Sunday, June 01, 2003
Compared to my week of aesthetic overload, my weekend has been a very relaxing, if rather unproductive, break. Other people have been busy going to Arezzo and Castiglion del Lago and Florence and Pisa -- but I chose to stay here. Yesterday I got up late compared to my early mornings during the week, and spent the morning going to town and getting detergent with which to wash some of my clothes. I don't think I have ever actually hand-washed laundry before, so it was yet another new experience -- but I wasn't so bad. I had been under the impression before we left for Italy that we wouldhave to handwash all our laundry -- thus, I didn't bring any jeans. I have since been made aware that this is not the case at all, that we can send our laundry in to a cleaning service in Arezzo once a week. I am kicking myself for not bringing jeans now, but oh, well. On the plus side I always feel very nicely dressed sice I'm wearing skirts so much. I've never been the biggest skirt-person, mostly because it's difficult for me to find skirts that are remotely flattering on me. Perhaps it's a European thing, but I rather like wearing them now. ;)
Anyway, for the rest of Saturday I had lunch in one of the local cafes, then loafed around and read a lot of my Italian Renaissance readings. I've never been a huge fan of Dante, and I don't think I ever will be -- but I do have a taste for Boccaccio. After dinner I went to the Medieval Festival that the town is holding this weekend, which was fun although I do feel very hindered by the fact that I don't speak any Italian. I walked around and felt very foreign -- but I enjoyed watching the madrigal players and the jousting competitions -- and there was acourt jester who was very amusing in a really dorky kind of way. All in all a fun experience.
Today I was, if possible, more lazy than yesterday. I got up for breakfast and church, and proceeded to spend the rest of the day intermittently reading and napping. On the plus side I have got much of my required reading done -- but that's really about it. Tomorrow I plan to be more productive; hopefully I'll finish off the watercolor I was working on last week, and perhaps start another one. I started an oil painting on Friday but I'm really not into it just now -- I think I'm going to stick with watercolors for a bit first. I have decided though, upon trying out the oils, that I definitely need my own set instead of sharing them -- they are very, very nice indeed, so I'll pick up my own box when we go to Florence again on Thursday.
The one thing I haven't mentioned about Italy is something that has already become very normal for me: wine. Of course, compared to the other students (many of whom flaunt the rule about "binge drinking"), I am a super-responsible drinker -- as if there was ever any doubt. Usually all I have is a glass of wine at dinner, and it takes me the whole hour to finish it. I've been told the chianti we normally have at dinner is very good -- but I'm more fond of the red wine that Lidia, one of the cooks, makes. Although to tell the truth, and since I am hardly a wine connoisseur, it all tastes pretty similar. Anyway, on Friday night the resident coordiators offered after-dinner drinks, and I opted to try something new, and I discovered that I really, really like Vin Santo. It's thick and sweet and extremely good, and is served with little biscotti that can be dipped into it. Yum. I rather hope that they do go ahead and offer the after-dinner drinks every Friday night, because I could certainly handle that once a week. :)
| 4:58 PM |
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