Bar Culture

Without a doubt my favourite thing about the Italian way of life is the bar culture. Bar does not mean the same here as in England, it is more of a cafe, but that still doesn't quite describe it. Bars are, in general, open from very early in the morning to very late at night - something of a rarity in an Italian business - and  they are central to the communities. You can get anything from a coffee to your evening (or morning, if you are so inclined) Grappa and pastries, panini and pizza at pretty much any time of day. Though don't be fooled, just because something is available, that doesn't mean it's always socially acceptable; for example, ordering a cappuccino after lunch time will get you some very strange looks in some bars, espresso or macchiato are safe at any time of day. And beware - while Starbucks will understand what you mean by 'a latte', if you order that here, you will literally just get a glass of milk. While most bars do seem to have some kind of affiliation with the brand 'Sandy', unlike in England where Starbucks and Cafe Nero dominate, each bar has a unique and independent feel, most of the clients will be regulars to their own bar and there will always be someone standing chatting to the people who work there, be it in the village bar or in the middle of Florence.

Palazzo Pitti

I could go on about the Palazzo Pitti forever, there are so many amazing things to see, it's well worth a visit especially as you can get student tickets for €9 which last for 3 days so you can see everything properly. A couple of my personal highlights...

The quadratura by Agostino Mitelli and Angelo Michele Colonna

'The Kiss' by Francesco Hayez

'Portrait of Emilio Zocchi' by Odoardo Borrani

'Portrait of the Painter Ambrogio Raffaelle' by John Singer Sargent

I couldn't take any photos inside and Google hasn't helped either, but I must tell you that the jewellery museum was absolutely mesmerising, I wasn't such a fan of the contemporary designs but they had the most incredible diamond necklaces and tiaras dating back to the early 19th century which I just could not keep my eyes off.

My favourite part though, was the fashion exhibition. It was so cleverly done; comparing different fashion cycles to the political climate of the periods, for example how dresses with fuller skirts generally reflect periods of economic stability or growth, then showing a variety of examples of such dresses, ranging from 1775 to modern day Gianfranco Ferre.

Black and White Florence

Red sky at night, shepherd's delight...

After the sunset, we came down and there was the most incredible red sky which made the otherwise postcard-y pictures of the Duomo quite cool...

Tramonto Fiorentino

One day in early October when it was still over 30 degrees, I had taken my cousin out of her boarding school for the afternoon for an ice cream and a wander around Florence, and as we walked past the Duomo we saw that the queue to go up to the top, which normally consists of a few hundred tourists, was only about 5 people long so we took our chance and joined in. Once we got to the top, we saw that our timing could not have been more perfect, we watched in awe as the sun set over Florence.

Piazzale Michelangiolo

This is one of Florence's most famous tourist attractions, and for good reason. The view over the city is literally breathtaking.

Firenze

I have since moved into Florence to live with a gorgeous Italian family near Porta Romana. After a few weeks of just enjoying the city, seeing the sights by day and going out for drinks with my new Italian friends in the evenings, I finally found a part-time job! I have been working now for a few weeks for a small events and PR company which is a complete dream, I've been helping to organising parties for high-end fashion brands and given that the company is so small I've actually been given a lot of responsibility and my Italian has improved massively.

Florence itself is completely beautiful, it doesn't seem to have changed much since the Renaissance, the father of the family I live with, Donato, told me that Florence is one of the only major cities that hasn't had a big fire (like London 1666 etc) and as a result, there hasn't been much change at all, and the roads are all still only wide enough for horses, having obviously not been built with cars in mind. While this gives the city a real sense of history and is great for tourists as you can actually picture Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo walking down the very same streets, it's not so practical for every day living...think ambulances in rush hour.

One of the best things about living with an Italian family, apart from the obvious language benefits, is that I'm really getting a insight into real Italian life. Especially at the moment with all the political developments, it's really interesting to get an Italian's point of view. Every evening after supper, when everyone else has left the table, Donato and I sit and watch the news and discuss Italian politics. Before I came out here, my best friend's boyfriend told me that the best way to learn Italian was not by getting an Italian boyfriend, as others had suggested, but by befriending someone older as they will be full of interesting stories and won't speak English. While Donato isn't the elderly gentleman that Ben had in mind, more like a surrogate Italian father, he certainly is full of interesting stories and refuses to speak English with me so it does seem to be going to plan!

First Weeks

  My first couple of weeks, as previously said, were spent living at Il Pero and living the life that goes with it, which I have to say I enjoyed hugely. In the first week, my aunt had the last guests of the season to look after; they were a group of retired soldiers from the 16/5th Queen's Royal Lancers, the regiment responsible for the liberation of Arezzo at the end of the Second World War, and the group included 80-something-year-old Henry, who had been part of the actual liberation. They were here to present a plaque to the mayor of the city and attend a ceremony at the town hall with various important Italian officials, including the head of the Carabinieri who had the most incredible embroidered jacket I couldn't stop staring at. When I complimented him on it, he told me I should join the Carabinieri myself so that I could get one too... Not sure I would make the best military soldier, but it would be worth a try to get that jacket.  We did take the soldiers to the British war cemetery which was actually really emotional, as Henry was visiting the graves of five of his friends who died when their tank fell into the river under heavy fire from the Germans. 

