24 July 2011
It isn't often I get to see my world come full circle but this week, I really did.
A dear old friend of mine from my Pasadena days has been encouraging her daughter to visit us the last couple of years and this year she finally made it. What a strange, strange, STRANGE world when the tiny little baby you held just hours after being born now 20 years later is a beautiful adult AND actually here visiting me in Italy!!!!
Kathryne and her friend Tara arrived on a Sunday and in perfect time for us to whisk them away to a festa for dinner. We tried out a new one near Montepulciano and introduced the girls to their very first Italian festival!
We ordered a little bit of everything to share and it all was REALLY good.
It was so much fun catching up with Kathryne, who I hadn't seen for years, and getting to know her friend Tara and hear about all their European adventures.
The festa was another typical harvest festival with tractors and hay and very local dishes that are normally served this time of the year. I think it was a hit with everyone!
Kathryne and Tara stayed with us for a few days and I had the opportunity to show them around Cortona. First stop, Santa Margarita for a commanding view of all of the Val di Chiana.
From Santa Margarita we went up to the fortezza on the very top of the hill that Cortona sits on. Our house is down there...
Actually you really can spot our house, surrounded by sunflowers!
There was a photography exhibition going on in the fortezza and for the first time I actually went inside. There are gorgeous views in every direction and you couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day.
Kathryne and Tara enjoyed the views of the valley from the top ledge of the fortezza.
Looking down from the fortezza you can see the old wall of Cortona that still goes all the way around the city. Lago Trasimeno in Umbria is in the far distance.
After the visit to the fortezza I drove the girls over to Le Celle to see the amazingly well-preserved monastery where St. Francis lived in a cell for a few months in the 1200's.
What an enjoyable visit! I'm so glad to have had the chance to get to know Kathryne now as an adult. It is hard to believe that she is 20 years old now, it seems like just a couple years ago that I was changing her diaper!!
And THAT, is a full circle, and then some!
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