Buongiorno, Firenze
August 6, 2004
Ciao!
After an ulcer-inducing highway ride from Milan, we arrived safely. My husband is a madman. I renamed him Mario about halfway into the four-hour drive to Florence (five hours, technically, since we kept getting lost, circling Milan, for the first hour).
Il Apartamento
We’re settled in the apartment, and like it a lot. I was more than a little concerned on the street and stairs up to it, though, until I discovered within 24 hours that, uh, that’s how they all are. We unknowingly chose well location-wise, which we also discovered in the first 24 hours, after having to make our way through throngs of tourists the closer we got to Ponte Vecchio (largest bridge, in middle of tourist draw, etc.).
Our shower is an adjustment. It’s stand-up and square, but I’m having to learn what angles are safe to actually shower, so that I’m not completely covered with bruises at the end of the week. As for the shower in the guest bath, we’re still trying to figure that one out. You actually pull the doors around you to form a cube, and then the water just goes down a drain in the bathroom floor. ??
Charlie’s adjusting well. He’s panting when we go back up the stone steps after walks because it’s pretty hot, but he’s drinking a lot, so that’s good. He does seem to like all of the smells, though.
We went for our first trip to one of the bigger grocery stores, about a mile walk. Got caught in a huge thunderstorm with lots of bulging sacks of groceries, which must have been fun for people in cozy apartments looking down to watch. I was surprised by how many of the products are really American products, just with Italian on the labels. Even the Snuggle fabric softener bear is the same.
A challenge of the store, though, is that since it’s so small, a ton of the stuff you need or are looking for is kept above the eye-level products, hanging down. So when you finish shopping, you’re stiff and your neck is locked gazing upward. No biggie, though; we’ll adjust. We won’t need to go often, though, because there are a ton of mini-marts and fruit/veggie markets all over the place, and butchers, bread shops, pastry shops, etc.
Absolutely love the apartment neighborhood. We’ve got a pharmacy, coffee shops, great restaurants, a bunch of artisans, and a couple of “tabbachi” (government-run tobacco shops, but it’s where you also go for phone cards, stamps, etc. Who knew?), so that’s really handy. We seem to be entertaining the locals when we speak Italian. They seem to know what we’re trying to say, but they all get this “Well isn’t that cute?” look on their faces. Charlie is now referred to by neighbors and workers in the piazza restaurants as “Il Pandino” (The Little Panda).
Firenze
Here’s a good one: Think of one American food that all Florentines are apparently obsessed with. Got it? Nope, you don’t: Pringles. They’re everywhere, and it’s making us laugh out loud now every time we see them, in the strangest places. But they’ve got funky flavors like Paprika Pringles and Basil Pringles.
We walked Charlie the night before last, and came across this big outdoor bar where an Italian guy in a huge kinky wig and red sequined jacket was belting out American songs, one after the other. It was surreal for a minute, there.
We’re also entertained by radio here. The stations we’ve been listening to primarily play American and British songs, but the humor is that they’ll go straight from Frank Sinatra to Wang Chung, then to CCR and from there to the always-hideous “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (Bonnie Tyler). A definite mixed bag.
Il Televisione
Check this out: In Florentine car washes, it seems that when you drive a Yugo in for a wash, it will emerge as a Porsche. We’re going to go buy a Yugo today and try that out. Other interesting commercials include the subtitled one for Ginsu Knives, which had us in stitches. “Pero stop! Mas!!” (”But wait, there’s more!”) Oh, and Dad, you haven’t really watched The Duke in movies ’til you’ve seen John Wayne speaking dubbed Italian in “Striker.” We about fell off the bed laughing.
Ci piace mangiare a Firenze!!
So far, we looooove the food here. The veggies are *so fresh and flavorful* that we haven’t even used dressing. It’s amazing.
Luca, a waiter in one of the restaurants outside our door showed us our first tripe and lampradotto on our first night. We knew it was a specialty but could never figure out what it was. Asked “che cose questo?” and he just held one up from one of the fridges behind the bar. It’s one of a cow’s four stomachs that, to me, looked like a shriveled washboard. Thom turned green, which made me chuckle.
Caffe e limoncello–molto bene!!
We have discovered Italian coffee, and it’s beyond perfetto. It’s just espresso, basically, which I thought I wouldn’t love, but I only use 1/4 sugar packet and I’m off to the races.
We also love our limoncello–a lemon liqueur you typically have following a meal. It’s funny–the coffee at the very end of the meal is meant to “combat” the effects of the wine you had with dinner, but then we wondered, since you have the limoncello after the coffee, is that then combatting the coffee? They’re so serious about it, but it’s hard to keep from chuckling at the logic.
Shopping
Have only window shopped so far, but the Beltz women are going to have a Big Time when they visit. A lot of the shoe stores, for some reason, have rows of shoes piled on the floor, so I thought, Katie, you’ll feel right at home. We’re one block away from Via Tornabuoni, the main couture street. Doubt I’ll be able to get more than one or two very small things, but it sure is a lot of fun to window shop.
Running out of time on my Internet card so I have to sign off. Write and tell me what’s going on. We can’t find a Herald Tribune anywhere yet, so I have no idea what’s happening.
Tanti baci,
Jen