American Girls & the Secret Bakery

On his way from Venice to Florence, an American girl approached Joe on the train because he was wearing his Jermaine O'Neal Blazers jersey, which he wore specifically for the comments and possible connections that could ensue. On this occasion, the jersey did exactly what it was supposed to do. Maegan then introduced Joe to the fellow Americans, who all live together and study at the Florence University of the Arts. Upon arriving in Florence they made plans for the night and as they were walking back from the tent where Joe and I would be staying, I ran into them. I was dark and rainy and I was hiking up the hill to our campsite when I saw a studly man with an knarly beard...oh, that's Joe! They talked me into turning around with all my stuff and we made our way to a coffee shop. They didn't have to try very hard, because there was talk of a secret bakery with grubbin' doughnuts and croissants and pastries... needless to say, I was interested.

Later that night we all walked from their place to the secret bakery in delicious anticipation. Just before we turned down the secret alley, we smelled goodness. So here's how it works... It's only open from midnight to 5 am and its some back door in some alley, but anyways, someone knocks on the door and then one of the bakers will open the door just enough to talk. Then the customer orders the goods (in Italian, of course, and you better be ready to go). The baker shuts the door and returns a few minutes later with the plain white bags full of warm goodness, at which point the customer pays 1 Euro per pastry, and the exchange is made. I got the custard filled croissant, which was a superb choice, and Maegan let me try her chocolate one too, also a wonderful choice. It was an experience that would have to be repeated... and it was, 3 more times.

The Deal



The Goods



The next couple days Joe and I hung out with the girls (Maegan and Kaitlyn mostly), they showed us the best places for lunch, we made dinner at their place, we got gelato, and, of course, we went to the secret bakery every night we were there. It was a great change of pace and experience to live in a new city with the help of locals and not feel like complete tourists. That is also the reason that we stayed an extra night in Florence, we realized that we were supposed to leave the next day, but we really hadn't seen the things (sights) that we had wanted to yet. In the end, we saw everything we wanted to and we we're still able to enjoy being in the city. Thank you Maegan and Kaitlyn (and all the housemates) for welcoming us into your home and your lives.