CIAO FROM ITALY
Notes from our visits to Rome and Florence
We’ve been in Italy for a week now, stopping first in Rome for a few days to celebrate the new year. This is my second time in the country and I was so happy to return to some of the places we’ve been before, like the Colosseum and St. Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon. The first day we arrived, we headed to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps, and then I had spaghetti pomodoro for lunch and limone gelato for dessert (the essentials). Perhaps my favorite moment thus far was when our driver took us up to the top of a hill to a little church and an adjacent park that overlooks the city. In the park, there were lines of orange trees and large “umbrella” pine trees shading the walkway. At the far end, you could stand on a terrace and overlook the whole city.
We arrived in Florence yesterday and walked and walked and walked to reacquaint ourselves with the city, led by Sylvia, our tour guide who seemed to know everyone we passed — we even ran into her husband. “It’s a small place,” she said. We walked past the Duomo, toured inside the Medici Chapel (where you can see works of Michelangelo) and then ate an incredible dinner just steps away from the house here. I had tortelli with a cacio e pepe filling. I also visited a gelato store twice yesterday, to get limone gelato, of course, and plan to do this many more times before we leave.
A little later this morning, I will be heading out to take a paper-marbling class and then walking around the city looking for more pasta, more gelato, and more shopping.
10,000 HOURS
Will I ever stop learning that good things take time?
As we toured the Vatican Museum, our guide directed our attention to this sculpture (see below) and said it was simply called “torso.” Maybe it was the jet lag, but I found the name hilarious — just “torso.” Concise, descriptive, accurate. Walking through the museum, I kept thinking that I wished I was an artist so I could leave behind a legacy of works like Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel or even “torso” here. Then, of course, I thought of the years of dedication it takes to achieve this (not to mention the need for natural artistic genius). Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither did the Masters become the Masters in a few short hours.
My mom tried to teach me this lesson when I was learning piano and feeling frustrated that I couldn’t play the song perfectly on the first try. Reluctantly (and after I gave my mother a lot of grief about practicing it, sorry mom), I accepted the gruesome reality that the only way to get better at something is to do it again and again and again and again.
In my work as a writer, I need constant reminders of this truth. When I’m staring at a page trying to convey a story and it’s just not working, I get frustrated and wonder why this story or that article isn’t as compelling as Hemingway or Dickens. There’s a quote from Ira Glass, who hosts that podcast “This American Life” that I mentioned a few weeks ago, that about sums it up:
“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
So, here I go — again and again and again and again.
LESSONS IN STYLE
Italians really have a handle on timelessness.
Rome and Florence are ripe with design inspiration. It helps that around almost every corner, an artistic genius designed a building, created a statue, or painted on the ceiling. My first inclination when walking through the churches and museums was to take photos and document design details, so I could later replicate them in my own home. I wouldn’t mind lying in bed staring up at a replica of the Sistine Chapel. I kid, of course. But, in all sincerity, there are a few design principles I’ve noticed that I think make lots of sense for my own home, and maybe yours too.
Plant evergreen varieties around your home so that your garden is blooming all year.
Terracotta pots look good anywhere and everywhere. Hundreds of years of Roman architecture and design testify to this.
Always use table linens. White is best.
In patterns, stars are timeless.
Red, yellow and blue are primary colors for a reason.
Just go for it. Why be understated when you could be overstated? See below.
LA DOLCE VITA
Shopping inspired by our trip
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Cabana Blue Speckled Pitcher, $180, Liberty London. 2. Combed Marble Notebook, $27, Papier. 3. Bialetti Moka Express, $44, Amazon. 3. Scented Waxes, $25, Santa Maria Novella. 4. Ginori Vide Poche, $195, Scully & Scully. 5. Collector’s Niche, $265, Parvum Opus. 6. Mimosa Vase, $149, Skye McAlpine Tavola.
GOOD CHOICE
Two books to read now
Over the holiday and while on the plane, I devoured these two books:
“Heartburn” by Nora Ephron is short, reflective, sometimes serious and sometimes funny in the way that all of Ephron’s characters are. It’s a story about a cookbook author and her divorce. It sounds sad, and it is, but it’s not depressing — I don’t know how else to explain it. This book was turned into a movie in the 80s and stars Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.
I expected “Lessons in Chemistry” by Bonnie Garmus to be a lighthearted, beach-read type book but was surprised by the thoughtfulness and depth of the story.
FUNNY STORY
Oops, I’m embarrassed.
Remember last week when I went on and on about the best sheets? I have to laugh at myself — I told you the wrong brand and I can only attribute this to the post-Christmas stupor. I mixed Land’s End up with L.L. Bean and I do this frequently because they both are very American brands with a nautical tendency.
All of that said, the best sheets are from L.L. Bean (not Land’s End) and, yes, Wirecutter and my grandmother agree. These are the ones we have at home.
NEXT WEEK
Brought to you by jet lag
Next week’s edition of Choosy will likely be influenced by jet lag and include a bit of this and that, some notes and stories from our time here in Florence and thoughts on home design. I’ll also share with you the fruits of our shopping trips.
All the best,
Mary Grace