25 November 2012, Sunday

Hearing shouts of encouragement, the joggers pass by the bench where I'm sitting, near the Duomo. There's a water station here, along with offerings of banana or orange slices.  Tired runners of all ages pass by.  Over 10,000 people raced here last year.

This marathon started at 9 am this morning and it's now 1.45. Some are still jogging, others are fast walking. Two Misericordia vans are stationed here for assistance. Two girls pulling a suitcase, right in the race route, have been asked by an official to move to the sidewalk. Some enthusiastic cheer squads are riding bikes, blowing horns and shouting vai ragazzi! Come on guys !! You can do it! Dai!!

I'm sure there are thousands of runners here. The weather is perfect. Not cold but not hot. I'm resting my feet, sore from breaking in new boots.

I saw a two girls running by wearing Finland shirts. Then a man running in full Scottish dress, even his hat.

I browsed for an hour at the street antiques market this morning in the area of San Ambrogio. I bought an old key for 5€. 

My lunch plans were cancelled so I headed back toward the center of town. I wanted a piadina for lunch, but I couldn't wait to look any further. I had a panino with finocchiona salame, which they grilled for a few minutes. I sat on the steps of a church, the one which usually has free night music recitals.

Note from Kyle Phillips: "Finocchiona, a variation on salami, supposedly owes its origins to a thief at a fair near the town of Prato, who stole a fresh salami and hid it in a stand of wild fennel. When he returned for it, he found it had absorbed the aromas of its hiding place and had become fit for the Gods."

I took pictures at my favorite wedding dress shop.

A small parade passed by as I walked.  I don't know the special occasion for this.

I returned to Rinascente (Department store) to purchase a leather tote bag with  20% coupon. Now I have a frequent buyer card for Rinascente.  I called Marta for permission to use the house address for residence. Sara was carrying the same bag on Saturday night. Hers was two shades of brown. Mine is the same, but purple and violet.

With a few hours to spare, I decided to do laundry. It will take two full days for my clothes to line dry. I bring extra rope and string it around my room.  Yes, there are dryers at the laundromat, but I always let my clothes air dry, even at home.

I had an appointment for tea at Emiliano and Caterina's home for 5.  I started walking down the sidewalk next to the River Arno about 4.30. The lighting here is mystical.

As I passed by the Pegasus Pasticceria shop, I spied two baba in the case! 1.80€ each. 

Their children are adorable.  Grazia is named after Caterina's Sardegnian mother and baby Angelo after Emiliano's father. I delivered a baby quilt I made for Angelo. Size 3 was just right for the Hello Kitty shirt for Grazia. I asked about any superstitions about opening umbrellas in the house. Luckily!  Caterina took the child sized giraffe umbrella out into the entry to open in. Good choice! This will be Grazia's first umbrella. Just in time for the rain on Tuesday.

This trip I've made an effort to walk different places. This night I walked back toward Via di Santo Spirito. The street was magical.

Although it was Sunday night, many restaurants and some shops were open. The common theme for all was lighted candles on the sidewalk.

I passed by an open small market selling cheeses, salame, prosciutto and I saw milk! For dinner I bought fresh mozzarella, a slice of prosciutto, a fresh tomato and I found fresh olive oil!! I need to go back and get one bottle for Marina in Cremona and another one for me. The cost of last year's oil was 7€. The newly harvested and pressed is 12€. 

Dinner was just as good as eating in a restaurant! Of course I opened the oil and drizzled it over the mozzarella and tomatoes.  It brought back memories I\of the exact same dinner Alessandro bought and prepared for me one night. With the exception of the baba and milk :-)