It is time ladies and gentleman to get ready to embark on my 9 day journey. Im getting really really excited! It is hard to imagine how anything could compare to Florence, but I have heard magical things about each and every city that I am going to. I will probably have one more blog post before I leave Florence, but I figured I could go ahead and write my itenerary for my adventure!
AUGUST 1
Saturday I leave Florence for Milan
AUGUST 2
Sunday I travel from Milan to Lucerne Switzerland
AUGUST 3
Monday I kick it up swiss style and stay in Lucerne
AUGUST 4
Tuesday I travel from Lucerne to Strasbourg, France
AUGUST 5
I keep getting Frenchy and travel from Strasbourg to Paris.
AUGUST 6
I am getting my meals cooked by Remy (not really but bonus points if you tell me what movie I am referencing in the comments)
AUGUST 7
AUREVOIR (did NOT spell that correctly) Paris! PIP PIP CHEERIO OOOOOOHHHH- the
r-hoooooooo-yal HOOOOOOOOOO hits london!
AUGUST 8
Tea with the Queen!
August 9
Seriously, I might be so beside myself in london that they kick me out for being too hooey (is there such a thing?) OR they will kick me out because they are offended at my royal accent. (The must just be jealous they are not as royal as I)
But alas- that night I check into a hotel at the gatwick airport
AUGUST 10- I arrive in Charlotte NC!!!!
This hooey has class, so till next time....
Arr-hoooooooo-viderci
Bella Busey
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
CRISIS MODE
I’VE REACHED QUITE THE PARADOX!!!
It’s time for me to leave Florence. I’ve accepted as much. There is just too much stuff I miss at home, and one too many things here that make me go “stupefy!” as I’m walking down the streets while holding out my liter of water (that I now carry with me everywhere, a habit that I hope I will keep up when I come home) pretending it is a magic wand, still hoping that the next time I say that, something real will happen instead of just in my head. Crazy gypsy lady painted in white that makes kissy noises at everyone who walks by thinking “This is surely the way for me to get you to give me your Euros”….STUPEFY! Italian woman who yells at me for trying to squeeze behind her while she is in a conversation with someone taking up the whole sidewalk with her bike….WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA! NOW you’re out of my way! And YOU! You know who you are! You sales associates who look at me like I am covered in fruta di bosco gelato and am going to proceed to touch every little thing in your store making your 900 dollar pair of shoes too sticky for your real customers to enjoy! EXPELLIARMUS! I’ve had enough!
But at the same time, I was thinking yesterday, as I was returning from my weekend trip to Milan and Bologna (really fun by the way…more on that later), the next time I see the Santa Maria Novella Train Station, I’ll be leaving Florence. And I got a little teary as I was making my way back to my apartment. I have less than a week of strolls by the riverside, church bells being the backtrack of my life as I’m on my way to class, the old woman who lives beneath us, who on the first day yelling at me something that I still don’t know what it was (fairly, she may have thought I was trying to break into her apartment), greets me with a “Ciao Bella” now as we cross in the stairwell. I love sitting on the church steps after class in the afternoon, trying to figure out which dog would talk to me, and their owner WOULDN’T glare at me. I love being able to get up early, before the tourists are out and go for a morning walk, seeing things that some only see on postcards. I think I even love the tourists. I may sigh, and get aggravated when the tour groups take up the entire sidewalk, but I know that if they asked me for help, I would realize, I was once in their position, and I would try and point them in the right direction. I love the smiles I get when shop workers know I am American, but can tell I am really trying to speak Italian. Maybe they are secretly laughing at me, but I don’t think so. I love the smell of leather as I walk through the market. I love knowing that I have walked on the same streets as some of the art world’s greatest minds! I really really, wholeheartedly and completely love Florence.
So if I am so anti-Florence that I am depending on will-induced Harry Potter powers to bring everyone down, why do I get so sad when I think about leaving? I keep telling myself there is far too much to be done here for me to never return, but it just seems so far away.
So this is my last six days in Florence ( and technically my last week in Italy because this time next week, I will be winding down for bed in Switzerland…WHAAAA???). I’m trying to fit it all in, but its hard considering I have a project presentation and two finals this week, AND I have to finish three papers for a cultural study I had to do for Meredith. I still have the David to see, the Galileo exhibit to visit, the Santa Maria Novella farmacia*, I want to go to the market one more time, I want to try Fiesole one more time (I figured it out…take the BUS not the TRAIN), I found a jewelry store that makes me salivate every time I walk by the window. Seriously, if I was a worse person, I would resort to thievery. There is another jewelry store that Cailin says has the cutest/cheapest stuff of all the stores ON the Ponte Vecchio (not a hard task to be the cheapest). The Boboli Gardens are calling my name. Its too much stuff!
*Santa Maria Novella Farmacia: It is a pharmacy (more of an apothecary) set up by the monks of the Santa Maria Novella centuries ago. All the recipes to make their products are completely secret. Not even the workers know the whole process to make a single bottle of hand cream, for example. There are about five or six people who work on each item, so each person only knows a certain part of the process, and they are sworn to secrecy, keeping anyone from being able to replicate the items.
I feel like I was here long enough for me to realize all the stuff I just couldn’t do in the time I was here. Don’t get me wrong. I did a lot. More than most, and for that I am could not be more grateful to mamma and daddy for supporting me and sending me across the ocean, no matter how much I may have cried! I guess I just have to be happy with what I did with my time, and move on to my next adventures. Who knows, maybe God will send me back here sooner rather than later. It’s kind of exciting….let’s wait and see.
Ok, so my weekend update will be short-ish since I rambled on for a loooooong time.
Milan was really cool. I’ve decided to write a Hoo-tique fashion update about Fashion in Europe in the next few days, so I’ll talk about Milan fashion there. If you are interested, go to my profile and my other blog is called “The Hoo-tique.” I haven’t updated it in awhile, but Europe has really inspired me, so I’ve got some stuff to say! But anyway- Milan. I went there for a fashion marketing field trip. During the day we had some time to walk around one of the shopping districts which was located near the duomo. So she told us if we had time, to go see the duomo. It was cool. It was really gorgeous. I’ve grown a little partial to the duomo in Florence, but it was really really pretty. We headed to another district of Milan called Brera. At first I didn’t really love Milan. VERY business-y and VERY super high fashion. Business and super High fashion does not a happy hooey make. But I really really really loved Brera. It was much more laid back, and we went to the coolest store I have ever been to in my life (not an exaggeration…the truth), called 10 Corso Como. After we visited that store we were free to go our separate ways (some went back to Florence, some went on to other destinations, I stayed in Milan). I did, however, have to go back to the train station to get my backpack, so I had to figure out the subway system. A little frustrating but I think I’ve got it now. I got checked in, and all was honky-dory. I even have this little gadget that slips into the crack of the door, and if anyone opens the door to your hotel room, a loud alarm goes off. Just out of curiosity, I tested it out, ready to turn off the alarm. IT. WAS. LOUD. I was not anticipating it to be that loud. So as I was going to bed, I kept falling asleep, then jerking back awake, fearing for some reason the alarm would go off accidentally, then everyone in the hotel would be mad at me. The next day I went to the science museum because they had a big Leonardo da vinci exhibit advertised. I didn’t realize however that you needed to be signed up for a tour group to be allowed into the exhibit. They had no groups for me to join that day. Bummer. The rest of the day was pretty mundane. I went back to brera (I REALLY liked it). Then I hopped on my train to Bologna.
Bologna was really cool. It has the oldest college in the world (not an exaggeration…the truth AGAIN), so it is a college town, but so much cooler. The food there was the best I have ever had. I even had a pasta course, and a meat course at dinner, because I had heard that Bologna was the place to get the best Italian food, and I wanted to experience as much of that as I could in the one night that I was there. I was not disappointed. The pasta was freshly made tortelloni and zucchini flowers, and the meat dish was a steak with a balsamic vinegar sauce. Now, considering this had been the first taste of red meat that I had had since the first week (when I grew violently tired of prosciutto), I might be a little biased, but it was the best steak I have ever had. Now considering I had bread, prosecco (a sparkling white wine), an antipasto platter, pasta, and the best steak of my life for 35 Euro, I think that is a good deal. The next day I played it a little more low key. I woke up and watched ten minutes of star trek dubbed in Italian (the Italian voice for William Shatner’s Captain Kirk was hysterical). I walked into town and had breakfast by Neptune’s fountain.
Next I walked around a little bit more and finished getting the atmosphere of Bologna, but I bought a picnic lunch at their market. I had lunch in the park, what a lovely way to spend a day
The other statue was of two mermaids wrestling with each other. Hmmmm…
My journey brought me back to Florence, and conversely, the mental anguish present at the beginning of this blog.
So now that I have rambled on, for what really has been forever….
Bella Busey: signing out
Or should I say long-winded-hot-frizzy-but-trying-to-make-every-last-moment-in-Florence-count-despite-people-and-their-stinky-attitudes-and-the-time-she-loses-when-she-is-chugging-water-to-keep-from-fainting-but-never-the-less-Bella Busey: Ciao!
It’s time for me to leave Florence. I’ve accepted as much. There is just too much stuff I miss at home, and one too many things here that make me go “stupefy!” as I’m walking down the streets while holding out my liter of water (that I now carry with me everywhere, a habit that I hope I will keep up when I come home) pretending it is a magic wand, still hoping that the next time I say that, something real will happen instead of just in my head. Crazy gypsy lady painted in white that makes kissy noises at everyone who walks by thinking “This is surely the way for me to get you to give me your Euros”….STUPEFY! Italian woman who yells at me for trying to squeeze behind her while she is in a conversation with someone taking up the whole sidewalk with her bike….WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA! NOW you’re out of my way! And YOU! You know who you are! You sales associates who look at me like I am covered in fruta di bosco gelato and am going to proceed to touch every little thing in your store making your 900 dollar pair of shoes too sticky for your real customers to enjoy! EXPELLIARMUS! I’ve had enough!
