Saturday, May 30, 2009

I've found my future home...


Arezzo is by far the greatest town in Tuscany. It is beautiful and quiet, but at the same time has lots to do and lots of people. There are pizzarias and gelatterias everywhere as well as old old old old buildings/churches/monuments/everything. Our tour guide today was the most amazing and hilarious man Giovani. He gave a straight to the point, no b.s. view of italy and it was entertaining and insightful. He told us to touch EVERYTHING in italy. Whether its a bench, a handrail, or a door knob... because here you can probably bet that Michealangelo, Dante, or Galileo etc. touched it. He also pointed out all the fake things. These being giant castles you would think are old and look so beautiful. Its funny the standards are SO different here. In the U.S. its all about new buildings, new appliances, new this/new that... here in Italy it it completely opposite. Things that are new are trash to them. Fake. Immitations. They have no worth at all! They definately treasure the past here and want to embody it, preserve it, and spread it to generations to come. On the first day of class Dr. Wood told us a memorable quote comparing the U.S. and Italy:
In the U.S., 100 miles is no distance and in Italy 100 years is no time.
Its weird but so true.. We travel hours to towns and cities like its nothing. As well, here in Italy something that is 100 years old is nothing. Walking in Arezzo watching kids play soccer in the street made me think.. Whoa, these kids play futbol in a town square dated back before the 1300s. The streets they walk everday are the streets that early Romans walked before anything else existed. Whoa.
So yeah, this town = amazing. After touring 3 churches we were allowed free time, a.k.a. pizza time. We went to this little hole in the wall joint where he made the pizza as we ordered it (YUM), then we took it to go and walked to one of the most beautiful and serene parks I've been to. There we sat, ate our pizza, and reflected on the fact that our calves are going to be freaking insane due to the 80 degree inclines that we walk up and down everyday. (Its true, never complain to me about walking up/down a steep hill.. or for that matter walking anywhere...go to italy and shush) We chilled in this oasis for a while taking pictures, eating gelato (rough life i know) until we decided to head back to the train station. We all really needed a recharge of batteries and it was a perfect day. I am DEFINATELY going back to Arezzo soon.
Ciao!

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