another eye opens

I spent a week in Italy conducting a retreat for gay male couples at Terzo di Danciano, a rustic villa on the border of Tuscany and Umbria.

The friendly and handsome proprietor, Luca Francia, bought this former farmhouse and renovated it as a center for seminars and special events.

I arrived as another program was finishing up — this is the view from my room.

I stayed in the room sometimes occupied by Luca’s daughter, Pepita.

Her bathroom door is unique in the house — the front panel is a vision of heaven…

…the inside panel a vision of hell and/or San Gimignano.

I woke to this view of morning fog.

When it burned off, I was able to confirm that, yes, I had arrived in that pocket of paradise known as Tuscany.