American Girl in Italy

Times have changed, or have they?

This is one of my favorite photographs. American Girl in Italy by Ruth Orkin 1951.

This past fall I studied art history abroad in Firenze, Italy. Previous to establishing residence in Italy I backpacked alone for a month in Europe....

"In Florence, she (Ruth Orkin) met an art student in her hotel who became the subject for a picture story titled "Don't Be Afraid to Travel Alone." Orkin shot this timeless image at the Piazza del Repubblica." (http://www.orkinphoto.com/amergirl.html)

Though I was never put into this kind of scenario, you want to avoid the club scene in Firenze (Unless you enjoy Club Rats) Why spend your time doing what you could do anywhere in the World? When you could stand in the stark, cold, and enormous structure of the Duomo at Night.