Palestra Ricciardi

Funky gym. Someone (who shall remain nameless, but is another American living in Florence) said that Palestra Ricciardi was “funky”. I joined anyways because it is nearby and looks reasonable. Well, funky it is, but for a reason. It’s the smell, but not always. Let me explain. First, the gym is a conglomeration of many rooms in a maze-like structure. Second, off every room there seems to be a bathroom. This is very odd. We belonged to one of the largest gyms in the USA and there were not that many bathrooms. Well, these bathrooms are used constantly (maybe working out makes Italians go to the bathroom; it has the opposite effect for me). Finally, anybody who had lived in Italy can’t help but comment (at some time if they have a nose) that the Italians should outsource their plumbing, maybe to the Japanese, because they have not mastered keeping sewer smells at a minimum. Okay, so lots of bathrooms used a lot = funky gym. If you go early in the morning when the bathrooms haven’t been used yet, it’s better. Overall, I don’t mind because the gym is adequate for getting some cardio in and minimal weight lifting. I joined for a month, we’ll see how it goes.

Oh, how I could go on about the gym culture I’ve seen here, but I’ll wait for more observations. Okay, here’s just one: the folks wearing big ol’ scarves while working out. Fashionable, maybe, but necessary?