Bikes (July 6)

Even though our apartment is only steps away from FAA's central office and studios, the rest of the school's facilities are spread throughout the city. My AM still life painting class and Kes's figure drawing class are held at the Via Ugo Foscolo location across the Arno river. It's about a 30-40 minute walk from our place on Casine, but add bags full of class supplies combined with the notorious Florentine heat, and it quickly becomes exhausting. We vowed to rent bikes for the month.

75 euros later, Kes and I were riding back on our new, clanky, and extremely unwieldily cruiser bikes. Manuvering through the narrow, crowded, cobbled streets of Florence is anything but a ride in the park, and "Scuzi!" quickly became my most spoken/shouted Italian word.

To get acclimated with our new mode of transportation, went for a ride along the Arno that evening. I haven't ridden a bike for years and forgot how quick they actually are. Before we knew it, we were well out of the heart of Florence and in the suburbs. It was a nice change to be out of the crowded streets. Trees began to line the Arno and the small patio restaurants along the river began to light up and fill with people. It was a beautiful, balmy evening.

One our way back, Kes noticed a small festival happening on a side street and we decided to visit. There were a lot of kids running around with their families, so I guessed that it was a fair put on by a local school. We ate gelato and wandered about until the mosquitos chased us back onto our bikes.