Having committed my idea into words and placed them in the public domain I have started to wonder if I am doing the right thing. This seems a daunting challenge, one that I have all sorts of hopes and ideas for, but can only really work if I can make connections with people who share a common interest and are willing to share time and ideas.
I have wandered from website to website this weekend, following a journey through interesting and thought provoking information, passing swiftly over those that hold no appeal and starting afresh with another Google page when it all dries up. These journeys intrigue me as much as a map, how do we select what to follow; what is it that captures our eye and entices us in?
My compact (yes, cheap!) map and guidebook arrived swiftly via Amazon yesterday and I poured over the mapped layouts of Florence and Siena and the tiny printed lettering I squint over which gives the walkways and roads the names which are familiar to those who live there or visit often. I wonder how much of the history of these places is defined in the meanings of the names; when did they first get named as they are now; have names changed over time? Do they define the activites which take place, do they reflect a history which is no longer evident?
I have sent my first message to a complete stranger; someone who blogs about her life in Florence and fantastically, (in between finishing cutting the hedge and collecting my daughter from a friends party) I received a reply with a suggested name to make contact with.
I feel like a celebration is required – just receiving a reply was a small success, although I know there is still a long way to go . . .
