Mabel Does Spring in Florence, Italy

In the spirit of spring, we tend to spring clean, shedding that which we no longer need in an attempt to make ourselves lighter.

Mabel's hair is not only on the floor but everywhere

Mabel goes to the parrucchiere (beauty shop) this morning.  I pay and leave a tip.  She, instead, leaves behind one heck of a mantello d'inverno (winter coat).

Dark Days, Light Heart

We are only a few days away from the winter solstice, the darkest time of the year, which also means we are well into the holiday season.  In America, the Christmas holiday season officially begins with Black Friday, the day following Thanksgiving, and that offers sales galore for shoppers.  In Italy, the Christmas season officially begins the day of Immaculate Conception, December 8. The streets are lit with Christmas lights and decorations. Christmas festivals fill piazzas. Stores here also are busy with holiday shoppers.  The hustle-bustle of the holiday season has taken hold.


This time of year can be emotionally challenging and stressful for many of us. Many people can grow disconsolate, even despondent.  I am one. I find the holiday season to be especially trying, as my family and long-standing friends are scattered around the world with the greater majority in California.  I am in Florence, Italy.  My newer friends here have mostly all returned to their "homes" wherever those might be. An Italian family has yet to adopt me.  As a result, this time of year can feel very dark, just like the winter solstice.


In a time of gift-giving and romance and great cheer and spirits, it is unnerving to be alone and apart no matter how beautiful and memorable your surrounding environment.  Florence is that beautiful and memorable.  The choice is clear, even stark:  We can focus on what we do not have or lack rather than what we do have. 


I choose to be grateful for what I do have this season.  Though my situation is not exactly how I envisioned it would be this year at this age, I make the most of what it is.  In addition to my general good health is where I live.  And I have work.  I moan and whine about having to work. (At my core, I am a lazy slug.)  But having work not only earns some money, it keeps me involved in my career and it makes me accountable to someone somewhere and helps keep me out of trouble.  I have people in my life that matter to me, and I know I matter to my family and friends.  This year I stick to my routines and rituals, which ebb and flow. However, the last couple months I am in the flow.  It feels good to do some of the things that support my emotional, physical, and spiritual health.


In only a few days we will be on the other side of the solstice, and the days will begin to get lighter and brighter and so will the spirit.  During some of the down time during the holidays, I make it a practice to reflect on the year now past and map out where I want to go and what I want to accomplish for the year ahead.  I note my specific and clear intentions on paper.  I look forward to that project, which requires my attention and diligence and is positive in direction and result.


What holiday / year end / new year rituals and practices do you engage in?

Sleeping and Sightseeing in Florence, Italy

Most of us get only two or three weeks' vacation a year, which makes travel to far distances a challenge of time and planning. And, of course, once we get to where we are going, there is much to see and experience. Especially in Europe because it is my home now.  The natural temptation is to take in as much as possible in as brief a time as possible, but who is a fan of whirlwind travel? Certainly not me.

My first trip to Italy was 30 days long. I began my Italian adventure in Verona and ended in Rome.  For any vacation, 30 days is not exactly a whirlwind trip, but staying only a night or two in a town does not allow you to get too familiar with a particular place. Sure, I saw the highlights, and I experienced several regions of the country, but I have learned through experience that if I do not spend at least one night in a place, I will quickly forget that town because it didn't have an opportunity to penetrate my soul. 

Now, before I venture out, I study a map and tour book and then place them in my purse or day pack in case they become necessary to refer to. Maybe I have a museum, castle, or cathedral destination in mind, but I allow my feet and my heart to lead my way, possibly wandering down this street or alley and not ending up at the originally intended destination until much later, if at all. Should a tour book indicate one day is all that is necessary in a town to see its highlights, I will choose to stay overnight and spend the next day in the town, which allows me to see the attractions and also have time to take it all in by sitting in a cafe, piazza, or park bench, meeting and speaking with the locals and absorbing the ambiance of that location. Creating and taking advantage of the opportunity to get to know the local people, to live and share in the life of the locals is my primary definition of traveler.  Each holiday, each experience adds to my rich reservoir of easily recalled travel memories.

The first three times I traveled to Italy, I stayed in B&Bs or small, family-owned and -run hotels. No chain hotels for this girl! Because I fell in love with and kept returning to Italy, I decided to rent apartments if my plan included a stay in a town longer than a few days.  Having an apartment offers the feeling that I live in a place for that moment in time. It also is a more economical way to travel. Each holiday, each experience, adds to my rich reservoir of easily recalled travel memories.  And never forget that longer stays lessens the frequency of the least desirable part of traveling: continually packing and unpacking and schlepping around a suitcase. 

