#3 Saturday, March 8 "I can't believe I ate the whole thing."

When I was a kid growing up, there was a commercial for Alka Seltzer on TV that had a man in his pajamas sitting on the side of his bed late in the evening and moaning, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing." That's the way I felt after this day was over.

The alarm on my cell phone (no, there was not a clock in the room) rings at 7:00 am. As I open my eyes, I realize I have not moved the entire night. That's how tired I was. We get up, and for three women, I must admit we have a pretty good system for getting ready in one bathroom. We have breakfast in a small but quaint dining room. There are fruit juices, coffee, cereals, fruit, cheese, and breads from which to choose, so we begin our perusal of the breakfast bar. The fruit juice ends up not being the best, and the best description for the coffee is motor oil, thick and strong. But there is a wonderful treat in the form of a crescent roll that has a sweet glaze over the top, which can be filled with a custard cream, or sugary syrup or be plain. I never figured out how to determine which I was selecting, but there wasn't a bad one in the bunch. This morning I eat two, along with cheese and toast with butter and cherry jelly. Yes, cherry jelly. I can't say that I have had anything like that before, but it is good.

After breakfast we meet in the hotel lobby to begin a day of sightseeing and shopping, We meet our guide Roberto at the Santa Croce Church and begin our tour of the old city of Florence. Old might not be the right word since that part of town is a vibrant part of the city's life. As he takes us through town, we hear the well-known names of Michelangelo, da Vinci, Medici, Dante and Machiavelli, people I have studied and taught in my career as an English teacher.

Santa Croce Church, burial place for Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli

We spend half our morning on a tour around the Piazza del Vecchio looking at the various types of architecture, the statues, and examining the influence of the Medici family in early Florence. While showing us the outside of the Uffizzi, the government office building of the Medici family that is now a museum, Robert mentions two more items to be checked off my Bucket List, Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (better known to most students as Venus on a half shell) and Primavera, also known as Spring. I begin to salivate knowing that I will get to see these at some point while in Florence.

First palace of the Medici family at the Piazza del Vecchio

Replica of the original Il David, placed in the spot where the original was placed outside the Medici palace

Michelangelo's sculpture of Neptune outside the Medici palace

Former Gondi palace where da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa

Now is time for the coup gras of the morning, our viewing Michelangelo's Il David. We have seen one replica of the statue in the Piazza del Vecchio, but nothing has prepared us to see the "real thing." Roberto gives us all the details of the statues from what David is holding in his left hand to why his right hand is out of proportion to the rest of the statue. We examine the statue from the front, both sides and the back and the front again. Although, The David was not on my Bucket List, I think it should have been. When we get to the bookstore and souvenir shop, I purchase my book on the Il David to read later. I will need a translator. I accidentally purchased the one in Italian!

Front of the the Santa Maria del Fiore with pink and green marble

By now I have walked off my breakfast, and the organized part of the day is finished. We are on our own until 6:00 that evening. I am hungry, and so are several others. Our tour leader MR and her husband John end up going with the 3 buddies to a ristorante named ZaZa's. It is a small and crowed establishment that is rather warm inside so we opt to sit in the outside dining area. Our waitress is pleasant, a contrast to other Italians we have dealt with so far, but at this point I am still reserving my judgement on the population as a whole. We look over our selections and there it is--prosciutto. Now mind you I have never eaten prosciutto, but I have watched Giada on the Food Channel use it in many of her Italian specialities. You might be wondering how I know I would like prosciutto. Well, I am a vegetarian by choice, but not a vegan. I do eat dairy products and other produce from animals. And, I do like meat, but I choose not to eat it. But I must confess I love pork--pork chops, pork roast, pork tenderloin, and most of all BACON, fried crisp. If I fall off the wagon, bacon is usually the culprit. Prosciutto is pork that has been cure and salted and is what Italians consider the equal of our bacon,. Ergo, I know I like prosciutto. For my appetizer I order melon and prosciutto. Our waitress sits my plate in front of me, and I am salivating at this point. I wrap my first piece of melon in the prosciutto and pop it in my mouth. Yep! I knew I would like it. No. I love it. I continue to eat with gusto while the others at my table wonder if I have lost my mind. I finally persuade John to try a bite. Yep! He likes it. My main course of ravioli in a creamy red sauce with Parmesan cheese is next, and I inhale it along with bread and oil. The Italians just may have this eating thing down to an art.

We pass on ZaZa's dessert, and opt to introduce ourselves to gelato, an Italian ice cream. I am not a big ice cream eater, but gelato could change my mind . It is this creamy concoction that comes in flavors we have not even begun to think of here in the States. We all share in tasting each others' and vow to try more later.

We are near the Central Market and decide to do some shopping Italian style, bargaining. The market is a site to behold. Leather is everywhere, leather purses, leather coats, leather gloves, leather hats, leather wallets. Cashmere and lambswool scarves of every color and design and style. Murano glass jewelry and trinkets. Wooden Pinocchios (will explain later). Linen table cloths, napkins, and handkerchiefs. There are all kinds of items a euro can purchase. Note: The Euro is the money in Italy and is being used over most of Europe. The exchange rate for the US dollar is not good . While we are there the we have to pay $1.65 for one Euro. Your money can get away from you very quickly. But there are some great buys at the market, and Cathy and Shirley and I make friends with a vendor named Celeste from Romania; we buy scarves galore. Everyone we know back home will be dressed in an Italian scarf next winter. After spending time and money at the market, we begin to head back to our hotel. On the way we stop by the Ufizzi to get our tickets for a Sunday visit to the museum.


We get back to the hotel and purchase some computer time to e-mail home and learn that parts of Mississippi have gotten snow. Crazy weather.


We gather in the hotel lobby to walk to Il Latini to experience a fantastic meal Italian style. After a brisk stroll and a brief wait, we are seated and begin our meal. Our antipasta is served first: fresh mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and prosciutto (yea!). First course: 3 soups-cannelloni bean, tomatoes and eggplant, tomato and bread and two pasta dishes, one with a white sauce and one with a red sauce. Main course: a meat platter containing chicken, lamb, pork, and duck, along with roasted potatoes with rosemary. The icing on the cake is the dessert platter that has tiramisu, cheese cake, fruit tart, gelato, and vanilla cream cake. To wind up the meal we are served a small shot of amaretto that warms me all the way through. One of my favorite places to eat is Walker's Drive Inn in Jackson, and I don't know of anything that rivals their crab cakes and the red fish, but this meal came close to it.

Dining at Il Latini: front to back: Robert Sledge, DK, Shirely (standing, I will explain later), Cathy

Left front to back: Randy and Nan Randle; Right: Patricia Brashier, Susan Allen, Susan Jordon, Betty Barret Rodgers

Left front to back: Bill Nunley, Drew McDowell, Debbie Woodruff, Natalie Peeler: Right: Diane Nunley, Mary Ruth and John Brindley, Mary Kat McDowell


Thank goodness we walk after this meal back to our hotel. We sit in the lobby for a while, and I learn how to play a card game and play a few hands before I turn in for the night. I am stuffed, and the man in the commercial finds his way into my thoughts as I get ready for bed and another night of sound sleep after three great meals.

The traveling buddies after a wonderful meal at Il Latini