what have I learned so far

I have learned that the bell tower at the Duomo is very imposing. I chose this location for the bike meet...southwest corner at noon. After the bells rang noon, I realized that after 9 months, perhaps my contact was operating on italian time...a little more laid back. She was. But that was all right. I could find worse places to spend 15 minutes.
I also have learned that a biergarten on top of a mountian is something the americans could learn from. Here I am honcho-ing a dog, a nephew, and my beer. Nice view in the background, albeit somewhat hazy that day. I am fairly certain of two things in the next pic...one, this is at the Uffizi overlooking the Arno and two, a scene from A Room With A View was shot here, when George Emerson the younger flings Lucy Honeychurch's photographs into the Arno and exclaims that something wonderful has happened.
I bought fruit and veggies this morning at a local store/stand. I walked in, greeted the woman, and she said rather than asked, no italian? I said no, she raised her eyes and hands skyward in supplication. But we figured out what I wanted in the end.