dicembre e novembre in a small nutshell

As I drag my hands onto the keyboard, after the whizz of a couple months, I have finally gotten around to attempting to write in this blog. Life has been rather swamped with things to do, so I suppose we'll zoom back into time in November.

All aboard Nave Italia!
Gathering our suitcases, Rotary took us to set sail in the ocean for a few days in the open water. Staying in a Navy ship, we limboed, did some "interesting" pilates, played peter pan and the pirate, danced, tied knots and watched the sun turn red. After my acquisition of sea legs I found getting back onto land to be quite demanding.

Waters of La Spezia

mast climb, sailor time

so knotty!

this certainly cannot be real

the rotary/ navy ship crew

Glancing and prancing through November

The Lake of Lecco along with it's parallel dimension

a rather autumn scene 

smiley family times at the Bellano gorge

crisp day along Varenna

With my friend Carson, we went on a marvellous hike up the mountain "Resegone" (meaning "Big Saw" in dialect). There, we came across a little stand where friendly mountain men gave bread, salami and vin brulè to fellow passerbyers.

With Lecco friends, we made an International Night supper featuring appetizers, main dishes and desserts from the countries we came from (Australia, US, South Africa and Canada!) 

Canada rep

December provided more than a gloop of green and red paint on the pallet of seasonal cheer. Bumbling around with strings of lights and ornaments, the holiday spirit started off with the redecoration of our humbly beloved... well actually rather desolate and morbid, school library. My actual Christmas and Christmas eve was well spent with my family, stuffing our stomachs with as much fantastic food as our bodies could hold. 

The Lecco crew offering Christmas well wishes from the Bertacchi library

The mountains from Bormio- 

we took a little day trip away from school to lay in natural warm water in the old Roman baths and watch the snow fall

 Me and my wonderful fam

Tuscana

When I found out a month before that my family was going to take me with them to the Tuscany region, I could hardly grasp the insanely strange concept of seeing the sights that I so fondly saw reflected off of history books and documentaries. We set off in the camper for a little break from normal life, going to the cities Lucca, Pisa and Florence. It's very difficult to perceive the immense elegance and beauty that goes along with these old cities. It comes in such a way that it almost evokes a sort of longing or feeling that seems to pull and yank at you. 

pretty patterned pillars of San Michele in Lucca

The city of Lucca including it's neat circular piazza

Duomo and tower of PISA

now... everyone push!

Down ya go

Ponte Vecchio on a sludgy day 

small bit of the Medici ceiling

Duomo of Firenze (Florence)

The Rape of the Sabine Women