More Precious...

As if the events of this trip were not enough for a lifetime of amazing memories, I get one more week of incredible cities, dinners, and lounging in Italy with friends. Saturday morning we caught a bus for Verona and stopped at a cafe for a rushed lunch. We made it to our hotel on Saturday afternoon where we rested up for the night. The TV graced us with a showing of Grease, which we thought was too good to be true. Sure enough, it was! Just as I was getting into the singing and dancing in our room when they cut me off...apparently that is an extraordinary way to hook American tourists into buying the movie. That night, we got all sassy and dressed up...this was my night to wear all of my copper jewelry and new black dress in hopes of appearing somewhat Grecian...for the opera in Verona. It was hot while we walked to the house of Juliet where all of the girls with honeys back home placed their names on a piece of paper and attatched it to the wall of Juliet with gum. This has become a new tradition instead of signing the wall...someday I will get back.

After strolling the streets, we ate an amazing dinner...what do you know...I got to eat a pizza Marinara for the tenth time this week. It is the best way to eat cheap and get full, though. We attended an opera called La Gaconde which I found out is one of the most confusing, dramatic, and ultra action packed operas around. It took place in an ancient Roman theatre and was done entirely without acoustic magnification. We got gelato during intermission and then enjoyed the ballet dancing and exploding ships on stage. The opera was finished around 12 or so and we got a little rest that night before waking up to travel to Venice.

Venice...what can I say? It has met and exceeded every expectation. Our hotel is on the island of Lido and hosts some of the best beaches and night life around. We spent our first day on the island. I think I was a little bit more adventerous than some. I did not sit down from 1 to six and only then for a short dinner. After dinner, I continued in my normal way of exploring by getting lost. All of the Venecian people say that the best way to get to experience the city is to go as far as you can (or in my case with friends, to cross as many bridges as you can) and then take the vaperretto down the Grand Canal to St. Marks square. As most everyone knows, the city of Venice is sinking. All of the city is created to shift. For example the church of St. Mark is made with tiny tiles that will wave with the tide. St. Marks church is fascinating. It hosts a domed ceiling and mosaics made with 14kt. gold, four horses from the 4th Century BC, and a door panel made of gold and precious jewels. The entire time the Lord brought sweet songs of praise and worship to my mind about his preciousness as a Lord and his holiness as God. I was walking and hanging out with a group of friends all day, but every once in a while I could go through the market to look at pasta, Murano glass, leather journals, masks, and lace fans. I sat outside St. Marks square and ate an amazing piece of Tarimisu cake while listening to the four person concerts that take place all over the square. The environment is classy and expensive, but so engaging. I giggled for minutes after Felicia and I twirled through the pigeons that cover the square floor and made fake proposals (I had to be the boy since I wore a hat) like the one in the commercial on TV.

Today, we went on a walking tour of Venice. Our guide, Anna, was older and precious. She told us about the uncomfort of living a Venician life. Some things like constant flooding, tons of bridges and stairs, no parks or greenery, and tons of tourists make it a difficult place for true Venicians. And so, this makes the population of 63,000 base their economy and lifestyles around tourists. She was so gracious to tell us interesting facts like why the masks have really long noses. Apparently, the doctors would wear them during the bubonic plague and stuff preventative drugs inside. Later, we went to the Dolges (or Presidents) palace and prisons that have been turned into a museum. This historic site on St. Marks square holds pounds of gold, artwork, and ballrooms for the political society of Venice. More market shopping and a quick tuna wrap gave me enough energy to relax on a bridge for an hour this afternoon with Nick and Bart before touring the Peggy Guggenheim collection of modern art with a small group led by Paolo. He gave us more of a knowledge of modern or contemporary art, saying that it was a transition from the traditional. New ideas, like these, always take time to catch. I favored one of them, named the Empire light, which showcases a night scene of a house and lights with a sunny background. This kind of art, apparently, prides itself with opposites.

A quick look into a church with several new Byzantine and Baroque styles ended our afternoon. Looks like tonight holds a good dinner of pasta made from squid ink and some excellent dessert.

