Classes, Visitors, and a Party

We have had five consecutive days of class since Monday, and everyone has been in the thick of the school routine. Students are working on papers on projects, and things are proceeding much like they did last week. There have been more soccer games, and a group went to see one of the professional matches a couple of nights ago (at a cost of 50 euros per ticket—too rich for my blood!).

Jonathan Edwards's brother (Brandon) and his wife joined us here in the hotel this week and will be here until the first part of next week. They have a three-week-old baby named Charlotte who has been turning heads throughout the hotel. Our son Richard is no longer the youngest person here! Brandon and his wife are missionaries in Sicily, and they are here for a sort of vacation and also to get their daughter a U.S. passport. I had not seen Brandon for many years, so it has been a treat to talk to him. I discovered that he and I lived in the same city in China at different times, and that has given us a lot to talk about.

I have been busy in the afternoons. On Tuesday my family drove into Arezzo for some sightseeing, and we managed to see the cathedral and the church of San Francesco, which contains an important fresco cycle by Piero della Francesca telling the story of the Legend of the True Cross. Wednesday afternoon I went back into Arezzo with a couple of Faulkner students to see the Medici fortress and the remains of the Roman amphitheater, as well as Petrarch's house, which was inexplicably closed. On Thursday I drove my family up into the Casentino region north of Arezzo to see the birthplace of Michelangelo, which is in a little hill town called Caprese. The weather is changing here and getting quite cold, windy, and rainy. We were on the verge of getting uncomfortable on top of that hill.

Thursday was also Birthday #6 for our oldest son, Edward. Vickie made a big cookie for him with a candle that he blew out at supper last night. All the students sang to him, and he enjoyed it.

This evening we are having a "Harvest Party" here in the hotel, which I understand is supposed to be followed by an excursion to a cemetery to tell ghost stories. Students are dressing up in costumes; Kevin Cline and Elizabeth Nabors are going as me and Vickie. I'm sure that will be interesting.