One of the things that continually surprises me here is how people seem unconcerned about money. Sometimes I only carry a little coin purse to do my shopping so when I go to certain negozi (shops) where they know me, I can understand that when I don't have the money to pay my bill that they tell me to bring it to them the next time. I find it interesting though that each time I return to give them the money I owe, they just slide it into the till and thank me. They rarely check to make sure that I gave them what I owed. One woman I paid back didn't even remember that I owed her money, and argued with me that I must have been mistaken. It wasn't a lot of money, but I made sure she kept the 2 Euros I know I owed her.

When I was taking photos at the mercato di Sant'Ambrogio (Sant'Ambrogio market) for an article on my website Florence from the Heart, a few people that I buy food from were curious about the photos I was taking. They usually saw me as a customer and didn't know about my love of the city. I spoke with one ortolano (greengrocer), Fernando, who told me about a friend of his, Luca Giannelli, who publishes books about Florence, its history, and also about the Fiorentina (Florence's soccer team). He told me that he could introduce me to him if I wanted. The first time he mentioned it, I had assumed he was being nice and didn't take his offer seriously.

When I looked outside the windows, I saw the sun shining in a clear blue sky. I quickly got myself ready and decided to go out for a passeggiata (walk). I head down the lungarno toward the Ponte Vecchio along the narrow marciapiede (sidewalk) next to the Museo di Storia della Scienza. I go toward the small outlet across from the Uffizi where people usually get a view of the Ponte Vecchio. As I approach the outlet, I watch people dash across the lungarno to avoid the oncoming cars.

When I am working at my computer in the early evening, I usually miss the tramonto (sunset). I sometimes catch a glimpse of it from the window of our apartment, and watch the cielo (sky) change color. A few times the colors were so amazing that I got up from behind my desk and walked to the window or up to the terrazza (terrace) to have a better look. So yesterday I decided to try to catch the tramonto on my way over to a shop in San Niccolò.

Today after I had a caffè (coffee) with a new friend, I was walking downtown about to run a few errands, and I stopped in my tracks when I found myself standing next to Orsanmichele chiesa (church). I remember the first time I stumbled upon the chiesa the first weekend after I arrived in Florence. While I sat inside admiring the interior, I realized that I was finally home. In that instant I decided that I would live in Florence.

After Natale (Christmas) and the Nuovo anno (New Year), the final festa (holiday) that remains is Epifania (Epiphany) on January 6th. In three weeks, we celebrate three feste, which is exciting and yet a lot all at once. The Epifania is mostly a festa for children these days, but it's a good excuse to have a big lunch with the family. In Florence, the Epifania is probably more important than in other cities because the day after this festa is when all the saldi (sales) begin and last for almost six weeks.

Today when Alessandro and I checked the buca delle lettere (mail box), which is just a slit in the portone (door) to our building, we found a portafoglio (wallet). The first thing we did was look at the documenti (papers) to see who it belonged to. I imagined it was someone who lived in our building, but we quickly found out that it belonged to a woman living near Pavia, which is in the north of Italy. Someone must have stolen it and discarded the portafoglio so that someone else would take care of returning the person's documenti to them.

Early this morning as the sun was rising slowly behind the dark, thick clouds, men in orange rain suits were sweeping the street along the Arno river. I looked out my window onto the piazza below where the rain had not stopped falling since yesterday afternoon. The maltempo (bad weather) didn't affet the celebrations too much as we heard the botti di capodanno (New Year's fireworks) until late in the night and early into the morning.

When the bus dropped me off near the Duomo after going to an appointment outside of the centro (downtown area), I was struck by the crowds of people walking in front of the Duomo this afternoon. For a few weeks, the streets weren't empty, but I hadn't seen them this busy for many months. While I walked down via Calzaiuoli toward Piazza della Signoria, the sun leapt out of the clouds, and I decided to walk around town to take a few pictures before going home.

As I stood in our warm apartment this morning, I was struck by the statua (statue) in Piazza Mentana and the color of the Arno, which has been a light green for the past few days. I couldn't help but try out my new macchina fotografica (camera) from our apartment windows. I had to open the window for a few minutes to wait for some people to pass by so I could get a clear shot, but it was worth the wait. Since we have lived in our apartment, I have taken many pictures of the statua, but I think this might be my favorite one up to now.

Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) came in the form of my friend Amy who took a plane from the US to lug my new macchina fotografica (camera) to me. I ordered it over the Internet and had it sent to my friend's office. She was kind enough to bring me my new toy, which I couldn't wait to use. After going to her house, I ran home to recharge the batteries, and set it up.

Earlier this afternoon I was walking around town to fare acquisti (shopping) and the shops were filled with scores of people. I walked up to the door of Universo Sport next to the Duomo to get one last gift, but when I saw the line of people waiting at the cassa (register), I didn't even enter the shop. To get home, I walked briskly down via Calzaiuoli where I had to zig-zag my way to get to the other end near Piazza della Signoria.

I just posted an article on my website Florence from the Heart about my favorite piazza: Piazza di Santa Croce. I had gone to the piazza many times over the last few months to take pictures and capture my feelings about it. I think that everyone has a favorite piazza in Florence and even though there are a few others I admire and enjoy, Piazza di Santa Croce seems to me to be the most fascinating of all for me. I especially love the mix of the permanent with the temporary. The residents with the tourists. And the palazzi (buildings) and basilica (church) and the makeshift stands that come and go in the piazza all year round.

For the last Saturday evening before Natale (Christmas), I would normally avoid the busy streets in centro (in the downtown area). Every day this entire week when I found myself in centro, the streets have been packed with people. These past few weeks, I have enjoyed admiring the festive streets: Christmas trees lined up in large square planters in the middle of via Calzaiuoli and lights strung up high above a few of the side streets. I would normally stay home on such a busy evening, but when a girlfriend of mine invited me out for a drink at Rivoire, I didn't hesitate for one moment.

As I put the key into the door of our apartment building yesterday, I heard someone call out, "Gallo Melinda." When I turned around, I saw my postina (postwoman) on her motorino coming up behind me. "Ho un pacco per te. Devi pagare qualcosa però, I have a package for you. You have to pay something though," she said. She flashed me a piece of paper with my name and the amount due. It seemed high until I saw the breakdown of the expenses for the dogana (customs) and the additional 20% IVA (tax) on the amount declared on the pacco (package).