Tales from Tuscany: Home sweet Castiglion Fiorentino

I didn’t think it was possible to love a city as much as I do Castiglion Fiorentino. It is my new favorite city in the world and it is going to be really hard to leave come May.

Ten reasons why I love this city so much:

1. The views

2. The arches

3. The random dogs & cats that play on the streets

4. Our students at Dante

5. The Historic Group of Castiglion Fiorentino

6. Velvet Underground

7. Alberto

8. Roggi’s Pizza

9. The park

10. Coco Palm Gelato

The Views

This town has the most incredible views I’ve ever seen in my life. Every morning on my way to school, I get to see something beautiful that God created … not man made buildings and skyscrapers, but natural beauty at it’s finest. The view still takes my breath away every time, and I know that sounds cheesy, but I hope that feeling never goes away.

The Arches

Easily one of my favorite spots in the world .. The arches overlook the view I have every morning on my way to school. A few of us go up to the arches and read or journal when we have free time. Caroline was reading through Philippians when we were up there one day and Paul wrote that everything else was “garbage” compared to knowing the Lords glory (Philippians 3:8). Hearing that while seeing the view we were seeing was indescribable. Knowing that what we were looking at was GARBAGE compared to His glory. Unreal! Next time you think you are in the most beautiful place you’ve ever been, read that verse and it will rock you.

The random dogs & cats

There are so many of them! It’s awesome. There is one little cat that sits in the same spot every morning on our way to school and it is so funny to see her waiting there every day. I can’t help but pet every dog I see and I think Ashlyn has an embarrassing amount of photographic proof.

Our students at Dante

Joy. That’s all I can say. Pure joy fills my heart every time I see these kids. I love every single one of them … even the ones I want to hate. They are all 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th graders. Teaching them has been such a blessing and I am going to hate leaving them to teach another group of kids. I wish they could be my students forever!

We are doing a bilingual version of the Wizard of Oz with the 6^th and 7^th graders and we will be performing at the community theater the last night we are in town. The preparation for the play has been SO fun! All of the students finally have their parts and have been practicing lines and learning all the dances. We have play practice every Monday and Wednesday after school and it has to be one of my favorite parts of the day. I absolutely ADORE the group of kids I work with for the play. They probably think I am a joke because all we do is goof around but they are just so much fun to be with.

One day a week, after play practice, a group of us tutor the 8^th graders for the Trinity test (an English test they must pass). So far I have only been with the Wednesday group, about 20 boys, and I LOVE every single one of them! They are stereotypical middle school boys: rowdy and troublemakers but they make me laugh and are so fun to be around. The boys I have tutored have all been so sweet – and one of them is Polish so it was fun getting to meet him!

Yesterday, we went to a poetry/music recital that they had at the theater and they were all so happy to have us there. They act up in class but I think they really enjoy us coming to their school to work with them. They sang We Are the World and it was wonderful … brought tears to people’s eyes.

The Historic Group of Castiglion Fiorentino

Our first day in town, Caroline, Claire, Ashlyn and I decided to go exploring the streets of our new home. We were walking up the main street and heard what we thought sounded like a high school marching band. We were confused because this town is the last place we expected to hear that. Claire ran up ahead to check it out and she turned back with her jaw virtually dragging on the ground and mouthed, “OH MY GOSH!” … so naturally, we all went into a sprint and as we came around the corner we saw a group of about 40 people dressed in renaissance clothes with trumpets and drums and flags. We sat down and watched them for a couple minutes with huge smiles on our faces because we had made such a great discovery. The director came over to talk to us and told us that they were the Historic Group of Castiglion Fiorentino and they travel around and compete. He then invited us to follow them to the next square for their photo shoot. We managed to jump in a couple photos at the end and even got a “gig em” picture! After that ended, he looked at us and said, “alright, now we go get gelato!” …. We officially felt like groupies following them everywhere. It was so fun though and we met a lot of great people who we are still friends with and see around town.

Velvet Underground

For whatever reason, we always accidentally end up calling this place “red velvet”. It is a bar in town that has great live music. It has an Austin vibe to it and is so much fun! Every Thursday a new band comes in and does a set, and lately they have been hosting a Battle of the Bands, which we got to go to last night. There is a lot of great talent here in Italy. They close down soon and move down to this outdoor park with an amazing view (of course) when the weather gets better.

Alberto

My toy shop friend! My first day in town I really wanted a rubiks cube because the stickers came off on my old one so I ventured into a little toy/book store in town and this is where I met Alberto. He works there and is as friendly as can be! He now knows almost all of the A&M students because we all run in there for notebooks and pens … or just to say hi! He is very sweet and is always good about remembering our names and saying hi whenever he sees us around town.

Roggi’s Pizza

Roggi’s & Rigeras pizza are to die for. They are both restaurants that we find our way into regularly. If you’re ever in town .. these are some delicious places to go.

The park

There are two and they both have completely different but beautiful views. One has a playground that is usually scattered with children and the other has a great fountain in the middle. I really love going to the one with the playground because it is just so peaceful and quiet. It also over looks a soccer field so you can watch games if they are happening. This is the park where the outdoor park is when the weather is nicer!

Coco Palm Gelato

Enough said. Stracciatella, biscokrok, nocciola …. It’s all just so very good.