Pinocchio and gelato

As those of you who are literary geniuses know, Pinocchio was born in the Tuscan sun.  The original author of Pinocchio, Carlo Lorenzini, wrote the story as a series of short adventures - apparently always killing off Pinocchio in various ways.  Now, this version of the story was news to me.  Being an ignorant American, I am really only familiar with the Walt Dinsey (rainbows and butterflies) version of the story in which the naughty boy learns his lesson and is transformed into the loving son of Geppetto.  But, Italians seem to have a sense of pride in the Pinocchio story.  For as we were meandering around the city today, we saw lots of Pinocchio marionettes for sale to tourists.

But, our most exciting brush with Pinocchio came today in the form of a horse.  There is a bit of a running joke in the Zarcone family about me making my mother in law ride in a carriage pulled by a donkey in Mexico.  So, when I found out that one of the best ways to get an overview of Florence is by horse-drawn carriage, I knew that the girls and I would have to see the city this way.

Because we are working hard to get the lay of the land, I also thought this would be a great way to really cover some ground.  And, the horse that had the pleasure of lugging us around the city was named Pinocchio.  Now, Pinocchio was a sweet and trusty steed, but he apparently doesn't like Japanese tourists anymore than we do for he almost picked one off as he charged up a slight hill with a full head of steam.

Everyone knows that the moral of Pinocchio is that one should not tell lies.  Well, I am NOT lying when I tell you that I didn't buy myself any gelato today.  I did, however, sneak in a number of "clean up" licks on the kids' cones.  While ice cream was a staple in the Snell house growing up, it isn't one of my favorite desserts.  Well friends, there may be a problem now that I have met gelato!  A local gave us a recommendation for what she considers the best gelateria in Florence (and it is about 2 blocks from our flat).  I knew we were in the right place because everyone around us was Italian (not a tourist in sight - except, of course, for us).  Scarlett picked chocolate and Bella got vanilla chip (which was vanilla with ribbons of chocolate).  The gelato was so smooth and had an almost light quality to it.  The kids kept arguing with me to give them their cones back - they think the "clean up lick" is just a ploy for me to eat their gelato.  They may be on to me!

I am again reminded of the story of Pinocchio as I reflect on our day and write this post.  Some literary scholars suggest that the character of Geppetto is put in the story to remind readers of the power of the human connection.  While Florence is a heavily populated city and bustling with many visitors daily, what makes our adventures here so special is that we get to share them with each other (and with you).