A few observations

1. We were envious of the shoes until we saw the size of the BUNIONS and watched a hobbling old woman cling to her husband as they strolled the piazza on centuries old cobblestones. She could barely walk but boy did she cut "La Bella Figura" in her high-heeled, peek-toed Italian leather shoes.

2. The church bells sound beautiful, but seriously, twenty bongs at 7:40, seventeen at 8:04, six different churches all ringing at different times?

3. One can transport at lot more than you would think on a scooter.

4. Add Tallegio cheese to the list of smells that Tammi can't tolerate.

5. We speak Italian a lot better after a few glasses of vino.

6. Where did all these tourists come from?

Okay, now to the good stuff. Yesterday we went in search of a store we'd read about and along the way found yet another local market selling all manner of foods and goods. Our little piazza has a market every day and it seems to differ each day, but there are lots of options here. And just when we think we've got one market figured out the next day they have completely different stuff there. After going to three different locations where said store was supposed to be ( saw a lot of the city along the way though) we finally found the store just as she was closing until Monday afternoon. They definitely have work-life balance here. We'll be making another trip over there based on what we saw in the window. We stopped for a prosecco hoping to find someone to converse with. Easier said than done. The couple next to us were French and on the other side were Americans. So we headed back to the apartment and went out for dinner at a notorious locals hangout that turns out to be steps from our door. Bingo! They seated a woman and her daughter next to us and we talked, completely in Italian for two hours.

Today our friend Stefano graciously invited us to go with him, his sister and their friends out into the countryside to a winery called Casalbosco where his friend Frank is the manager. They were having a tasting. Mark, two of their wines scored over 90 points in Wine Spectator.
Their entire group agreed to no English so our little brains were taxed but we actually understood most everything and contributed to the conversation! Tonight we're kicking off our comfort shoes and staying in.