Prosecco

After not visiting the café during the weekend I returned yesterday to have a wonderful caffe’ latte and read my book for an hour or so. There is a cute little boy who comes in 2 or 3 days a week with his mother. He is about 3 ½ or 4 and the ladies at the café fuss over him as they do with all children. He is always smiling…….that is, until he makes eye contact with me. Then his happy face creases into a big, exaggerated frowny face as though I’d just suggested that he and Gretel hop in my oven. Sometimes he points at me and loudly tells his mother all about “la signora”, while she tries to unsuccessfully to shush him. I don’t know what it is about me that the little guy doesn’t like as little ones usually respond to my smile. Perhaps I should stop smiling at him.

I walked down to Dee’s house to chat and after we visited awhile she took me to a shoe store where a young woman makes handmade shoes. She studied in Florence for two years and spends the long, cold winter making unique and one-of-a-kind shoes for her little shop. She is very creative and makes wonderful shoes. I loved a pair of leather sandals fashioned of two narrow strips of leather decorated with small, individually created, leather flowers of yellow, brown, and green. The soles of the sandals come to a point in the front and remind me of something a tiny woodland sprite might wear while leaping nimbly through a forest. Such special shoes and such a talented artisan. It was my honor to meet her!

We then visited a small Enoteca (wine shop) owned by an adorable young couple. We ordered prosecco which is a sparkling white wine, similar to champagne. The young shop owner brought some delicious, beautiful, red cherries to our table and allowed me to sample of both fresh and aged pecorino cheese. Such a treat! The fresh pecorino was smooth and creamy and I liked it even better than the aged. The young woman’s father was sitting quietly at a table next to us and he explained that he is a personal chef who can be hired by foreign visitors who come to vacation at an Italian villa. What luxury to stay at an Italian villa with a resident chef to prepare Tuscan specialties each day! I think I would like to have a chef cook for me. He was very interesting and his son-in-law was kind enough to help us communicate with one another, as he spoke very little English. Such nice people and I wish them every success with their little shop.

Tomorrow I will be going to Florence with a friend for a couple of days. People just keep telling me how incredibly beautiful Florence is and I am very excited. It was one of the places mom and I wanted to visit, but never made it to for a number of reasons. Visiting the Duomo and seeing the Ponte Vecchio are the top two items on my agenda, and we have reservations at a wonderful restaurant for lunch. I will take lots of pictures to share with all of you!