Last week Joe and I celebrated thirty-four years together…okay, it was our twenty-sixth wedding anniversary, but you gals know that you have to add in the time invested! It was a beautiful sunny day, and as I headed off for an appointment, I noticed our new car was covered with an inch of dust. After mentioning it casually, yes, more than once, I returned home to find our new SHINY car sitting in the driveway. Isn’t he romantic?

Oh, there’s more. Later that evening, my loving husband took me for a romantic dinner at Villa San Michele in Fiesole, a fifteen minute drive up in the hills, outside of Florence. The beautiful hotel and restaurant, now owned by the Orient Express, was a fifteenth century monastery designed by Michelangelo. It is magical and as you walk into the reception area, you find yourself facing an exquisite chapel.

Dining at Villa San Michele has been and annual event for the past twelve years, but it continues to be a night to remember as we are fawned over by Vittorio Dall’O’ and his exceptional staff. The ambiance, the food, and the service live up to its world-renowned reputation, only surpassed by the enjoyment of celebrating another year with my loving husband. Now isn’t he romantic?

Oh, our new shiny car is now covered with another inch of dust. I soon learned that the winds from the Sahara Desert were blowing in its powdery sand, blanketing most everything in Florence.