DAY 64: No carb left behind

Up & at 'em early for a gorgeous day in Florence… the 3 of us grabbed cappuccinos and split a hammy sammy for breaky before we took on the food and leather market. I introduced Animal and Rabbit to “Henry”- my quiche Lorraine expert who provided scrumptious samples… I grabbed my usual dried fruit snack bag from the friendly little Asians (I’ve come to know several of the booth/counter renters here…). There’s a new game we like to play called “Hottest Italian Stallion of the Day”… after searching for the renowned little resto called “Mario’s,” I threw the towel in and asked some policemen. It was unfortunate for “Harry & Larry,” that they didn’t speak English… it was fortunate for us that Bradley Cooper, errr, the blue ribbon winner in the front seat of the police car did. “’Scuse me occifer? Can you tell me where I can find more of you, I mean, Mario’s?” He stepped out of the vehicle, his twinkling blue eyes locked with my poop brown eyes as his tan, Davidesque hand pointed us in the right direction… just as I thanked him for making my day and turned to walk away, he grabbed me, pulled me in close and softly whispered, “Keep dreaming blondie.” Ah shucks, a girl can only wish, right? We found Mario’s, but they didn’t open until one… everything in Italy is about 3 hours later than "Emurica," especially meals. And I have found that their customer service, primarily in retail, sucks. They don’t have to show up until 10 a.m., they get a 2-hour siesta for lunch and close up shop at 7 p.m… life can’t be THAT bad?

We made our way toward the Arno River and gawked at the gorgeous jewels along the Ponto Vecchio. I hadn’t explored the “other side” of the river much, so we perused and found some wonderful artists selling their work along a street… one woman in particular caught our fancy- she composed scenes of Florence in pen and watercolor. We each purchased one of a kind pieces and asked for a lunch recommendation… “Four Lions is right around the corner…” she informed us. “4 Leoni is open for lunch?!” I exclaimed in my highest soprano voice. I thought I’d have to save this little treasure for dinner, but alas we found ourselves content in a cozy booth in the back enjoying cheese, pears, walnuts, pate’ and salami. I forced Ann to order the famous pear and asparagus tortellini convincing her that it is life changing… Rabbit got pesto gnocchi and went with a bowl of the famous Tuscan “Ribolitta” soup, which translates to “re-boiled”. Back in the day, poor country people didn’t waste anything and this was a great way of using up leftovers… it was reheated day after day, which increased the flavor each time. There are different versions of the recipe, but the main ingredients are: stale bread, white cannellini beans and green leafy vegetables. (P.S. The typical bread in Florence is unsalted white… yack.) Of course we licked our plates clean chanting “NO CARB LEFT BEHIND, NO CARB LEFT BEHIND!”

I parted ways with the animals to walk around some of my favorite shops while they experienced the Uffizi Museum… I nestled myself on a stoop in the sun at the museum’s exit to wait for them before hiked up to Michelangelo’s Garden- 2^nd best view of the city, first being Ricky’s roof. We picked up a small cone of pistachio gelato for the stairs- we were walking oxymorons... or just straight up morons. We kanoodled with fellow foreigners and local artists pawning paintings… one man yelled “Special price for the tall girl!” I was intrigued so I approached him and asked why I was so “special”… he answered “Because you no Japanese!” Haha, laughter proceeded from my comrades and they continued to tease the “circus freak that can’t find long enough pants!” After watching the light slip away from the Duomo and settle into the hills, we made our way back down, picking up some vino and fruit for breaky tomorrow. The fruit is for breaky, not the vino… Ricky met us back at his pad for some wine and convo while we looked through old pictures on my computer from our glory days at MSU. It was around Fall 2005 when we realized enough is enough and that we’d sit and point and laugh all night if we didn’t pry ourselves away then and there… Ricky had a fab resto in mind and 88 steps later we were out the front door and walking past the Duomo to a hole in the wall where there was an hour and a half waiting list- no go. Little bunny rabbit turns into the Mad Hatter when she’s hungry, so he took us to another place that was Ta’DIE… we waited 10 minutes before we were sat in a bustling dining room with tiny tables surrounded by business men, 1st dates and 400^th dates. “Lydia” was our only waitress, and it’s a good thing she’s a pipsqueak, because she was a mouse in a maze squeezing in between tables and chairs. We started with an octopus bruschetta with spicy tomatoes and garlic- holy heavenly… the girls each got a pizza pie while Ricky and I shared a seafood platter that covered the entire table… it took a good 56 minutes for it to come out, but it was well worth the wait… “Lydia” clunked down a huge pan overflowing with a big fish, mussels, prawns, clams, octopus, calamari, cuttlefish… all sautéed in a wine wine sauce and fresh herbs… all 4 of us were leaning back in our chairs, bellies protruding, picking our teeth with fish bones like Sylvester the Cat. There was a big soccer match on, so the owner invited us into the bar for Lemoncello digestifs and free hugs from the local drunks. Ricky surprised us by picking up the tab (totally unnecessary) and we walked back to the his place to watch the movie “500 Day of Summer.” I passed out halfway through… another wonderful day with wonderful friends in wonderful Florence ( I LOVE this city…) Ciao ciao!