After France I jumped down to Florence to see relatives and a few friends!Had a marvelous time strolling a bridge made possible by a REAL CONTESSA.Finding delicious gluten-free pasta and bread!Strolling the streets of LUCCA and most importantly spending time with my nephews!I lived in Italy twenty years ago and was so pleased that the Italian was still inside of me!Not once did one of my nephews look at me strangely as to say what are you saying!However, the real high-light of my visit was when the phone rang and I answered only to hear the elementary school calling telling me my youngest nephew had placed his math workbook in a puddle of water and I needed to come and retrieve it so it could dry!I understood everything and responded with I will be there in five minutes!Zia is on her way!You have no idea how good I felt that I did indeed understand the SIGNORIA on the other end of the telephone line.I walked out of my sister~in~laws casa colonica with a huge smile on my face.I understood her and she understood me!It made me feel like I had never left Italy.Which was a very sad day for me………..18 years ago!We left Italy with two young sons,two black labs,two cats,18 pieces of luggage and I cannot remember how many pieces of carry on but it was a lot!But thats another story for another day and I know I’m off track from HEN HOUSE and stuff for sale but this is how I became me and how the store evolved and I hope most of you enjoy the chatter and photos!I promise to get back on track with shop photos soon!