I’ve been in Tuscany for a week now – teaching and touring. But today I am on the train to Rome. Everyone in my pod is snoozing. From time to time I give my husband a little poke to show him an old city hanging from the side of a hill. Some of the hills are held up by what seem to be mile high walls. I wonder how they were built.
Even though this is technically a work trip, it has been joyful travelling with 10 students from Beacon College. We walk everywhere in Prato, and around every corner seems to be a shop tucked into a space the size of my bedroom. Most are packed with a few designer items – textiles, shoes, bags, and jewelry. The restaurants are also small spaces. The food is sumptuous at every place I have eaten. The tomatoes are red and meaty, the pasta is al dente, and water is fizzy. In Florence I found a childhood favorite on the menu — tripe. It’s not for the faint of heart.
The food in Florence wasn’t the only call back to my childhood. I was the nerd of my time, and I spent a lot of time at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum. I did a lot of homework in the room of Greek and Roman artifacts. Florence, of course, is the real deal, and at every turn there is a church with a story told in the statuary.
Pesa and Venice are on the itinerary, but, I digress….No, I mean I really digress. This train to Rome is taking us to the plane to Cairo. Tomorrow – the pyramids. I’m sure I will have a lot to say about that. Here comes my stop. Ciao!