This morning I woke up at 4AM to the sound of thunder roaring outside. A few flashes and then more rumbling. I heard the rain begin to fall as I fell back asleep. At 8AM I woke up and it was pouring down rain. Our friends, John and Shruti, told us that it was hailing this morning, but we didn't see that. When we went to their place, they even showed us a piece of ice the size of a gum-ball that they put in a container in their freezer.
We walked to Piazza Santo Spirito to meet up with John and Shruti for lunch. The skies were cloudy, but it was sunny outside. We enjoyed eating lunch outside on the terrace. Next to the terrace was a small outside mercato where there were bancarelle (stalls) selling shoes, clothes, fruits and vegetables, and housewares.
When we were walking home at 3PM, the thunder started to grumble. I looked up at the dark grey skies and knew the rain wasn't far behind. Dave went shopping and I was walking down via Ghibellina. I jogged home quickly because I didn't bring an umbrella. But, like Dave told me earlier today, "Florence is the only place where if you don't have an umbrella, someone will run up to you and try to sell you one." So, I wasn't worried about not having one. But, I also didn't want to get wet.
Later at 8PM we were walking home after another spurt of thunder, lightning, and rain. I took the picture above of Santa Croce when the sun was setting behind us, the moon peeking through the dark clouds, and small bats were flying above. There weren't many tourists walking around as the air had cooled down quite a bit.
Maybe tomorrow the skies will clear and we'll be back to having sunny, warm days again.
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