But at the same time, I was thinking yesterday, as I was returning from my weekend trip to Milan and Bologna (really fun by the way…more on that later), the next time I see the Santa Maria Novella Train Station, I’ll be leaving Florence. And I got a little teary as I was making my way back to my apartment. I have less than a week of strolls by the riverside, church bells being the backtrack of my life as I’m on my way to class, the old woman who lives beneath us, who on the first day yelling at me something that I still don’t know what it was (fairly, she may have thought I was trying to break into her apartment), greets me with a “Ciao Bella” now as we cross in the stairwell. I love sitting on the church steps after class in the afternoon, trying to figure out which dog would talk to me, and their owner WOULDN’T glare at me. I love being able to get up early, before the tourists are out and go for a morning walk, seeing things that some only see on postcards. I think I even love the tourists. I may sigh, and get aggravated when the tour groups take up the entire sidewalk, but I know that if they asked me for help, I would realize, I was once in their position, and I would try and point them in the right direction. I love the smiles I get when shop workers know I am American, but can tell I am really trying to speak Italian. Maybe they are secretly laughing at me, but I don’t think so. I love the smell of leather as I walk through the market. I love knowing that I have walked on the same streets as some of the art world’s greatest minds! I really really, wholeheartedly and completely love Florence.
So if I am so anti-Florence that I am depending on will-induced Harry Potter powers to bring everyone down, why do I get so sad when I think about leaving? I keep telling myself there is far too much to be done here for me to never return, but it just seems so far away.
So this is my last six days in Florence ( and technically my last week in Italy because this time next week, I will be winding down for bed in Switzerland…WHAAAA???). I’m trying to fit it all in, but its hard considering I have a project presentation and two finals this week, AND I have to finish three papers for a cultural study I had to do for Meredith. I still have the David to see, the Galileo exhibit to visit, the Santa Maria Novella farmacia*, I want to go to the market one more time, I want to try Fiesole one more time (I figured it out…take the BUS not the TRAIN), I found a jewelry store that makes me salivate every time I walk by the window. Seriously, if I was a worse person, I would resort to thievery. There is another jewelry store that Cailin says has the cutest/cheapest stuff of all the stores ON the Ponte Vecchio (not a hard task to be the cheapest). The Boboli Gardens are calling my name. Its too much stuff!
*Santa Maria Novella Farmacia: It is a pharmacy (more of an apothecary) set up by the monks of the Santa Maria Novella centuries ago. All the recipes to make their products are completely secret. Not even the workers know the whole process to make a single bottle of hand cream, for example. There are about five or six people who work on each item, so each person only knows a certain part of the process, and they are sworn to secrecy, keeping anyone from being able to replicate the items.
I feel like I was here long enough for me to realize all the stuff I just couldn’t do in the time I was here. Don’t get me wrong. I did a lot. More than most, and for that I am could not be more grateful to mamma and daddy for supporting me and sending me across the ocean, no matter how much I may have cried! I guess I just have to be happy with what I did with my time, and move on to my next adventures. Who knows, maybe God will send me back here sooner rather than later. It’s kind of exciting….let’s wait and see.
Ok, so my weekend update will be short-ish since I rambled on for a loooooong time.
Milan was really cool. I’ve decided to write a Hoo-tique fashion update about Fashion in Europe in the next few days, so I’ll talk about Milan fashion there. If you are interested, go to my profile and my other blog is called “The Hoo-tique.” I haven’t updated it in awhile, but Europe has really inspired me, so I’ve got some stuff to say! But anyway- Milan. I went there for a fashion marketing field trip. During the day we had some time to walk around one of the shopping districts which was located near the duomo. So she told us if we had time, to go see the duomo. It was cool. It was really gorgeous. I’ve grown a little partial to the duomo in Florence, but it was really really pretty. We headed to another district of Milan called Brera. At first I didn’t really love Milan. VERY business-y and VERY super high fashion. Business and super High fashion does not a happy hooey make. But I really really really loved Brera. It was much more laid back, and we went to the coolest store I have ever been to in my life (not an exaggeration…the truth), called 10 Corso Como. After we visited that store we were free to go our separate ways (some went back to Florence, some went on to other destinations, I stayed in Milan). I did, however, have to go back to the train station to get my backpack, so I had to figure out the subway system. A little frustrating but I think I’ve got it now. I got checked in, and all was honky-dory. I even have this little gadget that slips into the crack of the door, and if anyone opens the door to your hotel room, a loud alarm goes off. Just out of curiosity, I tested it out, ready to turn off the alarm. IT. WAS. LOUD. I was not anticipating it to be that loud. So as I was going to bed, I kept falling asleep, then jerking back awake, fearing for some reason the alarm would go off accidentally, then everyone in the hotel would be mad at me. The next day I went to the science museum because they had a big Leonardo da vinci exhibit advertised. I didn’t realize however that you needed to be signed up for a tour group to be allowed into the exhibit. They had no groups for me to join that day. Bummer. The rest of the day was pretty mundane. I went back to brera (I REALLY liked it). Then I hopped on my train to Bologna.
Bologna was really cool. It has the oldest college in the world (not an exaggeration…the truth AGAIN), so it is a college town, but so much cooler. The food there was the best I have ever had. I even had a pasta course, and a meat course at dinner, because I had heard that Bologna was the place to get the best Italian food, and I wanted to experience as much of that as I could in the one night that I was there. I was not disappointed. The pasta was freshly made tortelloni and zucchini flowers, and the meat dish was a steak with a balsamic vinegar sauce. Now, considering this had been the first taste of red meat that I had had since the first week (when I grew violently tired of prosciutto), I might be a little biased, but it was the best steak I have ever had. Now considering I had bread, prosecco (a sparkling white wine), an antipasto platter, pasta, and the best steak of my life for 35 Euro, I think that is a good deal. The next day I played it a little more low key. I woke up and watched ten minutes of star trek dubbed in Italian (the Italian voice for William Shatner’s Captain Kirk was hysterical). I walked into town and had breakfast by Neptune’s fountain.
Next I walked around a little bit more and finished getting the atmosphere of Bologna, but I bought a picnic lunch at their market. I had lunch in the park, what a lovely way to spend a day
The other statue was of two mermaids wrestling with each other. Hmmmm…
My journey brought me back to Florence, and conversely, the mental anguish present at the beginning of this blog.
So now that I have rambled on, for what really has been forever….
Bella Busey: signing out
Or should I say long-winded-hot-frizzy-but-trying-to-make-every-last-moment-in-Florence-count-despite-people-and-their-stinky-attitudes-and-the-time-she-loses-when-she-is-chugging-water-to-keep-from-fainting-but-never-the-less-Bella Busey: Ciao!
Saturday, July 18, 2009
So today we planned on traveling to Fiesole. It is just a small town in the hills that overlooks Florence. It is cooler. It is quieter. It sounds perfect.
Right?
So Brittney and I board our train, and head out. 12 minutes later we arrive in Fiesole-Caldine. We are in, what I would call, an Italian suburb. But I figure, hey, we’ll find it. Problem number 1: the train station was so small that they didn’t sell maps like Brittney and I both thought they would. Problem 2: We were officially out of Florence, so people no longer have a basic working knowledge of the English language because of the tourists. (expected, but annoying, I am in ITALY after all). Problem 3: we were definitely not where we needed to be. So I asked a man “Dove piazza mino da Fiesole?” (meaning: where is this piazza?) He starts explaining it to me. On a whim I ask “parla inglese?” seeing if he spoke English. “NO” and continues to explain it to me in Italian. I saw him point one way, so we set off that way. About half an hour later, we see no sign of a town at all, just apartment buildings, and decide to cut our losses and head back to Florence.
We head back to the train station, and we are still in pretty good spirits. We pop on the train, and as we sit down, we see another train pull up right beside it, and both of us say “are we sure that this is our train?” It wasn’t. We ride to the first stop. NO DOOR WILL OPEN. We go to the next stop. NO DOOR WILL OPEN. We go to the next stop and finally the doors open. By now we have every single person on that train gawking at us. Thanks, guys. So we get off.
Another train was coming in half an hour so we decided just to wait and hop on that one for we were sure that we read everything correctly. We waited, and we were still in good spirits. We were taking pictures because we really were in Italian countryside by this point. We get on the train, and as we get on they read off the list of stops, and one is the Santa Maria Novella (the Florence train station). So we both think, ok good, we are in good shape. WRONG. About 3 stops later the whole train stops and shuts down, and we infer that this man just told us that this train is done. Dang.
We look at the schedule again, and there is another train going to santa maria novella arriving at the station in 20 minutes. So, we wait. In the mean time, all the Italians on the platform are staring at us. Again.
The train comes, and it is packed. I, along with about 10 others are forced to stand. This is my favorite part of the story. The train was so cramped, and it was so stuffy from overcrowding, that I knew I may have an issue. At the third to last stop on the train, my skin gets clammy, my stomach clenches up, and I can feel myself getting dizzy. I see no other option than to sit down on the floor of the train. Otherwise, I would end up in someone’s lap. So I sit down, and that helps, but as we were nearing the Florence train station, I tell Brittney to get off this train as fast as she can because I was either going to faint or be sick, and I know nobody wanted that. And guess what all of the people on the train did. THEY STARED AT ME. THEY ONLY STARED AT ME. If I was feeling better I thought about making faces back at them, but at the moment it was not my top priority.
Bless Brittney, she later told me that she knew something was wrong when I was turning unnatural colors, but she had no water, and spoke no Italian, so she had no idea what to do. I ended up shoving my way off the train, sitting down on the ground while she ran and got us both drinks. Not my proudest moment. Especially because I had done so well up until now. I had heard from so many sources about how hot Florence was, so I had almost constantly been drinking water. Today was my pitfall.
We ended up going straight to dinner because both of us were starving, but because there were three smokers at the next table we ended up finishing quickly and taking the leftovers back to our apartment.
So that was today. It also appears that men have gotten more brazen in the past day. I have been here longer than two weeks without any incidents of the “obnoxious flirty Italian men.” Today everything changed. On the way back from the train station, the sleaze balls were out in force. Brittney and I are taking another easy night. We are going out for gelato later, but it was quite an adventurous day.
Positive points of the day:
- I saw cities of which I had never heard.
- I got a lot of practice with the train system, which I will need come my hoo-xpedition.
- I got to see more landscape than I would have normally.
