"Za za" is the sound a mosquito makes

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Geo: 43.7687, 11.2569

Ah! Sleeping in till 7:15: what bliss!

I wasn't entirely sure what I planned to do with my morning, but I walked toward the Mercato Centrale and met Sheree and Sandy just coming out. So I walked along with them through the San Lorenzo market and then over near Santa Maria Novella. We eventually decided we needed a plan, so we set off in the direction of the Ponte Vecchio.

On the way we walked down the Via Calz' and had fun window shopping – nothing was open yet. Most everything was open on the Ponte Vecchio but, again, it was only window shopping because everything there is so expensive. We walked across and then walked back on the other side of the river to the next bridge. I stopped in at a pharmacy because I needed a new hairbrush: mine broke this morning while I was drying my hair.

We stepped into a church that was nearly empty. Nothing spectacular inside, but several nice little side chapels and a pretty ceiling. I can't remember what the church was called, but it was about a block from the Ferragamo shoe museum!

Shops had opened up by now, so we walked back to the Via Calz' to go into a couple of the Venetian glass stores. Sheree and Sandy both bought jewelry, and I picked up something for Mark. Then we detoured to the Straw Market, where Sheree and Sandy went a little nuts buying leather goods. I looked around for a large tote bag (my suitcase is getting overstuffed), but
I couldn't find anything I was willing to haggle over. Ran into Diane and Jim looking for the American doctor who has offices overlooking the market.

By the time Sheree and Sandy were finished negotiating with the stallholders, we were all hungry and desperate for the loo. About two blocks away is the Piazza della Repubblica and La Rinascente department store, where there are free toilets all the way up on the fourth floor. Feeling much better, we walked up to the little cafe on the fifth floor, where we were able
to eat out on the terrace overlooking the piazza. And the sun came out! It was quite nice: warm but not too warm, and no exhaust fumes. Unfortunately, I had left my glasses back at the hotel, so I was almost blinded by the sun. Still, it was a whole lot better than being cold and wet.

We walked back toward the Piazza della Signoria, making a quick stop for gelato (frutti di bosco: a sort of raspberry flavor), before meeting the group for our tour of the Uffizi. We had a local guide named Cindy. She has lived in the Florence for 35 years, having married a Florentine, but she's originally from Kansas City. We had the whisper system again, and it
was great having someone with an American accent on the other end. She was informative and funny, and I enjoyed the Uffizi a lot more this time than I did in 2006. We saw the paintings of the Duke of Urbino and his wife, The Birth of Venus, Prima Vera, and several interesting religious paintings. Having Cindy walk us through each painting added so much to our understanding of what we were seeing.

And by the time we were done in the Uffizi and ready to go on our Renaissance walk of Florence, it was, of course, raining. It did clear up fairly quickly, so the walk wasn't a complete misery. One thing Cindy showed us that I hadn't seen before was the Palazzo Strozzi. We were only able to walk into the courtyard because the rest of the building is a museum, but it was a lovely courtyard. There were students sitting around the edges sketching and, as always, I wish I had some artistic talent.

When our walk ended just across the Ponte Vecchio, some of us went to a wine bar that Cindy recommended and sat and had wine and cheese ... till it started raining gatti e cani again. Went back to the hotel and nearly all of us gathered for a little wine and cheese party for Val, whose birthday is today. It got quite loud and raucous, and I think I actually needed a little more wine to catch up with everyone! I did have an interesting conversation with Ainsley, one of our kiwis, about New Zealand.

A group of 15 of us tried to go to dinner together, but the little restaurant could only accommodate 11. So Ann, Sheree, Sandy and I bowed out, while Reid tried to find us somewhere else to go. He ended up joining us at a new restaurant opened by Trattoria ZaZa. There weren't very many people in the place, so I didn't worry too much when we got rather loud. I ended up with gnocchi di bosco, which the waitress described as gnocchi in a cheese sauce ... sort of like alfredo. I was a little suspicious about that because “di bosco” means “from the woods.” Sure enough, the alfredo sauce had mushrooms in it. They were large enough to pick out at least. The dish was good, but it didn't really hold a candle to last night's gnocchi. And there was more wine. Honestly, I've had my quota of wine for the next three years.

When we finally walked back to the hotel at 10:30, the gelateria across the street was still open, so I stopped in. They no longer had cioccolato con pepperoncini, and I mentioned it to the guy behind the counter. He said he could make me some with the cioccolato and some hot pepper. Okay, why not? I'm not saying it was terrible, but it was nothing like the real stuff.

It is far too late now, and tomorrow is most definitely not a sleeping-in day.

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Photos

View of Piazza della Repubblica
From the cafe atop La Rinascente