La finesettimana prima della pasqua

Ciao a tutti!
This weekend is the weekend before Easter- obviously. Not so obvious however is all the fuss that occurs here due to that. I was in a piazza on thursday night and suddenly a procession of 300 people complete with monks, nuns, candles and a giant wooden cross came processing through singing and praying at various points. It was quite the sight. It had to do with a traditional procession where you visit 7 churches in one night and also Annunciation Day. Annunciation Day being the most under appreciated holiday ever. There was a big festival in a piazza on Annunciation Day and there was special food- brown sugared toasted nuts and these little wafer cookie-esque things that taste like pizelle (the licorice wafers you eat at christmas) but are super thin. vendors make and bag them right there and hand you ones to taste as they come off the iron. soooo delicious! also porchetta which is this giant wrapped pig that is roasted with the head still on.
Friday I had a trip with the art classes to Bologna- such an awesome city! We saw a Morandi exhibit which was an excellent change of pace (he's an Italian artist who worked from the 1910-s through the 60's) after all the Renaissance stuff we look at. And the city itself if young and hip and known for it's great food- including but certainly not limited to bologna and bolognese sauce. we walked through the open air markets and it was like nothing i've ever seen. huge slabs of meat and giant salamies. buckets of fresh fish ranging from tiny anchovies to 4 ft swordfish. fruits and vegetables of ever color. i love the way food is such an integral part of culture here. amazing.
Yesterday I walked up to Fiesole with some lovely people and spent a fabulous afternoon having a picnic on a grassy hill overlooking the Arno River Valley. We chatted, napped and snacked for nearly 3 hours before walking through the town to visit my favorite bakery to get treats for the long walk back down. That little hill town is one of my favorite places here. It's just so beautiful and peaceful and so different from Florence. It was nice to pass such a relaxing weekend since next weekend is Easter and the ladies and I are spending the long weekend in Crete. It's a whole lot of traveling and a whole lot of ladies and should be a whole lot of fun!