La vita fiorentina.

I would like to dedicate the introduction to my life in Firenze to the lovely and charming woman at the NY consulate. Grazie mille, Signora whomever-you-are, for making the journey here so difficult. The airlines would also like to extend their gratitude as they made three times the profit on the fees for the flight changes. The real reason I want to thank you is because the victory of obtaining my visa was that much sweeter when it was finally pasted into my passport. I smile every time I look at it, and think of you, Signora whomever-you-are, whenever I do.

In the process of obtaining my visa I learned some very important lessons for anyone who plans to relocate to Italy. Lesson number one is to divulge as little information as possible, and do so only when asked, in Italian whenever possible. Lesson number two is bring 20 copies of every document that has even the slightest relevance to your existence. 10 of these copies should be notarized and you should always have the original in your back pocket. I promise you that there will be, without a doubt, a document missing that will take you a minimum of 4 weeks to obtain in order to complete the application. And the prettier and more official you can make your document the better luck you will have. Don't make any plane reservations whatsoever and allow at least 2 more months than you think you will need. Take a deep breath before you walk through the door during the 3 hour window of time they might decide to be open on any given day, and best of luck if you run into the woman I did. But this is all a faint memory now as I settle into my second week of life in this beautiful city I now call home (well, kind of... until I get my permesso di soggiorno.)