the kindness of strangers

a quick story that served as my first reminder in italy that the world is full of good people. i was trying to get on a city bus to get to my accommodation, which is about 6km from the centre of prato, the city where i find myself enjoying many italian delights (more on that later).

i could not find the right bus stop for the bus i needed to take. finally, i decided to go to the nearest stop and ask a person standing there; incidentally, it turns out that i do not speak an exemplary form of italian...she couldn't help me, but suggested i wait until the bus arrived and ask the driver, who was likely to know. on her advice, i waited briefly; when the bus, arrived, she asked the driver (on my behalf) where i needed to go. he promptly loaded me onto his bus and proceeded, stop by stop, to write down specific directions for me. he dropped me off at precisely the bus stop i needed to be at, equipped with the name, direction, and time of the bus that i needed to get on. of course, i made it safely back to my abode.

as for prato, located in the tuscany region about 30 km from firenze (florence); it is an old city whose downtown core is still surrounded by its original wall (built for protection). it's economy was built largely on textiles, but it also offers famous chocolate and biscuits (like biscotti) to the world. in the centre of the city, the third largest in the region, there are many magnificant buildings, including a castle from the 1200's, an archive with the most complete set of mercantile documentation that exists in europe, and a cathedral with an outside turret designed by donatello. the cathedral of saint stephen contains the reported garter belt of the virgin mary; people gather in the square in front of the cathedral on 5 days of the year to see the garter, which is kept under 3 locks - one key is kept by the cathedral's bishop and the other two by the city's mayor as the representative of the people. quaint stone streets lined with shops, restaurants, and gelaterias twist around each other, ultimately leading out through about 5 gateways that allow people and cars to pass from the city centre to greater prato and, ultimately, the rest of italy.

tomorrow, i will begin the next leg of my adventure from the seat of my bike!