Summer seems to be incredibly long since a few shops are still closed. Because many tour groups are still visiting the main attractions in town, I ventured farther out to take in my city under the clear blue skies and warm, no longer hot, sun. I strolled down a few shady one-way backstreets with narrow sidewalks toward Piazza Santa Trinita.

Today I decided to go take a few photos of my beloved city. I haven’t taken any this week, but felt in the mood to do so today. With clear blue skies and some clouds drifting by, the conditions for me were perfect. Right before lunch, I headed down the Arno away from the Ponte Vecchio. I crossed Ponte alle Grazie and walked past Piazza Demidoff. A few people were heading up to Piazzale Michelangiolo by taking the stairs on the other side of the wall in San Niccolò, but I followed the clouds to Piazza Poggi where I thought I could take a few photos of Florence.

After a quiet week in Florence with many of its residents away on vacation, fewer cars in the streets, shutters tightly shut, empty parking spaces, and many negozi (shops) around town closed. Today many of the negozi reopened and I couldn’t wait to see some of the commercianti (merchants) with whom I’ve become friends. A few of them I haven’t seen in over two weeks.

I love how going out to take photos is always an adventure. I didn’t leave our apartment until an hour before the sun set. I kept an eye on the light outside to make sure I didn’t leave the house too late. At times, dark clouds hovered above hindering the sun from shining. I thought that it would possibly rain, but fortunately it didn’t. I ventured out anyway hoping the few clouds I did see were only passeggere (passing by). To my good fortune, they were. The city has been a true pleasure to walk around this week since it has been relatively quiet. With fewer locals around, the traffic has decreased while the number of tourists has increased.

Last month, American film distribution company Focus Features contacted me to see if I’d be interested in contributing to their website by writing about five movies that depict life in Italy. With their upcoming movie “The American” set in Umbria, they asked a few American expat bloggers about Italian life. I was honored to have been asked, and jumped at the opportunity.

After spending an entire day at the mare (seaside) in the rain yesterday, I couldn’t wait to walk around Florence this morning under the clear, blue sky. We were cold and wet most of the day yesterday and saw the sun for about half an hour while we visited friends near Viareggio. So today I made a point of enjoying a day of sun while we still have some since our weather has been a bit iffy lately. Instead of the usual scorching heat we usually have in August, we’ve enjoyed mostly cool days with some intermittent rain.

Who cares about forever if we can’t appreciate today? My mother would’ve celebrated a birthday today if she were still alive. When she was here, I thought that life lasted forever and that tomorrow would always come. Before my mother passed away nine years ago, I don't think I was appreciating life as much as I could have. Even though her departure from my life was the greatest tragedy I have experienced in my life, it has also brought with it a wonderful gift of appreciating life.

I don’t think I have ever walked around town with music flowing in my ears. I’ve seen so many people do it, but it just never occurred to me. I like to listen to the sounds of the city, but today I realized that I wanted to try it out. I listen to music when I run and one song always makes me feel so grateful for everything in my life, so I thought it’d be a perfect one to listen to as I sat somewhere special in my beloved city.

After a full day of rain yesterday, I was excited to see that today the rainy weather had passed, leaving behind a few fluffy, white clouds hanging in the blue sky. This evening, I went out to catch the tramonto (sunset) so I could get the warm light we are so fortunate to have in the summertime.

What I love about Florence is that beauty is all around. You don’t have to pay to see it; it’s free for the taking. It is not just in the musei (museums) and chiese (churches), but also along the fiume (river), in the streets, and on the ponti (bridges). I like most of the statue (statues) in town, and really love the ones on the Ponte Santa Trinita bridge. I’ve tried to take photos many times before, but today I finally took a photo that I liked.

Yesterday, I woke up to yet another beautiful summer morning. I knew that I wanted to take my macchina fotografica (camera) with me and thought about where I wanted to go. It didn’t take me long before deciding on Santo Spirito. I hadn’t visited the chiesa (church) and piazza in a long time and hadn’t taken any foto (photos) either. I have always loved the facciata (façade) of the chiesa. For me, there is something joyful about it. Not just its unique shape and color, but also its lively piazza. I especially like the fontana (fountain) in the middle of the piazza, which is a rarity in Florence.