A Special Day

My friend, Terri, and I went to Firenze yesterday. We walked down to Piazza Garibaldi and caught the 8:45 bus to the Camucia stazione and then the 9:31 train to Florence. From there we walked across a couple of streets and around a corner to the bus station and bought a bus ticket for the Peretola airport shuttle bus to save me the expense of taking a taxi on Tuesday. A friend of Terri’s had explained to her where the shuttle bus to the airport was located so she could show me. He was a huge help and a great source of information!

Both Terri and I had some things we wanted to shop for in Florence so we headed for the San Lorenzo market. It was fun to browse the myriad clothing, jewelry, hat, and leather vendors. It was quite hot and I couldn’t even stand to look at the leather jackets. One vendor really annoyed me by stepping out into the street, looking at me, and saying, “Hey, I got your size!” I figured his size was about a 9mm, which I’d have used to shoot him on the spot, if I’d had one. We stopped for coffee and laughed at a food stand which advertised various kinds of chocolate with “weap cream”. I am always tempted to offer my English grammar and spelling translation services to businesses in return for a discount.

Terri bought two pair of shoes and some guitar strings at a music shop and I found a couple of English paperback books by authors I’ve come to enjoy to take with me until I can locate something to read in Germany. We stopped for lunch on a side street at a trattoria called Ristorante Mamma Gina. It was close to 2:00 so only a few people were in the restaurant and we were lead to a table set with sparkling wine glasses on a soft yellow tablecloth. I asked for the restroom and the waiter asked if I wanted it with or without a “doccia”, shower. Now, rather than “doccia” I heard the word “dolce”, meaning sweet so I didn’t understand the joke. Terri understands Italian and was able to banter back and forth with the distinguished looking waiter. In fact, they had a bit of a flirtation going on. She is very good at flirting and is trying to teach me, but I’m afraid I am a poor student. We both ordered an appetizer, crostini for Terri and bruschetta, toasted bread rubbed with garlic and covered with chopped tomatoes, basil, and olive oil, for me. For my main course I had tagliatelle with bolognese sauce and Terri had an incredible-looking eggplant Parmigiano, which she said was outstanding. It was one of the best meals I have had in Italy and we enjoyed a nice conversation with lots of giggles.

Our next stop was at every glittering jewelry shop on the Ponte Vecchio, of which there are many, and several more on the street leading to the bridge. I wanted to purchase a white-gold pendant of the symbol of Firenze, the “giglio”, which is a stylized iris. I found a small one I liked and shopped for the best price at three shops before making my purchase. It’s just beautiful and is a wonderful memory of a beautiful city and a special day. I will include a picture to the right so you can see what the giglio looks like.

We stopped for gelato before catching our very crowded, and thankfully air-conditioned, train home. After a 30 minute wait in Camucia we caught the bus to Cortona. Today our train tickets and bus tickets were both checked by a conductor. Terri said that, in 7 years of living here, her bus ticket has never been inspected before. She also said she was so tired after plopping in her seat that she very nearly did not dig for, and validate, her ticket, which would have resulted in a 25 euro ($41) on the spot fine!

We were both exhausted from the heat and crowds in Florence, but stopped at the Tuscher Bar for some appetizers and wine. We had such a good conversation that it was midnight before we left!