September Highlights

I think it's safe to say that my "be a great and consistent blogger" plan has failed, but it's worth a shot. September has been a wonderful month of exploring Florence more and venturing out to Tuscany. Classes are in full swing, and I really feel much more at home here. Maybe there will be a real live how-am-i-doing and these-are-my-deep-thoughts-about-life type of post in the future, but for now, here are a few highlights from the month:

Mary and I went to Lucca, a small town about a two hour train ride from Florence, the weekend after we went to Cinque Terre. It's known for its olive oil and ancient walls. Here, we ate a delicious lunch, climbed a really cool tower that has trees growing on top of it, and biked said ancient walls.

We were very proud of ourselves for managing to get train tickets and be on time, but just to keep us humble, we managed to unknowingly miss our first train because the platform sign was for a stop after Lucca. So, we stood on our platform and watched our train chug away. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that we realized we'd missed it.

That weekend also included a trip to the Boboli Gardens, which used to be the personal gardens of the Medici family. They reminded me of Duke Gardens back home, except with a whole lot more Italian PDA. Seriously. It's everywhere.

Another favorite green spot of mine is the Cascine, which is basically the central park of Florence. I love running here, and on a Saturday afternoon, lots of families are out biking, rollerblading, or walking along the Arno.

This month also included a trip to Siena. Dad, I have now recanted all of my previous nerd jokes targeted at Rick Steves because he and I are now best friends. He told us the exact itinerary we should plan (arrive late afternoon, spend the night, spend the next half day seeing the sights), where to eat (Trattoria Pepei), and what to do. Thanks Steve. We had a grand time (after figuring out the bus system. Transportation seems to be our weak spot.) and loved the small, relatively quiet town of Siena.

The cathedral here was unbelievable. Visually overstimulating is an understatement. Truly, I keep finding it difficult to accurately describe the things I'm seeing here. The English language needs more adjectives.

A couple of other highlights:

One morning I made the crazy spontaneous decision to run to Piazzale Michaelangelo, a place that's bustling at sunset, to catch the sunrise. It was a clear morning and, in stark contrast to sunset, I was one of the only people up there.

This run was promptly followed by a delicious bagel from the American bakery, Mama's, which has been a favorite discovery.

Also, cooking class. I wear a chef's jacket and hat and make chicken cacciattorre and homemade pasta with mushroom sauce. Our kitchen is at the top of the Central Market and has glass walls for every tourists' viewing pleasure. On the plus side, I do get to go home with a few people on their memory cards, so I guess that's cool. Our teacher waves and smiles like she's on TV. I cringe and turn the other way.

One of the biggest highlights, for which I have no illustrations, has been getting to know a few folks who work with AgapeItalia, which is CRU's name over here in Italy. I've also joined an English Bible study through a local bi-lingual church, Mosaico, that meets in the back room of a cafe. We're hoping to get an English Club up and going on an Italian college campus, so I'm excited to see what's in store with that!

So that was my September, with the exception of this past weekend's trip to Lake Como and Switzerland. Stay tuned!