Friday:
On Friday night, C.R. and I decided to check out a sushi aperitivo at a local bar (The aperitivo is a concept that I have come to deeply appreciate. Buy an overpriced drink, but get lots of little delightful snacks for free. I’m in!) It sounded too good to be true, and while there was a Chinese image on the Japanese-styled flyer, we decided to give it a shot. Of course it was a draw that one of the cute gym instructors who has been chatting me up at the gym mentioned that he might head over there. So around 9pm we headed out. We arrived at the bar which is conveniently located near my house, and noticed a bunch of empty plates. I asked at the bar if there would be more sushi coming out, and she assured me that there would be. There were, however, about 10 hungry-looking patrons crowded around the empty plates.
After a while, I noticed a little commotion by the bar so I went to check it out. The lady making the sushi asked what I would like, so I asked for tuna. And she made a roll filled with tuna and mayonnaise, like a sandwich I would eat when I didn’t want to cook/spend much money. Interesting, but okay. C.R. couldn’t eat anything because it wasn’t vegan-friendly. I managed to get a couple of pieces of sushi and translate for a couple of American girls who asked for a “vegetariano”, before we realized that this was a lost endeavor and we should cut our losses and head to dinner. The gym instructor never made it, but I wasn’t too disappointed.
We headed to a restaurant on the street next to mine that opened while we were here in the summer. It seemed like a good bet, and was close by, so we went in. The food was fabulous, the menu long, and the service good. The owner’s brother came to our table to toast us, and the waiter was flirting constantly. Eventually, the owner’s brother came and sat down with us, offering limoncello and chatting in Italian. After we had almost finished a bottle, a couple of other men came and joined us, and one of them somehow offended the brother, who tried to get in a fistfight while three other waiters/cooks held him back. It was very weird, and we were wondering what had happened. He tried to explain that the guy was a “bad man” and he apologized. Eventually we left, with the owner’s brother accompanying us toward our next destination. We headed to B’s bar where we ran into two of my other friends.
Around closing, we all headed toward an after-hours private club. C.R. and I were beginning to drop from exhaustion, so we decided to go back to the house. On the way, a security guard accosted us to chat about all of his lady friends who are “bisessuale”. He kept looking at us creepily and dropping the b-word before finally asking us if we were “open-minded”. It was an extremely unwelcome diversion. After we pried ourselves away from his slimey gaze, we drank some water and dropped into bed.
Saturday:
San Valentino. A holiday that I have never particularly enjoyed, having always been single or just sad. So I thought it would be another melancholy night to add to past years. However, C.R. and I decided to go to the same restaurant that we went to on Friday. Cazzatore joined us. We had a lovely dinner, with a nice little discount from our new restaurant-buddies. Then Cazz and I split a tiramisu, while C.R. had biscotti and Vin Santo. Even our “drunk-jackets” didn’t protect us from the icy cold as we left the restaurant. Cold, but happy. We made plans to head to Viareggio the next day to catch a Carnevale parade.
Sunday:
We managed to catch our train, only to find out that we would be standing in a crowded aisle for the hour and a half that it would take us to get there. One train had been cancelled, and since it was Carnevale, it was already extremely crowded. After a seemingly endless trip, we managed to make it into the streets of Viareggio, where grown people were dressed like furry animals. I think that this is probably the best way to spend the good years of life. It is extremely amusing to me.
We grabbed some drinks and marched into the crowd of confetti-coated, animal-dressed people and took our chances with the rampant foam-sprayers. We got doused a few times in what seemed like shaving cream, and took care to protect our drinks from the wild confetti bits. The floats were elaborate and impressive, and there was an air of joy all around us. Cazz, C.R. and I pranced along, enjoying ourselves fully. After a few hours we went and sat on the beach to enjoy the sunset before catching the 6 o’clock train back to Florence.
Today:
It is freezing outside. We have been in our thickest coats, layers of socks, and drowning in blankets all day, watching movies. It does not get any warmer. My housemate’s hands are discolored, and when she went to the pharmacy today, she was told that it was a little dangerous. He asked her where she’s been. But it’s just our house. Our heat-free home. He told her not to put her hands under warm water or on the heater too quickly, and to avoid the cold water that is our kitchen faucet (there is no hot water in the kitchen). It is impossible to open our mouths in the house without expelling visible clouds of breath. This part is not a particularly enjoyable side-effect of living in a cheap apartment. But C.R. and I leave Florence on Wednesday. I hope to be in the States for less than two weeks, but I will have to wait until I get there to find out how long it’s going to take. Perhaps when I return there will be a little more warmth waiting for me.
1 Comment
I remember seeing those balloons on the news.
March 30, 2009 at 7:36 pm