Something old, something new

The first photo I took, on my first day in Italy, 2005

Just over a week and I'll be headed back to Italy.  Can't even begin to explain how happy I am to have the chance to return again.  This will be only the 4th time that I fly to this incredible country, but a part of me feels like I'm going back home.  (Can I credit this to the fact that I'm a very proud 1/4 Italian in my otherwise northern European heritage?)  Yet, in a much larger sense, I am only beginning to explore Firenze, let alone the rest of the country!  Sure I have done the big-ticket tourist attractions in the city I adore.  I've walked the halls of the Uffizi, I've stood at the feet of David, I've walked along the Arno and I've watched sunsets from Piazzale Michelangelo.  I've shopped the boutiques, bought pannini for lunch and drunk wine before noon.  I have my favorite spots, the never boring "passegiatte" on my favorite streets, and I think I may finally have mastered the art of ordering the perfect coffee from the many cafes.  Cue the music from Austria and the happy brood of children singing: "These are a few of my favorite things!!!"

But I think this time, I'm going to be looking for something new in the something old.  A part of me longs to get cozy with the city and really be able to sit down and have a heart to heart with it.  I would love to hear it's secrets, to understand its hopes for the future.  It may sound silly, but I want to court Firenze.  I fear the first few times I've visited, I was a greedy lover who only wanted to see it's best features.  Don't show me the previews, I want the main attraction, thank you very much!  And it's an easy temptation for every traveler to create their little lists and check off each item that was achieved.  In a certain way, this is perhaps just what travel must be for many people.  We haven't the luxury to canoodle a city when the love affair can only last 4 days and 3 nights!  Admittedly, even in the 3 months I spent as a student and the 3 months I spent with Ava, I only achieved a vague understanding and recognition of Firenze...even if the physical attraction was set deep in my heart from the very beginning.  The emotional attachment seemed to come later, in a more complex manner, and it left a desire to deepen my crush into a real romance.   

And so...even if it's just 10 days and 9 nights for me this time, I'm hoping to enhance my relationship with the City of Flowers.  I want to seek out new places that are off the beaten path.  I want to walk new streets that reveal more of the hidden treasures throughout the area.  I don't want to allow my first amorous impressions of the city to jade the other essences that can be found within its innermost being.  I want to learn to love Firenze just as it is...to see that it's as beautiful on the inside, as it is on the outside.  I mean really...can I hope for anything more romantic than that?