One very early Wednesday morning in September 2020 I arrived in Florence from London. I took the tram to the station and after waving goodbye to the handsome tram driver, who had kindly and patiently waited for me at the airport while I struggled with the ticket machine, I proceeded to pull my large case through the old streets from the station to the Oltarno district where I had booked a room for one month.
It was a light-filled room with a view overlooking the Piazza Pitti and the Palazzo and my plan only to stay 4 weeks, ground myself, plan and explore this famous city that I had never visited before and then leave for the country to deepen my Tuscan adventure. I am a photographer, so the idea I arrived with was to photograph Tuscany, the artisans, and artists of the region. Tuscany is a place of dreams I felt, I had witnessed it through photographs and movies, the rolling hills and morning hazes to me were an invitation to dream.
So, on that September morning my Tuscan adventure began. It was still hot, the beginning of the end of the summer but after the year that we had all had, it felt almost like a soft and hopeful new beginning, certainly for me. Tourists, many less than normal, had arrived, and looked very much like they were enjoying the city, water mists cooled hot diners on the crowded piazzas and there was a feeling of waking from a dream or perhaps falling into one.
I walked around just taking it all in and had my daily view of the sunset from the Ponte Vecchio, only 5 minutes from home. I quickly gravitated towards the Uffizi and made friends with an artist there who became my first Florentine friend and a lovely sense of freedom began to overwhelm me. Of course, the presence of the tourists, even though that year there were many less than normal, was still a lot.
But it was the art of course that gave the highest vibration of the city with the architecture and the history every day offering a new vision to take it deeper and all that alongside the buds of the new art coming to life. The ancient sculptures, the Madonnas framed on street corners, the graffiti and the stencil art all offering their voices, sitting side by side. It was an enriching experience and one that I would spend many weeks trying to absorb and I still do.
So, I started to settle and was given the honour of being invited to join my Florentine friend and his friends for lunches at their local trattoria in Centro. This was good for my italian as well as for my sense of community and was an important step. The adventure was underway, and I started to feel at home. The month passed and I extended my time in the Oltrarno to a second month as I wasn’t ready to leave, an adventure was unfolding there.
Then, towards the end of October the news came that the region and most of Italy was going back into lockdown. I sat on The Loggia of the Palazzo Guadagni, my most happy place, where I had grounded myself on those first days in the city, watching the sunset. The next day the cafes and bars were closed by 5pm, then soon afterwards they would close all day and there I was locked down in Florence.
I remained there for the next 3 months watching Florence from my room, an empty Piazza and birds flying over the Palazzo to the comforting sound of the bells 6 times every day from the Duomo. I found that it was the most perfect way to hear the bells, just far enough away. So, my 4 weeks in Florence became 6 months and during this time I walked around empty streets, photographing Florence as we may never see it again. Vasari’s Corridor sat empty in the afternoon sun and outside the Palazzo Vecchio, Hercules looked over a deserted piazza.
There were armed soldiers guarding all the palazzos and they smiled when I walked by. I spent my birthday and Christmas alone but I didn’t feel very alone at all, it felt like the city held me and was somehow saying ‘its ok, don’t worry, you can stay, we will still give you nice sunsets and you won’t need to queue at the supermarket.’ It was true, I didn’t worry or queue at the supermarket and on Christmas day the sunset came as it did most days and the lights of the Christmas tree sparkled with an even deeper sense of magic in that moment.
Come the spring, I was finally able to travel out of the city and left Florence on a train heading south, witnessing the beauty of Tuscany passing by one rolling hill after another. I was travelling to Calabria to begin a project about the traditions of Italy, staying there for a few months, but was soon back in Tuscany to start the restoration work on an old 18th century villa right in the heart of the Chianti region that I had decided would be home. There I had found a sense of an old story awaiting to hold me whilst at the same time offering an invitation to tell my own story and be part of theirs, so without a thought it became home.
The dream of Tuscany is very real and the way you see it in the photographs and movies is very much the reality, these views are not filtered it just happens this way. Asides from the visual beauty, Tuscany is also like a precious invitation from an old friend. When you visit, even if only for a few days or a week, you may be invited to stay longer and many, like me, will do just that. You can leave any time, but it will never leave you.
