September 18th

Another long weekend in Italy.  Though most of my plans fell through for camping, through spontaneity I hopped on a train to Siena one morning and stayed throughout the day.

These are just two of the countless views that the city has to offer.  Siena itself is a much quieter and even more aesthetically pleasing town than Florence, it is in much less repair and is built on large hills, ensuring that the acoustics don't carry out throughout the town.  Surrounding the city are the rolling hills of Tuscany as far as the mind can imagine.  I plan on making several more trips into this city (and also eating its Conigliere a Cacciatore).

The weekend itself was turbulent, all of the flirtations between the people around have led to an uneasy atmosphere between the two sexes here.  The rate in which everything happens here is so quick that some of the people here try to force relationships just as quickly, leading to eventual meltdowns,  I have been placed in the center to try and console the wounded and it finally became too much by Friday morning, so I up and left and came back to Florence with a cold, but calm.

Hopefully it will rain here today and tomorrow, to me nothing can be more healing, physically and mentally, than the rain.  I did have time on my train trip to make some more concept art for some more projects for my metalworking and jewellery class this semester.  They include:

 <  Brass knuckle fabric scissors for my friend Lizzy.

 <A cigarette case with an intricate acid etch on the front. (Design ideas include smoke, a duwamish whale, or porcelain teeth)

And a Bronze necklace with matches on the inside sticking out.>




I will continue my work starting Monday,  and hopefully by the end of the week have purchased more art supplies, my tickets for traveling, and start to settle myself down.  I can smell the warm rain in the air and the cold wind on my back, it's going to rain soon, and I won't miss it for the world.

Whenever I start to miss home, I just play this video, no matter how depressing the song is it really seems to capture a northwestern winter more than anything else I've seen.  Thank's Mack.