The tourist season in Firenze is unceasing. They come at every level of expertise and familiarity with Italian and Florentine culture. I provide below a brief breakdown of tourist type and level. I have my French class to thank for this, as it is simultaneously
You see them everywhere, in virtually every season except the hottest months. On men, on women, On babies and young schoolboys. Certainly on schoolgirls and ragazze di liceo (high school girls). On toddlers. Definitely on nonni (grandmas and grandpas). They become obligatory accessories here somewhere
I saw him crossing the street out of the corner of my eye. Victor and Eleanor were climbing a heavy, wrought-iron lamppost like two domesticated Florentine monkeys. He often comes to the park at Piazza D’Azeglio. Dapper, fedora, medium height, well-built, wide smile. He carried
Italian directions for how to arrive at Point B from Point A are amusing. Jason and I used to always laugh at one particular instruction, from his Arezzo days as a tour guide, to “turn where that huge old oak tree used to be, the
As the parents of two small children, we are often on the birthday party circuit here, which allows ample time and opportunities for my lay cultural anthropologist observations. In Firenze, many children’s birthday parties are, in fact, the scene for two distinct parties: in one
Victor’s cough had gone on for days, getting better, then worse. We attributed it first to a cold, then to allergies. “Il cambiamento di stagione,” the Italians said, sagely nodding their heads. The inevitable symptoms that arise every time the earth routinely tilts on its
Laundry. Next to food, public transportation, and public offices like the post office or the immigration office, laundry is an intense cultural filter. As an American who has lived in Europe multiple times, in different countries (Spain, France, Italy), the early years in particular posed
American friends, especially American friends with careers and small children in the US and who do net benefit from a deep family network for 24-hour support, I am here to tell you: there is a different way. Sure, this is a way that I would
Italian culture depends heavily on the participation of energetic, committed grandparents in a well-supported retirement phase to help their adult children and young grandchildren. It is a given that the grandparents will be there, and often. Italian culture does not support the fragmentation of families
