Getting Ready for Florence

In three weeks and five days, I will leave for Italy. It's been a very long winter here in the Heartland and I am spending my time now daydreaming about Florence - the muddy Arno, the series of exquisite bridges that cross over it, the chiming of the campanile just down the street from my apartment, marking the passing of the day. The tiny, perfect daily cappucino that awaits me at Bar Bellini at Mercato Centrale. I am going to Florence to take a class with my sister, Holly. She is also my dearest friend (my dearest girlfriend, that is - as my husband is probably my dearest friend.) We are also meeting another friend and colleague of mine, a veteran Florentine traveler and architect who practices in Minneapolis. We are meeting in Florence to take a class from the British Institute of Florence called "Tuscan Villas and Gardens." In May.... May in Florence running around villas and gardens from the 15th and 16th centuries. I'm feeling a little spoiled. But I'll get over it and keep you posted on the preparations. Both mental and physical.