Ciao da Firenze! Si, sono QUI! Yes, I am HERE!

I can’t tell you how incredible it is to wake up and realize that I really am here in Florence…

If you’ve been reading my recent “Roots Redux” blog posts, my just published e-newsletter or on social media lately (mostly Facebook or Instagram), you now know that I have been planning this extended stay in Italy for some time, a long time… On some level, I guess it’s been percolating for years but “the” decision and plan really jump started last November…

“A year from now you’ll wish you had started today.” – Karen Lamb

♦ Prequel: Getting Here…Planning
I’ve already shared about how this all came about but I know that there is some curiosity about how I actually did it, si? Well, my closest friends and associates have been privy to my plans for a while but only a handful really know what it took to get from then to now. I have learned that it’s important to be discerning about who you share your hopes and dreams with – it was a huge decision, a firm decision, and I didn’t need any nay sayers or “doubting Thomas”, “Dutch Uncle” stuff – I needed support even if it was just moral.

SO, for the most part I just did it. I had a detailed check list (which was constantly updated and revised!) and timeline of what needed to be done and set my course. Almost immediately, and much to my overwhelming relief, some of the biggest pieces fell into place.

Of course, I did not plan on a pandemic! Who did?? It did put me in a tailspin when Italy was hit so hard, and I wondered if my dream was going to be sabotaged… but I had to stay optimistic and I did push my dates from September to October and hoped for the best but not without concern and sleepless nights.

♦ Packing Up a Life…
Now, let’s fast forward through the months of very hard decisions and choices and meticulous planning (not to mention shelter-in-place) which included the difficult and seemingly endless process of choosing what to sell, what to put in storage, and then what to give away, and what to donate. And we are talking every single thing you own from furniture (of which I had very little) to every dish and pair of socks! UGH!

OK, then sorting, packing…more sorting and packing…and then selling and more packing, donating, selling…OMG, it felt like it would never be done! What to bring, what to put in storage… And by the time I moved out of where I was living, I was 98% done. ALL of my worldly possessions were either in storage, packed to come to Italy (3 stuffed suitcases and 2 boxes to ship via DHL) or in my car. Then for 6 weeks before departure in October, I packed up my Fiat 500 Cinquecento and had a wonderful “road trip” schedule staying with generous and dear friends in Santa Barbara, Newport Beach, and Auburn.

♦ Nitty Gritty…
All of this time, I was referring to official sites and in constant contact with local friends regarding the situation here in Italy. I did all of my homework and preparation with documents (i.e., passports, codice fiscale) and, with their help, justification for coming to Italy for my work. I downloaded forms and had everything in triplicate! I felt prepared but there’s always that little niggle of “what if?” I was also constantly checking the flight status hoping it wouldn’t be changed or cancelled (I had already changed airlines 3 times!) BUT as the departure date, October 13th, approached it seemed that everything was a green light…

There’s no sugar coating it – I know the “idea” of going to Italy is “exciting” but there was nothing exciting, romantic, or fun about the reality of getting here. Let me add that, in all of this time, interject sleepless nights, uncertainty, second guessing, anxiety, and a myriad of emotions…not to mention stress – emotional, mental and physical!

♦ Countdown to Departure
Check list updated and reviewed again days before departure. Belongings in storage, car in storage, boxes shipped, bags packed, documents in triplicate…a big supply of surgical face masks, wipes, hand sanitizer and enough of everything I would need for months because I also knew I would be in quarantine for 2 weeks.

Only days before I was to leave the local health restrictions changed. I had to act quickly and got a COVID screening test before leaving. (I received the results – NEGATIVE – and submitted to local health authorities and I’m still waiting to hear if that is adequate or if I need to re-test.)

A dear friend offered to take me to the airport (another godsend favor!) and after hoisting my very hefty luggage onto a trolley, I emotionally said goodbye…

♦ En Route: This is Really Going to Happen!
Los Angeles International was virtually deserted – it was so unusual and strange! No one line to check in (except me) and as I said good bye to my luggage I realized that the next time I would see it would be coming out of the carousel in Florence (I hoped!).

