(Pictures to be uploaded soon )Well, I’m done with the traveling portion of this summer. I went from the very southest shore of Sicily to within 40 miles of the northern border. The last stop was to see the Byzantine mosaics at Ravenna. They’re overall the best in the category of art made of tiny glass pieces. These were all done between 300-700 ad. You can tell the earlier ones because they include beardless Jesus. Later mosaics all have bearded Jesus.
Then arrived at my home for the next 4 weeks, Montepulciano. I’m staying in a really nice house with a really nice family, and another student at the school. The house is about a 15 minute walk to school. All uphill there, all downhill back. Right after I arrived, we went to a hotspring nearby. The spring starts at the top of a hill, with a small waterfall which is the temperature of the most perfect hot shower. And so much water pressure! The spring flows down the hill, cooling as it goes. At the bottom is a milky blue pool, which is much cooler and the temperature of pool water at the shallow end on a sunny day. We sunbathed awhile on the rocks. These rocks sound like thin plaster when you knocks on them, but they’re apparently solid and sound like that because of air bubbles. It’s still disconcerting.
For the first day of school, I started with a placement test and interview. Got sorted into advanced 1. It’s a class of 5, with 2 teachers, that meets from 9 to 1:30 with several breaks. After school, I walked around the city. I chose a random street and went up it. It’s impossible to get lost if you keep walking uphill, since you’ll eventually just reach the highest point, which is the main square. The Piazza Grande includes city hall and the largest church. I stayed here a few hours and drew a bit. Then it started to look stormy, so I went downhill to a coffee shop, then sat under an arch until the rain lessened a little. I then hopped between shops down the street towards the house. I met the barista at a coffee bar on the way, and the lady who runs a vegetable shop. All the locals swear it’s not supposed to be this cold in June. It’s like 50 degrees.
Montepulciano is an extremely pretty, not too big, not too touristy town. Around every corner is something scenic or pretty in some way. I’ll post more on the city later.