its cover.  To spend 50-$100,000 on a tricked up custom bike to show off on your ride down main street in Daytona. On the ride home these bikers may be wonder where their next mortgage payment will come from or worse yet where to park their bike in front of their custom trailer.

The … I have a long grey beard, never to have been washed category

This is my favorite category to photograph.  You can see the miles on their face.  They don’t care about having the coolest or fastest bike in town, they are just grateful to have 2 wheels on the ground and cannot wait to park their bike at their favorite bikers bar, down a few beers and smoke a cheap cigar. These bikers have stories. Some are IRON BUTT riders with verified hundreds of thousands of miles on their derrière.

The ultimate customized old school motorcycle.

Main Street

One Sexy Biker Chick. Leathers anyone?

Main Street during Biketoberfest transitions to a motorcycle only road. Every biker has the opportunity to wait in line, in the HOT sun and ride 5 MPG down Main Street so other bikers can gawk at us and take our photos. Here are some samples of my Main Street photography:

Main Street during Biketoberfest 2022

The Bikes

One of the main reasons to attend bike week aside from the incredible people watching opportunities is to see the unlimited variations of motorcycles, none of which seems to be the same.  Bikes as old as World War II and as new as right off Harley Davidson’s headquarters in Milwaukee, WI.  To customize a motorcycle is to make it your own.  Standard additions or changes include PIPES because you better have the loudest coolest sound around.  Chrome everywhere, custom seats, custom colors.  How about a HORN that will honk as loud as a train?  Let’s add some power by changing engine parts, custom carburetors and breathers and pipes.  And don’t forget you MUST have the LOUDEST and coolest sound system so your neighbors can hear your ROCK and ROLL.  Alice reminded me to add: how about the custom Alligator seats?

Photographic art of Main Street - Daytona by Thomas Schmuki

I think Alice was much more intrigued by the bikes than the people.  Perhaps I have been a bit numbed by it over the years.

The biker bar ladies

Included here are a few samples of the bar tenders and servers at various bars and Venus at Biketoberfest 2022.  The theme seems to be: swim suits, tattoos, lots of skin, and a “tip for a photo.”  I wonder where these girls are recruited from?

A night out with my good friends Craig and Penelope

I have a few true friends and Craig B, you are one of those and have been so for well over 20 years now.  Craig was a reseller for storage technology when I met him.  We soon became friends and have met many times at Biketoberfest.  Alice and I also visited them at one of their homes in Saint Pete Beach just this year.

Craig is a true character.  A collegiate and Olympic level boxer.  I am glad to have him in my corner in case anyone wants to duke it out with me.

We had a great evening at Hyde Park in Daytona.  Perhaps the best steak I have ever had in my life.  Here is a photo of Craig’s “gitty up”.  They told us we had to eat outside because of his sleeveless attire.  He had fun talking to the manager telling her that it is OK for the women to be sleeveless but not a man?  Sort of a double standard don’t you think? Well, that is Craig.

Craig survived a terrible motorcycle accident years ago and chose not to inform me about it until years after it happened.  The police declared him “dead” on the scene, but somehow he survived.  A crazy driver hit Craig from behind while he was sitting still at a stop light.  Glad you are still here with us Craig!

My biker chick: Alice

What is my favorite Bike Rally

I have been to Biketoberfest maybe 10 times or so, Bike week about 3 times, Leesburg bike week.  I have not yet attended Sturgis which is most definitely on my bucket list.  Alice, are you listening?

My favorite festival so far was Leesburg.  My favorite time…. With Alice at Biketoberfest 2022.  Who would have thought you would even think about riding motorcycles and hanging out with a photographer 3 years ago.  I am so grateful.

Birthday celebration in Las Vegas

My 3rd birthday with Alice

The Las Vegas celebration is my 3rd birthday with Alice.  I will include photos from my first two birthdays here

My first year with Alice we went to the Capital Grill in Boca Raton

Capital Grill Boca Raton September 2020

Year 2 we went golfing and also went to Capital Grill with Ryan

Tom and Ryan at Palm Beach Par 3

Always a great time with Ailce

Year 3 with Alice — Sin city (vegas baby) - the rest of this blog!

Flight from Fort Lauderdale to Las Vegas

Unfortunately we could not find a NON stop flight from any of our airports to Las Vegas.  The actual time from boarding our first plane in Lauderdale to exiting our plane in Vegas, we could have almost flown to Europe ha ha.  I think the last time I was in Las Vegas was at least 20 years ago. 

Alice pre booked 2 Vegas shows as well as an all day trip to the Upper Antelope Canyon in Arizona as well as the Grand Canyon prior to our flight.

Day trip cancelled

We got up at 4:00 am, departed to Arizona about 5:00 am, and about 1.5 hours into the trip our driver turned us around to go back to Vegas because the Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon were shutdown due to flooding. I was so excited to get some fantastic photos in Antelope Canyon, Horseshoe bend and the Grand Canyon. I guess we will have to go back…

The food in Vegas

We knew ahead of time that some of the best food, chefs and restaurants are in Las Vegas.  Every one knows how much we like good food.

Some of the restaurants we ate at include:

Emeril’s

- an underwhelming experience although we ate lunch there and did not have access to the dinner menu.

Dinner at steak house “Tom Colicchio’s craft steak”.  This meal was fantastic

Birthday Dinner at Morimoto’s -

Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto has created a bridge between the culinary traditions of his native Japan and the American palate, bringing intense excitement, exquisite technique, and perfectly balanced flavors to countless diners throughout the world. He has garnered critical and popular acclaim for his seamless integration of Western and Japanese ingredients and has effectively created a signature style that positions him as one of today’s foremost chefs.

Chef Morimoto first competed on Japanese television show Iron Chef in 1998 and then became one of the stars of Food Network’s Iron Chef America in 1999. As an Iron Chef, Morimoto was able to showcase his flawless technique and creativity with unique ingredients in front of millions of Americans. Chef Morimoto returns to the Iron Chef challenge in the spring of 2017 with Iron Chef Gauntlet.

This was my favorite restaurant on our trip and maybe my favorite of all time. Wow, just WOW!

Dinner at Lago - in the Bellagio Hotel

James Beard Award-winning chef Julian Serrano sets the evening in motion with his stunning interpretation of innovative Italian small plates, each packed with distinct flavors from all the regions of Italy .

How can you go wrong with the waterfalls of the Bellagio going off every 15 minutes behind you?

Dinner at Wolfgang Pucks  at the MGM Grand Hotel

Boxing hype and face of canelo vs GGG III

For all those boxing fans (I am not one of them), they had a big fight in town with a FACE off I actually photographed.

Canela Alvarez

Santos Saúl Álvarez Barragán, popularly known as Canelo Álvarez or Saúl Álvarez, is a Mexican professional boxer. He has won multiple world championships in four weight classes from light middleweight to light heavyweight, including unified titles in three of those weight classes and lineal titles in two.

