Sitting on a bench today, taking a break from our day of walking the crowded streets of Firenze, we decided to have a little power-snack to keep us going. Not two seconds after we opened our bags to take out some num-nums, a lonely little pigeon had found us. And not two seconds more until a whole flock was bobbing away at our toes, trying to eat our shoes. And so it is with people when someone finds something good.
At about 900 we stepped out the door and bought some bus tickets to get us into the city. Little did we know that the bus system in Italy is total kaputt, disorganized, and übervoll. So we we ended up not taking the bus. Once we finally were finished fighting through the construction that wasn't being constructed and the traffic that wasn't going anywhere, we arrived into the downtown area. I wouldn't describe it being a relief from any of the latter, but I have to say the buildings were substantially prettier. First, we walked past the Galleria dell' Academia where we wouldn't be seeing the David Statue due to the INSANE line of people that seemed to never end; however, I did get a picture of the line of the people to see the David Statue which is basically the same thing.
From there, we headed over to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore where we also wouldn't be going in because the line wrapped around the whole thing and it happened to cost money. So far, it was two things on the list that Germany does better; the public transportation and free entrance to churches. The good thing was that most of the money was spent building the church rather than decorating the inside. My guess is because they ran out of money by the time they were done building the church out of solid marble. Nonetheless, we got our photos and moved on.
Next up was a lot of walking where, along the way we saw plenty of expensive shops, people, statues, marketplaces, landmarks such as arches, bridges and fountains, churches that we did go inside, and of course lots and lots of street hawkers. For those who don't know, in Italy there are many African immigrants for whom it is difficult to obtain work, so many of them have taken to selling plastic junk to tourists as a means of survival. Joern and I have adopted the the name of "pigeons" to these pesky people that will never leave us tourists alone, and we strongly stand by our vows "Not to feed the pigeons!". As I always say, it's not a racist thing, but rather that anyone shoving stupid crap in your face ever two meters would be extremely annoying. So, we didn't feed the pigeons today.
Of course along the way we found an ice cream shop to indulge ourselves in. After all, we are in Italy, are we not? It seems as though that it's impossible to find an ice cream shop in Italy that makes you moan like a black woman (or me) at KFC after the prohibiton of chicken has been lifted. I thought that Wisconsin had something going with it's frozen custard or Cedar Crest or whatever, but all of that is forgotten now. Nothing beats Italian ice cream.
After trying to eat our ice cream as slow as enjoyably possible, we stumbled upon another Sunglass store that happened to be having a sale. Joern's mom and I instantly turned to Joern expectantly, hoping that he'd want to go in and find a pair. Despite his excitement yesterday over all the different kinds of glasses and my new ones that I had got, he had a bad case of shoppers-anxiety and denied our pleads for him to go inside. It was funny, because I often see this in my brother, Josh whenever he is unsure about a purchase. I; however, follow my gut and know what I want when I see it and what I don't when I do. I guess not everyone is that way, and that's okay. Anyways, Joern ended up getting the boring-est pair (in my opinion) of Ray•Bans® that the store had AND forking over 100€ for them. I don't think I'll ever quite understand why someone would blow so much money on something that has either 1) no bright colors or 2) is not shiny, but I guess not everyone thinks like I do. For now, I guess I have to say I understand it but I don't.
After walking and walking the beautiful, non-Italian filled streets some more, we came upon a church with wet stairs where I learned that the Italian government actually spends money on keeping them wet so that tourists won't sit on them, but rather eat in a café and spend more money. So, anyone looking to come to Florence, I recommend you bring a tarp along. As well as wet stairs, we walked past countless leather stores, stalls and vendors that seemed to have no end. I bought a bracelet as my "leather souvenir from Italy", but maybe one day I'll come back with my millions and get a few more things.
As the day was coming to an end, we decided to take a snack break on a bench in a nice little square with a nice pigeon-pooped on fountain. It was there where we were swarmed by pigeons and I couldn't help thinking of how, at one time, this city wasn't filled with tourists, but rather a unique culture and peole that must have been at one time a beautiful thing to see. Don't get me srong, Florence is still a life-filled and vibrant, growing city, it's just that I was reminded that it's impossible to find something truly genuine in this world, but rather, we have to make it ourselves.
Today is 6 June 2017
Nat
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