Guten tag, again!

For our week-long fall break, Sarah, Kristen and I first hit up my European home base, Landstuhl. (We hoped for no more "not Pompeii" incidents while traveling together again).

I expected a few days of rest in the Braden's beds (fabricated by angels, they are SO comfy), maybe a simple hike to the castle and exploration of the little German town. I never once expected Christel and George, friends of the Braden's, to act as such welcoming hosts to us!

We were positively spoiled. Christel took us out for breakfast in town, we shopped a little, ate dinner at the castle (remember that thing?). She even drove us to Kaiserslautern, where a little Oktoberfest was happening (oh, German food and beer, you are so delicious)! She & George welcomed us into their home for coffee and sweets, and took us to Sunday Mass on Ramstein Air Base.

Can you believe a couple did that for a girl they only met twice, and two other girls they had never met? We were so blown away by their doting and still are.

revisiting the castle

mmm Germanyyy. sweet Christel sitting next to me. George is taking the picture.

Oktoberfest!


Sarah's pure joy captured on film after "pommes frites" –fried potato pancakes with applesauce. SO good


Sarah: "For the first time on this trip, this is a place that I'm not ready to leave." Awwwwww.

Batezzo in Venezia

Oh, magical city! Seriously. We stepped of the train to see Venice's veins–the canals that run intricately like streets in and between buildings.

Many incredible adventures: St. Mark's square and basilica, getting lost (it's impossible not to), watching gondolas row about, visiting the incredible Guggenheim art museum, time spent on the vaparettos (water taxis), visiting the Murano island famous for its glass, and the colorful homes on Burano island, seeing a concert of Vivaldi's "Four Seasons."

Had a sweet tour of the Doges' Palace with Anna, a sing-songy old lady with a lot of spunk. I think my favorite part of our walk through the quieter streets was seeing her birthplace. She made us laugh with her tales of Venice's floods, and bets they place on fat tourists falling into the water.

Anna (who sang "yoo-hoo" to grab our attention and the palace

tried squid-ink pasta, a specialty. kinda fishy

blurry shot from the Rialto bridge

St.Mark's square, taken from St.Mark's basilica (it's covered in gold & mosaics, Byzantine style. so so impressive. also houses the body of Mark, the writer of the Gospel–which the Venetians stole from Egypt way back when)



Speaking of dumb tourists falling into water. Yes, friends. I took an unintentional and miserably cold dip in Venice's canals. My precious friend Travis was with me; any other person would have laughed at the sight of a girl slipping on a step and getting her boots, legs, and butt wet. Not Travis! I think he was more concerned than I was for myself: "What can I do to make this better?!" I thrust him my camera, "Document this!" So here is the series of the aftereffects of my Venetian baptism:






Needless to say, Venice and I have a special bond. And even though its canal ate my ricotta cake, and forced me to buy new shoes, I still love that mysterious, romantic place. I'm terribly sad that it is sinking.

life in a postcard

Dear friends & family,

In case you hadn't drawn the conclusion from pictures that I've posted, we're pretty much living in a postcard over here.



Pienza and Montepulciano are proofs #373 and 374.

Pienza, dubbed so since from it Pope Pius II hailed, has an expansive view of the Val d'Orcia that feels completely surreal–a lot like those views I had of the Dolomites.

cuties being all artsy and sketching



It also is home to the best lasagna in the world...as in, better than the Bolognese lasagna. I would have taken a picture for you to drool over, but I was a little too engrossed in eating it.

After that unforgettable lunch (the stuff of dreams), we each chose between walking down the Via dell 'Amore or Via del' Fortuna. You can only walk down one! Of course, I chose the way of love.



Montepulciano is similarly scenic and famous for its wine production. We toured a wine cellar, tasted a fantastic '06 "riserva," and walked off a little of the lasagna.



Dad will be so proud of my love of wine.

two women in Montepulciano, who sat and talked for hours like this. I wonder if they do this everyday!


It is hard to believe how blessed we are.

Va Bene

Hello, friends. It's been a while! I hope this little reflection finds you well. Nothing quite like blogging and letting Louis and Ella serenade ya on a cold day...

I've really neglected sharing my Castiglione adventures. You know hardly anything about my classes, my friends, the locals. All are more than wonderful!

