Leather, leather everywhere

For those of you who followed my uncertainty and counselled me on footwear, you’ll be happy to know that I am managing quite well with my Birkenstock sandals and my runners (the dress sandals were perfect for the opera but probably won’t come out of my suitcase again). It’s been a good solution to alternate between the two pair of shoes, although I notice I am developing a shoe tan. As for my dream/plan of buying Italian shoes or boots I’m afraid that isn’t likely to happen now. Let me explain myself.

Today we were in Florence, which as some of you known is renowned for leather goods. Should be a good place to find shoes, you say? Yes, it would have been except that I got lured in by other leather products - everywhere I looked there were fabulous handbags, all sizes and shapes and colors. I ended up making a very extravagant choice (a Grace Kelly handbag) and that more than used up my entire leather budget. It is simply gorgeous though and worth every cent. Nothing quite compares with the aroma of those shops - sort of like new car smell but better. Maybe that’s my excuse - the fragrance went to my head (it also helps that handbags are one of my weaknesses).

My other Florentine purchase was two small hand painted watercolors of the Tuscan landscape. There were all kinds of artists in the square where we had some free time. This guy had several of his works on display and when I started looking, he opened up his portfolio and showed me hundreds (it seemed anyway). I also got my first taste of bartering - I really wanted the two small pictures but was still reeling from the leather purchase so I thought I better just get one. He saw my hesitation and lowered his price, I ended up getting a better deal without too much effort on my part. I wasn’t really intending to do that because I do believe in supporting local artists but I was still happy to make a deal.