Torre del Tartufo, Part 2, Day 4

Exhausting day. We left at 9:30 for the excursion day, which involved a trip back to the same ceramics factory (spent too much money) as last year, then to the same cheese farm as last year, then to a winery, and then to a textile mill. Luckily, I was overwhelmed at the textile mill and did not buy anything.

I haven't gotten as much mental alone time on this trip as I did the last one -- a bigger group makes a huge difference. Last year, there were only 7 of us, and the husbands went out of their way to shield me from distraction. This trip, with 12, it seems like there's a lot less free time to read. I'm enjoying this group a lot, I don't mean to make it sound like I'm not having a fabulous time, but there are a lot of extraverts in this group, which means that there's less silent time to think.

There's also an older lady on this trip who is sucking my will to live, and I haven't been able to pinpoint why, but I think it's because, like Heather last year, she only talks about herself. The woman who sells advertising for Google also talks a lot about herself, but the way she does it is mostly fun. The older lady asks questions that you can tell she thinks are really intelligent, but in truth, are kind of silly. It's a little bit like she heard someone else ask the same question and sound smart, so she plonks it into a conversation with no thought for context. I think Turner would say that she has no concept of nuance, and maybe that's what it is. She's interesting to watch, and she's very accomplished, which makes it even more interesting. Because I'm not a nice person, it never makes the annoying go away completely.

It's so silent in my room, I can feel my ears straining to hear something, anything, when I stop typing. The occasional bug hitting the light puts my senses on high alert, which is funny. Silence is so underrated; I wish I had a silent spot to retreat to in Houston. Moving to Plano with Mom and Dad will make that easier -- there's very little noise in the suburbs on a cul de sac.

Today, we had lunch at Casa Miranda, the cheese farm in Casentino: vegetable soup, but blended together so it was smooth and slightly thick; a variety of cold cuts; 4 different kinds of cheese that they make there; and the sweetest, juiciest pear that was perfectly ripe and melted in the mouth. Dinner was the minestrone that I chopped and chopped and chopped vegetables for, as well as some wild boar stew, focaccia, and chocolate tart, which I was too full to eat.

I think I'm going to sleep with the shutters open and see what happens. It's just as easy for me to sleep in the sunshine as the dark, but maybe I'll have a chance to get up early and enjoy the silence.