firenze
i joked with my friends & family that when i would reach florence at the start of my study abroad program, that i would kiss the cobblestone once i finally got there.
i can, in fact, confirm that when i arrived, i laid flat on the ground and gave it a kiss— having had to jump through just about every hoop you can imagine to get there, including a lost passport & visa, it was like i had accomplished this dream that seemed so far off, for so dang long.
firenze. florence. more like a small town, than a bustling city.
a place where italians live life abundantly, fully & in community with one another.
a place where the italian culture is true, and the wine is “molto buono” (very, VERY good).
a place where vendors greet you with a smile, offer you samples & speak with you in broken english.
a place where life seems to feel slower, more intentional, and freezes in frames where life just doesn’t feel real.
a place where you can stand among thousand-year old buildings, watch the sunset alongside tourists at piazzele michelangelo and enjoy gelato as you stroll along the arno river.
my time there seemed not long enough, yet the relationships and experiences made were as though i’d know them for all my life. i felt comfortable there, like i knew where i was, yet continually discovering hidden alleyways filled with quaint storefronts, garden coffee shops & a dedicated “market man” who came to know me by name.
coming from an italian family, my nonno, born & raised in sorrento, i knew bits and pieces of the language prior to arriving. but my understanding expanded as i spent time with friends, vendors and professors who spoke to me in italian, helping me improve and correcting my broken phrases. “parla solo italiano con me, per favore” became a common phrase amongst my peers in florence & on facetime calls with my nonno back home.
i dream of florence, the streets, the culture, the wine, the food. i miss the gentle excitement i felt each time i stepped out my front door of my studio apartment alongside the ponte vecchio. i miss it every day, but know as soon as i return i’ll be greeted all the same with a “buongiorno gabriella!” & un bicchiere di vino rosso shortly later.
mi manchi firenze, a presto.
