Okay, so people actually live here??? I still can’t get over how many places look like movie sets and postcards that you’d photoshop yourself into… 
Today Francesco and Loredana took K and I to Fiesole, and Ulmo, two hills on the northeastern edge of Florence. We walked around Fiesole, the Etruscan city we visited earlier for class, to take in the sights… and wow… it was the best place to look out at the Florentine skyline. It’s amazing how surreal being here is… just looking out and seeing Firenze made me take like a billions pictures just to convince myself that I am actually here. 
After walking up a beautiful medieval pathway, 
we found ourselves at an old Franciscan monastery, at the top of Fiesole. For cloistered monks, they certainly had the best view to live out their days. 
The old stone chapel and tiny cloisters were cool and damp, despite the beating Tuscan sun, and even in the fast-paced world of 2009, I could feel the tranquil wave of peace that hung over this place. It was strange, because, even centuries after its inhabitants had left, you could feel the holiness and simple serenity of this place. Even the few tourists who rushed in and out around us could not disturb this feeling… it was as though the air was dead around us, and no amount of movement could stir it… 
The garden at the center of the monastery was filled with sun, and truly felt to be a place of light and wonder… I feel so funny now, trying to explain the silent joy of this place, because I feel as though no words can aptly describe the essence of its beauty. 
There was no particular architectural splendor, or masterworks of art, nothing that set this apart from any ordinary monastery, but there was something about this place that truly touched me. Maybe it was the way the light shined through the rod-iron gates, or the feeling of the cool stone against the palm of my hand as I ascended the slight spiral staircase… or maybe it was just this place… and the view of Florence… so high above the hustle and bustle of urban life, and yet more a part of the world than any booming metropolis… 
From Fiesole, we drove to Ulmo, another hill on the outskirts of Florence, to eat a traditional Tuscan lunch. After being whipped through the Tuscan countryside in a small Italian car, going at a break-neck speed through streets and roads smaller than most alleyways in the states, we stopped in front of a little open restaurant.
Just getting out of the car, I felt my head spinning and I knew that there was no way even the lure of a Tuscan meal could convince me to contemplate putting anything in my stomach… thankfully, K suggested taking a little walk up the sunny hill across from the restaurant. It wasn’t much of a sight… 
kidding :) but, the grass beneath our feet was burnt from the heat of the sun, tiny flies swarmed in clusters around us, and the sun bore down on us relentessly… and I couldn’t have been happier! Breathing in this fresh country air was possibly the best thing to settle my stomach (and nerves!) before settling down to another 800 course meal :) But, the bugs decided to convince us instead to rush straight down the hill to the food… seriously, there were swarms of tiny little bugs that got all in our hair, mouths, and clothes… yuck… so, without further ado… we went to lunch!
Lunch… normally, I think of lunch as a light midday meal to tide one over until dinner… well, let me get my facts straight… because there was nothing either light nor mid-anything about this… steak, ribs, pork, and sausage, plus two types of ravioli, fresh bread with olive oil, sparkling water, and, of course, homemade rosso vino :) which was amazing… possible the smoothest red with no sharp aftertaste, full, but perfect with the insanely heavy meal that really would’ve better fit the appetite of my 15-yr old brothers and their friends than two twenty-something girls with eyes bigger than their stomachs… not that any of it was negotiable… you ate what they served you, and you finished more than you could handle… that seems to be the overwhelming theme food-wise… you eat, and you eat, and just when you’re about to burst from gluttony, you eat some more… not that I’m complaining, because, with no preservatives, and homemade wine basically everywhere we go, I may as well have died and gone to heaven!! (for all those wondering... yes, I will get better at taking pictures of food too... I promise next time I will give you something more to salivate over -hahahahaha- :D)
After finishing as much food as I could possibly fit into my size 4 dress… we headed to Ulmo, the outskirts of the hill where Michelangelo grew up… 
it was beautiful just to walk around, see the olive tress, the cypress-lined road, and just be in the Tuscan countryside… As much as Florence has stolen my heart, I must admit that I was almost sad to see the hustle and bustle of the Florentine streets after a day in the countryside… no I am not giving up my city-girl stubbornness and moving to the an Italian villa in the country 
(would I be opposed to the idea, well, I wouldn’t quite go that far…), but, I have found somewhere outside of my urban jungles that I’ve found me… I felt completely myself amidst the trees and vineyards… there really is something about that Tuscan sun…
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