Exam Week

You'd be surprised how difficult it is to get motivated to write a 10 page paper or study for finals in Italy. There are too many distractions, and let's face it, it's just not fair to the weather if you lock yourself in a library's basement on a beautiful day. The sun invites you to come out and soak up some of its rays, the green grass asks for your bare feet, and the birds want someone to sing to. If it weren't for the fact that I really enjoy studying art, there might not be too much learning here in Florence.

Well, with three finals down I only have one more to go - Italian. Yesterday, Rebecca and I bought chocolate covered shortbread cookies with our celebratory lunch, and last night I went out for a birthday dinner at this delicious Italian restaurant. What did I order? Pasta! I know, who would have thought!? But not just one kind of pasta... five! The pasta sampler serves five small portions of an assortment of carbs, which last night included: bow tie pasta with pumpkin, risotto with artichokes, macaroni and cheese in a vodka sauce, ziti with bolognese sauce, and a pene pasta I'm forgetting. And after the plate full of carbs, Kit and I thought it would be a good idea to get the dessert platter. GREAT idea for my taste buds, not such a great idea for my already stuffed stomach.

Ending the night with a walk back home in beautiful spring weather, I was beyond satisfied with my day. Any day spent with friends is a great day, but yesterday was even more special as everyone was just a tad bit more emotional with the semester ending. It's a weird feeling knowing that this really exciting chapter in our lives is wrapping up and the last few pages are being written. Am I ready to leave? Well, there will be some things I'll miss for sure, like my walk to school. I don't think I've ever told you about my walk. Okay, let me take you through it...

I'm welcomed by the sun as I step out onto the sidewalk. Cars and Vespas pass as I begin to stroll down the street. Birds fill the morning sky with their tweeting and the sweet noises bounce off buildings, their songs never-ending. Walking near the river, I pass all different kinds of people. Old women decked out and in one inch high heels, looking like they're going to a tea party, men with canes and adorable grandpa hats moving as slow as a turtle, moms pushing their babies in strollers, dads holding their child's hand as they walk to school, dogs roaming the streets... I get all of this in about a 10 minute walk to the end of the street.

Trying to fit in and act like I'm Italian is a lost cause, as I know my tennis shoes and book bag are a dead giveaway. Then, as I turn onto a new road, my nose goes crazy with the smells of pastries baking from the pasticceria on the right and the chocolate shop on the left. Forcing myself to continue forward, the coffee shop tempts me. I'm finally (well, almost) home free at the corner where the neighborhood bread shop greets me with its deliciously smelling, freshly baked bread. Inviting me in with its open doors, I say "no thank you, I'm already late for school," and I continue on my way toward my very favorite part of the walk.

Passing through the open markets can be a challenge, as tents are squeezed together in a space that is way too small for the amount of people that frequent it. Using my Italian, I say "scusa, scusa" and weave my way through the crowd. Then, boom! All the fresh produce stares me in the face. Sometimes I give into the succulent colors of oranges and apples, but usually my watch pulls me away and tells me it's time to start picking up the pace. And this is why I wear tennis shoes to school - for this moment when I realize I need something in between a quick walk and a light jog, a combination that undoubtedly leaves little bullets of sweat on my forehead.

Saying goodbye to the produce, I enter the graffiti tunnel. Have I told you about the graffiti tunnel? It's a tunnel situated under the railroad tracks and is covered with the most beautiful graffiti. I'm not talking about the trash words that are usually written on Atlanta walls downtown; I'm talking about art. There's this older man who lives in the tunnel, he's been there about seven years now, and a couple times a month he adds new art to the already decorated walls. He makes my day, either with his boom box playing upbeat Italian music or, if I'm lucky, he will have recruited one of his friends to play the accordion while he sings and blows the harmonica. And he can sing! These are my favorite days - when I hear the man who live in the graffiti tunnel sing, filling the tunnel (and people's ears) with joyous music. Now, I don't understand what he's singing, but the smiling faces of Italian passersby tell me that it's refreshing and happy, and that's all I need to know.

Exiting the tunnel, I glance at my watch again. Yikes! Only 10 minutes before class starts! At this point I regret wearing a jacket and packing my computer, but there's not enough time to strip my coat or lighten my load. I have less than eight minutes before I walk in late and my professor gives me a dirty look. Passing backed up traffic and the supermarket, I make it to Piazza Savonarola with a sign of relief. The school is within sight! Dodging dog doodoo is my last obstacle before arriving in an air conditioned building. I've become really good at this, actually - dodging dog poop (since grass is limited in Florence, anywhere - even the sidewalks, is free reign for dogs).

I let out a sigh of relief as the open classroom double doors comfort me; class hasn't started yet. I made it! And this is how my day begins, with a little bit of music, lots of aromas and a a collection of sweat bullets.

Besides my walk to school, I'm going to miss the art, authentic Italian food, my host parents, my school, my home garden, Leo (Nonna's cat who I've surprisingly and unexpectedly bonded with), the wonderful friends I've made, buying produce at my neighborhood stand, getting gelato at GROM after dinner, being surrounded by buildings that have been around for 600 years, strolling the open leather in the centro, and about a million other things. Then again, it will be good to get back home to friends and family and the comforts of home. Leaving Italy really is bittersweet.

Well, that's all I wanted to share with you today. Now onto studying...

Ciao!

The produce market. Delicious!

The Graffiti Tunnel

Piazza Savonarola (my school is the pink building)

Nonna's garden. Absolutely beautiful!

Leo bathing in the sun

Leo posing for the picture

Me, Kit and Jay after exams/at Jay's birthday dinner

The school's garden

The turtle who we always spot in the garden

My Italian class and some of the great friends I've made. Professoressa Palli took us all out for gelato on our last day of class.

