We have absolutely had an adventurous past few days in Italia. we have been to Arezzo, Siena, Greve and San Gimignano. The drive to San Gimignano was hands down the most beautiful of any I have ever taken. We drove straight through the heart of Tuscany and into the Chianti wine region. Don't believe me? See for yourself:

Obviously we took part in some wine tasting while we were in the region. If I am not mistaken, there is an Italian law that dictates that you must. I would never want to break a law, so I participated. 

We have also been to Greve which has an outdoor market. The locals buy anything and everything you can imagine at this market. There is an extremely famous butcher shop in this town that we visited. They hang the hog legs from the ceiling to age for one year. Most of them still have the tails and a few hair sprouts still on them. Talk about fresh. After they have aged for a year, they can then be purchased and are good for another 15 months. I tried to tag one and told the butcher I would come back next year and buy it, but they wouldn't go for it. Rude. 

Another main attraction in Greve is the porquetta sandwich. They stuff a hog with garlic, salt and pepper and finally basil. You have to drink it with a Moretti beer and it is delicioso. Perfecto! They cut the meat off the hog right in front of you while you enjoy several minutes of uninterrupted eye contact with the hog.

While we were in San Gimignano -also know as the Manhattan of Tuscany because of all the towers throughout the city from the medieval days- there were two weddings. Naturally all the participants looked flawless and like models straight from a magazine. I envy Italians in this way. They always look so fierce. There were a lot of hills in the town and I had not mentally prepared for this, but I went with it. Then treated myself to gelato. More than once.

In Arezzo we visited an Italian counseling school and previewed a case study from one of the practicing counselor's private practice. In essence, counselors in Italy can be compared to a best friend. Reading through the case study with them was mind boggling. Every few lines was an incident that would probably end in license revocation in the states. When you weight the things in Italian culture that are important compared to our own and the way the way of life in Italy though, it works. Lorenzo, the lead man for the school (who is always the bees knees) treated all of us to a traditional Italian lunch which included many courses and many, many laughs.

We have had many other adventures in the past few days, but the last one I will leave you with is this picture of me in Siena. I loved Siena. All of the neighborhoods within the city are represented by different animals and this animal is sported on a neighborhood flag. We were encouraged to pick a neighborhood with an animal that we identify with and claim it as our own. I chose the caterpillar and bought a flag. It feels very me. Each neighborhood also has a horse and there are two horse races a year in which over 35,000 people gather in the middle of this track that I am standing in to watch the race. If you have seen the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, this is the location of the horse race scene.

Additionally, we visited what I can only describe as the most ADHD church I have ever seen. It appears that the masterminds dropped some acid before construction and just went with whatever their design juices where saying at the moment. The pillars and walls are black and white striped marble. Much like a wild zebra. It was an experience, so say the least. It was absolutely gorgeous though. Absolutely grand.


That is all for now, so until next time.. keep it together, America.