I realize that with another sparkling tale of my adventures this weekend, I am getting to the point where all my raving about Italy will become a little trite.
THEREFORE I have constructed a list about THE BAD THINGS IN ITALY.
Why Italy Is Dumb (a list by Kristin):
1. Everyone wears metallic gym shoes. Old people, young people, people riding bikes, people expecting to be taken seriously, EVERYONE.
2. No toilet paper in the bathroom! Anywhere! When I become President of Italy, my first act will be to ensure that all WCs are properly installed with a sufficient amount of toilet paper for the clientele that uses the facilities daily. Squat toilets I can deal with, having nothing with which to wipe my tush is another issue.
3. Clothes are expensive! Erin and I went into a couple department stores, thinking that prices might be a little more reasonable but NO. I absolutely refuse to buy a sequined Hello Kitty tank top for 25 euro.
4. Too much Hello Kitty. It’s everywhere. People actually think it’s stylish.
5. Texts and phone calls don’t go through, even when I’m texting or calling people on the same plan as me. Also the little voicemail symbol on my phone WILL NOT GO AWAY, even though I have no voicemails. Come on now.
6. Boys wearing pants that are colors other than black, brown, or denim (or variations of those). Where I come from, orange pantaloons will not get you very far in the business world.
7. Italians think that 65 degrees Fahrenheit is freezing. When we put on light cardigans to go out they wear down jackets with mittens and hats. Legitimately. Plus, North Face and Uggs prices are mad high here (at least double what they are in the States), so this reason correlates with number 3.
8. Sometimes I can’t tell what kind of fruit I am eating. Prune or plum? Lemon or orange? Nectarine or peach? It is slightly distressing.
9. The dryers hold approximately 2.4 articles of clothing. It is culturally sound to dry your clothes outside on a line or over a porch or whatnot, but what happens in the winter? I do not like icy jeans, no ma’am.
10. METALLIC GYM SHOES. YOU REALLY DON’T GET IT.
So anyway, this weekend was phenomenal!
Yesterday we took an earlyish train to Monterosso, one of the Cinque Terre towns. Things to do in Cinque Terre: go to the beach or hike through all five towns. We chose the latter! Overall, it took about five and a half hours to make it to all the towns, and the hike was actually more strenuous than I had originally anticipated, but it was worth it. I mean, despite my shirt and tank top being absolutely soaked through because of my backpack (lovely mental image! But seriously, I was basically a caricature of someone not in shape on a very hot day. Yucky.) and the never-ending inclines through the mountainous terrain, we felt very accomplished at the end. The first two legs of the trail, Monterosso to Vernazza and Vernazza to Corniglia, were the worst with the biggest inclines, but we did those first and the rest was peachy keen. On the way down to Vernazza we heard music from the beach below drifting up through the trees. That was pretty magical. Vernazza was my favorite, I think. We ate by the water and I dipped my feet in the water, which felt excellent after such a hike.
The path from Monterola to Riomaggiore was adorable. It wasn’t so much a hike as it was a stroll along this Via Dell’Amore, which was a covered walkway where people wrote confessions of love grafitti style, or had marble plaques put on the wall with the name of their love. I saw a marriage proposal on a cement bench. TOO CUTE.
At Riomaggiore we caught a ferry back to Monterosso, and the views of the towns from the water was spectacular. It was really neat to see the land we had just hiked, and to realize that we could have covered the same amount of land in a fraction of the time if we had just shelled out 8 euro at the beginning and did a ferry to begin with. Jokes, that would have been far too easy. It was definitely worth the journey.
At Monterosso we were all ready to get some dinner when we discovered that Monterosso is the most fabulous place on earth because they had set up a FREE WINE TASTING for whatever reason! Probably not the most healthy thing to have right after a long day of hiking and not a lot of eating, but it was incredibly fun and we felt like we had deserved it after such a hike. We got some dinner (gnocchi with pesto for me!) and then sat on the beach with gelato (stracchiatella and chocolate/coconut for me!) until it was time for our train. Really great.
This morning we went to Assisi, which was not as outwardly fantastic but was in its own right ridiculously cute. We started off seeing the tomb of St. Francis, and got holy cards. There was a wedding going on in one of the nearby chapels, and the bride rode through the piazza in a horse-drawn carriage. We went to a couple different churches and walked up to a castle on the top of a large hill, where there was a wonderful view of the countryside. There were so many priests and friars and nuns around, it was adorable. All in all, it was a great weekend for pictures, which I will upload as soon as I can in Parma.
Tomorrow is our art history final and Tuesday we leave! I cannot wait, you have no idea. I really need to start packing things up here and organizing my notes some more. But life is pretty beautiful on this end, especially since I got more gelato tonight – Mars bar flavored and Kinder flavored ahaha. YUM.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Today we had class in the convent of San Marco, which has frescoes all over the place by a painter named Fra Angelico. They were pretty sweet, although a lot of them were undergoing restoration. It has been indescribable to be seeing these works of art in sitú, on location. So much more fulfilling than just looking in a book.
After class Erin, Sarah and I took a long walk up to the church of San Miniato (10 points for anyone who finds out for me what he is the saint for…I’m too lazy to actually look it up) which has an amazing view of the city of Florence – much like everything we go to. I’m really overwhelmed by the amount of places that have such a beautiful view of the city – I feel like my pictures are getting tedious with these constant gorgeous views. MAN! WHAT A PAIN!
We stopped at the Piazzale Michelangelo, which has yet another copy of the David looking out on the city. It was a lovely place to sit after a long hard walk up at least 3 million stairs and just sit and eat apples and look out on Firenze.
San Miniato itself was really cool. We walked around the outside of the church before going in, and there was a ginormous camposanto (cemetery) that extended for awhile. It was beautiful, in a strange way. Everything was made of marble: statues, huge intricate mosaiced mausoleums, and the grave markers themselves. I tried to read a couple of the markers and was able to understand a lot of the epitaphs.