Negative points for the day:
- Almost fainted on a train
- Never really saw Fiesole in all its glory. Personally, I am calling it my Ivars of Italy.
Right?
So Brittney and I board our train, and head out. 12 minutes later we arrive in Fiesole-Caldine. We are in, what I would call, an Italian suburb. But I figure, hey, we’ll find it. Problem number 1: the train station was so small that they didn’t sell maps like Brittney and I both thought they would. Problem 2: We were officially out of Florence, so people no longer have a basic working knowledge of the English language because of the tourists. (expected, but annoying, I am in ITALY after all). Problem 3: we were definitely not where we needed to be. So I asked a man “Dove piazza mino da Fiesole?” (meaning: where is this piazza?) He starts explaining it to me. On a whim I ask “parla inglese?” seeing if he spoke English. “NO” and continues to explain it to me in Italian. I saw him point one way, so we set off that way. About half an hour later, we see no sign of a town at all, just apartment buildings, and decide to cut our losses and head back to Florence.
We head back to the train station, and we are still in pretty good spirits. We pop on the train, and as we sit down, we see another train pull up right beside it, and both of us say “are we sure that this is our train?” It wasn’t. We ride to the first stop. NO DOOR WILL OPEN. We go to the next stop. NO DOOR WILL OPEN. We go to the next stop and finally the doors open. By now we have every single person on that train gawking at us. Thanks, guys. So we get off.
Another train was coming in half an hour so we decided just to wait and hop on that one for we were sure that we read everything correctly. We waited, and we were still in good spirits. We were taking pictures because we really were in Italian countryside by this point. We get on the train, and as we get on they read off the list of stops, and one is the Santa Maria Novella (the Florence train station). So we both think, ok good, we are in good shape. WRONG. About 3 stops later the whole train stops and shuts down, and we infer that this man just told us that this train is done. Dang.
We look at the schedule again, and there is another train going to santa maria novella arriving at the station in 20 minutes. So, we wait. In the mean time, all the Italians on the platform are staring at us. Again.
The train comes, and it is packed. I, along with about 10 others are forced to stand. This is my favorite part of the story. The train was so cramped, and it was so stuffy from overcrowding, that I knew I may have an issue. At the third to last stop on the train, my skin gets clammy, my stomach clenches up, and I can feel myself getting dizzy. I see no other option than to sit down on the floor of the train. Otherwise, I would end up in someone’s lap. So I sit down, and that helps, but as we were nearing the Florence train station, I tell Brittney to get off this train as fast as she can because I was either going to faint or be sick, and I know nobody wanted that. And guess what all of the people on the train did. THEY STARED AT ME. THEY ONLY STARED AT ME. If I was feeling better I thought about making faces back at them, but at the moment it was not my top priority.
Bless Brittney, she later told me that she knew something was wrong when I was turning unnatural colors, but she had no water, and spoke no Italian, so she had no idea what to do. I ended up shoving my way off the train, sitting down on the ground while she ran and got us both drinks. Not my proudest moment. Especially because I had done so well up until now. I had heard from so many sources about how hot Florence was, so I had almost constantly been drinking water. Today was my pitfall.
We ended up going straight to dinner because both of us were starving, but because there were three smokers at the next table we ended up finishing quickly and taking the leftovers back to our apartment.
So that was today. It also appears that men have gotten more brazen in the past day. I have been here longer than two weeks without any incidents of the “obnoxious flirty Italian men.” Today everything changed. On the way back from the train station, the sleaze balls were out in force. Brittney and I are taking another easy night. We are going out for gelato later, but it was quite an adventurous day.
Positive points of the day:
- I saw cities of which I had never heard.
- I got a lot of practice with the train system, which I will need come my hoo-xpedition.
- I got to see more landscape than I would have normally.
Negative points for the day:
- Almost fainted on a train
- Never really saw Fiesole in all its glory. Personally, I am calling it my Ivars of Italy.
Friday, July 17, 2009
When in Rome, you go somewhere else....
Or technically before you go to Rome, you decide to go somewhere else. This weekend, we had every intention to go to Rome, but because of the heat wave that hit the city this week (oh my gosh, I am a melted puddle of hoo as I am typing this) and the waves and waves of tourists that have been mulling around on the sidewalks, Brittney and I decided it might be better to go somewhere a little more low key this weekend. Not to mention, I am having museum overload because of my renaissance art class.
Speaking of, we had our midterm this week. It went all right. The “class” had a study session at the school’s restaurant the night before and I met my new friend Paul. Before anyone thinks anything, he is thirty and has a wife. He is getting his masters, and the school he is attending is giving him credit for spending the summer in Florence. As he said “Why not go to Florence if I get credit for it?” In a class of a lot of people who get really disrespectful in these museums, it was nice to find a person who just genuinely enjoys soaking it all in. I enjoy soaking it all in, it is just a lot to soak in. Even sponges start dripping eventually. Did that make sense? It’s really hot so I might be delirious.
But alas, Paul and I studied for a couple hours. Then I did some studying on my own. The stuff I studied I knew really well. When we were taking the test, it appeared as if there were some things that I SHOULD have studied but didn’t.
As a reward for finishing my midterm, and Lily finishing her paper, we went out last night to my favorite restaurant in Florence. It may be dumb not to try something new considering I have only two more weeks, but I got the pear ravioli that I mentioned about a week ago. Seriously, so good. Afterwards we went to Grom, which is a gelateria I hadn’t tried yet. I got two flavors in my little cup. One was salted caramel (oh my good gosh DEEEE-lish), but then in an attempt to say “I at least took a little pity on my stomach,” I got raspberry sorbet (dairy-free). Also delicious, but the caramel is above and beyond my favorite flavor that I have tried in Florence. We sat next to the duomo and watched the people selling flying light up toys. It was a good night.
Which brings me to Friday. Cailin went to sicily for the weekend, so Brittney and I had free reign over the apartment. We both decided that we wanted to sleep in. She has class at 9 every morning across town, and this week I have taken to automatically waking up at 6 for a couple hours. Once we woke up, we both walked to the central market.
I got some peaches, and some parmesan. Now, remember that time I said I’m not a huge fan of cheese?
I lied.
I bought a hunk of cheese about the size of my fist, and within an hour and a half of being back at the apartment, it was reduced to the size of a bouncy ball.
Afterwards Brittney showed me a pastry shop that her class had tried one morning. I haven’t tried my pastry yet, but it is enticing me from the fridge as we speak. It looked a little like tiramisu. I know it wasn’t, but I couldn’t read the sign, so it will be a surprise! Hooray!
At this point in the day, the sky was at its peak, the tourists were out in force, and Brittney and I were officially HOT. We headed back to our apartment.
We also had one of the program coordinators coming to show off our apartment, so we had to be there when that took place. A representative from Baylor was visiting the school to see if she should recommend this program to her students. She seemed appalled that the apartments don’t have air conditioning. Welcome to Florence.
We asked our teacher in Art class why no apartments have air conditioning, and she said that the majority of people believe it to be unhealthy… unhealthy? Are you serious? I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many people I see smoking every day. Unhealthy…psh.
I’m not that bitter, It’s just that hot.
After lounging around, waiting for it to cool off, Brittney and I treated ourselves to…wait for it…Mcdonalds. Yeah. I was slightly ashamed, but I have been craving American food. Saturday it was back to pasta, but that night, we ate like queens, American, commercialized Queens.
Leaving mcdonalds, it was starting to cool off. The sky became overcast, and the rain was on its way. HOORAY AGAIN! We walked down some streets and window shopped for a bit, picking out things we knew we could never afford, but wanted to try on anyway.
Just by chance, maybe, we would try on a pair of truly inspired heels. A heel just chunky enough to protect our foot, and subsequently our knee’s integrity, but a heel slender enough to make us feel fabulous. Heels that would make your legs look 10 miles long, but classic enough that you could keep them forever. Heels that perfectly soundtrack your life as they clickety-clack over the cobblestone streets of Florence, but mysteriously never falter on the many uneven stones. Once you return home, heels that when asked by a frantically jealous passerby “Ohmygosh, wheredidyougetthoseshoes?” you are forced to respond “oh I’m so sorry, I got them in Florence, Italy,” and smirk as you walk away, remembering the balmy nights of Florence with a gelato in hand, waltzing over the Ponte Vecchio, your feet perfectly graced with your perfect, serendipitous, Florentine heels. Just by chance, if we find them, we will have to buy them.
(seriously, don’t judge me, its hot, I don’t know what I am typing/whining)
ANYWAY, the rain clouds came closer and closer, so we decided to head home and plan for the weekend. The program administrators, and the travel guide Daddy gave me, had recommended a day trip to a local town Fiesole, and to Fiesole we went!
To be continued!
Speaking of, we had our midterm this week. It went all right. The “class” had a study session at the school’s restaurant the night before and I met my new friend Paul. Before anyone thinks anything, he is thirty and has a wife. He is getting his masters, and the school he is attending is giving him credit for spending the summer in Florence. As he said “Why not go to Florence if I get credit for it?” In a class of a lot of people who get really disrespectful in these museums, it was nice to find a person who just genuinely enjoys soaking it all in. I enjoy soaking it all in, it is just a lot to soak in. Even sponges start dripping eventually. Did that make sense? It’s really hot so I might be delirious.
But alas, Paul and I studied for a couple hours. Then I did some studying on my own. The stuff I studied I knew really well. When we were taking the test, it appeared as if there were some things that I SHOULD have studied but didn’t.
As a reward for finishing my midterm, and Lily finishing her paper, we went out last night to my favorite restaurant in Florence. It may be dumb not to try something new considering I have only two more weeks, but I got the pear ravioli that I mentioned about a week ago. Seriously, so good. Afterwards we went to Grom, which is a gelateria I hadn’t tried yet. I got two flavors in my little cup. One was salted caramel (oh my good gosh DEEEE-lish), but then in an attempt to say “I at least took a little pity on my stomach,” I got raspberry sorbet (dairy-free). Also delicious, but the caramel is above and beyond my favorite flavor that I have tried in Florence. We sat next to the duomo and watched the people selling flying light up toys. It was a good night.
