So first things first, I bought nothing! It's true that the outlet is enormous, and the discounts too, but given that I had had to park almost 10 minutes walk away, and that the shops include Calvin Klein, Coccinelle and Charactere, it was still a little expensive for my tastes right now. Its true, I could have spent money quite easily on something but the numbers of folk were off-putting, now I know why Florence is empty on a Sunday, everyone is at the outlet! There must have been 500 cars at least.
There were some great jeans, reduced to Euros 40 from Euros 195, but I don't know of anyone who can take them up, and am worried that they will go the way of the last way-too-long trousers I bought - they languish beautiful and pristine at the back of the wardrobe. Come back Hong Kong tailors.....
Also, something that will not be a surprise to my mates here, I got lost on the way to the outlet. Actually, I guess that's not really fair on myself. It is more that I bombed out the door without double checking the direction to take. When I found myself near Arezzo - about 45 minutes away - I figured that as I had gone that far I might as well go the rest of the way and pretend it was an outing to the city instead!
And I am glad I did! Arezzo is really lovely. Much smaller than Florence, it has a real charm to it, augmented today by the antiques market (1st Sunday of every month). There was the usual collection of other people's rubbish, but some of the things were beautiful. If the lady on the chandelier tent hadn't been so officious looking, I would have taken a picture - amazing to see so much crystal hanging from the canvas roof, amidst old tea towels and smock dresses.
Parts of Life Is Beautiful were filmed in Arezzo, and I can see why Benigni picked it. Without the summer tourists and hoards of old-tat (and some nice stuff) vendors, it would feel like exactly the kind of pocket sized italian paradise he wanted to convey.
The shops looked pretty fab too.
I will be going back before I leave Tuscany!
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