Check-in, security virtually empty.. breezed through (also unusual even with TSA clearance), waiting to board…

My 10 hour KLM flight on a fabulous 777 was, dare I say, “luxurious” with very, VERY few passengers and excellent service. My transfer was in Amsterdam and it was also uncharacteristically uncrowded. To transfer to Florence I had a KLM form completed and then they required a temperature check, stamped the form and off I went.

Important Note: Yes, masks and social distancing were required and strictly enforced EVERYWHERE! At the airports, at boarding and throughout the flights (except when eating or drinking). On the flight from Amsterdam to Florence, only surgical masks were allowed and if you didn’t have one you were directed to purchase one at the pharmacy.

♦ Touchdown, Firenze!
The afternoon of October 14th, I arrived in Florence! It was a little overcast and wet but I didn’t care! Now to get my luggage and go through customs… By the time I reached the carousel, my luggage was there! Exhausted but elated I grabbed a trolley, dragged my luggage (which now felt like it had doubled in bulk!)  onto it and off we went to customs. Since I was coming from the USA, I had to provide where I was going to quarantine and register with local health authorities.

I walked out of the terminal and there was Claudio, my driver and transfer! There he was with a sign with my name on it! I literally squealed with joy! I couldn’t hug him but I would have! He helped me with my luggage and off we went to my new home in Florence, Palazzo San Niccolo. Greeted my Federico, I knew it wasn’t a dream, I was really really here!!

Everything fell into place exactly as I had planned, hoped, pictured in my mind a thousand times! It’s hard to relate the relief and gratitude! As exhausted as I was, I was beyond elated! I did it…I was here and come what may I was going to embrace it.

♦ Quarantine Countdown
So I’m midway through my quarantine countdown and I have to say it has been a excellent way to transition and settle in. I have typically had to “hit the ground running” in a day or two. So, to have no “agenda” or schedule for 2 weeks is actually a gift. I have time to unpack and get settled and to savor my surroundings – my lovely apartment and enclosed garden/patio, to allow my circadian rhythm to re-calibrate, to get my bearings, find a new pace. So grateful.

While in quarantine, 14 days, I am required to stay in my apartment. I am allowed to go to the common area (which is enclosed) to get a coffee but not to stay, and I am allowed to enjoy the enclosed patio. I have everything I need including groceries which I can have delivered.

I am also allowed to savor the blue sky, the song of chirping birds and the church bells. I love church bells…and to look forward to seeing local friends and to exploring this magnificent city. And more, I hope…ci vediamo, we shall see. A new chapter is being written.

♥ Wow. Pinch me. I’m in Florence! ♥

“You’ll seldom experience regret for anything that you’ve done. It is what you haven’t done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear. Do it! Develop an appreciation for the present moment. Seize every second of your life and savor it. Value your present moments. Using them up in any self-defeating ways means you’ve lost them forever.”  -Wayne Dyer

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Footnotes:

♦ A week ago I was in utter absolute overdrive in final preparations to get to the airport. Today, a week later DHL delivered my last two boxes. I’m really here. Whew! All in.

♦ As I write, the Italian government is announcing new restrictions in response to the recent rise in new cases. The actions are put in place quickly in order to avoid another lock down. Obviously, I am monitoring daily and like everyone here, hoping there is not another lock down.

♦ Oh, and by the way… Now and then I’m being asked what will I do in 3 or 6 months? Will I stay in Florence? In Italy? In other words, what next? Good grief! I just got here! It has taken a Herculean effort on all levels and now, today, and every day, I just want to “be” here! To savor and immerse in whatever today brings my way…tomorrow will come soon enough. What’s the rush?

Stay tuned and stay in touch, won’t you? A presto! More coming soon from  your “boots on the ground in the boot!”