Which brings me to Friday. Cailin went to sicily for the weekend, so Brittney and I had free reign over the apartment. We both decided that we wanted to sleep in. She has class at 9 every morning across town, and this week I have taken to automatically waking up at 6 for a couple hours. Once we woke up, we both walked to the central market.
I got some peaches, and some parmesan. Now, remember that time I said I’m not a huge fan of cheese?
I lied.
I bought a hunk of cheese about the size of my fist, and within an hour and a half of being back at the apartment, it was reduced to the size of a bouncy ball.
Afterwards Brittney showed me a pastry shop that her class had tried one morning. I haven’t tried my pastry yet, but it is enticing me from the fridge as we speak. It looked a little like tiramisu. I know it wasn’t, but I couldn’t read the sign, so it will be a surprise! Hooray!
At this point in the day, the sky was at its peak, the tourists were out in force, and Brittney and I were officially HOT. We headed back to our apartment.
We also had one of the program coordinators coming to show off our apartment, so we had to be there when that took place. A representative from Baylor was visiting the school to see if she should recommend this program to her students. She seemed appalled that the apartments don’t have air conditioning. Welcome to Florence.
We asked our teacher in Art class why no apartments have air conditioning, and she said that the majority of people believe it to be unhealthy… unhealthy? Are you serious? I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many people I see smoking every day. Unhealthy…psh.
I’m not that bitter, It’s just that hot.
After lounging around, waiting for it to cool off, Brittney and I treated ourselves to…wait for it…Mcdonalds. Yeah. I was slightly ashamed, but I have been craving American food. Saturday it was back to pasta, but that night, we ate like queens, American, commercialized Queens.
Leaving mcdonalds, it was starting to cool off. The sky became overcast, and the rain was on its way. HOORAY AGAIN! We walked down some streets and window shopped for a bit, picking out things we knew we could never afford, but wanted to try on anyway.
Just by chance, maybe, we would try on a pair of truly inspired heels. A heel just chunky enough to protect our foot, and subsequently our knee’s integrity, but a heel slender enough to make us feel fabulous. Heels that would make your legs look 10 miles long, but classic enough that you could keep them forever. Heels that perfectly soundtrack your life as they clickety-clack over the cobblestone streets of Florence, but mysteriously never falter on the many uneven stones. Once you return home, heels that when asked by a frantically jealous passerby “Ohmygosh, wheredidyougetthoseshoes?” you are forced to respond “oh I’m so sorry, I got them in Florence, Italy,” and smirk as you walk away, remembering the balmy nights of Florence with a gelato in hand, waltzing over the Ponte Vecchio, your feet perfectly graced with your perfect, serendipitous, Florentine heels. Just by chance, if we find them, we will have to buy them.
(seriously, don’t judge me, its hot, I don’t know what I am typing/whining)
ANYWAY, the rain clouds came closer and closer, so we decided to head home and plan for the weekend. The program administrators, and the travel guide Daddy gave me, had recommended a day trip to a local town Fiesole, and to Fiesole we went!
To be continued!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
If a few days late....
First and foremost, I know it is a few days late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY BURAH!
There are so many dogs here. I keep imagining what Beulah would do if she got to talk to all the puppies on the street, or got to chase down the pigeons. I have my suspicions that Beulah is not nearly as behaved as the dogs here. There is a pug that walks with an old man almost every day as I am on my way to class. This dog walks right beside him no matter how quickly or slowly he may be going. There are some dogs here that don’t even need leashes but just stay near their mamma or daddy. Beulah should learn that trick.
But alas,
Happy Birthday Beulah! Sorry I missed the party.
As for this weekend...
Friday the three of us hopped on a train to Siena and it was quite delightful! We started off our adventure with bruschetta in the piazza aka my new favorite, or if we are being serious…. ANYTHING in a piazza is my new favorite. Perfect people watching, I tell you. Afterwards we walked to the Sienese duomo. It’s really pretty, but the Florentine duomo would knock its socks off. Of that, I am sure.
Next, we strolled on over to a market where we discovered this cute little man’s sauce stand. I could have loaded up right then and there, but my wallet had something to say about it. Serendipitously, the market had a lookout over the hills of Siena, so we had ourselves a little photo shoot. There was a perfect brick wall on which a person could sit and have their picture taken with the rolling hills. I had different plans. True to form, I tried to get up on the wall but just wasn’t coordinated enough. DON’T BE SO SHOCKED RIGHT NOW!!! I know what you are saying “Meredith, WHAT! YOU! UNCOORDINATED!?!?!? Have you uncharacteristically fallen on your head dancing in a piazza and lost your mind???” Calm yourself. The answer is no, I am in fact quite clumsy. SO, I settled for standing next to the brick wall. Bummer.
Then, we were getting pretty hungry, so after lots of uphill walking, we found a place Cailin’s travel guide recommended. It was very much a hole in the wall, but the little Italian man who worked there looked like the actor Bob Hoskins, so I knew we would be ok. The food was out of this world! I had something that I don’t remember the name of. Sorry guys. But Cailin had risotto with basil and mint. It was as if she had seen the second coming. The restaurant was really good, and the prices were not terrible, so PLUS!
Afterwards, we waltzed back to the piazza and found ourselves eating gelato and watching the world go by. When we reached the point where we were all pondering how weird it would be to lie down and take a nap in the square, we realized it might be time to go back.
We called a taxi, and it whisked us off to the train station. When we arrived, we were able to hop right on the train. Perfect timing.
Not so much with Venice.
Venice was a lesson learning experience. We got to the train station, ready to go, and the first two trains of the day were full. We ended up finding a café near by and waiting for two hours. Bummer #1
Once we got in the area we got off the train at Venice Mestre station. Even though we had to wait and get off at the St Lucia train station. Bummer #2
We got to Venice, and it was beautiful. The vaporetto (water bus) ride went off semi-hitchless. And checking into our hotel was pretty easy too.
We got to St. Mark’s square, and that place was just magical. It made me feel like dancing.
Then came dinner time. All the restaurants on the square were too expensive, and we have a vegetarian in our midst, so that made things difficult too. We ended up eating at a restaurant that cost 95 Euro for three people. Admittedly, my share was only 20 Euro, but still Bummer #3
After dinner we strolled around town, and I did a lot of wistful sighing. It’s such a wonderful place. I kept imagining mamma and daddy eating on the square, and wishing that they could be on this wonderful adventure to share it with me.
The night ended with a gelato in the square to feed the pigeons our cones. Wonderful.
The next morning, we were off to the Rialto Bridge. I officially hate tourists, and I AM one! WHAAA? But the rialto bridge was lovely if a little bit crowded. On our way to find a spot for lunch, we got to wander through a Thai festival. It was a random thing for Venice, but it was cool to see!
Lunch time! We found a restaurant in the square that has what we thought were reasonable prices, but upon closer examination, we would b paying 6 Euro for the orchestra to play. We promptly found another restaurant. After lunchtime we tracked down the Biennale Art Exhibit on recommendation of Emily. I thought it was really cool. They had little exhibits spread throughout the city, but we found one of the main ones in the Arsenale on the island. It was a modern art exhibit, so it was interesting seeing all these pieces that were so contemporary compared to the pieces I have been seeing for art class. Good job Emily!
Afterwards, seeing as we were taking the last train of the day, headed out two hours in advance as to save us from missing the train and being forced to stay another night.
Weekend Summary:
-Italy is so beautiful that I feel like more people should break out into song than already do. (A man started singing opera into his cell phone as I walked by him on the way to class).
-I’m very tired. We have walked a lot. My feet are sore, but considering I have only worn my Tevas on this entire trip, my feet are still doing well!
-Siena reminds me of Asheville, except, you know, in Italy.
-I miss you guys! Have fun in Seattle/Alaska!
There are so many dogs here. I keep imagining what Beulah would do if she got to talk to all the puppies on the street, or got to chase down the pigeons. I have my suspicions that Beulah is not nearly as behaved as the dogs here. There is a pug that walks with an old man almost every day as I am on my way to class. This dog walks right beside him no matter how quickly or slowly he may be going. There are some dogs here that don’t even need leashes but just stay near their mamma or daddy. Beulah should learn that trick.
But alas,
Happy Birthday Beulah! Sorry I missed the party.
As for this weekend...
Friday the three of us hopped on a train to Siena and it was quite delightful! We started off our adventure with bruschetta in the piazza aka my new favorite, or if we are being serious…. ANYTHING in a piazza is my new favorite. Perfect people watching, I tell you. Afterwards we walked to the Sienese duomo. It’s really pretty, but the Florentine duomo would knock its socks off. Of that, I am sure.
Next, we strolled on over to a market where we discovered this cute little man’s sauce stand. I could have loaded up right then and there, but my wallet had something to say about it. Serendipitously, the market had a lookout over the hills of Siena, so we had ourselves a little photo shoot. There was a perfect brick wall on which a person could sit and have their picture taken with the rolling hills. I had different plans. True to form, I tried to get up on the wall but just wasn’t coordinated enough. DON’T BE SO SHOCKED RIGHT NOW!!! I know what you are saying “Meredith, WHAT! YOU! UNCOORDINATED!?!?!? Have you uncharacteristically fallen on your head dancing in a piazza and lost your mind???” Calm yourself. The answer is no, I am in fact quite clumsy. SO, I settled for standing next to the brick wall. Bummer.
Then, we were getting pretty hungry, so after lots of uphill walking, we found a place Cailin’s travel guide recommended. It was very much a hole in the wall, but the little Italian man who worked there looked like the actor Bob Hoskins, so I knew we would be ok. The food was out of this world! I had something that I don’t remember the name of. Sorry guys. But Cailin had risotto with basil and mint. It was as if she had seen the second coming. The restaurant was really good, and the prices were not terrible, so PLUS!
Afterwards, we waltzed back to the piazza and found ourselves eating gelato and watching the world go by. When we reached the point where we were all pondering how weird it would be to lie down and take a nap in the square, we realized it might be time to go back.
We called a taxi, and it whisked us off to the train station. When we arrived, we were able to hop right on the train. Perfect timing.
Not so much with Venice.
