I just got back from my trip to California. This last trip was probably one of my most memorable because of all the people--both old and new--that I connected with. The first thing I did when I got home today was look out our window to see the Arno. Alessandro told me that it had rained a lot while I was gone, but the level of the water wasn’t that high and the color of the water was a cool green.

Tomorrow I take off for California for a couple of weeks. I’ve been a little sad to leave my city lately, but I am happy to see many people I haven’t seen in a long time. The timing around my viaggio (trip) is to surprise my niece for her 11th birthday. I haven’t seen her since Alessandro and I were out in California in October 2007. The saddest part about my trip is that my marito (husband) is staying behind in Florence. I love it when he comes with me because he’s my favorite piece of the city that I love.

Life is full of wonderful surprises. One thing I love about living in Florence is that I see people I know and we stop to chat. There is a shop that sells all the Fiorentina paraphenalia in via del Corso where I go once in a while. Over the past few years, I’ve bought gifts for others and myself. In that time, I’ve come to know the two guys who run the shop, Simone and Claudio. We talk about the partite (games) and the calciatori (soccer players) when we meet up. Today while I was talking to Claudio, Simone ran in and said, “Felipe sta arrivando. Prepara una maglia da firmare. (Felipe is coming. Get a jersey ready for him to sign.)”

On Monday morning after having a coffee with a friend, I popped into Museo Stefano Bardini. I’ve been wanting to go back since I first went last year after it reopened. When I walked by and saw that it was open I couldn’t resist not going for a visit. I learned that the museo (museum) is only open a few days a week: Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

This morning I was unable to get motivated while sitting in front of my computer so I decided to go to the Uffizi. I’ve been wanting to go back ever since I purchased my Amici degli Uffizi (Friends of the Uffizi) annual tessera (card) last week. The woman who was working in the office asked me if I was able to visit all the museums last year. I realized that I had been to most of them, but not the Uffizi. Even though I walk past it almost every day, I shy away from going sometimes because either there are large crowds to content with or there is just so much to see.

Today is a big day: the end of the holiday season and the beginning of the saldi (sales). The Italians say, "Con l'Epifania tutte le feste vanno via. With the Epiphany, all the holidays go away." Epifania is the last festa (holiday) until Pasqua (Easter). In Florence, the day after the Epifania marks the start of the saldi. I noticed yesterday that a few of the shops were closed, but some of the ones that were open were already offering unadvertised saldi.

Today was the first day in at least a week that the rain didn't wake me up. It was so beautiful outside that I decided to walk up to Piazzale Michelangiolo where I haven't been since it snowed two weeks ago. With blue skies and much cooler temperatures, I bundled up and headed out the door. I walked across Ponte alle Grazie and noticed that the water level in the Arno magically lowered. I stood there for a few minutes and noticed that on the south side, the water seemed to glide under the ponte (bridge) and on the side toward Ponte Vecchio, it loudly crashed into waves.

The last day of the year was rainy. It hasn't stopped raining much today, but when it did, I went outside to take a few foto (photos) in the afternoon and in the early evening. I walked to Ponte alle Grazie to look at the Arno and the views of my beloved city. With all the rain we've been having in Tuscany, the Arno has continued to rise. It has even changed color and is now a light brown. Even though nothing along the Arno changes, I still love the views from Ponte alle Grazie in both directions: toward Ponte Vecchio and toward San Niccolò.

Over a year ago, I created the Florence from the Heart website to give myself and others the opportunity to express diverse aspects of living in Florence. The other day, I completed an article about the Ponte Vecchio, which reminded me how I still need to take the time to appreciate my surroundings every chance I get.

The church bells just chimed throughout the city, signaling the midnight mass for Natale (Christmas). Unfortunately the neve (snow) has melted and now it is raining, but the luci (lights) on a tree at the Giardino Bardini across the Arno from our place are shining brightly in the shape of a albero di Natale (Christmas tree). May you all enjoy a Buon Natale with your loved ones and families!

I love Natale (Christmas) in Florence. This year we even had some neve (snow), which was a nice treat. Normally, every eyar luci (lights) are strung up on many streets in centro (in the downtown area) that set the tone for the holiday season. They even put them on early this year to entice shoppers to start buying early. A few weeks ago, they also put up bandiere (flags) for the different quartieri (quarters) of the city to bring some extra color to the streets as well. Tonight while I walked around the city to shop for regali (gifts) and pensierini (little gifts), I took a couple of foto (photos) of the strade (streets).

Even though temperatures didn't increase on Saturday after the nevicata (snowfall), I didn't think that we would still have snow the next day. When I looked out my window this morning, I thought that maybe the sun would warm up the city and melt the snow, but it didn't. I saw snow on the buildings and treetops across the Arno so I grabbed my macchina fotografica (camera) and ran out the door. When I got outside, the temperatures seemed much colder than yesterday, so I knew that the snow wasn't going anywhere.

Last night I went to a friend's for a small party and brought my macchina fotografica (camera) with me. On the news, they had been talking about the possibility of snow in Florence for the past few days. With the misty white sky we had all day, I knew it was going to snow. My friend turned off the lights in her apartment when she noticed the snow falling outside the windows. I was so excited that I couldn't wait to get outside to take some foto (photos).

If I didn't open the finestre (windows) this morning, I would have thought it was a warm day. When I approached my finestre, I could already feel the cold wafting from the glass. When I opened the persiane (shutters), the cold air surprised me. The clear sky was a light blue thanks to the winter sun casting its soft light from behind the hills and onto the city.

I marked my friend Lucia's presentation on my calendar weeks ago and even though I just returned form a long one-day trip to Liverpool, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. She presented her new book, L'Unità debole: Lettere dell'ambasciatore americano George P. Marsh sull'Italia unita, which I had the honor to review in The Florentine this week as well. The presentation took place in the Sala Ferri del Gabinetto Vieusseux in Palazzo Strozzi, which is an extraordinary library.