Katherine Rodriguez

Some of you may have noticed that there was only a lunch post, but no dinner post for Day 2 – that’s because my dinner sucked, but that was my own fault for just walking into a place that I thought looked good without doing any research. Since last night was my last night in Florence, I couldn’t make that mistake again and decided to go to Trattoria Sostanza, another recommendation by Tara.

As I was walking out of Massimo Leather, Marcial asked me if I needed help finding a place to eat and I said I had a place in mind. As I was looking up the name on my phone, we both waited for each other’s reactions. “What touristy, low-class place is she planning to go to?” was most likely on his mind as he waited in anticipation. Once I said it was Trattoria Sostanza, he sighed a breath of relief and said that place was really good (nice job, Tara!). And then he invited himself to join me… I was on a winning streak in making new friends yesterday, but I couldn’t tell if Marcial was gay or straight. Did he want to be me or date me? I had no idea!

In any case, I like meeting new people, and eating with someone, in most situations, is better than eating alone. So, I said, “Sure!” and then he just left with me without telling Massimo. Weird, but OK let’s go!

It was so nice following someone instead of following the written out directions on my non-GPS working phone. I would’ve never have found this place since it’s tucked away in an alley out of the way from everything else. Thank God I’m with a strange man in a dark alley. We got there too early so decided to grab a glass of vino around the corner while we wait for Sostanza to open. One glass of vino down the piehole and I still have no idea if I’m being hit on or if he wants my hair…why am I so bad at this game sometimes?!

Me: So, dating in Florence? What’s that like?
Marcial: Well, if you want to meet a boyfriend (Ding! I’m a genius and he’s gay.) or girlfriend (ugh, confused again…), we usually do it the old-fashioned way of meeting through friends.

Then, we went to Sostanza to check if we can even get in without a reservation. The concierge said to come back in an hour and 15. So, Marcial suggested that we get a drink on the top floor of the Westin, which overlooks all of Florence, and added “Oh my God! We’re like speed dating! It’s so NY! This is like date #2!” Was that a joke? Why am I so dense?!

Everyone on the street knew Marcial and at least 2 customers at every bar knew him too – maybe he’s just a really friendly guy? Sounds like the beginning of a Lifetime movie. 2nd glass of vino down and it’s pretty clear he’s straight, but it’s not clear to me why he’s straight… Whatever – he’s entertaining, but at the same time, I SMH…

Finally, we make it to Trattoria Sostanza and I already know what I’m going to get – the pollo al burro, which is what they are known for.

Doesn’t look like much as fancy presentation isn’t what this resto is all about. I rarely order a chicken dish, but this was seriously one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. I mean – it’s drenched in burro (butter)!

While stuffing the chicken in my mouth and wiping dripping butter off my face, Marcial and I talked about friends, life, and dating. I had to remind him to stop flirting with me every 2 seconds. It was so innocent and comical. But, what the hell did I get myself into?! One can only laugh, which I did A LOT.

“Date 3 is over! Now time for date #4 – gelato!” At this point, sure why not… I still needed to get my gelato fix after all.

The dates are over. (Great, he has me calling them dates too now.) While he walks me to my hotel, I inform him that when we get there, there’ll be no funny business with the good byes. “Ooooh myyy God, Kathyyy, I knooooow!” Really? Really?! He might as well have flipped his hair if he had any. We get to the front of my hotel and then this happened – “Isn’t this so much more fun and better than meeting on Tinder?!” Tinder? Tinder?! Tinder made it to Italia? WHAT?! Anyway, we agree to meet at 12:15 the next afternoon so that he can lug my stuff to the train station for Rome saving me to have to take a billion euro cab. I mean, he’s like the little gayish straight firecracker who keeps on giving! I say, “Buonanotte,” because I speak Italian now, do the kiss kiss on both cheeks because I do what Italians do now, and finally head to my room.

Like a woman whose gone insanely mad, I plop on my bed and start hysterically laughing and say, “WTF just happened?!” to myself. The answer is: I’m on vacation, nothing’s too serious or worth over-analyzing. You just go with the flow, appreciate weirdness, and be happy all of the time.

Marcial is awesome.