Venice was a lesson learning experience. We got to the train station, ready to go, and the first two trains of the day were full. We ended up finding a café near by and waiting for two hours. Bummer #1
Once we got in the area we got off the train at Venice Mestre station. Even though we had to wait and get off at the St Lucia train station. Bummer #2
We got to Venice, and it was beautiful. The vaporetto (water bus) ride went off semi-hitchless. And checking into our hotel was pretty easy too.
We got to St. Mark’s square, and that place was just magical. It made me feel like dancing.
Then came dinner time. All the restaurants on the square were too expensive, and we have a vegetarian in our midst, so that made things difficult too. We ended up eating at a restaurant that cost 95 Euro for three people. Admittedly, my share was only 20 Euro, but still Bummer #3
After dinner we strolled around town, and I did a lot of wistful sighing. It’s such a wonderful place. I kept imagining mamma and daddy eating on the square, and wishing that they could be on this wonderful adventure to share it with me.
The night ended with a gelato in the square to feed the pigeons our cones. Wonderful.
The next morning, we were off to the Rialto Bridge. I officially hate tourists, and I AM one! WHAAA? But the rialto bridge was lovely if a little bit crowded. On our way to find a spot for lunch, we got to wander through a Thai festival. It was a random thing for Venice, but it was cool to see!
Lunch time! We found a restaurant in the square that has what we thought were reasonable prices, but upon closer examination, we would b paying 6 Euro for the orchestra to play. We promptly found another restaurant. After lunchtime we tracked down the Biennale Art Exhibit on recommendation of Emily. I thought it was really cool. They had little exhibits spread throughout the city, but we found one of the main ones in the Arsenale on the island. It was a modern art exhibit, so it was interesting seeing all these pieces that were so contemporary compared to the pieces I have been seeing for art class. Good job Emily!
Afterwards, seeing as we were taking the last train of the day, headed out two hours in advance as to save us from missing the train and being forced to stay another night.
Weekend Summary:
-Italy is so beautiful that I feel like more people should break out into song than already do. (A man started singing opera into his cell phone as I walked by him on the way to class).
-I’m very tired. We have walked a lot. My feet are sore, but considering I have only worn my Tevas on this entire trip, my feet are still doing well!
-Siena reminds me of Asheville, except, you know, in Italy.
-I miss you guys! Have fun in Seattle/Alaska!
Monday, July 13, 2009
Quick little morning update....
So guys! Fun discovery of the morning is: THE PIAZZA IS FINALLY OPEN!
Because I am writing this in the schools lab, I had to find a picture of the whole piazza online. This picture was the best I could do. HOWEVER, the whole time I have been here, the piazza has been closed off because of evening concerts. Leaving only the steps on which to sit, and the vista consists of the back of a stage. THIS MORNING! This morning I planned on eating my lunch on the steps to the side of the santa croce, but as I round the corner, something catches my eye. What's this? No towering metal stands? No gates piled on the sidewalk only to block the entire street later on? YES! The piazza is open!
The story ends with me sitting beside a street musician sipping on a diet coke and savoring a panini. I had my heart set on my new favorite drink, pelligrino aranciata, but they were out. But no matter, because the piazza was open! Hooray!
Because I am writing this in the schools lab, I had to find a picture of the whole piazza online. This picture was the best I could do. HOWEVER, the whole time I have been here, the piazza has been closed off because of evening concerts. Leaving only the steps on which to sit, and the vista consists of the back of a stage. THIS MORNING! This morning I planned on eating my lunch on the steps to the side of the santa croce, but as I round the corner, something catches my eye. What's this? No towering metal stands? No gates piled on the sidewalk only to block the entire street later on? YES! The piazza is open!
The story ends with me sitting beside a street musician sipping on a diet coke and savoring a panini. I had my heart set on my new favorite drink, pelligrino aranciata, but they were out. But no matter, because the piazza was open! Hooray!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
This is Just too Surreal
I was thinking about it today. There are moments when I am here that I think this city is just too cool to be real. There is something on every corner that is gorgeous and significant and historical, and it may just be too much for my brain to accept as real. It's just too cool. But anyway...
I greeted the morning with a nutella and banana sandwich. Then I was off to the San Lorenzo for my art class. It is quite the church, because it was never actually finished on the outside. There is no ornamentation or anything like that, just stones. The inside is quite the opposite. Brunelleschi, the architect, was very adamant that the inside should focus on mathematical proportions instead of paintings and flourishes, so there are lots of columns and arches. There are paintings in the church but we were informed that Brunelleschi (aka bruno in my notes because his name is so long)was really angry about this. The church was commissioned by the medicis, the most powerful family in Florence, so Bruno really had no choice in the matter.
Afterwards I was walking to my next class which was meeting at the Ferregamo museum, but I stopped for lunch first and had a slice of pizza. (Florence really makes it hard for people who are trying to reduce the dairy in their diet) Alas, the pizza was just what I needed to get the energy to fight the tourists.
There was some kind of miscommunication, and I missed my class entering the museum, but after a certain point, I just went on in to tour the museum myself, and there they were! WHHAAAA!
The museum was incredible though. I ended up staying there for half an hour longer than anyone else in my class, and I was getting some curious stares from another tour group because I was taking pictures and making sketches and getting really into it. I guess to them they were shoes, but to me they were SHOES! The museum was arranged by color, and I finished off the tour with a maze they set up and in the middle of the maze was a giant color wheel made out of shoes. The picture, on facebook does it more justice than I am doing right now, but it was really cool. (once again I say, if you are not friends with me on facebook, and cannot see them at this link...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2045944&id=47302243
let me know and I will work something out.)
After, don't freak out mamma, I went to a wine tasting. It was an event I signed up for when I first got here because I thought it would be a good way to meet people. I did meet people, however Julie was there! It wasn't a huge deal, she just sent us all the stink eye. I tasted some INCREDIBLE....balsamic vinegar. HAHAha...ha..hmmm. It really was incredible. It was aged 12 years. I may have to find a way to bring some home.
The night had a pretty slow ending because we were planning our travels for the weekend. It's official, I'm leaving Florence for the first time since I have been here. Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Siena, then Saturday we are going to spend a night in Venice. Pretty pumped, guys, not gonna lie.
I greeted the morning with a nutella and banana sandwich. Then I was off to the San Lorenzo for my art class. It is quite the church, because it was never actually finished on the outside. There is no ornamentation or anything like that, just stones. The inside is quite the opposite. Brunelleschi, the architect, was very adamant that the inside should focus on mathematical proportions instead of paintings and flourishes, so there are lots of columns and arches. There are paintings in the church but we were informed that Brunelleschi (aka bruno in my notes because his name is so long)was really angry about this. The church was commissioned by the medicis, the most powerful family in Florence, so Bruno really had no choice in the matter.
Afterwards I was walking to my next class which was meeting at the Ferregamo museum, but I stopped for lunch first and had a slice of pizza. (Florence really makes it hard for people who are trying to reduce the dairy in their diet) Alas, the pizza was just what I needed to get the energy to fight the tourists.
There was some kind of miscommunication, and I missed my class entering the museum, but after a certain point, I just went on in to tour the museum myself, and there they were! WHHAAAA!
The museum was incredible though. I ended up staying there for half an hour longer than anyone else in my class, and I was getting some curious stares from another tour group because I was taking pictures and making sketches and getting really into it. I guess to them they were shoes, but to me they were SHOES! The museum was arranged by color, and I finished off the tour with a maze they set up and in the middle of the maze was a giant color wheel made out of shoes. The picture, on facebook does it more justice than I am doing right now, but it was really cool. (once again I say, if you are not friends with me on facebook, and cannot see them at this link...
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2045944&id=47302243
let me know and I will work something out.)
After, don't freak out mamma, I went to a wine tasting. It was an event I signed up for when I first got here because I thought it would be a good way to meet people. I did meet people, however Julie was there! It wasn't a huge deal, she just sent us all the stink eye. I tasted some INCREDIBLE....balsamic vinegar. HAHAha...ha..hmmm. It really was incredible. It was aged 12 years. I may have to find a way to bring some home.
The night had a pretty slow ending because we were planning our travels for the weekend. It's official, I'm leaving Florence for the first time since I have been here. Tomorrow we are taking a day trip to Siena, then Saturday we are going to spend a night in Venice. Pretty pumped, guys, not gonna lie.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
GLORY GLORY!
I’m gonna save the best for later. Let’s start at the very beginning. I was awoken by Julie’s alarm clock at 6 this morning. I ended up going back to sleep, but still frustrating. But alas, I did my morning routine (I’m out of Florentine peaches, so off to the market tomorrow). My art class was meeting at the duomo so I had to leave a little bit earlier than I usually would. Good thing to, because no matter how many times I have walked through the Piazza dei duomo, I got lost on the way.
Typical.
But I got there in time, and I am so glad I did. No matter how many times I walked through the Piazza dei duomo, I did not notice everything that was pointed out to me today. For example on the bell tower, there are three levels of marble reliefs carved on the side. The first level is reliefs of humans in their different guilds of the time. Adam and Eve also had a relief because they were the world’s first workers. Once they were forced to leave Eden humans were forced to work. The next level is the female representations of the church. The next level is reliefs of the prophets, and finally the last level is the sky, which is God in all his glory. It creates quite a hierarchy that I had not noticed even once.
Next we looked at the doors to the Baptistery. FUN FACT! Most cathedrals have separate baptisteries because people were not allowed to enter unless they were baptized. The doors are a piece of carved bronze, and gilded with gold. The doors are divided into 28 square sections. 20 of these are old testament stories, and 8 are symbols indicating the vices of the church.
Next we headed to the Museum of the duomo. It was so sooo cool. It held all the original statues that adorned the outside of the duomo. Some of the carving is so real that you just feel overwhelmed with emotion when you see it.
My favorite was the wooden statue of Mary Magdalene. She sat in the baptistery because she was the ultimate example of redemption and God’s forgiveness.
After my class that left me stunned, LAUNDRY TIME! I used the washer for the first time AND hung them on a clothes line. I felt like Cinderella. It was fun!
Now, I was getting so riled up about this apartment drama, that I took a walk. A long walk! 2 hour walk! We had a meeting scheduled with the administrators at 6 if Julie decided she didn’t want to move. Julie got out of class at 5:30, and I ended up on a bench outside of the office building at 5:30, so I was basically prepared to go talk to them one on one if I needed to. (I was EXTREMELY anti-non-moving-Julie). AAANNNNND SHE MOVED!
