Take me Back

H&M sweater (similar)
Mavi jeans (c/o) (similar)
Mango heels
Gucci handbag
ASOS beret
RayBan sunglasses
Wolf Circus necklace (similar)
& Other Stories necklace (similar)
Madewell rings
Urban Outfitters earrings (similar)
Location: Ponte Alla Carraia – Florence, Italy

Sixteen months away from Europe was too long. I always knew that. But sometimes, the reality is that commitments like work and home renovations mean that no amount of wistfully captioning old photos with the words Take me back… will allow a much-desired holiday to happen any sooner. Flights to Europe are long, and inconvenient from Winnipeg, as they all require stops in Toronto or Montreal. I desperately wanted to go back to the continent that I think I will always call home, no matter where I actually live. But practical considerations meant that we couldn’t travel before the end of September.

As soon as we stepped off the plane in Florence, I felt like I was home. It didn’t matter that I’d never been to Florence before. Europe is where I belong. It’s difficult to put into words exactly what I feel when I go back, especially after being away for so long – it isn’t a sense of relief, exactly, although there is an element of that. In many ways, it feels like I’ve been traveling for all the time that I’ve spent in North America, and landing on the continent is a long-awaited homecoming.

Florence turned out to be a very special place. We chose to visit on a whim – we had been planning to go to Lisbon, or perhaps Madrid, but didn’t like our flight options – but whims and fancies are part of what makes life interesting. This one proved to be exactly the right decision. We fell immediately in love with the small Italian city and were deeply sorry to have to leave again when our nine-day stay came all too quickly to an end. Florence is breathtakingly beautiful and utterly charming – and if you stay on the south side of the Arno, away from most of the tourist attractions, surprisingly relaxed, which was just what I needed.

We ate a steady diet of pasta and pastries, but walked everywhere. We sampled cheeses and wines, and although I am loathe to admit it, I even tried a small mouthful of tripe, the local specialty, which turned out to be quite tasty. Of course we took pictures of everything. But we only saw the things we cared about seeing, for once, rather than ticking attractions of an imaginary list as if visiting everything were mandatory and our work would be checked later. It was the perfect holiday. And again, I find myself wistfully typing Take me back… over and over. I would have stayed forever very happily.

But we’re home. All good things come to an end. Luckily, photos last forever, and we took a lot of them, so there are many more Florence snaps to come. And many more Take me back… moments, too.