Finally to Florence

(Due to technical difficulties, this post will be in green and black.)
The last leg of our trip was a week in Florence with Sean, myself, my mom, and Evan. We had rented a house outside of the city. I was a little worried since I had to pay cash up front to reserve the place and they required a cash deposit and payment for the remainder of the stay. Luckily, instead of the empty lot or outdoor plumbing I had feared, we ended up with a spacious and modern three bedroom with a view of the city and surrounding vineyards and an outdoor brick patio and grass area.

We arrived late on Saturday but managed to get to a popular local pizzeria for dinner. The next day we had to get groceries but since it was Sunday, we had to go into the city to find an open store. The store was small but had pretty much everything we needed. However, after gathering all of our fruit and vegetables we realized that we had to weigh and label them with a special machine. There was a sign but the only English they put on it was that you had to weigh the vegetables yourself. Sean and I pushed buttons for a few minutes but were getting nowhere. An Italian guy was soon waiting for us to finish so I tapped Sean on the shoulder and told him to let the guy go first. When I motion to the guy, he shrugs, and makes it clear that he doesn't know how to work the machine either. So, the first Italian guy finds a second Italian guy in the produce area. They talk and we watch and finally figure out how to weigh our produce.

Now that we had food for the week we were ready to explore. The only unfortunate part of our week in Italy is that we brought the rain with us. We got about 3 sunny days but the rest were rather wet. So, one of the first sunny mornings we had we set off for the city. Our goal for that day was to see Palazzo Vecchio (a palace of sorts next the the Uffizi art gallery that once housed the Italian government), and the Duomo (one of the most beautiful and ornate churches in all of Italy. Historical note: when the architects originally designed the dome to be self-supporting they did not actually have the technology to create the dome. They were confident, though, that in the hundred or so years it would take to build it, the technology would become available. Pretty Clever!).

As we were wandering around the Duomo our sunny morning clouded over. We all agreed it looked like rain so I said I would take a quick run around the Duomo to get some pictures then we could leave. After splitting up, there was thunder, then the downpour started. At first it wasn't too bad but soon the rain was literally bouncing off the ground. I had to run back around the Duomo to find my mom and was already soaked. Of course, I had the backpack with the umbrella buried in the bottom and I knew Sean and Evan were probably getting soaked too. As I ducked into a crowded corridor with my mom some guy sees us both soaked and offers us an umbrella. I say no but he keeps trying to hand it to me. As soon as I take it he says "10 Euro." I say, in English, "You're Crazy!" He says, "How much?" I say, "2 Euro." He says "No." I say, "Ok." Since my mom and I agree that we're both already soaked and there's no point now in buying one.

Meanwhile, Sean and Evan are huddling as close to the building and shelter as they can but are still getting somewhat rained on. Mom and I arrive with the umbrella to cover them and decide that since we're soaked already, there's no point huddling in doorways with the other tourists. We should just head home. (Lucky for us we had worn dark clothing that morning and no one got a free show.)

We were the ONLY people walking in the rain. You would think it was toxic rain judging by the hundreds of people, even those with umbrellas hiding in doorways. People were so surprised to see our group walking the 4-5 blocks back to the car, soaking wet, that I actually heard them exclaim, "Oh My God!" or gasp when we walked by. One guy even took a picture of us. It was the strangest experience.

This leads us to my final topic: Clothes dryers. Since I have been in this part of the world I have learned that most people here line-dry their clothes. It's not that they can't afford a dryer, it's that it is just the custom to line-dry things. I have even felt a bit guilty for my personal carbon consumption by utilizing electricity and modern appliances to dry my clothes. Sean even suggested we get a clothes line for our house in Cali (because he wouldn't be the one hanging them all, I think). Well, after trying to dry my clothes for 4 days in Italy using house fans and lights, I just can't buy-in to the line drying thing. Thank you modern technology. I like my clothes dry in 60 minutes or less.

The rest of the week was wonderful. Too many beautiful places to talk about and I've already gone on too long. All I can say is: Go to Italy!! We will definitely go back again.