It's Days Like This

Today in my Firenze neighborhood

It's days like today that make me think the world is perfect. After getting up and dressed, I head out the door and am welcomed by the city streets of Florence. The weather is gorgeous - upper 60s. With the sun shining, politely asking me to put on sunglasses, and the light wind kissing my cheeks, I fail to see any kind of flaw in God's creation. Now, this definitely doesn't happen every day, believe me, which makes today that much more special. After a month and a half of freezing cold and a month and a half of rain, it's more than refreshing to see the sun's face and feel the heat on my head.

I know that I haven't blogged in about a month, which has been pointed out to me on numerous occasions. However, it's not that there hasn't been anything to blog about - on the contrary. I've had so much going on that finding time to blog has been about as promising as getting eight hours of sleep. With only two weeks left in Italy, I'm trying to soak up as much culture as I can while at the same time meeting the demands of my professors. Having written two research papers, given a presentation and completing two projects, all within 10 days, I've decided that school just gets in the way of studying abroad. Don't worry, Dad, I'm only semi-joking. You should know that I'm learning just as much inside the classroom as I am outside of it.

My walk home from school. Beautiful, isn't it?

After much contemplation about the arrangement of my blog (since there's so much to cover), I decided to give you an overview on the most important things you've missed this past month.

Let's start with Easter...

Easter break was definitely not the traditional family get-together with church and a nice Sunday brunch. Instead of spending the holiday with my family eating a great meal and getting a little Easter basket from the Easter bunny (yes, I still get surprises from the Easter bunny at 20), I spent the holiday soaking up the sun in Ibiza, Spain.

Ibiza is a beautiful island situated in the Mediterranean Sea and is the third largest of the Balearic Islands. While known for its night clubs and crazy party scene, Ibiza was just our relaxing outlet. Sorry to disappoint some of you, but I have no ridiculous stories about wandering the Spanish streets at four in the morning or having strange encounters with Spanish men at discos. Blair, Amanda and I went during the off season, so the night life I'm referring to wasn't even an option. And to be perfectly honest, I'm glad it wasn't, because we needed relaxation and rejuvenation, which is exactly what we got!

For three days, we slept in, walked two or three miles along the coast, took pictures, basked in the sun, ate, drank, talked, joked around and people watched. It was wonderful! Honestly, that really is all we did. It's crazy how life takes on a new meaning when you just sit back and soak it up at a slow pace. With no school demands, no pressure to speak Italian correctly and no cell phone that is either constantly buzzing or acting as a reminder to call someone, it was nice to just enjoy life. To be outside all day, from sunrise to sunset; to spend three hours at a restaurant enjoying the food, view and company; to only have the birds and waves be your background noise. With two good girlfriends to enjoy tranquility at its utmost, I couldn't have asked for a more pleasant weekend. While there was no Sunday sermon or family brunch, there was lots of talking and getting to know each other. And I will say that you don't need a sermon to tell you what God has given us and what he's done for us. I saw his beauty in the horizon, his love in our laughter and his grace in our very presence. Easter in Spain was a thought-provoking one. There were people I spent it with who reminded me of why Christ died - to save people like us, to give us freedom to live life and make bad decisions along with the good ones. The cross is such an accurate representation not only of our existence and free will, but of God's love for us. And for me, it's easiest to see His love for us in other people. So, the weekend with Blair and Amanda in almost complete isolation gave me tons of insight into God's love.

It definitely was a different kind of Easter. No less significant, no less special. I will say though, I did miss being with my family, and that got me a little homesick. But no worries - the Easter bunny still managed to find me, even thousands of miles away from my usual location. Thank you for the Godiva chocolates, Mom! I mean, Easter Bunny...

Ibiza

Me, Amanda and Blair at lunch in Ibiza

Venice

This past weekend I went to Venice with one of my art history classes, and it was just as picturesque as the movies say it is! Being a city that houses little bridges every 50 feet and has gondolas galore, it also contains narrow streets and preserved history and beauty that really make it special. Each Italian city has its own attribute, uniqueness and set of qualities that set it apart from the rest, but Venice seemed to have a kind magical, romantic atmosphere that truly won my heart.

It was a quick trip - only two full days and a night, but my professor goes at lightening speed and loves to lecture, so we went, went, went (or as my mom says, "goed, goed, goed"). Venice is the home of Titian and Tintoretto, two of the most famous Venetian Renaissance painters, if not the most. I don't have any pictures of their works that I can share with you, because, of course, pictures were not permitted inside these museums or churches. However, I highly recommend that you google some of their works.

Titian was the leader of Venetian art, later influencing other Venetian artists, and even Florentine ones, in a profound way both during his career and years after his death. His particular interest in color, nature and soft figures are so apparent in his works. The way he softens his figures by means of a paintbrush and transforms naturalistic scenes from life to canvas is absolutely breathtaking. The fact that you cannot see any outlines creates this kind of continuous flow throughout, bringing about a unique unification. And all of this combined allows for a very emotionally moving experience when you see his works first-hand. They're truly silencing.

Tintoretto overlapped with, but mostly followed, Titian. He was nicknamed, "Il Furioso" for his phenomenal energy and quick speed. By looking at Tintoretto's work, you can see his enthusiasm and true love for painting. He painted as much as he could, and quickly! However he did not compromise beauty for speed. His interest in light and perspectival space helped pave the way for Baroque art. Not only was he an influencer, but also an innovator. Tintoretto was extremely talented in taking a scene shown a thousand times before and turning it into something new, fresh and different. For example, when depicting Biblical scenes, he didn't base his composition on what artists of the time typically included; he went back to the original text and painted how he saw the scene. In this way, his works were very personal, as he openly gave his interpretation, often straying from tradition.

24 hours was not enough in Venice. If you ever go there, make sure you plan on at least three days!

