Living in Florence, Italy -- Melinda Gallo

Friday, December 25, 2009 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 bright...

Wednesday, December 23, 2009 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 ear...

Sunday, December 20, 2009 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. ...

Saturday, December 19, 2009 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 s...

Wednesday, December 16, 2009 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 lig...

Wednesday, December 9, 2009 At 4am this morning, Alessandro and I were driving along the deserted lungarno (street alongside the Arno river) to meet up with our friend Filippo and another couple. I wasn't fully awake, but extremely excited to go on my first trasferta (away game) to watch the Fior...

Florence is home to many expats: those who have longed to live here, those who have found love and moved here, and those who have come to Florence and felt immediately at home here. Many people arrive here at a point in their

Sunday, December 6, 2009 I love how Florence is constantly changing. One day a piazza is empty and the next day a mercato (market) has taken up the entire space. I was just in Piazza di Santa Croce a few weeks ago and it was empty. But when I walked down via dei Bentaccordi and looked down Borgo ...

Tuesday, December 1, 2009 I realized today that I'm a creature of habit: I walk down the same streets and go to the same areas. Today, however, I went to see a friend of mine at her office. I walked down via del Sole, hopping up and down the marciapiede (sidewalk) while other people were coming t...

Saturday, November 28, 2009 Some people leave the city when they have a day off, but when I have a day off, I visit my city. I had been wanting to go back to the Mostra dei Cristalli (Crystal Exhibition) since I first went in May. I thought I had missed my chance because it was supposed to end at...