Magic in Firenze

So much to report!  At the moment I'm busy keeping The Icon Concierge updated with top stories and events from Pitti Uomo and Pitti W fashion shows (read them here), so for now I will just say that in the past day and a half I have already:

1) Previewed multiple fashion lines for Spring/Summer 2012 as a member of the press (press pass and all!!)

2) Had my photo taken by street-fashion photographers (and pretended I was on the phone to seem nonchalant about it - I mean it happens all the time, right?)

3) Attended a private fashion/art show featuring iconic Italian models from the 80s and 90s, and

4) Was invited to a private dinner (with those models!) hosted by the PR firm that is putting on all of this week's special events.

Yes, those are shoes on her head.

I'm sleepy now, and it has been overwhelming ... BUT, I am thrilled for this opportunity!  I feel like I'm Anne Hathaway in Devil Wears Prada, with an amazing friend giving me this experience in place of an evil boss.  It's a fairy-tale trip to Florence!  Although I must say, I'm glad that I'll be in an industry (legal) where I won't have to rely on my outfit to be successful ... high-fashion can be uncomfortable.  I'll just stick to "good personal style" for now.

Dinner tonight was incredible, definitely the best meal I've had in a long while.  In fact, it's the first time I've eaten dinner out in ages ... in Venice, I made most of my meals at home, and it was difficult to find wonderful restaurants in my price range.  This meal was free, so it was in my price range.  We ate at Trattoria I due G, a family-run yet glamorous restaurant that serves classic Tuscan cuisine.  They served incredible pâté, tomato salad, and rice-crusted meat, then beautiful vegetable risotto dishes for the table to share, followed by delicious red meat with white beans and roasted vegetables.  I finished my meal with Semifreddo alla menta e cioccolata and an espresso... divine.  The people I met (European and New Yorkers, in fashion and journalism) were lovely, and Flint, the PR contact who invited me, was so friendly and welcoming.

On another, more personal note, I stopped drinking a year ago today!  Needless to say, I am proud and happy to have reached this landmark, and want to thank everyone who supported me.  I'm happier today than I've ever been, knowing that I've opened a space in my life to make room for more personal growth than I ever thought possible.  Being abroad has only been an aid in reaffirming that my choices have been right for me, and I appreciate all the support and love and understanding my friends and family have shown me this year - so thank you!

So to snap out of the sappy, here's a picture of a kind of grody but sexy man I saw today at the fashion fairgrounds!  Oh Italians ... I will miss them un po ' ... And more updates soon to come, ciao tutti!