I love meeting new people. There is nothing I enjoy more than entering into a totally new situation and sitting down for a conversation with a stranger. I find that strangers quickly become friends after a little time spent together and a few good questions asked. So I love it when my job requires me to travel with the sole purpose of meeting someone in an attempt to write a story about them. Recently my job granted me the wonderful privilege of traveling to Italy with the purpose of meeting a special woman, Gretta, and spending four days with her in her villa outside of Florence. The first thing I noticed upon entering Gretta's villa was her love of angel art. I thought it was strange that Gretta loved angel art. I honestly had never met anyone that chose to decorate their home in such a way. It wasn't that the angel art was tacky in any way, as I half expected angel art to be. Instead, I was surprised that the angel art was actually quite beautiful and quite fitting in that setting. Gretta, being the wonderful Italian woman that she is, insisted that we sit down for a glass of wine before touring her villa. Over this first glass of wine I became convinced that Gretta and I really would become friends. I was sure of this because I loved her Italian accent making out English words and I loved the simple way she answered my questions and asked me some of her own. When I guessed that we were nearly ready to begin our tour, I began to ask Gretta about her choice of angel art and I wondered why exactly she chose to decorate in that way. I loved the way Gretta's eyes lit up as I asked her about angel art, as if I had asked her about her first love. She immediately got up from the table and led me around from room to room in her villa, giving me great details about each piece of angel art. It was clear that she had always loved angels and so hence she decorated her home in that way because it seemed natural to do so. She believed that the angel art was symbolic of the fact that real angels were protecting her home and all of the guests that arrived there. I was blessed to be protected by Gretta's special angels. I had the most lovely four day visit with Gretta. I learned more about angel art than I ever bargained for, but I was grateful. I learned a lot, but more importantly, I made a new friend.
