![\"Dogs](\"https:\/\/www.virginiaparker.net\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/table2.jpg\")
<\/a>These chips of stone are so very small that even standing there in good light, I had to\u00a0look at the close-up photo on my iPhone and use zoom to\u00a0see the fine lines of the joinery.<\/p>\n Crowds of tourists, specifically\u00a0the huge\u00a0tour groups, pushed past me\u00a0like 18 wheelers blowing past a Smart Car.\u00a0Here’s a tip; If you want to see the marvelous Peacock\u00a0clock in peace, go after 6pm on a Wednesday or Friday night. It’s an awesome experience. Of course, if you like seething crowds and a noise level like a thousand monkeys chattering on crack, be my guest.<\/p>\n Left\u00a0the raucous peacock room\u00a0and entered\u00a0this calm and lovely space.<\/p>\n Wandered past incomparable religious works by Italian masters, which still didn’t prepare me for the glory that is the Loggia.<\/p>\n It brought tears to my eyes. I can’t find the words to do the moment justice. It’s so exceptionally\u00a0beautiful and complex, yet by some miracle, as crammed with visual riches as it is, it doesn\u2019t feel fussy. How is\u00a0that even possible? There are Genesis\u00a0stories overhead and on every side the walls are ornamented with flora and fauna, the bounty of this world rendered with a loving eye for each detail. Even his rat is charming.<\/p>\n I was that tourist, the one humbly asking strangers to photograph me. But you know,\u00a0even a scowling\u00a0Russian man, who\u00a0irritably growled, “No English,” when I approached him, changed as soon as\u00a0he saw\u00a0the iPhone in my hand. He smiled and nodded. Apparently the iPhone is a universal language and an instant bridge between cultures. I\u2019m awed by its power.<\/p>\n Later, still reeling from the glory of Raphael’s vision,\u00a0I stumbled down\u00a0to the caf\u00e9 to eat my contraband\u00a0croissant. On the way, I walked though a dark red room lined with enormous\u00a0paintings of hunting dogs bringing down bears and leopards, and tables laden with\u00a0vegetables and game. I hastened back after my break and discovered there were, huzzah, two benches to choose from. I sketched\u00a0a table draped with a peacock and rabbit, the\u00a0dog underneath growling at a hissing cat.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>