Super Bowl Sunday

When I woke up Sunday, it was to a cold and rainy day. I was at breakfast before almost everyone. Most of us went out to J.J.'s the night before. I left at midnight but others were out until later. So, being one of the first people awake, I had a wide variety of croissants and yogurt to choose from. The most important fact, though, was that I was able to sign up for laundry slots before anyone else.

I had not done laundry in two weeks and needed to wash my jeans. I signed up for 4 hours hoping it would be enough. The washer here has a very small capacity. I fit my three jeans, a sweatshirt, a pair of sweatpants, and two t-shirts in and the washer was packed. I was able to do only two load of laundry, plus some hand washing. I also tried the dryer out. The first load I put into the dryer, socks and underwear and my pajamas, dried completely after about 2 hours. The second load that had my jeans in only steamed my clothes. I had to hang my jeans up afterward on the heated towel rack to dry.

I had started doing laundry at around 9:45-10 o'clock. I stopped washing at 1 and drying at 3. After hand washing five shirts (my hands we soooo cold afterward) I hung these items up first on the heated towel rack. It took all morning and afternoon for some of these to dry and they still were a little damp. I hung up the wettest before dinner and when I came back they were finally dry. Thank goodness because I didn't have any clean jeans to wear.

So, while I was taking care of laundry, in between I was catching up on my reading assignments. I read the newspaper articles we are required to read, I read the assigned reading from my art and literature classes (Canto V in Dante's Inferno.) But I pretty much lounged in bed on the computer for most of the day.

Dinner at Etrusca was one to remember. We had been looking forward to Sunday dinner ever since Bob told us that we would be having burgers, Italian style. We had spaghetti with red sauce for the first course and then burgers and fries for the second. The burgers were spicier than they are in American but still soooooooo very gooooooood. Mmmmmmm. It was a great meal and most of us cleaned our plates fully. I've noticed before on past Sunday's that it seems everyone eats more on Sundays than on other days. I think it's because we have to fend for ourselves on Saturdays but that's just my opinion.

Funny word, opinion. Newspapers have opinion columns, discussions in class are based on facts and opinions, and people constantly ask for your opinion on this or that. Dictionary.com states that an opinion is:
1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3. the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.
4. Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.
5. a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion.
6. a favorable estimate; esteem: I haven't much of an opinion of him.

So there are many different ways to take the word opinion or use it. My blog here is my personal journal and opinion on whats happening here in Italy for the benefit of my family and friends back home. But I digress.

A bunch of the group went into town to watch the Super Bowl. I jokingly told them as they left that my money was on the Steelers. Turns out I was right. I didn't go with them and after hearing their stories about it I'm glad I didn't. The place they went to to watch the game was a small, hot room with a big screen TV. They said that there were limited commercials and the commentary was in Italian. I went to bed early instead of staying up to watch the game.

Now, to talk more about visiting Lucca on Saturday. Bob took us to three of the numerous churches in the walled city. Duomo di San Martino, Church of San Michele, and the Basilica di San Frediano were the three that we toured. I have many pictures of each of these in my slideshows. The album is labeled Assisi but the Lucca pictures are also posted there. We saw the tomb of St. Zita, the patron saint of maids and servants in the Basilica di San Frediano. We saw some very gorgeous artwork in each church and I felt very much in the presence of God.

In the Duomo di San Martino, there is this cedar-wood crucifix with the image of Christ that, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, and miraculously was conveyed to Lucca in 782. The story is that the ship carrying the cross came ashore and the cart driven by two oxen wandered into Lucca and that's where the cross remains. Now, I took artistic privilege with that last sentence. That's my very condensed version and could possibly be wrong in places.

I had a great time in Lucca. We were blessed with a warm sunny day which made the experience better. This Friday we're going to Siena and I hope the weather is just as great. I now have to get some homework done. More blogging tonight. Ciao!