Un giorno tranquilo, a quiet day.

Last night I forgot to make a note of the hat store in Siena, Jagannath Prema. Ira saw a hat there that he may want when we come back.

Vicolo di San Pietro 1 - 53100 Siena, Italy. The owner and hatmaker was so sweet. She showed us a large woven wheat sunhat that was handmade with a since lost technique. It was for sale, but I think it was her "I don't want to sell it price". I can appreciate that.

This morning we had our meeting with Nicolo about the "The Wow Project". Andrea came to assist with any technical translations, but Nicolo's English was ample for the level of discussion we had today. He is expecting an answer next week from the Art Foundation for approval on the project. Assuming that happens, the unit we are interested in might be ready by February 2025. The building upgrades, including the front facade, the elevator and all the common areas before the end of the year. 

He also let us know that it was their hope to manage the property also, which meant whenever we are not there if we decide to rent it out, they would take care of everything. This could be a stress free option to generate some income.

He also indicated that although they had plans to make two apartments per floor, the plan wasn't finalized and we would be able to make adjustments. There is another couple, friends of clients from Germany who are interested in the unit one floor down on the opposite side. But really we are getting in at the ground floor -- of the project, not the building, which gives us a lot of flexibility. He finally gave us a price range which came in at budget. But we need to remember that furnishings in Italy and most of Europe include the kitchen installation.

We ended by setting a meeting for February 13th when Nicolo hoped to have more details and documents translated for us to read. Andrea also chatted with Serena about "The Bar" property and to keep us apprised of any news on the change of the "destinazione". Andrea wanted to make sure that we kept all our options open. We appreciated that.

Before we parted ways, I asked Andrea to show us his favorite bakery for whole grain bread. He also had us buy a piece of a jelly roll type dessert with chocolate and berry inside and I picked out some chocolate hazelnut meringues. All I can say is thank goodness for all the daily walking because the desserts are molto buoni!

I will have to confirm if the meringue cookies we bought were Brutti ma Buoni or Ugly but Good pictured above and what the name of the jelly roll is, because OMG, they were both delicious. Did I say that already? So good!

This time on our way to the Coop, we walked through Garibaldi park

and then poked our heads inside the library. It is in a beautifully restored medieval building. The picture below is not mine, as the lights were out, which should have been a clue. After wandering around for 5 minutes, the librarian tracked us down to let us know they were closed, in Italian and then again in English LOL. 

Hopefully, she'll still let us have a library card as I had the idea that when we move down we could borrow children's books for practice. Baby steps!