We slept in again today, then discussed what to do today.  It was raining and cold, with the forecast predicting rain all day, and snow showers tonight.  We had planned to spend the day indoors, touring museums all day.  Even so, we would be on foot all day, and Lana was going to freeze with her zipper broken.  We should spend a little time looking for a new jacket for her.  That “little time” ended up being most of the day.  Turns out that the best district for leather was right behind our hotel, and we found lots of things that she liked, but prices were not what we considered “bargains”…especially considering the exchange rate.  But we enjoyed the shopping experience, and finally found something she liked  that was affordable. 

 

The skies cleared as the day went on, and we never opened the umbrella that I carried all day.

 

It was around 4 when we finished our shopping, and since it was late, we decided to hit the closest of the two museums that we wanted to see, the Uffizi (no photos allowed).  The guide book said that it was open until 7:30, so we figured we had plenty of time.  We got to the ticket booth and paid our 20E entry fee, and the lady in the booth tried to tell me something that I could not make out.  I thought she was asking me for more money.  But finally we went on in.  Mistake.  What she had been trying to tell me was that the museum was closing early tonight, at 5:15, and asking me if I really wanted to pay 20E for about an hour.  I should have spent more time with her, trying to figure out what she was saying. 

 

So we rushed through the facility, saw the Michelangelo and Raphael works that we wanted to see, and were pushed out by the staff.  A pretty expensive hour.

 

We went back to the hotel for a while, then out for dinner.  I was looking for a place in the guidebook, but could not find it, and we had been walking for a while, looking in windows and checking out menus, when Lana got cold.  She wanted to go back to a place that she liked the looks of, so we walked back a block or two and went in.  It was a tiny place (10 tables) and packed.  The owner spoke very little English, but managed to communicate that without reservations, it would be a 30 minute wait.  Lana was fine with that, since it was nice and warm inside.  It was a good choice.

 

 

 

When we got seated, a cute German girl with excellent English and a big smile waited on us.  We ordered a crustini appetizer, a couple of pasta plates, and a big apple-and-gorgonzola salad to split, along with our customary house wine.  The pasta was excellent.  Lana's was al pesto, and mine was thick spaghetti with spicy wild boar meat.  By the time we were finishing it, we were both stuffed, so I cancelled the salad order. 

 

 On the way out, the owner asked if we would like some grappa or some other digestif.  At first we refused, but two guys who had been sitting next to us (friends of the owners), insisted that we try something that they had on their table.  It was in a 2 liter bottle, and was like a sweet after dinner wine, but it was 70 proof!  Lana loved it, and it warmed her insides for the cold walk home.

 

We liked this place so much that we made reservations for the next night, at 8.  We had seen several steaks come out that smelled wonderful, and we had eaten very little beef on this trip.  That would have to change.

 

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