Venice (taken from one of the million bridges)

Festival

One of the things I love about Florentines is their love for festas. I've learned not to be surprised if I'm walking along the streets and see a string of tents set up with food celebrating a festival of some sort. On one of the first warm days of March, Blair told me of the festival of Santa Maria Annunciata, which is a church down the street from our school. She didn't even get the words "food" and "candy" out of her mouth before my feet were running. So, after class, we walked about 10 minutes to the piazza and browsed the festival tents. I bought one of my favorites: candied almonds - yum! It only took about five seconds after my first purchase until we stopped at the dried fruit tent. This was so neat! The vendor had all of his dried fruits and gummies displayed in barrels with scoops and bags available for self-service. The amount of dried fruit he had was unbelievable! From dried strawberries to mango to coconut to apricots to figs, even dried kiwi! I just grabbed a bag and helped myself to a little of everything. And Blair did too! I think we ended up spending around 10 euros each, but it was so worth it!

That was such a great day! After browsing the tents, we took our sweets stash back to the school's garden and sprawled out on the lawn, soaking up some beautiful sun while drinking a cappuccino. That's Italy for you!

My dried fruit from the festival. Well, half of it (the other half was already in my stomach)

Bologna

A few weekends ago I took a class day trip to Bologna, which is about an hour and a half train ride away from Florence. Bologna was a cute little city, with the neatest open fish, produce and baked goods markets. Karolina, you totally would have loved it! However, we didn't go for the markets, we went for the modern art. More specifically, my painting teacher took us to the Morandi Museum. Giorgio Morandi was an Italian painter during the mid 1960s who specialized in still-life. He painted hundreds of pictures that hang in his museum, about 90% of which use a colorless palette. Morandi paints the same sets of objects over and over with slight variations, focusing on the spatial arrangement between objects and their negative space.

I'll be honest and say that I'm not a fan of modern art, and I was trying really hard to appreciate his work. My painting professor, Kirsten, and I had a long conversation in the museum about art, modern and Renaissance, and what determines good, successful art from the cop-outs. After talking with her, I realized that the criteria I consider good art to contain are: lots of time invested, color, realism, narrative and a whole host of other things. But Kirsten did open my eyes a little wider to the beauty of Morandi's dull pallet still life paintings, and how just by the placement of objects, so many emotions can be conveyed: sadness, tension, excitement, etc. I know it sounds weird that just the arrangement of bowls and carafes can have an emotional goal, but to understand that effect, you have to slightly altar your way of thinking and approach to modern art.

One of Bologna's produce stands

Well, I have to run now, but there are still a couple more things I want to share with you...

Some other things I've been up to:

-Practiced our Italian with some Italian students who visited our school

-Had a picnic at the Boboli Gardens with Blair and Amanda

-Went to the Uffizi with Jay and had dinner later that night with him, Amanda, Blair and Maria

-Attended our school's talent show and supported two of my friends/classmates who were in it (one of my friends sang opera, and he was amazing!) Everyone was really shocked when he announced he would be singing opera.

-Gained more insight into Italian culture through an Italian music lecture where we learned the history and listened to Italian music ranging from over a century

-Got a little stomach bug

-Found a new gelato spot with Blair and one of her friends from Spain- AMAZING!!

-Went on a class trip to the Medici chapel

Amanda, me and Blair in Boboli Gardens

View from the top of the Uffizi

In the school's garden with Italian students (all guys!)

Spring Break!

Second semester is gloriously split in half by this wonderful thing called spring break. Usually that means packing my bathing suit and heading to a Florida beach with a bunch of girls, but this year it meant stocking a suitcase with turtlenecks and gloves and jetting off to Germany with Blair. However different the spring break experience, I had an amazing time (the company was okay, too).

Two countries, five cities, ten days. It was exhausting, and I will try and record everything I can remember but there will be gaps and generalities.

City #1: Berlin

Berlin was a city I was not expecting to love. So much history is sprinkled around the new, developed area with modern buildings and museums. Think cleanliness and buildings like DC but with wide streets and lots of German advertisements. Oh, and color! Germans are huge on colorful buildings. I'm not really sure why the contrast of bright colors is so appealing to them but it reminds me of the 1980s Rubik's Cube phase. Anyway, after meeting up our first night, Blair and I were ready to drop our luggage off at the hostel and grab some authentic German food. Well, I say "our" luggage, but mine didn't make it on my connecting flight, so it was just his huge military-looking backpack sack we wanted to unload.

Dinner was awesome - probably one of my favorite restaurants during our stay. Thank you to the hostel desk worker who suggested it. I ordered sausage with mustard and bread (very German) and Blair ordered... oh, what was it? This pasta-like dish with loads of cheese. What's the name of that, Blair? Regardless, it was delicious! With full stomachs and travel exhaustion setting in, we went back to the hostel and called it a night.

The next two days in Berlin were a whirlwind. We went to four or five museums, dined at several good German restaurants, ate tons of Bratwurst (Blair was in love), strolled the streets, stopped in cafés for daily doses of cappuccino and did a walking tour of the city. I'm glad youth was on our side or else we would have been bed-ridden with sore and aching body parts for the rest of our trip.

We easily spent two hours in every museum we went to. It was so nice to stroll through them without feeling rushed, and Blair was an excellent conversationalist. We talked about subject matter, style and composition which sometimes led to unrelated topics that started new conversation and raised questions that were left unanswered. And when we weren't discussing paintings or sculptures, we were listening to the wonderful audio guides that were given to us free of charge. Yay for free things! (As college students, "free" takes on a whole new meaning, so seeing those four letters sends us swimming with excitement.) We also had the same museum pace, which was so nice because there's nothing like going to a museum with someone who wants to rush through every room or spend the night there. There's definitely a middle ground when it comes to museum time. Hm... I wonder what my art history professor would say about this. I'm sure he would willingly bring a sleeping bag and pillow if overnight stays were optional.

