I never thought I would get homesick while in a place as beautiful and exciting as Florence. Although I have new and thrilling experiences, I can not help but miss my boring small town back in New Hampshire.
When I left the overwhelming city center to visit southern Florence, my mind wandered back home. The neighborhood I found myself in was much like any little neighborhood in N.H.: Clean air, chirping birds and actual grass plants and trees. Every house I passed had a balcony covered in house plants and flower beds as if to blur the lines even more between nature and civilization.
A calming silence swayed with the wind of the fresh air, embracing me in tranquility while I sauntered the wide cobblestone sidewalks. There was no rush to get to my destination, which made me fit right in with the locals. No one was pushing or hurrying to get ahead, a car even stopped on the street to let me cross. Everyone I observed were casually walking their dogs, out for a smoke or just taking an afternoon stroll with friends.
Back in the center of Florence, I visited the Guinti Odeon for the first time this weekend. The Odeon is a century-old theater in Piazza Strozzi near the Arno River. The theater was close to shutting down completely last year. Instead, they turned the ground floor into a bookstore and cafe restaurant, adding a unique touch to the culture of cinema. They kept the screen for casual showings of movies during the day.
Upon pushing on the long gold handles and stepping through the large glass doors, my friend and I moved through aisles and aisles of books of all genres. Italian versions of our favorite books stocked a section of the store, where we spent most of our time.
My heart may have actually skipped when I found the most enchanting version of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” It was a large hard-cover book with an original Grimm fairytale-style cover but with the classic blues and pinks of Wonderland. I could never truly put into words how important this story is to me. The 1951 Disney Alice in Wonderland will always be my favorite movie, and I remember reading a digital version of Carroll’s book on my iPad mini. Wonderland is my escape from reality like it is for Alice herself.
At the end of the room was a projector screen playing Disney’s “The Sword and The Stone” from 1963. There were Italian subtitles, but I could faintly hear the original English audio. I had never seen this movie before, but even just that animation style threw me back to childhood. We sat in the old cinema chairs that lined the front of the room.
Although I still feel homesick, I have learned how to feel connected to both my European and American homes.
Lillian Hendel can be contacted at
lhendel@kscequinox.com
