Firenza or Florence for those in the states is truly beautiful. The people here are very friendly and willing to give directions as the streets can be sometimes confusing. I have really enjoyed walking around the city, there is always something new to discover. It is definitely the capital of leather products. There are several areas in the city where leather and cashmere vendors set up their products. I watched last night as several of them closed up their displays. Several of them were associated with store fronts in the train station area and simply moved their products into their stores. However several of the vendors carts/displays are on wheels and after bagging and packing their carts they actually move them by hand to storage.
Think about this for a minute, these people everyday get up early to move their cart into position, then unwrap all of their goods and display them. After a very long day whether the weather is good or bad they then pack it up and move it to storage again. All I can say is I am impressed, I have thought often what a pain it has been to pack and unpack 2 suitcases and move them from location to location. My suitcases are small in comparison to the vendor carts. Plus they are doing it twice a day and I am packing/unpacking on average every 4 days and soon it will be every 7 days.
I was speaking to one of the vendors today and he told me there are basically 3 factories that the vendors are able to purchase stock. Many of the high end lines also use those same 3 factories which is why you are able to get similar style bags, jackets and belts as those in the name brand lines. One store front told me the name of three high end stores that have them produce products labeled as the stores own line. Makes a person think twice about paying for something that is branded.
On a fashion note, the big thing in Italy is bright colored tennis shoes by the tourists. They don’t have to go with the rest of the outfit they just have to be bright and bold. One woman had on neon purple tennis shoes, a light blue long sweater, red top and black pants. I saw several women with bright pink or neon orange. Italian women for the most part do not wear tennis shoes, they wear either tailored shoes or heels. I also noticed that the Italians wear wool or leather even in 70 degree weather with the obligatory scarf around the neck. I was told the Italians can spot a tourist by the way they wear their scarf. I personally cannot see myself wearing a scarf in hot weather but it is a staple to most Italians. Another fashion item I have noted are the men’s cross body bags. Most European men use them on a regular basis, the American men are still using either the fanny pack or a backpack. As far as pants length goes for men in Italy most hems stop above the shoe line with a cuff or if they are skinny pants they are rolled above the ankle.
It was obviously a fun day to people watch for me today. I did not walk as far as I expected but after I calculated the number of miles I have already walked in 31 days my total going into tomorrow is 312.64 miles which is 10.08 per day. I have decided to extend my trip by a week so I can go back to France and Provence to see the lavender fields. So tomorrow I head to the Tuscany region with the tour company Culture Discovery. I have been told that Wifi may be spotty so check out Culture Discovery on Facebook and their website as they will be posting pictures throughout the week. After Tuscany it is on to Rome or as the Italians call it Roma. Ciao!!!
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