Italian Sand Through The American Eyeglass: 11/21/06

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, here I am in my very own bedroom, sending you all my last issue of Italian Sand Through the American Hourglass. I could tell you that I am shocked and sad to be back in the States, but honestly, it feels great. I got home last night to see that the downstairs part of my house had been completely repainted, we have a new refridgerator, and Thanksgiving plans are truly underway. I was smart enough to leave my room clean when I left, so I arrived to a luxurious space. My bed was amazing last night. My parents were kind enough to put my new couch in my room that Jenn and Jason gave me for my bday. See J squared, it only took 6 months to complete the transaction!

My last few days in Florence were packed. It rained a lot, but I kept on trucking, getting in all the last minute things I had not done: The Accademia, the Bapistry, and the Bargello. Michaelangelo's David is in the Accademia. He is quite striking. While all of him looks like a big beautiful man, there are still a few parts that make it clear he is only a little boy. I wish I could have taken pics. The bapistry at Santa Maria Del Fiore (the Duomo) was also amazing. It holds some of my favorite mosaics of hell and monsters eating people. Awesome! The Bargello museum, however, is truly amazing. It holds Donatello's David, which is much different than Michaelangelo's. He looks like a little hippie boy with a frilly hat, long locks, and a relaxed stance. It is beautiful. The museum also had a lot of the old coins, weapons, armor, and china of Florence. It also holds a huge collection of Della Robbia's work. His work is all in ceramic and is very colorful. I am sure if you all saw it, you would recognize it. Personally, I don't really love his work, but it is very famous and you can buy reproductions of it all over Italy.

On Saturday night, Alex and I planned a big night out. We called Acqua Al' Due ( I turned him onto it) for a reservation. They could not take us until 11pm! So, we went to Colle Beretto (the place with awesome appetizers) and started out at about 8PM. I was already starving, so we filled up and had cocktails. It was nice. There was a couple in their with their baby. Yes, a baby in a bar. Well, she was really 3 or 4 and quite spunky. She was dancing her heart out and it was really adorable. It did not take long to notice that her flamboyance was her attempt to get attentioon from her folks who sat and talked, completely ignoring her. After a while, she began smoking her straw. She had it down, taking the straw and inhailing and then blowing it out like a little diva. She even had her hand on her hip. Immediatly I flashed to her home with her parents drinking wine in the other room while she sat in front of the TV for hours. All of her behavior was so stylized and practiced. It was wierd. Really, it was cute, minus the smoking part. I bet she's going to be an awesome teen!

We finally made it to dinner, at which point I was so hungry I thought I would die. We had the pleasure of sitting next to the most annoying people from Chicago. I am sorry guys, but there are, as K calls them, "Ugly Americans" out there. One of them, who was engaged, was flirting with Alex so hard core that I thought her man would jump over and smack him! She was being really nosey too, trying to figure out how the two of us came to be eating together. We started out by joking. I told her I was a mail order bride from the US and he was a rich, Italian tycoon. She actually believed it for a second. However, once our dinner came, they finally left us alone and all the unpleasantness was erased as we ate out chicken with port sauce and laughed and joked all through the meal. Alex asked the waiter, who is his friend, what was in the sauce. The guy, Stefano, just laughed. Oh well. Someday I will figure it out!

On Sunday night we just enjoyed a meal in as I stressed about packing and finishing up a project for Alex's uncle, Carlo. You guys are talking to the newest model of Bargello Leather! They have a website and asked me to model a bunch of their jackets for pics to put up on the site. They are not up yet, but I will keep you posted! It was a great move, as I was given a very good deal on a jacket to bring home with me. Look out, because I am going to look hot!

The trip home was fine. Even though the flight home was three hours longer, it seemed shorter. I had an aisle seat this time with no one in the middle, so I had much more room. I sat with an older gentleman who had quite an interesting life. I heard the story a few times because he seemed to keep forgetting he had already told me. The worst part of the trip was waiting for luggage. Why is it that people have to crowd around the baggage claim and stand so close to it that you can't see your luggage, and if you do, you have to punch through them to grab it and swing it off without crushing someone's foot. I hate that! It finally got it though, and customs was a breeze!

This morning I rose at 10 and enjoyed my first cup of American coffee in 5 weeks. It was fabulous. I looked out the window at our beautiful yard with the fall colors and familiar trees. I love home. What this trip taught me the most is that there are beautiful places all over the world and I will continue to visit them and maybe live somewhere else someday, but a place is nothing without your friends, family, and community. I am happy to be back on my turf and hope that the experiences I had without all of you can still be a part of your life as I share them. I want the same from all of you too! I look forward to seeing everyone over the holidays and sharing more pics with anyone who wants to see them.

Ci Voglio Bene. Arrivaderci e ci vediamo. Oh, and, of course, Tanti Baci!