Bellissimo!

Olivia has returned from Italy. She has had a full semester; from January through April - of Italian seasoning. In this picture I think it is apparent: the direct fearless gaze of the seasoned traveler. It was all part of the study abroad program of Spring Hill College, where she will be a senior next year. And there were classes attended on a daily basis. But there were also generous excursions to Switzerland and Greece, and weekend trips to Venice, Rome, Germany, and my own special place, Paris. 

She stayed in an apartment with other students from different areas of the U. S., and made  new friends. She also walked the narrow, cobblestone streets partaking of beauty, European style. All the walking was hard on her ankle, which has been surgically repaired twice in the last year and a half. Yet my stoic and adventurous granddaughter climbed the steep steps to an ancient monastery in Greece, and made her way up the hill to the Acropolis. This was her determined approach to all of this special experience she had so looked forward to. She basked in the ambiance: art, food, architecture, people of her home city, Bologna. And she faced and clambered over challenges on a daily basis. I am so proud of this beloved first child of my beloved first child. And now Olivia has come home.

On her second day home, we were visiting and catching up on the cozy green couch in my studio, taking a picnic to the park, and relaxing into the playful rapport we have always enjoyed together. It seemed that no time had passed, yet Olivia carries with her those four months of her Italian sojourn. Behind those wonderful sunglasses mirroring her Nanny with her camera, are eyes that have seen other worlds. Her beautiful soul is added to, and what she has realized will never be taken from her. 

I like the serious, direct gaze in this main photo, but have included others: one on the green couch re-discovering her Nanny's big studio room, and others from the park.