Italy welcomed me with the most beautiful mountains I've laid my eyes on. Snow capped tips bordering Switzerland and France. The weather is beautiful, a simple breeze with the sun peeking through. It's a nice transition from a country where I couldn't even see the sun.
When I was in India I felt like a visitor, but here, I feel home. The sun is shining as well as my heart. I am so happy I'm here. I am so grateful I can be here and find myself staring at beautiful new things.
It seems like each place is more beautiful than the last.
As I was standing on the top of Saint Mary's Cathedral towering over Florence, I could see the city wall bordering what used to be the extent of this medieval town. Little towns, like Montemerano Tuscany, where I am staying now, don't necessarily make me feel big or important, but they make me feel comfortable. I don't like big cities, but I don't like shacks in the middle of farm countries either. Small towns I can handle, they make me feel like there's just enough to do, but not too much that I can't do everything.
Fashion was everywhere in Florence. I'm was in the heart of the city and the streets were lined with shops of jewelry, jackets, shoes, and bags; so many things everywhere. As a typical girl I start seeing things that I think are more good looking than what I already have on, but after walking for a few blocks with a sunken confidence and a desire to buy most things I can see through the windows, I am rejuvenated with the feeling of "who gives a shit?" No one cares what I wear, and neither do I. But nevertheless, the things I do manage to cover myself up with often times don't look so bad in my opinion. Along with the fashion of the city, the architecture was just as beautiful. The stones lay jagged and unorganized with inches of mortar holding them together. Not only holding rocks together, but it held up ancient churches and clock towers that have been standing for centuries. The history of Italy shines through in essence and beauty like sunshine through a hole where a cannon once stood.
Last night walking home we stopped at a restaurant to get some gnocchi. We sat down outside and started with a bottle of chianti. The gnocchi melted in my mouth (much better than the gnocchi I have made at home). Right across the street from the restaurant there was a big plaza with a bunch of people sitting out for picnics, or to share a bottle of wine. I thought, "It's too bad that California doesn't have places like that, where people of age can spend time over some drinks or having a picnic." Then the justifications come flooding in. There would be some drunk group of hicks with a huge American flag towering over their white lifted truck, who abuse the privilege of relaxation and enjoyment; two characteristics that have been chronically missing from the U.S. since what dates back to its dawning of existence.
It's almost like I'm still seeing this trip through the eyes of someone else. It's like my view is foggy. Like I can't feel anything related to the moment. Maybe it's because I'm traveling with my parents for the first time. Or I just haven't had any time to myself for a month. But these things come and go. Knowing I feel like this only reassures me that there is a moment of clarity in my near future. And with clarity comes understanding, either of things that I didn't understand before, or a deeper understanding of the things I think I have all figured out.
Today was a full day of going to the coast, and on the way visiting a big shot country fair by a small town, that was shot down by the weather and the lack of population in the middle of Italy. My dad was having a conversation with the man we're renting our AirBnB from, the topic came up about why our town of 50,000 is considered small against his town of 400. Nestled in the middle of Italy, Montemerano, and other towns surrounding it, were more prone to malaria, making central Tuscany a not so compelling place for most people. So as we drove through the countryside of Italy I got to look out my window and set my camera to an auto enhancement setting, accentuating the unpopulated rolling hills covered in polka-dot olive trees, and all the while adding to my homeschool log sheet "experimental photography." That is what I call effortless multi-tasking.
After coming back to my family's little apartment, the day proceeded with an hour or so of a soft sprinkle of rain, and my concentration centered on homework. I got up for a break after I finished module 7 of Geometry, picked up my camera, and walked out to the balcony hoping to get a good shot of the clouds parting and the sun shining on the hills. To my gasping surprise, I walked out to a double rainbow brighter than the sun. This was the beginning of my mood turning around, and the fog clearing from my uninspired mind.
When I was in India I felt like a visitor, but here, I feel home. The sun is shining as well as my heart. I am so happy I'm here. I am so grateful I can be here and find myself staring at beautiful new things.
It seems like each place is more beautiful than the last.
As I was standing on the top of Saint Mary's Cathedral towering over Florence, I could see the city wall bordering what used to be the extent of this medieval town. Little towns, like Montemerano Tuscany, where I am staying now, don't necessarily make me feel big or important, but they make me feel comfortable. I don't like big cities, but I don't like shacks in the middle of farm countries either. Small towns I can handle, they make me feel like there's just enough to do, but not too much that I can't do everything.
Fashion was everywhere in Florence. I'm was in the heart of the city and the streets were lined with shops of jewelry, jackets, shoes, and bags; so many things everywhere. As a typical girl I start seeing things that I think are more good looking than what I already have on, but after walking for a few blocks with a sunken confidence and a desire to buy most things I can see through the windows, I am rejuvenated with the feeling of "who gives a shit?" No one cares what I wear, and neither do I. But nevertheless, the things I do manage to cover myself up with often times don't look so bad in my opinion. Along with the fashion of the city, the architecture was just as beautiful. The stones lay jagged and unorganized with inches of mortar holding them together. Not only holding rocks together, but it held up ancient churches and clock towers that have been standing for centuries. The history of Italy shines through in essence and beauty like sunshine through a hole where a cannon once stood.
Last night walking home we stopped at a restaurant to get some gnocchi. We sat down outside and started with a bottle of chianti. The gnocchi melted in my mouth (much better than the gnocchi I have made at home). Right across the street from the restaurant there was a big plaza with a bunch of people sitting out for picnics, or to share a bottle of wine. I thought, "It's too bad that California doesn't have places like that, where people of age can spend time over some drinks or having a picnic." Then the justifications come flooding in. There would be some drunk group of hicks with a huge American flag towering over their white lifted truck, who abuse the privilege of relaxation and enjoyment; two characteristics that have been chronically missing from the U.S. since what dates back to its dawning of existence.
It's almost like I'm still seeing this trip through the eyes of someone else. It's like my view is foggy. Like I can't feel anything related to the moment. Maybe it's because I'm traveling with my parents for the first time. Or I just haven't had any time to myself for a month. But these things come and go. Knowing I feel like this only reassures me that there is a moment of clarity in my near future. And with clarity comes understanding, either of things that I didn't understand before, or a deeper understanding of the things I think I have all figured out.
Today was a full day of going to the coast, and on the way visiting a big shot country fair by a small town, that was shot down by the weather and the lack of population in the middle of Italy. My dad was having a conversation with the man we're renting our AirBnB from, the topic came up about why our town of 50,000 is considered small against his town of 400. Nestled in the middle of Italy, Montemerano, and other towns surrounding it, were more prone to malaria, making central Tuscany a not so compelling place for most people. So as we drove through the countryside of Italy I got to look out my window and set my camera to an auto enhancement setting, accentuating the unpopulated rolling hills covered in polka-dot olive trees, and all the while adding to my homeschool log sheet "experimental photography." That is what I call effortless multi-tasking.
After coming back to my family's little apartment, the day proceeded with an hour or so of a soft sprinkle of rain, and my concentration centered on homework. I got up for a break after I finished module 7 of Geometry, picked up my camera, and walked out to the balcony hoping to get a good shot of the clouds parting and the sun shining on the hills. To my gasping surprise, I walked out to a double rainbow brighter than the sun. This was the beginning of my mood turning around, and the fog clearing from my uninspired mind.
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