Dolce Vita

My City

I am done adjusting. I know the city streets pretty well. I know the neighborhoods and landmarks by heart. I can even understand a decent amount of Italian as spoken by the locals. I can say these things confidently because i have been asked for directions to a location in Firenze by an Italian speaking person more than once. I got to practice speaking with Italians this morning in class and felt as though i was translator for a majority of the group. Maybe im just getting a big ego. 

I recently discovered the location of "the secret bakery" which was quite satisfying. This bakery has been rumored to only be open around 2 am and does not give any indication of its location to the general public. There is a very specific sequence to reach the promised land which i believe is how it earned its title as THE secret bakery. The sequence is interesting in that you will walk right by the street and completely dismiss it as a dead end. Once you have walked halfway down the dead end you will see the second key element to verifying your success.. im not telling what it is because thats not how you keep secrets haha.. This bakery sells quality pastries and pizzas at prices much below the daylight price.. The most exciting part of this find was finding out from a local that this was just one of many "secret bakeries" throughout town that makes the goods that are sold the next day. Let the wild goose chase begin!

Corri La Vita is this Sunday and im worried. The distance (12k) is not what worries me. I have ran that distance a few times already in the past couple weeks but the problem is that my training has taken place on a largely flat area and the race makes its way along the hills on the other side of the Arno River. The picture above is taken from the high point of the run (Piazzale Michelangelo) which as you can tell is quite elevated. I guess theres consolation in not finishing if you can quit at a place as beautiful as this but thats will not be the case.