Managed to reach the outskirts of Bologna before noon. Stood by the side of the road for most of the day. After what seemed like an 8 hour ordeal, a polizia officer looking like Mussolini pulled up and fined me for hitchhiking. 3500 lire!, he demanded. I held out my wallet, wherefrom he pulled out a Galileo and two Verdis , and returned a couple of coins. I panicked. How much this was I did not know. Did he take my budget for a week? A month? He took me to a toll station and told me where to stand. I caught a ride to Florence in about 15 minutes. During the 60 plus miles, I calculated that I had lost about $1.75. Lots of inflation in the history of Italia. Still, one less cannoli for me tonight. Bummer in Bologna...

piazza


Arrived in the Piazza della Signoria half an hour before the Uffizi closed. Rushed past a statue of David standing guard outside the Palazzo Vecchio. Hello Ciaou... Dashed through the galleries in a frenzy — Giotto ... DaVinci ... Botticelli ... Caravaggio ... — the Renaissance from Deus to Zeus in 30 minutes.

florence

Slept somewhere in Florence-Firenze, dreaming of Venus and grapes.