This past weekend a group of us traveled to Cinque Terre.
Where? About 3 hours from Florence on the West Coast of Italy
What? Five small towns that are built into the rocks, all connected by a hiking trail.
Why? We went to hike the trail on Saturday, and lay at the beach on Sunday.
It was absolutely beautiful- here are some pictures!
Here in Florence, I’m taking a class on Dante’s Commedia. The composition is about the journey through hell, but yet I am learning so much about life, faith, and hope- I can’t help but share.
The narrator of the poem is sent on a journey to ‘find himself.’ I feel as though I am on a similar journey this semester. I’m off on my own, in an unknown city, taking fun classes, and having lots of time to think and reflect. Just in the past two weeks, I have learned and explored so much about myself, my faith, my priorities, and life in general.
My professor said some inspiring words today that had me thinking…
“You have to get lost to find your way”
“We travel to return to ourselves, know our self better, explore, and gain full knowledge of our own self.”
“You must leave your culture to know your own self”
Done. Done. And…Done.
I don’t have a regular phone here, and I actually love it. It truly makes me appreciate every moment I have in Florence, because I am not distracted or focused on being connected.
God is such an artist. Every single day, I walk over the River Arno, and every single day I am in awe of its beauty. Last night I was walking back from class as the sun was setting- It was probably the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. Of course, I didn’t have my camera :/
This morning I was walking through the town square and an old homeless man YELLED across the way, “Niceeee legs. Very nice legs.” Katy and I looked at each other, laughed, and kept walking.
The food has been amazing here- Marina, our mom is a great cook. Last night we had pasta ragu, mashed potatoes, peppers, and nutella crepes for dessert. Tonight we had pastapomodoro which is a traditional Florentine dish. It was good, and… differentJ Last night I ate so much that I couldn’t move, so tonight I planned to take it easy. That didn’t work so well- I’m still stuffed.
My classes are going well! It’s weird not to have any science or math classes, but it’s so good for me to learn something different, and challenge my brain. My favorite class: Wine culture in Italy. My professor’s family (Frescobaldi) has been in the wine business for hundreds of years, and she is very knowledgeable about the subject. We have tasted three wines so far, talked about the colors, the smell, and the art of wine tasting. Pretty interesting!
Ciao- That’s it for now!
Our momma, Marina is still the cutest lady. She introduced us to her mother the other night, who doesn’t speak any English. She held our hands so tightly and kept saying “BELLAS! BELLAS!” Also, momma Marina does country line dancing. She has a CD on the counter with bands like Sugarland, Zac Brown Band, Carrie Underwood etc. We asked her about it, and she turned the CD on and starting dancing…precious. She has invited Katy and I to go with her one night, and were gonna take her up on that offer!
Yesterday we took a day trip to the small town of Sienna, Italy. It’s about an hour from here and was absolutely beautiful! I felt like I was at the Renaissance festival- the buildings are extremely old and the town still holds so much history. We had a tour of the main buildings, saw some beautiful views and I ate a slice of pizza bigger than my head. All in all, a great trip!
Classes started this week. I have some reading for my Dante class, a little studying for Italian, and a paper for Photography about “who I am.” Katy and I finally figured out how to take a warm sponge-bath shower, after a couple freezing ones. I’ve had wine on the patio in the town square, and gelato about 10 times already. I would say Florence is treating me well!