The face off was filled with less than 5’ tall women screaming at the top of their lungs. “Ay ya ya Yai”. How about a taco? I hear the fight was a snooze fest and not worthy of the hype. Interested in seeing a 40 year old box? And the winner is…… I just don’t know.

The shows in Vegas

Rouge - Las Vegas The STRAT Hotel

A sexpertise adventure filled with acrobats, aerialists, dancers, contortionists, comedians, hand balancers and more from a provocative cast of 18 women and men ready to stimulate your senses. The last 5 minutes of the show they allowed us to take photos and videos. You can see my videos on my Day 1 video attached at the bottom.

Such an impressive show, the entertainers were talented, athletic, fun, in shape. The whole package. I was so glad we were allowed to photograph the end of the show. Highly recommended!

X Burlesque - Flamingo Hotel

X Burlesque brings adult fantasies to the stage in a bubbly production show led by a troupe of gorgeous dancers. Running as the city's hottest topless revue for more than a decade, the X Burlesque beauties bare their assets all while playfully interacting with the audience. No photography allowed during the show.

This was a much smaller show than the first one with 6 show girls, a fabulous comedian and a much smaller venue. We sat right up front and had such a great time. Again we were so impressed by the hard work these girls put in every night! Highly recommended and totally different than the first show.

Fantasy - Luxor Hotel

Fantasy, a dynamic topless revue, showcases the Strip's sexiest dancers flaunting your wildest fantasies. 

Heating up the intimate Luxor Theater, the women of Fantasy almost bare it all in a variety of sultry costumes throughout the high-energy dance numbers. However, while the costumes play a big role in bringing sinful scenes such as sexy schoolgirls, rowdy cowgirls, and spicy Latin dancers to life, it's when the costumes hit the floor that jaws really drop to the same level. With the majority of the show's soundtrack sang live by Fantasy host, Lorena Peril, each of the 15 powerhouse acts are filled with undeniable talent at every level.

This show again was totally different than the first few shows we saw. There were 8 show girls, a fantastic singer ala Christine Agulera, a comedian/magic act and a much larger stage and venue. The show was packed. Very entertaining and fun. So glad was went.

What it takes to be a showgirl in vegas

If your resume stops at cute, sexy and modelesque, you will NEVER make it in any of the major shows in Vegas. You need talent, athleticism, you must be limber and almost double jointed, you must be able to dance and choreograph. Did I say you have to work 5-7 nights a week? These girls take their work seriously and we were so impressed with their professionalism and talent.

What we did NOT see in any of the shows

Not to be found: butt lifts, boob jobs and overdone lip surgery. These girls were mostly all natural. Good for you. Take a trip to Miami and your experience may be slightly different…

The Vegas Strip

The Vegas strip is a 4.225 mile road at the heart of Vegas running North and South.

In 1941 the El Rancho Vegas resort opened on a section of U.S. 91 just outside the city's jurisdiction. Other hotel-casinos soon followed, and the section of highway became known as “the Strip.” Most were built around the regional or Old West themes that were popular on Fremont Street.

We walked the strip many times during the heat of the day, at sunrise, at sunset and late in the evenings.  Many days we walked 6-10 miles mostly on the strip.  During the day Vegas was HOT HOT HOT, and I am not talking about the show girls.

Caesers Palace, Las Vegas

Danger on the strip

It seems the middle section of the strip is much more sleazy and dangerous than the rest of the strip.  It also seems to us the nicest part of the strip was the Northern section near the Wynn Hotel, one of the fanciest places I have ever been.

The architecture on the strip is phenomenal.

The wannabe show girls on the street

Adorned by the feathers and outfits of show girls on the strip, they travel by foot 2 by 2 soliciting the tourists to take a photo of them.  Alice had already warned me about their game as she heard from one of her friends.  We were approached many times by the feathered clad young ladies soliciting us to take their photos.  We were approached by two girls in front of the Bellagio, the first I had seen I was interested in photographing.  I told them I would give them $20 each for a photograph. “That is an insult, we ask for a minimum of $100 each per photograph.”  I smiled and walked away knowing there would be very few willing to take them up on this offer.

On the day before we left, we were approached by two feathered women.  I had already discussed my strategy with Alice.  I handed Alice my camera and posed for the photos. “Only 2 photos are allowed says the brunette.”  Alice was struggling with the camera settings.  After helping her with the correct focus mode, she clicked away.  Following the photos we were then asked for a TIP.  I handed them $40, and said thank you very much.  “But Sir, we have an agent we have to pay half to him….”  Note: you can see many shows in Vegas with dozens of real Vegas showgirls for $50-100 per ticket.

My fine feathered friends in Las Vegas - photo by Alice

Now….. where is my $100?

Here are links to all the videos I created, 1 for each night and an final video as well.

Birthday Celebration Day 1

Birthday Celebration Day 2

Birthday Celebration Day 2

Birthday Celebration Day 3

birthday celebration day 4

Las Vegas Final

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas except when transparent Tom is around. Thanks Alice for a birthday of a lifetime!

Pompeii the city of Sin?

Statue of Daedalus on the cities north side

Our vacation of a lifetime is now more than a month in the past and there was so much to see, so much to take in, so much to document, so many photos to edit, and now it is time to write my next and not final blog on our trip to Italy.

Warning: This BLOG contains some explicit sexual content. I am only attempting to document history!

Let me say right at the forefront, I knew nothing about Pompeii before our visit there and the few things I read about prior to this most incredible day.  I don’t want to pretend to be a historian, an expert nor am I even a great writer.  I write with my heart and my soul and leave it all on the table.  You can agree or disagree with my thoughts and conclusions, and that’s totally OK with me.  Perhaps that is why some people enjoy reading my blogs.

Our ride to Pompeii from Amalfi

Our trip to Pompeii started with a personal driver from our villa up the 250 steps in Amalfi.  The personal drivers in Pompeii never cease to amaze me.  The drive was hazardous, treacherous, beautiful and even made me a bit “motion sick…”. The drive seems to take about 1.5 or more hours.  Our driver stayed with us the entire day and took us home to the “stairs from hell” at the end.

Driver: Aut Matteo from Scialone Limo Service (Sorranto)

Pompeii has changed

Alice had already been to Pompeii Italy before and certainly had expectations of what to see, what was there, etc. Alice was certainly discouraged by many of the artifacts that have been moved to museums in Naples as well as the barrier to get into the colosseum.  For me, I was in AWE and wonderment.  Such an amazing place.  I wish there were NOT so many people there.  I was told they put NO limit on the amount of visitors during the day since the opening after COVID shutdown.  All the workers especially the tour guides were happy to be back to work.

All the above artifacts were at the entrance when Alice visited last previously are now in a museum in Naples

What was life like in Pompeii?

Shops were open, markets were ready, farmers were in the fields. Everyone was performing his/her personal job. Streets were crowded, market was full of life, sellers sold and citizens bought what they needed. In the forum people walked, talked, discussed about problems of the town.

Pompeii Italy was a city like many Roman towns in the area.  On August 24, 79 the city was about their normal hustle and bustle with children in the street, businessmen doing their thing, and bathers taking baths in the public bath houses.

