Firenze..also known as...... Florence

I arrived in Florence with a gung-ho determination to seek out art. Florence is home to many a museum and some of the best art in the world. My first night in Florence I enjoyed, I had a nice meal at ZaZa Trattoria-albeit a hit with the English speaking tourists, and then found my runner up for the best gelato prize, and that would be Grom. I had super fabulous gelato and was befriended by two locals who gave me a mini private walking tour of Florence’s sights near the Duomo. I have realized that because of my attraction to people and my genuine fascination with them, that these experiences of connection are what elevate and transform any experience for me. The next day I did go see the Duomo in the splendor of the sun and take in the Uffizia art museum- home to what feels like zillions of pieces of Renaissance art. I was pretty exhausted by the end of the day from walking and walking and walking (which I love), and from essentially darting the tourist scene. This trip has been revealing of myself in a lot of ways, and one other thing I have recognized that maybe wasn’t so emphatically clear earlier, was that tourist destinations tend to annoy the hell out of me. I find myself scathing at the English speakers- which totally isn’t fair- I speak English and am pretty horrible when it comes to Italian, but I do try! Not to mention I am in Italy to discover it too! So my prejudice is completely unfounded and ridiculous. I will take it one more layer and uncover a character issue here. I like things that I discover or experience to be mine- and mine alone or at least limited to who I choose to experience it with. This is a running theme- I was like this with my sister growing up, when discovering a new restaurant or new find I stake claim in it as my conquering alone, I hoard the attention of others and at times won’t invite other people to attend something because I want all of their attention and don’t want to taint it with someone else experiencing it…so I guess this trip has helped me realize once again a trait maybe not so beautiful. Ahh introspection what a glorious thing!