Italy Trip: Day 4

(Thursday 21, 2012) I think that so far this day has been my favorite out of all of them so far. Not only did we see A LOT of different shops, art, and the daily routines of some Italians, we got to see how marble was harvested and see how lard was produced. But those aren’t the reasons why I enjoyed this day so much. My favorite part was where the city of Carrara is located. I have a slight obsession with nature, especially if it grows where old factories used to be. I’ll explain a little more later, but for now I felt it was a very productive and fun day. I really enjoyed the trip through Pietrasanta because we got to witness a lot of different things. We got to witness a wedding, which was WAY different then the ones in the States. This couple’s wedding was in the middle of the square where all the art was spread across the courtyard. Back in America, weddings are very exclusive where only certain people are invited. Also, the more expensive it is, the better it is “supposed” to be. That was defiantly not the case when it came to the wedding that we witnessed. The rest of the time there was pretty enjoyable and relaxing because all me Justine and Billy did was wondering around to different shops and eat a delicious light lunch before we departed to Carrara. I really enjoyed the trip thought Carrara and to the marble quarries. It was really interesting learning about how they cut and move the marble. My favorite thing was just how the quarry looked. It looked like it was out of some SciFi movie. It’s hard to explain but it was cool looking at the grains in the already excavated parts of the mountain. One thing that really surprised me was how cheap the marble was per ton. I can’t remember exactly how much it was, but Ankoosh and I were talking about splitting the cost of a ton because we would be able to afford it with the money that we brought for the trip. The last spot we stopped at was the lard factory, which turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t looking forward to it at first, but after learning about how long they age it and the time it takes to make it, I thought that “why not, I’ll try it.” It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but I still didn’t want to purchase any. But I still enjoyed the opportunity of being able to try it. Like I said before, my favorite part of this day was on the way back down the mountain when I was able to see some of the old factories be taken over by nature. It’s really hard to explain why I like this so much but I thought it was extremely beautiful. I think it has to do with nature being able to take back what was rightfully hers in the first place, but still showing the remains of something that once was a thriving factory. It’s both hard to describe why I like it so much and also the feeling that it gave me, but all you need to know is that this was my favorite day.