Un Giro di Firenze

This afternoon I took a walk around Firenze. After being around a ton of people in the apartment, I was happy to just get out alone and take a way along the Arno River and see what that area has to offer.

About a half a block up from my apartment is a rotary and then Ponte Vittoria (or Ponte della Vittoria, I’m not sure yet). After crossing that bridge, I’m already on the road that is called Lungarno or “along the Arno.” This particular avenue runs along the river and every few blocks changes names. The part that I was most excited about was seeing Lungarno Amerigo Vespucci which is home to the American Consulate!

I took a bunch of pictures along my walk, and was really intrigued by the amount of security around the Consulate. Already at the top of the street, car traffic is limited to residents of the really expensive looking apartments that face the river. The block that houses the Consulate is blocked off to all cars, and even pedestrians can only walk past a certain point before getting yelled at by the carabinieri (police). After months of anticipation I was finally there, so I had to get up close. I was taking a picture of the name plate on the door when a cop from about 30 feet away yelled SCUSI!! NO!! Chill yo, just takin’ a pic.

Can’t. Wait. For. Monday.

I kept walking along and looking at all the different people who were along the river. There were people of all ages and speaking all different languages. I passed a few groups of American girls, some with shopping bags and some with maps. I got the Ponte Vecchio and took in all of it’s ballin-ness, crossed the bridge, and then headed back towards the apartment.

I decided to go to the supermarket to get some groceries before going back home. It was really intense to say the least, but at the same time really fun. When buying fruit, you need to wear a plastic glove, put it in a bag, then put it on a scale that weighs it, press the button with the corresponding label, and tag the barcode that it prints out so then the cashier can ring it up. Pretty innovative.

I got some good stuff and even ran into some Americans. One girl looked at me and said “Oh scusi” to get by – maybe she thought I was Italian? Or maybe she was just really focused on getting by. Who knows?

My biggest obstacle was buying milk. They sell milk room temperature and cold here. I bought the cold one, but couldn’t figure out the difference between all the colored labels. I bought the one that looked the most normal, a blue one that said “interro” which when I got back one of my roommates told me is “whole milk.” Kinda gross, but I guess I’ll deal with it for a few days.

Sorry that I hadn’t updated for a long time but the internet connection in this apartment is terrible and New Lloyd said he’d fix it after he got back from his ski trip – next week. Psh. Don’t be offended if it’s a while before I post pictures or more blog stuff, but I’m using a “very low” signal. Oh, and if there are any spelling mistakes in all my posts...deal with it. (Brad).

Miss you all and hope to talk to you soon!