florence, my heart

A big piece of my heart will always be in Florence. The city is like a second home. It's where, as a kid, I spent Christmases, summers, a year of my high school career. Despite the miles of distance, some of my closest family members reside there. Every time I return, my soul is washed in happiness. Love for my family, adoration for my grandma, the way of life -- it's all so perfect. Calming. Soothing. Every day spent in Florence is filled with delicious food, interspersed with long walks. The countryside is never far, and a good hour long walk will have you in the hills outside, gazing over cypress trees and centuries of beautiful architecture. What happiness. Florence, until we meet again, my heart will be homesick for you.

weekly scenes

There is no one I love spending time with more than my man. With him, I'm utterly myself. Free & happy. The past month gifted us more time together than usual. When life gives it to you, you use it. Adventures, with him, are always better. 

backpacking the batona trail

A phenomenon occurred last week. Adam and I had three days to spend together. It was out of this world, and you know we made the most of it. After sticking around Philly and staying up way too late, we had a lazy morning. Finally making it out of the house, we fueled up at a friend's cafe, Red Hook (check it out), and then headed to the Pine Barrens of NJ to hike 14 miles of the Batona trail. 

Starting at Batsto village, we walked 7 miles in to the lower ridge campsite. All along, the trail was lined with blueberries. We hiked through what was literally, a blueberry forest! It was a glorious day. The sunshine was on our side until right after we pitched tent and got a fire going. Once the flames were finally blazing, the heavens opened up with all their might. Luckily we had the tent up, so we climbed inside and listened in awe to the loudest crashing thunder we've ever heard. 

Waking early, we enjoyed being the only human beings for miles. Heating up water from the camel backs we brewed coffee. I had awoken with a shiver, it was awfully early in the morning, and the heat from the cup slowly brought me back to life. We then hauled out the powdered milk and granola to whip up some breakfast. Cleaning up involved a hike down to the stream where we scrubbed the dishes and pumped new water through the filter for the day.  

Getting back to our feet, we crossed the river and walked 7 miles down the other side. The return was simple and enjoyable. Nature all to ourselves. Silence albeit the rustling of leaves and birdsong. We approached on the other side of Batsto village and got to check out the old buildings. My imagination immediately filled the scene with hardworking men and children running free with adventure. The place represents a different time, and it's funny to think of a civilization so different from ours.

We finally found the car, and drove straight to the closest diner. It was simply put, some of the best three days of my life. 

china part 3: hubei province

We made it to Wuhan, the province of Hubei's largest city, and the rain was pouring down! Luckily we easily found my sister-in-law's father who had been waiting for us all day. He was with another man from their town who had driven a van to come pick us up. We stood under the airport's awning, wondering about running to the car. I couldn't speak Chinese, but I whipped out my umbrella and quickly handed it to her father to give our driver. He made a run for it and came back with the van to pack us all in. From there it was about a 3.5 hour drive to the small town of Mengxi.

MENGXI

Mengxi is a one road place. A fairly modern strip of buildings line either side. Each is connected to the other, like row homes with no space in between. Open front mom'n pop shops fill the spaces. Some are selling live pigs, others household needs or alcohol. Jiao Jiao's uncle and aunt own a hair salon that fills one of the spaces. None if it is clean. Dust floats everywhere. Small trucks and motorcycles whiz up and down the road, as do bicycles and wagons. Beyond the strip of buildings lining the street, rice fields and farming stretch on for days. You may find a small cluster of homes sprinkled throughout, but for the most part it's just open fields. The homes are shack-like concrete structures that you can walk through on dirt foot paths. People sit around in doorways, groups of men work on a neighbors roof, and chickens run about.

My brother has bought Jiao Jiao's parents a new apartment on the main road. Its sparkly clean and sleek on the inside. This is where we'll be making our home for the next week. Jiao Jiao's parents, my parents, Ben and Jiao Jiao, me and Ilario, all under one roof. I take the couch, as we all know that I love sleeping on couches and I can snooze through just about anything. It's a natural fit, and the rest of the week I rise at 6am when her parents wake. I get to see the inner workings of a Chinese couple's early mornings. There is no power when we first arrive because of the rain, and so we head down the street to the only hotel where they have a generator and we can get some food. Family fills the place, we have it all to ourselves, and we eat like kings.

NANPING

The day before the wedding we head about 10 minutes from Mengxi to Nanping, the next town over. Jiao Jiao has to find a wedding dress! Can you believe it? Any American bride would have had her dress for months, but in China it's not uncommon to go and rent yours the day before. That's right, rent.

We then head the big hotel in town, where Ben and Jiao Jiao will get married the following day. We eat lunch, and then rent a room so we can shower. The apartment is still without power, and by this time we're a group of very smelly Americans, so it's pretty much needed. Afterward, we wander into Nanping, check out the street food, the shopping...I go to bed very happy that night.

GONG'AN

Our last day in the province of Hubei, we venture to the nearest city, Gong'an. We head there so that Jiao Jiao can get a new ID, and so that they two of them can file for their marriage license. The Chinese culture is all very funny, and we have to bring cigarettes and chocolate to bribe the workers. Can you believe it? This makes it so that, perhaps, Jiao Jiao can get her id in one week rather than five - or, their marriage license will be ready the following day rather than in a week. I can't believe it, but it's true, and oh so funny. 

We eat our hearts out in Gong'an on street food. At one point I have a red bean matcha green tea milk tea. It's so delicious. We also gnaw on some sugar cane, and share spicy street noodles.

Every which way you look it's so interesting. There are no stop lights, people drive and honk like maniacs. Things are dirty, buildings look run down, yet the people are very put together and some shops are fancy as can be. The juxtaposition is so strange and foreign to me. I love soaking it all in and taking it for what it is.