The outer walls of the city -- Pompeii

The Forum

Business and living areas of Pompeii

The streets of Pompeii

Lined with huge paving stones and gutters for water runoff

Streets of Pompeii

Just after a rain shower

Courtyard

A garden including flowers and vegetables

Mt Vesuvius Volcanic irruption

Mt (Mount) Vesuvius a volcanic mountain towing above the city frequently had tremors.  This day in August will be their last.  A cloud shaped pillar rose in the sky.  Volcanic ash rain down hard and fast.  Thick ash clogged every ones nose and eyes.  Sixteen inches of pumice had fallen to the ground.  Only a few survived to tell the story.  Four days later, the pumice piled up to 8 feet deep.  One last time Mt. Vesuvius surged again with poisoned gas, ash and rock as it raced down the mountains.  This BIG city of Pompeii no longer exists.  Over 20,000 people had quickly died a very painful death only to be discovered nearly 1700 years later.

Ash hardened to form a mold around the person or animal that died. Of the 1,150 bodies recovered by archaeologists at Pompeii, 394 were killed by falling pumice and the debris of collapsing buildings.

This 2,000 year old ‘masturbating’ Pompeii man is going viral

The archeologic discovery of all time

The first discovery of the site was around 1710 when a farmer was digging a well on the slops of Mt. Vesuvius. The first official excavation was in 1860 by an archaeologist name Giuseppe Fiorelli. No question, this is this most incredible archeological find ever.  Even to this day, the day we were there, they are still carefully digging and finding new and exciting relics.

Pompeii Amphitheater

Dated 70 BC presumed to be the first arena build buy the Romans 20,000 spectators could fit (the total population of Pompeii) When Alice was here last she could go in and sit on the seats

The streets of Pompeii

Housing and commercial district

The streets of Pompeii, Lady in Red

Oven - Pizza please...

The Brothel’s of Pompeii

One of the most interesting and personally intriguing things about Pompeii is the Brothel found in the hearty of town.  The crowd was big and space was tight to get into the brothel that was buried in that terrible day in August 79 AD.  Our tour guide was attentive to show us all the SIGNS on the street leading to the Brothel. 

Our tour guide was attentive and very knowledgeable, Alice loves to bend their ears

I found it interesting our tour guide was carful to show us each and every phallic symbol “male penis” sign guiding its customers to the ever popular Brothel.

Phallic Symbols point the way to the Pompeii Brothels.

There are no words

Turn left here

Phallic symbols everywhere

Just in case you get lost

Because of the crowd I was unable to get proper photographs of all the interesting artifacts in this historic site.

Prostitution was permitted both socially and legally in Pompeii, and it was seen as a social norm for Roman men to engage in regular visits to the Brothels. Brothels had no stigma within the city, seen as a typical shop offering services like any other.

Pompeii once a popular vacation spot for high-class citizens, extravagances were bountiful in the form of exotic foods, fashion, and prostitutes. During the long-standing excavation of Pompeii, archaeologists have discovered at least 25 separate brothels scattered all over the city with each giving away numerous secrets to the city’s erotic past.

How about a Big Mac?

When you enter the brothel, you see the incredible frescos on the wall.  Sort of like walking into McDonald’s trying to choose between a Big Mac and a Quarter Pounder knowing nothing on the menu is good for you.  The moment you eat a Big Mac, the sensation is YUMMY. Tell me my friends, an hour after you eat a Big Mac, how do you feel?  I like McDonald’s because of their french fries and their custom blend of Diet Coke made only for McDonald’s.

Fresco’s a menu of choice

The most well-known feature of the brothel are the erotic frescoes that are found lining the hallways above the door lintels. There are eight notable frescoes in total, although only seven are still in surviving condition. Of the frescoes still intact, five of them depict different sex positions between a male and female. frescoes illustrate the positions of Women on Top, Missionary Position, Doggy Style, 69 position and Anal sex. The sixth fresco shows a seated male accompanied by a standing woman; the male gestures towards what scholars believe to be a smaller sex image. The seventh fresco features a prominent deity, Priapus, a male god of fertility known for his permanent and pronounced erection, surrounded by two stylized erections. The eighth fresco is in incredibly poor condition but is believed to depict yet another sexual engagement.

The frescoes were originally discovered during an excavation in 1862. They can be dated back to 72 CE. This is because there is an impression of a coin within the walls' plaster that can be traced back to this date.

Man on Man

How about a curvaceous woman?

Doggie Style

69

Your choice

5 major flavors on the Menu

After studying the remaining frescoes, archaeologists have guessed there were five major services provided; intercourse, fellatio, cunnilingus, active anal sex, and passive anal sex.

The truth of these Pompeii brothels and the prostitutes within was, in fact, harsh and quite heartbreaking.

And then there are the beds found in these Brothels.  They were made out of stone, including a stone pillow of sorts.  Perhaps the owners did NOT want their customers getting too comfortable.  Even though there were no doors in each separate “bay” I am sure there were drapes, linens, and lots of “sexy” smelling perfumes.  Candles and incense galore I would guess.

Pompeii brothel, The brothel beds of Pompeii —- COMFY

Extra FIRM for me…

I’ll take a Big Mac, order of fries and a Diet Coke Please… to go!

The SEX Workers - Prostitutes

The majority of the sex workers within Pompeii were slaves who lived a harsh life until they were of no further use to the brothels. They were given only the basic essentials, with all the payments from their clients going to the brothel owners. It is suggested from the city’s remains that a large number of slaves were of Oriental or Greek origin, ripped from their families and taken into the slave trade when Romans or traders invaded their land.

Confined to the premises, the workers rarely saw the outside world, being under complete control of the brothel owner at all times. By being completely closed off, the salves had no other distractions from their work. Despite this cruel lifestyle, the workers were meant to put on a smiling face, with punishments if they misbehaved.

Lastly, although sex was an accepted and natural experience for the Pompeii men, prostitutes still lacked respect. Stigmatizing women that made them ineligible for any alternative and respectable work, committing them to the lower class of society.

The Roman word for brothel was lupanar, meaning a wolf den, and a prostitute was called a lupa (“she-wolf”).

What was it like to be a Woman in Pompeii?

Generally, the role of women was a domestic one. Women completed domestic duties and raised the children. Upper class women were often educated and could read and write. Wall paintings of women holding writing implements reveal that this ability was revered in Roman society.

The City of Sin?

This is where my moral conscience sets in.  I wonder what the state of morality was during this time and before.  The 10 Commandments given to MOSES by GOD on Mount Sinai.  Commandment # 6: “Thou shalt not commit adultery”.  In my MORMON growing up world this meant NO SEX before marriage, NO promiscuity ever, and NO having SEX with someone else outside your marriage.  These sins were severe even to the point of church excommunication.  Yes fans, I went on a mission for the Mormon church.  I was one of those young lads in a white shirt riding bicycles two by two and knocking on doors to convince the world they to repent and be baptized.  I have long left my Mormon upbringing and have not been to church for well over 30 years.  In any case the foundational thoughts still prevail in some part of my brain.

