Under the Tuscan Sun... Finally!

I wish I had started this blog nine days ago when I arrived in Italy. Every single day has been amazing in some way and I don't want to leave anything out. I flew into Naples  June 6th (last saturday) and was picked up and driven to a small suburb of Naples called Vico Equense. This is where we stayed for three nights/two days. This city is on the side of a mountain overlooking the coast. From my hotel I could see the outline of the Island Capri off in the water. It was an amazing view. The first night I wanted to find an overlook of the ocean so I went exploring with one other student and we had an amazing time. I didn't plan on staying out late but we got home at three AM! We found some amazing places with amazing views. We bought delicious bottles of wine for two euro. I don't really like wine but for some reason it tasted amazing. We just sat and drank. Several groups of italian teenagers came and talked to us. I practiced using the small amount of italian I knew from my classes. This picture to the right is some of the kids we met at the lookout. The next day we visited two art museums in Naples. I've never taken an art class or an art history class so for the most part I had no idea what i was looking at but even still I was mesmerized. Some of the pieces were so intricate and so large, they had to have taken years to complete. I found that i was able to appreciate the art even with only the small amount of knowledge I had. Over time I've realized that Italy is defined by it's art. They culture is saturated with it and everyone here appreciates an artist. They are the highest of society. So different from in America. The next day we went to Pompeii which is an ancient Roman city that at one point was completely covered and thought to be destroyed because of the eruption of the volcano Vesuvius. The city has been excavated and is now open for people to walk through and explore. We saw homes, brothels, amphitheaters, laundromats, bath houses, bodies that were casted from the lava, pottery recovered, gardens and so much more. It was so interesting to see how the people lived in this time. The art history teacher on this trip was able to give us a history of almost everything there. After the tour me and two other girls climbed Mnt. Vesuvius. It was absolutely amazing. We grabbed some pizza and missed our bus so we took a cab which was expensive but I'm actually glad we did it. Our drivers name was Angelo. He was listening to Bob Marley haha. He took us up and back down and he was very sweet. Maybe because he was ripping us off haha. But at least we didn't have to wait for a bus. At the top of the mountain we could see all of Napoli and we could also see the hole of the volcano which was interesting. This picture to the left is at the top looking into the inside of the hole that the volcano erupted out of. The next day we left for Rome where we stayed 4 nights/3 days. On our way there we stopped at a place called Villa D'este which is this amazing garden with all these fountains and water works. It was beautiful. The garden was on the side of a hill and the water naturally ran down for all the fountains. When it was originally built there were no pumps, the water flowed into the fountains naturally and narrowing of pipes is what made the fountains flow so high. This picture to the left is of me and three other students in front of the largest of the fountains in that garden. Everything I see here whether manmade or nature makes me think "Wow, my God is so amazing.... He either created this... or created a person who was creative enough to create this." It just blows my mind was awesome God is and how everything He does brings Him glory and draws our eyes to Him. In Rome we saw EVERYTHING. The Pantheon, the forum, capital hill, the vatican, the coliseum, beautiful cathedrals, the four rivers fountain, the Trevi fountain, St. Peter's Basilica, several museums, the spanish steps, Capo Di Fiori... market at day bars at night!!! My favorite was Rome at night. It was beautiful. The fountains are lit up and people are everywhere sitting outside of bars or eating gelato which is amazing. The history and the art were overwhelming. I wish I had more time there. I was exhausted and ready to get to Cortona by the end of the week. Yesterday was our first full day in Cortona and I love it here. It is a nice change of scenery from the big touristy cities. Cortona is a hill city that overlooks a whole valley. In that valley there are grape vineyards, olive orchards, and a lake that is the largest body of fresh water in Italy. The city is surrounded by a wall which has four gates that you must enter through. It's small and quiet. The people are so kind and hospitable. They LOVE us students. Last night they invited us to a pool party at the public pool and then there was a concert in the Piazza. This morning I went for a walk all around Cortona just exploring. I passed a man who was picking tomatos. I said "Buongiorno, fa bel tempo." and he offered me one of the tomatoes he had picked. I don't eat tomatoes but I ate this one and it was delicious. I would just start singing while I was walking. It seemed to me like my own worship service. Just being in this place makes me feel closer to the Lord and like he is constantly hugging me. Other people greeted me all along the road and I eventually found my way back home. I bought groceries today which was an experience in itself haha. i have no idea what I really got but we shall see. Our dorms are at the very top of the mountain and so I will be in amazing shape when I come home in August. I've already climbed that hill three times today and it's only two PM. I miss my family and I miss my friends but I really love this place. It's been hard to find a group of friends here but the Lord is teaching me so much and I'm really growing through this experience. I'm so thankful for this chance.