Katherine Rodriguez

During the first 1/2 of the walking tour, I met Paul and Kay from Tokyo. Kay couldn’t speak much English, she actually speaks Turkish (but is Japanese), so Paul had to translate. He was quite hilarious with his British humor (yes – he’s actually British…but his parents are Japanese. Interesting, worldly couple!). He reminded me of an Asian Ricky Gervais. So, after the tour to the Accademia, Basilica di Santa Maria, Orsanmichele, and various landmarks, we did as Italians did and shared an authentic lunch together at Osteria Vini e Vecchi Sapora. Sitting at the table next to us was a 70 year old Florentine, who said eating here was just like eating at home. The whole experience was to die for between the friendly Florentine, Kay with her Asian Ricky, the playful all-Italian staff, and of course, the amazing lunch.

After lunch, we made our way to the 2nd half of the tour, which was in the Uffizi. But first, I took advantage of having new friends help me take non-selfies.