Finals, Flying, and Friends

Always remember that during the Roman empire there really was no middle class. The class system either noted people as poor or very wealthy. As long as you remember this fact you could have passed our archeology class final with one sentence such as ¨There was no middle class in Rome.¨ Turns out that the six pages of knowledge that I wrote down about Roman emporers, living conditions, monuments, religion, and history were really unnecessary for our final yesterday. I just had to laugh when my professor for the class told us about the trick question, but I don´t think that I would have been gutsy enough to trust my one sentence answer anyway. He´ll still consider all of our responses, so there´s really no worry, and I kind of think it was a clever way to end the class that has been so fun and informative.

After our 8 am final on Thursday morning, I enjoyed one of my last mornings in the courtyard, just journaling and thanking the Lord for the things my eyes have seen. In the afternoon, my feelings met up with my physical presence as I soared in the clouds over the region of Tuscany. Paolo, our art professor, has had his pilot´s license for 22 years and has his own plane. He was so gracious to take a few of us up, one by one, to have an incredible view of the town we´ve been living in, the castle we hiked to, the fields of sunflowers, and my jogging path for the past six weeks. He treated us to pastries and peach tea under a shaded gazebo while we waited and then I got to be one of the first one´s up...and what do you know... I never even felt an ounce of motion sickness...I think he probably thought that the smile would never be wiped off of my face because I was so overjoyed with the sights and opportunity of seeing the beauty is such a rare way.

We went back to Florence for the last time today to tour the Uffizzi gallery. The Medicci family, the noble family who had great power in all of Italy, opened their office spaces as galleries to showcase some amazing works of art. They held five original pieces of Greek statues, three of the famous Madonna´s by Ciambue and his apprentice Giotto, the original Rembrandts, several works by Michelangelo, a few pieces by Rafeal, and the famous Venus and Primevera. The Primevera, a Renaissance piece that showcases three important Greek figures including Fertility, Venus as Love, and three figures representing Beauty showed how the Greeks viewed beauty as a thing of inner and outer adoration. I loved these works and our two hour tour in the gallery, but it was nice to get out into the markets and help the boys do a little shopping. I felt so honored to help these men pick out some attire since I have never had the joy of shopping with brothers. I must say, the linen shirts that we picked out will look mighty nice on these fellas.

Today was a holiday in Italy, so we got out of Florence fast before the traffic would make us miss our last really good meal at the center. It has been hot lately, but beautiful, and we will pack up tonight to head North for an opera in Verona, three days in Venice, and a couple of nights in the Dolomites. These are the moments that I remind myself to treasure every second...

Living the Italian Life

It's finally slowed down a little bit here. However, the slow going means that things are winding down for the trip. I have to fight of the melancholy feelings these days and I'm trying not to think about having to leave in 10 days. Tuesday and today, we've wrapped up our last two days of classes in Roman Archeology and Art History. Tuesday, we took a trip to Siena.

Sienna is part of the four major cities including Florence, Venice, and Naples. This town was an interesting surprise for one of our excursions. Most of the other cities that we've visited have been completely founded on religious bases and the churches are the center of all life. Sienna, however, is made into 17 districts that are extremely comptetive. Sienese citizens will identify with their district first and foremost, then their city, and then Italy. They take great pride in their district. This shows every year on July 2 when the city hosts over 70,000 people in the Campo (town square) for horse races. Flags fly all over the square and people pay tons of money just to go and watch the horses fly around the circle. We also visted the civic museum where the paintings and architecture were created to be an intimidation to the entering city officials of other places. Marco, who has been our expert for Assisi and Sienna, pointed out that the church was even more focused on the city than on religion. The 17 district flags are flying right next to the chapel and frescoes of Mary and Jesus. There are small bulletin boards encased with glass that announce deaths, births, and all of the local happenings for the district's people. We ate at a great restaraunt...Marinara pizza (olive oil, marinara sauce, garlic and basil on a thick or thin crust) is my new cheap and safe meal.

