This little light of mine :)

Last YOU heard, I was getting ready for a brand new adventure to Siena, Italy.  Well, that's not all that happened!  On Friday, I got to adventure in the Uffizi Gallery where there are multiple works by Botticelli, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Vasari, Caravaggio, and many many more.  I got to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus and Primavera.  I got to see a painting by Michelangelo, which was the epitome of beauty and perfection - it had feeling and detail that is hard to express unless you see it with your own eyes - just like David.  I saw an unfinished painting by Leonardo that took my breath away.  I also saw Caravaggio's Medusa which was both breathtaking and disturbing at the very same time (which I managed to snap a quick photo of displayed above).  These masters are truly something else, and something that I can only hope to tap into. After the Uffizi, I went shopping for the first time here at Zara.  High fashion at an affordable price :)  I had a blast! 

Saturday, we departed bright and early for Siena (me dressed in my new skirt).  Once we got there we toured the church of St. Katherine which has her real head as a relic there - eew.  We also got to see their catacombs, which they are still excavating to this day.  Then we went to their Duomo, which is so very different than Florence's Duomo.  It was very interesting to see the ornate secular artwork that even Michelangelo had his hand in as a young artist.  Siena was beautiful that day.  The sky was the bluest I have ever seen it in my entire life!  Plus it is much quieter and slower paced than Florence, which was calming.  After we finished touring Siena, we departed on the back roads for Greve in Chianti for a wine festival.  One of my friends so graciously named it, "school sanctioned inebriation."  Which is entirely true, because the director of the program stopped the bus, had us get out, go try as much wine as we wanted, and be back within the hour.  It was a very good time...especially the part when we got to watch the rest of our classmates make complete fools of themselves in their tipsy state.  

The rest of the weekend and all this week has been more relaxing.  I have done more exploring of Florence and am really starting to get a handle on the layout.  Today I went and purchased a new pair of handmade Italian leather shoes - on sale!  I also have been settling into my routine and have been able to spend some much needed time with Jesus.  Hence the name of this post :)  He has been encouraging me to be a light in this strange place so far from home.  And in turn, He has been preparing my heart for...well, something.  I don't know yet!  Until next time, friends and family.  Love to all of you from one small heart in Tuscany