Day 2: July 15
A Chill Day...
My sister and I got up and went to our favorite bar/cafe (Bar la Posta) to get our usual Italian breakfast. This "colazione" consisted of a deliciously warm and crumbly pastry and a cappucino. I must have this every single morning. The reason we love this cafe so much is because it has an amazing view of the Tuscan hills from it. Ah! Love it. After breakfast, we went into town to get groceries. A girl's gotta snack! We also visited the "crazy fruit lady", who owns a tiny grocery store that will snap at you if you try to pick up the fruit yourself. She gets the fruit for you. You don't even think about touching "la frutta".
When we came back, I went outside into the center's courtyard and drew and wrote a bit, and by that time, it was time for lunch. Italians like a very light lunch and a heavy dinner. The study center provides both for us, under the cooking of Lydia and Giulianna in the kitchen. They're amazing. For lunch, we had prosciutto (cured ham) and cantelope. It was delicious.
After lunch, some of our students invited me to get gelato with them. We took some pictures in town and of the view and got gelato at a local gelateria. For the rest of the day, I hung out. I just read and went on YouTube.
Day 3: July 16
Castiglion Fiorentino Fun
The day started up with me getting breakfast by myself at the "man bar", which is just like what you hear about in books and movies. This particular bar/cafe is the hot spot for all the elderly males in town. They sit outside, eating pastries while discussing the scores of the soccer game or how naggy their wives are. It's adorable. However, this "Bar 2000" dishes up amazing pastries and cappucinos, so I went there for breakfast.
After breakfast, I walked around town a bit. I walked over to the park, where there's this amazing view of rolling hills and Italian villas. It was picturesque. Walking around a quiet Italian town first thing in the morning is basically the best thing ever.
When I got back to the center, I hung out a bit. I just practiced piano and read. Lunch followed.Later in the afternoon, we had our first group trip with the students. Arezzo! Arezzo is a little town next to Castiglion Fiorentino with some rich history and awesome shopping. Our guide in Arezzo was Giovanni, a tour guide we've known for many years. Not only is his English impeccable, but he's hilarious. He makes jokes about everything. Love him. Arezzo was fun. We walked around town and my sister and I went in the KIKO makeup store.
When we got back to the center, I hung out until dinner. After dinner, I got invited by some of the students to watch the sunset over the valley. You guys, it was so beautiful. The students and I just sat and talked for a while then went out to get gelato. There are two gelato places in town: Coco Palm and 100% Gelato. I'll go to either one. Both are great, but we went to 100% gelato. The guy there was really nice and I tried out a bit of my Italian on him. I'm still working on my Italian, guys but it'll get there. Anyways! That's what I did on this day!
Day 4: July 17
Another Chill Day
I got breakfast at Bar la Posta this morning. I bet you can't guess what I got there...a cappucino and pastry! No way! When I got back from breakfast, I jammed a bit on the piano and hung out until lunch.
As much as I love and appreciate the ladies that work in the kitchen, lunch just wasn't doing it for me. Therefore, my sister and I went out to a local pizza place in town for some pizza. This pizza place is called "Roggi's" and it's a family owned and operated restaurant. We've been friends with the owner, Sevano, for years. He makes some of the best pizza I've ever had. As it turns out, our students weren't too filled by lunch either, so we sat and shared pizza with them. After lunch, I sat around (typical) and read "Looking for Alaska", which is an amazing book, by the way.
Dinner was fun, because some of our friends came to visit the center, bringing their two kids with them. These kids are adorable, and my sister and I played with them for the rest of the evening. You know: ping pong, tag, the works. Those kids can run.
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