The Beauty of Florence ✔

Nineteen

Carlos guided me around Mercato Centrale. He led me to the ground floor which hosts a variety of fresh vegetables, meat and fruit.

While we stuffed our paperbags with the veggies and other essentials, he invited me to have lunch with him at the food court that is just above the central market.

I was so amazed with the wide variety of food stalls this central market has.

From dairy products to pizza to desserts, your tastebuds will surely be delighted once they got ahold of the yummy foods served on your table.

We ordered food from Pasta Fresca and it was so exquisite!

We were so hyped up with the cool ambiance of the food court that we saw ourselves buying more food from Il Frito e le Polpette.

Although it was hard to pronounce, their meatballs are the best!

Like anybody whose love for chocolates was supreme, there is always room for desserts.

I found myself getting comfortable with Carlos' presence and even sharing our personal preferences on food, music, sports and hobbies.

I learned that Carlos is actually a pasta chef and is always on watch over the perfect match to his 'baby'.

He also stated that during his past time, his favorite companion is his surfboard.

And just by knowing that, I could feel myself burning as I imagined him topless and surfing with the waves.

Thankfully, our attention were diverted to a food-goer who is a few tables away from us when she was asking which serves the best dessert inside the food court.

We also stopped by this stand called Ii Ciocolato e il gelato and their gelato alla Torta settevel was to die for!

We eagerly dug in on our serving of the precious gem and both sighed with satisfaction.

Oh, he is also a sucker for sweets like me.

I really felt like we have made a connection as we almost have the same interest.

Well, except for the surfing one.

With regards to cooking, I just do it for survival.

I just don't have the talent to be expert on food production and management.

That is the reason why I chose being a fashion designer than culinary or hrm course.

Once we are done eating, we lifted our paper bags and returned to the car.

Honestly, I am grateful for him for offering me to come with him here.

Otherwise, going home will be a problem.

Like the gentleman that he is, he opened the car door for me when he finished placing and securing our paper bags of goodies at the backseat.

I was now feeling beat and sleepy because of the long walks that we did just to find the right ingredients for his recipes.

I didn't realize that I fell asleep until we reached our apartment. I woke up to him staring at me.

Consciously, I ran my hands along my chin and mentally thanked myself that I didn't drool on my sleep.

Or, did I?

Argh! I hate this feeling!

As soon as we are inside the elevator, with our hands full, I began dozing off again.

This is what I hate about myself once I was able to nap for a couple of minutes: the fact that I was not able to have a complete sleep was frustrating and inevitable.

I didn't know what I was doing while my arms are hugging my things until my head rested on Carlos' shoulder.

I felt him stiffened for awhile until we reached our floor.

I was so exhausted and my stomach is full.

What a perfect combination, right?

Exhaustion plus full tummy equals sleepy me.

Excellent!

Insert sarcasm here.

So, yeah. Gladly, we were able to meet my unit and Carlos was so kind enough to help me unload it before going back to his unit that is across mine.

I thanked him before I decided to change into indoor clothes.

I glanced at the clock and saw that it's only three in the afternoon.

I still have time to catch up on sleep and enjoy the last days of freedom before I head on to the reality of life: Work and the real world.

Pretty soon, I was dozing off and fell into a deep and peaceful slumber.