Beery feet and coffee bridges

Some very close friends of mine i made whilst in japan (Sharon and Nick) deemed it a good idea to go to italy during golden week, the japanese national holiday that officially lasts 3 days but actually is taken as the entire week. this provided me with an excellent opportunity to go visit them in a part of italy i have not yet seen, a mere 5 days after returning from cyprus, with a house-mate martin to enjoy it with. here's what i thought of it:


29.04.07, Sunday
One of my aims for completion in florence has already been achieved - gelato! the best coffee icecream i've ever tasted, barely any sweetness to it, and real dry roast beans in the mix. the mint-choc-chip was pretty up to standard as well :). we enjoyed our gelatos while strolling up the Ponte Vecchio - the oldest bridge in florence (one that escaped the wrath of WWII) and one of a very small number in europe with shops on it. even with it being relatively low in the season, the throngs were reminiscent of the lincoln christmas markets. only warmer. and ice-creamier. however, gelato wasn't the first purchase in florence, oh no! that honour, i'm pleased to announce, went to the super-tacky plastic crystal multi coloured ring that now sits on my middle finger. it casts pretty rainbow points of light onto the 4th, bought after leaving our amazing hostel that took some serious search-skills to find; the buildings aren't numbered sequentially, what with 47 following 23 following 62. at least our arrival was interesting.


We climbed a nearby hill offering spectacular florentine views in very little time, to find an impressive, giant, naked, green copper statue bearing his bits to the people in the city below, surrounded by a myriad of stalls selling the same tat as the stall next door.

I enjoyed attempting italian with the local postcard sellers, and getting it mixed up with my japanese. Ms Evans, my secondary school italian teacher would, no doubt, be proud.


Right now we sit at the Santo Spirito church, having enjoyed a ham and cheese foccaccia (one of many, many variations of the ham and cheese sandwich i will have this holiday), a bottle of beer, a hippy dragging a cart with his dog, playing 70's rock, and still enjoying the late afternoon sunshine to the backdrop of a red-suited, guitar-playing outdoors wedding singer with a catchy jive being played on a synthesiser for accompaniment. and it's here i discover the best way to strike up conversation with a fellow (topless, swedish) traveller. knock over beer bottle, splash aforementioned semi-nude on foot. commence talking about illustrators fairs.