Zurers in Italy: 2004
Itinerary for October 2004
Day 1: Florence
PS from Diana. I think it’s my job to add something about how it feels to be here.
Day 2: Florence
We sleep late.....not getting up until 9 am.
Day 3: Florence
Sunday morning is warm and partly sunny….we get a late start and head over to the Piazza San Spirito for breakfast.
Day 4: Florence
Today we eat breakfast in our apartment for the first time…..coffee, tea, bread (from the bakery around the corner) and butter, and yogurt.
Day 5: Florence
Following breakfast in the apartment and putting in a laundry, we head across the river to visit the Duomo, the Baptistery and the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo (Museum of the Works from the Cathedral). The sun is shining, the temperature is in the low-70s and there is a light cool breeze—one couldn’t ask for better weather.
Day 6: Florence
Today we are going to take the bus to Poggio a Caiano to visit our friend and my travel colleague, Maddie Bacarelli. After breakfast, we hop on the handy electric bus that stops just down the street and take it to the train station, where most of the inter-city buses leave from.
Day 7: Florence
Grocery shopping is on the schedule for today…..coffee, tea, wine and snacks, stuff for lunch—prosciutto, cheese, etc.
Day 8: Florence
We have now been here for a week….we have done a lot and had a great time, but we realize that we won’t be able to do all that we had planned.
Day 9: Florence
The morning is overcast as usual, but it turns out to be another day without rain. We enjoy our regular breakfast in our kitchen….
Day 10: Florence
Overcast again this morning….the sun looks like it is trying to break through as we cross the Arno on our handy electric bus.
Day 11: Florence
It is overcast and cool again this morning….we are going to meet Judy Witts Francini (Divina Cucina) who runs a cooking school in Florence.
Day 12: Florence
It has turned cool and breezy this morning but it is not raining. We take our little electric bus to the Museo di Firenze Com’era (The Museum of Florence As It Was).
Day 13: Florence
Day 14: Florence
Our last day in Florence…..and the sun is shining.
Day 15: Florence - Mantua
We pack up this morning and have our last apartment breakfast. Laura comes to check us out although all she really does is review the accounting and refund Euro 18.
Day 16: Mantova
Our first day out of our apartment….the hotel room is comfortable but we miss the space that we had to stretch out.
Day 17: Mantova
The weather today starts out sunny and clear with a slight nip in the air. After breakfast and a stop at the wi-fi café, we drive to the Palazzo Te, built as a summer palace on the far end of town.
Day 18: Mantova
It has been hard to tell in the early morning what the weather will be like later in the day….often the heavy overcast of 7:30 am gives way to some sunshine or some brightening later in the morning.