On our trip this past weekend, I had the opportunity to meet Anna. She's the only person Layne cried about leaving from her mission. She's spunky but unbelievably kind. She's dedicated to her husband of over 50 years. She's lived through poverty, sickness and other unimaginable hardships. She can barely see, yet walks everywhere she needs to go and keeps a beautiful, clean house.
She made me feel home, loved. When surrounded by so much that is unfamiliar, it's a beautiful thing to feel like you belong. In fact, it's what I have craved the most. People always talk about how they miss peanut butter when they are outside of the states, but I just want a good jar of love. And maybe some Nutella.
Friday the 17th is an unlucky day for Italians. And it was the most unlucky lucky day I've had in a while. We traveled to Lucca, then Pisa. Saturday was another day that was the epitome of having to go with the flow. We traveled to Cinque Terre and got split up. Layne spent most of her day in train stations while I was able to hike Cinque Terre. All's well that ends well, and our night ended with clean sheets, a luxurious shower, the best Italian food I've eaten and unbelievably kind people. What more could you want?
Below is a somewhat disorderly account of my trip in photos:
These are a few of my favorite things: the pizza, the man dressed up in fresh grape vines as a tree, graffiti and my new basil plant.
Can I just say: so so cool! How long are you there again?
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