Famiglia and Firenze

Despite the wonders of gelato, the awe-inducing sunsets at Lugano, the sprawling beaches of Barcelona, and the softly lit canals of Venice being in my backyard, it is still possible to be homesick. Though I have no yearnings to be at home per se, at this point in the journey I have begun to miss my family, friends, and familiarity of customs in the states deeply. Therefore, a visit from my family to close out the month of March couldn’t have been better timed. It felt fantastic to tour them around Milan and proudly tell them, This is my city, and This is what my experience looks like. I took them to my favorite restaurants, bars, and streets, introduced them to the bustle of the metro, and of course gave them a taste of the shopping Milan is famous for.

In addition, I got the fleeting chance to feel old as we took a weekend trip to Florence, a city I had been to almost exactly six years earlier. Though I remember enjoying Florence in high school, this time around I was absolutely infatuated with it: its rolling hills, Renaissance architecture, and quintessentially European cobblestone streets. We walked along the Ponte Vecchio, saw the David, and returned to our favorite pizza joint Gustapizza not once but twice. From Florence as our hub, our family also took a day trip to Siena, and my brother and I journeyed to Pisa (and to my chagrin, we absolutely took a picture pushing the tower). It was a weekend to remember with people I love, and I couldn’t be happier they got to see the life I have created in Milan thanks to them.