3:53pm

We went to go visit the statue of David today, because it is something you must do when you go to Florence. We forayed northeast across the Arno River to the touristy side of the city. It was 37°C and 80% humidity. We arrived there and saw a line stretching down the block, exposed to the sun, and a mob of other clammy, cranky tourists and decided to abandon our places.

Later that day a timely essay came through from David Cain about bucket lists and travel checklists are not only impractical but are quickly outdated (past versions of yourself, inherited lists from others).11. David found many old goals no longer mattered and thinks lifetime lists are often impractical. Now, he focuses on meaningful personal challenges and relationships instead of ticking off exciting experiences. Then I remembered that other piece I read recently about people who are trying to race to visit every country in the world22. “Last year a record 82 people claimed to have achieved the feat of travelling to all 193 countries.” (and undoubtedly sharing it on social media), and how this pervasive (potentially status-driven) mentality of quantity over quality33. And it’s no surprise that the conveniences, technology of modern travel actually enabled this is so misplaced, and misplaced for the same reasons that this “choosing friction” essay44. “Today’s cult of convenience fails to acknowledge that difficulty is a constitutive feature of human experience. Convenience is all destination and no journey.” talks about: when you forgo friction you miss out on learning the things about yourself, you miss out on the challenges that make these events and occasions meaningful.55. Sweating through your clothes on a walk to a rose garden to re-read our vows on our one year anniversary

As I’ve been feeling on this trip, you miss out on the depth of experience and interaction with others when you don’t choose to go the more meaningful route.66. We wouldn’t have met the couple that runs the pizza shop and the olive oil shop if we were there for a day and only focused on the places that other tourists say we should go. It’s also quite rewarding to watch locals light up when you ask them about their favorite places. There is a difference between the cheaper highs of novelty-seeking and frictionless convenience and the meaningful experiences that require us to step out of our comfort zones. In fact I would even say that meaningfulness is often directly proportional to the discomfort faced.

I’m much more interested in a meaningful personal experience in the current moment; Yes, the Renaissance was incredible, and yes, I’m super inspired by Da Vinci, but what was far more meaningful was the dinner we had the night before served in that small Enoteca by that short, quirky, and energetic Italian guy and his equally eccentric and stern (yet sweet) Italian-speaking German wife.

It’s important to honor and understand the history of a place (the Medici palace, David and Michelangelo), the parts of the whole that make it special, just as I’ve been thinking it’s important when I go camping to learn about the names of all the trees and plants, birds and animals.

10:08am

We went to an imitation “Da Vinci” museum on the touristy side of Florence. There were countless experiments and inventions there I’d never heard of or seen. The guy definitely had ADHD. He’s iconic now, for good reason, given his contributions to math and science. Truly passionately curious.

I think of this as I worry I worry about spending my time “efficiently” on the “right” things, not “too many” things.11. I want to write, draw, take photos, learn to surf, learn to play guitar, continue growing as a coder.

Curious, I looked up how Da Vinci supported himself during his lifetime and it turns out he was constantly debt-riddled, often distracted and fequently delaying and abandoning comissions and projects; but mostly supported himself through patronage. He was hired to do work across both art and engineering. Be more like Da Vinci! Make for yourself! Think of all his sketches. Just keep making things and (shamelessly) sharing them with others at all steps of the way.

9:54am

Things take on the character of when they’re constructed, and because they are shaped by constraints of time they were constructed they are forever intertwined with that character, the feeling of that time. The 1920s spanish-revival houses dotted across Los Angeles, the textured exposed brick buildings in Florence versus the modern generic “Anywhere, USA” aesthetic so prevalent these days. This character osmosis also applies to people.

4:18pm

Everything in this cute little corner store is right-sized. A small market of fresh foods, just a few of each grocery — not overstocked — just right; run by two hip, middle-aged Italian women. “It feels like you’re in someone’s kitchen.” I want to own a restaurant like this, a little nook in an alley (in old town Florence).

11:02am

We are drawn in by the facade of a quintessential cafe storefront window, we go inside and are greeted by a cavernous interior that unfolds to two stories, multiple sprawling seating areas, we hesitate and a couple locals who know the norms go ahead of us and find a seat (more assertively than us). I huff arrogantly, forgetting that I’m not center of the universe. It’s the morning rush on the weekend. All tables are taken, all manner of languages being spoken, the waitresses strategically cooling themselves off before hurrying to greet the next arrival. We get seated near the interior balcony; our perch gives us this unobstructed view of the goings-on below with the baristas and unassuming parties interacting, planning, ordering.

Maybe there’s a lesson in acceptance here, in being right on top of each other — in relinquishing control and embracing the (mostly) organized chaos. So much sound, but none of it noise, busy but not frantic; it’s not ear-drum rattling bass and I’m not interacting with chronically inconvenienced, underpaid (and therefore disinterested and disgruntled) servers. It’s something quite different than what I’m used to back home.

9:24am

Meagan and I made it a point on our one year anniversary to find a rose garden in Florence to read some renewed vows to each other.

I wish we had a million lifetimes together … it’s hard to accept that we’ll only have one, and it’s crazy to think it’s already been a whole year … here’s to fitting a million lifetimes of love into just one.

(In a way that I’m grateful for) I can’t shake this perspective of how fast time moves, of how bittersweet it is to have found a person you want to share everything with (every part of yourself, every experience) but then in these moments of clarity and perspective be struck by the realization that time moves very quickly in hindsight.

In the US, I feel so focused on moving forward, and so determined to shed the inconvenience of my past that I barely stop long enough to sit with the current moment; to actually, fully absorb that this day is the only thing I’ll ever have. Life is these steep Italian staircases, and these milestones are their landings; I’m slowly figuring out how to savor the struggle and take a beat when I get to each level, and in between breaths look out the window to enjoy the view.

8:00pm

Tiny street-level restaurant providing a frame to this new world. This hole-in-the-wall feels integrated into the night life. People are passing by in-and-out of frame. Life feels like it’s being lived.

It feels so nice to be out at night with no specific agenda, amongst others doing the same. Meals, restaurants are so much more social here. It stands in such stark contrast to the pervasive Western attitude of individualism and optimization. They’re all out on the sidewalks, they’re not only focused on themselves. This is as nourishing for the soul as this warm meal.

9:22am

Everything is smaller in Italy. Food portions, coffees, trash cans. They even treat garbage differently here. Us Americans consume so much.

Of the few things we do share with Italy, are the Mediterranean climate11. Dry summers and mild winters. Coming from sitting on a continent’s west side next to a cold ocean current and the corresponding drought-hardy evergreen scrub. Maybe the rainfall accounts for why it’s so much more of a rich, dark green here though. Fun new varieties of shapes and trees, especially the Italian cypresses and stone pines. The Tuscan landscape seems more cultivated compared to how untamed California is.

Also interesting to see what trends carry over from our culture (with the internet, social media): the orange-tinted glasses, American pop music on the radio.

9:18am

Everything moves at a slower pace here, at its own pace, there’s a lot more casual standing around. The police officers at the Florence airport are socializing amongst each other, one of them is playing tug-of-war with the drug dog. We step outside and everything else is a smaller scale too, the little billboards outside, the height of the buildings, the roadside signs. There is definitely more of a nonchalant attitude; I’m sure after a couple of weeks I’ll find out if that’s the pace here or just my novel read of it.