Fagno

Sam has a place in Fagno, this little village up in the mountains.

We ate such nice Italian food. Three courses-you must expect.

An uncle used to be a collector of antique cameras and through him I inherited a few great pieces for mine, so that was the topic of broken Italian for the day. 

I naturally took off by myself through the little stone streets to explore the rest of the village. I came across some juicy apple trees alongside an old shed with some ferrel cats in hiding. And of course an amazing view from above.

Pistoria

I stayed with a friend, Sam, just 20 minutes outside of Florence in a little town called Pistoria. It was a small community where everyone knows each-other and not a place you would visit as a tourist. Sam and I went for drinks in the central piazza a few times, and I was even lured into a dark corner by a smooth-talking Italian boy one night. 

I loved being immersed in the language, speaking to his family in Italian over delicious 3 course meals each evening. We celebrated Sam's mothers birthday one evening with a beautiful torte topped with a variety of glazed fruit- Tanti Auguri!

FIRENZE

Day-to-day Florence is crowded with Tourists. Every street is polluted with people pushing and trying to make their way to the next land-mark or nearest cafe'.

However, the city is so beautiful after midnight.

The Cathedral of S. Maria del Fiore, The Baptistery standing alone with its large bronzed doors- engraved with scenes from the Bible, and the Belltower- towering over both monuments- note: tower, are illuminated in the Piazza del Duomo at night, without a sound or sign of civilization. 

It was then that I took in the beauty of the buildings for the first time without the distraction of hoards of people.

We crossed the gold-ridden Ponte Vecchio, the first bridge built in Florence across the Arno river, and visited the Piazza della Signoria. Not far from was The Uffizi Museum- which after less than a third way through the largely Renaissance gallery each painting of The Virgin Mary started to resemble the last. 

I was however fortunate enough to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus and his Primavera, traces of gold revealed along every drapery, two of his many delicate and graceful paintings.