The Beautiful Sansepolcro!

I have had the wonderful opportunity to travel to many places throughout my life. I have visited Australia, Italy, England, Germany, Chile, Peru, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, and many more; however, none of these experiences prepared me for the full on task of packing lightly for three and a half months. Three days before departure, I had all my color coordinating clothes cleaned and nicely folded in piles; I had all my toiletries and electronics organized; and I had all my important travel documents nearby to insure they would not be left behind. From previous trips, I have never worried about my belongings being able to fit into my suitcase or being under a certain weight; therefore, I postponed the actual packing of the suitcase until the last minute because I had assumed it would not be an issue. Little did I know, this decision would result in an all nighter and a very sleepy raggazza. Thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who was willing to stay up and squish clothing into Ziploc bags unto the wee hours of the night, I was able to get a solid three hours of sleep.

The morning of the departure was also different from my usual experience with international departures. I woke up extremely excited about flying to Italy, which is quite normal, but I also woke up with sadness that I was going to have to leave my family and friends behind. After a quick breakfast, I said my goodbyes to my mom and boyfriend and I was off to the airport. At this time I realized I had not weighed my suitcase and a rush of concerns came over me when I recalled that our suitcases had to be less than fifty pounds. This normally would not have concerned me; however, my friend’s luggage was well over the allotted weight and I was sure mine would be as well. After arriving to the airport with my dad, we soon found the rest of the group starting to check in. Before I knew it, it was my turn to weigh my obscenely heavy bag, and I was pleased to find out it was only five pounds overweight instead of fifteen or more. This was easily solved by taking toiletries out of my suitcase and placing them into my carry on. Once we were all checked in and organized, it was time to say our final goodbyes. I gave my dad a great big hug and it was off through security and then to our gate. Once at the gate I had a few minutes to spare, so I visited the local news stand and bought some cliché North Carolina memorabilia to give to my future host family that I will meet in March. Once on the flight, I quickly fell asleep and did not awake until New York City.

One thing I have learned from flying is that if you are not pleased with your seat assignment, you can go to the front counter to negotiate a different spot. This is exactly what I did once I realized I was in a middle seat. The girl at the counter in front of me changed seats from an isle to a window, so I quickly followed her to snatch up her isle seat she had so kindly given away. Once on board, it was a fairly easy going flight all the way to Rome, Italy! After arrival, we were quickly thrown into the hustle and bustle of the airport trying to locate our baggage carrousel. It was not until I heard Bekah, our Residence Director, answer her cell phone with Pronto that I realized we were finally in Italy! This time, it was not just another family trip. This was going to be a learning experience of a lifetime.

After locating our baggage, we were soon following our short and stout Italian bus driver to our chariot which would take us to our beloved new home in Sansepolcro. I was hoping we would be riding in a roomy bus all the way to our destination; unfortunately, we were in a typical small Italian bus with next to none breathing room. I quickly reminded myself; however, how fortunate I was to have a bus driver and not to have to use public transportation since we were all extremely exhausted from the flights. Once on board, I quickly fell asleep and awoke to lovely views of the country side. There were wonderful rolling hills covered in green trees, orange grasses, and spotted with small homes resembling castles. Everything was just beautiful, and I knew Sansepolcro must be getting close. I watched as the signs started to change from Perugia, to Umbria, and then finally to Sansepolcro. The bus pulled up next to the wall that surrounds the inner city. We were pleasantly greeted by Dr. Webb, our Professor and International Study Abroad Director, and Sara Andreini, another Professor and onsite Director. We then piled up all our belongings and entered through the walled gate to our new home in Sansepolcro, the Palazzo Alberti.

