For travel inspiration I like to browse trip blogs and sift through travel magazines and coffee table books. My husband is partial to craigslist. Where I see myself visiting, Radek sees himself living. As I am generally the driving force behind travel in this relationship, when Radek gets passionate about a travel idea I just sit back and smile like a proud teacher. His choice is Florence.

So this winter we’ve decided to rent an apartment in Florence and get to know the place a bit better. Perhaps we’ll become Renaissance scholars by osmosis. Perhaps one of us (Radek) will master the art of Tuscan cuisine while the other  (me) will just get fatter. Perhaps we’ll learn a bit of Italian. You know we have the accent down.

I love settling in a new place and starting to commit the map to memory and fill in the streets with favorites. Favorite gelato. Favorite view of the city. Favorite evening stroll.

I like picking a place in the world and knowing that from now on it will have a special meaning for me. When I see it on the travel channel in my old age I will sigh and turn over fond memories. At least that’s the plan.