After nearly 30 hours of traveling by car, plane, bus, and foot, I finally arrived in Italy for my study abroad this semester. (I'll upload pictures soon!)
Traveling took forever, it felt like I'd never get here. I flew from Dallas to Houston (45 minute flight) so I could catch the group flight there to Paris (9 hours 45 minutes), then to Rome (about 2 hours), with several hours between each. Then, we got on a bus to go to the center, about 3 hours or so away. Then, lug all our luggage on foot from the bus station to the center. *phew* I haven't been that tired in ages!
I am in a small town called Castiglion Fiorentino in Tuscany region, about an hour or so south of Florence. It's built on a hill, dating back as much as 2500 years old. The streets between all the buildings are narrow (none big enough for much more than a single car) and very steep. We do a LOT of walking and climbing. The center we are staying in used to be a convent, three stories high on the edge of the town with a beautiful courtyard that over looks the country side. There isn't any air-conditioning, but the weather is not too bad. It's kinda hot, but in the shade there's a nice breeze that makes it very pleasant. They say it'll start getting cold by the end of the month anyway.
Classes haven't really started yet, though we did have a historical tour of the city this morning with our history teacher. He seems very knowledgeable and very talkative. We kept stopping every few feet, and only went to three or four buildings in over two hours. But I bet he'll be really interesting in class too, and it is truly something to be able to physically stand inside buildings that I've only ever seen pictures of in textbooks. The history behind even the small fraction that I've seen so far just amazes me, and just makes me realize how new America really is. For instance, he was describing how sandstone wasn't a great material to work with because it only lasts about 150 years, whereas limestone lasts for many centuries... I mean, come on! how many buildings do you know that are even a hundred years old? Those kind of things, that kind of ... endurance in a building just doesn't come to mind when you are surrounded by cities that have only really been around a few decades at most.
Anyway, I'll try and post as much as I can and I'll be sure to get some pictures up soon.
Ciao!
3 comments:
Your cousin popping in to say.... VERY COOL. I'm looking forward to hearing more.
Have fun and enjoy.
I enjoyed your fotos very much. So many and so good. I almost felt I was touring Italy with you, and in the best way, I didn't run out of breath. [grin] Your fine eye should serve you well in your studies. Thanks for sharing.
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