Monday, September 17, 2007

Planning A New Tattoo


I decided a while ago to get a new tattoo. I wanted the Fleur DI Lis, which is the symbol of Florence. You see it everywhere, on the palaces, souvenirs, crests of buildings, shields, etc. It is beautiful, elegant, and popular. Regine and I had spoken of getting tattoos together, but it never materialized. I had difficulty locating a shop which I thought was trustworthy and safe. I started asking people on the streets who had tattoos, if they had gotten them in Florence, and if so where. None of them had, they were all tourists.


Some of the people I have met who live in Florence made recommendations, and one of my friends agreed to take me, while Lisa and Robert were here. Well, that fell through and is a whole separate sad story, but anyway, Robert and Lisa came to the rescue.
They had gone to the train station to purchase their return tickets to Rome, and were walking through the area of San Lorenzo, when they spotted the tattoo shop, which they thought looked nice. They went in, looked around, and wrote down the address and phone number.

After a couple of days of deliberation and tossing around color ideas, I decided to go back to the shop to see what it looked like, and whether I was ready to make the plunge. Robert and Lisa agreed to go with me. I am afraid of needles, to the point that I had my babies at home (sensa needles) I have one tattoo already, and felt that using the same method (drinking heavily) would get me through a second one. Having friends hands to hold is always a plus in situations such as this.

We went into the shop, and there were a few people in the waiting room, and one man with the artist behind a glass wall, getting a tattoo. The people in the waiting room were looking through books for designs. A man came right over to me to ask if I needed help.

I told him that I wanted the Florence symbol, and had a couple of examples from a place mat, napkin, and a pin that Lisa bought for me. He recognized it right away and went to his books were their were many patterns for me to choose. I chose one, but wanted it bigger, so he made an enlargement on the photocopier for my approval. I told him the colors that I wanted and after consulting with the artist came back to say that it would be 150 euro. I agreed to the price, but they were unable to fit me in on that day (Thursday) and I made an appointment for Saturday. I paid a deposit, got a receipt, and departed.

Lisa and Robert are leaving on Friday, so no moral support or hand holding is currently available! Wish me luck.

1 comment:

lexx said...

Hi. Can i ask where the shop is you got tattooed? Im currently living in florence for school and would like to get something done at a trustworthy place.

Thanks!!