  

   

 

Another weekend was spent out for lunch at Villa Rignana, a family friend's house in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The day was absolutely perfect; the weather was amazing, the house incredible and the food and company were ideal. As well as the horses, including the most adorable baby foal, the other guests were great fun, I spent a lot of time with a gentleman called Alex who had the most interesting stories, from playing tennis with Grace Kelly, to telling me all about his favourite Spanish and Italian literature. After lunch and a dip in the stunning pool, my uncle took us all for an off-road adventure in a Landrover, from which we saw the most incredible views of the region at sunset.

                        

Il Pero

Il Pero is not just the family home of my aunt, uncle and cousins, it's also what the Italians call an Agriturismo, meaning that they have apartments which you can rent for an amazing Tuscan holiday. Details of which can be found here.

I have now moved into Florence properly, but still come back to Il Pero every weekend for some relaxation and home comforts. My room while I'm here is in La Torre which really is idyllic, the room itself is more than perfect and the view is unrivalled.

                         

 

It really does make all the difference having this home-away-from-home in Italy as it can be really quite lonely at times. I underestimated how draining it would be living in a country where you essentially don't speak the language, although when I first got here I did have basic Italian, it's the small things that are hard to get used to, for example bumping into people in the street, or offering someone your seat on the bus, my first instinct was always to speak in English so I spent a lot of my first few weeks in silence, looking a bit slow! It has been completely invaluable having my aunt here to help me with things like setting up a bank card and an Italian phone as well, and just generally teaching me about the little Italian ways.

Benvenuto in Italia

So the idea for this blog was to document my Year Abroad. However, I have been living in Italy now for over two months and am yet to post (until now, obviously) so it's all going to be a little jumbled to begin with. Luckily though, I was asked to write an article about my Italian experiences for a friend's fashion-travel magazine, Suitcase, in my first couple of weeks of my arrival here so I have a ready-made first post!

Here goes...

When I started my degree in Spanish and Italian, I always knew the year abroad was part of the course, but it was just one of those things I put to the back of my mind and never really accepted would happen. All too soon I had finished my second year exams and was having to organise leaving parties and think about what to pack for three months living in Florence. Having decided that my last night in London was better spent out with friends than packing for a 8am flight, I hastily chucked some clothes into my case and I’ve ended up out in Italy with more stuff than I’ll ever need after managing to wangle my way through check-in with suitcases 9kg over the weight limit.

So far, my year abroad is not exactly what I would call ‘being thrown in at the deep end’ as I’m currently staying with my cousins in their beautiful Tuscan villa spending my days by the pool, riding their horses or popping in and out of coffee bars and eating ice cream with my aunt. I have to say I’m quickly warming to the Italian way of life; the average day starts in the bar for a relaxed cappuccino and a chat with various friends, and for the kids, school finishes at lunch time almost every day so the afternoon is free for as much sunbathing or gelato eating as one can handle. I fear this is all about to come to an abrupt end however as I am moving into Florence in three days’ time to live with a some family friends of my aunt’s. As for this new family, their five children vary in age from 13 to 25 so there will always be someone to talk to and the parents are lovely (I’ve had lots of email contact with the mother) but the talking is actually what I’m worried about! Having studied Italian since the start of University, one might think that I would be pretty good at it… that would be wrong. We only have one hour a week of speaking lessons so while I can read and write pretty competently in Italian, I can never seem to find the words I want to say when put on the spot in a conversation. I don’t think my email conversations with the mother will have helped me either as it is a lot easier to sit down and write an email when you have half an hour to spare and can translate every word if necessary (thank God for wordreference.com!) but a real-life conversation is a different thing altogether and I think they might be wildly over-estimating my abilities!

Then there’s the problem of my job, or lack thereof. I turned down the offer of a university place in Rome in favour of a romantic notion of being in Florence and finding a fun-filled and interesting job, but such a thing has yet to appear! My aunt is on the case, having put the word out to friends and has apparently got a few leads although, unhelpfully, all Italians seem to disappear on holiday for the whole summer so not much progress has been made.

However, I am hugely looking forward to living in Florence, a place I’ve only ever spent a few days in before. I have to say I’m already in love with the city, the buildings are of course beautiful, as are the people, who all seem to have that Italian ability to look glamorous whatever they’re doing – even the bus drivers and bin ladies look unbelievably polished, and the Carabinieri, while they have been known to complain that they don’t get the same respect as the British police do, don’t really mind because, as they rightly point out, they have the best uniform in Europe. I am worried about my lack of job, but I am also quite grateful to have a bit of spare time to enjoy and explore the city – I have already spotted an exhibition that I’m dying to see called ‘Money and Beauty: Bankers, Botticelli and the Bonfire of the Vanities’ at the Palazzo Strozzi, and all year Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist has been uploading photos of gorgeous Florentines so I’m happy to wile away my job-free hours in coffee shops people-watching. Maybe if I mooch around enough I may just stumble upon someone willing to offer me my elusive dream job. I’ll report back in the second and third instalments of my year abroad tales, hopefully with lots of stories to tell of my fabulous Italian life, à la Juliet Roberts’ Roman adventures in Eat Pray Love – keep your fingers crossed!