Italia 2019: Day 3 and a flying visit to Florence

As it turned out, we might have been better getting the agency to pick us up from Siena, because it’s closer to Pitigliano than Florence. It was lovely, however, to reacquaint ourselves with the city of so much history and do spend a few hours walking around and enjoying the sun and the people.

By people, I mean a significant portion of the population of Italy who descended on Florence today on their millions and tens of millions, driven by some civic fun walk or something. Dragging bags along cobbled sidewalks while swimming upstream against a nation intent on not granting right of way or personal space takes more existential commitment than a spawning salmon. It will be a taxi next time — or so Paula tells me.

Men in this age bracket typically have issues with their waterworks!

In any case, it provided another valuable anthropological lesson in European culture. The French hauteur translates into street behaviour that could colloquially be characterised as “What the fuck are you doing on my footpath? ” The Italians feel the spirit of of the legions and march against the barbarian invades as if to grind them under feet shod in Florentine leather.

Our B and B was just around the corner from the Duomo, but we felt no need to revisit, especially on the weekend. Instead, we took a tip from the manager and toddled off to the Mercato Centrale

If anywhere could be described as perfect gourmandising, it was here. Italian food is, at its best, simple and fresh; and upstairs from the markets was a food hall that leaves David Jones in the shade.

We feasted on meat and cheese and Tuscan wine, and indulged in dessert, before heading off in search of the perfect handbag. One can never get enough leather, unless one is a vegan — sorry, Mandy, this is not the place to buy you a present. In spite of Paula’s reluctance to haggle, even after seeing Life of Brian, it was a successful expedition.

The evening was spent wandering through the other side of the Arno, past the Pitti Palace and paying homage to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, before a great meal in Piazza del Santo Spiritu. Tomorrow we, head deep into Tuscany to meet Carolyn and Allan and begin our walk.