Last night Dave and I met some friends for a gelato at Grom after dinner. We stood in via delle Oche waiting for them to arrive. At 10PM, the streets were quiet and only a few people were in the gelateria. When they arrived, we went inside to get a gelato and ate it outside in the streets enjoying the cool evening air.
We walked in front of the Duomo and there weren't many people in front on the steps as there usually are. We walked down via dei Servi to Piazza Santissima Annunziata. We arrived in the piazza and listened to the live band playing. We decided to stay, so we got drinks at the bar and sat down at a table.
The cameriere (waiter) came up to us to clear off the table and I said, "Scusaci, non pensavamo che faceste il servizio al tavolo." (Excuse use, we didn't know that you served the tables.) He smiled and said, "Niente." (It's nothing.)
We sat there listening to the band and noticed that there weren't that many people besides those seated at the tables. It was hard to believe that this was the same piazza where we came to see the finale dei Mondiali (World Cup finals). On that night, it was crowded with hundreds of people walking, sitting, standing, and celebrating.
After an hour or so, the band stopped and the piazza emptied quickly after. We walked back down via dei Servi and then behind the Duomo and noticed that there was no one around. Our friends were going al mare (to the sea) in the morning and they heard that at 8AM, the traffic would begin, so they wanted to start a little earlier.
I couldn't believe that there was anyone left in Florence to go al mare the way the streets were so deserted. It should be a quiet weekend in Florence. We're all just hoping the weather remains mild, well those of us who are staying here.
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