It seems from my studies that the Brothels of Rome were common and popular.  The treatment of the  “women of the night”.

Prostitution by definition is the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity with someone for payment.

What Are the Different Types of Prostitution?

• Street: Clients solicited on the street, park or other public places. ...

• Brothel: Premises explicitly dedicated to providing sex. ...

• Escort: Client contacts sex worker by phone or via hotel staff. ...

• Private: Client contacts sex worker by phone.

I digress, back to the moral conscience.  Did the Romans have NONE?  Are we all actually given a conscious as human beings even if we have never been trained nor tutored in the Judaeo Christian society?  We (the Mormons) were taught that at the age of 8 humans have the innate ability to discern and choose between right and wrong. They called it the “age of accountability”. I guess Exodus chapter 20 had not been written yet…

Did I miss the point

Of course I did. There are so many things that I could have written about this incredible place, including the incredible architecture, plumbing, advanced civilization and history of this amazing place. Perhaps another blog. Better yet, I suggest you go there yourself and discover one of the most incredible places on earth.

Houses, shops and bars of Pompeii

Notice Mt. Vesuvius

In a heartbeat, 20,000 people died

The Forum

Pompeii, The Forum

The Forum

The Forum

The Forum

The Forum

One of my favorites

The Forum

In the background is what is left of Mt. Vesuvius, which lost at least 1/3 of its size during the volcano

I will be adding a video to this post on the near future which will include videos from my GOPro, Alice’s iPhone and photos taken from my Nikon Z6 II.

Thomas Schmuki, Delray Beach Photographer

View a video on our visit to Pompeii Italy

If you are interested in some references used in this blog and other interesting links:

https://www.pompeiitours.it/attractions/brothels-of-pompeii/

Miami Swim Week 2022

For those of you who continue to read my blogs I thank you very much. I am reminded every day that there are many out there who read my blogs and enjoy them but never let me know. For those silent blog readers I thank you as well. Please note that verbalizing your appreciation will encourage me to continue my blog writing.

This blog will be about my experiences and feelings about the Miami swim week 2022. It really goes much deeper than that.  I will delve into the very sensitive subject of "free", focusing  on the photographers and models that continue to work these venues for nothing. I may offend many but please understand these are all my perspectives. I write in transparency. I hope this is why you like to read my blogs.

What is Miami Swim Week

https://www.racked.com/platform/amp/2014/7/25/7584867/miami-swim-week-history

Miami Swim Week is Mercedes-Benz's official fashion week for all things beach (and pool, and summer in general). And in the ten years since its inception, it's gotten seriously huge.

What began as just a handful of shows has now grown to include presentations from 50 brands at a variety of venues both official and not; this year alone attracted more than 600 media outlets and buyers from all over, accounting for a chunk of the 10,000 guests who made their way to Florida. It is, without a doubt, the most important event for swim and resort wear in the country—if not the world.

My experience photographing Miami Swim Week

In all honesty I have only photographed swim week 2-3 times of its 10+ years of existence. This has not been because I didn't want to nor because I was not qualified.  For me it was more of a matter of receiving proper invites and or photographer credentials to photograph the shows. It is very clear that hundreds of photographers want to be on the "official" list and receive a photographer pass to bring your long lens in and join the other photographers in the pit.

Why am I not on the list?

Thomas Schmuki - Photographer

This year I put out multiple marketing requests on both facebook and instagram to receive invites from the designers, models or venues.  I heard crickets louder in the campfires as a Boy Scout in the mountains of Colorado. I finally received invites to 3 different shows.  The last one at the Hard Rock came to me the day of the show. What are my thoughts about this?  Personally, I question my product, my brand, my marketing, everything.  I personally know my product stands out against nearly any peer in the business. It is probably more about who I know and don't know.

Sample photos from Miami Swim Week 2022 at the Hard Rock Hotel

My photographer friends as peers

I have associated with, shot with and admired many local and national photographers.  I am not shy to acknowledge their talent and product when a fantastic photo is posted.  When I meet them personally at photo shoots I acknowledge your talents. I can see a little uneasiness set in when they know I have praised their work socially and there has been no reciprocation. I have no problem acknowledging talent and work. I have a lot to learn from all of you!

Why do we all work for free?

It may come as a surprise to many of my readers and fans of my photography that much of my work is done out of the goodness of my heart... free, no tip, many times not even a thank you.  I mostly thank the Iphone camera craze for this.  Everyone has a camera, can take pretty good pictures and have an immediate outcome that can be shared socially in a click of a finger. Your photo is clicked once, shared and likely never enjoyed again. I ask you, is your iPhone phot worthy of a magazine publication or a 20x30 print hanging in your house?

We are all to blame

I certainly do NOT want to put everyone in the same bucket but we are ALL to blame. Models who walk the runway for free, photographers and videographers who work for hours on end for free, and the list goes on.

There are real exceptions

I have been paid by many models in both private shoots and runway edits.

Fashion designers have graciously paid me.

Can I have all the photos you took of me at the runway?

This is a very common request I get from models, fashion designers, makeup artists and other show participants.

This very day I was asked by a model if I could please provide her with free photos.  She told me she walked the runway for free and was upset she was not paid. This pretty much says it all.

There may be an assumption that I was HIRED by a designer or the venue, and therefore the photos are included as a PERK to their runway walk. No, I am not hired by the venue, and have only on occasion been hired by a fashion designer.

The conversation flow

After I am asked for all the photos I usually provide a listing of my show special pricing for editing and providing high quality photos. "No, just send me all of them and if I like any of them I will pay you...". I even have provided PROOF watermarked photos to models for choosing edits that proceeded to post the photos with the PROOF watermark on it. I have even had models remove the PROOF watermark from the photo and then post it.

Now to locate just your photos

Let's assume I took 2,500 photos at a fashion show. To locate every photo a model was in I need to cull through all of them to find those precious few.  I then choose the photos to edit.  Each edit takes from 3-10 minutes depending on what I want as a result.  No, I never ever give out photos right out of my camera. I must protect my brand.

To ask for free photos is an insult to my soul. It's like asking a dentist for a free crown or a plastic surgeon for a free facelift or botox treatments. I would be embarrassed to tell you the monetary value of the gear I bring to a shoot. Free, really?

My NIKON camera gear I brought to the Hard Rock show. Nikon Z9, Z6 II and D850

I am pretty sure I am safe here because those I am talking about would never read my blog anyway.

How much time do I spend on 1 fashion show?

Rather than itemize the details which I would gladly do, the average 3 hour fashion show requires around 25-35 hours of work. This include driving, setup and breakdown, photo editing and communications with clients about the photos. This becomes a labor of love... a unidirectional love.

How do we fix this problem?

Every photographer, videographer, model and show participant who continues to agree to free will only perpetuate the problem. I am part of the problem. I admit it. I think we all are. Stop giving away your work for free.

