I will oficially be changing the name of the update to "Italian Sand Through the American Eyeglass", in honor of my cousin Matt. He is the one who came up with it and it is perfect. Leave it to Matt to inspire me and put his finger on the pulse of my experience. Thanks buddy!
Wow guys! I have a lot of ground to cover, so I hope you are all comfy and cozy.
I am glad to see that most of you are loving the posts, which makes me happy for three reasons: I love to write, I love to share this with all of you, and it is a nice way to relax daily in Cafe Moyo.
I do not have any pics for you, but I promise a good time in the following lines.
Ok. First I will start with a little recap of what I am doing here. I have had a lot of people asking for details and such. Cousin Kirk: No my dad is not crazy for letting me be here alone. The truth is, I decided I was going to come to Florence for about a month. I just recently finished my teaching credential and will be student teaching in January. SO, I wanted to do something big. I asked everyone I knew if they wanted to join me, but no one could. So, I decided it should not stop me. Believe me, my dad was perhaps the most opposed. With good reason. As you said, I am a most beautiful girl and perhaps it is dangerous to unleash me alone on the streets of Florence. There you have it. No studying. I am just here, staying in an apartment I have rented and that is all. I do appreciate your love and concern, as well as the educational history of Florence... see, maybe I am studying: art and life.
So, let's begin with the aparment. I finally got it cleaned up yesterday to take pics for you all. I did not take the pics and now my apartment is a mess. Soo, I have included a link to the website that has pics of my apartment. http://www.poderevignola.com/eng/firenze/default.asp
I could not have done a better job. This way you can read all about it too. What it does not tell you is that I have to climb some wicked ass stairs to get to it. They are steep and there are many. Perhaps I shall count them for you. I also have to use 3 different keys to get into my house. It could be four, but I opted out of the fourth one, considering it overkill. Now, the thing about Florence is that the historic center (the part I am living in and doing everything in) is pretty small. Things here are different in the sense that they have big grocery stores, but not near me. Otherwise, goods are split up into many different stores. So, When I need to do grocery shopping, it can take a while. Then, I accumulate stuff, so I have to drop them off at home. What this means is that in any given day, I climb those stairs 6-10 times. For example: This morning I went to the central market for fresh pasta, parmigiana reggiano (I threw that in for Alisha), and bread. I also found some cheap cashmere scarves: che bella! I came home. Then I gathered all my stuff for the internet cafe. I will have to go home again to get my backpack and camera before going to Santa Croce. This happens all day. I don't have a car and such to keep stuff in, so I have to go back to unload and regroup constantly. The good news is, I am already loosing weight, even though I eat salame and pasta like it is going out of style.
As many of you know, I am a smart girl, but perhaps a little gullable. I am very sensitive and very trusting... too trusting. On Wednesday morning I awoke very early and got out of the house. As I walked in Piazza della Signoria, an Italian man stopped me saying he had to buy me a coffee. He said I was out way too early and that in Italy, you drink cafe in the morning. So, I figured, "Why not?" Free coffee always accepted: that is my motto. As we sat, he told me I was beautiful. "I know," I said. Blah Blah. He tells me he is a designer and owns a shop. He invited me to go and I say why not? So, we go, and he is legit. He designs very expensive leather coats, some for famous people. There were pics up of Melissa Joan Hart, Mariel Hemmingway, Marcia Cross, and some famous soccer dudes. Then he invites me to dinner. I think about it. I figure, I am here to meet people and it would be nice to have a dinner friend, a local to take me somewhere great, so I accepted. Then came the hug. Ummm, wierd hug, gotta go, ciao. "See you Friday," I say. Now, this guy is pretty old and certainly not someone I would be interested in seeing romantically. I made it clear. Yesterday, I decide to google him. If he is a designer, then he should be out there. He was, but the site was nothing to do with leather. He was mentioned in a blog. This girl told a story about him that sounded EXACTLY like mine, but creepier. Umm, yeah, I guess I dine alone tonight! Say no to Mario Romano.
On a happy note, I officially found the greatest deal in Florence. My friend took me to this place last night called Colle Beretto. It is a bar, but a super special bar. The drinks are about 9 Euros (over 10 American Dollars) BUT! They have a buffet style snack table that is free as long as you buy a drink. Now people. I do not mean peanuts and chips and salsa. I am talking awesome Italian antipasti: Bruschetta, bread with melted mozarella and ham, potatoes, salad, pate, steamed veggies, bread with peperoni and mozarella, little toothpics with tomatoes and mozarella, chicken wings, french fries, quiche, and on. I swear. It was dinner. I will definitely be visiting this place a lot. Also last night, as if we did not get enough to eat, we went to this great restaurant called Open Bar. It is right on the river. Benjamin and I decided to go eat, but I told him I couldn't afford anything expensive. He says, "Oh no, it is not expensive." Um, it was, but luckily he paid. The deal is, I pay next time. That is when we go McDonald's ;-). This place was great and the portions huge. All I had was Ribollita (a Tuscan soup made of bread and veggies) and salad. I thought I would pop! I had to go home straight-away. It was 9:30.
Ok. Please do not get mad, but I have not had any gelato yet. The plan was to eat it everyday, but I have not felt it. I have vowed to make it happen today. I plan to go home, get my camera, go to Santa Croce and then go for gelato. It will happen. My favorite is Nocciola (Hazelnut). I cannot wait. You see, I have fallen into a dangerous habit since I have come here. Since I am here for awhile and everything I want to see is in my back yard, I have started putting things off. Oh, I have plenty of time, blah blah. Before I know it, I will be leaving and not have done it all. SO!!!! I must begin! Today is Santa Croce. Santa Croce is a Franciscan Church. It has been dubbed Florence's "Westminster Abby." Michaelangelo, Rossini, Galileo, and Machiavelli are buried there. The church is covered with frescoes by Giotto, who was one of Florence's first great artists. It also has a leather school. It is great because you can walk through the school, buy leather goods, watch them make stuff, and then have any leather items initialed or written on with gold leaf for donation. It is really fun.
Otherwise, I will be taking it easy today. I may go the train station for a schedule to start planning my visits to the hill towns. There are a few to get to. I am going to cook myself dinner. I bought some fresh trofie pasta and found my favorite Barilla red pepper pesto at the store. Can't wait. And later... perhaps a little fun on the town.
I love and miss you all. Hope to hear form you!
Tanti Bacci.
PS to Pam... If red wine kills brain cells, then call me stupid and pour me some Chianti!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment