It's raining and cold.

Ok, so it's not cold. It's roughly 85dF, but after baking under the relentless sun in 100dF heat since we've arrived, it feels "chilly"...well at least according to some Italians, who are out there wearing jackets. 

This morning we got up earlier to get out for a ride, but we awoke to a light rain. Instead of going out in the rain when not necessary, we decided to go pick up Kristen's jacket from Massimo and wait out the rain. Of course, when we got to his shop at 10:30, there was no one there yet. So we went to the bakery and stocked up (the bakery is closed on Sunday and we needed lunch stuff, breakfast tomorrow and ride food). The lady must think we're crazy! How do these two skinny people come in there everyday and eat so much. All I know is that carrot cake we brought with us on our ride yesterday really hit the spot. Anyway, I digress. 

We got back, had a snack and got ready to go out for a ride. We were all dressed and headed out the door when Kristen noticed the rain coming down on the skylight in the hallway. With thunderstorms forecast for this afternoon we decided we'd just put the laundry in, shower and head out to Palazzo Pitti, with one final stop at the San Lorenzo Market on the way home, if the vendors hadn't gone off due to the rain. Now that we had other plans, watch the sun come out, as it does. 

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For those of you who are only following here, sorry for the lapse in posts. We've been really keeping busy between riding, touring the sights, shopping, and oh so much walking! And the stairs!! We're getting a workout even on the days we don't ride. I've been posting photos on Facebook since, for some reason, I'm having a lot of trouble posting them to Blogger. Like I've mentioned, we're also having issues with our GPS routing site so I think it's just an internet issue. Maybe the next place will be better... hopefully not worse. 

To fill you in a little bit, over the last few days we went up the Duomo dome. Without a Firenze card, the wait to get in was around two hours, but luckily it was early and we were in the shade. We decided against actually going inside, since on the way up to the dome you do go inside and see the inside of the dome much closer up than you could visiting the church alone. The best thing to see inside are the frescos, and we felt like waiting another hour on line to get inside was just too much. Instead we went to Santa Croce, which was really beautiful. I'd never been in there, only walked by, so it was exciting to see something new... plus there was no line. 

Besides that, we walked around and around and around. We picked up Kristen's custom sandals and ogled over the other shoes in the shop. My favorite pair were really beautiful but at nearly $900 they were a bit out of my budget. 

Yesterday we went for a tough hot ride. It was short, but the climb was quite steep for a long time and whenever I looked down at the temperature on my Garmin it was stuck at 100dF all the way up. The ride brought us back through Fiesole so we were able to go up to the overlook that allows you to see over the entire valley. We really wanted to climb up there on the bikes, but we had to walk. At over 20% grade with those big rocks that they used for paving, it was just too dangerous on that narrow lane with the pedestrians. 

After dinner, which I made in the apartment instead of going out, we walked around for a bit and stumbled upon a crazy concert band playing classic rock songs. When we arrived they were playing Bohemian Rhapsody. It was pretty cool; they had a rock rhythm section, a great guitar player, and all those horns. It was cool for a bit, but got kind of annoying after a while. 

We realized that Palazzo Vechio was open until 11 and it was so quiet, so we went in for a walk around. I've realized the best thing to do is visit these places near closing time or when they're open later on Fridays. It's so much more enjoyable without the crowds. 

Alright, well I best be going. I have to get showered so we can go out and make something of this dreary-by-Tuscan-standards day. I guess we could just stay in and watch the Tour but that maybe wouldn't be the best choice. Again sorry for no photos. If you're on Facebook and we're friend, you'll probably have already seen them. If we're not friends, friend either me or Kristen and you can see them. Otherwise, I'll try to post some later and see what happens.