Why do I photograph fashion and runways

The pure and simple answer is that I love doing it. I love it in spite of the all knowing back end barrage of free I will get.  I love the energy, the music the entertainment. The Hard Rock show was so awesome.

I do it because I think there are very few who produce the product I do.  I am very proud of that.  I admire and respect many of my peers both personally and on social media. You know who you are.

Italy City by City - my favorites

We have had the vacation of a lifetime with a month in Italy. I thought it would be interesting for me to pull out some of the highlights in each city. This may be a very difficult task but I will focus on those moments and events that come to my mind most. I hope you enjoy this. This is a short list of my favorites and Alice may have a totally different list. This is NOT my final blog on our trip to Italy as I have a few more topics in mind. A little encouragement from my readers may help me create them.

I will attempt to go from city to city and point out a few things that bubbled to the top of my list in each city. This is an impossible task as each day we spent every waking moment and then some taking tours, visiting sites, taking thousand of photos, etc. Some moments are sort of a blur to me. This is a very good exercise to bring back clarity. The good thing is we have thousands of photos and videos to go back over to fill in all the details later.

Venice

About the city of Venice

Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges.

Venice was our first city to visit on our trip to Italy. I really had no idea what the city was going to be like even though I had read about it and seen television shows about it.  We only spent two nights and three days in Venice. I would love to have spent at least one more day there. I believe it may be a very difficult city to live in if you don’t have a boat. The photography here was incredible. I just couldn’t stop taking photographs of the gondola riders and “captains”. I call them captains but they probably have a much more official name.

Gondola ride

This probably will end up one of the most memorable events of this trip for me. It was so incredible, so perfect. It was the golden hour of the gods when we went, right at sunset. Just before we entered our one hour trip the weather started turning bad and our gondola captain was concerned about it. The ride with Alice through the canals and rivers of Venice was most amazing and incredible. Words cannot describe nor pictures re-create the experience.

Our “captain” a very nice man. Very fit and needs no Peloton.

Taken right at sunset, maybe my favorite photo of our trip

Touring the town by foot and taking photos

The town of Venice seems to be built on a myriad of canals and waterways. Inside the heart of Venice very narrow roads and alleyways. No cars allowed. Only walking. I felt like I was a rat in a maze. It was very easy to get lost. I guess this was the fun of it. Walking around the city with my camera in hand and taking photos after photos. I couldn’t help taking so many photos of the gondola riders and passengers.

Hallways in Saint Mark's square

San Marco Square - floods full moon and high tide

St. Mark's Square

Model in Venice

Basilica di San Marco

Kids taking a break

Verona

About the city of Verona

Verona is a on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the largest city munipality in the region and the second largest in northeast Italy. The metropolitan of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 (550.58 sq mi) and has a population of 714,310 inhabitants.[5] It is one of the main tourist destinations in northern Italy because of its artistic heritage and several annual fairs and shows as well as the opera season in the Arena, an ancient Roman amphitheater.

Verona was the second city on our vacation to Italy. To get to Verona from Venice we had to take a water taxi to the train station. We took a train from Venice to Verona. These trains are not like the trains we are used to in the United States. They are fast, clean, and efficient.  When we arrived in Verona at the train station we took a taxi cab to our hotel which was located only a few blocks from the Colosseum. We were both a very concerned about the “neighborhood”. Not the greatest location if safety is your main concern.  We only spent two evenings and three days in Verona.

Photographing the children musician by the Colosseum.

I was so very impressed by the children and young musicians in Verona. They had congregated near the Colosseum and we’re all practicing their own chosen instrument. They were all very focused on developing their craft. It was a pleasure to see young kids without a phone in their hand.

Young musician practicing her flute

Photographic art - musicians developing their craft

Music theory taught at a young age to these talented lads from Verona

Opera night at the Colosseum

There is no question in my mind that this evening will be the most memorable evening and event of our entire vacation for me.  On our way to dinner we walked past the Colosseum. It was about 6:00 PM there was a full-blown orchestra, choir, opera singers practicing and rehearsing for their performance soon to come. We were just so happy just to see them practice. We were even happier to find out that we could get tickets for free and sit nearly upfront to hear this incredible performance by the most professional musicians I have heard in a very long time. Alice kept pinching me just so we knew it was real. It was in the evening I will never forget.

Opera was held just in front of this government building adjacent to the coliseum

The Verona coliseum lit up at night

Male lead opera singer

Female lead opera singer

Conductor - amazing

View my 2 minute video on our Opera night. Turn your sound on!

A visit to Juliet’s house

On our last day in Verona we ventured out on her own and walked to the main part of old Verona city. We found Julia‘s house, I couldn’t find Romeo. Where art thou Romeo? It was fantastic to see Juliet‘s house and enjoy this time with Alice.

Juliet's bedroom

Juliet's balcony

A squeeze for good luck - Juliete

Alice inside Juliets house

Romeo's outfit

Dining table at Juliet's house

The line is long to get your photo with Juliet

Florence

About Florence

Florence is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.

Florence was a centre of medieval European trade and finance and one of the wealthiest cities of that era. It is considered by many academics to have been the birthplace of the Renaissance, becoming a major artistic, cultural, commercial, political, economic and financial center.

We took the train from Verona to Florence. It was about an hour and a half ride. We stayed in Florence for 11 days. There are so many incredible things we did in Florence it is almost a blur to me at this moment. The art, the history, the food, the people.

Scooter ride in Tuscany

This was great fun for me. No a 50 cc scooter does not compare with my 114 cubic inch Harley, but it was so much fun. Take a look at my video which also include a very interesting tour of a private winery in Tuscany.

The Uffizi museum

The Gallery entirely occupies the first and second floors of the large building constructed between 1560 and 1580 and designed by Giorgio Vasari built by the Medici family.  We took a tour and of course I was overwhelmed. I was focused on getting the photographs while Alice paid close attention to the tour guides every word.  I was so impressed by all the tour guides that we used in our trip to Italy. They were all very educated, very engaging, They loved their art and history. We could’ve spent days there and never seen all of it. Wow. I plan on doing a separate post on the incredible art we saw in the Uffizi.

The statue of David

Again words could not describe the feelings when seeing this marvelous work of art for the first time. What a blessing to be able to see it in person.

David is a masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture, created in marble between 1501 and 1504 by the Italian artist Michelangelo. David is 17 ft sculpture created 1501– c. June 8, 1504. I stood in the very spot the sculpture was created my Michelangelo.

David… The perfect man

Amalfi Coast

about the Amalfi Coast

The Amalfi Coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region. It’s a popular holiday destination, with sheer cliffs and a rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-colored fishing villages. The coastal road between the port city of Salerno and clifftop Sorrento winds past grand villas, terraced vineyards and cliffside lemon groves

To get to the Amalfi coast we took the bullet train from Florence to Naples. From Naples we took a private ride to our hotel location in Amalfi. This was a most beautiful and incredible ride over and around the hills of Amalfi. The roads were narrow, curvy, and dangerous. Thank goodness we had a professional driver that could handle it.