If the brick wall surrounding the city did not blow me away first, it was the magnificent wooden doors that opened to the palazzo. I could not believe how beautiful and detailed they were and could only imagine what was inside. I had heard from the previous girls that we lived on the third floor which made me very nervous considering my obscenely large suitcase weighed fifty pounds and my carry on was a little over half of that. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that even though this building is from the 16^th century, there was a newly installed elevator to only be used for heavy loads. After sending our luggage up, we gathered in one of the two main lounges to discuss living quarters. We were given a quick tour of all the rooms, but then it was up to us to organize ourselves. I chose to live with my good friend Lilly, who was also my suitemate this last semester. We chose the room that looked gorgeous in the sunlight and looks out onto the main street which has its plus and minuses. We always can look out and see what’s going on and feel connected to the community; however, we also get to hear the typical late night Italians at three in the morning when they continue to party. This might be a concern to some; however, I am blessed to be a terrific sleeper and usually never hear any of their celebrations. The room is lovely with wonderful tiled floors and a wooden ceiling. Gorgeous arches over the windows and nice matching furniture courtesy of IKEA. We all have a set of sheets, duvets, towels, closet, bookcase, nightstand, and even a fancy bath robe. The palazzo is definitely fit to house princesses if there was ever a demand. Even though we needed to unpack, the delicious smell coming from the kitchen distracted us, so we quickly meet for lunch.

Our first meal consisted of pasta al Pomodoro, fettine di Vitella aua pizzalola, insalata, e crostata di cioccolato. These items were pasta with tomato sauce; sliced veil covered with cherry tomatoes, melted cheese, and mushrooms; a fresh salad; and chocolate pie. It was a delicious and wonderful meal. All of the food was very flavorful and I of course enjoyed every bite of it. The great thing is that I can enjoy it a second time if I would like for dinner because all of the leftovers go into the student kitchen. They do not cook us dinner, so we have to fend for ourselves. Although when we have such lovely food in our fridge, it’s not too hard.

The goal for Dr. Webb and her husband John Rose, was to keep us awake until 9:30 because they are certain that is the best way to get us accustomed to Italian time as quickly as possible. To do this, they took us on a lovely tour of Sansepolcro after lunch. The town was just absolutely beautiful! Every little detail is gorgeous, from the doors, to the walls, to hidden murals, and cobble stone roads.

On our tour we learned the four main entrances to the inner city, Porta Florentina, Porta del Castello, Porta Romana, e Porta del Ponte. We then walked up and down the main street, Via XX Settembre, to the main square, Piazza Torre di Berta. This square commemorates the tall tower that used to resign in the middle of it. We also learned the various locations of banks, grocery stores, and shops. We then walked outside the inner city through Porta Romana to the large shopping center called Pam. Here we were able to buy some school supplies, shampoos, and conditioners. It was a lot of fun looking for school supplies because they are very different compared to the ones in the states. First of all, the pages are longer and they tend not to have red lines for margins. The binders are four holes instead of three holes, and they do not have spiral bound notebooks. After making a selection of one binder and a notebook for my classes, we headed back to the Palazzo. On our way back, we encountered a group of people carrying candles and processing down to the main church. We followed them and found out they were celebrating the birth of Mary. They gave us candles and allowed us to join in on their service. Their singing was beautiful and the music echoed throughout the church in a wonderful way that you usually can not experience in the states.

When we made it back to the Palazzo, we ate some delicious pizza that Bekah had picked out for us from the Happy Bar, a local restaurant. We had pizza margherita and pizza con salami. If you order pizza pepperoni, you will actual get pizza with bell peppers instead of pepperonis. After pizza, John Rose surprised us with a wonderful treat by having his friends come over and serenade us with a beautiful song. Their voices echoed throughout the walls of the Palazzo. It was nothing I could have expected but was absolutely gorgeous. We then invited them upstairs for a chat and to have pizza with us. They were a lovely couple that sang duets and their relatives happen to produce olive oil; however, they only give their olive oil away to family and friends. It’s a good thing they consider John Rose a friend because then we get to try their olive oil! Finally, it was off to bed for some much needed sleep.

Living in Sansepolcro has been a dream and I love every second of it. Every day is an exciting adventure full of surprises, great food, and wonderful encounters with the people. We have just started our classes and are still getting to know the town. This past weekend we also had a once in a lifetime surprise trip to Venezia for the Carnevale! More details on all of these are soon too come!