Pondering Change in Cremona (07/10/2011)
It's amazing how the same place can be so different at different times in an individual's personal timeline. It's amazing how big the world seems when you're a child. My grandfather used to grow tomatoes on his property in the small town of Borgonovo, Italy. As a child I thought the tomato garden was never ending. Visiting him today however, the tomato plants now gone because he cannot maintain them with his bad back, I realize how small the space actually is. Funny, though, how the house he lives in seems bigger to me now. It must seem bigger to him too, now that he lives there all on his own.
A Frenzy in Florence (13/10/2011)
Woke up late. Turned off my alarm three times and woke up 20 minutes before I was supposed to meet an old teacher 30 mins away. I had already cancelled on him twice, so I decided to move at the speed of light and try to meet him anyway. I managed to get myself ready and to the bus station, almost getting hit by a car as I ran across the street to hop on my bus in time, only to find that the bus driver was on a break (that is to say, he was nowhere to be found). We left twenty minutes later. I waited patiently, still too tired and dazed to be upset by any of the morning's unfortunate occurrences thus far. The winding bus ride took me over the bridge and up the hills all the way to the Piazzale Michelangelo with a breathtaking view of the center of town. The duomo stood tall amongst the red brick roofs, the heart of this city, the organ around which everything is centered and without which nothing would quite be the same. And then I missed my stop. I couldn't help but be distracted by the view until I found out I should have gotten off the bus two stops before. So I waited for the next bus in the opposite direction, rode the two stops, and then proceeded to get lost. I wandered through the leaves falling from the trees in the changing of the season, got directions from a friendly old Italian man (and actually understood them!) and then eventually made my way up a rather large hill to finally arrive at my destination only an hour later than planned. My old teacher, a jolly old man with laugh lines as old as his white hair, bought me lunch in a small café in the piazza. We talked and ate and had a cappuccino and then he went back to teach and I caught the next bus back home.
Sometimes you have to make a bad day good. You may wake up late and rush and get lost but you may also find a beautiful view that makes everything worth while- and you you may even get a free lunch out of it! Sometimes getting lost, or venturing outside of your regular route, outside of your comfort zone, is the best thing you can do. How else would you ever experience something new?
Pretty Perugia (14/10/2011)
The small university town of Perugia is the only place that has made me reconsider my decision to study in Florence. I instantly fell in love with the hilly countryside and the authentic Italian atmosphere. I could picture myself living there, having a cappuccino in the small bakery then roaming the streets and hanging out at the steps of the duomo at night. I created an entire alternate life for myself in my head. Surprisingly the chocolate festival was not my favorite part. Surprisingly I didn't even eat a lot of chocolate. Surprisingly I was in a bad mood for most of the day, but nothing could make me love Perugia less. Sitting on a bench eating a sausage and pepper sandwich watching the sun set over the hills, clear skies over the Italian countryside, I could not help but wish Perugia was my new home.
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