Relaxing in the Scood

Returning to Scudellate for three days was like returning back to bed after a long day - much needed and well appreciated. Though it was a great five day trip through northern Italy, I was beat and ready to be home. Back in Scood, I was able to return to some familiar pastimes, like going for runs and hikes, relaxing in the main room, enjoying some food lazily out on the front porch, practicing some watercolors, and filling in my sketchbook. We began to really start classwork, with a watercolor workshop and design critiques for our Rivellino redesign.
Let me take this opportunity to explain a little about where we live, because its quite unique. Scudellate is a very small town with an average population of 13. Its a border town, with the path behind the church leading through the mountains to Italy, which is only a 20 minute jog away. The town in perched high up the Vale di Muggio (a large valley facing south towards Milano). We're the second to last town up the road, with tight switchbacks and steep trails between it and the next town down, Muggio. Our ostello, Ostello Scudellate, is right in the middle of the small cluster of buildings, facing down the valley with a perfect view of the series of church spires, denoting towns dotting the hillsides. To get to the nearest city, Chiasso, we have to take a small bus that fits 14 down to Muggio to catch a bigger bus down to Chiasso. Now, this doesn't sound too bad, but the catch is that the small bus only runs 5 times a day on weekdays and three times on weekends, making any traveling very difficult. None the less, we still manage to make the trek down the valley for fieldtrips or to visit the local Coop in Chiasso for cheap snacks or booze (the nearest big grocery store, the only one besides the tiny Dispensa in Muggio). Being near the top of our valley, we're a hour hike or so from the peak of Mt. Generoso, from which you can see both Lago (lake in Italian) Lugano and Lago Como. The green hills stretch down from the rocky peak in all directions before ending abruptly at the water's edge. Needless to say, we're in quite a magical little spot.