Karma

We spent Saturday in a traditional medieval Italian town called San Gimignano, famous for the best vino bianco, Vernaccia, in Tuscany, as well as promenent producers of saffron and olive oil.  The town boasts structures from ancient civilizations like the Etruscans and the Romans a thousand years ago.  In the middle ages, families displayed their political and economic power by the size of their homes.  Once home to more than 70 medieval "skyscrapers", San Gimignano's skyline does not reflect its 1000 year old age.  We toured the walled village and took a tour of an ancient cathedral that used paintings along the walls to tell stories in the New and Old Testament.  Its hot in early September in Florence and our group of 13 Americans wore shorts and t-shirts or tanks for a long day of walking.  We were given what I would call "modesty cloaks" to wear over our shoulders and our legs before we could walk into the Cathedral. Talk about embarrassing and obviously American. Even living in the Bible Belt of the American South, I still sometimes forget how conservative most parts of the world are.

We then took a hike through the tallest tower in San Gimignano. 219 steps later, we had a view from the political building that overlooked the vineyards and hills surrounding the village. The sky wasn't nearly as carolina blue as Thursday during our tour of Florence, but a clear day nonetheless.  Not a great day to wear flipflops as we topped a ladder to reach the top, but I was glad I nixed the idea of wearing a skirt.  We were rewarded for our exercise efforts with a 2 hour, 5 course lunch.  We indulged in a bread soup, saffron  risotto, ravioli, chicken and veggies, and tiramisu.  Lulled into yet another food coma, Lucca and Milva took us for a wine tasting at the main winery in the village.  We sampled 4 wines from San Gimignano vineyards to wrap up our day excursion.

We arrived back in Florence for a aperitif on the terrace of the Grand Hotel Minerva which offered a great nighttime view of the city.  Our appetizers and drinks turned into dinner for most of us since we didn't finish up until about 10 PM.  We grabbed a few bottles of wine and headed to the boys' apartment.  We never made it to a bar or club, but Dugan and I managed to get lost, sit on the ponte vecchio and wait for JD to come on a search and rescue mission.  Finishing the night with a Nutella sandwich, we crashed after another long and satisfying day.

After a wonderful skype session with Shelby at 11 this morning (5 AM Davidson time...) and a slow start to our day, we decided that we had had enough Italian culture and food for the week, so we wanted to connect to our roots and have a real American brunch. Karma sucks.  We found the first American diner across town in Florence.  Our food may've been American, but we were definitely on Italian time.  Tempted by a cheeseburger, I stuck with an omelet and milkshake as to not stray too far from Italian cuisine. By the time we finished up (2 hours later), there was a torential downpour outside and we were a good distance from our apartment.  After trying to be patient and wait it out, we lost our shoes and took off running, past the Duomo and the tourists seeking refuge under porches with their cameras, all the way to our apartment.  Soaked.

I think we're going to have our first family pasta dinner tonight before classes start tomorrow. I am SO not in school mode. I am looking forward to a quiet evening with friends and an early bed time.  Things here are really starting to feel normal. Once we have a normal schedule with school and such, I will definitely start feeling more comfortable. It really is like starting college again-- You've got to figure out all the new things about your location and lifestyle... and forget about navigating your way to class. Struggles.