To be honest, I was glad to have come down with a cold the week before last. It forced me to slow down and match my pace to that of the locals. There is an Italian saying that I love: "Domani...tomorrow."

One Italian friend, Pierpaolo, pretty much has the key to the city. There are a number of vacant, nonworking churches and other buildings in town that he has access to. It was so exciting to have him open the doors to this octagonal, oddly intriguing church to a few of us.


We also were able to see the 19th century theater that sits across the main corso...it was pretty much like being in a live version of Phantom of the Opera as we explored the rafters and backstage.




A couple of Italian girls are now interning here at Santa Chiara and have become some of the loveliest of friends...to my delight, Elisa showed us around the Arezzo market, the outlet mall, and even invited us to join her family for an incredible lunch. I had four–count 'em, four–servings of the most incredible pasta I have ever eaten. Made with love by her precious Mama who replied to my offer to help clean up: "You work in the kitchen at Santa Chiara, now I serve you!"

Speaking of working in the kitchen! It's a little tough but great. For some reason, washing dishes is therapeutic for me–even though it's about 120ish dishes. The chef, Giuliana, is like our Italian mama. She might pretend to yell at us, and think we're stupid for not knowing Italian, but she kisses us on our cheeks and refers to me as "Piccolina," or "small one."

I've never had a course load that is so suited to my interests and personality. In addition to culture and history of Italy, Paolo is working one-on-one with the 4 Viz kids that are here on a compositional/abstract project. "We don't know where we go, we just play!" is sort of our motto. He took us out for gelato and a glimpse at his private jets the other day...it's ridiculous, isn't it?

My poetry class is taught by a woman probably around my grandmother's age. She's seemingly passive, but never ceases to make me laugh with her quiet humor and giggles. She's also commented on how advanced my work is, imagine that! I never thought of myself as a good poet, but turns out I can produce some journal-worthy stuff. We write poems on our experiences, on art, on buildings, on everything.

On the side, I'm doing watercolors and black and white photography. Developing your own film is such a fun process–to see a picture come to life before your eyes! There's nothing quite like it. Especially when it's taught by Paolo's older and precious brother Giovanni, who's taught B&W for 45 years.

It's a good life in Toscana. I wish that everyone could experience it, or any excursion outside of the States. If you have the desire to travel, DO it. Don't hesitate to set aside some funds, to mess up your schedule a little.

I think your senses are heightened when you are pushed into an unfamiliar setting. I try to appreciate everything, every meal, every encounter with other people. And I intend to apply that same sense of carpe diem to life back home. My friend Wendy compared life to picking up sand. It slips through our fingers very, very quickly.

The struggle is the same across the world: how do we best use our time? The Lord's blessings come in all shapes and he wants us to live life fully! I don't want to hold back any of my love. Let's worry about the rest domani.

Climbin' every mountain, y'all.

When I heard that the geology and oceanography Aggies were taking a trip to the Italian Alps this past weekend, I verbally expressed my jealously. The response from the professor? "You should come!"

In a span of 24 hours, instead of relaxing in town for the weekend, I found myself looking out the train window and feeling like my heart was going to explode from the sheer majesty of the mountains.

We step off the train in Bolzano, and all experience language whiplash; we are so far north that everyone speaks German and Italian.

We spend the afternoon at the Natural Science Museum and then the Ötzi exhibit (the 5300 year old guy who was found frozen in ice). Totally interesting–wasn't bored a bit. Helps that I'm a nerd.

aquarium at the science museum. did you know the Dolomites used to be a coral reef?
teaching moment
we <3 Ötzi

preppin for the hike with some cappuccinos!

just a wee little snowman.
covering Squishy Laura's eyes in the cable car. She's not a fan of heights.




my hiking buddies, MJ and Wilf, oceanography profs. they are seriously precious and a blast to spend time with.





I'm not sure if I'll see a landscape more beautiful than the Alps that we hiked for three and half hours through. Seriously, I feel as if I looked upon the face of God.

Or our little forest-hike, in which we saw these crazy formations called the Earth Pyramids:

and a dude in lederhosen





"The hills are alive with the sound of music / With songs they have sung for a thousand years. / The hills fill my heart with the sound of music. / My heart wants to sing every song it hears! "