Cold & So Beautiful I Can't Stand It!

So it's Sunday night and I need to write about my weekend while all of the memories are crisp and fresh. (Another thing that is crisp and fresh is Milan. Today was the most beautiful weather I think I've ever seen here. But don't let me get ahead of myself. We must start with yesterday.)

I met Katharine and Danielle in the Amsterdam airport. They were so interesting and just super nice and I was totally stoked to be living in Milan with them. But then, as I discovered later, not everyone lives in the city. They both live in areas outside of the city and a good distance from me. So finally we made plans for them to come into Milan and stay a night with me. I asked Marina and she said yes!

Saturday after school Danielle's mom brought both of them to my house and Jody came too. We took the cutest walk through Brera (one of my favorite parts of the city), ending up at the famous art museum La Pinacoteca di Brera. We spent a good two hours+ enjoying every single room in the museum. We discussed the paintings and beyond. For me, it was (shockingly) my first museum and I was just so excited to finally be there, I could hardly contain myself. The art feels different here. Amazing art can be found in many museums, but here in Italy it all feels so connected. I don't know how to explain it. It feels so much more real, the religious paintings feel so much more significant, and the artists are Italian. It is rooted in their history and their culture. When I see a painting in D.C. I marvel at it, don't get me wrong. It's impossible not to appreciate Leonardo. But guess what? Now I'm appreciating Leonardo in the country where he lived. When I look at his art, I realize that somewhere here in Italy, centuries ago, Leonardo was changing the world. I'm here, and he was here. I saw The Last Supper. I was in a room that he spent 3 years of his life working in! UM HELLO? And this isn't even just about Da Vinci. So much of the art just made such of an impression. Together we moved from room from room, and we were noticing all the little details that so many paintings had in common. Our questions accumulated as we all lamented our lack of Bible knowledge. There are so many signs and special details that the artists added and we just couldn't stop wondering, " Why, what does this mean?"

After that delightful experience (p.s. we saw Il Bacio) we met up with John and Kylee and went to a pizzeria. It was a lot of fun and I think we all were just ridin' the feel good wave. We couldn't stop talking about how lucky we were. As we walked home, Danielle, Katharine, and I had one of those talks that seem to encompass so many big life themes and the sharing of ideas, experiences, and perspectives. I hadn't had such a good talk since I arrived.

We woke up at 7:30 AM to the sound of Ben Harper on my alarm clock. By 9:10 we were outside the Duomo and were already amazed by the sunshiney weather. The sky was a bright and clear and the cold breeze blew on our faces, giving us pink cheeks. We met Jody and Kylee in front of the Duomo. And after running through some crowds of pigeons just to see them fly, we went to the back of the Duomo and bought tickets to climb the stairs and go on the roof. The only time I had done this before was with Giorgio and my Rotary club one dark rainy night. This morning the weather couldn't have been better and it did not disappoint. I would camp on the Duomo roof if someone let me. I'd get all kinds of frostbite/flu combinations if there was 24hr availability to the roof of the Duomo. It is truly amazing and although I took photo after photo no recreation came close. I saw the snowtopped peaks of the Alps. I looked down and saw marathon runners following a course around the Galleria. I saw churches and bell towers galore. I could see the Castello. And the marble gleamed under the brilliant sun.

I will continue this tomorrow, I need to go to bed.

OK, sorry for the wait.

So the highlights of Sunday went on to include seeing La Conversione Di Saulo by Caravaggio which was an incredible experience. There was an enormous line in the Piazza della Scala to view the painting. We also took a stroll down Via Torino (we bought roasted chesnuts and linked arms. and yes we sang a xmas song) and saw the canals under a darkening sky. We just keep imagining how wonderful everything will look when all the Christmas lights are lit. Right now they just keep appearing in different places hung on metal skeleton structures. I want them to light up!

I think that covers it.
Moral of the Story: I had a great weekend and I might just be the luckiest person in the universe.

Thank you Rotary!