Everyday in Italy

Everyday, we wake up to our view of the Duomo.

We make delicious coffee from this every morning,

                                             and dress our salad with this every evening.

Everyday, we are reminded that we live a country that is
younger than the United States, and as old as the hills.

Some days, Sophia and Josephine go to ballet,

and one day, they called their cousins,

but everyday, they eat...something.



We work a little,



teach and learn a little,

and walk a lot.


Everyday, we see art.

     Not everyday is an easy day for us in Italy, but we help each other find a way to make it easier.

And find ourselves thankful, everyday, that we are here together.

Color

Color in Italy isn't just what we see. Color is a part of what we eat and where we go.

 
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 Color surrounds us.



 

  

It spills out into the streets,



 and splashes around the marketplace.

 

Color is a means of transportation.

 

It covers buildings

and creates doormats and dinnerware.

 

In Italy, we drink color every morning: yellow, blue, red, white or green fruit juice.

  

When we read "red' novels, we read romance novels in Italian; when we read "yellow" novels we read mysteries.

For the Orlandos in Italy, color is what we like and, sometimes,

 

who we like!





Beyond the Tuscan Sun

We don't seem to notice the hustle and bustle of Florence until we leave it, as we did when we rented a car this fall and drove through the neighboring region of Umbria.

 

 


We can see the very last of the sunflowers at this time of year, many grapes and lemons, and olives as they just start to ripen on their branches, turning from green to black.

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Bettona, Assisi, and Cortona are all hill-top towns that rise above crops of rich soil, the family farms that produce some of the best wine and olive oil in Italy, and where we found a welcomed, peaceful rest from our city life this fall.

  

On the day we were visitting Assisi, Muslims, Jews and Christians were gathering for an interfaith conversation.



We felt peaceful just watching the fog roll in from the valley below...

 



...by joining other pilgrims in the church and tomb of St Francis...

...walking through the quiet streets of town,





 ...and letting night fall.

    

 We loved the farmlands of Umbria,


and look forward to another visit sometime to enjoy their peace and beauty.