Last week, I can honestly say that I made one of the most courageous, scary, deliberate, crazy, and spontaneous decisions of my life. I realized I had six days off before my first final exam here, and I debated taking a short trip to celebrate my impeding graduation. I followed through with this idea, managed to persuade a fellow student to join me, and turned this trip into a graduation present for myself.
Looking back now, it doesn't really sound like a huge deal, but renting a car, driving in Italy through parts relatively unknown to non-Italians (and even some Italians), while not yet 21, was really nerve-racking. Everything was booked the day before, and reading up on how driving works in Italy would give most of us a panic attack. We stayed in agriturismos, which are places in the country, similar to B&Bs, and I learned how to trust, rely on, forgive, and travel with another person. We visited cities, coasts, beaches, medieval towns, the countryside, and off-the-grid areas of hot springs with sulfur water -- all in three and a half days!
Traveling within Tuscany opened my eyes so much and added another dimension to my perspective of Italy. To visit places where Italians go on vacation (versus tourists) made me appreciate the beauty and variety of Italy's landscapes even more. I've already started painting pictures from this trip and can't wait to start so many new series.
Here's some photos from the trip. Have a glimpse of Tuscany, which does have stunning hills when the light falls across, but is so much more...
{the regional park of Maremma}
{the agriturismo I stayed at for 2 nights -- beautiful. You could pick strawberries and eat them right there}
{from our car window: the beauty in being able to stop at anytime, anywhere when you have a car}
{this was a ghost town since it rained earlier in the day. Looks like the Caribbean?}
{the last town we stayed in: Paganico. No one spoke a word of English here :)}
{Porto Santo Stefano -parking struggles, Porto Ercole, and Talamone}
{impromptu visit to a festival in Magliano in Toscana, a medieval city built on a hill}
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