Off to Cinque Terre...

This week in Florence has been great. We visited the Uffizi and the church of Santa Croce (among the more touristy things to do), but ultimately have most enjoyed just sitting around watching life pass all around us. There are tons of street vendors selling knock off purses, posters, watches, and sunglasses lined up in some of the most popular areas. I had never really stopped to watch them and the intricacies that come along with selling illegal merchandise -- until now. It really is quite fascinating and entertaining to watch. Last night we spent about 2 hours sitting on the sidewalk among them, so we were free to watch without them trying to push us into a purchase. They line up their goods on white blankets that can be quickly made into a bundle when the polizia comes by. I wondered how they would know to pick up their goods without it being too late, but it seems there is a communication net that delivers the message to pick up. There also seems to be what we call the "pimp". He rides in his bike from spot to spot checking in with the illegal sellers speaking in a language that is typically other than Italian. Watching these men pick up their goods is a phenomenon on its own -- the poster sellers have a smart strategy that allows them to slide each poster underneath one another in matters of seconds. The guys selling shades have made portable stands out of old boxes that they can carry with them. Last night I was most impressed with an African whom I would categorize as a perfectionist. While all others set up shop by throwing their blankets in any open street spot, he chose his spot carefully (remember, that everytime they pick up their goods they walk away from the streets only to come back and set up shop again a few minutes later). He took a disproportionate amount of time to set up each of his knock off purses on display (considering the few seconds it would take him to pick it all up at the sign of the police). Each purse had to be perfectly placed, handles up, equally spaced from one another. It may seems like a small thing to have observed and be blogging about, but it's exactly these things that on any day I probably would have missed had I simply walked on by. Eventually, we had to leave this nightly show which might I add was free!
Tomorrow we take a train to Vernazza, one of the five towns in Cinque Terre on the coast of Italy. The train will take us on a 2.5 hour journey for all of 18 euros. We plan to hike through all of the towns over the weekend. Some say these five towns are some of the most amazing in the Riviera -- we'll provide our scoop next week.
Valen