The Italian Countryside

The rest of the week Sara, Mom and I spent together in Italy was fantastic, and tomorrow you will hear more about it. However, one of the highlights of the trip was Sunday, June 21. We were, of course, staying at a Church of Christ missionary facility, so we got up on Sunday morning and got ready for church. The people we stayed with were kind enough to give us a ride to the Church of Christ in Florence where I went every Sunday when I studied there for one semester of college. The director of the over seas program I participated in gave the message that morning, so I got to say hi and get reacquainted. He then invited us and another family to take a day trip with him to San Gimignano (pictured on the left at the top), and attend a local festival just outside of Florence. We immediately agreed and so began a magical day in the Tuscan countryside!

San Gimignano is a small medieval town with many towers. I was told there used to be more than 30, but there are 14 or so that have survived the years. It is not abandoned. and while it does attract quite a few tourists, it is not an "attraction." People still conduct their everyday lives in these beautifully preserved medieval buildings as you can see in the middle picture on the left. Sara is in the white sweater and a skirt. The cathedral here has some of the oldest surviving frescoes in Italy! Unfortunately, we didn't get to see them because, guess what...they were having a Renaissance fair that day! Can you imagine a Renaissance fair in this town? They don't have to recreate any medieval buildings; they just had to get dressed up and walk around!



When we were done at San Gimignano we drove down to a small town outside of Florence where they were having a festival. At this particular one they have a donkey race at around 10:00 p.m. People spend the evening before attending a parade, eating, buying local crafts, and putting money down on the donkeys. Oh...and I mention eating! My love for authentic Italian food was rekindled at the meal we had that evening. In no restaurant have I ever had food as good as home made local Italian food. We started with cantaloupe and prosciutto, then on to the pasta dishes, penne with home made tomato meat sauce, and tomato cream sauce. For a main course we had a sampling of grilled meat including, steak, chicken, ribs and sausage. We finished with some fresh watermelon. Great great memories!