The inside of the church was neat too, but it was weird not to have Rocci standing over us explaining every little detail of the church (hence me not even knowing who San M was). There were a couple frescoes that were only sketches, which I haven’t seen yet. This church was really cool because you could actually walk ALL AROUND inside it – like up to the choir loft and peek inside side chapels. So many churches right in the city only allow you to walk in and check it out from the ground floor, unless you want to pay something to check out the rest.
Since we’ve been back at the hotel waiting for dinner I’ve been looking through 9 trillion pictures and listening to music, and I’m a little – not homesick – nostalgic. Only a couple more classes left in Florence, then it’s off to Parma, which I am so excited about. It will be so good to feel settled in somewhere, and I’m psyched to check out my homestay. Plus, reliable internet is always a bonus. I should stop whining (and start WINING?). TEE HEE. Okay, ciao, it’s nearly chow time. I am just too clever for my own good.
After class Erin, Sarah and I took a long walk up to the church of San Miniato (10 points for anyone who finds out for me what he is the saint for…I’m too lazy to actually look it up) which has an amazing view of the city of Florence – much like everything we go to. I’m really overwhelmed by the amount of places that have such a beautiful view of the city – I feel like my pictures are getting tedious with these constant gorgeous views. MAN! WHAT A PAIN!
We stopped at the Piazzale Michelangelo, which has yet another copy of the David looking out on the city. It was a lovely place to sit after a long hard walk up at least 3 million stairs and just sit and eat apples and look out on Firenze.
San Miniato itself was really cool. We walked around the outside of the church before going in, and there was a ginormous camposanto (cemetery) that extended for awhile. It was beautiful, in a strange way. Everything was made of marble: statues, huge intricate mosaiced mausoleums, and the grave markers themselves. I tried to read a couple of the markers and was able to understand a lot of the epitaphs.
The inside of the church was neat too, but it was weird not to have Rocci standing over us explaining every little detail of the church (hence me not even knowing who San M was). There were a couple frescoes that were only sketches, which I haven’t seen yet. This church was really cool because you could actually walk ALL AROUND inside it – like up to the choir loft and peek inside side chapels. So many churches right in the city only allow you to walk in and check it out from the ground floor, unless you want to pay something to check out the rest.
Since we’ve been back at the hotel waiting for dinner I’ve been looking through 9 trillion pictures and listening to music, and I’m a little – not homesick – nostalgic. Only a couple more classes left in Florence, then it’s off to Parma, which I am so excited about. It will be so good to feel settled in somewhere, and I’m psyched to check out my homestay. Plus, reliable internet is always a bonus. I should stop whining (and start WINING?). TEE HEE. Okay, ciao, it’s nearly chow time. I am just too clever for my own good.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
It's been a couple days! Everyone's probably really excited that I haven't posted for awhile.
The day after we had the splendid wine tasting, we had a bit of a disappointment. We wanted to go to these gardens which we thought would be like Fiesole, but the bus dropped us off pretty much on the side of the highway and we had to walk a long, sketch route to these pretty pathetic gardens. We didn't stay long, because we had had such high hopes DASHED, so we left after we did our class reading and went instead to a flea market. Much more entertaining. I love how old junk is pretty much the same everywhere you go -- you wonder why certain things even EXIST, they're so ugly.
Yesterday class was at the Palazzo Medici and San Lorenzo, which my mom would have loved. The old residential palace of the Medici family is now the city police center, I guess, and there was this HUGE protest going on outside of the building while we were having class. Rocci told us if they breached the gates to tell them that we didn't work there and that we were Canadian. But alas, nothing so exciting even transpired. The church of San Lorenzo has the bodies of a lot of the Medici fam, which was cool. THEY WERE SO RICH.
It was one of the girl's birthday last night so we went to the kareoke place we went to last week. After awhile, a group went to this club to see MIMS (this is why I'm hot)...there are so many random artists that come here. Last week Chingy was here and next week is Flo Rida. Hahahahaha what. I didn't go (obviously) but apparently he was disappointing anyway.
TODAY we did the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo, which is where a lot of the original stuff that was in or on the Duomo is housed. We saw some famous door panels, St. John the Baptist's jawbone and index finger, and the second of the three Pietas that Michelangelo carved (number one is in Rome, obviously, this one he smashed because he found an imperfection in the marble. YIKES MAN). Oh, and Brunelleschi's death mask.
Also today was Jeff's birthday so we went out to lunch at this restaurant Perseus, which apparently has the best steak in Florence. Jeff and Nate split this 48.00 steak which was delishhh and huge. Sarah Erin and I split some pasta and also some meat, which we now believe to be liver. Really gross, our tummies hurt afterwards. OH WELL WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.
ALSO we got train tickets to Cinque Terre for this weekend (we're doing a day trip on Saturday) and to Assissi for Sunday! These are the the plans we made in place of Munich, and I'm really stoked. CT looks GORGEOUS and Assissi is supposed to be pretty sweet as well.
Right now I'm looking up hostels in Poland and trying to figure out what to do with the 5 weekends I have not planned anything for. Oh traveling; never realized what a hassle you are.
ANYWAY I hope all is well with everyone -- shoot me an email to say how you're doing please! I miss you all!
LOVEEE
The day after we had the splendid wine tasting, we had a bit of a disappointment. We wanted to go to these gardens which we thought would be like Fiesole, but the bus dropped us off pretty much on the side of the highway and we had to walk a long, sketch route to these pretty pathetic gardens. We didn't stay long, because we had had such high hopes DASHED, so we left after we did our class reading and went instead to a flea market. Much more entertaining. I love how old junk is pretty much the same everywhere you go -- you wonder why certain things even EXIST, they're so ugly.
Yesterday class was at the Palazzo Medici and San Lorenzo, which my mom would have loved. The old residential palace of the Medici family is now the city police center, I guess, and there was this HUGE protest going on outside of the building while we were having class. Rocci told us if they breached the gates to tell them that we didn't work there and that we were Canadian. But alas, nothing so exciting even transpired. The church of San Lorenzo has the bodies of a lot of the Medici fam, which was cool. THEY WERE SO RICH.
