Giorno 91, 7 April: Leather di Firenze

Hotel Marcello, Florence, Italy, Giorno 91. Leather di Firenze

      After a late start, in which Vinnie and I both slept through alarms, we all met at the Bavaria Hotel and booked all accommodations for the trip up until Portugal, which quite a while to find a place for all six of us. Finally, we headed over to the pizza place made famous by Jersey Shore (but to be honest, the pizza was too doughy and dry—and I’ve never really cared for Jersey Shore).

      Today was a shopping day—I bought a few gifts here and there, and decided to buy myself a white jumper with ‘Italia’ across the front. The instant Devon and Caitlin saw me in it they made faces depicting the expression one would think of instead of saying ‘wow’. Then I saw Vito and Joe and then Caitlin buy nice Firenze leather wallets and the temptation arose. I have a UK-size wallet right now, and a beat-up wallet back home, but I might never have the chance to buy leather like this again. I still left the store and joined them in a square, one that looked exactly as I had remembered it from my 2007 Europe school trip.

      I went back to the leather store and bought the 35€ wallet. On the front there is the Firenze flower and beyond the beautiful black exterior is a red interior. The second I bought it, I felt elated with energy, helped by the rich smell of the leather. (Yes, I pretty much got the same wallet as Joe, but mine’s black.) After this, I realized that this trip is becoming more expensive than I had expected, but I know it’s worthwhile and the memories will outlast the anxieties.

Gelato Galore

      An 80-flavour gelato store greeted us with open arms and we embraced it willingly. I got as close to a smoothie as possible, a berry one that Vito got in ice cream form. At some point I remembered Joe saying this line while we walked everywhere today: ‘Yeah, I skip when I’m [enchanted]. Walking is too slow. Running looks too weird.’ It was funny.

      In the early evening, we went to a market and bought meat (prosciutto and salami), brie cheese, baguettes, and merlot for a dinner up on some steps at Piazza Michelangelo. The joke of the evening was very cheesy: *someone whines*, then ‘Would you like some bread and cheese with that wine?’ (I know, cheese-y.) The view overlooked the city lights at dusk, the Duomo and other Cathedrals towering above the sea of red shingled roofs. It was beautiful but windy. On our way there, we had walked through the Ponte Vecchio after the stores had closed. On the way back, we passed the Duomo packed with crowds. It’s Good Saturday, I realized.

      Elsie and her roommate Amanda met up with us at Bavaria Hotel and they took us around the city for a little, the place we went had the silhouette of the world atlas lit with red lights behind it. I called it an early night to get up for skype with Katya. As I walked back, I kept being reminded of the beauty of Florence all around me.

The Beauty of Florence