Fun in Firenze

So despite the fact that the sun is currently shining in the UK, my mood is still rather bleak, because I have had to wave 'Arrivederci' to Italy once more. Every time I visit this beautiful country it becomes clear to me that I was born to the wrong nationality. I may not have the tan, and certainly not the sex appeal, but I feel in my heart that I am Italian. Why do I think this? I love vino (Rosso, Bianco, you name it I'll drink it). I also love Pizza & Pasta. Despite the fact that 'pizza & pasta' has become the Italian cliche, having filmed Italians in Milan asking them the specific question 'what's your favourite meal', they all replied with Pizza or Pasta. Who would have thought it?! I also love the art, the culture, and of course the weather. Every building in Florence is itself a work of art. The Duomo is quite literally breathtaking, both in its beauty and the 400+ steps that lead to its peak. Italy always leaves me wanting more and I am always sad to leave - and if that's not love, then I don't know what is (NB I actually don't know what love is, perhaps one setback in my desire to convert to full Italianism!)

Alice and I walked the length and breadth of this city in the heat of the Tuscan sun, our motivation fed by the promise of Pistachio gelato. We had but 3 nights, and certainly made the most of it, eating in a whole range of restaurants - from the unexpectedly posh to the friendly family-run, the former fed us art on a plate, the latter fed us a hideous amount of free alcohol (wine, grappa, limoncello - a miniature tour of Italy through spirits!). We also shopped until we dropped, in true Italian style. I bought some shoes (but of course), and Alice bought some beautiful letters, and we even managed to buy a little something for the parents that so kindly treated us to this Christmas-present holiday. It may have been 9 months of waiting, but just like I've been told a baby is worth the wait, so was the birth of this holiday (a rather graphic but also perhaps fittingly biblical image really for a holiday in the home of Michelangelo).

But sadly all good things must come to an end, as Chaucer would have it, and so we boarded a plane and landed back in Great Britain, its greatness questionable in the light of the Italian sun. I shall inevitably work my way back to Italy, and in the meantime hope to learn enough Italian that I can pretend for just a moment that I am there. Ciao bella, arrivederci Firenze x