It was one of the girl's birthday last night so we went to the kareoke place we went to last week. After awhile, a group went to this club to see MIMS (this is why I'm hot)...there are so many random artists that come here. Last week Chingy was here and next week is Flo Rida. Hahahahaha what. I didn't go (obviously) but apparently he was disappointing anyway.
TODAY we did the Museo dell' Opera del Duomo, which is where a lot of the original stuff that was in or on the Duomo is housed. We saw some famous door panels, St. John the Baptist's jawbone and index finger, and the second of the three Pietas that Michelangelo carved (number one is in Rome, obviously, this one he smashed because he found an imperfection in the marble. YIKES MAN). Oh, and Brunelleschi's death mask.
Also today was Jeff's birthday so we went out to lunch at this restaurant Perseus, which apparently has the best steak in Florence. Jeff and Nate split this 48.00 steak which was delishhh and huge. Sarah Erin and I split some pasta and also some meat, which we now believe to be liver. Really gross, our tummies hurt afterwards. OH WELL WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.
ALSO we got train tickets to Cinque Terre for this weekend (we're doing a day trip on Saturday) and to Assissi for Sunday! These are the the plans we made in place of Munich, and I'm really stoked. CT looks GORGEOUS and Assissi is supposed to be pretty sweet as well.
Right now I'm looking up hostels in Poland and trying to figure out what to do with the 5 weekends I have not planned anything for. Oh traveling; never realized what a hassle you are.
ANYWAY I hope all is well with everyone -- shoot me an email to say how you're doing please! I miss you all!
LOVEEE
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Today was perhaps one of the most pleasant days we’ve had since we’ve been here! The majority of my BC group is in either Rome or Lucca, and there are five of us currently in the hotel. WHICH IS SWEET. Last night we went to a very silly Americanized bar that had Italian and English karaoke, which was really amusing to watch. My favorite person who went up was this giant man with long blond hair and ridiculous sideburns who sang Madonna with his twiggy little friend. Also some man sang the theme song to an Italian cartoon, which confused everyone who was not Italian. GTs all around.
TODAY we had plans to go to Greve, the capital of the Chianti region, and rent bikes, taste some wine, wander around, fly by the seat of our pants. The bus that we were on, however, was really confusing and we could not tell for the life of us what stop we were at ever. We thought we missed the Greve stop at least 4 times, and these three American girls in the seats ahead of us heard us talking and told us to just get off at Panzano like they were doing, because there was a wine tasting festival going on. We quickly agreed, because that was what we were looking for and it sounded much more organized than anything we were going to do.
We got off at Panzano and immediately knew it was perfect. You paid for a glass (which you got to take home) and got a list of the wineries and types of wine that were around, and then went up to the stands and tried whatever you wanted! It was really fun, especially since we had no idea what we were doing, so we would listen to the sommeliers describe what kind of grapes were in it and how old it was and then we would just pick at random. We had absolutely no notes to write down but we knew what we liked. There was also a cheese man with the BEST CHEESE IN THE WORLD. It was so fresca and milky and delicious. I think it was a pecorino cheese.
There were tons of Americans there; a lot of older couples who had come to Italy for this specific festival. Surprisingly, we met a lot of people from Chicago, which was nice. Everyone was so friendly and made fun of us for not knowing what we were doing. We talked to this one couple from Chicago who seemed insistent that we actually get to Munich for Octoberfest – the older man offered to drive us there haha. We did a lot of walking around and looking at the beautiful vineyards on the countryside and it was so pretty. The weather was gorgeous and it was a very fun, relaxed day.
Tonight (for real this time) we’re getting gelato at this famous gelateria, Vivoli. It’s supposedly the best gelateria in Firenze, so we’ll see how it measures up.
Ciao belle!
TODAY we had plans to go to Greve, the capital of the Chianti region, and rent bikes, taste some wine, wander around, fly by the seat of our pants. The bus that we were on, however, was really confusing and we could not tell for the life of us what stop we were at ever. We thought we missed the Greve stop at least 4 times, and these three American girls in the seats ahead of us heard us talking and told us to just get off at Panzano like they were doing, because there was a wine tasting festival going on. We quickly agreed, because that was what we were looking for and it sounded much more organized than anything we were going to do.
We got off at Panzano and immediately knew it was perfect. You paid for a glass (which you got to take home) and got a list of the wineries and types of wine that were around, and then went up to the stands and tried whatever you wanted! It was really fun, especially since we had no idea what we were doing, so we would listen to the sommeliers describe what kind of grapes were in it and how old it was and then we would just pick at random. We had absolutely no notes to write down but we knew what we liked. There was also a cheese man with the BEST CHEESE IN THE WORLD. It was so fresca and milky and delicious. I think it was a pecorino cheese.
There were tons of Americans there; a lot of older couples who had come to Italy for this specific festival. Surprisingly, we met a lot of people from Chicago, which was nice. Everyone was so friendly and made fun of us for not knowing what we were doing. We talked to this one couple from Chicago who seemed insistent that we actually get to Munich for Octoberfest – the older man offered to drive us there haha. We did a lot of walking around and looking at the beautiful vineyards on the countryside and it was so pretty. The weather was gorgeous and it was a very fun, relaxed day.
Tonight (for real this time) we’re getting gelato at this famous gelateria, Vivoli. It’s supposedly the best gelateria in Firenze, so we’ll see how it measures up.
Ciao belle!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Ciao ciao!
So although I did not get gelato last night, we did play a card game very similar to Phase 10 (get excited Heinzes) and I lost terribly but it did bolster my spirits.
This morning we left mad early to go to Pisa, which would have been splendid if it had not been raining like a monkey. The bus ride there was nice because we all got to sleep, and once we went into buildings it was okay because we could take notes without fear of our previous work being washed away. Outside was pretty miserable though, and kind of chilly.