She is out of my everyday life! HOORAY!
I met Brittney on the steps of the Santa Croce and we ended up people watching and talking for almost 2 hours. It was so relaxing! I felt so much better! Eventually we faced the facts that I had to go hang up my laundry, and Brittney had to grab some stuff. Julie was there. I ended up helping her carry a load to her new apartment. This is going to be best for everyone I hope.
Tonight Brittney and I met our friend Lily for dinner at a new restaurant. We got some pear ravioli for the table because we were all curious. DEEEE-LISH! SO GOOD! Sadly my entrée wasn’t quite as good. It was gnocchi with fish and vegetables. Sounds good in conception, right? Right. There first two bites were outstanding, then it just saltier and saltier with each passing bite. We will definitely be going back there because the restaurant was adorable! The menus has onion peels modgepodged (sp?) onto a board in the shape of a flower on the cover. Everything was so cool about it! Just a little happy with the salt. Everyone elses food was good, so I think its just not their strongest meal.
We finished off the night with Lily and Brittney getting gelato, and I finished the night with a Pelligrino con arranciata (orange) in hand.
Any travel suggestions for this weekend? I’ll take votes A) Siena, B) Rome, C) Cinque Terre, D) orrrr something else?
Typical.
But I got there in time, and I am so glad I did. No matter how many times I walked through the Piazza dei duomo, I did not notice everything that was pointed out to me today. For example on the bell tower, there are three levels of marble reliefs carved on the side. The first level is reliefs of humans in their different guilds of the time. Adam and Eve also had a relief because they were the world’s first workers. Once they were forced to leave Eden humans were forced to work. The next level is the female representations of the church. The next level is reliefs of the prophets, and finally the last level is the sky, which is God in all his glory. It creates quite a hierarchy that I had not noticed even once.
Next we looked at the doors to the Baptistery. FUN FACT! Most cathedrals have separate baptisteries because people were not allowed to enter unless they were baptized. The doors are a piece of carved bronze, and gilded with gold. The doors are divided into 28 square sections. 20 of these are old testament stories, and 8 are symbols indicating the vices of the church.
Next we headed to the Museum of the duomo. It was so sooo cool. It held all the original statues that adorned the outside of the duomo. Some of the carving is so real that you just feel overwhelmed with emotion when you see it.
My favorite was the wooden statue of Mary Magdalene. She sat in the baptistery because she was the ultimate example of redemption and God’s forgiveness.
After my class that left me stunned, LAUNDRY TIME! I used the washer for the first time AND hung them on a clothes line. I felt like Cinderella. It was fun!
Now, I was getting so riled up about this apartment drama, that I took a walk. A long walk! 2 hour walk! We had a meeting scheduled with the administrators at 6 if Julie decided she didn’t want to move. Julie got out of class at 5:30, and I ended up on a bench outside of the office building at 5:30, so I was basically prepared to go talk to them one on one if I needed to. (I was EXTREMELY anti-non-moving-Julie). AAANNNNND SHE MOVED!
She is out of my everyday life! HOORAY!
I met Brittney on the steps of the Santa Croce and we ended up people watching and talking for almost 2 hours. It was so relaxing! I felt so much better! Eventually we faced the facts that I had to go hang up my laundry, and Brittney had to grab some stuff. Julie was there. I ended up helping her carry a load to her new apartment. This is going to be best for everyone I hope.
Tonight Brittney and I met our friend Lily for dinner at a new restaurant. We got some pear ravioli for the table because we were all curious. DEEEE-LISH! SO GOOD! Sadly my entrée wasn’t quite as good. It was gnocchi with fish and vegetables. Sounds good in conception, right? Right. There first two bites were outstanding, then it just saltier and saltier with each passing bite. We will definitely be going back there because the restaurant was adorable! The menus has onion peels modgepodged (sp?) onto a board in the shape of a flower on the cover. Everything was so cool about it! Just a little happy with the salt. Everyone elses food was good, so I think its just not their strongest meal.
We finished off the night with Lily and Brittney getting gelato, and I finished the night with a Pelligrino con arranciata (orange) in hand.
Any travel suggestions for this weekend? I’ll take votes A) Siena, B) Rome, C) Cinque Terre, D) orrrr something else?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Beauty and the Beast: THE SEQUEL!
Ohhhhh today…The morning started out with a wonderful breeze coming in through the window, and a Florentine peach on the couch. I got dressed to go to class, and I ran into Brittney on the way to class. I asked her how things went with her roommate last night (the source of the drama). Evidently there were some pretty severe threats against Brittney. One threat involving a lamp. Yikes.
SOOOO, there was a visit paid to the powers that be in the program later, but before that I had class time! In renaissance art we paid a visit to the santa croce. I saw Michelangelo’s, Da Vinci’s, and Galileo’s tomb, and the works of Giotti. Giotti was one of the first painters to work in three dimensions. Everything was gorgeous, but it was painful to see the damage that the Arno river did when it flooded up to six feet of the santa croce and the surrounding buildings.
In fashion marketing we watched a video about Viktor & Rolfe and their launch of their perfume flowerbomb. The video included one of the coolest fashion shows I have ever seen. Youtube it! (viktor & rolfe flowerbomb fashion show---that will probably work).
Next came the meeting about the rooming situation. Oi. We thought we conveyed our concerns about the matter, but Julie appeared to manipulate the whole situation when an hour and a half after our meeting, Brittney and I get a call about meeting as a group to work it out. At which point I called mamma in tears because basically, I want this girl out. I don’t feel safe and I am going to convey that.
It doesn’t help her case that she ended up taking all her aggression out on me over the phone this afternoon. She asked if Cailin or I would sleep in Brittney’s bed from here on out. A) no way jose and B) NOOOOOO. I’m not going to put myself in that situation, and it’s not fair to put Cailin in that situation. I ended up having to say to her “I don’t feel comfortable sleeping in the same room as you at the moment.” Three minutes later, me, shaking with anger, and Julie, still yelling at me (she even called me bipolar at one point and said I couldn’t handle things like an adult…..um, HELLO!?!?!?!?! They have these new fangled inventions called MIRRORS! USE ONE!) I finally hung up the phone. This is not how I want to spend my time in Florence. The only solution I see is to send her home or get her another apartment.
The one bit of good news is if there is any sign of aggression or ANYTHING from here on out, we report it, and she is evicted.
The night was really cool despite the drama. Brittney’s family friend lives in Florence so they took us out to eat. I had risotto with zucchini flowers. It was delicioussss! And I did my first Italian double cheek kiss. I was wayyyy excited . I’ve been seeing other people do it, and since they know I am American they always insist on shaking my hand!
But guys, I need some prayers. Pray that this situation be resolved quickly and safely! None of us want to deal with this any longer than we have to!
SOOOO, there was a visit paid to the powers that be in the program later, but before that I had class time! In renaissance art we paid a visit to the santa croce. I saw Michelangelo’s, Da Vinci’s, and Galileo’s tomb, and the works of Giotti. Giotti was one of the first painters to work in three dimensions. Everything was gorgeous, but it was painful to see the damage that the Arno river did when it flooded up to six feet of the santa croce and the surrounding buildings.
In fashion marketing we watched a video about Viktor & Rolfe and their launch of their perfume flowerbomb. The video included one of the coolest fashion shows I have ever seen. Youtube it! (viktor & rolfe flowerbomb fashion show---that will probably work).
Next came the meeting about the rooming situation. Oi. We thought we conveyed our concerns about the matter, but Julie appeared to manipulate the whole situation when an hour and a half after our meeting, Brittney and I get a call about meeting as a group to work it out. At which point I called mamma in tears because basically, I want this girl out. I don’t feel safe and I am going to convey that.
It doesn’t help her case that she ended up taking all her aggression out on me over the phone this afternoon. She asked if Cailin or I would sleep in Brittney’s bed from here on out. A) no way jose and B) NOOOOOO. I’m not going to put myself in that situation, and it’s not fair to put Cailin in that situation. I ended up having to say to her “I don’t feel comfortable sleeping in the same room as you at the moment.” Three minutes later, me, shaking with anger, and Julie, still yelling at me (she even called me bipolar at one point and said I couldn’t handle things like an adult…..um, HELLO!?!?!?!?! They have these new fangled inventions called MIRRORS! USE ONE!) I finally hung up the phone. This is not how I want to spend my time in Florence. The only solution I see is to send her home or get her another apartment.
The one bit of good news is if there is any sign of aggression or ANYTHING from here on out, we report it, and she is evicted.
The night was really cool despite the drama. Brittney’s family friend lives in Florence so they took us out to eat. I had risotto with zucchini flowers. It was delicioussss! And I did my first Italian double cheek kiss. I was wayyyy excited . I’ve been seeing other people do it, and since they know I am American they always insist on shaking my hand!
But guys, I need some prayers. Pray that this situation be resolved quickly and safely! None of us want to deal with this any longer than we have to!
Monday, July 6, 2009
Beauty and the Beast....
Oh goodness. Today was something else. Today was the first day of classes, which is very exciting! My renaissance art class is going to be incredible! Every day we go to a different museum or site around Florence. Sometimes we meet first to have a lecture, and sometimes we meet directly at a tourist site. Tomorrow we are touring the Santa Croce, and Wednesday we are touring the duomo.
My fashion marketing class will be an excellent experience, but it might be a lot of information I have already learned. There will be a lot of cool class exercises. I have a six page paper due Monday about the marketing employed by an Italian brand in the city. Also we get to go to the Ferregamo museum as a class, and we will take a trip to Milan.
After class I wasn’t feeling too great, so I ended up just sitting on the couch for awhile, but we had dinner at Ganzo. Ganzo is the place where the people who graduate from this schools culinary program work. It was all right. It was very strange. VERY STRANGE. I ended up having penne pomodoro (typical), and quiche (maybe not so typical). Afterwards we walked back to our apartment, and Brittney was craving gelato so we went and found a place we hadn’t tried yet. I ended up finding sparkling orange water (?). It was Pellegrino with orange in it. I think I found my new “on the way to class” drink.
