Day Three

Today, I have a bit more of a mission. I've decided I'll visit the east part of town with the Duomo and stuff this morning, looking for a place for lunch on the way (to avoid the hours of walking once already hungry), then I'll head down to the botanical gardens for a read (Cathy's tip). I should probably scout out where ZaZa's is so that I can give that a go tonight before heading back to the pub. I'll do Santa Croce tomorrow.

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OMG, those stairs nearly killed me! I went up to the dome of the cathedral for the 360° view of Florence. 400+ stairs, most of them are like this. But the view was spectacular and well worth it.








Need...to....sit...down....and....give....legs....a....rest.
I'll head back to the indoor market in a bit to get some Parmigiana and Bresaola for home.

I'm feeling good today, starting to de-stress and enjoy myself. Would like to find myself a place to get a manicure done (ok, really female comment, but nice nails does wonders for self confidence!!!)

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This afternoon was spent walking around some more.... and shopping. Now, knowing that Italian clothes sizes are tiny and there would be no hope of me getting into any of them, I figured i wouldn't spend much money. HAHA....
Damage was done in Sephora. It's amazing how your mood changes when you have an expensive looking shopping bag to strut your stuff with!
Found tonight's resto after walking around in circles (I can read maps... really) and then stumbled upon Mandarina Duck and added another expensive looking shopping bag to the one's already on my hotel room floor!
While walking through and underground cheap shopping mall I found a nail shop and booked myself in for later tonight.
That was a event in itself, because the girls spoke no English and me no Italian, but they were adorable and we had a good laugh - the manicure was crap and painful as hell, but a good experience.

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Went to dinner and sat on the terrace where they seemed to have placed all the tourists (It was cold tonight) keeping the warm inside seats for the locals. I ordered Tagliata di manzo and it was divine, my glass of Multipulciano was no disappointment either.

Stopped in at the pub and it got busy really quick. I had met a local there last night who had helped me out with places to see and eat. G was there again tonight and when both our drinks were empty I got him another. Now this is not the "done" thing in Italy it seems. His and his friends faces when I did this were priceless. He waited until I had my last sip and then promptly returned the favour.
There were two Americans there too, and I'll admit my first impressions were wrong... well kinda. It was clear from the start that both in the mood for some kind of flirting and it was just as clear that it wasn't gonna be with me!! Which basically made me "one of the guys" and we had a good laugh. Around 12 I decided to hit the road and get some sleep to be able to get up at a decent hour and not waste the day - I was bought a drink. I tried again an hour later claiming I was out of money and smokes to which I promptly received another drink and a cigarette. PERFECT! - This is Italian hospitality. Was then invited outside for another kind of smoke with the Yanks at closing. All in all a good night out.