All Saint's Day

Hey everyone! So November 1st is All Saint's Day, and in Italy it is a major religious holiday. This morning I got up with my host family and went to mass, then we went to the cemetery and it blew me away how many people came to honor and respect their dead loved ones. The cemeteries here are marble box-like structures that are built up, no one is buried in the ground. Every box has a name and the dates of birth and death and most of the time, a picture. Every single box had flowers, candles, something on it in remembrance of the person it housed. This was such a surprise for me, because in America, we rarely go back to the cemetery unless it's a funeral/burial or some other occasion, such as the deceased persons birthday or a holiday. I thought it was fantastic that here people treat All Saint's Day as a day of remembrance.
On a different note, I know it's been a while since I wrote last, sorry about that! In that time, I have gone to see three new places: Forli, San Marino and Ascoli-Piceno. My favorites were by far San Marino and Ascoli-Piceno. San Marino is actually not a part of Italy and is a separate state, like Vatican City. It's built up on 3 hills, with a tower on each one. The streets are lined with shops and coffee bars and it still has that medieval feel to it. Ascoli-Piceno is very similar in it's medieval feel, but it also is modern. The piazzas are wide and airy and the citizens are stylish. Ascoli is famous for it's olives and speciality olives. While I was there I tried a meat stuffed olive that was deep fried. I don't like olives but that tasted pretty good :) The pictures below are from Ascoli. Until next time!