Paradiso

Greetings earthlings. Once again I find myself procrastinating...and, of course, wanting to update all y'all on mah life. I don't really know where to start. Maybe with the fact that I am not cold anymore because sunshiney weather has returned :). Hopefully it will stay. I don't care that it's almost November and it's probably not healthy, earthwise. The highlight of my days since my first post was probably that my mom and grandma came to visit for the week. They bestowed many gifts upon me, including wIcKed cUte Italian boots and yummy meals :). They came on our class trip to Pienza and San Gimignano on Saturday. I was kind of hesitant at first because I didn't want to be the tool who brought her mom (and grandma) but then my friend from back home reminded me that this is my year to do whatever the crap I want and I shouldn't care what other people think. And I think everyone else in the program was/is missing their moms anyway so they appreciated the presence of mine. Pienza and San Gimignano are two tiny towns that are apparently only reachable by bus. So we took a comfy spacious coach bus. And it was incredible. The views on the way there--and I mean every single view awaiting you every single time you glanced out the window--were almost unreal they were so amazing. Infinite green hills with those characteristic Cyprus trees perfectly aligned, whether intentionally or by chance either seemed possible, plentiful clouds that seemed taken from a painting, with sunlight perfectly streaming through just where you'd want it to, ancient stones and yellow leaves. And then when your eye wandered back inside the bus even the red curtains for each window seemed beautiful. Obviously the towns did not disappoint once we had to get off the bus. We had lunch in this charming little tavern and ate pecorino, sheep's cheese, which Pienza is famous for. And Giovanna and Monica gave us all more later on :). San Gimignano is a medieval town with medieval towers and more breathtaking views. Camilla and I ran into Giovanna at one point, right after we had joyously riden a see-saw that Jesus Christ probably made and placed right there atop a hill with another spectacular view of the countryside. She told us where to go to get a great view (because we hadn't had quite enough of those.) So we found and climbed a little ancient tower and got an elevated view of Italy for miles. At that point I said "ok just stop it." I came to a point where I eased up on my excessive picture taking because I realized literally anywhere you clicked and pointed would create a beautiful image. If you took a picture of dog crap it would be stunning in that town. So yes, it was a lovely day. I spent most of yesterday with my mom and grandma. We had lunch at another touristy cafe and didn't get THAT ripped off this time! And then we had dinner (my grandma got chicken with sauce on the side--thank GOD she got it on the side--that was made with roughly 15 cloves of garlic. The tiramisu was really good though) and saw La Boheme in a small church. We were in the front row and the singers/actors were literally 5 inches from our faces at some points. "CAN YOU HEAR OKAY?" "TOO BAD WE CAN'T SEE THEIR FACES". It was a good time. No it actually was. Even though the end is sad (she dies.) so when I had to say goodbye to them it was even more depressing. But I think this country has healing powers. Either that or I'm in extreme denial and all of a sudden one of these days I'll just break down. I have moments where I'll be lying in bed, in my bed, in Florence, Italy, trying to conjure familiar images of my own room in Winchester, Massachusetts, trying to feel like I'm there, and I will suddenly think "what the @#$% am I doing." I've met people who tell me they could never do this. And that makes me feel brave, because almost everyone I know is braver than me. I just hope I'm brave enough to go to my CLASS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORENCE. FOR THE FIRST TIME. TOMORROW. ANDI HAVE NO IDEA WHERE IT IS. AND NOBODY IS GOING WITH ME. What the @#$% am I doing...