In all seriousness, Blair was a great guide. He bought a Germany travel book and mapped out our days while at the same time leaving room for spontaneity. Thank you, Blair for that and for also asking my input. On our own we saw the Brandenburg gate and toured the Reichstag building at night. The Brandenburg gate was beautiful! It's one of the main symbols of Berlin and is the only remaining gate of a series through which people used to enter Berlin. It's situated very close to the Reichstag building, which was built in 1884 to house the German parliament. We did our best to see what we could on our own, and I think we did a great job, but it was really nice when our Irish tour guide (whose name is escaping me) took us around on the walking tour. The only negative aspect about the tour was the walking outside part. It was freezing! Bundled up in layers and shielding my face from the wind with a hood couldn't keep the cold away. I kept trying to huddle close to Blair but he didn't get the hint that I wanted warmth; he thought I wasn't feeling well and was about to faint or something. Anyway, our tour guide was great! He showed us the Holocaust memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, part of the Berlin wall that still stands, and the spot where Hitler killed himself. With great enthusiasm, and a semi difficult to understand Irish accent with an assortment of jokes up his sleeve, our tour guide shared with our large group history that was pertinent to each site visit.

Bratwurst

Berlin

Brandenburg Gate

After two days in Berlin, we headed to city number two...

City #2: Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city and is most famous for its Cologne Cathedral, a German Catholic cathedral that is visited by 20 thousand people daily. Wow! It definitely wasn't that crowded when we went, but there was buzz around this magnificent cathedral. It took over 600 years to complete, and I think it was definitely worth the time. Its Gothic architecture is stunning and the stained glass windows are even more magnificent.

But before we went to the cathedral, our stomachs were yelling at us to eat. And of course not wanting to be rude and ignore our hunger pangs, we stopped at the first restaurant we saw, which was situated right next to the cathedral. Great view, not great food. Well, it's not really fair for me to say that, because it was VERY German food: knuckle of pork and blood sausage. The knuckle of pork looked like a live baby pig covered in fat, and the blood sausage was dark purple/red with a consistency of mashed potatoes. We couldn't get passed the look or the consistency. So, let's just say we headed to the train station for fast food after that 32 euro meal which we ate none of but had a fun time poking at. And yes, I took the check after loosing a word search match to Blair. I thought for sure I'd beat him, but what can I say, he's much better at word searches than he is at card games...

Cologne Cathedral

Blood sausage and knuckle of pork

Cologne was a very short trip, so there's not much more to say. Onto city number three...

City #3: Munich

After hearing so much about Munich, it wasn't at all what I had pictured. I'm not really sure what I had in mind, but it was more laid back than I thought it would be. As soon as we arrived in Munich, we headed to the Bavarian Palace, also known as the Munich Residenz. It is a beautiful palace that served as the seat of government and residence to the Bavarian dukes during the years 1508 to 1918. Not only is it it pretty to look at, but it also houses great museum works, most notably antique sculptures.

Over the next few days, we passed by and climbed New Town Hall, visited several museums, strolled through an open market, dined at fabulous restaurants, grabbed beers at some of the most well-known breweries and went to a concentration camp.

New Town Hall, built in a Gothic Revival architectural style, was absolutely stunning. It's the main focus of the center, surrounded by restaurants and shopping and is also a very helpful landmark when looking for specific places and sites. And the view from the top is even more stunning, giving an extensive picture of all of Munich. The market was such a pleasant experience as well. I love grazing through markets - smelling the food, seeing the bright, shiny fresh fruit, listening to passersby, watching the excitement of money/food exchanges and little kids tugging at their moms' shirts begging for just a little of this sweet or that sweet before dinner.

Speaking of dinner, we had two really nice dinners, one being the best meal we had while in Germany (at least in my opinion). Dining is definitely a cultural experience, and there's nothing like relaxing at the table after a long day of walking and museum-going, talking to your best friend over good food. It really doesn't get much better. But wait, it does in Germany! Because in Germany, your night isn't complete until you frequent a brew hall, which is exactly what we did every night. Although I'm not the beer connoisseur like Blair is, I still appreciated going to a pub hall where tradition remains and the alcohol is appreciated. So, even though Blair saw more of my eyelids from 10:00 - 11:00 p.m. while at the brew hall, I still enjoyed the atmosphere and experience.

However, when it comes to experience, the most emotional and educational experience we had in Munich was our trip to the Dachau concentration camp. I think everyone should visit a concentration camp at least once in his life for several reasons. Not only is the experience a huge history lesson, but it gives you an idea of an unimaginable life and makes you realize how lucky you are to have not gone through the torture, malnourishment and abuse that so many people suffered. Hopefully, a visit to a concentration camp stirs you up enough emotionally to the point of raising questions about government, people and the purpose of life. The question that endlessly ran through my mind was "how could so much hatred have existed? How could nothing be done about this kind of situation for so long?" A million other questions circled my brain, and the more pictures I saw and information I read regarding the Holocaust, the more my heart sank with a sympathetic pain. Let's just say that while I encourage everyone to visit a camp, it's not a pleasant experience and is not one in which smiles are exchanged and jokes are made. It's solemn, it's moving and it's necessary.

Munich

Residenz Palace

New Town Hall

View from the top of New Town Hall

Beer Hall- Hofbräuhaus

Dachau Concentration Camp

Good thing our trip didn't end on that note. From Germany we took the train to Austria and city number four: Salzburg

City #4: Salzburg

(Singing) "The hills are alive with the sound of music!" Yes, not only is this the birthplace of Mozart, but it is also the setting for one of the most well-known movies of all time, "The Sound of Music." Salzburg was my one adamant spring break request. Recommended by my aunt, we went on the "Sound of Music" tour, which was actually the whole purpose of our stop there, to be perfectly honest.

