her bosom's warmth

mm, mmmm, mmmm, i could sit here all day, all day in bed, watching the tender skies unfold over myriad red roofs, body aloof, arms hanging barely touched by the afternoon breeze, legs hanging adjacently, swimming in the florentine air, smoke rising up in hypnotizing swirls, disappearing softly towards lands unknown. i could sit and wonder why i was so privileged, so downright lucky to have had this experience, to see italy. i haven't had the chance to develop any pictures yet, but once i do, you will understand the meaning of my every word written here.
bosom of sweet spun sugar. i am leaving you tomorrow. :(((

now, enough with lamentations. my travel here has been amazing. not for the innumerable monuments (i could have visited, but didn't -- a little "fixation" i have with not doing touristy things when in a town for the first time; this leaves me with the hope and desire that i shall return), but for the people and the food i've had. check this out: the day grace left for holland, i felt a bit strangled by the idea that i had to walk around in florence by myself. but, as fate had it, i did it, and while resting my tongue on an epic bread-and-tomato soup, i met a romanian woman, mihaela. funny, little happening, lemme tell ya. we were conversing for a good 10 minutes, me in my broken italian, her in english, then me in english, her in equisite italian, until she pops the question: "where are you from?" then i say, obviously, romania. then she utters, almost laughingly: "sunt si eu romanca." (which means: "i am romanian also.") oh, how red blood invaded my cheeks, how embarassment conquered my every breath. i couldn't believe i had been making a fool of myself (well, my italian), in front of a compatriot. but, as you have it, my embarassment went as quickly as it came, and all i was left with was awe for a fellow romanian woman. we chatted a whole bunch, after which we decided to meet up the next day. i admit, as much as i had liked conversing in my natal tongue, i didn't know whether to fully rely on this woman's words. god forbid i don't trust someone again!!! because the next day she showed up, with a cellular phone in hand, that she had made sure to give to me, in case i needed one to keep in touch with grace, grace's roommates, and of course, herself. huh!!! believe that! how nice.
so i made a friend. later on we were joined by another romanian, Ana-Maria, a girl closer to my age, who had come to italy a few years ago, to study and make a life of her own. three romanian women, sitting atop a new mall building located in central florence, drinking coffee, smoking, talking about our experiences as immigrants. should i say it? alright, i will. they wanna come to the states. but why?! it must be the same syndrome i've got lingering on in my veins: the need to learn about other cultures through complete immersion. they say they can make a better living in the states, but what do they know? just as i don't know about "making a better living" here in italy (a living that i can only dream about), it is hard to say they'll have better financial times in the states. i suppose it's all instinctual.
so now i have a phone.

on a different note, i haven't been to the Uffizi, famous for having under its roof the statue of David. the line to see that statue was soooooooooooooooooo long, i said (excuse my "french" :) "Fuck it!" instead i went to a local piazza, where there are so many fake Davids, i couldn't care less about the real one.
but i have been to this restaurant (and i wish i could remember the name, but i don't) where i had the best-est, moist-est, juice-est, tasty-est, everything-est :) roasted octopus. TWO WHOLE OCTOPUSES (plural spelling?). in italian: "polpo arrosto." the wine: a white "traminer 2005" (i have the whole name written down somewhere in my hand-written travel journal). coffee: lavazza. i felt like an oddball having my 7 o'clock aperitivo by myself, but heck -- what else was i to do?!
speaking of aperitivo, italians have a very interesting, very COOL! work/food schedule. work starts some time in the morning, then at 2 o'clock everyone heads for the local restaurant/sandwich shop where "pranzo" is taken. there's usually a tiny apperitivo course that precedes everything else. cheese and fruit, usually. then pasta follows. and no, the pasta dishes aren't as big as they are in the states, oh no!! little portions, just enough to start one's appetite. the pasta is followed by a meat dish (this one small also), a side dish (of potatoes, grilled veggies, etc), after which follows dessert, or "dolce." and invariably, coffee (espresso.) at 4ish, everyone goes back to work. not for long though. 7pm is the hour for a small glass of wine and apperitivi, a teaser for the upcoming dinner. usually, restaurants here offer apperitivi for free, if wine is consumed. imagine that!!! so far i've had spinach quiches, little orzo salads, savory cheese cakes, peanuts and chips, cherry-tomato salads, amuse-bouches galore (with all kinds of spreads one can possibly think of.)
at around 8-9, the real dinner is served. it's usually a light dinner, almost like a light "pranzo." the other day me and grace had these amazing ravioli stuffed with hazelnuts (not sure on that one), ricotta and honey, in a VERY light cream sauce. that was preceded by a cheese-and-prosciutto platter (a platter that was accompanied by most delicious, melt-in-your-mouth strawberries), and followed by a marinated roasted duck breast dotted with very yummy pesto and a berry-coulis. yes, food!
even yesterday, at mihaela's restaurant for lunch i had this tuscan pecorino dipped in honey that was FABULOUS. again, the strawberries and grapes went hand in hand.
aaaaaand last night, one of grace's roommates, cooked a traditionally roman dish: tender pieces of veal, united (by way of toothpick) with single pieces of prosciutto; as a side-dish, we had grilled squash dipped in a delicious garlic broth.

ah, not to forget, yesterday was the "san giovanni" festa. there were fireworks, followed by a very late cocktail party. well, not really a party, more like a get-together at a local resturant. it was situated in piazzale michelangelo, a spot where you could see all of florence. absolutely marvelous!!!

tonight we will be heading over to "hemingway" restaurant. i cannot wait. here i come, gracie. sleep tight everyone. :)

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