Florence, Paris, and back again. Even I find my life a little difficult to follow. At least once a month, I leave my home to temporarily live (for 12 days) in Paris. Ever since I moved back to Florence in 2004, I rarely felt the need or desire to leave it. I’d usually go away maybe once or twice a year. It’s not that I don’t love to travel, but I love staying in my beloved city even more.
For that reason, I haven’t traveled much in Italy either. I enjoy the places I visit when I am there, but the though of leaving behind Florence is almost painful for me.
Now that I don’t have much of a choice and have to leave each month, I’ve gotten used to my farewells and my returns.
One thing I’ve noticed is that I try to enjoy my beloved city even more. I find it less enjoyable to sit at home, even if I can look out the window and see the Arno. I want to walk around more, spend quality time with people I appreciate, and discover more about Florence. I don’t like thinking that time is creeping past me and I can’t enjoy it.
One of my favorite things to do is just walk around town aimlessly. I try to spot things I haven’t noticed before as well as discover what has changed since I last strolled by. Sometimes there’s a new shop, bar, or restaurant that has opened and other times it’s a shop that has closed.
I enjoy my time away from Florence as well. Paris is, of course, an amazing city. I don’t long to be back in Florence like I did in the beginning. I know that I will return, so I try to enjoy my time away as much as I can. And when I return to my beloved city, I melt in her arms and feel great joy ripple through me.
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