Tuesday, September 6, 2011

A Return to the Beginning

It is my final La Spezia and I have returned to this place that has meant so much to me. FIRENZE. Though I have spent little time here, you have left a mark blazoned on my heart forever and with each footstep upon these dark, cobblestoned streets I am drawn back into reverie of a wonderful, magical time when I conquered a giant, found love in a foreign city and witnessed the magical transformation of a city in lights. Twice before I have been to this beautiful city by the sea; once with my husband and once with Mr. Darcy. But this isn’t just about remembering the past. Today I forged a new milestone. I have achieved Florence as an independent, self-sufficient, confident woman. I didn’t even need a map to traverse these streets; just the heart and soul of an adventurer…and a romantic. This is the perfect end to this sojourn, not a final destination but a rebirth. What better place to celebrate my renewal than the very birthplace of the renaissance? In a few minutes I shall return to the bus and the small crowd of willing followers who shall shadow me back to the ship. I know it has been but a few hours in this amazing place but I know I return transformed by my brief holiday. I love life. I love myself. And I love the bittersweet melancholy of this new, single existence. I put a coin in the mouth of the “little piggy” and twice it misses the grate before landing. I suppose it means I shall return but not without a struggle. That’s ok. It will simply mark the next chapter. Read on, my friends.

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