We Will Meet Again … in Firenze and Houston

Patricia Baglioni, Angela Shah, and James Brock share an evening in Houston.

In 2010 I took a trip to Italy, touching down in Florence. I’m not sure what prompted me to stay in Hotel Hermes, but I’m glad I did, because I met and became friends with the woman who owned it then, Patricia Baglioni. For me, there was instantaneous kinship, and she told me about her favorite places in that beautiful city and fed me well. I left Florence after four days, headed to Umbria, but Patricia, and her kindness, stayed with me, and I vowed to return to Florence to see her again. (You’ll find here a record of some of my experiences during that spiritual trip.)

Little did I know at the time that I would not have to return to Italy to see Patricia again … I had only to move to Houston. Seems she has relatives here, and earlier this month visited them, as she does every June. We met for several meals, and it was as if time picked up immediately from where we left it in Italy. The conversation has always been effortless, whether we are discussing the World Cup – Ms. Baglioni supports Mexico and Italy (see her photo with Gianluigi Buffon in the post linked to above) – politics, or art. I was happy to introduce Angela to Patricia, and we shared a bottle of Nebbiolo and some pasta. Into one’s life certain people enter as if by grace. Cherish them, because they are rare finds.

Now, time to plan that return trip to Florence.