My First Day In Italy!!!!!

Today was the first day in Lucca! We arrived in the airport, exhausted, and traveled by bus (quite recklessly) to the Villa. All night was a rest time and dinner, but this morning we woke up at 7:00 AM and travelled into town. The Villa is located about 10 to 15 minutes out in the hillside and it is the most breathtaking place I have ever seen. It seems that, as I travel, everything becomes more beautiful, but it would be hard for anything to top this! The Villa has been here and owned by the same family for more than 400 years! There are huge trees that line the narrow walkways and birds are singing all day long. It is on the hillside, as many Italian homes are, and the view is incredible. I am able to see the whole valley from my window. There is a swimming pool and a tent where we eat dinner, catered by a local. I am writing on this blog from the chapel of the owners. It is very slow, so I will not be able to write too much, and my computer will not transfer pictures in just yet (but I will figure that out as soon as I can for you).
In town today, we walked around the exterior of the walls. The town is famous for having the oldest walls still around in Italy! They are something like 40 feet high, if not higher, and last week a tourist was too close to the edge and died falling off. Dont worry, I wont be getting anywhere near the edge, Mom. Anyhow, the walls are thick, as fortifications go, and joggers and cyclists go around the city by way of the park on top of the walls! The ground below is a huge park just outside of the city and the grass is very green and well kept. There are even streams running where trenches were once dug.
Inside of the town it was very sleepy today (Sunday means everything is closed) and I already feel like I am learning so much. I cannot imagine leaving, though I know that time will eventually come. We ate a sack lunch on the hillside and then saw the town with a local tourist. We went inside of three churches, beautifully made, and even met the patron saint of one, Zita, who is actually preserved in the church itself for us to see. It was a little bit gross, but made things much more real and had a certain beauty to it. We ate gelati (of course) and looked up at the many bell towers, which chime every hour. There was a great deal of walking, but it was all well worth it.
The weather here is quite chilly at night and in fact, last night, I was a bit cold. In the day it is wonderful. Side note to dad: you may want to put a tracking device on mom when she comes because I doubt she will leave. We may have to track her into her hiding spot among the Italian hills. haha!
I learned several new phrases today and I hope that my Italian will continue to steadily improve. Ciao!