7th
Remember me?
In exactly one month, I will be on a plane over the Atlantic Ocean. I am ready to be home, but I will never be ready to leave Florence. I have fallen in love with this place. The last few days have been fairly routine: we visited the church where Michelangelo was buried, we took a day trip to a medieval castle in the Appenines, and we went to the Bargello museum. I find myself trying to memorize every moment here, every beautiful sight, every opportunity. I should be blogging nightly just to help myself remember, but I get little sleep as it is.
Santa Croce (the church we visited) and the Bargello were relatively unremarkable, if only because we are so saturated with ornate churches, vivid frescoes, and impeccable statues. One sight that will forever amaze me however, is the Tuscan hillside, drenched in the bright colors of Autumn. The leaves are changing here, and they are brighter than any I’ve seen. Our bus ride into the Appenine mountains towards the castle of Porciano was absolutely riveting. The castle itself was draped in brilliant red vines, a stark contrast to the green lawn and blue sky. The owner, Martha Specht, is a close friend of the Shacklefords (our directors), so we were treated as special guests. Since Porciano is not open to the public on weekdays, we got a private tour through the museum that makes up the bottom half of the medieval tower. As an added priveledge, we were also shown the upper portion, which is where the owner and her family live. At lunch, Martha treated us to a wonderful Tuscan lunch in her personal dining room. Afterwards, we had free time to roam about the castle and surrounding land. Our relaxing day in the crisp air of the Appenines was the perfect refreshment at this point in the semester.
Today was also a fantastic day in Tuscany. I woke up early to shower, then got back in bed, since I wasn’t working breakfast. I got to doze for another hour, warm from my shower and comfortable under my blankets. I woke up gradually, and meandered downstairs to grab some fruit and a mug of coffee. Since I finished both my European Studies and my Italian course, I didn’t have class until 11. I spent a few hours finishing homework and working on my online biology class. Strangely enough, it was the perfect mix of a lazy and productive morning. After lunch, I went for a run through Scandicci, my lovely town. Its amazing how much it feels like home. I got home, sat for a while finishing up some more homework, then joined some friends for a basketball game on our court before supper. Soon I’ll start packing for our trip to Rome. We leave early tomorrow morning and don’t return until Sunday. We have so little time left at the villa! The Saturday after we get back our second free travel begins, then all thats left is finals before we say goodbye to our charming Florentine villa for good.
