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| Tania & David, Firenze, July 2012 |
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.
