Abdoul

When I was last in Florence in 2008, I had bought a painting of Pinocchio from an artist behind the San Lorenzo market. Pinocchio is big in Florence – you can get all manner of Pinocchios – key chains, figurines, woodenheads, etc. These particular renderings were quite nice and when we got it home we had it framed and now it is hanging in Finn’s room and looks quite nice there, too. When I wandered in behind the San Lorenzo market this time, I spotted my Pinocchio and artist sitting pretty much where we saw him last time.  I remembered him from his hat. It’s a cross between a tuque and the Pillsbury Doughboy’s hat. So I stopped and took a look at his new paintings and then told him how I bought something from him 4 years ago. A few days later, on my way to the train station, I decided to pick up a painting. So I flipped through his paintings while he was serving some American ladies and we chatted in Italian. He asked how long I was here, what I was doing here, where was I staying and what I did. So we chatted, he sold things to other people and I flipped through more of his drawings. Then he asked where I went out at night. Eep. I don’t go out much at night, I said. I flipped through the photos faster and kept talking trying to change the subjects and start new tangents. The he suggested that we go for a coffee. That would be great, I answered, but you have all these customers, you can’t just leave them. Faster flipping, more subjects to distract and then at one point he said, “E molto bellissimo quanto parli italiano – e sensualissimo.” Eep! That was my cue – I picked whichever Pinocchio water painting was in my hand, paid him and had to wait very patiently and be as evasive as I can in Italian while he wrapped my painting in cardboard, had to look for the tape, cut the cardboard and then wrap it all up. I said Arrivederci! with the biggest smile I could and continued on to the train station to try to figure out how to buy a train ticket and then also how to find my way back home without having to pass the San Lorenzo market.