"I'm makin a motion picture, MICHELANGELO !!" (Migos voice) - 12/14/2023

 Im now at the airport. On the way here me and Daniel had a nice talk about Hip-Hop culture now and in the 90s, surfing, skating, places to go when we come back to Italy, etc. We connected on IG and he referred me to some Hip-Hop artists from Rome and his uncle who is a big music guy who is still very famous to this day, Bob Harris. Now I'm on the plane and I'll have no entertainment this entire flight so I'll probably be journaling and sleeping. I probably would be reading too but my checked-in bag has my book. Anyways, the day we went to Florence for the evening was very surreal. We were ubered through Florence which looks like a place where action movies get filmed then we arrived at La Giostra where we waited for a while to see if we'd get seated--we had Daniel call several times to make reservations but they never answered. We were eventually seated--I wonder if the wait would've been shorter if I told the hostess (who was captivatingly beautiful with her red hair and glasses), Hey, if it makes any difference we do plan on ordering the most expensive thing you have!" And that we did, the T-bone steak. In addition to this we ordered cheese and spinach ravioli, which s, which were amazing. Maylyn then joined us. We waved her over and I got up to hug her and greet her. It was so lovely. She is so beautiful, intelligent, well-mannered, interesting, and multifaceted. We learned that shes very seriously considering moving back to America--in fact shes visiting her hometown in VA next week so I'll see her again! Shes writing a novel, learning Norwegian, knows French (and I think Spanish too), getting into sculpting, has nude modeled, is single, and looking to get into criminology and private investigating. She was excited to learn that my mother is a private investigator and asked to write her. We all three enjoyed the steak which was stellar. I was surprised I was able to get into rare, bloody steak but it was so good. There were only like one or two pieces that were a lil too chewy but it was all so flavorful and I appreciated that the steak was already sliced for us. We enjoyed Maylyn's company so much we began to run a little bit behind schedule. We went outside, called an uber, and took a bunch of lovely pictures. It was so nice to be able to squeeze and embrace her so tightly for the photos. We look so good and warm and happy together in the photos. The uber never came, however, to our pickup location or any other spot we chased it down to--Maylyn spoke with the driver on my phone to coordinate but the guy kept giving us the runaround and sent us on at least three wild goose chases. ME, Maylyn, and my poor lil ol mom had to sprint back and forth trying to find this dumbass uber driver. As I jogged alongside Maylyn I joked "who would've thought we'd be running a marathon together." (Marathon running is a big part of her life). It was lowkey a Romantic time, running together through cobblestone streets as rain drizzled down. We never found the uber driver and by this time the train had been scheduled to leave. Maylyn and I walked and she told me all about the Duomo just ahead of us which Brunelleschi designed and was stricken by lightning, causing the metal ball to fall off the top of the building. She called us a cab and we bid her farewell. Arriving at the train station, we went to a lady to try to refund or change our ticket. She informed us however, that we hadn't missed the train as it was late. Back in Venice we stopped at a pastry shop where I got two to-die-for raspberry cheesecake muffins stuffed with cream cheese. This day, if Im not mistaken, occurred before Murano and Burano boat ride day. On my birthday yesterday we had two tours--one about Michelangelo w/ Maria Linda and one about the Borghese garden & museum w/ Marta, aka the loml. M.L. followed me on Spotify and listened to Cranberry Sauce as we waited for my mom to get coffee. I loved hearing about the differences between the pillars/columns due to their material--granite, marble, plaster, etc. I also fell in love with Michelangelo's Moses sculpture. The story behind it was very cool. We saw his Jesus statue as well which was nice but I wasnt as impressed by. We visited a wall and I believe two churches designed by him and I was surprised to learn that Michelangelo never painted any paining. He painted frescos (Walls, ceiling) ie; the Sistine Chapel. We then parted ways with M.L., she was the only tour guide to do the kiss cheek thing with us. She was very cool and I actually found myself not wanting that tour to end. oh! Michelangelo also renovated what I believe was the Senate building in Rome--that was beautiful. He changed the entrance to face the other side looking down on a long flight of large steps. We then parted ways and caught an Uber to our reservation @ Giacomelli's--Daniel's favorite and suggested pizza spot. The workers there were very nice and sweet. Two old ladies--one rreally old--and a young guy who looked Hispanic. I ordered a medium Margherita pizza which was pretty good and my mom ordered a mushroom and sausage pizza which I believe she enjoyed. We then went to the airbnb for a nap and a phone charging session. I'm going to close my eyes now for just a bit. When I get back we'll talk about my second tour with Marta <333