Happy chattering conversations, the bustling crowds wearing smiling faces, and the warm sunshine beating down as people briskly walk towards the ripening goods on vendors’ stands. This is the Sant’ambrogio market in Florence, Italy. Looking around upon arrival, bright red mixed with green and deep orange heirloom tomatoes stare back at customers as they delicately rest upon the wooden table of a friendly older vendor’s stand. Walking through the rows of vendors and their goods, the sweet smell of ripe persimmons enters my nose and finishes out with the distant smell of freshly baked bread. A giddy child brushes past me with a plethora of vibrant purple grapes bouncing up and down in his small hand, with the lighter-hued grape juice dribbling down his chin. In the distance, you can hear the sound of bread coming right out of the bag, and then being sawed into with a loud crunch. Getting closer, I could observe that a vendor was making a sandwich to sell to a girl who must have been in her mid-twenties. She stood before him, patiently waiting for her tasty lunch. All of this authenticity is the very reason that I frequent this market. It feels so real and gives you a unique experience unlike anywhere else you can get fresh produce nearby.