Allora oggi . . . I began my third week of Italian class.  Si, I am grasping a little more than I understood two weeks ago however, this new language acquisition endeavor is molto complicato (very complicated).  Per fortuna (luckily) another experience I sought in addition to language is a familiarity with everyday Italian life.  This familiarity and immersion into Italy is beyond my wildest dreams.  For example, (per esempio) last weekend I lived my own version of Under the Tuscan Sun.

My host family are landscape architects and they recently finished a project in the Tuscan countryside.  Sunday we drove to a old Tuscan villa and took photos of the infinity swimming pool they designed and that is constructed with the most beautiful travertine stone.  Surrounding the pool was a field of blooming lavender and a sort of wheat type of grass that unjulated similar to ocean waves in the morning breeze.  This outing was preceded by dinner Saturday evening with my host family and some of their friends.  Their friends live on the top floor of a centuries old building in the historic walled city center of Siena.  The view from the three huge arched windows was CRAZY spectacular; while the church bells reminded us of each passing hour we were exposed to a postcard view of the tiled rooftops in Siena.  The kitchen looked like it was right out of a classic Italian movie set with the relic of an old open fire cooking area that was positively charming.  Our conversations throughout the evening flowed from Italian to English back to Italian again and I was enthralled by the Italians’ view of Italy, the culture, the old days, higher education and fascinating tales about doing business with Italians.  And the best part of the whole evening was an invitation to visit our host’s motorcycle garage filled with classic old motorbikes and parts.  Restate sintonizzati . . .