Once we arrived at the street level of our villa I was very surprised to learn we had a 300 step climb to get to our Villa.  I think this small detail was left out of the marketing materials lol.  Even after arriving at our hotel villa we had to go up a number of stairs to our penthouse room which had the most incredible view I have ever seen.

The Amalfi coast, no stair master required

I took this photo from our patio at Villa Rina.

In the heart of Amalfi

In the heart of Amalfi

Alice overlooking Positano Italy

The hillside of Amalfi

Our view from Villa Rina

Alice enjoying the view at sunrise in Amalfi

Villa Rina, only 250+ steps up

Photograph taken from our Ferry to Positano

Cooking lessons

We took two cooking lessons at our villa in the Amalfi coast. Our first lesson wants to learn how to make limoncello. Let me give you one big tip: it’s all about the lemons. The lemons and Amalfi coast are probably the best in the world for limoncello. Most important thing is to only use fresh lemons pick that very same day. What a great experience.

Our second cooking lesson was fresh home made pasta. This was great fun and I think the results were fantastic as the food we made was served to all the guest for the villa that night.

Sea Bass

Caught the very same day in the Amalfi coast

Home made pasta ala Alice and Tom. How about some sauce?

Alice learning from the master Rina

Our boat rides to Positano and Sorrento

The destinations were fantastic but we are both very pleased with the ferry rides to and from Amalfi to Positano and Sorrento. Such a beautiful ride.

Not the boat we took, but I took this from our ferry

Pompay

Pompeii is a vast archaeological site in southern Italy’s Campania region, near the coast of the Bay of Naples. Once a thriving and sophisticated Roman city, Pompeii was buried under meters of ash and pumice after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The preserved site features excavated ruins of streets and houses that visitors can freely explore. ― Google

The only remaining Pompey corpse, all others brought to museum in Naples

Lady in red - Pompay

The streets of Pompay

Amphitheater in Pompay

Alice with our tour guide - Pompay

The streets of Pompay

Teramo

About Teramo

Teramo is the capital of the province of Teramo.

The city, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines and the Adriatic coast.

To get to Teramo from Amalfi we took a private car over and around the Amalfi mountains to Naples. From there we took a Train to Rome.  From Rome we took a bus ride to Teramo. We went to Teramo to visit Alice’s good friends Brian and Julia.   We spent two nights in this beautiful country house. We had such a great time and it was such a different experience than the hustle and bustle of the big cities we had previously been in. Brian and Julia were such incredible hosts.

Great meals in their garden

Julia, Brian and Alice

Brian's paella

Julia - how about some wine

Brian, what is the meaning of life?

Visit to the Fortress of Civitella del Tronto

The Fortress of Civitella del Tronto is one of the largest and most important military strongholds in Europe and is situated on the top of a rocky cliff at an altitude of 600 m, a strategic location to control the borders between the Kingdom of Naples and the Papal State.
It is about 500 metres long, for a total surface of 25,000 square metres

The first building dates back to the Middle Ages, but it was renovated by Philip II of Spain in the second half of the 16th century and subsequently by the House of Bourbon (1734).

Fortress of Civitella del Tronto

Sculpture in the courtyard - amazing

The streets atop the fortress

An amazing place

Rome

About Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy. It is also the capital of the Lazio region.

Romes history spans 28 centuries. While Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it a major human settlement for almost three millennia and one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe.[9]

To get to Rome from Teramo we took a bus.  The bus ride took about three hours. We were in Rome for 11 days and was our final city on our fantastic vacation to Italy. We packed every day with tours and personal walks.  It was unseasonably hot in Rome.  We certainly understand why everyone in Rome takes a Siesta between 2 and 4 PM. It was just too hot to be outside.  Many establishments actually close our doors between two and four including pharmacies.

Vatican City and Saint Peters Cathedral

I am personally still digesting the majesty and historical impact of this place. I will remember it forever. I plan on writing a very personal blog on religion and my feelings as I walked through this hallowed grounds.

The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City.

Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelango, Carlo Madermno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and the largest church in the world by interior measure

Our tour to the forum and the Colosseum

We had a fantastic tour guide take us to the forum and the Colosseum. Again that was such a great experience. Everything was absolutely breathtaking. Again Alice pinches me to make me realize this is real. The photography was off the chart.

the Roman Forum

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Founded: 8th century BC-608. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

For centuries the Forum was the center of day-to-day life in Rome: the site of triumphal processions and elections; the venue for public speeches, criminal trials, and gladiatorial matches; and the nucleus of commercial affairs. Here statues and monuments commemorated the city's great men.

Magnificent temples the site of triumphal processions and elections

The Forum was the center of ancient Rome dated 5-600 BC

The Colosseum

The Colosseum is an oval amphitheater in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheater ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheater in the world today, despite its age.

Construction started in 70 A.D. and only took 10 years to complete. As is to be expected, there were a lot of deaths at the Colosseum. It was used for entertainment (mostly fights, of course) for just shy of 400 years and in this time, it is estimated that 400,000 people died within the walls of this particular amphitheater.

Let me put this in my perspective for a minute. The ancient Romans spent a fortune to boat the fiercest and wildest animals from Africa to Rome Italy. Lions and tigers and bears oh my, and of course anything else that would or could kill a man and eat him up in front of tens of thousand of onlookers. Now lets put these animals in a darken dungeon for 4-7 days, don’t feed them or even give them water. I can tell you being in Rome, it is HOT there. Lets pack this stadium on with the Romans thirsting to see blood and guts. The animals are worth a lot of money to the Romans, it took a lot of effort to get them there. Lets throw in some “worthless slaves” all adorned in costumes to entertain the crowd, open up the doors and let out 2-dozens of blood thirsty animals. Now lets watch the poor souls get bludgeoned to death. Oh MY!!!! 400,000 or more of them.

Note: Alice won’t even go to a boxing match because it is to barbaric!

The ancient Rome coliseum

Where the animals and slaves were winched up to the stage

The hallways under the coliseum

Underneath the stage floor

A great day at the colosseum

The upper left photo is where the winched the animals up to the stage so they could attack the costumed slaves.

The upper and lower right photos were taken from ground level where the slaves and animals were staged before the match

Our final night with Ilian Rachov

Our final night in Rome was a most incredible experience with my good friend Ilian. I have been privileged to know this man for a number of years now. After photographing his work at a show at the Versace mansion in Miami we have been following each other ever since. Ilian was gracious enough to give us an entire evening of his life. I photographed him in his studio in the heart of Rome and then we went for a very fun walk as I took some more photographs of him. We then had a very nice drink and chat with him in the courtyard of the Spanish steps.  During our walk to our hotel Ilian purchased some sandwiches to deliver to his homeless friend on the streets of Rome. He delivers this man sandwiches every day. What kind soul he is. Not only a fantastic artist but a real person. Thank you Ilian.

