Vaga-Blog - Volume I - Florence (June 1)
SAM COMES TO ITALY TO GO TO FERRAGAMO.
FERRAGAMO IS CLOSED
This morning I drove back into Florence to meet Sam, Vagabond
Gourmet’s master of all things techie. He’s just flown in from San Francisco to spend the week with us and teach us how to get the Vagabond Diaries up and running.
 Sam decides early in the day that he
needs an alias, and he’s going to try
to convince our guests of his new personality.
We settle on Sammy Salami from Genoa.
Sam knows a bit of Italian, and he speaks
it loud enough to be convincing. It reminds
me of when my Dad used to speak loudly
to foreign-born gas station workers,
thinking the increased volume would somehow
change the fact that they still don’t speak English. Sam gets a total kick out of the word Pecorino (the favorite cheese of Tuscany), so you don’t need a thesaurus to figure out the jokes that ensue.
 Sam had told me over the phone about
Florence’s Ferragamo store and how much he loves it. He’d honestly told me three times. He was so excited you could almost hear his heart beating faster as we approached. He wanted a new shirt. He could use a new tie. Maybe even shoes if he finds the right pair. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but here I am. Sorry Sammy, but Ferragamo is closed. They’d had some sort of water leak, and they won’t let anyone in. The clothes are right there, an inch out of our reach. And they won’t let us in. Sam is practically standing in the doorway with his wallet open, and he is denied. They did invite him to visit the women’s side, but his mojo was gone. He didn’t even find any humor in Dr. Speedo greeting us with a glass of his handmade Sangiovese after we schlepped our way back to the hotel.
Thank goodness tomorrow we’ll find salvation when Laura, Steve and our guests arrive.
Times we asked if Ferragamo was really closed: 3 (really? REALLY?)
Salami jokes you can think of after ½ liter of house wine at lunch: 847
Miles it took me, Sam and Blue Betty to navigate the 20 mile drive out of Florence: 42
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