This is just cool, now...

So my next day in Firenze was great. I decided it was my weekend even though it was Monday. two of the girls from the hostel (lets's call them Anne and Lauren, because those are their names) and I went over to the Mercato Centrale (central market) and bought some picnic supplies. that means fruit, a whole loaf of ciabatta, an avocado, a cucumber, some asiago cheese, and a little hunk of smoked mozzarella cheese, a.k.a. SCAMORZA. we then strolled allllll the way across town and over the river and up a hill to piazzale michelangelo, where you can see the whole freakin town AND get an actual idea how enormous that duomo is.

it's gigantic. dominates the whole city. no other building is more than 3 or 4 stories tall at the most and then there's this building right smack-bang in the center and it's on a completely different scale. astounding. well we sat up there and gorged ourselves on delicious fresh food and some rosemary we found on our way up the hill through a gorgeous little citrus and rose garden. then it drizzled and we hid under a tourist cart. then we walked around some more. no rush. just strolling. you can appreciate the beauty more that way. then i did some laundry and then later we went out for dinner. much later. another girl (another canadian, in fact, by way of the ukraine) joined us. she was a bit younger and had had her day pack stolen (or misplaced?) on the train that day, containing her passport, of all things. oops. so after she got off the phone with the Canadian embassy, we four went out to a lovely small (still full from lunch) dinner in a nearby piazza and it was great. the ristorante did't feel touristy in the least, but a trendy, student-filled, energetic vibe was present, the food was good, and so was the conversation.

then we walked across the beautiful bridges into town and had some excellent gelato from the friendly and knowledgable staff of the appropriately-named Perchè no! (why not!). i had a caramelly thing and hazelnut and honey with sesame seeds. beautiful. then we all went back and passed out. :) a wonderful relaxed day.

then yesterday i was supposed to leave florence. i hadn't yet decided where i was going until i was paging through The Guide Book and happened upon a little paragraph about a town called Cortona. it is 20 km south of Arezzo, if that means anything to you. anyway, i decided to go there. that's where i am now. sadly, i am leaving this afternoon to go meet my canadian friends in siena, but i am not happy about only having stayed here a day. it's a town high up on a hill. there's only one street that's flat. all others are at impossible inclines up or down. one way or the other. all the houses and streets are stone and there are swallows swooping and diving in the air. the views over tuscany and umbria are just absurd. at night... fogettaboutit.


i just walked and walked around yesterday, getting lost in the warren of alleys and "streets" and going up to the cathedral at the very top of the hill, by way of a series of beautiful mosaics of the 14 stations of the cross.
and i was alone up there at the top for a while. had the afternoon sun over tuscany all to myself. unreal.


then last night, at my hostel, i met this family from Vancouver Island. there is Terry and Jen and there three kids, Travis, Taylor, and Jessica. They are 10 months in to their round the world trip and it sounds like it's been amazing. Myanmar, India, Nepal... Brazil... Jordan, Israel... Nigeria, Egypt... Turkey... so many places. i love meeting up with people traveling to so many places I have never been. they have visited 30 countries so far. and what an education for the kids. they're now thinking of renting an apartment for a week here in cortona. i don't blame them. if i didn't have plans to meet those girls and a flight and a life in new york, i might just settle here myself for a while. it's quite charming. anyway, they adopted me for the evening and we went out for some pasta (they make pici here - it's a special kind of extra-thick spaghetti. i had mine with green tomatos and garlic and a little spice of peperoncini). yum. and that was it. i walked around the whole town again this morning (it's teensy), and i'm headed off to siena in a couple of hours. it's all very exciting.

very exciting indeed.
ciao, eh? (i've been hanging around with so many canadians... i thought it was appropriate).
amy

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