Wednesday, 3/26/03
I'm sitting next to a demolished tree stump. The tree is not only gone, the entire stump, about 3 ft in diameter, is caved in the middle and the black jagged pieces are in a pile in the center. In between and around those pieces is growing a patch of seven leaf clover. The outside layer of the stump is covered with a carpet of the brightest green moss. There are various weeds growing around, but a lone fern peeps up at the foot of one of the stump's roots.
I'm at the Villa Lante, or in its garden, which is what it's known for. There's a very cultivated part, sculpted shrubberies, a succession of fountains, etc. Then there is this more free grown part, much like the woods of the botanic garden in Ft. Worth, but with fountains of water positioned in various spots. The garden used to be a lot bigger than this, and I believe this section was more structured. It's wonderful for exploring; I've been by myself the entire time and took the roads less traveled.
The weather is divine. The sun shines strongly and warmly, but there's a nice cool breeze. I'm laying on my jacket in a field of grass at the moment, right at the foot of a very tall tree. It's only the architecture students that are here. Everyone else went on a different field trip today. I love this place, but I hope we're not missing anything neat.
I laid out in the sun for about an hour, then joined a group who had come back from lunch. I laid out for another hour and listened to some Kansas guys discussing books on architectural theory, and then one of them reading The Fountainhead out loud and making fun of it. It was a wonderful afternoon.
Now we're just leaving the Parco dei Mostri, another place near Bomarzo. I'm so glad we went there. It was amazing, almost Disneyland-like. I don't know when it was constructed, but apparently some crazy guy had it done to satisfy his ego. It's a woodsy park with a collection of the most bizarre stone sculptures. There are titans, merpeople, a dragon, a life-sized elephant, an enormous turtle with the head of a sea monster looking like it's trying to swallow it. Then there are faces with mouths large enough to walk into.
Thursday, 3/27/03
I've decided: I want to got to graduate school in history of the arts, which encompasses art, architecture, music, literature and philosophy. That's what I want to know about. Now I just have to figure out what school can offer me that, and then make sure that's what I should do.
I forgot to write one really funny thing that happened. Monday night I went to bed. At length I woke up, it was dark, and for the first time in my life I had no earthly clue where I was. I saw this dark shadow across the room to my left.
I raised up on my elbow and said, "Where am I?"
The shadow didn't move, so I thought for about 30 seconds then finally said "You're Cady," still not really sure if she was.
She said, "Yeah, last time I checked." Then I was like, yeah, that's Cady.
I said, "What time is it?"
"It's a little after 11."
"What? I've only been asleep for 20 minutes!"
Then I went back to sleep. It must have been that two weeks in hotels, plus the only 3 hours of sleep the night before.
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