‘Bella Donna!’ A man says as he approaches and thrusts his smiling face in front of mine with a quick glance up and down. If this happened in my home city, I’d be worried. If anyone invades your personal space and makes some comment, you’d feel threatened.
Here, in Florence, it’s a part of the fun. You smile and move on with perhaps a little more wiggle than you normally would. You’ve go to love those moments. As you get older you don’t get them as much, so you take them when you find them.
Here in Italy, beauty seems to be less about the LA plastic fantastic images portrayed on American TV shows and looks more like confidence and acceptance than tightening another layer of skin . The style and wiggle these women have isn’t about a ‘come on’, it’s about appreciation.
It’s nice to be appreciated.
It goes both ways though. A girl can look at a cute boy without feeling like a tease. Flirting is fun, but it doesn’t mean I want to go to bed with you.
As I go out into the streets of Florence now I’m exiting into the flow of Italian life, albeit with about a million tourists!
I love walking the streets and looking at the little details—the details that speak of medieval history, of culture, of style and of La Dolce Vita—the sweet life we so often hear about and at times want to run away to. I’m in Italy to have another appointment for adventure and continue the journey. Bella Italia!
Ciao!
