Things in Florence were strangely the same, and strangely different. There were things I forgotten about the city, that are still the same....and I was completely delighted by these discoveries. For example, Florence has a very particular odor, which I had lost remembrance of. It's a smell of chilled grime mixed with leather and the old-ness of the city. As I walked into the center for the first time I was hit with her smell, and it took me back to my first moments in Florence nearly two years previous. I couldn't help but smile, and be so thankful I was there. The water in Florence has a very particular smell as well, and my first shower was so exciting because all of a sudden I realized I was in Florence, all because of this smell. When you walk around the center, and see the corroded, hole-y pipes that they are pulling out of the ground, you understand the weird smell of the water, and why you have no water pressure or heat during your shower.
grimy, old city
There are still hoards of tourists, roaming about, being rude and not paying attention to their surroundings. There are still hoards of gypsies, begging for money, and there are still all the men selling umbrellas and roses, getting all up in your face.
There were things that had changed, though. In the San Lorenzo market, for instance, the police were much more present. Clearly there has been a crack down in the past two years concerning the counterfeit goods. I saw many less tall black guys selling stolen purses (though I still saw my fair share).
And the mayor of Florence has been making a concerted effort over the past year to make the Piazzas actual piazzas again-public spaces that the public uses. He wanted to stop people from leaving the center for shopping, living, eating, etc, and essentially turn the center back into a vibrant lively city. So the roads around the Duomo are no longer for cars, and the majority of the piazzas that once had roads going through or around them, no longer have cars in them. It's SO lovely to be able to meander around the Duomo, or any of the other piazzas, without any cars to worry about or hear. Clearly the plan has worked, because lots of people were in all the piazzas, all the time. Go Florence!
Yes, that's a Christmas tree. Yes, I was excited. But look-no cars in the road, just people!
I also noticed this time that there was a lot less cat-calling and bothering by young men. Now this might be different because of a change in Florence, or it might be a change on my part. I'm thinking it might be on my part. I'm thinking I probably look a little older than I did two years ago, and I'm no longer flanked on either side by blond girls who I'm talking with in English. That right there, I believe, is the biggest reason I wasn't bothered as much: I wasn't obviously a student, or an American. I also think I might have looked a little pissed off the majority of the time I was walking around-a result of me being lost in deep thought, combined with the fact that was pretty much only listening to Kid Cudi or Kanye my whole time in Florence, and I don't think anyone looks all bright and cheery when they are listening to hip hop (walking around a VERY old city listening to hip hop and rap was a very weird thing the whole time, but obviously it worked for me).
Also, something really wonderful was the same and also different. On the last Wednesday before I left, I was wandering around San Lorenzo, looking for Christmas gifts, and I wandered over to a scarf stand, only to be looking right into the face of my friend Alexandra. Now, two years ago, Alexandra was the woman working at the stand when I bought my first scarf. She showed me how to tie it cool (so I would "not look the same as the other girls") , and from then on we were friends. Her stand was right outside my door, and every day before class I would come out and chat with her. When I left, she told me she and her husband were moving back to Romania.
So of course when I got to Florence this second time I looked for her, but wasn't surprised to not see her. I assumed she was in Romania. Oh my goodness I was so surprised when I saw her, and she and I both screamed out loud. Turns out, she and her husband went back to Romania, liked it, but really just missed living in Florence. We ended up going out to dinner on Thursday, which was Thanksgiving, and I don't think there was a better way to have spent my Thanksgiving in Florence (didn't hurt that she took me to this AMAZING Neapolitan pizzeria and I had the most amazing vegetarian pizza of my whole life...she even remembered I was a vegetarian!). We laughed and had so much fun. I was so sad to say goodbye to her, but we exchanged emails and promised to keep in touch.
A perfect Thanksgiving
That's sort of the thing about Florence though, is that that's the sort of stuff that happens there..magic encounters that illustrate the beauty of life. Just like my last time in the city, I really struggled initially. Last time I was missing my family, struggling with roommate issues, feeling like a weirdo, and this time I was struggling with missing people, the buses, the language barrier...essentially I was struggling with being isolated. I think that's part of Florence though. If you're there to be in Florence, to live her (not just for a weekend as a tourist), she makes you work. You struggle, its HARD. But, just like my last time, by the time I left, I loved her: she had given me so many beautiful gifts, she had opened up and showed me beauty.
I often talked with one of the directors at the studio I worked in, about why some of us Americans (and the English), come back to Florence over and over again. I don't know any one else's reasons, but I think I know mine. Florence isn't easy. There are ugly parts to the city, there are ugly parts to your stay there. Things are confusing and upsetting sometimes. But despite all of that, and probably because of all of that, Florence is beautiful. All of that difficulty opens you up, so that you can really feel the beauty, the awe of Florence, and of life....feel it around you, but also IN you. Everything is intensified and clarified.
I came back to Florence again to be pushed out of my comfort zone, challenged, so that I could wake up in life again, grow and become closer to myself. I feel that all of my time spent walking around, riding buses, and painting has helped me to become more open-open to other people, open to beauty, but most importantly open to myself. Florence helped me before to learn how to listen to myself, and it helped me to do it again this second time.
I feel all excited about what's coming my way, about all the stuff I'm making, all the people in my life, all the things I'm doing and going to do.
Thank you, Florence.
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