Something funny though, when we were in the cathedral at Pisa, there was an orchestra of sorts getting ready for and playing a few songs -- much like the Benet band did when we went to Rome. The thing is, being on the other side of it, I didn't realize how ANNOYING we must have been to tour groups and classes and people who wanted to learn about the churches that we played in. It was so hard to hear Rocci, and with the exception of the people who knew the people who were playing, I'm sure we weren't the only ones put out. Interesting perspective.
Here is my mandatory picture of me pushing down the tower with my incredible strength (and umbrella):
What a clever beast.
Anyway, the majority of our group went to either Lucca or Rome this weekend -- there are five of us in the hotel right now. Tomorrow we're taking a bus to Greve, for WINE TASTING and walking around vineyards, and Sunday we're taking a day trip to more closeby towns to check things out there. Should be good. Hopefully the weather gets a little nicer.
That's all I got, peace love and vino!
So although I did not get gelato last night, we did play a card game very similar to Phase 10 (get excited Heinzes) and I lost terribly but it did bolster my spirits.
This morning we left mad early to go to Pisa, which would have been splendid if it had not been raining like a monkey. The bus ride there was nice because we all got to sleep, and once we went into buildings it was okay because we could take notes without fear of our previous work being washed away. Outside was pretty miserable though, and kind of chilly.
Something funny though, when we were in the cathedral at Pisa, there was an orchestra of sorts getting ready for and playing a few songs -- much like the Benet band did when we went to Rome. The thing is, being on the other side of it, I didn't realize how ANNOYING we must have been to tour groups and classes and people who wanted to learn about the churches that we played in. It was so hard to hear Rocci, and with the exception of the people who knew the people who were playing, I'm sure we weren't the only ones put out. Interesting perspective.
Here is my mandatory picture of me pushing down the tower with my incredible strength (and umbrella):
What a clever beast.
Anyway, the majority of our group went to either Lucca or Rome this weekend -- there are five of us in the hotel right now. Tomorrow we're taking a bus to Greve, for WINE TASTING and walking around vineyards, and Sunday we're taking a day trip to more closeby towns to check things out there. Should be good. Hopefully the weather gets a little nicer.
That's all I got, peace love and vino!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
BAD NEWS AGAIN
All train tickets to Munich were sold out for the weekend we wanted. Now we have to find alternate plans for next weekend.
Also, weird/unsettling incident happened while we were at the train station. Or rather, outside of the train station waiting for a bus. Two carabineri came up to our group and demanded to see our passports. We tried explaining to them that we were from a school group and our leader told us not to carry our passports around with us, but to instead carry a photocopy of it with us, but they said that was not acceptable. They seemed to be pointing their remarks at a certain member of our group and made comments that indicated they did not think he was American. He did not have even a copy of his passport and they kept telling us we had to have them. We were getting kind of scared because we didn’t know what the consequence would be for not having it – whether it would be a fine or JAILTIME we had no idea, and these guys were putting up a tough front. One of the guys told me to like translate to our friend what the policeman was saying. Finally, they went away, telling us from now on we had to carry our original passports with us, and we jumped on the next bus we saw. From the bus window we saw them go up to a couple of African American guys and write up a report for them. We’ve had a couple of instances with this – off the cuff remarks and insinuations that were actually insulting in a way, and we weren’t really prepared for it. I don’t know.
I was going to write an enchanting account of the Boboli Gardens, which Sarah and Erin and I visited today, but I’m not in quite a prolific mood right now. I’d been looking forward to Octoberfest and was really disappointed when it didn’t work out and then that stupid incident left us all feeling unsettled.
I’ll try soon to put up pictures of the vast area that is the Boboli Gardens, and maybe to write about class, which was in Santa Maria Carmine and Santa Maria Novella (the latter of which houses the first painting to EVER use linear perspective) but don’t count on it.
TOMORROW WE GO TO PISA THOUGH and I’m sure I’ll have an incredibly clever and original picture of me holding up the tower, so that’s something to look forward to! Except we have to be ready to go at 7:45 am. Yuckola, as my dad would say.
Hope life is peachy! I think I’ll get some gelato tonight to make me feel better.
LOVE
PS. ALSO I got Nutella on my skirt today! Way to go, champ.
All train tickets to Munich were sold out for the weekend we wanted. Now we have to find alternate plans for next weekend.
Also, weird/unsettling incident happened while we were at the train station. Or rather, outside of the train station waiting for a bus. Two carabineri came up to our group and demanded to see our passports. We tried explaining to them that we were from a school group and our leader told us not to carry our passports around with us, but to instead carry a photocopy of it with us, but they said that was not acceptable. They seemed to be pointing their remarks at a certain member of our group and made comments that indicated they did not think he was American. He did not have even a copy of his passport and they kept telling us we had to have them. We were getting kind of scared because we didn’t know what the consequence would be for not having it – whether it would be a fine or JAILTIME we had no idea, and these guys were putting up a tough front. One of the guys told me to like translate to our friend what the policeman was saying. Finally, they went away, telling us from now on we had to carry our original passports with us, and we jumped on the next bus we saw. From the bus window we saw them go up to a couple of African American guys and write up a report for them. We’ve had a couple of instances with this – off the cuff remarks and insinuations that were actually insulting in a way, and we weren’t really prepared for it. I don’t know.
I was going to write an enchanting account of the Boboli Gardens, which Sarah and Erin and I visited today, but I’m not in quite a prolific mood right now. I’d been looking forward to Octoberfest and was really disappointed when it didn’t work out and then that stupid incident left us all feeling unsettled.
I’ll try soon to put up pictures of the vast area that is the Boboli Gardens, and maybe to write about class, which was in Santa Maria Carmine and Santa Maria Novella (the latter of which houses the first painting to EVER use linear perspective) but don’t count on it.
TOMORROW WE GO TO PISA THOUGH and I’m sure I’ll have an incredibly clever and original picture of me holding up the tower, so that’s something to look forward to! Except we have to be ready to go at 7:45 am. Yuckola, as my dad would say.
Hope life is peachy! I think I’ll get some gelato tonight to make me feel better.
