Life is a Garden, so DIG IT!

Ever since I was younger, I have always wanted to visit the boot-shaped country that was so far away. It has been a week and I still cannot believe that I am here. It has truly been such a dream come true! There are countless things I could talk about from this week, but my trip today to Castiglion del Lago sums it up my feelings for Italy quite well.

To start off our first independent day trip, we encountered a hitch-hiking traveler from Lithuania. 


He knew plenty of different languages and has this philosophy of trying to live by not spending a single dime. He was definitely quite the character who just enjoyed the experiences of life. I really appreciated meeting him because he is a good reminder that there really is a whole huge world out there. If you are fearless and courageous enough to open your mind up to the world and the people in it, the world has so much to offer.

Another beautiful thing I noticed so far in Italy, especially in Castiglion del Lago, was how decorative every single front yard is. It is nothing like Texas where most front yards are just grass. Rather, every front yard has roses, a garden, or even plants wrapped in perfect arches. It is such a wondrous thing because it makes me feel as if Italians really appreciate nature and take it in much more than Americans do. Along with that, we also visited a fortress turned into an auditorium. Besides the breath-taking views, it really hit my heart when I realized that the fortress was used in the past as an actual fortress. We were walking along historical grounds! And this essentially happens everywhere you go in Italy! Although a lot of historical things happened in Texas, it just doesn’t resonate like it has while I’ve been here. I don’t know if it is because its somewhere new, but so far the view just hasn’t stopped being amazing.

Ciao4Now,

Christy Adkins ‘15