It is said that you can’t go home again, but in my experience, sometimes you can. I have long held dear a memory of being in Italy with people I loved through my childhood. Staying with them at an amazing hotel called Villa San Michele in Fiesole was a paradigm shifting moment for me.

Then, the former monastery was just one building with 22 small rooms dating back to the 16th Century. I’ve held that experience in my heart, and it’s surfaced so many times over the following decades.

The passing of time made me wonder if it really could have been as fantastic as I thought it was in my 20s.

I’d made reservations well in advance, saying Roy and I would be celebrating our anniversary. When we arrived and were shown to the veranda, we were offered the perfect table.

I felt so overcome with joy, as well as a sweet moment of sadness, that moment of knowing my childhood, my 20s, were truly behind me. I sat down in this idyllic setting with tears streaming down my face.

The veranda overlooks all of Tuscany, so during the day it’s simply stunning, and at night there is the addition of romantic twinkling lights. We were served the freshest, most sublime food, presented on stunningly beautiful china.

People ask, where would you go for your last meal? And, well, last Sunday I thought this would be the place!

We savored our kind of food, food that’s all about celebrating fresh ingredients. I had a perfect tomato and burrata salad with beautiful olive oil followed by a lovely risotto. Roy had stuffed tortellini, and we stopped there, knowing that sometimes more isn’t needed.

We enjoyed a lovely glass of champagne and toasted our good fortune.

In retrospect, I see how that experience was the foundation for my love of what I do now, because it expanded my perspectives.

Now a leading hotel of the world, Villa San Michele has the most beautiful veranda for guests to enjoy breakfast and an extraordinary, curated bar that offers a very dignified cocktail before dinner. Everything was as wonderful as I’d remembered. Truly a happy anniversary!