Me, My Heart, and I

by Melinda Gallo

Monday, November 26, 2012

After my brief stay in Florence at the beginning of the month, I’m now back for two weeks. While I was in Paris the last couple of weeks, I felt a bit unsettled. I didn’t do anything special for my eight-year anniversary of when I moved back to Florence. I also didn’t do celebrate Thanksgiving although my beau treated me to foie gras for dinner. It wasn’t until I was in Paris that I realized just how much my life has changed this year. It’s almost as if the basket containing everything in my life was emptied and left for me to sort out. I’m still letting things exit my life and allowing new things to arrive. And even though everything is amazingly wonderful, I feel a sense of loss. It’s as if nothing yet has settled and I’m unable to move forward.

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Friday, November 9, 2012

After working in Paris for two weeks, a trip to the US, and a weekend stay in Paris, I finally returned to Florence on Monday. When I got off the plane, I took in a deep breath of air. The sweet scent of the Tuscan countryside tickled my nose. The air was warmer than it was in Paris and I felt my body relax. I was finally home after being away almost an entire month. It was the first time that I had been away this long from my beloved city since I moved here in 2004. I missed Florence, but fortunately I didn’t long much for it.

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Tuesday, October 30, 2012

I have been in California for the last two weeks. I came here for a conference that my company organized and am now just enjoying my time before heading back to Paris. I love coming to California because I get to spend time with my family and friends. One of the most special gifts is when I get to reconnect with friends that I haven’t seen in years. It’s interesting to see how our paths went off in different directions and then cross again years later.

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Monday, October 15, 2012

One of the biggest changes for me when I am in Paris is my daily routine. My work life in Florence is flexible; however, in Paris, I have to follow my office’s work hours. I arrive around 9 am, work a few hours, take a lunch break with my colleagues, and work until 6 or 7 pm. My mornings in Paris are timed almost to the minute so that I can keep my usual routine of writing every morning and running three or four times a week and still managing to get to work on time by taking the métro to where my office is located.

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Monday, October 8, 2012
Me, My Heart, and I :: Birthday weekend in Florence

After staying in Paris for two weeks and a few days in Matera, I was happy to arrive back in my beloved city where I could celebrate my birthday. I took Friday off so that I could visit Florence with my beau who came to my beloved city for the first time. I was excited to show him around and visit Florence again because I haven’t been able to do so in a long time. I made a mental list of all that I wanted to see in my beloved city and show to my beau.

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Thursday, October 4, 2012

At the end of the Ponte Grazie, I decided to head west away from the sun rising above the city and toward the moon that was on its way out of sight. The weather is typical for autumn: cool air and cloudy skies. It is definitely my favorite time of year when so much is happening and changing. Nothing is stagnant and it’s evident all around me.

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Tuesday, October 2, 2012

This morning while I was running on the Ponte alle Grazie, I wasn’t sure which way I wanted to go: either through town along the Arno past the Ponte Vecchio and toward Le Cascine or up to Piazzale Michelangiolo. It wasn’t until I saw the sun peeking through the clouds above the mountains that I decided to run up to the piazzale. As I ran along the Arno on the sidewalk with cars and motorini (scooters) passing me by, I felt a slight thrill.

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Monday, October 1, 2012

One of the things I noticed after one day in Matera was the lack of color and sounds. I had been in Paris for two weeks and then Florence for a couple of days before arriving. In both places, I was inundated with colors and sounds. It was interesting to be in a place that was rather monotonous because I was able to see the beauty in textures, shadows, and the nature surrounding the city. As for sounds, it is now almost shocking now to be back in Florence where sounds encircle me: scooters, buses, and cars pass along the lungarno (street along the Arno river), people talk and laugh in the streets, and the campane (church bells) ring every hour and half hour.

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