The part of Florence we were in was a true shopping Mecca. There was something for everyone from Gucci and Prada to cheap bodegas and knock-off handbags.
I went to a small boutique shop and got a really unique pair of jeans and a scarf. After walking around in the bright Florence sunshine, my smaller group of friends and I decided to head back to the hotel for some rest before dinner. But as we were traversing the square I saw an artist in the distance holding his hand up his hand as if he were drawing me and starring me straight in the eyes.
I glanced at his drawings, one portrait of woman in particular, and was immediately reminded of a portrait of my grandmother.
My grandmother on my moms side died too early and my mom has always cherished a portrait of her. As my grandmother was on he beach in Virginia one day, an admiring artist drew her and gifted her a portrait of herself.
So as we passed the artist I got a strong urge to turn back around and see if he would draw a picture of my mom just like the portrait of my grandmother. My friend Francesca agreed to go with me.
Because of the patchy rain we were experiencing, the artist was closing up shop while I came. After a little bit of talking I convinced him to draw this portrait of my mom and discount me 20 euros.
He was hilarious. Francesca and I talked to him about our families, beauty standards, and what nationality he thought we were.
He thought I could have had an Irish heritage (surprisingly) but he knew for certain that we were American. He said Italian girls are too tired to look like us. They live different lives than women in America in that they always have to worry about opportunity and working really hard. They can’t just get up and leave to go to a new state for a job like we can. They’re tied to their towns, to their families, and their way of life.
The portrait was finished and looked so much like my mother. I couldn’t have been happier and can’t wait to gift it to her.
Later francesca, me, and another girl named Taylor walked over to a vegan restaurant named Dolce Vegan. Once we got closer to the door we could see that in the front window display was the book The China Study and I immediately knew we found a good place for dinner.
The interior was simple and stark with just a chalkboard displaying the small, seasonal menu. I could tell all of the emphasis would be placed on the best part of the dining experience – the food and the company.
And wow was it incredible. We started with a bread basket with my first selection of whole grain bread in Italy then ordered our salads. They were fresh and light with bruschetta and spiralized zucchini.
We all split a unique waffle appetizer that had some kind of sun-dried tomato or sweet potato purée and roasted vegetables and olives on top.
After that course we moved onto our pasta extravaganza. I had zucchini and “ricotta cheese” stuffed ravioli with red veggie sauce, Francesca had an amazing spaghetti carbonara, and Taylor had a stacked lasagna.
All amazing and all totally vegan. It was safe to say we were all extremely happy about the delectable flavors and textures we were experiencing. I was personally really happy that I finally had a pasta dish with cheese in it!
But the real bliss came when we were served our soy milk based tiramisu and strawberry cheesecake. The tiramisu absolutely melted in my mouth and left me wanting about a million more servings.
Over all of this food, we talked about environmentalism, future goals, minimalism, mindfulness, pets, and really anything that inspired us. It was extremely energizing and exactly the refresh button I needed to press. I ended the experience feeling full in my stomach but also in my heart.