Today, I made myself stay in town and relax before our finals tomorrow and our long trip to the North. I went with three other gals and laid out by the pool to study and read under the sun. It was the perfect end to our classes and time in Castiglion Fiorentino. Tonight, we sat in the courtyard for a private concert from one of the Resident Coordinators who used to be a student here. We'll attempt to study for Roman archeology tonight, though no one is really sure what to expect for the final.

Memories in the Making

I wrote for over an hour today about the past weekend in the island of Capri. If the lovely computer had not deleted all of my writing, this page would now include some of the memories that helped me see Gods sovereignty and goodness in a new way. It would have told about how I got to travel with the nine people who just happened to know David Gilbert. We found out about our dear friends death after traveling to Assisi last week and spent several hours praying and weeping into the wee hours of the morning.
Sorrow lasted for the night, as the Word says, but God brought joy and comfort for the group as we left to tour the ancient ruins of Ostia and then headed for the island of Capri. I may have purchased a first class ticket and ended up sitting on the floor next to the toilet because the AC in our train car ran out, but the journey was well worth it. We stayed in a villa with hammocks and a pool nearby. On Saturday, we took a private tour of the islands blue, green and white grottos and lounged around on a private sail boat for three hours. Talk about the life!
That night, we hung out by the pool, played cards, ate at an amazing restaraunt (a cheap and delicious pizza marinara is my new favorite meal), went to a discoteque where it was such a treat to have two chivalrous guys in our group taking care of us girls, and then walked home under the stars along the coast.
On Sunday, we were able to take a chair lift overviewing the island before we left to tour Pompeii. Pompeii was overwhelming and we just decided to rent one audio guide for me to listen to and fill the rest of the group in on the House of the Faun, the Stadium and the theatre. Our train ride, once again, held some interesting adventure as we became part of a outrageous mob that were heading to a soccer game. Lets just say that Italian men have very little respect for girls these days. Our fast dinner stop in the Alamentari for risotto and kinder chocolates left us giddy in Rome and laughing all of the way home to the Center.

Valentina´s Villa

You may remember some references to my friend Valentina that works at the local gelato shop. She speaks amazing English, has a beautiful demeanor and serves us the most gelato for our money. I asked if she would like to hang out sometime, so we went and got a coke last week and started talking about family. We wanted to hang out again, so she came and picked me up today and we went to her house and then to Perugia.

This girl is fascinating. There are so many little things that the we have in common such as loving to cook, travel, and our reactions to situations. I felt like I was living out a movie scene when she took me to her villa where she lives with her grandmother and mom. I had never seen the inside of an Italian home so it was really exciting to drive up into the hills and then enter her huge villa. The inside was decked out in dark wood and had three stories. Her mom, picture perfect, was inside cooking. She took me to Perugia where we walked miles uphill just to grab a granita drink and overlook the city. She amazes me because she didn´t need shopping or touristy stuff to entertain us. She just loves to walk and imagine the lives of the ancient people who once wandered these streets. Valentina, as I came to find out, was a model in Malta and Milan, plays the guitar, is an incredible artist, and made straight A´s in all English taught classes before she even knew the language.

Back at her villa, we wandered around their many acred backyard and ate fresh lemons, blackberries, and sweet peas before wandering through the strawberry fields and looking at the rabbits and chickens. Their family has olive groves that are harvested in November and pressed for fine olive oil to be exported. The women made a fabulous meal for me, huge and delicious. We had a ¨homegrown¨chicken, roasted and baked zuchinni, fresh cucumbers from the garden, tortillas with thyme, a fresh salad with oil and vinegar. Her family did not speak English, but Valentina was kind enough to translate all of my thank yous and ¨this is a dream¨s. She was so sweet to pack me up a bag and carton full of the gelato from the shop. I eagerly brought this back to anxious mouths at the center which devoured the sweets while I told the stories. This day, though it began in frustration and exhaustion, has turned out to be a day that has defined my time in Italy...new experiences, conversations about family and the Lord, and fufilled dreams of life´s simple pleasures.