LOVE
PS. ALSO I got Nutella on my skirt today! Way to go, champ.
hi friends,
TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
I just wanted to let you know that I made a site to post my pictures online for your viewing pleasure. Of course I am using webshots, because the other providers did not give me enough space, so I will be posting my pictures at
http://community.webshots.com/user/parmaparmaparma
Thought I'd do a little continuity for you all to make it easier to remember.
Anyway, I am uploading some as we type, but soon I must go to bed so we'll see how many I get up there. Also, please ignore the weird labeling system -- to amuse myself without internet I renamed the pictures on my computer, but then my computer sorted them alphabetically, so I had to add the numbers in the beginning to keep them in chronological order when I upload. Sorry that's annoying.
Anyway, enjoy!
PS. Also, if you want to save my lovely face or lovely snapshots on your computer, you have to magnify the picture (there's an icon that says 'view full size' or something) before you can right click and save. That's just the way webshots works. Mi dispiace.
TWO UPDATES IN ONE DAY CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?
I just wanted to let you know that I made a site to post my pictures online for your viewing pleasure. Of course I am using webshots, because the other providers did not give me enough space, so I will be posting my pictures at
http://community.webshots.com/user/parmaparmaparma
Thought I'd do a little continuity for you all to make it easier to remember.
Anyway, I am uploading some as we type, but soon I must go to bed so we'll see how many I get up there. Also, please ignore the weird labeling system -- to amuse myself without internet I renamed the pictures on my computer, but then my computer sorted them alphabetically, so I had to add the numbers in the beginning to keep them in chronological order when I upload. Sorry that's annoying.
Anyway, enjoy!
PS. Also, if you want to save my lovely face or lovely snapshots on your computer, you have to magnify the picture (there's an icon that says 'view full size' or something) before you can right click and save. That's just the way webshots works. Mi dispiace.
OK BAD NEWS, EVERYONE.
They were sold out of soccer tickets! We went a couple days ago and could not for the life of us find the stupid ticket office because the guys at the hotel front desk didn’t give us a street to look on, so we kept asking at bars who just told us to buy them there at a higher price, which we were not favorable towards. SO TODAY we looked up where to go and when it was open and we just went over there and they were SOLD OUT. SO SAD! I bought a Firenze shirt for NOTHING. Except wearing it outside of the stadio, I guess.
So let’s see. Yesterday we went into Santa Croce, a church where many famous people are buried, such as Michelangelo and Galileo. Dante is NOT buried there. In case you wanted to know. There is a cenotaph for him, and a lot of people think they’ve seen his tomb but they HAVEN’T. There were these sweet private chapels on the sides of the high altar owned by mad wealthy families, and this famous artist named Giotto decorated them. They were so cool; one of them was the Life and Times of St. Francis (not his real name! did you know that? I didn’t) and the other was some St. John the Baptist action. Giotto was a beast and was doing all these revolutionary ideas with his paintings, like animation and facial expression. There was another section painted by one of Giotto’s students depicting the Life and Times of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was equally cool (forse only when you have Rocci telling you anecdotes and what every little symbol means) because they told like the apocryphal stories of her growing up. Very very fun class, although it was long, because we had sat in the sun in the piazza outside of the church for two hours (legitimately) because we had nothing better to do than people watch. That itself was sweet because there was this group of musicians who came and played for at least an hour and they were mad good. I kept seeing couples dancing in the piazza and it was terribly cute.
TODAY we went to the Bargello Museum, the national sculpture museum. That is where Donatello’s bronze David is located, but it was being restored. Good news was it was being restored in the museum; bad news (or good news I guess?) was that he was face down on a table so we had an excellent view of his bum and not a lot else. Still, the symbolism with that statue alone made it a good class, not to mention we saw the Competition Panels for the Baptistery doors (to figure out who would decorate the doors to the building opposite the Duomo, they had a competition, and the finalists were Brunelleschi and Ghiberti – Bru lost but went on to be the mastermind behind the actual dome).
IT’S SUCH A GREAT CLASS.
Afterwards we went shopping (didn’t buy anything) and came back to the hotel. I got a phone! Or more specifically, my mommy called ATT a bazillion times and got my phone unlocked so I bought a SIM card and whatnot. Incoming phone calls and texts are free for me so if you really love me…Jay kay but seriously do it.
I can’t believe stupid soccer is sold out! No one even likes soccer here. I think we decided instead we’re going to take a bus to somewhere in the Chianti region and try to find a vineyard or do wine tasting or something. We are in Tuscany – it’s like a problem if you DON’T do that.
I’M REALLY HUNGRY. I want dinner; still have 45 minutes. Alas and alack. Hope life is great!
PS. September 17 is a good day <3
They were sold out of soccer tickets! We went a couple days ago and could not for the life of us find the stupid ticket office because the guys at the hotel front desk didn’t give us a street to look on, so we kept asking at bars who just told us to buy them there at a higher price, which we were not favorable towards. SO TODAY we looked up where to go and when it was open and we just went over there and they were SOLD OUT. SO SAD! I bought a Firenze shirt for NOTHING. Except wearing it outside of the stadio, I guess.
So let’s see. Yesterday we went into Santa Croce, a church where many famous people are buried, such as Michelangelo and Galileo. Dante is NOT buried there. In case you wanted to know. There is a cenotaph for him, and a lot of people think they’ve seen his tomb but they HAVEN’T. There were these sweet private chapels on the sides of the high altar owned by mad wealthy families, and this famous artist named Giotto decorated them. They were so cool; one of them was the Life and Times of St. Francis (not his real name! did you know that? I didn’t) and the other was some St. John the Baptist action. Giotto was a beast and was doing all these revolutionary ideas with his paintings, like animation and facial expression. There was another section painted by one of Giotto’s students depicting the Life and Times of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which was equally cool (forse only when you have Rocci telling you anecdotes and what every little symbol means) because they told like the apocryphal stories of her growing up. Very very fun class, although it was long, because we had sat in the sun in the piazza outside of the church for two hours (legitimately) because we had nothing better to do than people watch. That itself was sweet because there was this group of musicians who came and played for at least an hour and they were mad good. I kept seeing couples dancing in the piazza and it was terribly cute.
