It was all about the Gelato!!

Okay, for those of you who have never had this amazing dessert, you have got to go to ITALY just to have true genuine gelato!! Not the stuff out of the freezer case, but glorious GELATO out of the ice cream hutch, hand-scooped for you.This stuff should have its own food group named after it. It was SOOOOOOO bad for you, yet oh so good!!! You name it they had it. The flavors of lemon and fresh mint. The sweetest pineapple, mixed with triple berry.

The above was a mixture of dark chocolate with chocolate chunks, coconut with chunks of fresh coconut mixed into it, and crème de mint. So it was your own gourmet slice of heaven...like an Mounds Candy bar mixed with Junior mints. You can see the result of the combo...sheer bliss and empty bowls...perfection!

 

So now you can wipe the drool off of your chin...and know why I am going to have to head to the gym or something to get rid of this excess weight I put on.

 

Crying out for love

 

LOVE LOVE LOVE this video and what it has to say!!!
 He is a relatively new artist, at least to me, but I really like what he has to say. In today's world of hatred, ridicule, and injustice, this anthem rings true.
Thank you Nathan Leigh Jones for this amazing message!!!

A mixture of modern and ancient...

What I found truly interesting was a mixture of modern and ancient. Walking down the street and looking down an alley and seeing columns and archaeology just thrown in for good measure...very jarring but also very interesting and cool.

Ruins intermixed with modern...quite well preserved. History...made palpable and ready for consumption. Many of the Italian cities have their medieval walls still intact or the towers are still standing on the main thoroughfares...

These walls were erected for protection of their cities

It takes a strong sense of trust...

From our first day of touring, I found myself heading towards my journal as the landscapes rolled by our bus window. It was mind numbing...jet lag loomed heavy on my head and heart...yet I found some really great words rolled out of my head onto the page
What was most overwhelming was to have to trust instincts greatly...in a land where you are so far our of your comfort zone, where yes there are many who speak English or broken English, but signage and customs and culture are all in Italian. Nothing is the same...and it was jarring. I first felt it walking off the airplane and trying to find our way through baggage and winding our way through the crowds and finding our way to our tour bus.

First lesson: You just have to trust that you will get where you need to be.

I was so thankful for my two years of Latin in high school and found myself thinking about Mr. Souther, my Latin teacher, SO MUCH! It flooded back to me in small doses and I  found myself dusting off the cobwebs and trying to recollect the lessons he taught. I thought about him throughout the entire trip.

I look out the bus window and was amazed at the view. Waking up to visions beyond my imagination, waking up to my own "Under the Tuscan Sun" and it is truly amazing and inspirational and inspiring beautiful. Patchworks of fields, crops, trees, and vineyards, with homes built on top of hills...

Artists EVERYWHERE!!!!

One of the coolest things about Italy is that there are artists working and selling everywhere. What a freeing environment to live in where you can create, where you can see inspiration at every avenue you turn through. What an awe inspiring country!!! So many beautiful regions, each so very different. This became very clear after our first night in Florence.
Gorgeous watercolors, carvings, leather goods, glass blowing...so much more to come.

ART WAS EVRYWHERE!!!! What an inspiring, creative, joyful thing to see. I loved seeing this. So many different genres of artistic styles represented... in oil, in watercolor, in sculptures, in architecture, even the floors were works of art...More to come!!

 

Outside of Medici Apartments

In the town center of Florence, around the Medici Apartments is this amazing fountain which depicts Neptune and his minions. A mixture of marble and bronze and truly breathtaking. One of the things that blew me away was how realistic and powerful each of these sculptures are. The power and strength they exude is something you cannot deny. Even when you look at the determination on David's face is powerful. It is also why Italians embrace these sculptures and their creators so much. Every muscle, every glance, every blood vessel, sinewy and strong. Truly beautiful. AND they almost become surprises for you as you walk through the streets. You are just walking along and then glance to one side or the other and BLAM there is a moment of awe.

Truly beautiful!!!

Welcome to Florence!!!!

Florence was by far our most favorite city to visit. Amazing town center once owned by the very powerful Medici family. The Medici was a political dynasty, banking family and later royal house that first began to gather prominence  during the late 14th century. The Medici even produced four Popes of the Catholic Church—Pope Leo X ,  Pope Clement VII, Pope Pius IV, and Pope Leo XI . Their wealth and influence initially derived from the textile trade guided by the guild of the Arte della Lana. Like other majorly powerful families they dominated their city's government, they were able to bring Florence under their family's power, allowing for an environment where art and humanism could flourish. They fostered and inspired the birth of the Italian Renaissance along with other families of Italy.
The MINUTE you walk into the town center, which houses their offices during this time period, you can see and experience the power and influence they had. Their offices/ apartments were beautiful and not create the town center of Florence. They placed a sculpture garden outside their homes that truly was marvelous and jaw-dropping.

These sculpture were breath-taking...the details, the emotion all carved into the marble or bronze. AMAZING and all placed under a Gothic structure.

You will also find the one of two replicas of Michelangelo's David sculpture. So POWERFUL to see it up close. Because of the nature of the hero that it represented, it soon came to symbolize the defense of civil liberties embodied in the Florentine Republic, an independent city-state threatened on all sides by more powerful rival states and by the Medici family. The eyes of David, with a warning glare, were turned towards Rome. The statue was moved to the Academia Gallery in Florence in 1873, and later replaced at the original location by a replica. And here is that replica!!!

Michelangleo was known for being the master of the human form, both in sculpture and in painting. We were able to experience both of this on our tour. Yet did not get to tour the Uffici or the Academie Gallery...but on our NEXT TRIP... We HAVE to tour these museums!!!

A world of movement...

The biggest thing I noticed about the Italian culture was the fact that everybody moves at a different speed and pace than we do in the states. the mode of transportation is different as well...The culture seems to have chosen, or is accustomed to, a much healthier transportation mode than we have here in America.
I loved the fact that one could see a lot of bikes and vespas going around. Much like Spain and France, the motorcyclists are CUT THROAT. Weaving in and out of cars, taking over the road, and driving with a vengeance...some even in stiletto heals!! :)

In one of our favorite stops, which was Lido de Jesolo, not only were we next to the beach, but also a large number of bikes. In fact, around 8o'clock at night, they shut down the streets running in front of the hotel to motor traffic and it is for pedestrians only. What I noticed from this point was that the streets filled with folks coming out to see and be seen. The strollers came out, the gelato flowed, that laughter filled the streets and people conversed the adventures of the day with each other. There was a strong sense of community that you could just feel!!! It truly appeared that no one was worried about gangs, or robberies, or evil or ridiculousness. You know that feeling...the feeling of not being able to let your kids out to play on the street or having to check over your shoulder everywhere you walk. This was not the case in Jesolo.

 

It actually was very cool!! I kept thinking, "Where in America does this happen?" If only we could bring back that strong sense of community to our streets. How do we bring this back?

Italy 2013

To say that my recent trip over to Italy was uneventful would be an understatement. It was very life shaking to me. Lots of beautiful churches, wonderful food, spending it with wonderful students and friends, amazing sites, and to be able to experience the grandeur of this amazing country was a moving trip.
Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing my experiences here along with photos of this life-changing trip.

FYI: Jet lag sucks!!! Took me quite awhile to get myself back on track.