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Published: January 13th 2008
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This week qualifies in the top three best weeks of my life. I have a feeling every week here is going to have a similar description.
Classes here don’t start until the week after next, this week has been orientations and tours. The first two days were mostly sitting in a room being educated about life here, about rules in the villa, an Italian state police officer came in to teach us how to protect ourselves from crime in Italy and Europe. These days were punctuated by tours around the city. The first day was a tour of the neighborhood around the villa, including popular bars and cafes, good restaurants, the supermarket, etc. The second day’s tours were around Florence at large. I saw the Duomo up close, the fake David standing outside the Medici belltower, the Ponte Vecchio, I took this opportunity to splurge on some Armani sunglasses. That afternoon, the new kids took a fieldtrip to Piazza di Michelangelo, where the famous picture of all of Florence would be visible if not for the fog that has been haunting us most of the week. We then went to Fiesole, a suburb of Florence, with more of an Etruscan
feel. We got to run around Roman ruins, including a theater, arches, baths, and a museum of Roman and Etruscan artifacts.
My fourth day here was a day trip to Assisi. This city is most known for St. Francis of Assisi, and his church, the appropriately named Church of St. Francis of Assisi. We toured our first of what I hear is many churches, including St. Francis’s tomb, and all the beautiful paintings, murals, architecture, and gardens. Unfortunately, as is the case with most churches of this age, pictures were not allowed inside. The rest of the day in Assisi was spent exploring, visiting the church of St. Chiara, and hanging out in an awesome café/gelateria/bar/restaurant/ciocolateria. We then toured another nearby church, the name of which escapes me. I have another feeling that the names of churches are going to evade me constantly, as they’re all to various saints and as such, all have similar names. Let’s all just assume that they were all very beautiful, very old, and very quiet, and that I can’t take pictures of almost any of them from the inside.
Day five was a day trip to Pienza, Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, and
Montalcino. Pienza was spectacular; the city is famous for its honey, and its cheese. We explored the city, its churches, and its shops. A group of us decided to play tag in the narrow streets and alleys. We bought cheese, honey, and bread to have for a later lunch. We then went to Abbazia di Sant’Antimo, which is something I will remember for the rest of my life. The abbey was built by Charlemagne as thanks to the region for its grass, which legend says saved his army from dying of the plague. It is still maintained by a group of monks, who sing Gregorian chants three times a day; we timed it so we could watch such a prayer. These holy men chose to devote their lives to God, and sing to him three times a day in one of the most beautiful ways I’ve ever heard. One of them said the cutest thing: that it’s too bad we’re watching them now in the winter, because during the spring, their voices open up to parallel the flowers blooming around the abbey. The bus then took us to Montalcino, so we could finally sample some of the wine that’s grown
in the vineyards that we had been passing all day. A group of us went to a restaurant, where we had lunch with some Rosso di Montalcino, 2002. Then another group of us sat somewhere and had the cheese, honey, and bread from Pienza, with Brunello di Montalcino, 2000, it was an awesome dessert.
The nights have been so much fun, activity is never lacking. One night, all fifty something of us went to a small bar where three of our group were going to play, called Loonee’s. We watched them play, then an Italian local punk band played American classics such as Blue Suede Shoes, Hound Dog, and What’s My Age Again. Another night, we stayed in the villa and built a fort out of couches, coat hangers, bed sheets, and pillows, and we watched Hook. The people in the villa are all wonderful, everyone brings something different to the house, and the experience. The villa is punctuated by a sense of family, a sense that everyone here can hang out with anyone else, that no one is left out, and that we are all having these experiences together.
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mom
non-member comment
Good job, mijo
I'm so proud of you. Great that you're charing photos and feelings with all of us. Love you....MOM