With Trudy as our tour guide, we set off for a fun, music filled three hour tour of Salzburg, stopping at all of the spots where scenes were filmed for the movie. Trudy, who could have been Julie Andrew's understudy, was an absolute terrific tour guide. Her English accent and dry sense of humour kept us laughing and her wonderful voice treated our ears to great music as she played the movie soundtrack while driving us through the mountains. Oh yes, there was music - lots of it. And yes, we were encouraged to sing along (even Blair). Oh my gosh, what I would have paid someone to video Blair singing "Do-re-mi " in a car full of girls... priceless.

We hit so many spots, including the gazebo from the scene "16 going on 17," the house in the film and Maria's convent. In addition to all the wonderful stops, Trudy gave us such interesting facts about the movie. For example, Christopher Plummer didn't actually sing in the film; the voice we hear is from a man named Bill Lee. Also, did you know that Liesl (played by Charmain Carr) broke her ankle while filming the gazebo scene after she slipped on the bench and fell through the window? And did you know... well, I won't tell you anymore because you should definitely take the tour yourself if you get a chance. It really was so much fun.

"Sound of Music" House

"16 Going on 17"

After the tour, a handful of Mozart chocolate balls, two apple strudels, one dinner with sacher torte and a beer hall visit, we headed to our final stop...

City #5: Vienna

Vienna is such an elegant town with so many streets to explore and things to see. And yes, we tried to do them all in just two days. Our own walking tour plus a museum visit plus two cathedral stops plus a bus tour plus dinner out. Even though it was our last stop, Vienna is a little foggy in my mind. I think at that point, Blair and I were just so exhausted of traveling. While it may seem exciting and adventurous (and it really is), human bodies are only equipped to walk for so long and our minds can only hold a certain number of mental pictures and artworks before it overflows. Two things I do remember about Vienna: 1. The museum was magnificent and 2. The Lebanese food is wonderful. Lebanese? Yes, Lebanese. For our dinner out we picked a Lebanese restaurant and had some of the most authentic Lebanese food, including a plate of fried cheeses, eggplant and zucchini, grape leaves, dönner, bread and spreads. Yum! Who would have thought I'd fall in love with Lebanese food in Vienna?

Tortes-a-million in Vienna

Vienna

Well, we're now reaching an end of our spring break journey and the end to my blog post. To sum it up, I had a wonderful time visiting two new countries with an amazing tour guide, dinner guest, conversationalist, jokester and friend. Yes, this is all the same person! It's very true that traveling with someone gives you great insight into who they are and how well you get along with him/her. And although there were frustrating external circumstances at times (like the weather), I'm happy to report that my travel buddy and I had no major qualms.

I hope you enjoyed this post, and enjoyed your own spring break (that is, if you're a student).

Ciao until next post!

Two in One!

Instead of posting two separate blogs, one from two weeks ago and one from this past week, I decided to surprise you by combining two weeks in one - yay! Since time takes details and forms them into vague memories, I'm going to go ahead and share with you everything I remember from these past two weeks, starting with the freshest ones in mind...

Today was a great day! I went to Chianti with a group of 16 students who are also studying abroad in Florence. Getting up at 6:15 a.m. definitely wasn't fun, but hiking through the vineyards and wine tasting sure was. After an hour bus ride from Florence to the Chianti wine region of Tuscany, we arrived just in time to stop at a café for a mid-morning cappuccino. Yes, how very Italian of us. It's actually quite comical - even when Italians are in a hurry, which isn't often, they always seem to make time for a café. And this kind of lifestyle, standing in a café bar sipping the best cappucino you've ever tasted, in a pastry shop that overwhelms your senses because it smells so fresh and looks so good, is definitely something I could get used to. Actually, I'm pretty sure I already am since caffeine deprivation headaches start to set in at around 10:30 a.m.

Anyway, hiking was awesome! What started as an easy downhill stroll ended up being a three hour uphill hike through leftover mud from the previous day's rain. Albeit challenging and resulting in a little foot soreness and high heart rate, the weather remained warm and beautiful, and the view was constantly breathtaking. Rolling hills lined with rows of growing grapes, and a villa plopped here and there... I know what you're thinking, "where was the film crew?" I assure you, there was no film crew! This is real life Italy. The long hike worked up our appetites. Come 1:00 p.m., the traditional Italian meal of bruschetta and pasta was even better with the wine tasting and yummy biscotti! Good thing I took pictures and savored it over the course of two hours. Wish you were there to enjoy it with me!

Wine tasting with Gen and Allie

View of the Chianti vineyards (before we started our uphill trek)

After we made it to the top!

The little town of Chianti. Population: 2,000. Primary language: Italiano. Beverage of choice: red wine. Favorite meal: PASTA!

A plaque in the ground that marks the exact halfway point between Florence and Siena. (I thought this was interesting.)

Rewinding to Friday night!

Last night was just as much fun. I had dinner at a Mexican restaurant with four other girls. What do you order at a Mexican restaurant in Italy? Same as you would in America: chips and salsa, nachos, quesadillas, fajitas and awesome sangria! Mom, you would have loved the atmosphere! It was colorful and energetic and had great music! No "On the Border" but it came pretty close. Before our Mexican study break, Blair, Amanda and I spent almost three hours studying at Edison, an Italian bookstore. Italian Midterm Wednesday, need I say more? Even though this is my fourth semester of Italian, the irregular verbs are still killing me! Blair and Amanda helped a lot, so studying together was most definitely beneficial. Although, I'm pretty sure they were curious when I announced I had to use the restroom for the fourth time in two hours. Casey, Karolina, Lauren, you guys definitely wouldn't have been surprised about that. Oh, all the things you learn about your friends living in the sorority house...

Interior of the Mexican Restaurant. By the way, it was so odd being served Mexican food by Italians.

Me, Amanda and Blair at Tijuana

Last Weekend

I woke up Friday morning to the sound of rain hitting the overhang in the garden and water being sloshed around on the streets by passing cars. Trying to wait patiently for the rain to let up, Jay, Kit, Leah and I were getting too anxious to start our Fiesole climb. Fiesole is a small town seated in the hills of Tuscany. You can see the villas and rolling hills from Florence, although from such a far distance, the mansions look more like specks of colorful orange and yellow, rather than beautiful Italian homes.

