We’re safely back in the states, and I would’ve mentioned it earlier except that I seemed to have brought an extra friend along with me, one that I met on the plane from Rome to Paris — the influenza virus. I’ve been out of commission for the past week with all my resources going to catching up on the work I left behind. Don’t fret however — our dear Mary has kindly graced us with a guest post describing the last two days in Italy. Enjoy!
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Mary writes:
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig. Yes, we are home again, although our bag seems to want another stint somewhere else. We were unable to locate it when we arrived. But, our last few days were memorable ones. We began to relax in Florence and could say, “Let’s go back to…” or “I want to eat at… again.” It was a nice feeling, ours for a few days.
We took a side trip to Siena, a town about an hour away by bus. It is a classic Tuscan town but we spent the day just exploring the small streets. The interesting thing for me was that 17 areas of the city are identified with an allegorical animal. We saw signs of the unicorn, elephant, ram, and dragon on signs, fountains, churches, and tapestry hanging outside. Each animal has a patron saint, a church where the saint is worshiped, and a festival.
The sunshine was welcomed as we sat in Piazza del Campo, the large shell-shaped area. It was 50 degrees as people were sitting here and there, faces to the sky. We discovered Pan Forte, a softly-baked concoction of chocolate, nuts, cognac, and dried fruit. It was better than any fruitcake on Earth and would last 7 months. How convenient!
The last day in Florence and the next to last day in Italy, was spent shopping. We went back to the Central Market. Samer managed a small wheel of pecorino and a disturbingly-large salami back in our carry on. The inspector in France asked about the wheel and when she found out it was cheese, she had a look of, “hmm, not bad, I would like to try it.” We found a wonderful little shop, Il Torchio, that makes its own Florentine, marbleized paper into journals. The bookmaker was friendly and spoke near-perfect English. We found a family-run restaurant, Trattoria Gabriello, for dinner and had tiramisu for the first time in Italy. It was a feel good place that brought families there. Perfect for our last night.
We said, “Goodbye,” to Florence and went on to Rome. It was a quick walk to our hotel and waited to meet Samer’s friend CC. We went back to Piazza Navona, the area where we first stayed. We wanted to eat again in that small alley cafe, Navona Notte, seen in the first photo of ours. The food and friendship were wonderful and we enjoyed our last moments in this ancient town. We saw the Trevi fountain at night and had a long lingering walk back. The most romantic, scenic, and gastronomic trip of my life had come to an end.
The bag arrived last night, three days later. It won’t tell me where it’s been. Hmmm.