Jake & January's Excellent Adventure: Season 2

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And we're back! 

January and I got to spend a lovely month in the USA, visiting friends and family, and enjoying the spring as it sprang in the special way that only a New England spring can be sprung. We engaged in all the contractually obligated American activities: grilling meat, listening to Bruce Springsteen, going to Home Depot, etc. It was nice to be back on familiar ground. Our time there flew by faster than I expected.

Horses, flags, mountains... America.

One minute I'm enjoying a nice bike ride with my dad through rural New Hampshire, and the next thing I know January and I are on a red eye heading across the Atlantic, all 6'2" of me folded into the geometrically impossible shape necessitated by the economy class seat. I fall asleep for what feels like 18 hours but is actually 20 minutes. I look at the in-flight map and see that we are over the literal middle of the ocean, which gives me a crawly feeling in my spine. I decide that I will not look at the map again and instead watch The Avengers for the gazillionth time.

We land in Lisbon, board an even smaller plane, and three hours after that we are in Florence, Italy! I am so tired that my brain feels like it's inside out. It is also a federal holiday, so the usual busses from the airport aren't running. This may seem like a small complication, but in our present state of (1) not speaking Italian, and (2) having our brains inside out, it is a major road block. We get on a tram, second guess ourselves and get off that tram, and then find a different map and get back on the same tram, which finally takes us to the train station. From there we catch the train to Pistoia, where we will be living for the next month. 

The winding streets of the old town in Pistoia.

Over the following days the winding, cobbled streets of Pistoia, most of them centuries old, become gradually less confusing as we explored our new home. Compared to Florence, which has the non-stop frenetic energy and overwhelming crowds of a tourist oriented city, Pistoia feels relaxed and authentic. The shops and restaurants in the old town close from 1pm-3pm every day for riposo (the Italian version of siesta), there is a street market that takes over nearly the whole town on Wednesday and Saturdays where we buy our groceries, old men ride bicycles through the piazzas and stop to chat with each other. No one seems to be in a rush.

Just a small part of the Pistoia street market.

We have made a couple of trips into Florence so far. It's 30 minutes by train and the station is only a few minutes walk from the Piazza del Duomo. (They've definitely cleaned it since I was last here. The marble exterior of the cathedral looks stunning.) We have tickets to go see Dave towards the end of the month (he books out well in advance) and for the Uffizi Gallery this weekend. 

The Duomo is looking good for its age (~487 years).

The Ponte Vecchio and the Arno River after a rain storm.

But so far what I've enjoyed most is the slower pace of Pistoia. Today, for instance, our to-do list consisted of: buy fresh produce, make lunch, take a nap, go out for an espresso, and then work (remotely) for a few hours. 

I love feeling like I have time to enjoy the small things. Sitting out on our balcony and watching a white cat cross the terracotta roof. Preparing bruschetta with fresh tomatoes and garlic. Taking a leisurely stroll through the narrow alleyways and thinking about all the generations of people who have walked here before me. Above all else it feels calming and restorative.

Our new friend, Gatto Bianco.



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