Teatro del Sale

Today was Pleuvy's last day in Florence. The week went by really quickly and I was glad that we got to make a few day-trips during her stay. Since I only arrived less than a week before she came, it was like we were both getting to know Florence together (vs. me showing her around). Actually, since Pleuve had done tons of research for the guide she had made for me, it was more like I was the tourist!

For lunch we went to Trattoria I' Che C'è C'è, a small restaurant I read about on my first morning in Florence. Their pasta was supposed to be delicious (not that good pasta is hard to find in Italy) and the restaurant was close to the Piazza della Signoria--where I needed to be for my appointment with il comune to declare residence. More on that later.

Right before we arrived, a huge group of American high school students took their spots in a bit over half of the restaurant. I guess we were in a touristy spot after all. No matter though, the food was great. I splurged and got the tagliatelle with truffle sauce for €15. It was the first time I had huge shavings of truffle and I must say that I'm not a fan! Having truffle oil or truffle-infused sauces is one amazing thing, having pieces of it is quite another (in one word: bitter). When it was time to choose a dessert, we were amused by the crostata di mela e fichi translation: "apple's pay with fics". A crostata is like a tart or pie. Fichi are figs. Now you know.

We had a bit of time to kill before my 2:45pm appointment so we sauntered over to Vivoli for our last chocolate frappés together (sooo yummy this time). I finished mine as I waited for my appointment. And waited. And waited (since I was early). Then when it was a bit past my appointment time, the lady asked me if I filled out the forms yet, to which I replied no since I never heard about any forms. I was sent downstairs where I had to wait in line to get forms, fill them out, and then I was given a ticket to wait even though I told the person working there that I had an appointment. A few minutes later, the lady I had the appointment with came down and asked what I was doing there and she was apologetic for the miscommunication between the people who gave me the forms and her. I felt relieved that she was friendly and patient with me since my Italian is still far from fluent, and after answering a few questions, going over my forms, and correcting one of her mistakes (which was my fault since I always forget that in Italy, your last name precedes your first name), she handed me a stamped document indicating that I had filed for residency and informed me that it would take about three months to complete, with a member of the vigili stopping by to check where I live within the next month. Phew?

Now for the part you all were waiting for. Remember the Calabrese guys we met on Monday night? Originally they had invited us over for a home-cooked dinner on Tuesday night, but since this made us a bit wary (not knowing them and all--in our text message to them, we jokingly said that we were scared they would poison us) we decided to meet with them this afternoon. 

Two of them--let's call them D and S--came to meet us at the Piazza della Signoria and then took us to Moyo for drinks. In this case, "drinks" meant Pleuve had a cappuccino and I had an Earl Grey tea with lemon while the guys each had a glass of white wine. They were very fun to hang out with. D studies psychology and S studies architecture, and while D speaks English quite well, S would have a lot of things to say (in Italian) and would ask me to translate to Pleuve. Now knowing my last name and its connections with a certain gun, S joked that I was in the mafia and at one point gave me a nickname that I quite liked. They asked us what we thought of Italian men (all the stereotypes came to mind) and insisted that we go dancing with them after our dinner reservations. We were reluctant since we aren't exactly party animals.

Shortly thereafter, Pleuve and I made our way to Teatro del Sale, a dinner theatre for which she had heard rave reviews. We were extremely fortunate to have gotten seats since they were full both times I phoned in to book. Luckily, Pleuve's B&B owner (whom I briefly and nonchalantly mentioned here) was able to secure us two spots. What an experience it was! Imagine first having to read a set of rules and regulations (many of them comical) before filling out a form to become a member; then being seated and privy to a fun Italian buffet. Every ten minutes or so, a chef would yell from the kitchen window that a dish was ready, and everyone would swarm to the table to get a plate (or two). There was an endless array of appetizers, including polenta, cauliflower, humous, and more, and then there was pasta, fish, chicken, ribs, clams, and dessert. We really had to pace ourselves and not overeat since we wanted to try everything, and by the time the chicken and ribs came we were barely able to finish our plates! (By the way, we were not allowed to take pictures so that's why there aren't any today. Plus I'm pretty sure that I would have forgotten about my camera--case and point, lunchtime earlier!)

As dessert was served, all the tables in front of the stage were moved away and our seats were rearranged so that we could all watch the show, Maria Cassi's "My Life with Men...and Other Animals". I had no expectations since Pleuve told me they had different shows all the time, and at first I was worried we wouldn't understand everything. It ended up being the perfect end to Pleuve's stay in Florence. Maria had a very candid comical and musical one-person show talking about her love life and connection to Florence. She mentioned her childhood in Fiesole, her pets, her mom's constant threats (i.e.  "You can't go outside at night because you'll die!" or "You have to watch your steps when you're walking because if you don't, you'll fall and die!"). She talked about her first love who played in a band called "Naked Without Shoes", how he broke her heart, and later how she met the love of her life and husband, who turns out to be the head chef at this dinner theatre. Each section was described as "canto di", which was a nice play on words since canto means "corner" but it also means "song"; how life can change just as you turn around a corner and how "love means never having to say you're sorry". There were so many beautifully honest and raw moments of her performance--whether she was speaking or singing--which I wish I could have captured on video or paper. We left Teatro del Sale enthralled and even more in love with Florence than when we arrived.

By then it was 11:00pm which we would normally call a night, but instead we met with D and S for drinks at Caffè Bigallo, a bar full of drunk American girls. So classy. I ended up spending most of our time there listening to S talk about culture and perspective (i.e. deep stuff!) while D flirted with some American girls. We declined their invitation to go clubbing at Full Up since Pleuve had a morning flight and I had a test the next day. (Note to my ragazze: it's funny though, when we first met D and S, I thought I had pegged D down for being a Valerio/Serafino and S for being a Giuseppe, when in the end it turned out that it was the other way around!) 

Around 1:30am, Pleuve and I said our goodbyes to each other outside her B&B and then I made my way home, trying my best not to wake my roommate at 2:00am. I must say I did pretty well, and never in a million years would I ever have thought that I would be the one sneaking in in the wee hours of the night.

Today's expression of the day is si muore, or "you'll die", brought to you by Maria Cassi at Teatro del Sale. Or rather, by her mom. It would have been "apple's pay" but unfortunately, that's not Italian!