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OVERVIEW
This website is operated by AnyExpat Ltd. Throughout the site, the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to AnyExpat Ltd. AnyExpat Ltd offers this website, including all information, tools and services available from this site to you, the user, conditioned upon your acceptance of all terms, conditions, policies and notices stated here.
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SECTION 1 – ONLINE STORE TERMS
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A breach or violation of any of the Terms will result in an immediate termination of your Services.
SECTION 2 – GENERAL CONDITIONS
We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.
You understand that your content (not including credit card information), may be transferred unencrypted and involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices. Credit card information is always encrypted during transfer over networks.
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The headings used in this agreement are included for convenience only and will not limit or otherwise affect these Terms.
SECTION 3 – ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS AND TIMELINESS OF INFORMATION
We are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete or current. The material on this site is provided for general information only and should not be relied upon or used as the sole basis for making decisions without consulting primary, more accurate, more complete or more timely sources of information. Any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk.
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SECTION 4 – MODIFICATIONS TO THE SERVICE AND PRICES
Prices for our products are subject to change without notice.
We reserve the right at any time to modify or discontinue the Service (or any part or content thereof) without notice at any time.
We shall not be liable to you or to any third-party for any modification, price change, suspension or discontinuance of the Service.
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SECTION 5 – PRODUCTS OR SERVICES (if applicable)
Certain products or services may be available exclusively online through the website. These products or services may have limited quantities and are subject to return or exchange only according to our Return Policy.
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We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to limit the sales of our products or Services to any person, geographic region or jurisdiction. We may exercise this right on a case-by-case basis. We reserve the right to limit the quantities of any products or services that we offer. All descriptions of products or product pricing are subject to change at anytime without notice, at the sole discretion of us. We reserve the right to discontinue any product at any time. Any offer for any product or service made on this site is void where prohibited.
We do not warrant that the quality of any products, services, information, or other material purchased or obtained by you will meet your expectations, or that any errors in the Service will be corrected.
SECTION 6 – ACCURACY OF BILLING AND ACCOUNT INFORMATION
We reserve the right to refuse any order you place with us. We may, in our sole discretion, limit or cancel quantities purchased per person, per household or per order. These restrictions may include orders placed by or under the same customer account, the same credit card, and/or orders that use the same billing and/or shipping address. In the event that we make a change to or cancel an order, we may attempt to notify you by contacting the e-mail and/or billing address/phone number provided at the time the order was made. We reserve the right to limit or prohibit orders that, in our sole judgment, appear to be placed by dealers, resellers or distributors.
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For more detail, please review our Returns Policy.
SECTION 7 – OPTIONAL TOOLS
We may provide you with access to third-party tools over which we neither monitor nor have any control nor input.
You acknowledge and agree that we provide access to such tools ”as is” and “as available” without any warranties, representations or conditions of any kind and without any endorsement. We shall have no liability whatsoever arising from or relating to your use of optional third-party tools.
Any use by you of optional tools offered through the site is entirely at your own risk and discretion and you should ensure that you are familiar with and approve of the terms on which tools are provided by the relevant third-party provider(s).
We may also, in the future, offer new services and/or features through the website (including, the release of new tools and resources). Such new features and/or services shall also be subject to these Terms of Service.
SECTION 8 – THIRD-PARTY LINKS
Certain content, products and services available via our Service may include materials from third-parties.
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We are not liable for any harm or damages related to the purchase or use of goods, services, resources, content, or any other transactions made in connection with any third-party websites. Please review carefully the third-party’s policies and practices and make sure you understand them before you engage in any transaction. Complaints, claims, concerns, or questions regarding third-party products should be directed to the third-party.
SECTION 9 – USER COMMENTS, FEEDBACK AND OTHER SUBMISSIONS
If, at our request, you send certain specific submissions (for example contest entries) or without a request from us you send creative ideas, suggestions, proposals, plans, or other materials, whether online, by email, by postal mail, or otherwise (collectively, ‘comments’), you agree that we may, at any time, without restriction, edit, copy, publish, distribute, translate and otherwise use in any medium any comments that you forward to us. We are and shall be under no obligation (1) to maintain any comments in confidence; (2) to pay compensation for any comments; or (3) to respond to any comments.
