A Woman’s Day

Arriving yesterday at 5, we first learned that public toilets here don’t have seats.  There were a couple of close calls, but consider us educated now.  We quickly and easily collected our bags and headed to the hotel. 

Our hotel room is actually 2 rooms connected by a balcony antechamber. We were thrilled. After showers, we ended up having dinner in our hotel restaurant. 

Our hotel, a former palace of some sort. 

An ancient staircase we tried to climb but were blocked off from. 

Dinner pics

Yes, vegetables with lemon foam and popcorn. We read that in the menu, and I assumed it was a mistranslation. 

We soon discovered that we had arrived on an Italian holiday, Women’s Day.  In the streets and at our hotel, many women were carrying the same types of tiny yellow flowers, apparently associated with the holiday.  Also at our hotel, outside the restaurant, was a ticketed event.  Turn out it was a candlelight symphony.  The separation between the symphony and our dinner table was simply a gauzy curtain, so we got a concert for free.  When we left, I believe everyone could see us walking around the curtain.

We wandered the streets for awhile after, because it was too early for bed.  We ended up in a grocery store.

The best mandarins!

An Italian lunchable. (We didn’t buy, so no review.)

Massive produce

The first of many cured meat purveyors. 

The streets had an oddly yellow glow we were trying to capture.  

A beacon in the dark yellow night, Jane navigated us to this very well-reviewed bakery that was a glowing beacon in the darkness.

Woman’s Day decorations are all over still.  Lots of hearts.