TODAY we went to the Bargello Museum, the national sculpture museum. That is where Donatello’s bronze David is located, but it was being restored. Good news was it was being restored in the museum; bad news (or good news I guess?) was that he was face down on a table so we had an excellent view of his bum and not a lot else. Still, the symbolism with that statue alone made it a good class, not to mention we saw the Competition Panels for the Baptistery doors (to figure out who would decorate the doors to the building opposite the Duomo, they had a competition, and the finalists were Brunelleschi and Ghiberti – Bru lost but went on to be the mastermind behind the actual dome).
IT’S SUCH A GREAT CLASS.
Afterwards we went shopping (didn’t buy anything) and came back to the hotel. I got a phone! Or more specifically, my mommy called ATT a bazillion times and got my phone unlocked so I bought a SIM card and whatnot. Incoming phone calls and texts are free for me so if you really love me…Jay kay but seriously do it.
I can’t believe stupid soccer is sold out! No one even likes soccer here. I think we decided instead we’re going to take a bus to somewhere in the Chianti region and try to find a vineyard or do wine tasting or something. We are in Tuscany – it’s like a problem if you DON’T do that.
I’M REALLY HUNGRY. I want dinner; still have 45 minutes. Alas and alack. Hope life is great!
PS. September 17 is a good day <3
Sunday, September 14, 2008
This morning we ventured away from the Duomo/downtown area and found this park in which to read our assignments for the rest of the week. There was no one there, and it was so quiet. It was a completely different atmosphere than we’ve been seeing in Florence thus far. It was all drizzly and there was an occasional clap of thunder so we sat under a loggia in the middle of the park by some fountains. It was extremely pleasant – after we read we just sat and chilled and listened to our music for a bit before we got cold and went back. It was a good thing we went out at all – as there were no planned activities for the day a lot of people just stayed in their rooms all day.
Today was Sunday, which is the Lord’s Day, and although we are in a city chock-full of churches, we didn’t know how many would be in English. Sarah found this service that was in English so we decided to check it out. It started at 6, and thinking on American time, we rushed through the city to get there. It obviously did not start until 10 after. The service itself wasn’t really a specific format – we sang four worship songs and then this Italian couple spoke. They gave up their jobs 5 years ago because they wanted to give back to the Firenze community, and so they started this center to connect Italians and Americans who are in the country for a brief period of time. They have Italian lessons and the opportunity to meet other Italian youth. It was very interesting, but we didn’t stay long enough to find out where it was.
Dinner at the hotel is served at 7:15, and we peaced out when the clock hit 7. We were about 30 minutes from our hotel if we walked which was a problem. We were looking for the bus that we could take but Sundays are dumb with that sort of thing so we couldn’t find one. Luckily, someone remembered that the bus we took to Fiesole goes right by our hotel so we hopped on that and jumped off at our hotel. We ate like nobody’s business.
I really missed 10:15 mass when I was at that service. I wasn’t really getting anything out of it and I kind of ached for some organization and tradition. Also we didn’t receive the Eucharist. I think I’d feel more comfortable next week going to a Catholic service in Italian – I’ll still have the basic understanding of what’s going on. Who knows. I think we’re going to a soccer game next Sunday, and that’s practically a religion here anyway.
OH AND I saw a poster for the Notwist, who are playing here on the 29th (I think my final is on that day so I won’t be going). I was surprised to see that until I realized they aren’t an American band. We have seen a bunch of posters for Burt Bacharach though, soooo I’m definitely putting that on my list of things to do.
Things I miss:
-desserts with dinner
-good bread
-cookies!
-maybe people, but right now food is topping my list – my tummy is still grumbly
-TEA!
-internetttttttt
-my green gym shoes that certain people think look like they’re falling apart. I’m so dumb, they’d be almost fashionable here, and more comfortable than some of my flats. Alas alas.
-more internet. It’s so dumb not being able to even check email daily, which sounds stupid but hey. I’m waiting on some emails from Caterina and the head of the Soc department and my parents and I can’t go on to see if they’re there because everyone and their mom is trying to access the wireless right now. Things will be better in Parma.
OKAY I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS QUOTE from a sketch Italian man on the bus from Fiesole the other day.
“You are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute. You are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo nice.” It totally worked. Sarah melted like butter.
Hahahahah. Creepy.
Today was Sunday, which is the Lord’s Day, and although we are in a city chock-full of churches, we didn’t know how many would be in English. Sarah found this service that was in English so we decided to check it out. It started at 6, and thinking on American time, we rushed through the city to get there. It obviously did not start until 10 after. The service itself wasn’t really a specific format – we sang four worship songs and then this Italian couple spoke. They gave up their jobs 5 years ago because they wanted to give back to the Firenze community, and so they started this center to connect Italians and Americans who are in the country for a brief period of time. They have Italian lessons and the opportunity to meet other Italian youth. It was very interesting, but we didn’t stay long enough to find out where it was.
Dinner at the hotel is served at 7:15, and we peaced out when the clock hit 7. We were about 30 minutes from our hotel if we walked which was a problem. We were looking for the bus that we could take but Sundays are dumb with that sort of thing so we couldn’t find one. Luckily, someone remembered that the bus we took to Fiesole goes right by our hotel so we hopped on that and jumped off at our hotel. We ate like nobody’s business.
I really missed 10:15 mass when I was at that service. I wasn’t really getting anything out of it and I kind of ached for some organization and tradition. Also we didn’t receive the Eucharist. I think I’d feel more comfortable next week going to a Catholic service in Italian – I’ll still have the basic understanding of what’s going on. Who knows. I think we’re going to a soccer game next Sunday, and that’s practically a religion here anyway.
OH AND I saw a poster for the Notwist, who are playing here on the 29th (I think my final is on that day so I won’t be going). I was surprised to see that until I realized they aren’t an American band. We have seen a bunch of posters for Burt Bacharach though, soooo I’m definitely putting that on my list of things to do.
Things I miss:
-desserts with dinner
-good bread
-cookies!
