Florence-City Life, Part 2 of 4

I’ve been so eager to share the next installment of Florence.  Florence captured my heart and mind while on my 25th wedding anniversary tour of Italy and Greece.  One of the sweetest things I saw frequently, was older couples walking leisurely, arm in arm through the streets.  Often times the gentleman would have his free arm held at a 90 degree angle, resting on his back.  Little mannerisms like this not common in the States, caught my eye all through the trip.  To see Part 1-Florence-the Art, click here.

Florence was enchanting, from the city scape to the countryside and everything that fell in between.  The hustle and bustle of the city streets by day, that then fell quiet at night and tugged at my heart oh so much more with its serenity.

For my first time in Europe, it was certainly eye opening to see armed guards surrounding all the tourist areas.  Not just armed, but often times fingers on the trigger ready to stand up to a terrorist threat.

How cool to see so many people biking around the city, not in biker gear like we see in the States.  Instead, in their daily wear clothes out biking home from work, to the market, out to dinner…it’s just how they do life.

I was chatting with a friend about this trip and she asked, “did you find inspiration on every other street as you toured?”  I answered, “it was literally in every step I took.”  I was enchanted by the antiquity and charm of life that’s been going on for thousands of years…makes us feel so new in the States. 

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Particularly fascinating to me was the groups of Italian men I saw gathering in the public areas, often times for hours, just enjoying one another’s company.  Pretty cool to see this sense of camaraderie, however, I had to ask myself, ‘where were the women?  Why weren’t they doing the same thing?’ 

And what city would be complete without musicians on every corner! 😉

This guy!  I had to do a double take because I could have sworn this was my father-in-law, who is actually Sicilian.  As soon as I saw him I thought, ‘yes!  I got the guy who epitomizes Italy in my mind’s eye!’

Thanks for coming along with me to Florence, part 2.  Next installment will be the food and wine!  To contact us for your own custom portrait needs, click here!