Ciao, Bella!

Seven years ago this week I moved back from Italy. I’d been living in Firenze, Italia (that’s Florence for you commoners) for a few months and volunteering in a hostel (cleaning rooms from nine to one every day). In exchange, they provided me with an apartment, food, and a small stipend every month. After our shift ended at one, the staff would mangia (eat) together (by far, lunch is the biggest meal of the day) and then I’d go to the market (an outside place of neverending booths and things to buy). I worked every day of the week, except for Sundays, and most weekends I’d leave after work on Saturday and go exploring all over Italy – Rome, Venice, Pisa, Sienna, Naples, and Milan. My favorite place in Italy was Rome – I loved walking all over and getting lost. It was such a beautiful city, filled with all things new and old. I loved seeing all the history in the streets and how every place you turned seemed like a new adventure. Living in Italy was such an incredible experience and probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done – moving to a country I knew nothing about. Luckily, I met some truly wonderful people who I’ll always cherish. My friend Sheila, who worked at the hostel with me, was so funny and delightful. She put extensions in my hair before I left – I LOVED them so much! She had these beautiful children and we had so much fun together. I also met someone and fell in love, my sweetheart Filip….leaving him behind was probably the hardest thing about coming home. He taught me a lot though, and having been out of my marriage for about a year, it was great to meet someone who could make my heart smile again. Filip worked at the market and would spend many nights with me at my place – we’d stay up all night laughing, talking, and learning about each other's cultures. He was from Romania and loved reading my gossip magazines, or playing solitaire on my computer. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to go back and visit the place I fell in love with. In the meantime, I’ve got a heart full of memories that never cease to make me smile when I’m down and albums full of pictures that take me back to being surrounded by beauty all the time. Aren't my leather jackets cool? I had them custom made while I was there - one was pink (duh) and the other was black. I still wear them - they're awesome.