Florence (Firenze)

Things I’ve learned

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…in the past 18 or so months.  As anybody who reads my blog knows, it is not a how-to blog.  There are many expats living in Italy who blog about the ins and outs of living here.  I usually avoid the subject, but I’m in the process of moving from what is called a transitory lease to a long-term lease, which could involve a stay of up to 8 years or longer.

To say it has been a learning process would be like saying a a flower seed will grow a flower.  It can happen, but it might not depending on infinite variables. I’m not sure that is a good example, but my brain is currently cooked.

So, it set me to thinking about the many small things that go on here, such as waiting in line this morning to buy your milk, eggs and bread (which you thought would be a quick trip, but it isn’t because there are 10+ people in line before you. You have the luck to be behind an older signora who has 2x the normal amount of shopping in her cart and she keeps dropping pieces of paper that she can’t bend over far enough to retrieve and so you have to do it):

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Or the fact that you thought your were covered for the furniture delivery that was set up for this morning.  The doorman works during the hours you planned the delivery and he knew about the delivery and so you didn’t worry.

That is, until you got several angry phone calls in Italian from the delivery man who couldn’t get into the building.  So you sent an SOS text to the landlord who you happened to know was in your apartment at that moment.  The delivery man got in, in the end, and you received this text from the landlord:

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There are more, many more, and I may be writing about them soon.  But right now I am taking some Advil and taking a nap in my old short-term but beautiful apartment. :-)

 

Just as “When the swallows come back to Capistrano,” there will be wedding photographs shot in Florence

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As surely as the swallows return north from their annual winter pilgrimage to the south, many Asian couples flock to Florence for their destination wedding photographs.

Please enjoy this vintage track while you read below:

 

If it sounds racist to single out couples from Asia, it isn’t meant to be.  It is a simple statement of fact.

By the end of March, Asian couples travel to Florence to get married (I assume they hold their weddings here…I’ve never been invited to one so how can I know?!) or at least to take their wedding photos.  Small entourages of couples and photographers appear in all the usual places–the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio primarily–but the city and its population hardly take note of the activity.  I should think their photos capture many a tourist, as you can sometimes hardly move through the daily ebb and flow of Fioritini and tourists.

There is a definite uptick in the presence of the latter by this time of year.

But, despite the expense and bother, how would you like to have the Medieval wonder of the Ponte Vecchio as your backdrop at sunrise or sunset?

 

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Like the romance the ballad evokes, the Ponte Vecchio and Il Duomo add a touch of magic to the photos.

A typical scene of newlyweds looks like this small group seen on the Ponte Santa Trinity a couple of days ago.  So interesting is the fact that the brides eschew the beautiful eastern dress for what look like inexpensive western-style white gowns.

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I’m moving!

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Again!  Crazy amount of moving over the past 18 months, but each move gets me closer to Nirvana.  Here’s my new neighborhood, a tree-lined avenue along Florence’s overlooked river, il Mugnone.

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I am moving from my current beautiful apartment high above Florence near the Ponte Vecchio.  I will miss the medieval tower that I have as a next-door neighbor.

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And my views of Brunellechi’s done and Giotto’s bell tower, a view that inspires me every hour of every day and night:

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But, oh, what I’ll gain!  More space, for sure, and a sense of Italian community that is missing in the city center with its inundations of tourists. I only recently discovered this elegant neighborhood, which reminds me a little bit of Parisian avenues, and am delighted to be moving onto via XX Settembre where, from my new terrace, I can gaze at the wide open sky above Florence as well as green treetops and a flowing river.  A lucky tradeoff for me!

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