WED MAY 17
Things are going well. The AirBnB has everything I need and the internet connection is good enough. The Italian network speed is below average, so I was a little worried that I wouldn’t be able to work from here. A bad internet connection would have made my stay in Italy a short one.
I wake up around 7.30AM and it takes a second to realise where I am. “Oh yeah, this is my new home, better get used to it..” While it’s still early I decide to go for a 6K run. Last week was the first time I ran again after my knee surgery in March, and I want to keep the momentum going!
I notice that Fleurs-de-lis pop up everywhere. My ignorance had me thinking that this symbol was related to New Orleans, but after some research the symbol appears to be prevalent in lots of cities. Anyway, "il giglio" does help me feel like home rightaway.
There is a Meetup this evening that I decide to attend: Speakeasy Multilingual Firenze, a place where Italians come to practise their English, and foreigners to practise their Italian. What a great concept. I notice that I still have to force myself to be uncomfortable and lean towards helping Italians with their English, instead of letting Italians help me with my Italian. Luckily there is Barbara. Barbara is an English teacher from Colorado who has lived in Florence for a few years now. Like a police officer she matches Italians with English speaking folks and makes sure everyone is practising. “Just use the Italian words you do know, and say the words you don’t know in English.” This works pretty well and my conversation partners have no trouble helping me translate the words I don’t know. Food and drinks are available and everyone seems to mingle well. I can’t stay long, because I have to get back to work, but this Meetup is a nice welcome to the city.
THU MAY 18
I make myself some breakfast, and start walking. I learned to enjoy long walks in New York City. It puts my mind at ease and is good for my health at the same time. Previously I considered long walks a waste of time. Why not take the bus or an Uber? I’m walking a pretty route alongside the Arno river, while listening to a podcast of the Good Life Project.
The plan is to go to Palazzale di Michelangelo. The walk is a steep one, but so worth it. From the top of the hill the view on the city centre is spectacular.
I tell myself that I deserve some gelato. I take off my shirt and lay down in "il Giardino delle Rose" (Italian is such a beautiful language!). While butterflies are circling around my head and Enya is whispering beautiful hymns in my ears, I enjoy the scent of surrounding roses and read a book on my iPad. I just love my mornings off. Just before it’s time to go back to the AirBnB I find a restaurant to have my very first Italian pizza. Quattro Formaggi, si!
Initially I considered working in a different time zone to be a potential challenge, but it has proven otherwise. It’s only Friday nights really, that it poses a challenge to me. When your friends are ready to go out, but you’re supposed to work until 11PM. Typically I start a little early on Friday to compensate.
One of the cats that lives at the AirBnB is now really comfortable with me, and she typically takes a nap on my bed while I’m working. When she wants some attention she'll rub against my legs. I never really liked cats and I always imagined they were going to attack me, but I'm really starting to enjoy her company. Am I becoming a cat-man now?
FRI MAY 19
I have barely been in the city centre since I’ve been here. That changes today. It’s another beautiful day with a blue sky and I’ll start my walk down the river again. The centre is crowded with tourists going from site to site.
One of the things I love most about staying somewhere for at least a month, is that there is no need to rush. If I don’t see something today, there is always tomorrow. So I stroll around a bit and buy two new T-shirts. It appears that six T-shirts only get you so far, if every day is warmer than 25 degrees Celsius.
I turn around a corner and there it is: the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, also known as "Il Duomo”. This impressive building was built in the 13th and 14th century. All of a sudden, my heart is filled with pure joy. Here I am, walking around in this gorgeous city, warm sun rays are touching my face and Mumford & Sons are singing their best songs. A big smile appears on my face and I can’t stop smiling. There is no yesterday, there is no tomorrow, the only time is now. And now is awesome!
SAT MAY 20
Today I want to explore Cinque Terre, a set of five cute coastal villages: Corniglia, Manarola, Monterosso al Mare, Riomaggiore and Vernazza. Since it’s only a two-hour drive I’m making it a day trip. I sent a message to the folks in the Meetup, telling them I was driving there this Saturday and if anyone cared to join. Dani from Lithuania replied that she was traveling north anyway and that she’d love to join. Great!
Dani is waiting for me at the train station and we drive over to La Spezia, where we take the train into Cinque Terre. We start to chat and it feels like I’ve known her for some time. We really hit it off and have a meaningful conversation. It’s not even 9AM and we’re discussing answers to the questions like “what makes you feel alive?”. In La Spezia we park the car and buy Cinque Terre tickets, which allows you to use trains between the five villages.
After sitting in the train for about twenty minutes we start to wonder why this ride is taking so long. It should be just a few minutes. Oops, took the wrong train. We get off at Chiavari and learn that we have another 40 minutes before we can take the first train back. “Oh look, there is a beach!” As we lay down in the sand, put some music on the speakers, and have friendly conversations with Omar (who stops being friendly, after we made it clear we are not interested in his merchandise), I realise that this may be the best missed train ever.
Finally arrived in the villages of Cinque Terre we walk around, have some food, some gelato, some espresso, some beers and enjoy the sights. It’s incredible to just drive a few hours and find yourself in this little paradise. Fresh bruschetta and a plate di salumi increase happy thoughts in my head. La Dolce Vita.
We meet a couple from Kentucky who worked all their lives to finally come to Europe. “To bad we can’t climb these steep steps anymore.” It makes me wonder: why wait until your pension to explore the world? Why not take mini-retirements every other year and explore, while you’re still in good health? And if you are looking forward your whole life to that one trip, what happens when that trip is over? It must be the millennial in me..
My conversations with Dani continue and I feel a deep connection with her. No topic is off limit. It’s incredible how that has developed in just one day. At one point she comments: “I didn’t realise you were such a nice person!” Ha! We watch the sun set in Riomaggiore and part ways in La Spezia.
SUN MAY 21
Even though I was pretty tired when I got back to Florence, I managed to go out until 5AM! I met a group of international students from Ole Miss (Mississippi) and hang out with them for the majority of the night to explore the nightlife in Florence.
That means I have a late start today. I change into my football gear, hoping I can find a pick-up game somewhere in a park. No luck and I change my plan to write this story in the grass. I really enjoy writing and sharing thoughts. I feel a bit bummed that I wasn’t able to find a game to play and sit down at a little square next to the river to have a coffee and some gelato (I don’t recall the last time I've had so much ice cream in one week!). I check one more time if someone is playing on the pitch next to the square, but still nobody is there.
I give up, order a beer and keep writing. I see people around me having conversations with their friends and I miss mine. Having a beer by yourself is not a whole lot of fun. I guess that is the downside of traveling alone and being on the move all the time. If you never stay long enough at certain places, you never give friendships a real chance.
Then I see guys with football gear gathering around the pitch. Is this happening? "Yes, of course you can play! What’s your name?" We play for about two hours on turf grass and the score is something like 45-41. Most of us are focussed on attacking.. It’s the most intense pick-up game I’ve ever been a part of. With everything that goes wrong the Italians are shouting at each other, like the most terrible thing just happened to them. Oh and just wait until there are discussions on the score.. At one point I ask one of my teammates about the meaning of “cazzo”, I think the most used word during the whole game. I suppress a smile every time someone starts raging again and just play my game. It’s great to be out on the field again. My answer is “hell yes” to the question if I want to join them during future games. I finish the weekend with one last beer at a birreria (that’s apparently a thing) a few blocks from my apartment. What a great first week!
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