Toscana

Dickinson did good. They took us to Monteriggioni, Siena, Piacenze, and Greve (along with some minor places along the way) but that's not even how they did awesome, it was the stories behind some of the places we went, Ben (our Art Historian pretend tour guide), and the overall experience of being in what I thought Italy was going to be like.

View from our window

1. We stayed in this ex-monastery (Sant' Anna in Camprena) that has become a refuge for travelers and those who want to escape reality for a while. Being there I can totally see why. The scenery was unbelievable and the atmosphere was perfect. For either a future anniversary or honeymoon or something I will go back with a significant other/husband, because that place is the closest thing I have experienced that can be called paradise. Oh, and on top of that, this place has a rule... if you stay there you have to stay at least 2 nights, but I mean, who would argue with that? Also, this is where they filmed parts of the movie "The English Patient" Fun Fact right? Oh and they fed us delicious food. As usual.

Mona Lisa View

2. We went and did a wine tasting at Villa Vignamaggio which also has some sweet stories about it. The Mona Lisa was originally painted there (yes by da Vinci) so the landscape was unreal and slightly familiar at the same time. Now the story behind Mona Lisa is pretty cool. So, some bandits owned this villa, but due to money issues the man was forced to sell it, and his daughter, Mona, to this other guy. Well the man she married decided to commission a painting by Leonardo da Vinci of his wife Mona and it is called in Italian "La Gioconda" because the husband's last name was Gioconda! Cool right? Also, the gardens behind the villa are where the movie "Much Ado About Nothing" by Kenneth Branagh was filmed. Pretty cool, especially since I have seen that movie! Another thing that was cool about this Villa was our tour guide/wine tasting leader. He and I are totally getting married. Handsome, knowledgeable, knows his wines, I think I am set :P (That was the joke of the day, every girl loves him)

Much Ado About Nothing Gardens

3. Siena had some incredible frescoes of good and bad government as well as an awesome panoramic view (that us history majors found) because the sign said down to exit, up for panoramic view, how much time do we have? none, ok RUN. (that was our decision process and we ran all the way up the winding stairs). However, what made Siena, and a lot of the educational parts of the trip great were Ben. He is a professor at Lewis and Clark College/University and Professor Davidson's Cousin. He knows so much about art history and the way he talks about it makes people want to know more. I don't know how to describe his style but in a nutshell, think about what your favorite teacher's style/qualities/knowledge/etc are and that's the feeling I get when I listen to Ben talk. I mean I have always liked art history, but he just makes it something so powerful and for lack of better words, cool.

I loved Tuscany. I hope I get the opportunity to go back someday. Thank you Dickinson, you did well. Without you I wouldn't have been able to get to most of the places we went.