The climb is all one way up hill, and while I was expecting a liesurely stroll, Kit had a workout in mind. She was the lead and set a pretty fast pace. I was so out of breath, I couldn't contribute hardly anything to conversation, but that's okay - I was a good listener. After an hour and fifteen minutes, we reached the top! There's not much to do in Fiesole. It's a tiny, tiny town with a convent and a church, so we of course visited both of those. Then we planted ourselves at the most scenic part: the "picture taking" spot. While the rain came in and out and was trying to masque Fiesole's beauty, it was unsuccessful. The view we saw of Florence from the highest point in Fiesole was so picturesque: pointing out the Duomo here, the Ponto Vecchio there and Santa Croce just over there... it was awesome. This huge city we live in called Firenze looked like it could fit in the palm of our hands.

A very zoomed-in picture of the Duomo from the highest point in Fiesole. Do you see the villas and cyprus trees?

Our cameras told us it was time to stop taking pictures when mine died. Oops... that's okay, because what do you do when your camera dies in Italy? Eat! Destination: amazing restaurant Leah recommended. I ordered the most delicious spinach and ricotta ravioli with a butter and sage sauce. Sound familiar? I'm glad if it does because that means you read my cooking class blog! Yay for you! If I was a teacher, I'd give you a gold star. For those of you who haven't read my previous posts, that's okay (I know they're long and you have a life). Let me just tell you that my lunch dish was the same pasta course we cooked in the first cooking class. You must try making this - I promise you won't be disappointed! After lunch, we headed back to our homes. Funny thing is, we took the bus down. I was really looking forward to the easy descent, but for whatever reason the collective decision spelled out "bus."

Leah, Kit, Jay and me at the most delicious restaurant in Fiesole. Scratch that - the only restaurant in Fiesole.

On Saturday, Jay and I went to Santa Maria Novella, a church situated right next to Florence's main train station. Of course it had beautiful art, like all of the cathedrals here. Unfortunately, I had only studied about two works from this church, so there isn't a whole lot of teaching I can do in this post, but that's okay because I have plenty more to share. After we strolled through Santa Maria Novella, Jay and I met up with Cooper for lunch. We went to The Diner, an American restaurant owned by English people (I think the owner said he was from London.) Being very American, I ordered a huge, juicy, drippy cheeseburger and fries. It was good, especially the toasted bun, but the meat tasted different - you could tell it was a different cow. An Italian cow, whatever that means. I'm sure this is due to a different livestock diet. As a side note, Italians eat their red meat VERY raw! You would never get served meat that raw in the U.S. Funny that they serve their meat so raw, yet their chicken is as tough as leather. Let's just say that if I go back again, I'll be ordering french toast. While the food was pretty good, the atmosphere was great! Beatles music, Beatles art... yes, now I'm certain the owner said he was from London.

Santa Maria Novella

Jay, me and Cooper at The Diner

After lunch, the three of us parted ways and headed home to study. I unsuccessfully worked on my research paper due that Wednesday. While I had all of my research compiled together, it was too overwhelming for me to tackle the paper on a Saturday. I know, I know, not being a good student. But do you have any idea how hard it is to get motivated to write a research paper when you're studying abroad in Italy!? Let me tell you, on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the most difficult), it's a 12. Instead, Rebecca and I decided to meet up for a sushi dinner. I know what you're thinking: first Mexican, then American, now Japanese? In Italy, nonetheless!? It sounds very silly for sure, but the American diet calls for more variety than pasta, so I looked at this departure from Italian food as a work up and greater appreciation for more Italian food come Monday with my host family. I am happy to report that the sushi was very good. Rebecca would probably disagree with the "very" part, but don't let her kid you - she was satisfied.

After sushi we headed to GROM for gelato. GROM is this amazingly delicious gelateria situated adjacent to the Duomo. I failed to mention that I went after lunch with Jay and Cooper, so this was actually my second gelato in one day. Did I feel guilty? Of course. Was it worth it? Of course! Four different gelato flavors in the same day and one report: If you ever come to Florence and are strolling the streets around the Duomo, stop in GROM and get extra dark chocolate ice cream and crema del GROM. Your taste buds will be singing from the explosive combination of dense dark chocolate mixed with chocolate chips and creamy vanilla mixed with chocolate chips and biscotti chunks. Oh yeah, I failed to mention (again) that the girls and I went out for gelato at GROM after Mexican Friday night. Woops... but in my defense, the portions are small, and... and... I'M IN ITALY!!!!

Best gelateria EVER!

Sunday was study day, just like it is in America. I headed to the library and chuckled when I saw the rest of my class in our tiny computer room in the basement. The eight of us were either working on our research paper for Nelson's 16th Century Art and Identity class or our presentation for Nelson's Botticelli class. Lucy for me I'm in both of his classes. At that moment, I was so thankful that I had already knocked the presentation out of the way and only had to tackle the paper. I say "only" but it was an eight page research paper, so I don't think the word "only" really fits together with "eight page." I will say, we had so much fun cracking jokes and discussing nerdy art history topics. It was the perfect combination of fun and productivity. While I didn't actually get any writing on my computer screen, I did gather my thoughts enough to know the direction of my paper. To make a long, frustrating story short, my topic changed a zillion times before I settled on a very difficult one: Michelangelo's Crucifix of Santo Spirito - Found? I tried to disprove the theory that Michelangelo sculpted the Crucifix currently located in the church of Santo Spirito.