Bigger and Better

Have you ever been in front of something that makes you feel so insignifcant? Do you ever come in contact with new ideas and lessons in history that make you realize you don´t know as much as you thought? I feel like this trip has been full of those moments and I am so grateful for the ways that the Father has challenged my faith as I have been faced with history and reality?

After a rough yet amazing weekend of traveling in Rome and Paris, I spent the day at the center yesterday. Classes were really interesting (I´m a big nerd these days.), but I was definitely in need of the long siesta that Italians are so fond of. I went exploring in the afternoon and felt like the lady off of ¨Under the Tuscan Sun¨ when I went to the market to buy fruit and then just walked around enjoying the sweetness of a Tuscan nectarine...I sound like a sappy novelist or something. I´m able to read a lot on our days in town and the nights are usually pretty slow after dinner. We sit out in the courtyard and talk or hang around and watch movies.

This morning we went to Assisi...you know the place that you always here about since it is where St. Francis is from. I never knew this man´s story or the impact that he had on the Christian church. After living a life of luxury and materialism, John (his real name before conversion) was thrown into prison where he came face to face with poverty. He had a dream before a crucifix and felt the Lord calling him to rebuild the church and give his life for the poor. Over a period of time, St. Francis gathered a group of followers numbering over 5,000 people (initially men) and encouraged them to live by three rules including chastity, obedience, and poverty. The Fransican monks, recognizable by their brown robes with a rope tied around the waist, spread all over Europe and even made there way to America when the Spanish came to explore and convert the Indians. The Basilica of St. Francis in Assissi was built as two churches, one for the pilgrims and one for the monks. This church was designed to hold frescoes from famous Sienese and Florentine artists named Martini and Giotto. There works were revolutionary and transformed the style of the arts into Italian gothic. This was the first time that artist displayed characters in profile, presented nature, and represented realistic features on the faces. Francis life legends are represented in psychological time on the walls. The church is amazing, but I just have to keep remembering that the savior St. Francis worked for, not the St. himself is the one worthy of our prayers and worship. Clare, Francis´ female friend before conversion, also followed this life of suurender. She cut her hair and gave to the church all that she had. We went to see her chapel where I found this quote written above her tomb ¨Totally love him who gave hiself totally for love of you.¨ After a three course lunch, I went with a small group and our professor up to a castle where we had an amazing view of the entire city. I had the opportunity to walk with Paolo (one of the amazing older professors here). While I held the umbrella to shelter us from the rain, Paolo unloaded all of his wisdom about art and the artists motivations.

Completely on accident, we stumbled into one of my favorite exhibits. A man named Guido Dettoni della Grazia has created this piece called the ¨Maria¨. It is 33 (signifying the life of Christ) of the same sculptures made from materials from all over the world. They are suspended in glass filled water tubes, showing the holiness of the mother Mary. The suspended figures are encased between a metal greek ¨Alpha¨and a sand ¨Omega¨. A woman gave us the history and showed us how the sculpture, when held in different manners, represented different phases of Mary´s life and even shows a dove symbolizing peace. If you have time to check it out, his website is www.nesher.org.

I am thankful for all of the conversations that the church visits lead us into. I am realizing that people need to see the real authentic life of a follower of Jesus before they will be led out of the bondages to alcohol and the things of this world. Please pray that I can be a light in a dark place...

From the Colosseum to the Eiffel Tower

Only in this dream trip could one gal see the Colosseum on one evening and then find herself lying beneath the Eiffel Tower the next. After a packed week of visiting Rome and its sights, we made our tough and detailed connections to fly out of Rome to Paris, France. My roomate from school, Katherine Carelock, has picked up her life and moved there for the summer to lead bike tours. She has stunned all of us with her bravery and knowledge of this huge city. This was quite a detailed trip, trying to make all of the planes, trains, and buses...but it was all so worth it when we got to the metro stop and I saw her beautiful face for the first time. She took us to a small cafe on the street corner took drink a cappuccino and catch up.

