Day 5 in Florence (the city)

I took a bus (this is a picture I took at the bus stop) to Florence today which is about a 1 hour trip from the B&B. I was pretty freaked by the idea of going to the city all by myself but my family was very reassuring and Massimo kept saying, “trouble, call me.” I prayed a lot on my way to the city because I seriously had no idea how I was going to find my way around or run my errands (buy SIM card for cell phone, buy adapter for laptop, and maybe buy a jacket because I was freezing the first 2 days which I didn’t end up getting)!

Once i safely got to florence, I pretty much followed whatever way all the people were going. Haha. I had a map but I couldnt find any street signs (I later learned where italy cleverly places their street signs) so I walked confidently and with my chin-up, pretending like I knew where I was going to not attract any “dangerous strangers.” After a while, I got pretty tired and felt pretty lost so I stopped for gelato at this welcoming store with a good flow of customers.

That’s where I met anna (woman on the right), my new friend, hero, and angel all in one :). She’s ½ Italian and ½ British (so she speaks both Italian and English) and is from Rome but came to Florence to visit her sister (who is a tour guide for the Florence area). Anna is the sweetest lady who was so good to me. She told me that this gelato store was the best in Florence and she introduced me to their famous chocolates and we shared a cup or their famous gelato flavor together :p. After getting the 411 from each other, she offered to help me with my errands!

This is her with the nice electrician (writing about her STILL makes me smile). I was planning on dropping 60 euro for an adapter but it was only 6 euros! The electrician, Johnny, was extremely nice and helpful and we became instant friends. I like to imagine all my ee friends as “Johnny”s now :p. He explained to me how the adapter works with all these technical electrical terms in Italian and I nodded as if I understood. Even if he explained in English, I still probably wouldn’t have been able to understand what he was talking about. Haha.

Anna then took me to the cell phone store. I am so thankful that she was able to take me because I would have never been able to find (or ask) where the cell phone or electrical store are! Anna was a HUGE help in translating the confusing cell phone plan.

I also went with anna to the market and helped carry her bags home for her (she has really bad knees). We had juice together at her place which is right across the street from the Duomo (really busy location in Florence which is pictured above)! We also exchanged numbers and kissed goodbye. hopefully I’ll be able to see her before I leave.

I am thankful for anna not only because she helped me at a time when I really needed it, but also for her openness to help someone else and love them. She was so open to having a relationship with me while I was pretty hesitant about trusting anyone. I’ve noticed how distrustful Americans can be and stand by the rule that you must “earn your trust from me” while not all Italians are like this. Anna and I also had good conversations about sisters, friends, love, children, history, Florence, and just plain life.

I hope to be an Anna to someone someday.