lucky to have been where I have been, lucky to be coming home again.

BASTA! Took my Italian final yesterday, art history final this morning, and packed this afternoon. Tomorrow is my last day in Firenze, and Saturday morning I embark on my journey back to JFK! A couple final shots of campus:

So, I suppose some sort of conclusion would be appropriate, after all:

″A traveler without observation is a bird without wings."

- Moslih Eddin Saadi

Throughout this summer, I've been thrown theory after theory about art and culture - especially in art history, it's a constant game of categorizing - what does red mean? what does blue mean? What does that really small hand gesture that you can't really see mean? I've learned that although we can theorize all we want, not everything can be put into neat, definite categories. Sometimes, something is wonderful simply because it makes you smile, and that's all the sense that needs to be made out of it.

Italians do what makes them happy - they take long siestas at the most inconvenient times, they organize their day around eating, they drive terribly because they gain no pleasure from traffic rules, buses are late because the driver felt like sleeping in for five more minutes, guidos whistle at girls because it makes them feel macho, the little old man in Bar Lidia takes ten minutes to put a ball of mozzarella on a plate because that's how he wants to do it, and there are saldi throughout the country in the summer so that everyone can afford to look fabulous. Because in a world of anxiety and chaos and deception and heartache and worry, sometimes only what makes us happy can be trusted. Sometimes, only the beauty in our lives, no matter how it is categorized, is real. In Italy, the goal is to live, however obnoxiously, in beauty - to please one's self in whichever manner desired, simply because life is too short not to enjoy it.

Allora, ciao amori. See you in the apple :)

Laura

"The matrix of Italian art is Italy itself, a land whose physical beauty has attracted visitors from time immemorial." -Hartt

Buona sera! I have returned from an escapade through Cinque Terre with Erica, which was full of unbelievable natural beauty, quaint towns on the water, an absurd amount of hiking, some transportation malfunctions, sunbathing on rocks in the middle of the ocean, and lots of seafood and vino bianco.

On Saturday we hiked from Riomaggiore to Manarola, then from Manarola to Corniglia. Once we arrived in Corniglia (after climbing over 400 steps to get up there. The thought of a town on a cliff is nice, but when you actually have to get there, it's a serious pain in the butt. Literally...) we realized its motto is "la dolce di fare niente" (the sweetness of doing nothing - typical) so we had lunch and descended back down the staircase. After Corniglia we hopped the train to Vernazza because we were too full to think about hiking the 4 km between the towns.

From Vernazza, we hiked the hardest hike of them all - a two hour, 3 km journey to Monterosso. We completely ignored the advisory to NOT hike in the early afternoon and proceeded to climb and shuffle through the mountains until we arrived in Monterosso after 90 minutes. Yea, we may live in New York and like to wear high heels and sip cocktails, but our outdoorsy-ness is not to be underestimated. After sweating profusely and nearly passing out, we arrived in Monterosso and immediately threw our stuff onto rocks and went into the ocean. A very, very rewarding experience to say the least.

On Sunday we successfully missed ALL of the morning buses (and got yelled at by the hostel man to get out of the hostel so he could clean). We halfheartedly attempted to hitchhike from Biassa (population: 40), which was, obviously, unsuccessful (and probably a terrible idea anyways). We managed to get to Manarola for lunch and gelato, then went to lay on the rocks in Riomaggiore for the afternoon before dinner, appertivo and calling it a night. Yet another successful journey of the Mals. Le mie foto of this gorgeous place:

(Riomaggiore)

(Via dell'Amore, between Riomaggiore and Manarola)

(trying to be happy after climbing up to and down from Corniglia)

(Vernazza)

(View of Vernazza from the mountain top - yeah, we climbed up there, that's right)

(hiking to Monterosso)

(beach in Monterosso! photoshooting. Hi Mal!)

(see that struggling figure in the middle being attacked by a wave and a spontaneous swarm of children at the same time? that's Erica)

(channeling Little Mermaid)

(amazing)

(Sunday "hitchhiking" aka wandering through Biassa and whining)

(Erica's trademark picture)

Allora, today was the beginning of the last week of classes! Class tomorrow, Italian final Wednesday and art history final Thursday, then basta! Back to the apple I go! In the meantime I'll be enjoying my last few days in this beautiful place, and taking some more pictures when I can to share with you all. A presto.

Ciao Amori!

Laura