I know it’s been a while since I’ve last written here; life seems to grab you by the sleave and the next thing you know it’s the last full week of March. Before I post pictures of my glorious spring break, I want to fast-forward and talk about what I did this past weekend.
Friday night I spent the night in a convent in a little mountain town near Perugia called Spoleto, famous in the States for it’s music festival (Charleston copied it and now holds a “Spoleto Music Festival” in Charleston). I found out about the convent through my creative writing professor who lives in Spoleto. She mentioned in class that it is a nice place to get away and write or meditate or whatever you want to do that requires a tranquil atmosphere. Because life can get so crazy here, and because it sounded like an adventure, I asked her to help me make reservations. And that is how, at 1pm Friday afternoon, I found myself unpacking my backpack in a nice little room with a view of a garden and a DOUBLE BED (my tiny twin in Perugia allows me enough room to barely roll over)!!!! So I decided to allow myself to do whatever I felt like doing. I was hungry, so I went to a little enoteca that my professor recommended to me. I had a wonderful lunch of polenta topped with goat cheese, sausage, and truffles; a mixed salad with lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, mozzarella, and balsamic; and a glass of wine. Devine gastronomic experience. Then, I walked around the hilly, hilly town, saw the duomo with Fra Filippo Lippi’s “Annunciation” at the front of the church. I walked around a lot more, till I decided I wanted to take a nap, then I woke up, did some writing, and walked around some more, buying an apple and some gouda cheese to bring back to my room for dinner later that night. Then I wrote some more. Then I decided to take a bubble bath. Then I read a book about Italian soccer and politics for a few hours. Then I went to sleep. The next morning, I got the great pleasure of waking up at 8 am and having breakfast with some of the nuns! They did not know English, but Sister Chiara and I managed to small talk over coffee( yes, they brought out a huge pitcher and I almost died of happiness) and bread with jam. I spend my morning in the courtyard, writing, and then headed to a café on a cliff where I was to meet my professor and a few people from my program who had came to Spoleto that morning to go hiking! And hiked we did, up into what is known as the sacred forest. It was rough, pretty steep, but we made it, and were rewarded with a wonderfully relaxed lunch. I had bruscchetta, mushroom and lemon ravioli, and a dessert typical of Spoleto that is called crescionda, and is sort of like a brownie but with a layer of more moist cake and nuts. The perfect fuel for our trek back down. We all returned to Perugia later that night.
So basically this weekend was the perfect combo of solitude, nature, food, and companionship. I feel relaxed and refreshed; ready to finish out this last half of my Italian adventure.
Of course, my camera was out of batteries, so I was not able to photograph any of this. But I think it is actually a good thing. No pressure to recreate the moments.
Anyways, Paris and Spring Break pictures to come later this week. This Thursday I embark on a great Northern European adventure---I’ll be going to Denmark to visit my good friend Jonathon for the weekend! I’ll be bringing my big, thick socks!
