Vetrulio Bondi- water guy in Florence

Of all of the people we have met, and we have met a few, Vetrulio who owns the store on the corner near our hotel in Florence is one of the few we have talked to in depth. He first got our attention for being an average Joe, about middle aged with an adoring wife and obviously hard working store owner in which we were faithfully buying our water every morning and evening. He welcomed us each time by announcing we were his best water customers. When we chose to eat dinner there, he sat with us a bit and talked with us a lot. The conversation turned serious and we rather enjoyed what he had to say. He is first and foremost concerned about the young girls of our country that come here to visit from college. There are many of these girls in Florence and many walk past his store in a days time. He quickly notes that they are all clones of "Paris Hilton" and the like and work very hard to show way too much of themselves and are very plastic. He said Beauty was a state of mind in Florence and that it should come from inside and then be present on our exterriors. He was worried that they come to Florence, or Italy in general, and simply buy the designer goods but bipass learning anything about the culture for spending all of their time and money in the markets to return with "things" when they are done here. He feels sad that he sees them coming to Florence and consuming tons of alchohol to the point of being drunk constantly. He has a hard time understanding this because alchohol is considered and consumed differently in their country, perhaps something we could learn from them. They appreciate fine wines and enjoy them slowly with a nice meal, rather than worry with quantity. Thank goodness he also was concerned that we are a lot like Jerry Springer back home in that he has this as a point of reference. We were certainly able to put his mind at ease and assure him that it was a fabricated show for entertainment and that the masses understand that it is trash and don't watch it. He also seemed at ease that if Anne and I were once these 20 year olds that he is worried about, then there is hope if they turn out like us. Thanks for the compliment. He was sweet and smart and adores his wife. He treated us like we were in his home, not his trattoria. He embodies something that most Americans just don't posses because having this approach doesn't earn money...or so we think. I know that Anne and I stayed a bit longer and had a dessert to extend our conversation with him. His charm earned him at least another $20. Later we went back out to get a sandwich for the desk help at our hotel in thanks for their kindness. Naturally, we walked back to Vetrulio's. He suggested that instead we walk across the alley to order a pizza from his restaurant. We had no idea that Nerone's was his restaurant too. We ate there twice because it was so delicious. It didn't surprise either of us that this smart man had already assumed the American dream right here in Florence. We thoroughly enjoyed his food but moreso his company and hope that if any of you make it to Florence that you will visit Vetrulio at the corner of Faenza and Nationale for a water and large helping of Italian charm. (Lisa)