Monday 19 and Tuesday 20

On Monday evening we did the typical Italian activity, the passagarie, a walk between work-time and dinner-time to unwind. I bought the one item that I was determined to return home with, a wax stamp embosser. I purchased one on our wedding day in Florence in 2000, but it did not make it home with us.

During our walk, Parilla touched the nose of Il Porcellino (a giant bronze statue of a wild boar) for good luck. We don’t have a picture of it because Aaron accidentally erased it.
Once we got back to the apartment we had Priest Chokers (spinach and ricotta gnocchi) with browned butter and sage sauce. This is one of our favorite dishes and we were very excited when we saw the gnocchi at the Mercato.

Tuesday (11/20) we visited San Miniato on the hill overlooking the city. The church has a beautiful façade and the views are fantastic. On the walk to San Miniato we saw one of the feline communities that have been established for the cats of the city.

We also walked over the Ponte Vecchio and up to the roman gate. During the passagarie we took a number of photos of major sites and monuments lit up and with an almost full moon in the background. It was really beautiful. We did not go to very many specific places today, but walked around quite a bit of the city.