The Invitation



No lunatic ticket-taker or light switch fiasco was going to ruin my day.  I unpacked, showered and put on a bright floral dress.  Florence was mine for the taking.

So in my cute flirty dress, I walked around Florence…the city that is… with camera in hand, and made my way down to the center of everything Firenze:  The Duomo, Giotto’s Campanile, the Baptistery, Palazzo Vecchio, and the Loggia dei Lanzi.



Facade of the Duomo



PalazzoVecchio

 

Loggia dei Lanzi



The photo ops would have been wonderful if it weren’t for the aggressive tourists growing exponentially as I tried to get close enough to take pictures of all the magnificent landmarks of Florence. Pushing and shoving my slender body between men built like Goliath, I finally found a place.  At the very moment I snapped a picture of The Gates of Paradise, a young Asian ran in front of me and I now have a great souvenir of her in front of the world renowned bronze door.  Looking over her shoulder at me, she bowed and apologized.  What could I say?  She was a tourist just like me.  So, I promised to email her the photograph when I returned home. Determined to get a picture of only the doors, I waited for the flood of tourists to part like the Red Sea,  finally giving me an opportunity.

Of course I did a little window shopping and enjoyed all the leather goods to Pashmina scarves the vendors were selling in their outdoor squares, making mental notes of some of the purchases I wanted to make.

When I arrived back in my room, something on the floor caught my eye.   

Too early for a bill, I mused, picking up the envelope. The note read: 

When you rescue someone, they say you are responsible for their life.  If you’re free, I’d like to take you for dinner.  Cocktails first?  Meet me on the highest deck of the rooftop terrace.  Eight o’clock?

Well, well! The plot certainly thickened.  My first day in Firenze and I already had a date with Tall, Fair and Handsome.  I was relieved he suggested having drinks at the hotel.  Although he was my hero on the train, he was still a stranger.  At least I’d be on my home turf, making me feel much more relaxed.  And if having cocktails with him was nice, I could easily be persuaded to have dinner with him later.