Looking up at the sky, I swear I'm back in my high school planetarium in Pennsylvania watching the ceiling as my Astronomy teacher takes us around the heavens. The stars are so many and so clear. Stunning all around.
But this is to be expected because I am in rural Italy. The closest town is a good 10-15 minute drive away and it's not even that big of a town (less than 2,000 people). The house sits on 75 acres where it happily accommodates 17 cats, three horses, numerous chickens and Lucie and Peter, two Brits in their mid 40s. Never wanting to have children, they directed their love towards animals, especially cats. They are everywhere. But all kind and sweet, each with different personalities (as I type this, Pip, the softest kitten ever, sits on my lap).
I have been in the house two nights and I already know that this stay will be quite different from my last host. I couldn't put my finger on it until I got here as to what I felt was wrong with the last host stay. There was such a disconnection between everyone in the house and most of all, it seemed to lacking joy. Not this house. Between Peter, Sue and Rob (two other helpers from the UK), someone is always cracking a joke or laughing out loud. Rob and Sue have to be some of the happiest people I have ever met. You would never know that are completely bankrupt and carry everything they own in their suitcases. Having lost everything in a business gone bad in New Zealand, they are forced to travel doing HelpX as a way to stay afloat until they sort out matters. In their mid 50s, you would think there would be some sort of stress on their face, but no, they seem to be having the time of their lives.
For anyone that knows me, they know that I can't stand being cold. That is a serious problem here since the temperatures have started to drop, making it only to the mid 50s during the day and down into the low forties at night, sometimes lower. The first frost came just today. The source of heat for us is one I am getting used to - two wood burning stoves that if not lit, we have no hot water in the sinks and showers, and no heat anywhere in the house. Let's hope we don't run out of wood, shall we? Additionally, every day water needs to be pumped up from the well that sits on the property so that we have water at all. Did I mention I'm in rural Italy?
The thing about that though, is that this house is cozy and full of love. Granted, it is a bit weird to have 17 cats, but it seems to suit them quite well and in turn makes staying here a happy place to be. Being here has also cleared my head a bit and I feel better than I did in Florence. Something about listing to jazz by a wood stove, drinking wine while cats sleep cozily around you puts you in a good state of mind. To that end, I have planned out the last of my trip overseas. This weekend I head to Cinque Terre, a region of Italy everyone has demanded I see. It's only a day "walkabout" trip, but it's my best shot at seeing the whole area without committing too much time to it. Next week I will be heading to some smaller Tuscan towns while the following two weekends hold local festivals that all of us in the house will be attending.
At the end of my stay here outside Arezzo, I have decided to take in some sights other than Italy. Being that the temperatures will continue to drop and I really do not have the clothes to bundle up adequately, I have decided to head south to Athens, Greece. I'll be there part of the last full week I'm in Europe and then will head back to Rome to finish out my Italian days. I land in Philadelphia on Tuesday, November 23rd and have Thanksgiving dinner with my family that Thursday. A flight to Austin on Friday and then nothing. A blank page to fill.
Well, after a margarita and veggie nachos at Polvo's.
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