Time rushes by here. I would say "time flies by" but "fly" implies a smooth, weightless journey, but in the villa time passes with all the clamor and cacophony of passing trains. Between travelling, meals, and homework, the days seem continuous. If I'm not so tired I feel like anesthetized, I'm starving, and good sleep is a precious, precious thing. I'm usually out like a brick. Villa life is so strange and amazing. One of my roommates has aptly referred to the entire experience as a fantasy world. We play by few of the rules that restrict our usual lives. The food is better, the days are shorter, the experiences are weird and crazy and beautiful.
Since my last post I have gone to Pisa and Lucca. It was a gorgeous, clear, crisp day that we started in Pisa to see that oh-so-famous architectural goof. For whatever reason, the majority of our villa group has yet to break free from the "sheep mentality", in which we all run around whatever Italian city we're in, wondering who is in charge and where something this. There are about four people on the trip who have good sense about where to go or how to get directions to something. I am not one of these people. Instead of getting a map or asking directions myself and others on the trip would rather wander aimlessly hoping to find, inevitably backtracking and getting angry ourselves. We do this about twice a week. My friend Becca had the genius idea of giving whoever is in charge a balloon to hold so we'll all know what to do. Long story short, we made it to the Leaning Tower. That's about the only thing to do in Pisa, aside from hit up a really freaking delicious kebab place around the corner from it all. I did not take the cliched "holding up the tower" picture, but one of my friends does have a couple pictures of all the tourists taking those pictures, so some quota was filled there.
Lucca was way, way cooler. It's a Tuscan town that is completely walled, nestled in the Apennine Mountains. GOYGEOUS! It was the first place other than my hometown of Sesto Fiorentino that feels truly authentically Italian. You could tell that Lucca doesn't get a crazy amount of tourists. We were there around 3-5pm and all the locals were walking around the quaint, cobblestone streets, popping into equally quaint shops here and there. At one point the girls I was with and I found ourselves in a really pretty piazza that we quickly realized was THE cool middle-school hang out. I seriously haven't felt that awkward since I was in middle school myself. You know what I'm talking about, when there is like a 40 person hangout, like at the mall or a movie theater, and all the kids were running around to each other giggling and play with their phones. Except they were way cooler than I was because they are in Italy and more fashionable that I am now or will ever be.
Tomorrow is my first fabulous weekend trip to Bologna! We found a super decently priced hostel and we're off to have fun in the country's gastronomical center. Yum!
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