At about 1 am, we lounged underneath the sparkling tower, bundled up against the chill outside. She was gracious enough to let us stay in her tiny studio/room where she lives all alone on the fifth floor, about a mile away from the bike company she works for. We talked late into the night and woke up early on Saturday morning to go out and explore. The day in Paris began with a beautiful stroll through the quiet neighborhood area of the city. I guess we saw sides of Paris that most people do not get to see, because I did not ever see the "dirty" and crowded place that people complain about. We shopped for about two hours, taking advantage of all of the latest trends, you know...and then left our stuff at her office before finally finding some food for the first time in the day. Crepes were my top priority in this dream trip, so we sat in the park and ate our crepes from the local stand.

Then, Katherine stepped into tour guide mode and shared with us all of the details and facts about the sights of Paris. I was fascinated with her ability to speak and entertain! We saw Les Invalids, the Great Palace which was supposedly constructed as a temporary piece (like the Eiffel tower, it was supposed to be torn down eventually), the Dome Church which was full of gold and beautiful sculptures. Napolean, who I've found to be kind of a strange and intriguing character, seemed to want this church to pronounce his grandeur. If I'm not mistaken, his tomb is here.

Later, we saw the Champs De Marche park and gardens. We walked by "the Thinker" and then down the Champs E L'ysee toward the Arc de Triumphe where the tomb of the unknown soldiers is buried underneath. This quaint but busy street has several of very expensive restaraunts, artist, and crepe stands. We went inside the Louvre Museum but decided not to pay 8 euro for only an hour in the museum. Really, all I wanted to see was Leonardo DaVinci's Mona Lisa and the Winged Victory so I just took a picture with them outside in the gift shop. I think we really were wearing Katherine out, so we took a short break outside in the park before we spent a sweet afternoon in Notre Dame Cathedral. This week, we will study Renaissance and Gothic art, so it was so cool to see the stained glasses, freizes, and another of Michaelangelo's "Pietas" (Mary holding the crucified Jesus). We spent some quiet time in prayer and were able to relax in the solitude amidst tons of tourist. In the evening, we made our way to the Latin Quarter to eat an amazing dinner of quiche, salad, fish, green beans, and chocolate mousse. This city is bustling with great food and ethnic cuisine. The weather was really chilly so we tried to stay inside as much as possible. Last night, we were a little concerned with our return trip plans for the morning, but mananged to spend one last relaxing evening drinking cappucinoes and eating Nutella filled crepes. (Can you tell that food is really a large part of this trip for me?)

Our night ended through a long walk in the city, only to be interrupted by four short hours of sleep before we woke up at 4 am to walk to the bus stop. The metros did not run and the bus was too risky, so we decided to play it safe and be on time. After a lovely stroll through Paris at 4:30 am (where we were surprised to find people out, the fruit stands open, and the sun rising over the Eiffel Tower and Sacre Couer), I think we were all encouraged by the time of fellowship and worship through song as we walked. It defintely turned out to be a highlighting story and not the damper that we thought it would be for the trip. The Lord was so gracious, once again, in helping our return trip plans to go so smoothely and we have made it back to the center for dinner and showers...finally! Praises to the King of beauty for his infinite love, sweet fufillments, and amazing times in life. I know that there is a time for everything so I am just rejoicing in these moments of such satisfaction.

