We took a bus trip to the Tuscan area of Italy this afternoon,
visiting San Gimignano and Siena. Both
communities are made entirely of stone and brick which I absolutely love! I liked San Gimignano the best because it is a
small relaxing town in the midst of the beautiful Italian countryside. Neither town really has famous architecture
but the places in general are just awesome. At a café in San Gimignano, I got a cappuccino
and pastry and sat down to sketch the quaint streetscape. It began to rain but I was under an awning so
it did not affect me at all. If anything,
it was more relaxing. I look back on
this moment and realize how much fun it was.
Siena is much bigger than San Gimignano, so we had about 3 more hours there to explore. We ate lunch there and tried to sketch, but it began to rain before we got much done. We ended up roaming through the city, visiting a few shops along the way.
Nothing all that eventful happened today, but I think this is why I had such a good day. I didn’t have the easiest start to the day though. I woke up pretty much homesick and annoyed with everything this morning. It was not even anything personal. I just needed some space from a constant company of people. On the way to San Gimignano I had a moment where I was ready to pack up and come home. So I prayed, hoping for any sort of peace. I do not know how else to describe it, except for the fact that my sketching experience at the cafe seemed like a Godsend moment. It was not until after that I realized this. He seemed to know the perfect time to intervene and give me peace. Later on the bus ride from San Gimignano to Siena I was reminded how lucky I am to be on this journey. Yeah, I have some major moments, and yeah, sometimes it would be easier to just pack up and go home. But I have a purpose here. I have to trust that God will take care of me every step of the way. I find myself realizing this day after day! It is these moments that keep me in the game because going out of my comfort zone is probably one of the hardest things for me to do. Afterwards though, I always find that it is worth it! If I had not been blessed enough already for the day, on the bus ride back to the hostel, I saw the most beautiful rainbow behind rolling hills of the countryside. It was a wonderful way to wrap up the spiritual day.
Also on the way back to the hostel, we ran into a cumulative hail storm. The hail on the roof sounded like dooms day! All I could think of was the scene from The Day After Tomorrow when huge chunks of ice were falling from the sky, knocking people out. Luckily the storm did not reach this extent and we were able to walk back to our rooms in just the rain. It was pretty intense for a bit though. I would sure love it if it could quit raining sometime soon. The forecast for the next five days though involves rain, rain, and more rain! Oh well, it could be worse! I could be walking on campus in 5 degree weather with freezing winds.
Siena is much bigger than San Gimignano, so we had about 3 more hours there to explore. We ate lunch there and tried to sketch, but it began to rain before we got much done. We ended up roaming through the city, visiting a few shops along the way.
Nothing all that eventful happened today, but I think this is why I had such a good day. I didn’t have the easiest start to the day though. I woke up pretty much homesick and annoyed with everything this morning. It was not even anything personal. I just needed some space from a constant company of people. On the way to San Gimignano I had a moment where I was ready to pack up and come home. So I prayed, hoping for any sort of peace. I do not know how else to describe it, except for the fact that my sketching experience at the cafe seemed like a Godsend moment. It was not until after that I realized this. He seemed to know the perfect time to intervene and give me peace. Later on the bus ride from San Gimignano to Siena I was reminded how lucky I am to be on this journey. Yeah, I have some major moments, and yeah, sometimes it would be easier to just pack up and go home. But I have a purpose here. I have to trust that God will take care of me every step of the way. I find myself realizing this day after day! It is these moments that keep me in the game because going out of my comfort zone is probably one of the hardest things for me to do. Afterwards though, I always find that it is worth it! If I had not been blessed enough already for the day, on the bus ride back to the hostel, I saw the most beautiful rainbow behind rolling hills of the countryside. It was a wonderful way to wrap up the spiritual day.
Also on the way back to the hostel, we ran into a cumulative hail storm. The hail on the roof sounded like dooms day! All I could think of was the scene from The Day After Tomorrow when huge chunks of ice were falling from the sky, knocking people out. Luckily the storm did not reach this extent and we were able to walk back to our rooms in just the rain. It was pretty intense for a bit though. I would sure love it if it could quit raining sometime soon. The forecast for the next five days though involves rain, rain, and more rain! Oh well, it could be worse! I could be walking on campus in 5 degree weather with freezing winds.
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