Firenze

Terrible Tourists

In 2.5 days in Florence we took the requisite stroll around the Duomo and spent an hour in the Academia to see the David. Impressive, yes, but at $10 to $20 a pop for tickets, that was enough Renaissance for us. That buys a lot of gelato. Mostly we just wandered around the old town.

I did rent a cruiser bike for an afternoon and checked out the rest of the city beyond the tourist zone. On the ride, I bumped into the Florence futbol team leaving practice. A gaggle of fans had gathered at the garage exit to catch a glimpse of the stars, snap a cellphone shot, and get autographs. I particularly liked one chubby guy who was straining his team issue kit (in top corner of photo). As each player would approach the gate, he'd flip through his stack of photos and get each one signed with a deranged furor. I think he actually recognized the players by their cars. Florence police take note.

The Slow Food Movement...

...started in Italy in response to the industrialization and MacDonaldification of Italian food culture. Florence has embraced this concept, with dozens of restaurants serving local seasonal fare around plaza Santo Spirito (thanks to Sam for the suggestion to stay nearby). Our favorite, though, was the guy selling tripe salad and sandwiches from a motorcart, proudly emblazoned with Slow Food stickers. For sandwiches, you had a choice between tomato sauce or the plain boiled styles. Every day he'd set up shop and serve up lunch to nearby workers and unsuspecting tourists. Yummy.

I Heart Max

Based on a 3 minute video she saw on MTV, Jen decided that it would be cool to see Max Pezzali in concert. Yeah, we didn't know who he was, either.

We took the bus to the concert venue only to find what looked like a county fair in progress. No livestock or rides, but a lot better food. Dozens of stalls served Tuscan eats, Argentine sausage, Brazilian feijao, Thai noodles, etc., etc. Although I was tempted by the fried dough (apparently a universal fair food), I got a couple of slices of prosciutto and figs in a sandwich.

You could also buy everything from aprons to t-shirts to Peruvian trinkets to decorative plates, and get a massage. Hundreds of Italian youth and families cruised around enjoying the cool summer evening. Later on, the hipsters showed up, and the open air restaurants turned into bars/discos. We later found out that the national democratic party had hosted the fair to celebrate the unification of the country's two left-wing parties. They decided on Florence, a historic center for progressive politics, as the place to kick off their new party.

So Max Pezzali is a cross between Brian Adams, George Michael, and Rick Astley. Apparently, the guy has been around for a while, and his easy-listening pop music draws teenagers AND their parents. The crowd LOVED him. Everyone knew all the words, swayed their hands from side to side, held up lighters (without irony, I suspect), and generally had a great time. At one point, Max whipped the crowd into such a feel-good frenzy that two teenage boys in front of us were singing passionately with their arms around each others shoulders, and couples were joyfully hugging and making out all around us.

Jen loves Max Pezzali.

Florence Bike Taxi

We got a ride back to our hotel on a cycle rickshaw. The driver explained that he and his friends, all members of the local bike advocacy group, ferried people around the city for tips and to promote bikes. This seemed somewhat redundant to me, since bikes are ridden by everyone from bankers to grandmothers as daily transport. But he explained that Florence actually has lower bike ridership than other Italian cities, particularly considering the town is pancake flat.