Kacie Rose Burns walked into the Florence jazz bar, alone.
“I’ll go for one song and suss it out,” she thought, trying to quieten her nerves.
Kacie slipped in at the back. The club was dark and busy, a few wall lights and neon signs illuminating people drinking, dancing and chatting. Before she could even take in the musicians on stage, Kacie’s eyes landed on a tall man sitting at the bar.
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“I walked in and he was there,” Kacie told CNN travel. “We locked eyes.”
“Ciao,” said the stranger, smiling.
“Ciao,” Kacie said back, before adding apologetically: “That’s all the Italian I’ve got for you.”
It was October 2018. Kacie was a 24-year-old New Yorker on vacation in Florence. It was her first time in Italy and her first time traveling solo. It was an exciting — and terrifying — experience.
“I was …