Beautiful Places

Last week our group went skiing in Abetone, Italy. If you’ve never heard of it (probably everyone) look it up. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. We survived with minor injuries, and yes I was one of them. Wouldn’t have been a trip if I didn’t almost tear something in my knee. But with a couple days rest and exploring the town instead of skiing, I was feeling good again. I had not been skiing since I was 5, and after a couple hours on the bunny slope with my friends I decided I’ll just stick to water skiing at the lake.

Tap Dogs came to town! They are a group from Australia (no, we didn’t get to hear them talk) that does an awesome tap show. Six guys, ranging from 20-45 years old danced for an intense hour and a half. The group of 9 that went got to eat at a Mexican restaurant before the show. I love pasta as much as the next guy, but this food was a nice change.

Yesterday we took a day trip to San Gimingiano and Siena. I’m quickly discovering I don’t have enough adjectives to describe God’s creations, so I apologize for using the same ones over and over. San Gimingiano is a small Italian village that was known for its castles. It used to have over 70 towers. Now there are less than 10, and I can’t imagine what it would have looked like back in the day. This is one of my sister’s favorite places, so I had high expectations going to visit, and it definitely lived up to them.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and we walked around for a couple of hours just enjoying the day and town.

Siena was our next stop. I’m not sure what it was about this place, but I want to go back as soon as I can.  The main cathedral in this town is the Santa Maria Assunta. Having been to Florence, Rome, and Vatican City before, I’ve seen a few cathedrals. But this one is my favorite. The decorations were incredible, outside and in. Such intricate marble patterns and frescoes (the big murals on the walls from this time period in most cathedrals, like the Cistene Chapel ceiling).  We always joke about the “No Foto” signs, but they aren’t allowed for good reason. Inside this cathedral there is a room that was supposed to be a library but for whatever reason was never used for that. Somehow they were able to preserve the frescoes in this room and they are the most vivid I’ve ever seen. They try to keep people moving quickly through the room so that there isn’t too much hot air being breathed on the walls, and it works. 

Week One

Overview of the week:
1. I walked so much my feet actually bled.

2. I've traipsed through Florence in the snow multiple times.

3. I can order a cappuccino in Italian very well.


Getting to walk around and learn the city on our own has been so fun. I'm not a super adventurous person, so it's kind of exhilarating to get off the tram and just start walking. We've already gone through one bus pass that has 10 swipes, so that's going to be annoyingly expensive throughout the semester. I crave gelato or nutella crepes almost every day. I have definitely eaten my weight in pasta, but there's a lot of fruit in the villa so that helps me justify all the carbs. I'm addicted to coffee for the first time in my life. I usually have multiple coffees/cappuccinos a day. We wake up and have class til lunch, which is more like mid afternoon feast. It was so hard to get used to eating lunch at 130, but we snack throughout the morning on fruit and bread. We've had a couple of onsite classes in Florence at the main church called the Duomo. The architecture is incredible. It's so crazy to see the buildings and learn how everything was built knowing how much more technologically advanced we are now. They did incredible things for the time with the resources they had. And the artwork is wonderful. Michaelangelo is my favorite so far. It's only been a week but it seems like we've been here longer. I'll try to add pictures soon!

It's About That Time

I put my name on a list to go to Italy two and a half years ago, before I started my senior year of high school. For the first 2 years, it was only a vague idea in the future. But over the past few months this upcoming semester abroad has become so real. My plane tickets arrived in the mail last week, I have started the packing process (is it possible to have too many lists?), and I was able to take a short trip to Searcy to see friends before my 3 month adventure. Only 7 short days until I board the plane to the next chapter in my life.

One of my many goals for this trip is to keep up with this blog. I'll post pictures and updates as often as I can. The easiest way to reach me is through Facebook or email (kmorris2@harding.edu), but snail mail is always appreciated!

Kinzie Morris
Harding University in Florence
Via Triozzi 57
50018 Scandicci (Florence)
ITALY