lakes, landscapes, and seascapes. (MM #21)

How about a little Mindful Monday action, y'all??

I've mentioned before that this Eurotrip has been rather humbling at times. Being away from close friends and my native language has been somewhat difficult, but the breathtaking landscapes, the beautifully historic buildings, and of course my loving [Italian] family are regular reminders of God's grace and glory. This month abroad has gone by so quickly, but–short though it was–I think it has served an important role in my transition from college to my next stage of life.

Sometimes it's easy to look at a building that has remained standing for over 400 years and be impressed by Man. In a place like Tuscany, however, with a 360˚ panorama of nature available at all times, it's hard not to be impressed by God (or whichever higher power you might subscribe to).

The scenes that surrounded me this week have been astounding...

relaxing...

 ...and reassuring.

I know that my stresses, fears, and insecurities are nothing in the grand scheme of things.

And that's a good thing.

Just one Monday from now I'll be boarding a plane for Florida. Can't believe it.

-M

cameramen

My little point-and-shoot is feeling pretty overpowered lately...

 

^my [mom's] cousin, Joseph, who has been kind enough to open his home to me this week.

 

(and no, the cat is not dead.)

 From one generation to the next...

(note: ^this is not a posed photo)

 (This picture taken with a Canon PowerShot SD1100. Sounds fancy, eh?)

PS- these two are probably the cutest roommates I could ever have.

-M

The land of milk and honey (and wine, and olive oil)

[just ignore the telephone lines...]

Tuscany! 

After a busy long weekend of to-and-fro travels (which I'm sure you're sick.of.reading.about.), my aunt and I have arrived.

 I kind of feel like keeping it [relatively] simple, so…here are some pictures of my adventures so far:

 --Waves crashing alongside our train--

Here's another (I know it's blurry, but it's the only one that captured 

the true color outside my window)

It seems like an old village sits atop every hill in this region. Here's one near my cousin's house:

over the river and through the woods…

Last Sunday, I met up with another friend who happens to be in Freiburg--she's studying abroad in Germany for the semester--and attended Mass at the cathedral. I didn't understand a single thing, but it was still nice to be in that place with God. [Although I haven't spent this trip with my nose in a Bible, or been to church every Sunday, it has nonetheless been somewhat of a spiritual journey, what with the constant humility lessons and all...I've had to trust that everything will work out...And not a day passes that I don't thank God for my amazing family (stateside or otherwise) and the immense beauty that seems to blanket this continent.]

After Mass, we headed into an area with a bunch of hiking trails on the edge of the Black Forest, and spent an hour or two trekking around.

music to my ears: Freiburg, day 2b

Disclaimer: There are videos in this post, but...they're not of the highest quality. 
My bad, folks, my bad.

(Also, please just ignore my talking...Thanks)

Maybe my perspective was biased by my happening to live with a music student and then meeting a bunch of his friends, but Freiburg seemed to be full of music.

The town is populated by a large selection of music students, street musicians, symphonies, and local bands. I wish I took more videos, but alas, I am a pansy, so here we are.