-maybe people, but right now food is topping my list – my tummy is still grumbly
-TEA!
-internetttttttt
-my green gym shoes that certain people think look like they’re falling apart. I’m so dumb, they’d be almost fashionable here, and more comfortable than some of my flats. Alas alas.
-more internet. It’s so dumb not being able to even check email daily, which sounds stupid but hey. I’m waiting on some emails from Caterina and the head of the Soc department and my parents and I can’t go on to see if they’re there because everyone and their mom is trying to access the wireless right now. Things will be better in Parma.
OKAY I WILL LEAVE YOU WITH THIS QUOTE from a sketch Italian man on the bus from Fiesole the other day.
“You are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo cute. You are sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo nice.” It totally worked. Sarah melted like butter.
Hahahahah. Creepy.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
A group of us took a little trip to Fiesole, a little hilltop village about half an hour away from Florence. We were able to take a bus so transportation was free (!) and despite the rainy weather and waking up late, we still had a fun afternoon.
Apparently, Fiesole is a walking town, and had three routes to follow on our map. We wanted to find these Etruscan and Roman ruins, and walked in a circle for about 30 minutes before we realized it was right where we had come in. It was pretty neat to see, and we timed it extremely well – when it had stopped raining we walked among the ruins, and when it started to rain again we went in the museum. The museum was actually pretty interesting – there were these little figurines they had found, probably 50 of them; it was like little action figures. Then there was an almost complete skeleton of some guy.
After the museum it looked like the rain was gone for good so we decided to do one of the trails that had “breathtaking views” and catch the bus a little bit further down. We saw absolutely amazing views of Firenze from above. All the little red rooftops were so pretty, and the Duomo was such a stud. Love that building.
Nothing really else interesting! I hope soon I’ll have good enough Internet connection that I’ll be able to post some pictures online – right now I’ve been signing on really quickly, checking email, and signing back off.
Apparently, Fiesole is a walking town, and had three routes to follow on our map. We wanted to find these Etruscan and Roman ruins, and walked in a circle for about 30 minutes before we realized it was right where we had come in. It was pretty neat to see, and we timed it extremely well – when it had stopped raining we walked among the ruins, and when it started to rain again we went in the museum. The museum was actually pretty interesting – there were these little figurines they had found, probably 50 of them; it was like little action figures. Then there was an almost complete skeleton of some guy.
After the museum it looked like the rain was gone for good so we decided to do one of the trails that had “breathtaking views” and catch the bus a little bit further down. We saw absolutely amazing views of Firenze from above. All the little red rooftops were so pretty, and the Duomo was such a stud. Love that building.
Nothing really else interesting! I hope soon I’ll have good enough Internet connection that I’ll be able to post some pictures online – right now I’ve been signing on really quickly, checking email, and signing back off.
Friday, September 12, 2008
YESTERDAY we had our welcome dinner at a very delizioso restaurant – we had four courses and some Italian vino (part of my education of Italian culture of course) and I ate like 2 pieces of chocolate cake (very small pieces) because people didn’t want theirs. DUMB. But awesome? For me!
TODAY we had to navigate our way through the Italian post office to pay our permits of stay for the time we’re here. IT WAS SO FUN. First, you take a ticket to get in line (blue for paying things, green for mailing packages) and then you wait and look at this screen which tells you what number is being served and at which ticket counter. It was basically a game of running around and it was very silly.
ALSO we had our second class – in the Uffizzi, which is the National Painting Gallery in Florence. We saw up close and learned molto about the transition from Byzantine to Gothic to Renaissance style, da Vincis, Bottecellis, Michelangelos, all while viewing them in hallways lined with nude men! Oh how they loved those Greco-Roman sculptures. We got to see The Birth of Venus, and the painting that changed how da Vinci’s teacher regarded his own career. Basically he saw the figure that da V had painted and said he was done for life because Leo had surpassed him in talent. It was really interesting because you could definitely tell the differences between the different figures, and da V’s was definitely the best. Pretty sweet.
ALSO ALSO we had a freak thunderstorm/hailstorm which was odd. We caught a bus before we got too drenched but it came out of nowhere. I went to Italy, not England. Come on now.
We’re planning on a nice quiet night by the Arno and Ponte Vecchio, and tomorrow are thinking of going to Fiesole, which is a little hilltop village about half an hour away. Already it will be good to get away from the city – it sometimes feels like there’s nothing to do but shop – so it will be nice to get a change of scenery.
PS I finally had some gelato 2 days in. MENTE! Mint! In a cone because it was cheaper. LIKE YOU CARE!
TODAY we had to navigate our way through the Italian post office to pay our permits of stay for the time we’re here. IT WAS SO FUN. First, you take a ticket to get in line (blue for paying things, green for mailing packages) and then you wait and look at this screen which tells you what number is being served and at which ticket counter. It was basically a game of running around and it was very silly.
ALSO we had our second class – in the Uffizzi, which is the National Painting Gallery in Florence. We saw up close and learned molto about the transition from Byzantine to Gothic to Renaissance style, da Vincis, Bottecellis, Michelangelos, all while viewing them in hallways lined with nude men! Oh how they loved those Greco-Roman sculptures. We got to see The Birth of Venus, and the painting that changed how da Vinci’s teacher regarded his own career. Basically he saw the figure that da V had painted and said he was done for life because Leo had surpassed him in talent. It was really interesting because you could definitely tell the differences between the different figures, and da V’s was definitely the best. Pretty sweet.
ALSO ALSO we had a freak thunderstorm/hailstorm which was odd. We caught a bus before we got too drenched but it came out of nowhere. I went to Italy, not England. Come on now.
We’re planning on a nice quiet night by the Arno and Ponte Vecchio, and tomorrow are thinking of going to Fiesole, which is a little hilltop village about half an hour away. Already it will be good to get away from the city – it sometimes feels like there’s nothing to do but shop – so it will be nice to get a change of scenery.
PS I finally had some gelato 2 days in. MENTE! Mint! In a cone because it was cheaper. LIKE YOU CARE!
