March 31

Happy Easter! I started my morning with a quick run. I was loving how quiet the city was. There were tons of runners out (say what?!) and my running socks nearly blew off when I passed a runner that wished me a happy Easter in Italian. Never, ever has another runner even looked me in the eyes! I picked Grandma and Mom up from their hotel (ok ok, I may have "picked up" a lot of nutella, cheese, apples, and jams from the hotel breakfast to take back with me too) and we headed to the Duomo. We had heard there would be a ceremony for Easter at 10:30 and we thought we should check it out. The quiet city I had at my fingertips just a few hours earlier was done for. Piazza de Duomo was packed. Packed beyond belief. Packed like my Ryanair carry-on. Packed like my brother Kevin's stomach after Girl Scout cookie season. We could not move--I am absolutely not exaggerating. Mom was laughing that everyone was wearing rain coats because the "swishy" fabric made it easy to rub past people. The ceremony was unlike anything I had ever experienced: a portable temple of sorts was placed in the middle of the square, and after a round of chanting from priests, the temple began shooting fireworks forth, spinning, and revealing flags. Strange, but utterly cool. After we freed our way out, we shopped through San Lorenzo market and then headed to Pitti Palace to see some exhibits and the Boboli Gardens. We had an intermission at an awesome restaurant in Santo Spirito. Mom and Grandma ordered pizza, thinking they had ordered slices (I clearly failed them as their tour guide). They were shocked to see huge pizzas presented before them. Slices of pizza are rare in Italy. I assured them that the Italians eat the entire pizza, using a few Italian women around the restaurant as proof. We re-entered Pitti right as the sun came out and explored the statue-rich gardens. Though beautiful, Mom and Grandma wished they could see them in the spring when things are more lush and colorful. A little bit of shopping later, we stopped in at the hotel for an evening tea pick-me-up. Then, the moment we (I?) I had been waiting for: dinner at Acqua. We ordered the salad sampler (a corn and tomato, raddicchio and fennel, and Greek), pasta sampler (simple tomato, spinach, broccoli, spicy risotto, vegetable ragu), and dessert sampler (tiramisu, blueberry tart, chocolate cake, and cheesecake). We left pleasantly full and exhausted from a day on our feet. Til tomorrow!