A seven course meal in Pienza, and a really wacky dream

Wednesday, 4/9/03
Today has been a good, full day! We went to Montepulciano and Pienza. We first went to a renaissance church outside Montepulciano, then walked up a long hill to the city center. Valerie, Carmen and I walked into the cathedral, which was completely covered on the front with scaffolding. Carmen was doing her thing at one of the side altars and Valerie and I stood in the center. ---- was lighting a candle and from behind her the light was shining through her frizzy hair so it looked like she had a halo.

Next we went to a winery, looked at all the barrels, then half of us waited for what seemed like forever while everyone else was buying wine.

In Pienza we didn't have time to go into the palace as a group, but went to eat lunch first at this nice restaurant. We had a SEVEN course meal! First was the typical bread. I ate several pieces because it was soft and some of it was actually warm! Next they served toasted bread with weird pasty stuff on it. One tasted meaty and one tasted fishy. I think it might have even been sardines, but it was pretty nasty. Then we had this absolutely delicious pasta, homemade pasta because it was soft and thick, with meat sauce. Next we had gnocchi, a hybrid of pasta and potatoes in ball form, with cheese sauce on top. It was good at first, but it was so mushy I felt like it would expand in my stomach like cookie dough. And it tasted so blah, like, make up your mind to be pasta or potato. [gnocchi is now something I never pass up at an Italian restaurant] Next we had french fries (chips) and salad, then by the time the meat got there we were all stuffed. Finally, there was cake. I ate the top of mine, but the bottom was soaked in liquor.

During dinner the peace demonstrations came up, and one guy got really heated, saying that we didn't understand anarchy. What is there to understand about anarchy?

Another funny thing that happened was that Dixie was talking when the waiter handed out the dessert forks, and he just held hers out for several seconds until I finally took it and put it down in front of her. Then, half a minute later, I was trying to talk to Dixie until I realized that she had grabbed my fork and put it on the table!

After lunch I made several people laugh by telling them Cady's sock story. Sunday night Cady's socks came off her feet while she was sleeping and one got lodged in her pants. The next morning she didn't realize her sock had fallen in the toilet until she had already peed on it!

After lunch we all kind of strolled around town for an hour. Some bought spices, pasta, etc. I saw some really beautiful tiles. Just before dinner Kate, Dixie and I went to the travel agent in town and got a great deal to get to Napoli--€19.47 when it's supposed to be €30! We are excited. The only problem is that we couldn't get a sleeper train, so we have to hang out in Rome for 4 hours in the middle of the night and only get about 4 hours sleep on the trains.

Thursday, 4/10/03
I'm sitting at the table. It's five minutes until lunch. I had the most bizarre dream last night, possibly the most bizarre I have ever had in my life. At least my terrorist dream in middle school made logical sense. And my flying dreams are always like black comedies. They're wonderful and fun, yet scary at the same time because someone is always chasing me.

My dream began when Karin, Cady and I were renting a huge old mansion for only $200 a month. It was an old stone villa with a central hall lined with round columns. The narrower side halls had dark oak doors to the private rooms. We were showing the house to people so we could sublease some of the rooms. I suggested to Cady that we give each family two rooms, or even an entire wind and charge them $200. Then we could have some extra money and we had to keep the number of people in the house to a minimum as there was only one kitchen. In the wing to the left of the central hall, on the ground floor, an elderly couple was moving in. They had two connecting rooms but the one at the end of the hall I knew contained the belongings of Karin's late aunt.

Karin was lounging in the main living room, so I went into that bedroom at the end of the hall to have a look. It looked very cheery; it was clean and in pastel colors. There were several sweaters and other clothing folded and in stacks on a table by the window. I went over to them and just put my hands down on a light blue cardigan. Immediately it was as if a wind had blown under the sweater, for it rose up in a sort of wave, then started unbuttoning and spinning in the air. The other clothing began to rise, as well. I ran to the living room in alarm and told Karin what was happening. She jumped up off the crimson sofa in the lamp lit room, and ran back down the hall, yelling, "You weren't supposed to touch the clothes! If you touch them they come alive!"

I followed her and somehow she got the sweaters to calm down, but I, still scared, prayed that anything evil would leave the room. I opened my eyes and the white table was completely bare. The sweaters were gone. Then I kneeled down to get an album from the shelves under the table. There were pictures of many buildings, but every photo that had contained people had vanished.

Karin and I next went to the elderly couple's room to help the wife move her things. She was concerned because she sensed that something was wrong. I assured her that everything was alright, but while we were in the room I asked Karin how her aunt had died. I don't remember exactly what she said, but I got the image of her uncle and a severed head.

Later, we were in the main hall. The grand staircase was on the back wall and in the middle of the room was a single pillar serving no purpose but as a monument. The stone of all was of a green tint. I still felt uneasy, though Karin said there was nothing to worry about. We were talking to an Asian man about the possibility of his family moving in, when suddenly the central pillar toppled over, scooped Karin up from between her legs like she was riding a horse, and started flying around the room with her holding on for dear life, and in sheer terror. Somehow, I knew the pillar was possessed with the spirit of her aunt. The pillar came near the floor and I tried to grab Karin, but to no avail. Finally, I again prayed to please send the evil away.

The pillar vanished, but so also did the entire house! Karin was returned to the ground, but we were all sitting on a deserted square in the middle of a city. Tufts of grass were growing around us; we were in the remains of an old foundation. In front of us was the square base that the column had been mounted on.