Lucca!

Lucca. Say it out loud slowly. The city is just as dreamy.
The weather was bellisimo; the clouds were stunning and the sun was shining. Lucca is a city on a hill with a huge wall running around the top and grass below. The green grass must be watered to make it as vibrant as it looked. If I were wearing another jacket, heavier socks, another pair of tights and thicker gloves, I'd say it looked like springtime!
I took a solo trip, which at first really depressed me. I honestly LOVE adventuring by myself, so it wasn't that I wouldn't enjoy the time alone. It just hit me that this is my last weekend with my friends, and they were all going to be together in Pisa but not me. I convinced myself not to think about it. Once I saw the Duomo bell tower peaking over the hill and the green on the ground, every other thought vanished. You know when the feeling when you see something so beautiful it wells up in you? I cried. I smeared my eyeliner a little. I realized how utterly happy I am here, and how this will end. The tears came from the joy of the moment but the thoughts of leaving in two weeks caused them to be bittersweet.
I'd love to live in Lucca. It's the perfect size; not too small and not touristy. It has several gorgeous churches and I checked on the calendar: it has a festival just about every week. This weekend's was a celebration of chestnuts! Of course I had to go try out the gastronomic delights at the festival. They had regional wines, olive oil, polenta, sausages, porchetta, cheeses, honey, and chestnut breads and cakes. Mmmm! I bought some 1/2 pane integrale, and its inside is so light and fluffy! The cornmeal on the outside MAKES the crust.
I attended a few book fairs and huge market. I bought some new earrings, whoop! A man tried to sell me a pasta maker...I almost bought it but refrained. I don't think I can fit everything in my bags home...
My train home was delayed...an hour. No lie. I read a book on the Italian Language and got to chat with an Italian student sitting next to me on the bench. She was reading Allen Ginsburg poetry; English on one side and Italian on the other. She was really cool and her English was pretty good. She translated the message on the loudspeaker for me as the train's arrival time was pushed back again and again.
Finally, we boarded the train and I sat on the double-decker part of it so I could look out over the city lights. But I really just studied for my midterms...because I can't next weekend. I'll be too busy in the capital of the European Union. NBD. No big deal.
Now I'm just listening to "Skeletons" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and melting into Karen O's voice.
Off to bed.
Sweet Dreams! Buona notte!