We saw that there was something going on in the piazza di santa croce, so we decided to sit on the steps of the church and see what was going on. Turns out it was an Italian performance of peter and the wolf. It was so cool! As the sun was setting and the orchestra was playing I thought to myself…this is just a good day.
Boy, was I wrong.
Some dramatics occurred in the apartment tonight. This time tomorrow, I may not have a fourth flat mate.
I’ll keep you posted.
My fashion marketing class will be an excellent experience, but it might be a lot of information I have already learned. There will be a lot of cool class exercises. I have a six page paper due Monday about the marketing employed by an Italian brand in the city. Also we get to go to the Ferregamo museum as a class, and we will take a trip to Milan.
After class I wasn’t feeling too great, so I ended up just sitting on the couch for awhile, but we had dinner at Ganzo. Ganzo is the place where the people who graduate from this schools culinary program work. It was all right. It was very strange. VERY STRANGE. I ended up having penne pomodoro (typical), and quiche (maybe not so typical). Afterwards we walked back to our apartment, and Brittney was craving gelato so we went and found a place we hadn’t tried yet. I ended up finding sparkling orange water (?). It was Pellegrino with orange in it. I think I found my new “on the way to class” drink.
We saw that there was something going on in the piazza di santa croce, so we decided to sit on the steps of the church and see what was going on. Turns out it was an Italian performance of peter and the wolf. It was so cool! As the sun was setting and the orchestra was playing I thought to myself…this is just a good day.
Boy, was I wrong.
Some dramatics occurred in the apartment tonight. This time tomorrow, I may not have a fourth flat mate.
I’ll keep you posted.
the delay
ok guys- my mysterious source of wireless disappeared this weekend, so these blogs are a couple days late. Heads up!
Here I go a'wandering
Oh goodness. I walked a lot today.
I started off this morning with a trip to the grocery store to get breakfast food because CLASS starts tomorrow, and I need to start the day with a meal unlike I have been doing. Brittney and I agreed that Nutella, bananas, and bread would be the way to go. I also got some blood orange juice to make it a complete breakfast. I broke in mamma and daddies “surprise” rei tote bag that I got for my birthday to carry my groceries.
Next I spotted an H&M (a clothing store). And since it has become apparent that I was VERY sparse in packing, I bought a few things to round out my Italy wardrobe.
Now, this is where the walking gets TERRIBLE. My next mission was to find an internet café because my mysterious source of free wi-fi disappeared! (thus the reason the posts are a few days late). I found the café, but I misread the sign. I thought it opened at 1, but alas, I later discovered that it opened at 3. So I decide that I can wander around for two hours. Maybe even find some school supplies. I walk around for two hours. In the mean time, I pass the hospital. Maybe its more modern on the inside. I don’t know, just here’s hoping that I don’t need it. Knock on wood.
Anyway, I went back to the café at 3. And I knew it was three because church bells were ringing all across the city, and they were still closed. I even circled the block a few times, but they were still closed. I decided to let it go.
Good news about my little foray: two people asked me for directions today! I don’t know if I am starting to give off the Italian vibe or if they are just that desperately lost. BUT THEY ASKED ME. AND I WAS ABLE TO HELP. Kind of.
When I came back I had a roommate. Her name is Cailin, and she packed everything that I wish I had brought with me. She was unpacking and just pulled out cute outfit after cute outfit. But alas, when I step in gum (for what wil be the fifth time) I can just scrap off my black tevas and keep going. Not so much with some peep toe pumps. She sounds like more of a partier than I. I hope it won’t be an issue, but seeing as it is only a month, I don’t see it being a huge huge problem.
We introduced her to the cute little restaurants on our street and we decided to try one that we had not gone to before (I must explain about the one we have been to). They must have been smitten with us for they brought out a free dish of ravioli for the table, plus two free desserts (after we had paid). I had penne arriabata (or something to that effect). But in their English translation menu it was called “penne of the angry one.” Oh, was it angry. It was so spicy! It was delicious, but so insanely spicy. The first dessert they brought out was lemon biscotti, then after we paid and were getting up to leave, they brought out chocolate cake with whipped cream. I don’t like chocolate but this was yummy.
It was right then two accoridan players started up behind us. It was realy magical. Then they asked for money which wasn’t so magical, but it was cool.
SPEAKING OF PEOPLE ASKING FOR MONEY. I’m assuming she was a gypsy, but today I was walking through the piazza dei duomo. There was this woman, dressed all in white with her face painted white as well. She was carrying around three fake flowers and a basket and when she would approach a person she would make this bizarre kissing sound. I really don’t know what it was about, but I do know that I quickly veered off to the right when I saw her coming my way.
I started off this morning with a trip to the grocery store to get breakfast food because CLASS starts tomorrow, and I need to start the day with a meal unlike I have been doing. Brittney and I agreed that Nutella, bananas, and bread would be the way to go. I also got some blood orange juice to make it a complete breakfast. I broke in mamma and daddies “surprise” rei tote bag that I got for my birthday to carry my groceries.
Next I spotted an H&M (a clothing store). And since it has become apparent that I was VERY sparse in packing, I bought a few things to round out my Italy wardrobe.
Now, this is where the walking gets TERRIBLE. My next mission was to find an internet café because my mysterious source of free wi-fi disappeared! (thus the reason the posts are a few days late). I found the café, but I misread the sign. I thought it opened at 1, but alas, I later discovered that it opened at 3. So I decide that I can wander around for two hours. Maybe even find some school supplies. I walk around for two hours. In the mean time, I pass the hospital. Maybe its more modern on the inside. I don’t know, just here’s hoping that I don’t need it. Knock on wood.
Anyway, I went back to the café at 3. And I knew it was three because church bells were ringing all across the city, and they were still closed. I even circled the block a few times, but they were still closed. I decided to let it go.
Good news about my little foray: two people asked me for directions today! I don’t know if I am starting to give off the Italian vibe or if they are just that desperately lost. BUT THEY ASKED ME. AND I WAS ABLE TO HELP. Kind of.
When I came back I had a roommate. Her name is Cailin, and she packed everything that I wish I had brought with me. She was unpacking and just pulled out cute outfit after cute outfit. But alas, when I step in gum (for what wil be the fifth time) I can just scrap off my black tevas and keep going. Not so much with some peep toe pumps. She sounds like more of a partier than I. I hope it won’t be an issue, but seeing as it is only a month, I don’t see it being a huge huge problem.
We introduced her to the cute little restaurants on our street and we decided to try one that we had not gone to before (I must explain about the one we have been to). They must have been smitten with us for they brought out a free dish of ravioli for the table, plus two free desserts (after we had paid). I had penne arriabata (or something to that effect). But in their English translation menu it was called “penne of the angry one.” Oh, was it angry. It was so spicy! It was delicious, but so insanely spicy. The first dessert they brought out was lemon biscotti, then after we paid and were getting up to leave, they brought out chocolate cake with whipped cream. I don’t like chocolate but this was yummy.
It was right then two accoridan players started up behind us. It was realy magical. Then they asked for money which wasn’t so magical, but it was cool.
SPEAKING OF PEOPLE ASKING FOR MONEY. I’m assuming she was a gypsy, but today I was walking through the piazza dei duomo. There was this woman, dressed all in white with her face painted white as well. She was carrying around three fake flowers and a basket and when she would approach a person she would make this bizarre kissing sound. I really don’t know what it was about, but I do know that I quickly veered off to the right when I saw her coming my way.
Feeling hot Hot HOT
So, news flash….it’s hot here. But It is far hotter winding up 462 steps, with the walls closing in on you, and the steps getting steeper with each one passed. This was the experience climbing to the top of the duomo this morning. It was hot, sticky, miserable, and claustrophobic. HOWEVER, the view from the top of the dome was well worth it.
We had all warned each other that we were claustrophobic, and, in my case, sometimes don’t do well in oppressive heat (aka I black out and fall over). This was a concern of mine when we made it past the first flight of stairs and Julie was in tears and I was getting dizzy. Although, I was going to be mad at myself if I didn’t see the top, so I got air when I could out of the little peep holes in the wall periodically, and soldiered on! It was a climb! And by the top everyone was sweating buckets and barking at each other because we all just wanted to get outside. This story sounds very dramatic, but it really was something that I would advise anyone to do if they come to Florence (except mamma maybe). You get to see the entire city, in the shadows of the rolling hills of Tuscany. Plus, we had been trying to find our way around these few days, so we got to play the game “lets find where we live” from the top of the dome.
Afterwards, we wound our way down (ALMOST all spiral staircases), and got water because everyone was feeling a little shaky. Our next adventure took us to the mercato centrale. I made my first Italian purchase. It’s a purple leather purse. It’s pretty small by my standards, but very handy because I am getting tired of lugging this big bag around. I ordered my first Panini in broken Italian. I’m getting better. I can say ciao and grazie with more gusto now. Plus I know how to order my gelato. Stick to short sentences. That’s the key.
When I was buying my purse, I asked her “Quanto costa?” for how much does it cost, so she assumed that I spoke Italian, I guess. She starts on a big long rant, and I start smiling cause I have a vague idea of what she is saying (she was explaining that she doesn’t haggle), but she finally understood that I speak English. However, she continued to talk to me in Italian with a few English words thrown in there. I thought that was fair because that is what I was doing to her, basically.
Anyway, turns out she DOES haggle. I only got it down by 9 Euro but it’s a start. I’m not very bold in regards to that kind of thing.
After that I got some fruit. It was good.
Nap time hit with a vengeance. I may still be jetlagged I guess, but I still want to fall asleep at 4:00 in the afternoon. But I can’t get to sleep till 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. Luckily it was a pretty short nap, so it didn’t throw me off too much.
After my nap, the three of us and our new friend Lily hiked to the palazzo dei michelangiolo. It is on top of a hill facing the historic center of Florence. Once we had all grabbed a Panini for dinner we sat and attempted to watch the sun set behind the Ponte Vecchio. It was cloudy, so we decided to cut our losses and go grab a gelato. The hike was worth it though. It brought the day full circle, indeed. Because this morning we hiked to the top of the duomo, and tonight we hiked to the palazzo and historic Florence in all its glory, the duomo dominating the vista.
