These Old Shoes

These old shoes have been through a Venetian deluge in San Marco Square, and foot-swelling heat in the Roman Forum. They’ve taken me on the Via dell’ Amore dirt trail in the Cinque Terre and the Via Montenapoleone high fashion district of Milan. I’ve worn them with skirts and dresses, pants and shorts. On the beach and in business meetings. They are both slippers and dance shoes.

I’ve logged many kilometers in these old shoes, and by the time I finish this journey, they will have walked me through 12 of Italy’s 20 regions, plus taken a train ride through 4 more.

I bought these shoes for my first trip here in 2008. They are a Cole Haan, black, flat, ballerina-style with Nike Air soles. They cost about $140 and I’ve more than gotten my money’s worth! Women’s shoes usually have little support or cushion, and to find a comfortable shoe that also has a classic style is difficult. I recently found another pair of the same shoe –  in muted olive – but since they’re not broken in, I left them behind in Milan for my time there.

Three days ago, halfway through my time in Sicily, I noticed that the sole was starting to peel away from the right toe. Uh-oh! Yesterday in Catanzaro, I found a little hardware store – una ferramenta – described what kind of glue I needed, and bought a tube of super-duper Bostick. I glued the toe and wedged the shoe in the dresser drawer of my presidential suite hotel room, to clamp the shoe as it dried. A little glue. A little polish… Good as new. Maybe they’ll see me through the other 4 regions before I retire them.

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22 May Update.
I just photographed my dear, old shoes and looked at them really up-close-and-personal. I think it’s time for them to go to the great shoe heaven in the sky. They are REALLY worn (and they’re very slippery on wet cobblestones)!