In 1962, Margrit Lisner (a German art historian) claimed that the crucifix located in a corridor of Santo Spirito was Michelangelo's long lost Crucifix. The art historian community is pretty split between her findings - half of the community agrees that Lisner's evidence is substantial and convincing enough to establish authorship, while the other half is more than skeptical and emphatically disagrees. I have to say, with many facts supporting my doubts, my main reasoning stems from pure visual analysis; the crucifix Lisner attributes to Michelangelo is not consistent whatsoever with his style. Anyway, I won't bore you with all the facts and opinions, but if you really want to read my paper, I'll be more than happy to send it to you. Hahaha, I just heard what I wrote - someone asking to read an eight page research paper for fun is about as likely as a high schooler asking for extra homework! Well, then again, I might get a response from Taylor... Just kidding, Taylor. I love you!

Crucifix found in church of Santo Spirito, which Lisner attributes to Michelangelo. (From Web)

To sum it up, I cranked out an eight page research paper in a day and a half. Now that's what I call divine inspiration! With only one more major assignment (well, an exam) to go before spring break, I can see the finish line. It's so close! Florence is kindly giving us warmer, sunnier weather that's not only exciting our feet but making our minds wander to anything other than school work. Well, this is the part where I say thank you for reading my blog and let me know what's going on in your life. I love you all and miss you very much, but I'm so happy to be in Florence right now. Next post will come after spring break. Yay!

Ciao!

Is Spring Starting?

Today was the first day I didn't need my winter coat - yay! Away with the gloves and scarf. I got to show the world my colorfully patterned sweater top. It's amazing what warm weather does - how it energizes and excites people of all ages. For example, walking along the streets this afternoon I saw a group of Italian kids (probably about 10 years old) playing some kind of unfamiliar game on the steps of a church. Their supervisor, a nun, looked just as into the game as the squealing, squirmy kids that filled the air with a kind of springtime positivism. I just stood there observing Italian culture for as long as I could without looking awkward. After I soaked up enough laughs and smiles, I continued toward my destination. Where was I going? Well, let me back up thirty minutes... sitting in Italian class, I got a hankering for a piece of chocolate cake, which is easy to find in the states, but finding a piece of chocolate cake here is about as easy as waking up at the crack of dawn to go running; it requires time and determination. Funny to equate complete opposites - cake and exercise, but you get the idea...

Good thing Rachel and I had already stumbled across a bakery last weekend on our way back from roaming around the centro. This is exactly where I went. I had a craving, I had a destination and I went. Italians are lacking in their sweets department when it comes to cakes and brownies. Sure, they have a million and one pasticcerias with delicious looking pastries, but sometimes you just need a really good, dense piece of chocolate cake. I am happy to report that the cake hit the spot and was actually pretty tasty. Afterward, I headed to the Oil Shoppe, a popular sandwich place for American students. (Sorry, Mom - I know I broke the rules about food first, desserts second. But didn't I tell you that today is backwards day!?)

The Oil Shoppe is a tiny little spot that's impossible to miss with a line overflowing into the streets of Florence and a big awning sporting a font that even my Grandma can read from far away. What did I get? A chicken Parmesan sandwich with mushrooms and arugula. Yum! Unfortunately, they ran out of wheat bread so I got a baguette, but it was just as good. I think a big reason why The Oil Shoppe attracts so many American girls is that it's one of the very, very few places that have wheat breads. Believe it or not, in a country that is overloaded with carbs in countless forms ranging from pastries to bread to pasta, Italians seem to have forgotten about whole wheat. The health kick that has swept America appears to have bypassed Italy, although we are the country with more obesity than any other, so maybe there's a reason for it.

Being aware that this is not a food blog, I should continue and share my experiences from last week...

Tuesday

Tuesday was an exhausting day. For my Botticelli art history class, we went to the Uffizi, a very famous, mammoth museum housing an unbelievable collection of art history works from masterminds like Giotto, Cimabue, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Vasari, Perugino, Annibale Caracci, Botticelli - all the big names. I need to go back to the museum because we spent our three hours of class time confined to only two artists in three rooms: Botticelli and Filippo Lippi, his teacher. We spent an extensive amount of time on the Primavera, Botticelli's most famous painting. First, let me say that Primavera is a beautiful painting that is difficult to turn your eyes from. There is so much to say about this painting, books worth really, and there is so much discrepancy over the characters and symbolism. So, not wanting to start a snooze fest, I'll quickly highlight some of the main points about this painting to make it more interesting for you to look at. (The above picture is from the Internet, because like most museums, photos are absolutely prohibited).

Primavera was painted for a member of the Medici family to possibly celebrate a wedding. It shows a collection of mythological figures set in an unearthly garden, perhaps the Garden of Eden. Venus, the goddess of love, is distinguished in the center of the painting and controls the setting. The really odd-looking blue figure lurking in the trees on the far right is Zephyrus, who is the winged Spring breeze. Yes, I know it seems a little weird to show a human-like figure as the wind, but then again we are talking about Greek mythology, which is full of all sorts of impossible and irrational happenings. Anyway, Zephyrus (a fun name to say) abducts the nymph Chloris in order to rape her and take her as his bride. This disturbing thought doesn't seem to bother art historians, like much of the other inhumane mythological experiences. Chloris is startled by Zephyrus and left helpless, as the option to escape has passed. The flowers coming out of her mouth suggest .... well, I won't get into that unless you want to be reading my blog for the next hour. Moving on: Next to Chloris is Flora, the goddess of spring, who scatters flowers in the garden, greeting springtime and welcoming love. Oh the left side of the composition we have the three Graces, as they're called. These delicate, dancing figures who are clothed in semi-transparent garments celebrate with each other. The middle Grace looks away toward Mercury, the messenger god, whose motion indicates him driving away clouds and whose sword deems him protector of the garden. It appears this Grace has caught the love bug from Cupid, Venus's son who stands above her shooting his arrow right at the Grace.

All that I have told you is just one of the many theories about the painting's significance, possession and creation. I'm really only scraping the surface with Botticelli's Primavera ("springtime" in Italian) painting. There is so much information it's overwhelming. How much easier it would have been if Botticelli had just written on the back what the scene was about. But then again, this would leave many art historians out of a job without having published any books, not to mention how much fun it would take out of the experience of hypothesizing...

