Ignite My Soul

Chapter 6.1 - Day 8 - Under the Tuscan Sun.

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Butterflies out my window keep me wishing

I know I fell on the crossroads

Yet you won't forsake me

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh

Give me the strength

I'm craving

I get a little more faith now

I'll start running

But I want your dreams

I need love, I need love

That bittersweet killer, romantic, though I hate to love you

But I'd never find a greater kind of love, baby

🎼

It is the last shower in beautiful Venezia and I let the water caress my body. I spend that time reflecting on the trip thus far and looking forward to the rest. My mind wanders to how it will feel to be back home. City hopping is fun, but I miss Liz and my family. Talking about Liz, I may have found her a daddy, but wait, I'm jumping the gun here. Remember, he's not available, and besides, your little stunt yesterday might have chased him away. So slow your row, Missy.

I get out of the shower, get dressed and finish packing my luggage, all the while resisting the temptation to check my inbox. There is a notification, but I don't want to feel the disappointment of starting a conversation and then having to wait for a response the next thing we leave, and I no longer have network. Instead, I send my Mom a text that we are checking out and will be on the road till late at night.

I finish up and I am ready to see the olive groves and vineyards in Tuscany, the central region of Italy. We start in its capital, Florence. The home to some of the world's most recognizable Renaissance art and architecture, including Michelangelo's "David" statue and galleries filled with his artwork. Then we will spend 2 nights and 3 days exploring Roma.

After breakfast, we take the 3-hour trip, while watching the movie Under The Tuscan Sun—one of my favourite movies. I can relate to a lot of her drastic, sometimes foolish decisions. For me, that is what travelling is all about—taking time out to get a different perspective on your life and life in general. If you come back from a journey thinking and feeling the same, then you have wasted your money.

Lost in thought, I feel the bus coming to a halt. Most of the group is gathered on the window on my right, with Bella talking to them. I take a moment to look outside, and there stands the very same gate that attracted Frances in the movie. It felt like I was part of that moment when she made the life changing decision to get off the bus and take ownership of a Villa in Tuscany. We can only take pictures from the bus as we are pressed for time. A couple of snaps, and we are back on the road.

We arrive in the beautiful city of Florence and get off to meet our city tour guide. I feel excited to see Nominations, my favourite jewellery store, by the meeting spot. Their charm bracelets are gorgeous and expensive. I am grateful that my whole collection was prizes won at two different functions, years apart.

We explore the tiny streets of the crowded Florence. It feels like déjà vu to Venice, except that the buildings here are massive and look older. We commence the tour with a visit to a leather factory. We are shown how it is made, what it should feel like and how to tell if it is real or not. Real Leather barely burns. If you hold a lighter to a piece of leather, it will shrink and curl, but it hardly catches fire or continues to burn.

We are walking through the streets with the historical buildings and learning about different artists. We get to see The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the most famous church in Florence, as well as the Santa Croce, a stunning Gothic building known for the many tombs of great artists, writers, and scientists buried there, like Galileo, Machiavelli and the great Michelangelo.