New views of Italy

Thanks to E. M Forster’s novel A Room With a View, and the movie adaptation of the same name (a Merchant Ivory period drama), Florence had become my favourite place in the world before I had ever seen it. So when I first travelled to the city in the early ‘90s as a 21-year-old backpacker, I fancied myself at the time as a bit of a Lucy Honeychurch, Forster’s heroine in the book. Minus the period costume, I would seek out adventure, culture and love as I wandered Florence’s cobblestoned passageways. Lucy was played by Helena Bonham Carter in the film.

Night on Ponte Vecchio

Youthful, energetic and alone (my travelling companion had run out of money and decided to spend his four days in Florence busking) I saw everything that my Lonely Planet guide book suggested I see, inside and out, desperate to get my fill of a city that had first come alive for me through a book. Spending my limited cash, I scoured artworks in the Uffizi, climbed the 600-year-old steps to the Duomo’s cupola, scoured churches and walked the halls of the Pitti Palace. When I returned to the youth hostel in the evenings, I’d sit on my bunk and chronicle my day’s experiences in a travel journal a friend had bought me as a bon voyage gift. Nothing could stop me in my mission to know Forster’s city more completely, to broaden my horizons and to further my knowledge.

The view from our room

My second visit to Florence came in 2002. This time I was travelling with Chris and it was a completely different experience. I can’t recall spending much time involved in any cultural activities. Instead, we toured enotecas (wine bars). We were both working in London at the time and had far more money than I’d had as a backpacker. The need to see everything wasn’t urgent. In fact, it wasn’t there at all. We strolled by the Arno and across Ponte Vecchio, seeking out the cosiest or the coolest looking wine bar. I gathered matchbooks from each one we visited. I returned home to London with quite a collection.

A perfect Tuscan laneway

Now the urgency is back, demanding and real – not for myself but for the boys. I want them to see everything, to soak up every drop of Florentine energy. But I feel it might be a lost cause. While I suggest a visit to view Michelangelo’s sculpture of David, Sam drags me towards the Fiorentina (Florence’s soccer team) mega-store. As I cry for culture, Benny cries for gelato … NOW! And instead of searching for chic wine bars, we seek out perfect spots for family photos.

After a gruelling climb to the top of Florence's Duomo 

So although we haven’t yet been to the Uffizi or the Accademia di Belle Arte, the kids have forced my focus in a slightly different direction, and perhaps into a more realistic and rounded view of the city with which I fell in love. Florence isn’t all about art and culture, and it’s more than just a sum of its enotecas.

On the River Arno, Ponte Vecchio in background

Surprisingly, Sam has taken an interest in food and cooking. Yesterday he told me, quite sincerely, that when he’s a professional soccer player he’d like his other job to be a baker. He’s trying foods that would never have passed his lips in Australia and he’s even compiling a list of meals he aims to recreate in our Canberra cucina.

Ben's favourite carousel in Piazza della Republica

Benny takes pleasure in the small things – jumping in muddy puddles, a carousel, a Vespa that scoots by and the dogs that are walked in the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella, the square that our apartment overlooks. I can be satisfied with that.

And more gelato ... again