Meet My Friend Barbara

I come in contact with a lot of people through my job selling luxury villas at Castello di Casole, which is, incidentally, the best job I have ever had in my life. Almost inevitably during the course of a tour with clients or a conversation with an owner or guest at the estate, the question comes up, “So Jennifer, what is it like living in Italy?”

During my first few months here, I found myself replying with remarks like “Oh, I love my little medieval hilltop town and waking up to the sound of horses neighing and church bells ringing.” Nowadays my responses are more like “I am having the time of my life. But what has really made the difference for me are my friends Anna Lisa, Barbara and Giuseppe, and my new friend Daniela in Florence."

I have moved around quite a bit in my life. I have lived in Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington DC, New York, California, Colorado, and now Italy. In every place, it hasn’t been the house or the school or the job or the scenery that have made it home, it has been my friends. And it is my friends who are making Italy home for me now.

I introduced you to Barbara in a previous blog. Since I wrote that piece, we have become very close. Her story is fascinating. Barbara grew up in an Amish community in Pennsylvania and was one of nine children. She spent most of her childhood helping the family out on the farm, cooking, cleaning, churning butter, and working two jobs in high school so she could put herself through college. She became quite a successful career woman in her twenties, had a beautiful daughter, and got married to Gary. She ended up leaving Gary after after falling madly in love with Tom, who after they became engaged, proceeded to have a heart attack and die while she was in Italy with friends.

Shell-shocked and feeling the need to make big changes in her life, she walked away from a lucrative job in Orlando, several properties in Florida, mani/pedis and Iron Man competitions, and became a first mate on a sailboat in the Carribbean for three months. Then she fulfilled a lifelong dream and came over to Italy for a summer where she met Giuseppe who she now lives with, along with his parents, at their winery called i Selvatici in Chianti.

I recently finished reading a draft of Barbara’s memoirs, which I couldn't put down, and which she is 100% focused on publishing right now. Her story is meant to inspire other women who feel trapped and too afraid to leave their unfulfulled lives for a chance at real happiness. She is sexy and spirited and her enthusiasm for life is boundless. Barbara is a big believer in visualization and often talks about her upcoming book tour and her appearance on Oprah when the book is published. She is constantly reminding me of how important it is to stay positive, and that what we say and think is what we attract in our lives. For these reasons and more, I adore her.

In the short time we have known each other, we have had some really fun experiences together. One afternoon following her language class in Florence, we met for lunch at a wonderful little enoteca called Le Volpe e l'Uva in a tiny piazza near Pitti Palace that my friend Anna Lisa had recommended where the owner Giancarlo brought us glasses of the most delicious Sicilian white wines to accompany our Caprese salads with the sweetest cherry tomatoes ever. Then she took me to a vintage clothing shop where we played dress-up and giggled like schoolgirls.

Afterwards, we huffed and puffed our way up to Piazza Michelangelo and into the San Miniato church with its exquisite Renaissance chapel adorned by a plush ceiling of glazed terra-cotta panels by Luca della Robia. We spent some time taking in the views of our favorite city in the world spread out below us, then chatted over spritzes at the Roberto Cavalli café before she caught the train home to Montevarchi.

I cherish my times with Barbara, and whenever I say goodbye to her, I feel a little sad that I won’t see her again for awhile. I hope her book hits the top of the New York Times bestseller list. When it does, I'll be front and center in that audience on Oprah...