"O Freedom! O My Florence!"

The words above are those of Elizabeth Barrett Browning. I am no longer in the maelstrom of a college literature department, so I really have no idea what, if any, of her poetry is taught in college english classes in this post-post (who knows how many posts) - feminist world; nor do I know if she is thought to be relevant to our world. But many of her poems have long been my favorites and she has held a fascination for me because, nearing the age of forty and (supposedly) near death, she had the courage to elope with Robert Browning to Italy. It's hard to imagine a situation in which geography, politics, passion and the freedom to express it combined so fortuitously to allow a creative soul to emerge and prosper so generously as if internal and external space were alike nurtured in a way that was impossible in her father's house. Today I made a tiny pilgrimage to her house, "8 Casa Guida," the name changed from Palazzo to Casa by Elizabeth herself. Of course, I arrived on a day that the Casa is closed, but that is no matter. It is enough to walk the street and to wonder how much is the same and how much is different from mid-nineteenth century Florence. The nearby Boboli Gardens, in all their green serenity, I believe, must be very similar to the gardens that Elizabeth and her husband and son walked. The many Vespas, Smart cars, and lorries are surely different from the stomp and hurl of horses and carriage, but Florence has almost always been a popular tourist destination, so I'm sure the street was crowded then as now, though today the dress and origin of those in the street are vastly different. I was pleased to find a small plaque that proclaimed her poems as forging "a golden ring between Italy and England."

Today is Friday already. We are busy with class every morning, sometimes lingering over lunch with people from our class, all practicing our various levels of proficiency, and then off to a museum or garden - Wednesday the Duomo, yesterday the Uffizi, and today the Boboli. Each of these is too much to take in on one trip, at least for me. Fortunately, we found a pass that gets us into almost all of the major destinations, so we can return as many times as we wish. On the way home, we always manage somehow to happen upon a gelato shop and are forced to try yet another flavor.

We have been cooking simple dinners at home - spaghetti with asparagus and mushrooms, bread salad made with leftover bread that tasted much better in the salad that in its original state. Yesterday, we found a lovely "Alimentari" where we bought sausages and cheese. Earlier I had bought basil and peppers at the open market, though I was chastised for touching them before purchasing. It's interesting to actually understand the words people are using when they are upset. The basil came with the dirt still on it, tightly wrapped in plastic. Cooked all that up together with garlic and onion and served it over fusilli. It's all good.

Tomorrow we go by train to Cortona (Under the Tuscan Sun) where we will meet with a friend of Teresa's (our teacher at Cabrillo) who will take us on a personal walking tour. Sunday we plan to go to the largest market at Piazza San Lorenzo. More on these adventures later.

Ciao!