Thursday, April 28, 2011

Easter Man Not So Jolly

I forgot to mention, while in the crowd waiting for the fireworks to start, I ended up next to an older Italian man. He was stocky and just by the expression on his face, I could tell he was stubborn.

As everyone got their standing room and the pushing and shoving for spots died down, I was looking around, feeling a bit stuck. I could imagine my parents being here: my Mom would be shorter than the crowd and not able to see anything. I could imagine my dad getting claustrophobic with all of the people. Also, Italians have no sense of personal space which doesn't help the situation.

A older couple came up from behind me with a piece of luggage each. Where do they think they are going? They started shoving their way through to the front of the crowd. As they pushed the man next to me, his face grew red. His big dark hand reached in front of him and grabbed the shoulder of the man who was trying to shove his way through. He started yelling in Italian and shaking and hitting the man.

The man trying to get through the crowd got away, only to realize he has nowhere to go. He ended up back tracking, passing by the angry man next to me who mumbled and threw out some hand gestures.

It wouldn't be a holiday without some commotion.

2 comments:

  1. Wow! Luckily I was not in Firenze. Crowds can sometimes be too much

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  2. Smiling -- personal space is different all over Europe. I'd give you a hug.

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