Day 8 - David

Today was the day that we went to see David, so any activities outside of that were largely unplanned.  I think we were both surprised at how fast it was for us to get in to see David.  We had tickets for 9:45, but were told to be there by 9:30.  I think we got there at 9:00.  They let us right in right away - absolutely no line.  

David is...  I don't know how to describe him... David.  Amazing.  Breathtaking. Almost human.  All of the above.  Many people broke down in tears at the sight of him, and understandably so.

Once we got out, it was only 11, so we decided to head over to an indoor food market.  We made a number of stops along the way and the day turned into a shopping day.  My parents had gave me some Euros as an early Christmas present and told me to get some boots/shoes or a bag, so that's what we did.

My first purchase actually started before we saw David.  On the way there, I saw a store that seemed to have nice shoes and bags in it.  When I looked into the door, a little old Italian man came out and pointed at me.  "Boots for you!" he said.  I didn't need to say much, just go into the store and he started pulling out boots.  I'd shake my head or nod, depending on what he showed me (all within a matter of seconds) and right away he zeroed in on some boots that I really liked.  He called me over to the back so that I could try them on, but I said I was about to go see David, and didn't want to buy anything right that moment.  "Ok" he says "Come back later".

As I walked back towards the door, I noticed another pair that I liked, only the heels were too high.  I asked if he had anything like that with lower heels - "Not in Italy" he says "Come back later".  Then Ginny, who was looking for a pair of shoes, commented about a pair that she liked.  "Come back later" he said, and pushed us out the door.  I laughed so hard, I almost had to sit down,  I guess he's not willing to give us his attention or allow us in the store when we're not ready to buy.

I've kept my eyes peeled since we got here, and these boots seemed to be the ones I like best, so we went back after we saw David.  "You - Boots!" he yelled when we walked in, and then he beetled off to the back where he had a pair in my size, waiting to be tried on.  Ginny also bought some new shoes.   We managed to avoid buying a scarf he was foisting on every female who entered the place, and then we were off.

I ended up buying some pashminas for gifts (and a couple for myself).  Then, even though I had bought some boots with the money my parents gave me, I ended up finding a bag I liked, so I guess I  bought an early Christmas gift for myself too.

On the way back, we decided to stop for a drink at a restaurant in the piazza where Neptune, the copy of David, and a bunch of other statues are. (We've been calling this piazza the one with the naked men.... which we've actually shortened to 'the naked men',  It's near our hotel, so we generally pass by and stop at the naked men a few times a day.)  It was hot, so we decided to try limoncello, which we thought would be like a lemonade.   It turns out that it's not.  It's a shot, and it is vile.  Nasty, nasty stuff.

Later that night, we went back to the same restaurant to sit on the patio beside the naked men and enjoy a dinner under the stars.  Somebody on the other side of the piazza was playing the guitar, and it was really quite beautiful.  The only negative was a guy who was peddling crappy plastic rockets that glow in the dark.  He kept coming up to us to sell them, and wouldn't go away when we said no.  The first few times, we were fairly polite, but we got less patient as he kept coming back and interrupting our dinner.  The last time he bugged us, I said no sharply, and when he continued to stare at us, I told him to go away.  He seemed to understand, and took off right away.  Except a couple of minutes later, I caught sight of somebody coming up behind me and I thought it was the vendor again.  I was *this close* to telling him to f#ck off before I caught myself - I think the Fuc... was out before I bit it back.  We laughed and laughed about that... I sure hope the waiter understood what happened, or I may have tarnished the Canadian reputation.

One more day left in Florence.  We're going to head over to the Palazzo Pitti and the Giardino Di Bobboli (gardens) tomorrow, and maybe the Galileo museum.  As impressive as they are, the churches and the renaissance art is starting to blend together, so we figured we''d try something new.

Gelato flavour of the day - Ginny had black cherry.  I managed to go a day without gelato.