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21

Jan

Everyday Aha Moments in Italy

by Joyce McGreevy on January 21, 2019

Santa Croce and passing trucks in Florence inspire an aha moment about everyday Italian rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

Santa Croce inspires. So do the delivery-truck drivers on their daily predawn rounds.
© Joyce McGreevy

Discovering Beauty in Life’s Little Rituals

It’s no revelation to say that icons of awe-inspiring beauty are everywhere in Florence. For some visitors,  the rarified aha moments induced by a surfeit of grandeur can even become physically overwhelming.

But as Italian psychologist Piero Ferrucci writes, we can also “discover [beauty] in everyday life: a song heard on the street, a crumbling old wall, the reflections in a puddle.”

The Arno at sunset in Florence Italy inspires an aha moment about life’s little rituals. (Image © Joyce McGreevy)

A walk along the Arno at sunset is glorious, but . . .
© Joyce McGreevy  Read more...

 

Crossing Cultures/Discoveries/Italy/Life Lessons

07

Jan

In Florence, a Feast of Festivals

by Joyce McGreevy on January 7, 2019

A view of Firenze from across the Arno inspires a writer to reflect on the cultural traditions of New Year in Italy. (Image © Victoria Lyons)

Winter in the city of Dante: Florence invites reflection and revelry in equal measure.
© Victoria Lyons

Savoring the First Week of the Year
Is an Italian Cultural Tradition

Are “the holidays” a faint memory? In some countries, all trace of yuletide is tidied away with alarming efficiency. Trees that inspire ho-ho-ho’s one day, get the heave-ho the next.

Here in Florence, Italy, January’s air is still redolent with balsam. Fairy lights arch over streets, and by Italian cultural tradition, a feast of festivals continues. Long past December, much remains to be savored, so my friend Victoria and I go with the Florentine flow.  Read more...

 

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/Italy/On Foot

26

Apr

Travel Stories: Good Thing We Took the Wrong Train

by Joyce McGreevy on April 26, 2016

A view from a flight departing Boston might feature in travel stories about travel mishaps that turn out just fine. Image © Joyce McGreevy

Travel isn’t all plain sailing, but a little luck can help you wing it.
© Joyce McGreevy

Travel Mishaps, Mosaics, and Memories

If two trains travel toward the same station at different times . . . Remember those math questions from school? Call them my least favorite travel stories.

I recall Mrs. Newton asking our fourth grade class to brainstorm solutions. As the collective desperation mounted, I burst out with “Agh! Stop the trains!”

Okay, so not a mathematician.

Yet those equations proved instructive. As emblems of bewilderment in motion, they offered a preview of real-life travel problems.  Read more...

 

Art of Travel/France/Ireland/Italy

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