Florence

Not everyone gets to spend an anniversary in Italy. And I feel really lucky to be celebrating 11 years with Phillip.

We arrived in Florence mid-afternoon. We didn’t have time to visit the monastery, so our first stop was a winery just outside of the city. The entrance gate was open, and we were taking photos of some adorable donkeys munching when a woman rushed out and said they weren’t open that day.

So we headed back and decided to stop at the visitor center, which shares a building with a museum of the history of Florence. The building itself has been many things over the years, including a hospital. The museum held artifacts from World War II, old medicinal bottles, and stories about Florence’s important families of the past from a time when it was the economic center of the region.

There is a nice little park across the street. We sat on a bench to rest before walking through the old part of town, past a church surrounded by olive trees to the courthouse, just as the sun was starting to turn the landscape golden.

The visitor center had recommended a restaurant that makes fresh bread daily. The weather was practically perfect, so we sat in the courtyard, dipping that delicious, house-made bread in olive oil while we waited for our meal.

At some point in the day, Phillip said something like “hey, we are in Florence!” And we laughed about it.

Because we were in Florence. But we weren’t in Italy. The trip we had hoped to take across the Atlantic this year didn’t work out. I’m not gonna lie, that’s a bummer. That doesn’t mean we couldn’t enjoy the afternoon on Phillip’s day off. He suggested we take a drive and wanted to check out Florence, Arizona (about an hour southeast of us). While it’s not the birthplace of the Rennaissance, we still laughed, ate good food, and explored together.

Not everyone gets to spend an anniversary in Italy. And I feel really lucky to be celebrating 11 years with Phillip.

Photos:
1. Statue next to The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church.
2. Donkeys at The Windmill Winery. The tasting room is open Wednesday through Saturday.
3-4. Items from Italian and German WWII prisoners’ camp in Florence – on exhibit at the Florence Visitor Center/McFarland State Historic Park.
5. Brick building on Main Street.
6-8. A&M Pizza. Not fancy, but they did have some seriously good bread, great service, and a nice big outdoor seating area.
9. Main Street.
10-11. A&M.
12. Pinal County Courthouse

• Also:
  Saint Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery: Visiting hours are 10:30a-2:30pm daily. Dress code and other rules must be observed.
• 31st Annual Historic Florence Home Tour: February 13, 2016