Living in Florence

Pinch me, I’m waking up in Florence everyday. We are now officially living in one of the happiest and most exhilarating cities in all of the world!

Walking out of our rented apartment, we took a left turn, ventured north, and headed down to the Arno River. As if the Divine took us by our little hands, we met an artist opening his studio.

Iguarnier, home to two brothers, did modern art in acrylics beautifully depicting Florence architecture. It is the most perfect media for me with just the right level of detail/abstract, combined with a textural finish.

Starting on the finished “A” side of plywood, they apply a coating that allows for an etching effect. The chose bold colors to finish the Duomo. Belissimo!

I was so intrigued, I am going to ask them to become an apprentice on our next trip to Florence. That’s taking a deep dive with the locals, but I’m ready for this next leap.

Anatole France once wrote of this in The Creme of Sylvestre Bonnard- “Man is so made that can find relaxation from one kind of labor by talking up another.”
In this motion of “conscious creativity,” we are seeking to live more and find deeper, more meaningful happiness. As you reside in different countries, we ask ourselves…did we become more and did that experience helps us live the best version?

This particular day crescendoed with a second visit to a favorite local restaurant. We walked up and ask the waiter, we will have the usual, winky- windy….then ordered cacchio epee. We shared conversation with an energetic couple from Evanston, Illinois who were also spending at
least a month in Florence.

She was a former motorcyclist. He was a former hang glider. Why is anyone a “former” anything? Maybe they had passed certain thresholds of risk taking in their lives and now were settling into living seasonally. 🙂

The Evanston duo were going to the Cinque Terre for the first time. Carla hopped right into the conversation and started giving them her “prized travel secrets.” We exchanged email addresses and he picked up on Carla’s transformedtravel@gmail.com then the conversation turned to more detail about Italy. Funny how that happens. Evanston couple meets Female version of Rick Steves. Migliore guida di viaggo…….(best travel guide)

We left this fun lunch and headed to an extraordinary church- Santissma Annunzita where the gold gilded ceiling was a site to behold. The first impression (prima impression) was that the Virgin Mary rose right through this very ceiling. You will have to look up this phrase to learn
Italian…see Google Translate….i miracle non cessano mai.

What’s a perfect day while Living Seasonally? A day that blends art, history, food, meeting new people, sharing travel experiences, lighting candles in a gorgeous church and strolling back home along the Arno. Awe….vivere stagionalmente e per noi. (living seasonally is for us)