Sunrise at the villa

I got up early this morning to paint the sunrise... rather my paranoia about spiders got me up at 4:50 am... and woke Jodi up... *sorry Jodi*... so we got up to paint the sunrise... the most beautiful sunrise in history... and my painting isn't too bad either.  I'll post my painting as soon as I have uploaded the pictures.  After my painting session I flooded our bathroom and bedroom...a nice gift from an overflowing shower.  I used maybe 20 towels, ones we had laying around the room.  In a moment of desperation I ran down stairs, arms over flowing with towels, and in my broken Italian tried to tell our caretaker Maria about the flood...and how we needed new towels.  I might have fixed the internet this morning... I'm trying to upload a video... we'll see if it actually uploads or not... if not I'll try to put up a photo for you guys *no video..but the photo is of me and Tracy, with our Duomo Dome umbrellas, in front of the Duomo in Florence*.   If this continues to be the case then I will only be able to upload videos at internet cafes, most likely only once a week.  It's been an exciting day so far, at only 8:09 am: spiders, sunrises, awesome painting, floods and fixing the internet.   Tomorrow we're off to Florence... alora (that means "then") we are going to go into Lucca for a day-trip on Saturday.  Lucca, if you watch Borgias was the city the French army decimated, and it's the only Italian city with the original medieval city wall still intact. You can actually rent bikes and ride along on the top of wall, looking down on the city and the valley.  Sounds like it will be a fun day.  *special thanks to Anja's mom who suggested it, as her "favorite place in Italy"* 

How about a tour of the place.

We have internet now so I should be posting a bit more frequently.... however... it's not strong enough to post videos... sad I know.. So I will post videos when I can get to internet cafes on day trips...   We went into Florence yesterday... hence the new post.  I will post some pictures from that trip tomorrow.  We will also be doing a Giotto tour of Florence on Thursday.  So lots to come.  We also had our first day of painting today.  Despite my fears I didn't do terribly bad.  Sergei (my painting instructor...yes I'm learning painting from a Russian teacher in Italy) said that I get an A for my work for the day.  YAY! My Italian language skills are also coming around nicely.  I helped a bunch of the students here today purchase cell phones at the local store, and I use every chance I can to speak with the fluent speakers here.  I'd say for just doing a little bit of audio "How to Speak Italian" I've been more than successful on our outings. Anywho... I smell the best tasting food in the world, our cook Massimo is an aspiring chef and he tests out all his dishes on us... say good-bye to the 16 pounds I managed to lose.   This food is too good practice portion control... not a joke.. best food ever.  I may take some pictures of tonight's dinner just to prove it to you.
Ciao!

Arrival!!!!

I’m loving Italy. It’s taking me a bit to upload since a storm knocked the satellite dish, that gives internet to the villa, out of alignment. Until the company comes out to repair it I’ll only be able to upload from cyber cafes…when we go into town. As I’m sure you can see from my photos that’s not in walking distance. The food is amazing and I feel like I’m living in a painting….a painting where people eat slowly, but drive entirely too quickly…in very small cars. Classes start tomorrow. The students here with me are great. I have two roommates: Jodi and Alisha. They’re pretty cool.. I think we’ll get along well. We took a walk this morning into the upper hills beyond the villa. The views around the farms up there are fantastic. There is also a small little church called San Cresci. Apparently the original Saint Creci lived there before he was martyred in the 4^th century, and that was his church. The same church that I saw a young couple who was just married coming running out of, while church bells rang. Capitigano itself was an outpost for the Romans… The Romans!... like 1AD! And in the middle ages the room I’m staying in was one of the bedrooms for the nuns who used the building as a convent. …and they believe that the Etruscans lived on this hill. They say that the Cyprus trees were considered holy, because of their shape, and they were used to create spiritual barriers. The trees completely surround Capitigano, so this hilltop was most likely the site of an Etruscan temple…. I am blown away by the fact that the area that I’m casually lounging back typing on a computer on is so historic.

The night before....

I took a moment last night to film what I'm packing... as it turned out I had to buy an extra duffel at the airport, since my checked luggage was 15 pounds over the limit.. that's ok... it's a very nice duffel.  Enjoy the video.  I fly out in T-Minus one hour.  Currently I'm sitting in the terminal at Dulles airport and talking to Todd on phone as he drives home from dropping me off.  Wish me a safe flight... and I'll get back to you all after I land. 

Contact Info....

I just recieved my handbook for the summer.  Here is some of the info they gave me on the area I will be staying in:
www.aboutmugello.com                                   www.mugello.com
"Besides being a thriving agricultural community, the Mugello area has a rich cultural heritage. Vicchio, Giotto’s and Fra Angelico’s birthplace is 5 kilometers away with a small museum dedicated to their works. Having long been a popular spot for the summer homes of the Florentine nobility, as well as the home of the Medici family, the countryside is peppered with noble buildings, including grand Medici villas and castles. The great mountaintop monastery of Monte Senario, rich with art across six centuries, looks over the city of Borgo San Lorenzo to the north and Florence to the south.  In the expansive view of the Mugello Valley, one sees the nearby town of Borgo San Lorenzo. This town was born around the court of the Ubaldini family, where once there was an ancient Roman village. It has always been the most important town of the Mugello valley, largely because it is strategically located on the via Bolognese, the ancient road that connects Bologna and Florence. It has a fine ceramics museum and beautiful churches and picturesque streets. The history of the Mugello also spans to more recent times, as testified by World War II sites such as small monuments to American, British and Italian partisan soldiers killed in battle and the massive, moving German War Cemetery at the top of the Futa Pass on the way to Bologna. Northern Tuscany is somewhat of a hidden and preserved piece of Italy where traditional culture and traditions have not been spoiled by tourism."
 _______________________________________________________________________________

Here is my mailing address while I am in Italy.  It's always nice to get mail from home... hint... hint.  Also, I'll send a little something to anyone who gives me an address... or sends me a little piece of home while I'm away.
Note* remember that when you mail things out of the country you need to add "USA" under your address*

Address Mail To:
Jennifer Nitschke
Capitignano
San Cresci
I-50032 Borgo San Lorenzo (FI)
Italy

One month from now

I'll be wandering around the Florence Airport!..... so I thought that I'd post the link of where I'll be staying. http://www.capitignano.org/

It's about 20 minutes north of Florence

The Count Down Begins

We only have 38 days until I fly out!!! Right now I'm getting my stuff together that I'll need to travel.