correre in Firenze

For the past week I have been getting up at 7am to go on a run. I set my watch alarm and when it goes off, I get up and get ready as quietly as I can so I wont wake up my roommates (considering it is really early in the morning.) Once I am done putting on my running shorts and shoes, I head down stairs, turn on my iPod and begin my run. Once I step outside the villa I am greeted with the cool air of the morning and the hum of the passing cars that are headed to work. Almost no one is walking on the streets and compared to the rest of the day, Florence is pleasantly more quiet, more serene in the mornings. (Aside from the rattling cars, but even they seem to have a more calming methodical way about them, in the mornings.) As I begin my run down the street, I pass by people dressed in orange vest handing out the daily newspaper to passing cars and pedestrians. Further on I pass trucks unloading deliveries to cafe's and shops. The streets markets, that sell every item possible (leather, hoodies, shoes, purses, journals, etc.) are just beggining to opens. The merchants are bundled up from the cill and they are either drinking a cup of coffee or smoking a cigarette as they uncover their kiosk. The city is beginning to wake up. Further on I am start to smell the bakeries as freshly made pasteries are being taken out of the oven. The smell engulfs me and I start to crave a croissant or a bombolone (doughnut) but I know I must keep running. Soon I come upon the end of the street and as I turn the corner, everytime still takes my breath away, I come into view of the Duomo. It is magnificent in the mornings. The sun's light is coming up from behind it making the clouds and even the Duomo take on this hue of pink and purple. The burnt orange tiles of the Dome light up, it is as if they are on fire. No one is around. No one. Except me. During my run I have to stop because the Duomo is just to beautiful to pass up. As I continue to run, leaving the Duomo behind, I begin to notice the city coming to life a bit more. People are walking or biking to work, bus are running up and down the streets. As I run down the last street and come upon the main Piazza all of Florence has awakened. In that short twenty-five minutes so much has happened. But every morning I look forward to my run because I get to see Florence wake-up.