When in Rome

We made it safely to Rome yesterday morning after an early start. To prepare ourselves, we stayed up late on Tuesday night and watched Roman Holiday with Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck (it was a perfect night for a movie....storming outside). When we arrived at the termini and stepped foot outside, my dream-turned-reality began. I walked along the Colosseum in utter amazement. When checked into our hotel yesterday afternoon before going to the local Allamentari (grocery store) to purchase our italian picnic lunch (I have become a huge fan of risotto and fomodro (a meal of barley, cheese, and sesame oil with capers and tomatoes). Our professor, an amazing guy who has traveled and taught in Italy over eight times, is ultra patient and intelligent with us. We met on the Esquline hill for a picnic lunch and began our reports that make up half of our grade. We are seperate from the rest of our group, since the archeology class studies different topics. The rest of the day, we toured the the Roman forum, Trajans forum with its market place (probably the first shopping mall), the Republic Temples, and the Circus Maximus (the place of chariot racing as in Ben Hurs famous tale). Last night, after a fabulous dinner in one of Rome°s best pizzerias (who knew they put sunflower leaves on their pizza?), we went with a fun group to the Spanish Steps which were all lit up and full of teenagers and tourist. After gelato (they even serve soy here), we sat in front of the Trevi Fountain for at least 20 minutes, trying to make ourselves believe that this really is all real.

I did not sleep much last night...I am still just so amazed to be here. The dream continued today when we walked down dark stairs into a small hole in the Marintime prison. The dark and dank smell filled our nostrils and my eyes welled up with tears as we walked into this small jail cell where Peter and Paul were held in chains. From here, apparently, Peter received his dream of escaping and left to go out onto the Appian Way where he was caught and brought back to the city to be crucified upside down. The girls and I got to talk a lot about the disciples true joy and passion for preaching in the midst of their despair. I never imagined that this trip would hold such spiritual importance in my life.

This afternoon, I saw the most sought after thing of the trip (in my eyes): The Colosseum. I walked up with great anticipation to see this amazing piece of history. Over 700,000 living things saw their life's end in this pit of death. Animals and humans alike walked the narrow underground tunnel across the street. This is where they held the armor and other gladiators. I tried to imagine the fear that must have swept over them as they walked to their undeniable deaths and tried to gather enough courage to stand in front of thousands of cheering crowd partcipants and fight other gladiators and dangerous animals. The underground layer of the arena is almost completely exposed but they are starting to recover it with sand to create a more realistic effect. There were originally five levels to the arena, but only three remain...all of which we were able to walk along and take pictures. Contrary to popular history, this was actually not the place for Christian persecution. Although some believers were killed here, most of Nero's persecution of Christians who were supposedly bringing destruction on the empire occured in the Circus Maximus (the same place as the chariot racing). I was able to call my mom from my cell phone and, in a small way, share this moment with my best friend who has dreamed about this sight as much as me. It was so cool to see the setting of all of the books I have read and just let my imagination and giddiness run wild.

We had an afternoon off in Rome, so Joy and I headed out in our adventerous manner...and went to find some little dress shops and a great coffee "granita" cafe near the Pantheon. This place is like the Serendipity's of New York. Joy got an email from her boyfriend after three weeks of no contact and I found two pairs of pants that were long enough...and only cost me 15 euros each...that's about 25 dollars! As if these simple joys weren't enough, we got to eat dinner right next to the Colosseum while it shone in the night. We begged a waiter at this little music cafe to let us share a set menu. So, for 7.50 each we had a drink, salad, lasagne, bread, and our own special tarimisu. It was the perfect end to a great day.

Friday morning, our professor asked us to start really early so that we could get to St. Peter's Basillica in Vatican City before the crowd. I had no idea of what to expect and was very pleastantly overwhelmed and surprised. Vatican city is its own country included in the midst of Rome. This is where the Pope lives and also houses the Vatican Museum which takes at least 4 hours to view completely. St. Peter's basilica, where the Pope John Paul is now buried, was an amazing place of worship for us at 7 am in the morning. Nuns from all over the world came to participate in mass and worship with eachother. I have learned so much about the Catholic faith and learned to worship with the masses and the devotion of the Pope's and the traditions. This church was stunning and is built around the tomb of Peter which is ten feet underneath. Joy and I went back to the Vatican museum later in the afternoon. We expected to stand in line for at least two hours. We walked right up to the front of the line, shoving tuna sandwiches into our mouths and praising the Lord for his graciousness. The art here was endless, but the most noteworthy pieces we saw were "The School of Athens" and all of Michaelengelo's paintings in Sistine chapel. Raphael's school of Athens includes all of the great artist and philosophers of his time and before like Socrates, Aristotle, and even the miserable and alone Michaelangelo who was around the corner painting the Sistine chapel during the same time. He even included a self portrait towards the corner as he overlooks the crowd, almost seeking their approval for his work that faded in comparison with the chapel art. Viewing the Sistine chapel took up about an hour of our day. You simply can not imagine or contain the talent that this must of taken. High overhead, Michaelangelo portrayed the scenes of creation and the creation of man (this is the touching of man and God's fingers) with realistic portraits of the saints and apostles surrounding the beatiful scenes. On the facing wall, "The Last Judgement" depicts the return of Christ with the martyrs surrounding him (including Bartholemeu who is holding his skin from when he was skinned alive for his faith). We sat, straining our necks for over an hour just to try to take it all in, but failing to capture the entire enormous pieces. I never paid for a tour guide, but I'm sure most of them thought I was part of their groups because I would just gaze at art...pretending to ponder but really getting in on their wisdom...a cheap way to learn!

