More Walking, Shopping

After a small rest yesterday, three of the USC people went out to buy SIM cards for their phones. On the SACI facebook page someone mentioned a good supermarket not far from our apartment, so I walked with USC Tiffany to try to buy some groceries that didn't look old and weren't super expensive. The market is called Sapori Dintori, and I think it's a branch of the Conad supermarket chain. To get there, we walked across the Ponte Vecchio, which is a pedestrian bridge that goes over the Arno. The bridge has lots of jewelry shops, tourists, and people trying to sell selfie sticks and souvenirs.

Tiffany and I at the Ponte Vecchio. The view of the river is peeking out behind us.

The supermarket was absolutely amazing compared to the places I had been to previously. The produce looks decent, and they also sell kitchen supplies, toiletries, and all other sorts of fun stuff. I bought some tomatoes, mozzarella, grapes, and a baguette (it was still warm!) among other things. We then walked back to the apartment, where I assembled a sad dinner of tomato-mozzarella-baguette sandwich. The grapes tasted different from American grapes; they tasted basil-y and more like pre-wine. They also had seeds, and I'm still not sure how I feel about them.

Bocconcini!

I went to sleep at around 10pm, and magically slept the whole night! I woke up at around 8, and it was a bit disorienting because the window to the bedroom doesn't let in any light when closed, so there's no way to tell what time it is in the morning. The only way to really tell what time it is without checking my phone is to listen for the bells that ring every hour and count the clangs.

Me in front of the synagogue.

Me making a weird face in front of the synagogue.

I had my cheerios and milk for breakfast and then dragged some friends with me to walk to the Great Synagogue in Firenze. There were lots of guards outside, and when I stepped in the woman behind the counter said it was 6.50 euros to actually look around, so that was that. But the outside was pretty!

Near the apartment, near the Arno.

From there we walked around aimlessly. The area around the temple has fewer tourists than around all the art stuff near the apartment, so we saw more native Italians and stores with more reasonable prices. Most places were closed, though, because Florence shuts down everything almost completely on Sundays.

Hehe.

On the way back to the apartment we stumbled into yet another supermarket called Conad City, which was like the other Conads but BIGGER. Here I bought some eggs, a frying pan, a pancake-flipper, basil, balsamic chocolate sauce (like at Trader Joe's!), a colander, paper towels, sunscreen (finally found some), and some yogurt. Then we walked back to the apartment and arrived at around 12pm.

Half of my face and Mr. Pizza!

Strange door handle.

I knew that there was going to be a SACI field trip to the nearby countryside at one, and I did want to go, so I made myself a tomato, mozzarella, basil, and chocolate sauce sandwich, and then I waited for the rest of the people in the apartment to get ready. This turned out to be a mistake, because everyone wasn't ready until 5 minutes to 12, and by the time we got to SACI the group had already left. I'm still kicking myself about it, and next time I think I'll just say I'll meet them there. To make myself feel better, I decided to walk to a gelato place, and we walked across the Arno to a gelateria called La Carraia, so named because it's just off the Carraia bridge. I got cioccolatarancia (orange chocolate) and stracciatella (chocolate chip) flavors, and it was very very yummy and made me happier.

The gelato and I.

Sitting on a bench across from the Arno with the gelato. Nice view!

Homemade caprese sandwich.

Italian chocolate sauce.

We then walked to Sapori Dintorni, the supermarket near the apartment, and I bought some plastic bowls so I wouldn't have to eat my cheerios from a cup anymore. Then back to the apartment, where I again rest my seat and sit and type this up.

There's a balcony near the Ponte Vecchio that gives a good view of the river.

Some notes about Italian markets so far: for handling produce, you can't just paw through the fruits and vegetables. You have to put on plastic gloves and then move them to a plastic bag, and then move that bag to a scale, choose on a screen what type of fruit or veggie you have, and then it prints out a sticker with the price, which you stick on the bag. When buying things, there's no bagging person. The cashier looks at you expectantly until you get the hint and start bagging the items yourself. Bags cost about 10 cents, so I decided to buy a giant reusable one and go with that. There are also a bajillion different types of pastas here, literally aisles of pasta and tomato sauce. I think David would be quite at home. The only thing is that I still can't find a pot or bowl to cook it with.

I also have a ginormous itchy bug bite on my leg that has swelled up and is starting to crust over.

Itchy.