We topped off the night with gelato from Vivoli. A place I have heard, from numerous sources is the best gelato in Florence. So far my gelato flavors include: strawberry, tiramisu, and mousse café. Mousse café has BY FAR been my favorite. I thought about buying the 10 euro cup and sticking some in the fridge. (a usual cup for me is anywhere from 1.50 to 2.50 euros).
Marvelous day….hmmmmm
Friday, July 3, 2009
Ciao frizzy bella!
Ciao! Today was wonderful despite its rocky start. I woke up at 10 and for some reason didn’t get dressed and venture out till 2. BUT, once I did it was wonderful. I went on a walk by myself, and saw lots of wonderful things. (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/album.php?aid=2045944&id=47302243&ref=mf)
The duomo was stunning, but then again, so is….everything. One of my favorite parts of the walk was stumbling upon this huge building that had doors open on all four sides. I wasn’t sure I was allowed in, but I thought it looked cool so I went. There was an art display in the middle with sets of stairs leading down to other displays. I wasn’t positive that I was allowed in there so I didn’t push my luck going down the stairs, but the art in the middle was pretty cool. There are a couple pictures, but it was basically a maze set by silhouettes of deer with different art pieces along the way.
I walked along the via tournabouni which is basically a street for all the major fashion names. Too expensive, but the windows were cool (see Armani in the album). I saw ferragamo’s store. It may not mean very much to others, but he was the first shoe designer that really took a woman’s whole body into consideration when designing a pair of shoes (he took anatomy classes to understand how the feet, the legs, and the back all work with each other). Not only did he make shoes that work for women, but they are stunning! I hope to get to his museum before I leave.
After I stepped in gum while marveling at Ferragamo’s veritable castle, I found myself by the river with the ponte vecchio in the distance. Guys. It was walking along HERE, that I had my first all Italian conversation. My side of the convo went a little something like this.
(I was buying a bottle of water)
“ciao!”
“si”
“grazie”
“ciao!”
AWESOME RIGHT? Right.
We had a little get together to end orientation at ganzo, where Brittney and I met Lily. We ended up grabbing dinner at the incredible little restaurant. It was delicious save one thing: my pasta had crab in it. Still in the shell. Covered in pasta sauce. How are you supposed to get that out? We ended up sitting there talking for awhile. Then afterwards we walked to the river and across the ponte vecchio, stopping to see a street musician and getting some gelato. Tiramisu!!! I haven’t had tiramisu here yet, but I will say the tiramisu gelato is amazing.
Tomorrow, the three flat mates plus Lily are climbing to the top of the duomo. Pray for me!
Basically....
I'm living in a postcard.
That's all there is to say about that.
New blog tonight. Till then...Ciao!
That's all there is to say about that.
New blog tonight. Till then...Ciao!
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Day twooo
Ciao!
Bella Busey's here with her day 2 adventures. Orientation started today, and I feel much better about being in Florence. I had a leisurely morning (slept in till 10, as opposed to 8 as my email to some of you said), but I had to get out of bed to go to my first meeting.
It was concerning safety, apartment, and other issues that might arise. It was here that I had my first blood orange juice. SO GOOD. Im falling in love with the food here. But after that, Brittney and I went to take care of some school stuff, but we found our class room buildings and a lovely bar (not what you think- here, a bar is considered more of a coffee shop or a little restaurant) two doors down from my classes.
Later on we went on a walking tour of the city (going from the art school to the culinary school which streches the center of the city). I saw some lovely buildings and got some recommendations about lovely places to shop and eat on the way. The tour ended with the gym for the school. It. was. sad. We have an elliptical, a couple free weights, and a wii fit. They do hold classes, but considering it was enough of a work out just to get to this building, I dont think any of us are going to go there.
Afterwards we went back to our apartment and then headed to dinner. More awesome food. I did forget for a second that the bread is not cooked with salt. I got a pizza with tomatoes, cheese, and anchovies. I know some of you are grossed out right now, but it was SO good. SO GOOD. I had a side of sauteed spinach that was quite lovely, and brittney and I ended the meal with a piece of strawberry cream cake. It was quite lovely.
Firsts for the day:
-made exact change (I was PUMPED)
-walked to class (GORGEOUS walk)
-looked out of the window in my room (SERIOUSLY gorgeous- see below)
-saw the duomo up close (Im pondering climbing to the top tomorrow)
The view from my room:
Florence really really is lovely. Im still a little jet lagged and homesick, but I am definitely getting used to the idea of living here for a month.
I'm trying to decide what to do this weekend. Options: day trip to Pisa, day trip to Fiesole, or just explore Florence? OR do all three?
Bella Busey's here with her day 2 adventures. Orientation started today, and I feel much better about being in Florence. I had a leisurely morning (slept in till 10, as opposed to 8 as my email to some of you said), but I had to get out of bed to go to my first meeting.
It was concerning safety, apartment, and other issues that might arise. It was here that I had my first blood orange juice. SO GOOD. Im falling in love with the food here. But after that, Brittney and I went to take care of some school stuff, but we found our class room buildings and a lovely bar (not what you think- here, a bar is considered more of a coffee shop or a little restaurant) two doors down from my classes.
Later on we went on a walking tour of the city (going from the art school to the culinary school which streches the center of the city). I saw some lovely buildings and got some recommendations about lovely places to shop and eat on the way. The tour ended with the gym for the school. It. was. sad. We have an elliptical, a couple free weights, and a wii fit. They do hold classes, but considering it was enough of a work out just to get to this building, I dont think any of us are going to go there.
Afterwards we went back to our apartment and then headed to dinner. More awesome food. I did forget for a second that the bread is not cooked with salt. I got a pizza with tomatoes, cheese, and anchovies. I know some of you are grossed out right now, but it was SO good. SO GOOD. I had a side of sauteed spinach that was quite lovely, and brittney and I ended the meal with a piece of strawberry cream cake. It was quite lovely.
Firsts for the day:
-made exact change (I was PUMPED)
-walked to class (GORGEOUS walk)
-looked out of the window in my room (SERIOUSLY gorgeous- see below)
-saw the duomo up close (Im pondering climbing to the top tomorrow)
The view from my room:
Florence really really is lovely. Im still a little jet lagged and homesick, but I am definitely getting used to the idea of living here for a month.
I'm trying to decide what to do this weekend. Options: day trip to Pisa, day trip to Fiesole, or just explore Florence? OR do all three?
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
The Hoo-rricane hits Florence
Hello! I am officially in Firenze! It has been a longer than long day, and here I sit munching on my first Florentine piece of pizza …and a diet coke. How Italian, indeed! My feet hurt, my back hurts and I am emotionally drained! And still without a room mate? What up with that? Or as the Italians would say….what up with that marco polo?
To start at the beginning of this advent-yah (you must say it royally), mamma drove me to Charlotte. I cried 27 times on the way. It was fun. I was dropped off at the Charlotte airport , and as I was checking in I ALMOST clicked upgrade to first class, but I didn’t. Much to my chagrin.
The plane was fine. I sat beside a woman who talked just the right amount. At the end of the trip she pointed another girl out to me who was headed to Florence, and while this “other girl” was not doing my program, we soldiered on together, and she saved the day at customs. The line was moving miserably slow, and it was hot. The kind of hot where I was pondering if anyone would help me if I fainted. They all looked as grumpy as I felt. BUT, Caitlin asked the man who was directing people if we should be concerned about missing our flight that was in an hour….AND HE WALKED US TO THE FRONT OF THE LINE! We really were in a rush because we thought we had to claim our bags then recheck our bags, and get new boarding passes. As it turns out, our plane was delayed half an hour, so we were fine.
On the plane to London, I just so happened to be surrounded by alkies (sp?). The woman beside me, as nice as she was, had three mini bottles of wine. The guys behind me just kept their drinks coming. And one man, 5 minutes after take off asks one of the attendants “Is there gonna be vodka offered?”!
My first very hooey moment of the trip was when I was going through security at Gatwick, and the man who was directing us told me “well done” when I didn’t make the alarms sound. He had the best british accent, and I think that’s when it hit me that I was in a different country. I replied “WHY THANK YOU, but in what I am realizing is a southern accent. Whenever I say “Mi scuzi” (excuse me) because I am trying to be at least a little Italian, It comes out exactly the same way I say excuse me at home. (Kind of squeaky at the end).
Now, when I REALLY realized that hooey hit Italy, was when I was trying to unlock the door to the apartment building, and I was pulling on it, and pulling on it. It was to the point where I thought I would have to walk back to the rental agency and get a different key, when it occurred to me….push the door.
Now that wasn’t nearly as bad as not realizing that the “first floor” was really the basement. This is a good thing to realize before you struggle with a key so much that an old Italian woman starts yelling at you from the doorway. So, as she was yelling at me, I sat down on the steps and called the rental agency. I was on the wrong floor.
Luckily after that I was pretttty normal. I was getting ready to go find an internet café when one of my apartment mates walked in the door. Her name is Julie and she is very nice! She is from Florida where I think some of mamma’s yankee rules apply. She is very forceful. But I don’t think she is ever intentionally being rude. Brittney, Julie’s roommate, is from Texas and is really sweet. Her class is being offered through the University of the Arts, not the culinary school. So I will have one friendly face at all the orientation sessions tomorrow.
We went grocery shopping at the coop (mamma! Here it is pronounced coop-ah). I didn’t get a lot, but I did drag some bottles of water back across town. Stupid idea. Yes. But now I will be hydrated.
Tomorrow I have orientation sessions for the University of the Arts. We take a walking tour, learn some things about Italy, and there is a reception at the restaurant where we get our meal vouchers.
This weekend I am going to do something fun…not quite sure what yet. It is the agony of the privileged. There is just too much cool stuff to do. I might get up early on Friday and Saturday and hike to the top of the Duomo, the building that provided the inspiration for First Baptist Church of Asheville.
I promise that this is almost over! On my walk today I find it fascinating that the architecture is gorgeous, but then all of the sudden a giant dome or steeple crests over the rooftops. It’s cool. I still don’t think I fully realize that I am here, but its been an interesting day to say the least.
Love you all!
Bella Busey
(MAMMA- I TOOK A PICTURE OF A DOOR TODAY!)
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