Last, and probably most importantly, I traveled down the dark and damp tombs of the first Christians. The Romans cremated their dead and placed their ashes in urns outside of the Palatine Hill. When Christ came and The Way followed the truth in the resurrection of our bodies, Rome gave Christians permission to bury their dead underground, outside of the city walls. So, tunnel after tunnel and grave after grave was dug into the soft clay to house the remains of fallen lives. Christians would often come to this place during their times of persecution to regain strength for the outside world of suffering and hardship. Even I, only facing a tired body, was rejuvinated after witnessing this solemn, yet incredible place of history. Constantine built a church on top of these catacombs and it is one of the only places in history that has always been completely accessible. The apostles met, once a year, for a dinner feast to commemorate the deaths of family and friends. When they did, they signed pieces of the wall and wrote prayers to Saint Peter and Paul, asking them for intercession with the father. They would mark signs above the tomb, including the icthus, an anchor (representing their hope to sail away), a dove of peace, and the Greek symbols for the Alpha and Omega. Rome, in so many ways, is probably my favorite city because it held such art, history, and spiritual significance.

"The David" and Cinque Terra

Beware...the following may be longwinded, overwhelming, and altogether exciting. I have had an amazing weekend full of good food, amazing sights, physical activity, and the Lord's provision. It began with another trip to Florence to see Michelangelo's The David and the Medicci tombs, which were partly designed by Michelangelo himself. Wow! If I would not have already had an interest in art, this would have hooked me. Now, it just threw me deeper into wanting to understand more. We viewed several of his other works that seem to be unfinished: sculptures that he never completely carved out from the marble that they're in. However, Paolo mentioned that, to artist, these things are complete because they were never supposed to escape from the marble and the author's mind. As for The David, how do I begin? The statue, first of all, is much larger than life. No one had ever mentioned to me that this super life-like, and super intricate piece was almost three and a half times as tall as my friend Bart who is 6'3. The detail and study of the human anatomy is incredible. Every vein and ripple of muscle, every tendon and wrinkle in the knuckles...it's all there. Even the things that are disproportional were intentional. Just in case no one ever mentions it in a textbook, his right second toe is longer than all the others! Michelangelo was genius in his sculptures, but his career also began when he was very young since he worked as an apprentice. After the Academy Museum tour, we saw more of Michelangelo's work in the Medicci family tombs. He created two piece, each with a male and female figure, to serve as monuments for the catacombs. One displays a disfigured woman called "night" with an opposing male figure appropriately named "day. Opposite them, are dawn and dusk. The ornate and incredible catacombs inside hold incredible paintings with the brightest blue color always reserved for Mary in the spiritual tales through paintings.
We had two hours before our train to La Spezia, so Joy and I decided to get some untourist-like sightseeing done. We found this incredible leather book/journal store and the Lord granted me one of my favorite memories yet. Rita, who owns the store with her husband, used to work at the biblioteque (library) in Florence. When they shut in down for the restoration, they lost their jobs and had to find work making leather pieces and rebinding old books. The store that burst forth has been opened for 20 years now and they have to work 12 hour days just to keep up. It is hard work, but she wrote me a letter in the back of one of the journals that she handmade the leather and paper for saying that she loves creating things for people who will cherish them. She branded the Florentine emblem on my journal right in front of me before we captured the story in a picture. As if I was not already overjoyed, we then were granted another connection. My dear friend, Jennifer K., lived and worked in Florence last summer. We finally found the bakery/pastry shop where she spent time with a famous Italian chocolatier who published some of his recipes in a city book. We walked in five minutes before they closed, just in time to meet Piere and the girl workers. I flashed my picture of Jennifer and the next thing that I knew, we were greeted with smiles, two free cookbooks, and a free lunch. More pictures followed before we walked out saying "Wow"!
