We arrived in Florence a few days ago, where we have settled into our lovely (and cost-effective, by European standards anyway) hotel just a few blocks from the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge.
On our first night, we found a cute little trattoria just down the block for dinner, 
and my mom delightedly ordered the lobster spaghetti, which was listed at a mere 6 euros (approximately $9 U.S.). Unfortunately, what was unclear on the menu (but which the waitress was happy to explain after the fact) was that it was 6 euros per 100 hectograms (or at least that’s what it sounded like the waitress was saying, after I took issue with the 36 euro item on our bill). She laughed when I said we expected it to be 6 euros, saying “ees imposeeblay!” Grrr.
Yesterday we rented a car (my first time driving the cute Smart Car brand I’ve seen all over Europe) 
and headed south to explore some of the Tuscan countryside. But first we had a little tussle at the rental car shop, where I asked for a breakdown of the 34 euro rate (which was much higher than the 13 euro reservation I had made on their web site). I knew there would be fees, but more than double? When I mentioned the 13 euro base rate, again I was met with “ees imposeeblay!” I swear, if one more Italian woman tells me “ees imposeeblay,” it’s poseeblay I may get violent.
When we finally settled into the car (and after an embarrassing return to the rental car counter to ask how to put the car in gear) we tootled down to San Gimignano, a hilltop village dating back to medieval times. 
We enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking the Tuscan hillside, and walked around soaking up the utter cuteness until we could soak no more. Most importantly, I bought I fantastic red leather shoulder bag for a steal – 60 euros, talked down from the 79 euros on the price tag. The guy told me he’d just make it up on his next sale to a Japanese tourist (Who am I to argue? The dollar is weak right now!).
Next we tracked down a winery to buy some wine we’d had over lunch, followed by a drive to Siena to visit a government wine shop that we’d read had afternoon wine tastings. Unfortunately, we didn’t time our trip quite right, and by the time we got to Siena it was already time to leave in order to make it back before the rental shop closed.
Between the traffic getting out of town and our fear of rush hour in Florence, I ended up driving the 60 kilometers back like a madwoman, going 120 km/hour in a 90 zone. My mother only gasped in fear for her life a few times (possibly a world record for her), and we made it back with just five minutes to spare. Phew!
Today we tromped down to the Uffizzi museum to learn about Italian of art over the centuries. There was some lovely art, of course, but we found ourselves raising our eyebrows and chuckling at the snooty voiceover on the museum’s audio guide. “Note how the artist has created an otherworldliness by placing the subject in a setting that transcends time and space” – imagine two hours of this nonsense! As we exited one of the halls, my mom cracked me up, saying, “Note how the architects have created a sense of relief with the placement of the 20th century benches.” (Upon which we promptly collapsed.)
