Kaija's blog: Tuscany

Lately we have been exploring little medieval hill towns. This involves looking at things that are incomprehensibly old, learning about the history that happened where you are standing, and walking around in settings that are still so much like they were a long time ago, except for the tacky tourist stands. But since the towns are preserved, and there are no modern buildings, it makes for an awesome atmosphere, and because of that, it is really fun to walk around and explore them. I didn’t predict that so many things would look so historic. But there are many places where it looks not so historic, of course. Since we’ve been seeing lots of old things, I start to not even try to picture how old they actually are, because I struggle with that.

One of the hill towns was called San Gimignano, and it was very entertaining watching my parents try to pronounce this name. To sum up our day trip in the town, there were many towers, one of which we climbed. We then went into one of many other information packed museums we’ve seen. I enjoy the learning part of this trip, except for the fact that I forget most of it afterwards. I should really start writing some of it down. But I think that in the end, I will have learned more than I think I did. One of the things that I have learned is that people from a wide range of ages can get tired of churches and cathedrals. As cool as they are, they can start to look the same. In a cathedral, I heard an adult man say as he looked around “Yup, just like every other church we’ve seen in Europe”.

Unlike any of the other places we’ve been to, Tuscany is totally what I thought it would be. The other places we’ve been to have been great, just not what I had predicted. Tuscany’s fields, vineyards, hill towns, and medieval atmosphere is exactly what I expected, and its beautiful. But I have learned not to have any expectations about where you’re going, because most of the time, it will not be what you expected, even if its amazing. I have to be open about what will happen, and where we will go. Most of the time, from what I’ve experienced, the most fun, adventurous, and interesting experiences are the ones that were the most unexpected.