Italians!

So, what is it about Italy and Italians that make people take a deep breath and sigh! There  are thousands of books that will tell you the reasons why, but for me, it starts with the Italians!

Their kindness, friendliness, willingness to share and, of course, their patience makes a trip here worth the effort.

Being an artist I truly appreciate beautiful paper that the Italians, especially the Florentines, create using dye baths in which they create designs in a solution of water and wallpaper paste with inks, then dip the plain paper in and over it and create a stunning one of a kind finished paper.  I’m sure you’ve seen these papers used on books, boxes, cards, etc. etc. etc.!  So, when we walked by Il Papiro, a shop that creates and sells these incredible products, we had to go in.  We, along with a few other aficionados were treated to a demonstration and of course, afterward we had to buy a few of the papers.  The young man who waited on us mentioned that he studied for a year at University of Alabama (Roll Tide as he was proud to say), so he was familiar with Jacksonville Beach.  We had  a nice conversation about his life, what he studied and how he ended up doing what he does.  Chalk up one delightful encounter!

Our next stop on this hot Florentine afternoon was to a grocery store to get water.  As we entered there were pots of fresh, fragrant flowers and, of course, basil and rosemary plants!  Then we were treated to a blast of cool air coming from the air conditioning.  Aah!  Delightful!  But, I was about to be treated to a wonderful surprise.

Some of you that know that for a few years I have been following a site on Facebook called A Girl in Florence.  This lovely young woman is Georgette and her handsome husband is Niccolò. So, imagine my surprise when I looked up from admiring a cheese and pasta display to see them standing on the other side of the display. Of course, I had to speak to her!  She thanked me for following her blog and I told her I would advise anyone reading this to follow her also.  You won’t be sorry, especially if you love Florence and, of course, Italy.


 And this is how we ended the day....I found this “sweet” guy, Alberto and his wife, Judith, on Facebook also.  The name of his site and shop is My Sugar!  The gelato was the creamiest and most delicious I have ever tasted.  Gelato heaven!