We’re getting lazier and lazier in the mornings, but we finally made it out and walked straight to Cafe Coloniale for a quick coffee.  Then we continued on to the park where I first photographed the big yellow gingko tree.  At it’s most beautiful brilliant yellow, the leaves are now raining down for the start of winter hibernation.   It was like a little golden snow storm under there with lots of locals stopping to take pictures and pick up leaves.

We walked from there along the Adige for a few block and then to admire the San Anastasia church.  We went into the side, Chiesa di Santo Pietro, full of old frescoes and on to the duomo. The view of from the side street here is almost as impressive as from the front.It kept feeing like it was about to rain, so we headed in the direction of home.  Stopped on via Famma and got some vegetables and then we went to a new (to us) place called Boscaini right at Porta Borsari and were able to get salami and ham and bread.  So now we have lunch!

After lunch and a rest, I met Luisa at the Arena for a special Christmas exhibition called “Presepi del Mundo,” displays of nativity scenes from around the world.  They are all shown in glass cases in the tunnels under the Arena; the stone and dirt floors are covered with a thin red carpet.  They say there are over 400 presepi in there but some were very small–like the size of a ring box while others were almost life sized.  I like the African ones and seeing the differences between and among the Italian regions.  It was fun to look with Luisa because she knows a lot more of the symbolism than I do.

no room at the inn

roku ceramics from Croatia

in a jug

After the show, Ken met us. We went to the OVS store, a less expensive department store, to buy a shirt for Luisa’s son.  The three of us then stopped in at the Accademia bar for a vin brulee–like mulled wine.  The hot wine was just right.  We sat and talked there for a while:

Ken and I went to dinner at Enoteca Segreta.  We were the first customers of the night–I had reserved for 8:00 and we were right on time.  By 9:15 the place was full and most everyone had reserved.  Ken started with pasta and fagioli–the best bean flavor ever! And I had a green fettuccine with mushrooms and sausage–rich and delicious.  For our main course we shared meatballs in a light tomato sauce.  I had a not terribly successful dessert of sbrisolona drizzled with grappa.  I should have just gotten a grappa!  Sbrisolona is, I guess, a Mantova thing.

We had a nice walk home. Fast because the temps are really falling.

Ken has already started packing and we picked up an empty cardboard pasta box on the street if we need it to take stuff.  Feeling raging mixed emotions about the trip ending soon.