[11:16 p.m. written as 11/16/11] Palm Sunday -- Not that we saw much of it. I woke @ abt 10:15, but then dozed off & on till abt 1:00 when I woke Beast. We, of course, missed the housekeeping service AND breakfast, but we stopped @ a cafe up the street and had lunch. Then another block north & we got in line for the Accademia where we saw David and lots of other Michelangelo sculptures, mostly unfinished, and large paintings from local artists from the Renaissance and older. Nice, also free because it's (?) Italian Cultural Heritage Week.

After the Accademia we sat in Piazza San Marco for a bit, checked out the church, walked a couple of blocks to Santissima Anunciata [Annuniziata] & had gelato on the steps of the old orphanage. We happened to still be there when a procession supporting PETA-ish ideals came thru the Piazza. That was odd, and clearly unexpected.

(Forgot to note that I snagged a palm branch from the stash @ San Marco)

So then it was back to the hotel and a leisurely drink on the terrace in the sun with the Duomo in the near distance. I read, Beast played on his computer; we just relaxed. Round about 7:30 we decided it might be time to find a place to eat. The place we picked was delish -- we were seated in the cellar, next to an unused (now) well, and had great food & more fun people-watching. Walked home and despite having only been awake 11 hours, Beast's already crashed out (sore back) and I'm not far behind (sore legs, perhaps sciatica too). Tomorrow: NO MUSEUMS!!! More gelato and gardens/piazzas.

Sparky is doing better; texted him a couple of times today. Apparently, they're getting some snow, but otherwise things have steadied out again. Thank goodness!