Ilian Rachov, painter and a great human being

Ilian Rachov, Alice Haigh and Tom Schmuki

Ilian outside his studio in Rome

His design, shirt 1/5

Alice and Ilian

Ilian in his studio in Rome

Photography Gear for Italy Trip

This blog is dedicated to those camera buffs interested in the camera gear I chose to bring to Italy.  I will not only itemize the gear but also provide some commentary.

The camera equipment I have brought and enjoyed in Italy

Camera body: Nikon Z 6 II

A lightweight fantastic mirrorless camera. Issues: sometimes focus and the amount of time between turn on and ready to take the shot. Latest firmware is installed.

Nikon FANS

I have been so pleased to see all the Nikon’s in use here in Italy. I must say I have seen more photographers with Nikon’s than any other brand. As a matter of fact it seems you could add Canon, Sony, etc and still not equal the number of Nikon’s I have seen. YEA. I love my Nikons.

GoPRO Hero 10

If you have been following me you have seen many GoPro videos taken on my Harley Davidson rides. I usually mount it on top of my helmet.

So far in this trip I have taken 1,833 videos with an average length of about 20-30 seconds.  Love this thing, however I forgot to bring the proper cables to attach to my Iphone, therefore using the videos in my active daily flow is not nearly as easy as using the IPHONE.  We look forward to siting down on the couch with POP CORN and viewing the videos of this wonderful trip.  I am sure I will be creating some published videos soon incorporating the videos taken from my GOPRO.

iPhone PRO 12 PRO MAX (Tom)

I have taken a few videos on my Iphone but mostly photos when my Nikon was not available.  Most of the time when I wanted a video, I used my GOPRO 10.

IPhone PRO 13 PRO MAX (Alice)

Alice has been clicking and taking videos the entire time.  I wonder who took the most? I am so very proud of Alice’s photography and videos. What a great student. Maybe soon the student will become the master.

Lenses

Nikon 24-120 F4 S

My newest lens.   I am in love with the range, of course I wish it was faster like my other 2.8 lenses. I love the new programmable ring which I use for F stop. I now wish all my lenses had it!

Taken with Nikon 24-120 - Amalfi Coast

Nikon 80 1.8 S

This is my favorite Nikon lens and takes the greatest portraits. Beautiful bokeh (background blur) and fast focus. I had intended on using this lens for a model shoot in Rome that unfortunately did not work out.  For this trip this lens has been used the least and a better choice would have been my 50mm 1.8 or 35mm 1.4.

Taken with 85 2.8 in Positano

Nikon 28 2.8

This lenses almost a pancake lens. Very small and lightweight. Almost a perfect ken’s for street photography. I am surprised how much I have used it on this trip. Focal length is great, it is fast 2.8, and the results are very sharp and clear.

Rokinon 2.8 13 MM Fisheye. Manual

I love to shoot with fisheye lenses. They are artistic. I know there are many who don't like the results. I'm so glad I brought it. Many great shots taken specially inside beautiful chapels with painted ceilings.

Taken in the Saint Peters Basilica with 12 MM Fish eye

Let me repeat this is a manual focus lens and focus can be tricky for the non professional. I grew up on a totally manual camera including focus.

Nikon FTZ lens adapter. 

This adapter allows me to use any of my F-Mount lenses on my mirrorless Nikon bodies. For this trip this lens adapter is only need it for my fisheye lens.

Flashpoint Zoom Lion Z R2 N

Seldom used but when I need it the results are fantastic.

Flashpoint Zoom Li-ON III

Have yet to use this flash on this trip but if I will be shooting a model in Rome I will be using to flashes including this one.

Magmod flash adapter

Purpose: to attach different modifiers to flash including gels and bounces. Once you use magmod’s you never go back.

Tripod: Manfrotto MINI tripod (Made in Italy)

Seldom used.  I have yet to be comfortable with using a tripod.  I love to MOVE around and hit many different angles at a fast pace.

Low Flipside Trek 350 AW pro camera bag

I have loved this bag for this trip. I purchased this bag from Adorama while we were in New York. I am very happy with this bag.  Only downside is my 13.5" Macbook Pro laptop does not fit in it. Huh????

Interesting Statistics from Metadata

Here are some interesting statistics from the metadata available in Adobe lightroom regarding my lens usage.

Number of camera clicks

Rokinon Fish Eye: 593 clicks

Nikon 24-120: 5,793, Most common focal length used: 24MM with 1,625 clicks. many came clicks between 35-50 MM, surprising smaller amount above 100 MM

Nikon 28 MM: 1,172

Nikon 85 MM: 683

Lets review

After reviewing these numbers, the statistical analysis confirms my prior assessments on the usage.

If I had to do this all over again, I would NIX the 85 MM and put in my 35MM 1.4.

The food of Florence

Dinner always starts with wine. I love red wine.

From a non foodie

I believe Alice can be categorized as a true foodie, which in my opinion is someone who knows a lot more details about resteraunts, the preparation and even the ability to recreate it in her own kitchen. I have always called Alice a great CHEF while I am a pretty good cook. There is a great difference between the two.

I am not a foodie nor a chef, but I have always loved great food. I am opinionated you will from my commentary ons this blog.

What I have discovered about the restaurants in Italy including all three cities we have visited Are the following similar items:

Every lunch and dinner you're given a bag of bread. The bread especially in Florence has no salt in it. And they are proud to say that.

You are the salt of the earth

There seems to be a long history of Florence NOT using salt on any of its bread products including bag of bread, pizza dough and others. Salt was historically a matter of money and contention with ROME. Florence refused to use salt to support the romans in their salt as it was commonly used as a precious commodity even to the value of money. To this day, NO salt in Florences bread products. I miss the salt.

Note: Since I have been with Alice she has used little or NO salt in her cooking and food preparation even to the level of her guests bringing in a SALT shakers of their own to make their point. I normally add salt to everything she makes. I am the salt of the earth. HEY, you only live once.

A bag of bread, in Florence the bread is unsalted and has little taste.

Water, would you like flat or sparkling

Every Lunch and dinner the waiters and waitresses ask you if you want water. They then ask you if you want sparkling or still. We always ask for still water And it comes out in a sealed glass bottle and the water taste fantastic. When your bottle of water runs out you just ask for another one. The price of the bottle water is from 2 to 4 Euros each.

Could I have that menu in English please?

Nearly all the menus are written only in Italian. Very few menus have English as an option. Sometimes it is moderately easy to translate the words into their English counterpart but others it is nearly impossible.

Check please

It is always always always a struggle to first get your check and then to pay for your food. There is no rush to push you out of the table for the next patrons. they have no problem with you sitting at a table for 2 to 3 hours. It seems almost common.

Tipping

Tipping is an odd thing. They don't even know how to handle a tip. It seems I don't even expect one. This is very odd! When you pay for your bill on your credit card they bring out a machine swipe your card and there is not even a spot to add a tip. I guess it is customary to pay cash for tips. I understand the workers in the restaurant are paid a fairways and not expected to earn their income on tips and gratuities. This presents a whole different way of thinking and service by the restaurant staff.

We have both been amazed by how hard the help works in these restaurants. They have great pride in what they do from the bartenders to the waiters and waitresses and all the help involved. They all work hard with a smile on their face. This makes the dining experience a very pleasant one.

It seems nearly every restaurant we have been to excluding a few have the standard staples of pizza, spaghetti, and other Italian dishes.

You want Italian food, you got it!

Good luck finding a Mexican restaurant. We were told there was one with mediocre food and average margaritas.

If you love pasta and pizza you love the restaurants in Florence. Having observed many of the beautiful dishes deliver to the patrons of the restaurants in Florence, it is most common to see pizza and pasta.

We have both found by eating the carbs associated with Italian food, when we are hungry we are very hungry and it happens fast.

What I love most about the restaurants here are the people.

The Italian restaurants here in Italy don't seem at all like the Italian restaurants in the United States For the reasons I have described above.

Gelato, a staple in Florence

Gelato is an Italian frozen treat originally created in the 16th century. It is made with a lot less fat and is churned at much slower speed to prevent air. As a result, you get a denser texture and more intensive flavor. We have had lemon, pistachio, coconut and chocolate. My favorite so far was the pistachio. During the heat of the Italian summers I have been craving for this each day.

I have already had 4 servings and can’t get enough. Yummy.

Mother and child enjoying a Gelato in style!

Gelato stores are everywhere and they are always crowded

Wine, Wine and more wine

We have a new respect for Chianti wine from Tuscany and perfect for the hot weather. Our favorite was a Chianti was a mix of 80% Sangiovese grape and when drinking with the cold cuts from a charcuterie board, it cleanses the palate as the wine seems to wash away the heavy after taste. We will be putting a few bottles of Chianti Classico in our wine fridge for the summer months. It’s the perfect red for summer!

CHARCUTERIE BOARD

A selection of preserved foods, especially cured meats or pates as well as cheese and crackers or bread is also a staple at most all Italian restaurants. They restaurants have great pride in the presentation of their charcuterie boards. They can clearly define each cut of meat and where it came from, and how it was cured. We like this very much, however it seems very salty and we only occasionally order it.

Sample charcuterie board with pate. I am NOT a fan of Pate1

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie

Every restaurant serves pizza and it seems nearly every customer orders it. The pizza is plain and simple, the crust is thinner than pizza crust from the US and for me does not really have much taste. The sauce, oh the sauce!

Ham and mushroom pizza was one of my favorites so far

Spaghetti Italian style

I have ordered spaghetti many times and I must say I do love the spaghetti from Italy. It is much different than spaghetti in the United States. It is simple and uncomplicated with tomato sauce and sometime cherry tomatoes in it. They don’t serve large portions of it here, but the amount seems just right. The noodles and the sauce are mixed carefully before placed on the serving plate with care. It goes great with their Italian bread (no salt and all)

Diet coke - coke 0

It seems to be the simple things in life that make us happy, something familiar. There is no Diet Coke here, but restaurants will be happy to serve you Coke 0.

Coke 0 in Fancy little 10 ounce bottles

The Florentine steak

Many restaurants in Florence have their butchered cows hanging in the window allowing their steaks to cure. The servings are large and plentiful. I have had 2 steaks in Florence and they were both fantastic. The taste is nothing like the taste of meat in the US. The Italian steak made of young steer of heifer that, combined with the specific preparation, makes it one of the most popular dishes of the Tuscan cuisine. Only seasoned with salt and pepper.

Typical T-bone steak dinner after server sliced it up for us

Photos and commentary of many of our meals in Florence

Alice looks great in candlelight!

Very reasonable prices

It has been our experience in all three cities we have visited thus far that the prices in our chosen restaurants have been very reasonable. As a matter of fact, we are convinced it is more expensive to eat a comparable meal in a Delray Beach restaurant than in the restaurants in Italy we have gone to. I could gustimeate the prices are anywhere from 30-40% cheeper than in South Florida.

More photos of our food experiences in Florence

The following photos are just a sampling of the many wonderful meals we had in Florence.

Bon apetit

We have both thoroughly enjoyed our visits to the restaurants in Florence. We ate out every meal from breakfast to dinner. All is good here. Come on out and enjoy

Prego

Chef Alicia and Cook Tomasso signing off

A long walk in Florence

This beautiful river is just a few blocks from our apartment and we walk here multiple times a day

Recovering Plantarfasciitis

When we started dating 2 years ago I was suffering with Plantar fasciitis in both feet.  I could not walk the mall without pain and differing in my feet.  I had been suffering with this for well over a year.  Took me entirely out of tennis my bi-weekly tennis games and other sport activities. Soon after our first few dates we had started planning our vacations together with great concern that I could walk the distance and steps required for an Italy vacation. Alice did all she could do to help cure my feet woes. Visits to podiatrist, orthoditcs, massive amount of nutrition pills, collagen, just to name a few. Nearly 2 years later my feet are much better thanks to Alice!  Both feet are still numb and or tingly at times.

Pelotom - My effort to be 35 again

November of last year I purchased a Peloton stationary bike because biking seemed to be one of the only exercises my feet and knees could take. Burning nearly 1,000 calories a day for the last month on my peloton before our trip I had hoped to get in shape, not only to look better but to be able to walk miles and miles each day.

When I met Alice during the beginning of covid she was walking 5-6 miles a day in her old neighborhood of Riverwalk.

We both love the health application in the apple phone applications as tethered to our apple watch. Every night we compare stats to determine the "winner" in each category. We look closely at heart rate, miles walked, trends, blood oxygen and others.

Our nightly routine

Every day we get home, turn the air conditioning on and check our health numbers on the iPhone. We were patting ourselves on the back with an average step count of about 15,000 steps per day until we read a post from someone who is averaging 30,000.  Reminded me of competing with the Peloton studs I somehow can't compete with. Never to forget there is always someone way better than you.

OUr competition. actually only mine

• Alice beats me in step count every day by an average of 1,000+ steps…. makes no sense to me

• Alice beats me on step length every day, again what?

• My blood oxygen numbers are normally better than Alices, averaging more than 95%

• Resting heat rate, I will give Alice a tie

• Calories burned, I win, because I am a man and Alice says men burn more calories than women.

Sample screen print from Alices iPhone

Our steps are often as if we were in a 3 legged race. One, two, one two.

Tom walking the streets of Florence very close to our apartment

Apple Technology discrepancy. Steve Jobs where are you?

We have noticed a major discrepancy in steps taken between us.  Alice seems to walk 1,000 or more steps a day even though she is always at my side walking.  It also notes her stride is longer.  I believe both statistics are erroneous.  I have a long gate being 6'1" tall.  I just think the devices are not calibrated correctly.  We will do our own calibration tests soon by putting both phones in my pocket.

There are other challenges walking the streets of Florence.  They are very narrow with a small walking path that normally fits no more than one person. Watch out for speeding scooters, bike riders and taxi cabs. They would rather run you over than give you a chance to get out of the way.

This narrow alley way is everywhere, small paths and bikers, scooters and taxies speeding past you

Peloton studs I am coming for you!