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| Can you EVER get tired of this view? Ponte Vecchio on the left, Uffizi on the Right, the River Arno. Sigh. |
There are about 500,000 people in Firenze, and about 250,000
of them were out shopping this afternoon. Today was a national (religious)
holiday celebrating the Immaculate Conception (all the more immaculate if you
think that today is the 8th of December and Mary gave birth on the
25th, but that’s another story altogether!) Even though I had school
today, I took advantage of the very lovely weather and went for a passeggiata.
Most streets here are pretty, and pretty narrow. And the
correct English word for how Italians like to walk is saunter. They
saunter. They also like going out with
their friends and families, and they really like to saunter arm-in-arm. It’s
charming, really. I just don’t have
anyone to link arms with yet so I'm a bit jealous. Però, the
more people you can link arms with the better.
Throw in a baby stroller, a grandmother, another toddler, and of course,
your dog, and go for a walk! No
destination is required.
Quite a few streets in the Centro are pedestrian-only –
except for some errant cars, taxis, lots of bicycles, delivery trucks, police
cars, and a scooter or two. It seems
customary – especially if you have a baby in a stroller or better yet, a
full-on baby carriage (think: 4 large spoked wheels with a retractable canopy) -
to try and occupy as much of the street as possible. The more street space you occupy, the better
the passeggiata.
Babies, and very young children (which are cute, but I tend
to avoid them) garner a lot of attention on the street. If they are not attracting enough of the
attention of passersby – parents, along with grandparents and other assorted
family members and friends (and the dog) will stop – no, plant – the baby
carriage in the middle of the narrowest part of the street and do something.
Perhaps they will smoke a cigarette. Perhaps they will adjust the baby’s cute
little hat and blanket to keep it warm. Perhaps
they will have a discussion about the results of last night’s soccer game.
Perhaps this armada of people will stop to give the dog a bit of water. In any event the armada will come to a full
stop.
Italians have a bit of a mob mentality. They move in packs (even if it’s just a pack
of two) and they definitely like to be where the action is. So, when the family armada parks the baby
carriage – width-wise, I might add, across the street and said carriage has a
baby in it, well, everyone just has to stop and stare at the baby. And since Italians like to talk a lot (see
previous blog post), all it takes is a single baby in a carriage stopped in the
middle of the street on a national holiday to bring 250,000 people to a
complete and utter standstill.
And that’s how we roll over here in Italy.
