Monday, November 18, 2013
Today, we went to Bologna to have a meal at the same restaurant my friend Carol (new friend...) and I had had one of the BEST meals ever.  IT WAS CLOSED ON MONDAYS!!!!!    @#$%^&*(@# I said.....      Oh well, we walked around the town square, which was hard to appreciate with all the restoration work going on.    Okay, you heard all about this.
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Today was going to be BIG decision day, but first, we went to the open market to do some last minute shopping for incredible, incredible, balsamic vinegar, aged for 15 years.   You would not believe what it tastes like.  So we finished shopping and now it's lunchtime!!!!    We went to the market to the fish section and made a mad rush for two seats in a 4-seat counter and ordered a seafood special plate.   It had octopus, calamari, huge shrimp with their heads still on, clams, and some white fish.  It was very, very lightly floured and then quickly fried in a deep frier.  You want to know something?   It is probably the BEST tasting fish and seafood I have ever had, and they only give you a big piece of lemon for it.   No catsup, no Tabasco, no vinegar,  no nothing..... plain, unadulterated taste of the freshest seafood.   If I may say it, the shrimp tasted "sweet", unbelievable.  The calamari was soooooo tender, it was hard to believe, but we ate it all and couldn't stop talking about it.  In the afternoon, at 5:30, I had an appointment with the owner of this hotel where we're staying to see the apartment he rents for extended periods.   We met close to there, right off the Ponte Vecchio.   If you know Florence, you know that this is the oldest bridge in Florence and it's the only bridge that was not bombed by the Nazis because it's narrow and the tanks couldn't pass through it.   It was actually built as a walkway for the Medicis to go from their old palace to the new palace so they could come and go unnoticed by the plebeian (sp?) people.  On the bottom floor were all the butchers and fishermen selling their products.  But, the Medicis didn't like the smell of meat (probably a little past its prime), and, imagine fish.   So, they were thrown out and the goldsmiths brought in.  Now, it's a corridor of nothing but jewelry stores with some of the most exquisite jewelry I have ever seen.   So, we went to see the apartment and when I saw the view, I asked:  "Where do I sign?"   So, I rented it for December with options for January.  Go to www.madametina.it   to see how cool it is.  It has two bedrooms so I'm going to need lots of company!!!!  We came back to the hotel in time to toast for my aparatment.... many of the other guests joined in because, by this time, we all know each other.  It was lots of fun!
Wednesday, November 20, 2013 
We can call today A SPECIAL DAY IN FLORENCE.   Let me tell you how it went.  We were picked up in a cute Mercedes Benz van by the loveliest driver... Niccola.  Then we went to the station and picked up two more passengers.   The four of us spent the whole day together.  First thing is we went to this lookout to see the city from above and be "introduced" to Florence, as our guide put it.  No kidding!!!!   That was the piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole (a little town) with Etruscan and Roman ruins.   It boasts an amphitheatre that seats 3,000 people!   Then we went to learn about the fascinating works at the Uffizi Gallery, with unbelievable beautifjul paintings by Botticelli, Giotto, Michaelangelo, etc.etc.etc....and to the Accademia Gallery (where the David is), Piazza de la Signoria, where the government seat is, Basilica de Santa Croce where Galileo, Michaelangelo, Machiavelli and many other VIPs of the era are buried.  We went to the DUOMO (cathedral) which is unbelievable beautiful and the baptistry as well.   We enjoyed a "typical Tuscan lunch"... I had spaghetti a l'arrabiatta which I loved because it's spicy HOT!   I happen to have a bottle of liquid chiltepines with me that Bethy (Mauro's wife) gave me before I left, but I have a long way to go, so I made my own child oil, like in Chinese restaurants, with olive oil and lots of crushed red peppers!!!!!    Aren't I clever?  Need my chilito.  We were going to go have dinner, but we had walked over 6 hours, or at least stood and walked, so we were tired.    Back to the hotel, happy hour, and BED.....
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Today, we're off to Bologna again to try the lunch again.   It's 30 minutes away in the fast train and it's worth it, at least to me.   I will report tomorrow on how it went.  Only two more meals here in Florence.  We've got to make them count:  tonight's dinner and tomorrow's lunch.   Then we're off to Naples, Capri and the Amalfi Coast.  Hopefully, it won't be so cold.  It is raining on and off right now and the wind just rips right through you.  Today, I have three layers on, and my coat,   Will report later.......
Arrivederci, for now.