Wednesday

Wednesday was an equally busy day with two site visits back to back. First, we went to the Academia to look at the David for my 16th Century Art and Identity class. Good for you (and my fingers), we really only talked about one piece: the David. It was beautiful! Honestly, there's no duplicated image of the David that can give you the awe and amount of appreciation that comes with standing in front of the sculpture. It's one of those moments where your mouth drops and you ask yourself how it's possible this could be a block of stone and not a real man.

The sculpture is way bigger than I had thought. The 17 ft statue dominates its space, showing David with his slingshot swung across his back with one hand and a rock in the other. While my professor assured us we do not know if this marks the moment before or after David slayed Goliath, I'm convinced this is a depiction before David's victory. And here's why: standing in front of the statue, David's facial expression looks almost neutral, like he's just this naked man strutting with something over his shoulder, nonchalantly gazing into the distance. However, when you walk to the side of this statue and see David's frontal facial features, you see furrowed brows that create a worried expression, like he's sizing up his enemy and doubting his ability to defeat a giant.

It really is incredible, but the most amazing piece of the sculpture, in my opinion, are the enormous, masculine hands. These are the most beautiful hands I've ever seen (definitely hands you'd want to hold in the movie theaters, without a doubt). You're probably laughing right now at the fact that David's hands infatuate me, but they look so real and so idealized at the same time. You can see his veins running from them to the arms. His torso is stacked, his hair is perfectly ruffled, his arms are beautifully cut and his nose is perfectly sculpted. Hands down, a gorgeous man/sculpture. Not only is he appreciated now, but during Michelangelo's day, he was just as popular. In fact, this sculpture was commissioned to go on top of Florence's Duomo. However, after seeing what an amazing job Michelangelo did, it was almost an unanimous decision to place it near the streets for all to admire.

Unfortunately we only spent 45 minutes staring and talking about the David. I unwillingly had to leave for my next site visit: the library. Wahoo (note the lack of exclamation). There are many libraries in Italy, but we went to one near the Piazza Republica, this really pretty piazza lined with pastry shops and adorned with a carousel. The library was okay - nothing too special. You're also hearing this from a person who tries to avoid libraries and has only been to her college library twice in the past three years. The best part of the outing was meeting a French student, with whom I tried to speak French. Taylor, I needed you with me! My brain is holding too many languages and mixing them all up to the point where I say things like: Cosa did hai fatto aujourd'hui? What would you call that - Englifrentalian? Anyway, I had this huge brain fart when she asked me my name. Um, I believe it was in French 1 when we learned the phrase, "Je m'appelle." I couldn't spit it out, just like on "Friends" when Phoebe is trying to teach Joey French and he repeats anything but "Je m'appelle." Yeah, let's just say what he said was better than my response. I also thought of you, Nick. Maybe I should practice my French a little more next time I see you - it's getting too Italianized.

Thursday

I went to my second cooking class Thursday night. We made gnocchi, roast pork and an apple torte. Do I even have to tell you it was absolutely delicious? The gnocchi was definitely the most fun to make. Made completely from boiled potatoes and a tad of flour, it is rolled and cut into small strips that are then boiled for literally 30 seconds. I was assigned the task of fishing out all the suckers who were done boiling. As soon as they have risen to the top of the boiling pot, you have to get them out quickly. This was SO fun! It turned into a game for me. Amazing how easily amused a 20 year old can be in a kitchen. Anyway, we made two types of sauces for the gnocchi: a three-cheese sauce and a leek and walnut sauce. YUM to them both! The roast pork was stuffed with garlic, rosemary and sage, so needless to say it was quite flavorful. And the apple torte... well, I'm not a torte lover, but it was okay. The powdered sugar made it look tastier than it really was. Note the picture on the wall - isn't that so clever!? I thought it very fitting to include it in this post after talking about Botticelli's Primavera.

Friday

The 7:30 wake up call wasn't pleasant Friday morning. I and three other girls here at Syracuse had volunteered to go to an elementary school just outside of Florence and read to fifth grade students. Let me tell you, getting up early was so worth it! We read the book "I Wish That I Had Duck Feet" by Dr. Seuss. The kids were so appreciative and so interested in us, our culture and learning English. Not only did they get to experience our culture, but we also got a little taste of theirs, so it was mutually beneficial. To see their smiles and to have them hug us and ask for our autographs was beyond satisfying.

On the way back, Vincenzo, our super friendly, talkative driver, took us to Piazzale Michelangelo for a wonderful (albeit rainy) panoramic view of Firenze. It was my second trip to the piazzale, and it was just as magnificent the second time.

Saturday

I went to a local pizzeria Saturday night with four other Syracuse girls. We had heard of this place from a couple of people and wanted to check it out. It was delicious! Such an Italian pizzeria with basement seating and a brick oven. Definitely a spot we will go again - maybe sometime next week. During the day, Rachel and I went to the Academia to see the David (again) and strolled the streets of Firenze. It was so pleasant going from shop to shop, pasticceria to pasticceria. We tried roasted chestnuts, a popular food to buy on the side of the street during the winter months. I have to say, I'm not a fan and neither was Rachael. That night, I gave my leftovers to Nonna, who was very appreciative. Oh, I also bought a black leather motorcycle jacket and a red leather purse! I know, Dad, I'm sorry! But I'm pretty sure I can promise you that I'm finished buying goodies now.

Well, that was my week last week, in a nutshell. In a big nutshell. This weekend is full of papers, presentations and homework, so I should probably go now before carpal tunnel starts to set in.

Oh, and did I tell you that I'm contemplating getting a haircut? Reasons to do it: I'm in a European country and it would be a cultural experience. Reason not to do it: I could end up looking a whole lot like my brother.

Ciao until next time!