Arrividerci, Firenze!

Buon Giorno!

My plane left early, so I had to make my way through the deserted streets of Florence before daybreak to catch the first bus out to the airport.  Fortunately my new leather jacket and long scarf protected me against the chill.  My rolling suitcase made a horrid noise rattling across the cobbles.

I had to walk carefully.  When I got home from Siena and took off my shoes, I discovered that I finally had succeeded in destroying them.  One shoe had part of the heel completely torn off.  I don't know how it happened, but it did explain why I kept stumbling.

Florence Airport is small, but it has the usual tight security.  No one slides through.  I had to wait while they frisked a Benedictine monk.  I wanted to snoot around duty free but getting through security took so long the boarding was called right away.

What I will miss and won’t—fighting the crowds and the traffic and the cigarette smoke.  People with no respect for lines.  At the bus station this morning an older woman rebuked someone who tried to take cuts but the taking of unauthorized cuts in line is common.  I don’t know how to complain so I am grateful when someone points out "Dude, there’s a Line!"

I won't miss the off hand service in some stores in Florence.  There was the woman at one ticket office, who had to talk on her cell phone while I stood there trying to be patient.  At a fancy grocery store when I was the only one at the register I waited and waited while the check out guy stuck stickers on some piece of paper—like he couldn’t do it after he waited on me?

On the other hand, in craft stores each purchase is treated as a precious object.  They gift wrap it for you or give you the means to gift wrap, or provide beautiful gift boxes.  I'll miss the pride the keepers take in their beautiful shops and the wares they sell.
Ok except for that David torso full "body" apron--perfect for your next barbecue--as long as you want to put your guests off their feed.

Most of all I'll miss the warmth and welcome of the Italian people and their ardent desire that one will appreciate their country and culture.

I enjoyed perfect weather and loved seeing the countryside, which presents the paradox of being both rugged and long inhabited.

I came home via Paris.  Boy was I glad of that leather jacket and scarf in Paris and on the plane.  If you fly through Charles de Gaulle, the odds are you will take a shuttle or navette for a ride lasting from twenty to thirty minutes long.  What with the line at passport control and the long navette ride I had no time to search out the drop for the tax refund form or visit duty free.  We boarded immediately—and then sat at the gate for an hour.

But I like two things about Air France.  One is that you get an actual bottle of water with your meal and they also pass out mini baguettes.  The Champagne they serve as an aperitif doesn't hurt either.

So I had a fabulous trip, and for taking the trouble to share it with me—Molto Grazie e Ciao!