Le ragazze dietro, e davanti, foto con David

Fueled by a few euros, a little bit more vino rosso, and a whole lotta cases of the giglios, we present the four donne behind this magnifico blog. Andiamo!

Prima: MarissaKnown for her love of combat boots and all things gelato, Marissa is the rebel of the group. And by rebel, I mean the most likely to shun the well known museums of the city to explore Florence's obscure, yet magnificent Jewish ghetto, or start up a conversation with the African merchant selling light up cowboy hats outside of Moyo every notta. If you hang with Mariss, you will uncover the smallest ristorante with the best ribollita in all of Tuscany, or perhaps find yourself surreptitiously spending Euros on the best dolci in the world at a secret bakery at 3 in the morning. Her love of all things culinary, and her septum piercing, caught the eye and cuore of one jolly ragazzo whose salsa arrabiata is rivaled only by his spicy good looks.

Marissa is also the brains behind this blog; it was her moment of inspiration, while basking in a post Photo with David euphoria, that gave rise to our beloved site.

Fatto Interessante: Marissa is an expert Albanian hunter; no matter how perfetto the Italian accent, how spot on the Euro attire, or how persistent the uomo, Marissa can spot an Albanian masquerading as an Italian with one simple question "Di dove sei?" If the response is "Uhh Germany" or "in Piazzale Michelangelo"...RUN.

Secondo: MichelleThe ultimate tourista, Michelle can be found through out Firenze snapping photographs of just about everything. Seriously. From the magnificent Palazzo Vecchio to the Euro-fab hairstyles on unsuspecting Italians walking the strade, if its in Florence, Meesh will capture it for you. Just like she captured the heart of one bello underage Florentine with a barba sexy. With her money belt strapped securely on, and her purse full, this donna takes on the Mercato di San Lorenzo like no one else can. The proof is in her impressive collection of purple scarpe.

Michelle also happens to be the pioneer of the group, as she was the first ragazza to boldly snap multiple pictures of herself with David during our first stay in Florence tre anni fa.

Fatto Interessante: Michelle has been known to get lost for hours at a time in Florence, right under the noses of her amici, despite having an intimate knowledge of the city.

Terzo: CristinaCristina, our little Italiana, has spent the most time in our beautiful city, and boasts the most knowledge of the Italian language and culture. Exploring Firenze with this donna means shopping in the most fabulous stores in the city for the most fabulous bags, shoes, dresses, and pretty much anything else that is better in Italy. This saucy minx is also an aficionado on all things vino rosso; trust me, leave the wine choice up to Cristina, and you'll never leave a dinner unhappy (or sober). Cristina's love of the bustling nightlife in Florence led her into the arms of one extremely bello man, who has a big heart, and an even bigger affection for jeans with bulls on the culo.

Cristina serves as the translator of the gang, happy to negotiate the purchase of a scarpe from the mercato or to correct an amica's Italian while they are trying to hit on an underage Italian raggazo. She also is the one who most effectively eludes the pazzi guards in the Galleria Accademia with her killer Italian stare down, making many attempts at fotos con david possible.

Fatto Interessante: Cristina once successfully negotiated a crisis at the Aeroporto di Pisa, serving as a translator for a screaming Americana who failed to brush up on her English-Italian translations. It was a mistake to assume Pepperoni in the states meant the same thing in Italy. I mean c'mon lady, the word PEPPER is in Pepperoni.

Ultimo: Kerry
The member of the group with the least knowledge of the Italian language, but plenty of enthusiasm to speak it, Kerry travels around the city desperately trying to fit in by speaking in her native language of English with a perfetto Italian accent. With a fascination for zingari and Italian swear words, this ragazza can often be found gawking and groping at many treasured Renaissance statues which grace the vias and strade of Firenze; she also has been known to grope the satin shirt of a certain oh so seski Italiano with poor english but fabulous fashion sense.

Kerry doubles as the scribe of the group. Channeling the spirit of Giorgio Varsari, she documents the lives of her travel soulmates as well as their fascinating attempts to capture a plethora of fotos con David.

Fatto Interessante: Kerry successfully captured the beauty of one zingara in a priceless picture, just as the damn gypsy was chanting an evil incantation. She subsequently spent the rest of her stay in Florence warding off a gypsy curse by visiting as many Catholic churches as possible and praying for her condemned soul.


Allora, together noi quattro make up the fabulous ladies behind, and in front of, Photos with David.