Piazza Duomo at 9.30pm: here we go! The meeting comes a little after the spring break. Farewell spring pub crawl, the call to which 73 Facebook’s buddies have answered. In Piazza Duomo, at 9.30pm, they are some dozen: someone tries to contact the latecomers on Twitter.
The staff leader, who leads a group of 4 who have organized the drinking tour, shouts: «Time’s up, here we go».
Just a bit of walking, while making acquaintance with the group (42 people, numbered) to finally get to the Club House in via Ginori. They get in, pay 15 euro, and get a mark on their hand to stand out from the rest for the next 5 hours and get the drinks included in the price.
They spend there the first hour: one may drink all the sangria (well, something similar) he/she want. Then the next stop, with a free shot drink. The staff guys are like guardian angels: they drink too, but in moderation. They make the boys (especially the girls, who seem a bit unfamiliar with high heels) get on the sidewalk, they choose the most pedestrian path and gather the latecomers.
They shout a lot, too. The group follows them.
Second stop: San Pierino. In San Pierino, the last yell: «Finish your drinks!» (someone have taken with him the plastic glass). As the notice at the entrance says — «no food or beverage» — one can’t take anything inside. They all gobble the last drop, for someone that’s half a pint of beer, for someone else is a cocktail (bought a while before).
But it’s just a short break: they are welcome on the door by a short drink (peach and something alcoholic), and get the card that allows to get a free second drink, after paying one (most people choose beer). But still no dancing: «This is a pub, it’s not a club atmosphere», explains Sam.
There isn’t the atmosphere. And then we go speaking with Jess, Kathrin, Lisa.
The only one having a smattering of Italian is Kathrin. She outlines a talk on «how old are you», «what’s jour job». The basics. Jess knows «ciao» and «pizza margherita». But why one gotta spend six months in Italy to study public relations? For Jess it’s «freedom», a bit «vacanza», vacation, a bit it’s study. And why don’t you study Italian as well? «You’re right: I don’t know».
In this way you can’t know the town: «There is no need for that».
Portofino World, a world apart.
