I woke up pretty late today vowing before going to bed that I would sleep in. I have had a terribly hard time sleeping since I arrived back to Italy from a two-month vacation back home. Anyhow, when I awoke, I was greeted by the free entertainment that so often beckons to us throughout the day from directly outside my kitchen window.
To tell you a bit about where exactly I am located, I live in the Santa Croce area of Florence. The street I live on is a Strada Pedonale, which means Pedestrian Street. There is a pretty good mix of locals and tourists although I am pretty sure that the mainstream is in fact local. The majority of tourists I see are usually those of which are on a corner opening up their arm length maps trying to figure out how they got to my street. It’s easy to get lost where I live because I am very close to the San Ambrogio Market and Santa Croce church. Most of the time people end up on my street because they are trying to find various other places. There must be something in my presence that always attracts the tourists foreign and Italian alike because I get at least 1 a week that stops me and asks for directions. I love the foreign people the best because they always speak to me in their broken Italian and when I reply in English its fun to watch their sigh of relief and then they begin asking all types of questions. The Italians instead notice my American accent and thank me graciously, I believe they are usually happy to see someone foreign helping them in their own language but they don't usually engage in conversation. That is one thing that I love about Italian people, the majority are so patient with tourists and foreigners and I am lucky to be in a country that is so accepting of my nationality.
Back to my street, which is named Pietrapiana, it literally means Pietra (rock) Piana (flat). You can actually find my street on Wikipedia. The first statement says, “Via Pietrapiana è situata nel centro storico, è lunga 313,83 metri”, translated “Via Pietrapiana is situated in the historic center and is 313,83 meters long.” Maurizio and I were very lucky in finding our apartment here on Via Pietrapiana. The area is lovely, we have several restaurants on our street, the grocery store, the post office, wine shops, butchers, and of course the open air San Ambrogio market one street over. It’s a bustling street full of morning commuters and our apartment is situated between two coffee shops where the locals gather to partake in customary Italian breakfast of Caffé e Cornneto (espresso and croissant), or perhaps just the caffé. Since the street has become a sort of gathering place, it is also not uncommon to see gypsies, panhandlers, and musicians trying to earn their days pay. I am lucky that so far none of these people have personally bothered me and for the most part we enjoy the entertainment. Have a look at today's music I posted below. Sorry the video isn't great, I took it from inside my kitchen.
Daily Italian Word: Delicatezza (Delicacy)
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