Episode 10: These are a few of my favorite things

In honor of my eldest sister who turned a grand total of 32 years yesterday and birthday cards not existing in Florence (no seriously, I don't think people get old here, so all the old people had to have been imported from some where) and I also cannot send her 32 things in the mail since that would be bloody expensive, I decided today's blog would be the 32 things I would do with my eldest sister Melissa if she were here in Florence for a day (minus jetlag and all that nasty business)

1. Head on down to the central market, where we would buy kiwi or dried fruit and these magically delicious muffins filled with nutella for breakfast or morning snack.
2. Rub the nose of the boar statue and put a coin in his mouth for good luck.
3. If it is raining, we will say no to the men who suddenly appear selling umbrellas in the streets who will swarm us.  Or you will can in and buy one, only to be cursing its pathetic existence moments later when it breaks.
4. Make faces back at the nymph and water sprites statues who are stationed around Posidon.
5. See how many pictures we can be in the background of.
6. Eat gelato for one euro at La Carreria, a gelato place across the river.
7. Buy Cioccolata Calda, hot chocolate that is literally melted chocolate in a cup.
8. Buy seven postcards for one euro (I'm all about the one euro), address them to ourselves, stamp them, then give them to complete strangers who look friendly enough and ask them to send it to us.
9. Take Bus 7 and ride out to the top of the hill that over looks all of Florence.
10. Go into famous museums, one of which has the real David, where we will question the propriety of his nudity with him being such a well known Biblical and historical figure.
11. Go see the Surprise Movie that shows at Teatro Oderon, hope it's in English or has subtitles, and sit fourth row in the balcony drinking libations of grape origins that we got from their concession stand.
12. Sit on the bridge eating either a panino or more gelato, watching the mirky green river move past us and the current of people strolling behind us, and return again at night and notice how the river has been transformed into a mirror, reflecting the inky black sky.
13. Late at night, we would sneak to the secret bakery, waiting very quietly outside for a chocolate croissant.
14. I would show you Prof. Agostino Dessi's shop and introduce you to him, a famous mask maker.
15. We'd eat pizza at GustaPizza, one of the best pizza places around.
16. Wander the streets, getting lost in its magic, and maybe actually getting lost. Or at least almost hit by a vespa.
17. Stop by a little bakery and buy a couple pieces of chocolate, and a cup of coffee (if you like coffee... at the moment I can't remember. I don't think you do, but if you do, I will).
18. Go to Teatre Verdi and see a performance of either a stage play or an orchestra, both speaking words we may not understand but nevertheless we will bask in the presence of its beautiful nature.
19. Get bread and chocolate and people watch in random piazzas.
20. Rent bikes and ride out as far as we can go.
21. Go to the club called 21, and dance, pushing away all the men who will want to dance with us because they are kinda sleezy and only really want to get into your pants (and because you have a boyfriend and I don't want one since I try not to do bi-continental relationships).
22. I will skip class and go kickboxing or zumba.
23. Invest in a bag of confetti and toss it about, in the air and at each other, dancing in the kalidascope of colored paper.
24. Find the peace protests that appears every once in a while about the situation going on with the Prime Minister and the want for the image and views of women to change and join it, marching through the streets of Florence.
25. Join in playing with a street muscian (if he will let us.  If he doesn't, we will find one that does).
26. Find the guy who wears a long orange coat trimmed in fur who I see randomly riding about on a bicycle, chase him down, and get his picture.
27. Spend a chunk of time window shopping.
28. Go to church at the Duomo, standing in awe as the music of voices and organ join together, and we'll close our eyes and for a brief second we will almost hear the voices of all the other people who were there before that the bricks absorbed in its memory.
29. We'd buy a pair of rain boots each and go puddle jumping, splashing in every puddle we happen across.
30. We'd go graffiti hunting, looking for all the graffiti and creating a map, marking the spots where the graffiti is the coolest.
31. Climb the scaffolding outside my apartment window up to the top and look out across the red tile roofs, but not climb on the roofs because the red tile is gross and not very secure.
32. Ride the carousel in Piazza Repubblica when it starts getting dark out until he closes the ride down.

Until Next Time!
Ciao!