Thursday, September 11, 2008
OKAY SO
I am here!
I will try to spare you every last detail of my trip
-I met up with a girl in the Rome airport before Florence because I was wearing my superfan shirt, so we were able to split a cab to our hotel
-I tried talking in Italian to the cab driver, but basically made a fool out of myself. Hahahah.
-toilet paper in the hotel is narrow, while the pillows are extra long
-our shower is the tiniest thing ever. I keep bumping my elbows
-when we got here my two roommates and I explored downtown Florence and saw the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, San Marco, ecc. It was sweet but we walked soooo much and my feet were hurting.
-our on-site director is pretty awesome. She’s from Parma and is really hilarious, and planning amazing trips for us to go on
-I avoided jet lag in the sense that I didn’t fall asleep until it was Italian time to go to bed, but I woke up at 3:30 am for some reason and couldn’t fall back asleep.
-we had our first art history class today and the professor is GREAT. He went to Holy Cross and did his masters in Florence, and has been here ever since. Basically our classes will be really detailed tours of certain spots in Florence. Today we checked out Piazza del Repubblica, which was the center of ancient Florence, and went to the Palazzo Vecchio, the old town hall, in front of which stands a copy of Michelangelo’s David. We also get little headsets to listen to him when we’re in big crowds, so we look really cool.
-I don’t get internet access in my room, but I paid for some wireless that is super spotty. I’m psyched to get to Parma if not for that reason only.
-my roommates, Sarah and Erin, and I are planning some great trips around Italy and elsewhere. We wrote down the excursions Caterina had planned and we realized we only really have 13 weekends in Italy the whole semester…it was a weird thing to realize, even on the second day
-tonight we had our “welcome dinner” at this restaurant near the Duomo, and it was stupendous. The group seems to be pretty friendly on the whole.
-Also, we picked out our classes today! Right now we are taking the art history course, and in Parma my track will take a history of Parma with Caterina, a language course in Italian, probably a soc class in Italian, and a class in English. HOORAY
-I miss people back home but the people I’ve met and spent time with are really nice, so that’s helping. I just wish I had internet all the time instead of having to write these entries/emails offline and then post them later, to save my internet usage.
Italy is great. It’s like walking around Disneyworld all the time with all the tourists and amazing buildings. There’s a Disney store here! Probably won’t be going in. But I’m really enjoying it so far.
Molto amore!
I am here!
I will try to spare you every last detail of my trip
-I met up with a girl in the Rome airport before Florence because I was wearing my superfan shirt, so we were able to split a cab to our hotel
-I tried talking in Italian to the cab driver, but basically made a fool out of myself. Hahahah.
-toilet paper in the hotel is narrow, while the pillows are extra long
-our shower is the tiniest thing ever. I keep bumping my elbows
-when we got here my two roommates and I explored downtown Florence and saw the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, San Marco, ecc. It was sweet but we walked soooo much and my feet were hurting.
-our on-site director is pretty awesome. She’s from Parma and is really hilarious, and planning amazing trips for us to go on
-I avoided jet lag in the sense that I didn’t fall asleep until it was Italian time to go to bed, but I woke up at 3:30 am for some reason and couldn’t fall back asleep.
-we had our first art history class today and the professor is GREAT. He went to Holy Cross and did his masters in Florence, and has been here ever since. Basically our classes will be really detailed tours of certain spots in Florence. Today we checked out Piazza del Repubblica, which was the center of ancient Florence, and went to the Palazzo Vecchio, the old town hall, in front of which stands a copy of Michelangelo’s David. We also get little headsets to listen to him when we’re in big crowds, so we look really cool.
-I don’t get internet access in my room, but I paid for some wireless that is super spotty. I’m psyched to get to Parma if not for that reason only.
-my roommates, Sarah and Erin, and I are planning some great trips around Italy and elsewhere. We wrote down the excursions Caterina had planned and we realized we only really have 13 weekends in Italy the whole semester…it was a weird thing to realize, even on the second day
-tonight we had our “welcome dinner” at this restaurant near the Duomo, and it was stupendous. The group seems to be pretty friendly on the whole.
-Also, we picked out our classes today! Right now we are taking the art history course, and in Parma my track will take a history of Parma with Caterina, a language course in Italian, probably a soc class in Italian, and a class in English. HOORAY
-I miss people back home but the people I’ve met and spent time with are really nice, so that’s helping. I just wish I had internet all the time instead of having to write these entries/emails offline and then post them later, to save my internet usage.
Italy is great. It’s like walking around Disneyworld all the time with all the tourists and amazing buildings. There’s a Disney store here! Probably won’t be going in. But I’m really enjoying it so far.
Molto amore!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
We are almost 2 days away! Hooray! Ryan left today for Venice, Sarah leaves on Monday for Paris, and come Tuesday I will (finally) leave for Florence! All the countries that could be used for slant rhyme.
Things I have done in preparation:
-got another suitcase
-bought a money belt, so I can be tres cool and impress the locals with my unbearable touristiness
-bought a gift for the woman whose apartment I will be living in -- it's a bread platter that says "HOME SWEET HOME." It's probably the lamest thing ever, but when my parents asked their friend from Italy what to get that's what she suggested because at least it's made in America. But alas, when we got home we saw that it was made in China. OH WELL.
I promise that when I get to Italy I will start having interesting posts, even if I have to make things up to make them interesting. I know these are dumb but I was already chided for not updating, so there you have it.
ciao chow
Things I have done in preparation:
-got another suitcase
-bought a money belt, so I can be tres cool and impress the locals with my unbearable touristiness
-bought a gift for the woman whose apartment I will be living in -- it's a bread platter that says "HOME SWEET HOME." It's probably the lamest thing ever, but when my parents asked their friend from Italy what to get that's what she suggested because at least it's made in America. But alas, when we got home we saw that it was made in China. OH WELL.
I promise that when I get to Italy I will start having interesting posts, even if I have to make things up to make them interesting. I know these are dumb but I was already chided for not updating, so there you have it.
ciao chow
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