It seems like so long ago that my mom and dad visited us in late October. So much has changed of our Italian adventure in the past seven months with new friends, the uncovering of treasures in and outside the city, and a much greater acquaintance with the city itself.
The arrival of my mom was an adventure in itself. My father has been quite ill the past several months with numerous viruses’ including one that landed him in the hospital for ten days through late April. After coming home to the care of my mom, my dad became ill yet again in mid May, just two days prior to her scheduled departure, leaving her with no choice but to cancel her plans in the eleventh hour.
Just two days later, my mom was back on the phone with her travel agent after his tests came back negative for anything serious. She arrived in Florence on the 19th of May. It must have seemed like a dream to her in many ways when she finally landed. It sure seemed like one to me. I was really happy to see her after all this time.
There was no particular agenda for her arrival other than to spend time with our family. Unfortunately her visit was partially pre-empted by my own illness (Leaving my mom likely feeling like she couldn’t escape the issue of sickness).
She was able to finally meet Marcella, who was in the United States the last time my folks visited. My mom is a notorious ravioli fan, so I asked Marcella to break out a couple of her best homemade ravioli recipes for the occasion. We made fresh ravioli stuffed with artichokes and ricotta cheese in two different sauces, along with sautéed veal tenderloin and fresh peas. It was quite a meal and my mom enjoyed helping make the ravioli.
We were also able to spend the afternoon with Antonio Di Vito (The Fresco Artist featured in another section of this blog) at his home in the country. I think that my mom enjoyed his workshop, but enjoyed even more the wonderful lunch we ate in his garden.
During the time of my illness, my mom spent a lot of time with Anna and the kids, visiting different places in Florence like The Boboli Gardens and seeing “The David”.
Fortunately, I was able to recover in time for us to take a day trip to Sienna, a city that my mom has never been to in her travels to Italy. We simply couldn’t have hit Sienna on a better day. The temperature was in the low eighties and the rolling narrow cobblestone streets of one of Italy’s greatest villages hosted us for a wonderful morning stroll.
In addition to taking in the surprises that Sienna has to offer seemingly around every corner (Including one of Italy’s most famous piazzas “Il Campo”), we were able to also enter its famed Cathedral. This was the second time that Anna and I had been inside since we arrived here in Italy. We’ve visited so many churches over the past nine months that sometimes you forget one from the other. During our second visit to Sienna’s cathedral, we both agreed that this is truly one of the great churches that we have ever been in. The black and beige marble columns are so impressive and unique and the cathedral hosts art from Michelangelo, always a treat. Perhaps the highlight of the cathedral is the ancient library with its amazing frescos and ancient books from the 14th Century. The day in Sienna ended as any good one would, with a nice long lunch at a local tratoria.
Better to let me mom chime in know with her feelings about her week here.
An Interview with My Mom:
Q1: How was Italy different from the last time you were here?
MA: “Just much much greener. So much more beautiful and the colors (Especially the numerous colors of green were surprising and so beautiful. It’s so neat, because there is so much more foliage than you find at home and it makes things so much more beautiful and not so sterile!”
Q2: Now that you were here again so close to our departure, is it easy or difficult for you to understand our mixed emotions about leaving Italy?
MA: “Oh yeah there’s no question that I understand how you feel. I bet you feel like there’s so much more to do and see and with only 45 days left you probably are feeling like you don’t want to let go. It would be hard to leave, so hard to pack up and go away from all of this.”
Q3: How if in any way have the kids changed since you last saw them?
MA: “Not really that much since Christmas. The biggest change that I see is in Trey. He seems so much happier and comfortable. He’s really grown up a lot.”
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