A fifth tradition will be started this morning. Kelly's morning visit to la pasticeria for a pastry and some coffee while I go to il tabaccaio for bus tickets. This is where I would be soon reminded that Italy has only been unified for about 150 years, so there is still a little discontent about other occupying countries (or villages) that have renamed their cities over the years.
I worked up my courage to walk up to the counter and purchase two bus tickets to Florence.
"Due biglietti per Florence, per favore."
"Firenze!" she replied as she typed on her calculator and spun it around without saying another word, so I could see the total.
"Good to know." I thought to myself.
The calculator idea is actually pretty clever. If the clerk doesn't speak English, they just show you the total. It works pretty well.
Riding the buses in Italy is a great way to immerse with the locals and I wish that we would have taken more pictures of everyday life. Husbands will drop off their wives and she will grab the groceries out of the back of the "pickup truck" and be on her way. Half the time I saw these little old ladies traversing the hills of town carrying their groceries made we want to grab their bags and help, but this is daily life for them.
In my research prior to the trip, I had read that locals have "their seat" on trains despite what their ticket says, and we got a taste of this on the buses.
Maybe waiting in lines doesn't apply in Italy as it does in the US or maybe they do, in fact, simply want "their seat", but a small group of people were in line as the bus pulls up and then we witnessed the following and this will not be an exaggeration.
The women who wanted to get "their seat" would walk up along side of the bus and proceed to smear, yes completely smear the whole front of their body against the bus to fit between the 8 inches of space between the line of people and the curb. We are talking hands-up like they are getting frisked as they side step through the gap. The cute little old ladies with their sack of groceries is now a picture of dust and filth in my mind at this point, because now I am wondering if they showered or put on clean clothes this morning knowing that they plan on molesting the outside of a dirty bus in about 40 minutes anyway.
Getting off the bus in Firenze reveals quite the site in terms of architecture and it is a quick glimpse of the centuries of influence from difference countries, cultures and ages. Here are a few examples of the architecture over the ages and note the shear size of the structures in relation to the people:
The detail that exists within this 1800 year old building below is remarkable and well preserved for an outdoor courtyard.
Time for a little lunch. Kelly wanted a world famous Bellini (Champagne with peach puree) from Harry's Bar. Very tasty.
This was a nice quiet, romantic stop in bustling Flor... whoops... Firenze. Very classy, upscale, yet very friendly.
Since we couldn't get our car out of the parking spot, we decided to head to one of the few bridges that wasn't destroyed during the retreat of Nazi Germany... Ponte Vecchio (old bridge) for some quick window shopping.
During our site-seeing our sixth tradition was started. Candid pictures of public servants and utility vehicles. For some reason, I was actually surprised to find out that the emergency vehicles do, in fact, make that knee-ner... knee-ner... knee-ner sound.
A little more site-seeing would ensue and then we went back to town for a rest at the pool and some meat, cheese, and wine from the shops in Greve.
Although I don't have any pictures, after resting up, we headed into town to eat at Giovanni da Verrazzano. This was a quaint terrace restaurant and hotel. My Italian study guides had recommended the steak in Florence and I have just found it on the menu. Another thing to look out for is menu items that are charged by the kilo. I promptly ordered la bistecca alla Fiorentina and so did Davin. The server said that this is a meal to share, so she recommended that we share one because it was a kilo of steak (about 2 lbs.) We agreed. Soon afterwards, she brought out the raw steak for our approval prior to preparing it. It was simply incredible and I will order this again!
Go to 6/15/11
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