Day 11: Arezzo

12/30: Weather in Rome was a no go, so we slept in a little and trekked off to nearby Arezzo for a proper tour of the town. Arezzo is the closest "major" town to the villa, and was only 20 min away or so.
We wandered in and out of a few churches, including Sant Francesco, full of frescoes and neat architecture.
We stopped for lunch in a nice family owned, or "trattoria" restaurant overlooking the town's major square. We had a complimentary soup, served in a flask like mason jar that was neat, but actually hard to get the spoon into. For the main course, I ordered veal cutlets served in a bone marrow sauce. It was quite delicious.
After lunch we wandered the square a bit and just walked the street, popping in and out of small stores on our way to Arezzo's duomo.
This duomo was different than all the other duomos we had seen because it was actually completed in 1919! It overlooked a nice fountain that had been defaced by graffiti on one side, which was a shame. The view of the valleys covered in vinyards was also neat. There was even the body of Pope Gregory X on display in a glass coffin. He was gilded too, it was spooky looking.
By this time it was getting dark, so we trekked back to the city center and stopped for snacks at a cafe across from the first church we investigated. It turned out to be the famous cafe seen in the award winning 1997 movie Life is Beautiful. I tried to order a cannoli, but got some other type of pastry filled with cream. It was good, but I was looking forward to the cannoli.
After our brief rest, we headed down into the major pedestrian shopping district. I really like small streets lined with shops and small crowds going to and fro. After walking the streets, we ended up in a more open Christmas market. I considered buying a cannoli, but thought better of it. I also considered buying a knockoff Arezzo Hard Rock Cafe sweatshirt (there isn't a Hard Rock in Arezzo). If it was a tshirt I would have bought it, but I left it hanging in the stall. A weird theme I've been seeing all over these Italian markets Simpson merchandise. The characters, probably knockoffs, are on everything, including leaning tower of Pisa shirts, Duff beer sweatshirts, and a shirt of Homer as the Vitruvian man. It's just strange.
After shopping we headed back home to the villa. I liked Arezzo, it was a neat city.