another telling story.

You have to watch your step in Florence... the streets are covered in little doggie "presents."
I was walking down one such street with an American and and Italian friend, my American friend said, "You know, we have laws against this sort of thing in the US."
"Oh, yeah... we have those too." replied the Italian.

Enough said.

new photos on facebook...

Started uploading pictures of Rome and Sant'anna di Stazzema on facebook. I will try to catch y'all up on the past few weeks. I don't rightly know where to start!

forks and knives...

Italians stereotypically talk with their hands. Well, I've found this to be true, and if they are holding something, that also becomes a part of the gesture.

At dinner the other night, my host sister was visiting from Milan (with her boyfriend). With a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, my mom, dad, sister, and boyfriend proceeded to have a lively conversation. With forks and knives tightly gripped in hand, they all makes circles, jabs, and gestures, which to an American bystander seemed at a minimum dangerous, and sometimes threatening. At one point, my host dad made a dramatic motion with a large knife in his hand, and my eyeballs almost popped out. My sister saw me and it cracked her up. I feel we had a private moment of understanding, but two moments later she turned back to the conversation, fork and knife in hand.

Cinque Terra

Last weekend went to the Cinque Terra (5 lands) on the coast with a friend. We hiked between a few of these tiny colorful villages, and the views were incredible. It was torture to be so close to the ocean, and not jump in!
Also these towns are famous for their pesto, and it definitely lived up to the rep.

as for the non-water closet, it must have been bad for someone to go to the trouble to paint this door...

ok, so not venice

and not even Italy, but I printed it here and I love it, so here it is:

venice again

venice black and whites