7 Days in Tuscany

I woke up this morning with the desire to do nothing all day but lounge in my underwear around the house. Maybe find a good movie on Italian TV and drain myself in front of it. The past week was fantastic, but exhausting. We worked 12 hour days in the harsh, Tuscan sun, moving heavy film equipment around or climbing up mountains to get the best panoramic of the location. It was over 40 degrees here, which means it was over 100 degrees Farenheit. Being home is a mild blessing, and I plan on being as lazy as possible today. Tomorrow I return to teaching; my "real world" isn't half bad, but it's not the dream that Tuscany was.

This plan has worked excellently so far. Now I'd like to start a blog about my past week. My writing on this blog has been sloppy, I'd like to put some effort into it, get it right (or get it "write"). I have a bad tendency to post rough drafts, things written hastily. Normally I regret it in the morning. But it's good, because it exposes the flaws. When writing for myself I don't consider any perspective but my own. Once I know someone else has read it, I see all sorts of problems. My week in Tuscany, however, was as wonderful as you would think, and I'd like to do it a little bit of justice. In short, this blog might undergo several incarnations. There are also more pictures I ripped offline. Same difference, just a different person pushed the button on the camera, right? Joking.



The late afternoon sun shone through the trees like sparkling diamonds and cast a foilage of dancing shadows onto the curvy, Tuscan road. The restful silence had turned into a contented slumber for everyone in the van but me, the driver. Our road sliced through the valleys of the Apennines, going over creeks of spring water and through olive green forests, occasionally breaking out into a yellow field of brilliant sunflowers or misty grain, before plunging back into the dense, mountain forests. I drove with the window down and listened to the wind and the birds.

Behind us, growing steadily more distant, was Florence. I'd been to Florence a few times before, I like the city, but it only takes a few hours to become well-acquainted with it. The scorching summer heat and the unbearable crowds made it intolerable to me my first visit, but when I returned for a second visit in the middle of October, I had a fantastic time.The air was crisp and cool, the crowds manageable, and my company pleasant. This third visit was only for a day; my team wanted to do some shopping and sightseeing. It was their only day off, given to them as a jet-lag day. The heat and the crowds were even worse than I remembered, but I couldn't complain about a free trip to Florence.

When we arrived there, we all split up to go our own ways. Barry, the director, wanted to go to the flea market, while Russ, the sound guy, wanted to do his own thing. Giulia stuck with Barry for the most part, while I tagged alongside Linda, the camera assistant. We did a little shopping-- I needed a new t-shirt and she needed a hat-- but spent most of our time sightseeing. I knew nothing of Florence my first two trips, but have since read several books about the city, and so gave a haphazard tour to Linda. She had been patient with me during my search through the colorful and chaotic market for a t-shirt and so I tried to be amicable, despite the heat and the languor I felt.

She spoke always through a smile that arched the timbre of her voice towards benevolence; also she had a healthy laugh and a sense of humor. But she was always calm too. The day before, Giulia and I were a half hour late to the airport-- they were waiting on us, it was 7 o'clock in the morning and they'd flown all night to Rome. Then, to top it off, the rental car wasn't under any of our names. I left Giulia to deal with the car people while I went to find the group. They seemed, if anything, bored. Not the sightest irritation. Linda was the first one I spoke to and it was the quality of her smile that first struck me. Barry came up a few moments later and waved it all off, saying "I've been in this industry for over 30 years, nothing ruffles my feathers anymore."

I could not have asked for a better group of people to spend my time with for that week.



crap. gotta go.