This morning, we wandered through Florence for a while before getting back on the train bound for one of my favorite towns in Italy. Another delicious hotel breakfast and then we set out to find some of the places that we were told about yesterday from my travel buddy’s travel buddies on the train. The first stop on the list: The Leather Market. The San Lorenzo Market is a large building that houses a bunch of local merchant booths selling Florentine leather. We learned here that Florentine leather is some of the best in the world. We had no idea.

Standing around, looking at the walls of bags, backpacks, purses, key chains, and jackets, something odd happened. I felt someone behind me. He grabbed my shoulders gently and stood right behind me for a second. I immediately turned my to see who was touching me and identified what they could possibly want. My boyfriend noticed my concern and looked over to see if I needed help. This is why I tell everyone to keep your head on a swivel when you travel. You never know when you are going to find yourself in an uncomfortable situation that could lead to something dangerous. Turns out, this time, it was someone I knew. The travel buddies from yesterday happened to be in the Leather Market at the same time we were. He tried to sneak up to surprise us and wasn’t expecting to startle me in that way. It was actually pretty funny. We hung out and chatted for a little while. They were traveling with their family and waiting on the other half of their group to come downstairs, so we stood in the street and talked for almost an hour about Florence.

I know I harp on it, but the people that you meet along the way are such a key part of traveling. After we left our new friends, we wandered around Florence a little longer and had some lunch near the train station. Wine is great with every meal. The train was another pleasant passage through Tuscany heading north to Domodossola.

Domodossola is a smaller town in the Alps that has some amazing people. Last year, I happened to stop here with my mom. Check out that adventure here. This town has an appeal to it, so I wanted to stay here a night this time. We got off the train and walked around until we found a hotel that we liked. The lady behind the counter was the cutest little old Italian lady ever and I had to take my Italian for a walk to understand her. She did not speak English. That is not a complaint, I don’t have an issue with people who don’t speak my language in their country.

After check-in, we went for a nice long walk to see the town. Later, we went to dinner and marveled at the locals. Being from the U.S., it is easy to think that teenagers and young adults act out in public everywhere. This was not the case here at all. Every single young person who passed us was well-dressed, or at least they tried. They weren’t too loud, they didn’t get too drunk, they were polite. It was eye opening to see these people in this way. My boyfriend was floored at their behavior and I enjoyed watching him watching them.

Beef, tomatoes, arugula, balsamic vinegar, how can you go wrong? Meal in Domodossola, Italy

Dinner was delicious and I hope you enjoyed today’s installment of our trip. Can’t wait until tomorrow. We’re going to hang out in Domodossola for a while and then make our way to Geneva, Switzerland for our last day.

Thanks, y’all!