A terrace

The holiday season is over.  Winter is complete. Spring is almost halfway over.  Summer will be here sooner almost than the blink of an eye.  Now is the time people plan for their vacations abroad for the prime summer travel season.  How about you?  Do you consider a visit to Florence, Italy? You could rely on guidebooks and the Internet.  They are excellent resources, but they all say the same thing. In Firenze (Florence), you must see the Duomo, the David, Ponte Vecchio, the Uffizi, eat Bistecca Fiorentina and gelato.  But if you prefer to see and experience the real Firenze, the locals' Firenze, then you must add some lesser known places.  Or so I believe.  See the artists at work in their studios, have an aperitivo on a rooftop terrace overlooking the city, see some equally important artwork yet less well-known, experience a calcio (soccer) game, visit places off the beaten path. I am no travel expert, but my knowledge and experience of Firenze is of the type that can help you plan your itinerary, logistics, or practicalities. My travel experience and knowledge, especially of my adopted hometown, Firenze, is something I love to share.

For example, does the notion of staying in an apartment instead of a hotel appeal to you?  I can refer you to a friend of mine, from whom I have rented seven different apartments in Florence. He has many more from which to choose in Centro Storico (historical center).

A kitchen

Also available to rent is my beautiful apartment, steps from the Ponte Vecchio (Old Bridge) in Oltrarno (other side of the Arno River) and still in the heart of town.  Some readers might think it odd that I rent space to travelers, but I love the opportunity to meet new people and help guide them with their itineraries. Contact me via email (link below) to discuss the particulars of sharing my apartment at a favorable rate.

Living area and stairs to the loft of my apartment

No matter your final travel plans, please be sure to contact me if your travel will bring you to Florence. It is always nice to have a new friend in the city.

Buon Anno 2011

 Out with the Old 

31 Dec '10

Duomo, Florence, Italy

A view I like

In with the New

New Year's Day 1.1.11

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

A new day, a new month, a new year, another new beginning. Always a good time for reflecting on the past and setting intentions and mapping our course for who we want to become and where we want to go.

I will say no more because I have work to do in creating my way.  

Nina Simone's Feeling Good

What are your intentions for the year ahead?

Buon Anno!

Capodanno (New Year's)

The pouring rain doesn't keep people indoors to bring in the New Year in Italy. The main piazze of Florence have live music. The streets are a sea of people. Fireworks, firecrackers, and other homemade explosives are set off nonstop for hours.

New Year's celebration at Piazza della Signoria, 1.1.2008

The constant explosions makes me wonder about the soldiers at war. The air is thick. Bottles are thrown. Opportunists sell champagne on the street.

I am told Naples is even more crazy. New Year's here is a time of purging, and in Naples the people get rid of their old domestic appliances. Be careful where you walk as dishwashers and laundry machines are thrown out the windows to make room for the new.

I have now experienced and survived New Year's Eve in Italy.

*********************

The new year is when people make resolutions. Over the years, I have developed my own rituals. I take advantage of the lull in my workload to prepare my year-end documents for my business and taxes and get things ready for the new year preparing new forms, calendars, and paperwork.

More importantly, instead of resolutions, I like to reflect on the year that's coming to an end and map where it is I want to go in the year ahead (spiritually, emotionally, and otherwise) and plan my intentions. Yes, I am also a believer in making lists.

Before the New Year last year, I kept happening upon variations of a quote that I decided would be my theme for 2009. After all, nothing happens by mistake; right? I'm not sure who originally said it, but the quote I put at the front of my agenda is as Paulo Coelho says, "Wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure." Because I had already decided that Italy was in my future for 2009 and Italy is where my heart is, the quote was perfect for me. And everything I was doing was leading me, like stepping stones, to my bigger goal of relocating to Italy. So I am proud to say that I followed through.

Because I am so busy living my dream, I actually haven't yet taken the time out to reflect deeply on 2009 and map my course for 2010, but in the coming days I shall do so because I believe strongly that without a map we won't find our way to get to where it is we want to go.

Every day is a new beginning and one more opportunity to start anew. The beginning of a new year is symbolic of a bigger change. And rather than make some silly resolution that will likely be broken before it has a chance to become a new habit, I hope you take the time to do your personal version of setting your intentions to achieve your dreams in 2010.

-- Josslyn 'Giosalina'
Florence, Italy