Traveling Solo: First Evening in Florence

We checked into our hostel and put our feet up for a brief rest. We are staying at Octaviano. The room is spacious and has its own shower and sink. We are able to freshen up after our rest and then we head out to see the sights and grab some gelato and dinner. Elida wants to introduce me to several of her friends here in Florence. She takes extra time to make herself look even more beautiful than normal. We head across the Arno River to Elida's favorite gelato in Florence. We both order from a tall, attractive woman. She is striking with her dark features and curly black hair. She is friendly to me when I practice my Italian and order. I order two scoops and Elida gets three. We revisit this place daily while in Florence. We walk on down next to the river. The water is tranquil with few rapids. The bridges gracefully cross over, romantic. We stop at some overlooks and notice there is one that has the name of the author Francesco was so distraught that we did not know of. We pose for a picture to send to him later.

We head towards the Ponte Vecchio, a bridge where gold jewelry is sold in abundance. The stores are located on the bridge and the street is packed with tourists. We make our way through looking at people and gold. None of it makes us stop but the experience is worth the stroll. Once again there is a contrast between wealth and poverty that is easily recognized on this bridge. We cross to the Palazzo Vecchio with its grandiose tower looming over the square and rest of the Uffizi palace. In the courtyard are statues of famous Italians whom I admire, Galileo, Machiavelli and Vespucci to name a few. We walk inside the museum portion and look at prices and tours. Tomorrow we will come back and visit the museum. There is a late night tower tour and we agree we should try it tonight.

We walk through the rectangle courtyard of the palace and it opens into a Piazza. There in the Piazza Della Signoria is a hall of statues. I want to stop and pour over all of them. Elida assures me we will have time later and our stomachs are growling. Next to the hall of statues is an enormous Neptune fountain, once again the man of the sea beckons me.

We continue walking until we arrive at a leather shop where Elida's good friend works. She asks a co-worker and they go and find her. The shop is bustling with tourists wanting to buy fine Italian leather. The smell inside is rugged. There are coats, purses, belts and wallets. The store seems to go on forever. We don't need to look around. I have already purchased a pink and brown leather backpack in Sorrento and I have a lovely blue leather belt which was given to me. We meet her friend but she has only a short while to talk with us. She arranges to meet Elida on another day.

We are ready for coffee of some kind and there is a great place across the street. We step inside and decide to share an iced cappuccino. The bartender is handsome, but you knew I was going to say that. He is tall with curly black hair and he is mixing drinks with style, a shake here and a toss there. It is a work of art. We order, sit and chat with him as he makes all kinds of drinks. I inquire about several of the drinks he makes and he is gracious to explain them to me. I am not instructing him like I did a bartender in Sorrento because he is obviously capable and an expert in his field. He goes about his business while we enjoy our drink and his appearance. After a picture with an interesting globe we move on to visit a second friend, Sam.

Elida seems to get nervous as we approach Sam's shop. Unfortunately it is closed and we move on instead to dinner at her favorite spot, Za Za's. We order the local specialties, duck tortellini and truffle ravioli. It is a tasty, elegant meal complete with red wine. The duck is rich and the truffles delicate, they speak Florence in every bite. We continue to stroll the city after dinner passing the Duomo once more and other beautiful buildings. We continue walking until we make it to our hostel. We have discovered our travel days make us the most tired and this is the end of the night for us. The tower tour didn't happen. We needed rest and that is just what we got.