The Highlights

In this town, I feel the rhythm of the birds; People seem to glide. Even the noise is peaceful. My favorite part of the city is the arches. I sit there and draw or just think. It's through the arches that I get to watch the city up close, and away, away below me. I can smell the pastries from La Posta. It's the best view of the birds.

My favorite part of drawing is how it demands for me to see. My mind connects to the world. The art is my way to filter what's around me. It has a bit of both of us.

Now, as for my week, I don't want to spend too long on the details, so I will share some of the highlights.

1. Sienna is probably my favorite city. Most of the buildings are made out of gorgeous brick in different patterns with green shutters. The Duomo will take your breathe away. There are details everywhere. Even the floor amazed me.
2. I'm not the best with communicating with gypsies. They sense my weakness and attack. In Arezzo, a man asked me for a euro around 15 times. It was terrible.
3. If your waiter gives your table a desert drink in Italy, don't take it with you. Our thinking was that it was rude to leave their gift basically untouched. But, Ann (my Art History teacher) was appalled. Apparently it is "bruta figura" to leave with the bottle, which I now know they wash and reuse. Woops
4. In Italy, siesta hours last from around 1 to 3 and all the shops close down, even international chains. People here work close to 35 hour work weeks.
5. I am in the right major. We have looked at countless frescos, but I am always interested in the ancient typography underneath them. There are many different scripts, but many have high contrast and are extremely elegant (for example, in Duccio's Maesta).
6. Italian meals have the same sense of non-urgency that the rest of Italy carries. Here, it's rude for the waiter to give you the check before you ask for it. The table is yours for the night. Our dinners at Santa Chiara consist of bread, then pasta, then meat and vegetables, then sometimes dessert. We eat for an hour at least.
7. I have Kenzie to thank for this. I have been working on my Italian bucket list. It includes eating a whole pizza, renting bikes (I'm going to Lucca this weekend with friends),  climbing to the top of the Duomo in Florence, cooking, walking to the castle that we can see from Santa Chiara, and talking with an Italian for an hour.
Ok, I just saw my Italian teacher walk by and I'm about to be late for class. Ciao!