July 21st
Ciaowdy and buongiorno!
Welcome back to the blog as we begin our first full day in beautiful Castiglion Fiorentino. In honor of the Barbie movie opening day, a group of our Italy Fish dressed up for this momentous occasion in pink or beachy outfits. Even though we can’t watch the Barbie movie, we are definitely living the Barbie life in Italy!
After a delicious continental breakfast (which to the utter delight of Anaya, included croissants with a mystery fruit filling), we got ready for a half-day guided tour of Castiglion, excited to explore our new home for the next week. Enter our tour guide, Giovanni, who made a fabulous first impression by entertaining us with his Texas accent and unique takes on Italy.
We started our hike up to the castle we planned to visit, stopping every now and then for Giovanni to provide tidbits about Castiglion. Right off the bat, he told us that the road we were on was “fake”; post-1700s, Italian architecture and decor evolved to include French influence, leaving behind its traditional cypress and olive trees. Giovanni also told us that we should participate as much as we can in Italy by touching doors, enjoying benches, and appreciating the city in general. Needless to say, every Aggie gave the next door knocker we saw a nice, loud rap.
We continued our tour to an extraordinarily ornate church and finally to the castle ruins on top of the hill. To our immense amusement, Giovanni told us about the many Fiat cars we saw, which in his opinion, “destroyed our country.” He told us that Fiat bought many car companies and gave them all to the French (as you can tell, we began to see a trend between Giovanni and the French). After the castle, we visited the remains of an ancient Etruscan temple from 700-800 BC!
The tour led us to a gorgeous view of the valley below Castiglion, where to our surprise, there was a small army of cars ready to take us to lunch. We all piled in four at a time to “The Garden,” a local restaurant with a wonderful maximalist interior filled with antiques, though we all enjoyed the weather and dined outdoors. After a delicious lunch of pasta and a suspiciously American second course, we were driven back to the hotel, though some Aggies decided to make the most of the day and walk.
We began our one-on-one life mapping sessions when we arrived at the hotel. Amazingly, Raye Leigh, Rick, and Dustin scheduled time for individualized sessions to discuss our goals and develop plans to achieve them. They were so much more than our faculty leaders; they gave us advice, encouragement, and confirmation about our futures!
Those who were not occupied in life mapping sessions found themselves with free time on their hands. And this freedom of choice led to quite a wide variety of adventures!
A few students became psychoanalysts and examined each other’s top five strengths on the terrace near the pool. With the breeze blowing through our hair (and blowing all our papers away), we enjoyed delving deeper into the complex minds of our peers. Marco!
Polo? Imagine playing this pool game… except without your voice! That’s exactly what a few students did in the rooftop pool, finding each other by sensing the most minuscule ripples in the water.
Meanwhile, one group was venturing across the city to find a valuable treasure: a soccer ball. Along the way, they ended up at a giant military surplus store with weird American influences like Uncle Sam posters and camping gear. Unfortunately, there was no soccer ball in sight, and they continued their journey…
with a small detour. Upon spotting a grocery store, curiosity gripped the explorers’ minds. What does an *Italian* grocery store look like? Surprisingly, a lot like Walmart or HEB! The big parking lot was reminiscent of stores at home. But there was also a large wine section, Italian labels, and lots of pizza, bread, and pasta! Their most interesting find was Sprite-flavored tic tacs.
Eventually, victory was attained! The students found a neon yellow soccer ball! They returned to the group as heroes, prompting a hotel-wide celebration of their success.
Just kidding! Most students, in fact, were out cold, taking the opportunity to catch up on lost sleep from days past. A few were busy country dancing (we’re certainly Texans!), and the gym bros were working out on the rooftop.
After all of this commotion, we were certainly ready for dinner, with our signature first-course pasta and second-course chicken or vegetable puff pastry. Just when we thought things couldn’t get any better, our lovely hosts brought out tiramisu, the delicate layers of sponge cake soaked in coffee, covered in cream, and dusted with chocolate powder.
After dinner, being the dessert-lovers that we are, the majority of us just couldn’t resist walking down a few blocks to claim our free gelato and play at the adjacent park. Double dessert!
The soccer ball, attained through the sacrifice of our valiant soldiers, certainly came in handy as students played soccer with some local children and also started a classic game of Monkey-in-the-Middle. Soon, people began retiring to their comfy beds for a good night’s sleep.
Reflecting upon our past week in Italy, the intricate architecture, walkable streets, abundant greenery, and artistry of this culture has opened our eyes to a more meaningful lifestyle. We would like to leave our readers with a quote from our beloved tour guide Giovanni: “Remember, we work to live, not live to work. When you do something beautiful that’s not work, that’s why we are on this planet; we are living.”
Anaya Bawiskar ‘27 & Mari Wilcock ‘27
