Davvero, La Vita E Bella in Arezzo

So I had a day off in between trips, and after eating other people's vacation food all week and supporting them in the van while they exercised, I had to get on a bike.  Arezzo was on my to-do list for this summer, because that's where much of La Vita E Bella was filmed (I'm still searching for my Roberto Bernigni).  With the help of a fantastic co-leader, I planned an 85 km round-trip ride, which I started early to beat the looming rain.

Arezzo was adorable!  I found the main piazza, and they had self-guided tour posters to find the locations from the movie.

The cafe that was also a bookstore in the movie (I think...)

Self-guided tour

The main piazza where Roberto runs into his principesa the second time.

I also rode my bike down this alley (it was terrifying), although I didn't catch anything coming from the window

The Special Olympics also happened to be here that day

There was a gorgeous park in the center of the city.  There's a sort of organized forest in the background.  Lovely

When I got home from Arezzo, I took myself shopping in San Giovanni Valdarno for a blazer to wear on premiere dinners.  I ended up in a cute little shop with two hip middle-aged women in charge.  I told them I was looking for a jacket and the scen quickly snow-balled into trying on a blouse, black pants, three necklaces and stilettos, all the prove that the jacket was great.  I felt like Pretty Woman, although my credit card isn't so deep so I had to gently talk the woman out of selling me the entire store.  She told me it was a sin not to buy the things because they looked so good (right...), but she settled for a delayed purchase.    Here's my new gem: