Week 38 - Preparing to Return Home

Two statues on the Ponte Santa Trinita

Michael M. left Firenze on Wednesday July 18^th, and so a new countdown began – 12 more days before I flew home for good.  While I knew this time would come, the reality of having to leave Firenze was firmly starting to sink in.  So much left to do!  So little time left to do it.

With good friends Matias in Sardegna for a 2-week vacation and Brandi long back in the US, and no other visitors scheduled to arrive, my new best friend became Kendra Gardner from Philadelphia. Kendra lived in the apartment below Brandi; was a practicing architect in Florence; was fluent in Italian after living there for five or so years; and was a tonne of fun to be around.  She was also a link to a large group of ex-pat women (mostly US) who had come to Firenze and found love. 

 

Kendra G at Giardini Monumentali di Palazzo Corsini

 

My first introduction to this group was at an outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet mounted on by a local English-speaking theatre group.  The show was in the gardens of the Palazzo Corsini (Giardini Monumentali di Palazzo Corsini) at sundown one hot Saturday evening in July, but beforehand, theatre goers were encouraged to have a picnic on the grass in front of the “stage” (which was really just a grassy knoll.)  Kendra and I brought enough food to feed an army, and when everyone had arrived, we pretty much took over one-quarter of the seating area.  The ex-pats with their Italian husbands were a great group of people, and I was sort of sad to meet them at the end of my stay.  But Kendra also had a birthday the following week, so we all met again at Borgo Antico in Piazza Santo Spirito for dinner on Friday July 27^th. There were about 20 of us to fête Kendra and everyone, it seemed, was having a great time.  An interesting thing happens when ex-pats and their husbands get together: they separate by gender – boys at one end of the table, girls at the other. It was fascinating to watch – and I really didn’t know where to sit, so I sort of straddled the two solitudes.

 

As it turned out, Kendra’s birthday turned out to be my last social outing in Firenze, but there were lots of final moments to be had in my last days in Italy.



The summer sky at dusk - Firenze, July 2012



Week 37 - Being a Tourist Again

Michael, in Firenze, July 2012

My friend Michael arrived shortly after Tania and David left for Israel. Michael was my last visitor and he was a newbie to Firenze but not to Italy.  With only 3 weeks left before I headed home, hosting Michael gave me a chance to be a tourist all over again.  Despite the hot weather, we busied ourselves with visits to the Boboli Gardens, Santa Maria Novella, Fiesole, the Uffizi (naturally), the Cappella Medici in San Lorenzo, and even made it to the gym for a workout together. 

The Palazzo Vecchio and its tower.

One new experience I had with Michael was visiting the tower (torre) of the Palazzo Vecchio.  I had looked at the tower almost every day while I was in Firenze because it is the second tallest structure after the dome of the Duomo, and during the summer months, it’s open to tourists.  The torre served as a lookout, is part of the battlements of the palazzo, has a huge clock, and also contains two small prisoner cells.  The cells were only ever used twice: once to imprison Cosimo di Giovanni degli Medici (Cosimo the Elder, as he is commonly known) for a few nights, and then to imprison that nasty priest Savonarola before he was hanged in the Piazza della Signoria.  It was fascinating to see this iconic part of the palazzo and I’m glad we walked the 400+ steps to do it!

 

Looking down onto Piazza della Signoria from the torre.

The lagoon, Venice, July 2012

Another day, we hopped on a train for a day-trip to Venezia, because we could and Michael had never been there before. Venice was not quite as crowded as I expected it to be for a summertime visit, but it was still bustling with tourists in all the main spots.  We really only had time to do “one thing” while there, and we chose to see the Palazzo Ducale (the Doge’s Palace.)  I had been once before, back on my first trip to Italy in the early 1990’s, but is appears in almost every picture of Venice ever taken.  And with my new, deeper appreciation for Italian art, culture, and history, the palace was a definite highlight.

The Palazzo Ducale, Venice, July 2012

Inside the Palazzo Ducale.  This is the top of the main staircase.

 

After only six short days, it seemed Michael left as quickly as he arrived.  With his departure, I had hosted 10 sets of visitors/15 people during my 9 months in Firenze.  I appreciated everyone who came to stay with me, and I quickly learned that every guest was unique and different, and each experienced Firenze differently.  Having visitors gave me the opportunity to see Florence and Italy differently than when I was by myself.  I learned new things about my friends by having them as resident guests, and they taught me how to be a (hopefully) good host and better friend.  Best of all, I got to spend quality time with the people who are important in my life, and that is the true gift of being the host.

The juxaposition of the picture,
taken from the train in Mestre outside of Venice, says it all.
 

Week 36 - Tania & David

Tania & David, Firenze, July 2012

July 1 has little significance for Italians, except this July 1 was the final match in the Eurocup Soccer finale, which pitted Italy against Spain.  It was also Canada Day, and the much anticipated arrival date of my good friends Tania L and David K.  It was much anticipated because it was Tania’s first trip to Europe and David’s second (after an interlude of about 25 years or so) and I was excited to show them my new adopted hometown.

As I did with all my visitors, I planned to meet them at the airport.  The day was already sunny and very hot, and I was at the airport with time to spare.  And so I waited, and waited some more after their flight had landed and people had started to emerge through the very small arrivals area.  And then I waited even more…

As fate would have it, the baggage handling gods were not kind to Tania and David, and after 3 flights getting to Firenze, they arrived but their luggage did not.  It explained their delay of almost 2 hours, and I happened to miss their exit through the arrivals door during the one time I left to check to see if they were actually on the flight.  A welcomed phone call from David told me they were OK and sitting outside my apartment building – so I scooted back into the city and found them sitting quietly in the shade on the patio outside Cesarino.

We drank some prosecco, ate some kosher antipasti, got caught up, and then I put them to bed for several hours before heading out with some local friends to watch the soccer match that evening.  The location we chose was La Murate, the same place I had watched the other matches, and the joint was jumping!  If there was ever a game where Italian pride was on the line, and the whole country was tuned in, it was this one.  Spain outplayed Italy the whole game and deserved to win, and it was interesting to watch the crowd start to thin as the prospects of a divinely-intervened Italian win shrank with each Spanish goal.

Tania and David’s agenda for Italy included some much needed downtime, seeing the sights in Firenze, visiting the Uffizi, and spending 3 days in Venezia, which they loved.  My agenda for their visit was to have David take me to the Great Synagogue of Florence for Saturday service.  The synagogue in Firenze is one of the largest in Italy, and managed to survive WW2 almost intact, thanks to the Italian resistance.  With a kippa in hand, Tania and I met David there and I finally got to see the inside of a synagogue, and this synagogue was pretty spectacular.  Previously, I had no reason to go to a synagogue, and it always felt strange and slightly disrespectful to ask if I could just tag along.  But David was game to have me sit with the men and observe, and I must say, it was fascinating (and a unique honour and priviledge) to watch.  Post-service, I had a million questions, and David was so very patient in answering them all. 

Tania and David’s visit reminded me of my first trip to Europe, and the complete “wonder” of being in a very different land.  With their palates whet with a taste of all good things Italian, they left early on a Sunday morning bound for another week’s vacation in Israel.  It was a special visit for me, and for them, and I was glad to be the impetus for their first-time adventure abroad.