The saga continued on Friday night when we made it safely to La Spezia to eat a local favorite called "franata". Let's just say that this dish of deep fried tortilla-like pieces made from chick-peas will probably never find its way into my appetite again. My first hostel stay proved to be better than I expected. Our hosts in Bosia kept a really clean place and we were able to stay there for two nights at about 18 euro a night. It was clean and the town was really quaint. Saturday, one of my greatest dreams came true: we hiked Cinque Terra. Starting at 7:20 in the morning, we made our way through Italy's famous "five lands" which took about 5 hours total. Riomaggiore to Manarola hosts a "walk of love" that's easy walking which leads to the town of Corneglia by the way of a picteresque stroll. Cornneglia's path to Vernazza, on the other hand, is a different story. It was enough motivation to keep going, though, when we could get a glimpse of the colorful little town peaking out over the rocky cliffs over the sea. Vernazza, my favorite town for things to see, had a band playing by the cove and offered us hungry hikers some of its best pesto and "pomodoro" (tomato) focaccia bread. Last, came the hike to Monteroosso, which is apparently the hardest. Lots of people from our group didn't face all of the hikes, but Joy and I were determined to conquer the whole thing. The challenge was well worth it and we rewarded ourselves with an afternoon on the beach, watching the waves and licking our cones full of super sweet gelato.

We traveled by 5 modes of transporation to get home today, interrupting the trip only long enough to take goofy pictures of us "holding up" the leaning tower of Pisa. I bought a couple of souvenirs, devoured a Mediterranean filafle wrap (so good!) and then slept the whole way home. So, after all of the amazing memories and just a few almost missed buses and moments of need...we are back. Tonight. everyone's excited about dinner because the mayor of the town will be in attendance. I'm sure it will be nice to have him there, but really we're thrilled that the "mamas" in the kitchen will showcase their greatest culinary skills for this important figure.

You Live, You Learn

There is actually very little to report, but we will be traveling for the next few days so I wanted to stay up to date. We leave for Florence in the morning where we will see Michelangelo's "The David" and tour the Academy Museum, set up by the Medicci family. Their contributions and dynasty in Florence helped preserve the city, art, and Italian culture as a whole. I know I may be a huge nerd, but I love sitting in class and learning. I guess I'm finally getting to study the things that I used to show strengths in instead of challenging Organic Chemistry and Anatomy. There has been something about Roman history, the Roman baths, the Etruscan ruins, and classical art and world views that just brings the small artist in me out.

We've had hours of classes for the past few days and I've spent most of my time reading outside in the courtyard. Yesterday, Joy and I went to Arezzo (a successful, adverterous trip) where we camped out at "Coffee O'Clock" (the American equivalent of a Starbucks). I left her there and went to see Sant Dominico. This church houses a famous crucifix painting and was done by the same architect that created Sant Maria Novella, which we will see tomorrow in Florence.

Today was an Italian holiday celebrating the Republic, so we spent the afternoon at the center going over traveling details. We met with the Italian kids who showed us around town and now I'm heading to dinner. This weekend, Lord willing, should be incredible. After Florence, we're going to hike Cinque Terra and enjoy the beaches. Praise the Lord for his goodness and presence.