Venturing Out

Today we started with a lecture from an Italian state police officer about safety in Florence. Besides learning to avoid unsupervised children in small groups (gypsies) women who shove babies at you (gypsies) and other various ways in which small crimes can occur, our police officer was extremely entertaining. Here are a few of the more memorable quotes with context provided (imagine these with a thick Italian accent):

"This is Italy. We speak I-TAL-IANO!"

On what drug pushers say to get American girls to be alone with them:

*Officer looks coyly at one of the girls on the front row* "Honey, why don't you want to go to my apartment with me? I give you co-caine!"

"The national Italian sport is--- women! Second is calico" (soccer)

On purse snatching: Officer gets Jeff to mime an American purse nabber, who grabs the purse and runs:

"In Italy, we not so sporting; is why we never win Olympic games. We are lazy! Here purse snatchers ride on motorcycle, one driving, one behind, who grabs purse off your arm as you walk down the street."

There were other very humorous moments, which helped to lighten the serious subject. We learned that Florence has 3,000 American students every year, second to Rome's 5,000.

After getting scared to ever venture out of the villa again, it was time for lunch and then our afternoon excursion to Piazzale Michelangelo and Fiesole. We bused up to the Piazzale that overlooks the city. It was all our first time to see the city during the day, and, wow! Everything looks magical under the warm afternoon light, all amber stone, terracotta roofs, gleaming yellow and white stucco. It is still so difficult to believe that I am actually here.

We left Piazzale Michelangelo only to have to turn back ten minutes later, as we had left Kate behind! Elizabeth warned us that while we were going to return for her, it was an exception to the usual rule.

When we were finally on our way, our bus took us winding through affluent neighborhoods of apartments with greenery literally spilling from every balcony, every window. We crested a steep hill and found ourselves in tiny Fiesole, overlooking Florence in its valley by the Arno. We toured some ancient Etruscan and Roman ruins, finding it astonishing that we were allowed to climb over them as much as we wanted.

The most prominent feature was a deep Roman ampatheater. The acoustics in the place were impressive. Someone could whisper from almost any place in the semicircle and be heard by everyone. Kate and Jeff put on a little concert for us, singing in the same place that performers did so many centuries ago.

After the ruins we were free to stroll about the little town for a few hours. The steep, winding streets reminded me forcefully of Pepperdine's Malibu campus. I bought a water bottle and some post cards, then looked at some beautiful hand-painted ceramics in a kitchenware store. I particularly fell in love with the ceramics intended for children. Bright, carefully painted animals decorated the heavy earthenware plates and bowls. I remember as a kid I had plastic plates with Disney characters on them. In Italy, no corners are cut for elegance; even children have dishes that I wouldn't bear letting my own children eat off of for fear of breaking them.

Oh, and speaking of children, as we exited the museum area with the ruins, a little boy in a stroller was calling out to us in the sweetest voice, "Ciaoooo!" as his mother looked at something outside of a store.

Tomorrow we are going to Siena and San Gimignano. I hope it's cooler than it was today, because I just may melt away to nothing!