01/22/2009 Fiesole 8:40 p.m.
I didn't start class until 11:00 a.m. today, so I went running beforehand. I've really started to enjoy running here. The beauty of the landscape gives me incentive to go, along with the fact that I have large portions of free time. Hopefully I will get back into the habit so I can train for some sort of race for when I come back to the states. I would like to train for a half marathon and see how that goes, and then maybe someday I'll train for a marathon. This morning the view was just so amazing, I don't ever want to forget it. The clouds that were in Fiesole yesterday had settled down into Florence, and there were more clouds above us, but everything in between was clear. I could see for miles from a lookout I like to go to, but all I could see was a sea of clouds below me. It honestly looked like an ocean, and the hilltops looked like islands poking out of the clouds. I wish I would have had a camera with to capture it. Running has sort of become my recharging time each day. I like to go alone so that I can think and have some time to myself. I also stop a lot to look at things, so that would probably get annoying for someone else.
On another note, I also had art and architecture class today. We went to the Santa Croce cathedral, monastery, and museum. It is one of the first Franciscan cathedrals ever, and it is so beautiful. There is so much to know about art and architecture though, I don't know if I will ever remember it all. I love looking at art and taking what I can from it, but sometimes I find it difficult to get into the history of art. My art and architecture teacher talks a-mile-a-minute, and her English is mediocre, so it sometimes hard to keep up. For this reason Thursdays can be very tiring because we are with her pretty much all day. We are supposed to have class from 11-12 and tour from 3-4, but both the lecture and the tour always end up going longer by and hour or so. So I am tired now, and I will be getting up early tomorrow to catch the train to Lucca for our first field trip. I will let you all know how that goes. Thanks for following my blog, to those of you who have hung in there. Ciao!
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Hung in there? Betsy you amuse me. The first thing I do most mornings is check in and get my Italy "fix". You're doing a great job, it's just like I'm right there with you. Keep up the great posting and enjoy your time in class and out.
ReplyDeleteCarol
Thanks for the encouragement! I'm glad you're enjoying the blog and living vicariously through it.
ReplyDeleteIf you would like a fiction read that will help you understand the church architecture and the small communities a bit, I highly recommend 'Pillars of the Earth & World without End' by Ken Follett. I read both after my Eastern European adventure. Pillars has almost a cult following, they are both fun to read and I wanted neither of them to end. Maybe because they felt like an extension of my time in Italy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recommendations, I will definitely look into finding them at the international bookstore. I actually saw a woman on the bus reading World Without End the other day. I thought it sounded interesting, just from the title.
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