Thursday dawned bright, sunny, and warm so off to Fiesole.

Caught the bus after only waiting a few minutes at San Marco. The bus sign said San Marco so every person who got on asked “Fiesole?” Maybe he finally changed it.

Every bus driver I have seen has his headphones in his ears and the phone cord with the microphone in his mouth and is talking on it. They must go through a lot of cords from chewing on them.

Bus tickets are 1.20€ for 90 minutes. You have to punch it when you get on and it stamps the time. I wasn’t sure how to punch the ticket so waited until I saw others.

We went around the corner and the driver pulled over, stopped, got off and stood there, still talking. Must have been his union break. It was just a few minute before we left again.

I then realized I had forgotten the stupid guide book with the Fiesole walking tour at the apartment! I had purposely brought my backpack just so I could bring it too!

Fiesole is at the top of a nearby hillside. The bus went careening around corners and at times it seemed like it wouldn’t make it past the parked cars on one side and moving cars on the other. I just held on so I wouldn’t slide out of the hard plastic seat.

When we got to the main Piazza in Fiesole, I headed up a hill out of town since I remembered there was something up a hill. There are Etruscan ruins and an ancient Roman theater, that is still used for a festival, somewhere.

I walked and walked and didn’t find anything but a view from a park. I walked some more on the narrowest sidewalk and along a two-way street barely wide enough for one car much less two!

I finally turned around and headed back. Back in the main piazza by the bus stop, I saw a sign pointing up the other way that said San Francesco. That rang a bell so I went up the very steep, long road. The view from there of Florence and the whole valley was awesome. It was fairly hazy though. Not sure if it was smog or not. Probably.

As I got back down, a couple asked me how far it was up. I told them maybe a quarter mile and very steep, but worth it. I asked them if they knew where the ruins were. They thought it was just around the corner. It was the Roman theater but it was closed due to trees down! I never found the Etruscan ruins. So, I decided to go back as a bus was sitting there.

The Piazza San Marco, where the bus stops, is right next door to the Galleria dell’ Accademia where Michelangelo’s David is displayed. There were crowds of students around the Accademia so I fought my way thru and avoided the Duomo area since I knew it would be packed too. The students are like kids everywhere with no concept of anyone but themselves. They don’t move off the streets or sidewalks allowing a path through.

I was looking for a place to eat, since I hadn’t eaten all day, and stumbled across Caffe Italiano, which was the one I couldn’t find a few days before!

Opened the door and no one inside, of course. It was about 12:30 but I asked if they were open for lunch. The waitress said 5 minutes but said I could go ahead and sit down.

Megan had said it was a place for pizza but I didn’t see any on the menu. There was something called a Crouton with stuff on it, so maybe that was it. But when I walked in the door there was a leg of ‘ham’ on a cutting machine so I ordered bufala mozzarella and Parma ham. I expected a plate with some cheese and ham. It was a huge ball of cheese and a lot of Parma. The ham was extremely good. Dry, salty, and went well with the creamy mozzarella, wonderful!

I had asked the waitress which I should get between the pork or beef. She said the beef was traditional so I ordered the roast beef with roasted potatoes. It was flavorful and good but pretty lean so slightly tough. Potatoes were good.

I actually decided to have an espresso. It was great! Only my second of the trip.

The service was good and friendly. A group of elderly American tourists were brought in by a guide, but they were in another room. I sat there thinking it could have been my parents. Glad I am on my own at this point. Not sure I could ever go for the big tour group thing.

I had a couple of hours before my reservation at the Uffizi so went to the apartment and read. The hill climbing had worn me out a bit.

I had been told, and also had read, that going to the Uffizi around 4:00 PM was a good idea since it was less crowded. NOT! I thought for sure all the school groups would be long gone, but there were hundreds of them. Also, several Asian tour groups. It was mobbed. I can’t imagine what it would have been like earlier in the day when I have seen lines stretching for a block waiting to get it.

I had downloaded my Rick Steve’s audio tour again. It started off in a room that was closed for renovations. I was trying to fiddle with it to get it to go ahead and it quit working. Again?!

So, I had to wing it. I had a map that had some of the more famous paintings, etc. but it really wasn’t very helpful. So I just went room to room, corridor to corridor. The major paintings were so mobbed that I could hardly get close enough to see much less take a picture. So, not too many pictures.

Afterward, I was so tired I went back to the apartment and collapsed, after more ibuprofen! I ended up eating some more of my soup and calling it a night.