San Gimignano

Today we traveled to San Gimignano; our last bus trip together as a school and it was by far the best! San Gimignano is a small medieval hill town in Tuscany not to far from Siena. It is mostly known for its large medieval towers and it's famous white wine; Vernaccia di San Gimignano; grown locally! We visited the church Sant'Agostino which holds very famous pieces of art representing hell and heaven. We then toured the main church of the city called Collegiata. It amazes me that even though we see many churches; each one if different and represents different times in history and stories. One being more beautiful then the next reminds me of the history and spirituality each one has! The town is surrounded by medieval towers and defensive walls which makes the view from them breathtaking! For lunch Betsy, Ashley, Allyson and myself had a picnic at the top of one of the towers where the most beautiful gardens are. We bought bread, bore ( slices of it from the meat market in town) bree ( cheese ) pesto, wine, and broke bread around the ground and had a very traditional European lunch. We drank wine and nibbled on bore and cheese and it was the best lunch I have had in Italy. It reminded me so much of Provence France with my family when Babcia ( my beautiful grandmother ) used to slice pieces of fresh baquet and fresh jam and that was breakfast!! :) I believe it's the little moments of this trip that make it what it is. It's the view from the tower overlooking all of San Gimignano. It's the little children speaking different languages and it's the cheese and wine you share with your friends at lunch! In Europe you learn to slow down and that life needs to be appreciated at the one moment we have because in all true thought the present moment is all we really have. I enjoy sitting at dinner with everyone for hours and celebrate each other with conversations that make friendships what they really are. It's all in the way we communicate with each other and spare stories of laughter, love, but experience tears and pain together.

This trip has been like nothing I have experienced before. I have been looking for the answer to happiness and here I have found that the answer lies within myself. Everything I want for myself is here already, I just need to believe and find it. I can be happy! Anybody can be happy. Happiness is in the present moment and once you understand that the pieces of the puzzle will put themselves together. The moment I figured that out was when I was running down in the valley on a jog and I came across the corner and the view was unbelievable and the sun shined on the valley and all the grass seemed to be hugged by it with warmth. I stood there in awh and let the sun hit my face and at that moment I felt complete happiness.

I don't have the answers to a lot of my questions but I feel as though I am learning and figuring more out about myself and life as I experience history, culture, and life at it's best. What the next two months have to in store for me, I have no idea, but I know for a fact I will follow my heart and out of this experience my heart will grow and somewhere down the road the pieces in my puzzle will come together!

After all, the purpose of life is to live a life of purpose!