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SECTION 10 – PERSONAL INFORMATION
Your submission of personal information through the store is governed by our Privacy Policy. To view our Privacy Policy.
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Occasionally there may be information on our site or in the Service that contains typographical errors, inaccuracies or omissions that may relate to product descriptions, pricing, promotions, offers, product shipping charges, transit times and availability. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions, and to change or update information or cancel orders if any information in the Service or on any related website is inaccurate at any time without prior notice (including after you have submitted your order).
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SECTION 12 – PROHIBITED USES
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SECTION 13 – DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES; LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
We do not guarantee, represent or warrant that your use of our service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free.
We do not warrant that the results that may be obtained from the use of the service will be accurate or reliable.
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You expressly agree that your use of, or inability to use, the service is at your sole risk. The service and all products and services delivered to you through the service are (except as expressly stated by us) provided ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ for your use, without any representation, warranties or conditions of any kind, either express or implied, including all implied warranties or conditions of merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose, durability, title, and non-infringement.
In no case shall AnyExpat Ltd, our directors, officers, employees, affiliates, agents, contractors, interns, suppliers, service providers or licensors be liable for any injury, loss, claim, or any direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind, including, without limitation lost profits, lost revenue, lost savings, loss of data, replacement costs, or any similar damages, whether based in contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, arising from your use of any of the service or any products procured using the service, or for any other claim related in any way to your use of the service or any product, including, but not limited to, any errors or omissions in any content, or any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of the service or any content (or product) posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the service, even if advised of their possibility.
Because some states or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or the limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages, in such states or jurisdictions, our liability shall be limited to the maximum extent permitted by law.
SECTION 14 – INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless AnyExpat Ltd and our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners, officers, directors, agents, contractors, licensors, service providers, subcontractors, suppliers, interns and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third-party due to or arising out of your breach of these Terms of Service or the documents they incorporate by reference, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third-party.
SECTION 15 – SEVERABILITY
In the event that any provision of these Terms of Service is determined to be unlawful, void or unenforceable, such provision shall nonetheless be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, and the unenforceable portion shall be deemed to be severed from these Terms of Service, such determination shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any other remaining provisions.
SECTION 16 – TERMINATION
The obligations and liabilities of the parties incurred prior to the termination date shall survive the termination of this agreement for all purposes.
These Terms of Service are effective unless and until terminated by either you or us. You may terminate these Terms of Service at any time by notifying us that you no longer wish to use our Services, or when you cease using our site.
If in our sole judgment you fail, or we suspect that you have failed, to comply with any term or provision of these Terms of Service, we also may terminate this agreement at any time without notice and you will remain liable for all amounts due up to and including the date of termination; and/or accordingly may deny you access to our Services (or any part thereof).
SECTION 17 – ENTIRE AGREEMENT
The failure of us to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Service shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
These Terms of Service and any policies or operating rules posted by us on this site or in respect to The Service constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between you and us and govern your use of the Service, superseding any prior or contemporaneous agreements, communications and proposals, whether oral or written, between you and us (including, but not limited to, any prior versions of the Terms of Service).
Any ambiguities in the interpretation of these Terms of Service shall not be construed against the drafting party.
SECTION 18 – GOVERNING LAW
These Terms of Service and any separate agreements whereby we provide you Services shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Clyde Offices, 2nd Floor, 48 West George Street, Glasgow, BFP, G21BP, United Kingdom.
SECTION 19 – CHANGES TO TERMS OF SERVICE
You can review the most current version of the Terms of Service at any time at this page.
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to update, change or replace any part of these Terms of Service by posting updates and changes to our website. It is your responsibility to check our website periodically for changes. Your continued use of or access to our website or the Service following the posting of any changes to these Terms of Service constitutes acceptance of those changes.
SECTION 20 – CONTACT INFORMATION
Questions about the Terms of Service should be sent to us at [email protected].
