I’ve totally skipped writing these entries for the past couple of days, which is bad because now I can’t remember what I’ve done! I also haven’t had steady internet access, so be warned: this is an extremely long post! Let’s see….on the fifth (Tuesday) our group left Rome, stopped in this little town Vitervo (prounounced: Vee-tear-voh) for a couple of hours, then got to Florence (or as it’s called here, Firenze). Vitero seemed like a very random spot to stop – it’s this really tiny little town that’s cute, but doesn’t have that much in it. A couple of museums, which some people went to see, but I decided to just walk around the town. We’ve been to so many museums lately, that it’s good to take a day off and just not do too much of anything. Soak in the culture, as it were. It’s kinda funny, because I ended walking around town with the non-artsy people – basically, the lit. majors and one or two film production majors (or something like that – not that they’re not artsy, but they’re not STUDIO art majors, hehe). We walked, talked, ducked into some random clothing stores, checked out a couple of churches (this really neat one that was built of stone, had a wooden roof, a cold crypt, and had been bombed a lot during WWII), and went out to eat at the best restaurant I’ve been to yet. Actually, most of the people in our program ended up eating there. Every fifteen minutes another bunch would come in – even the teachers made an appearance!
Although the trip to Florence was only supposed to be about a three hour bus ride, it ended up taking a really, really long time – I think we got to our hotel at about six. Someone mentioned that we sat in traffic for a while, but I didn’t notice because I slept for the first hour and a half. Our hotel in Florence is a whole lot smaller than our hotel in Rome. It is, however, right in the middle of town and we can walk anywhere, which is a lot nicer than having to catch buses and metros. It has a small entry way and lobby downstairs (which we all filled to breaking capacity when we first got here), and then a teeny-tiny elevator (almost as bad as the one in NYC, Vik ‘n Gint) or stairs that take you upstairs. Right near the elevator on the second floor (my floor), there’s a small sitting area which is where I am now, coincidently. The entire upstairs smells kinda funny…like a combination of day old trash and cat pee. Lovely, eh? Our rooms are pretty small, and we got split up with new roommates. Sara and Claire, my old roommates, are sleeping in the room across from me with one other girl, and I’m splitting a room (and our own bathroom, yay!) with Suzanna and another Sarah (there are four or five Sarah’s in the program, and only one of em spells her name without an "H").
Florence is really beautiful. Walking around it is so much less chaotic and intimidating than Rome – everything is really close to the hotel, and people are so much friendlier! The food is also a whoole ton better . I’m trying to eat good lunches only every other day to try to save money. On the off days I’ll stop by really cute Italian delis and pick up the yummiest sandwiches, which are fairly cheap as long as you stay away from major monuments and veer towards the local shops. The other day I had tomatoes, mozzeralla cheeze, oregano, and oil on toasted bread, plus a conversation with the cutest little Italian man. He couldn’t speak a word of English, but chatted with us about where we were from anyway. Have you ever had a conversation with someone when neither of you can understand each other’s language? It’s pretty fun! It takes a while, but a lot of handgestures help. When I thought that his stuffed pig (yes, pig) was real (I was looking at it through the window), he explained to me in Italian, plus hand gestures and noises, that, “No, no!” --- a bunch of Italian, vigorous head shakes, and fingers stuck out as if shooting a gun, plus some bang noises. We finally figured out that he meant that it was not shot and killed, but that it died naturally in the woods and some medical students stuffed it for him. =D
That night I went to Mass (it was Ash Wednesday) at the Doma, which was built by Brunelleschi (look up pictures on Google – it’s pretty awesome). It’s this huge church that reminded me a lot of what churches were supposedly like in the middle ages (even though it was built in the Renaissance). What I mean by that though, is that you go in and it’s really, really huge. Because of this, the whole front of the church is more like a gathering place. People are walking everywhere of course, and tourists being tourists, they’re all quite noisy and flash is going off everywhere from cameras. There are votive candles about halfway down the nave, and you can constantly hear change being put into them. To go to Mass, actually, you can’t even go through the main entrance of the church. You walk around the outside of the church and right before mass you’re allowed to walk into the main sanctuary. Mass was beeautiful. There were actually like twenty-five priests (there must have been a seminary nearby, because most of them were really young), one bishop, and a cardinal, which was fun. Unlike the mass at Saint Peter’s, this one was very formal and awesome. There was incense, music, and at least two or three hundred people attending. I felt so proud of myself when I could join into the, "Lamb of God, you take away our sins” part, because it was in Latin and I could actually understand it, versus the rest of the Mass which was said in Italian. It was even sung using the same mass setting that I’m used to! Sarah and I (Roommate from Rome who's Catholic *yay*) were both really confused before Mass because we didn’t see anyone walking around with ashes on their foreheads. And we were in Italy! Where most people are Catholic! What the heck? So there was a really simple answer: in Italy, (I don’t know if this is true about Europe in general) the priest sprinkles ashes in the shape of a cross on the very top of your skull, so unless you’re bald you can’t see it at all. Needless to say, I felt a little gyped. =p
Thursday morning was spent in the Uffizi Gallary – basically, only every single most famous Italian painting ever. It was awesome. No really, oh you-of-the-not-so-artistically-bent! *coughGintaraicough* I really really enjoyed the first half of the museum, though the second half I didn’t find as interesting. A few of the “major hits” were: Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus (come on, you all should DEFINITELY know that one…look it up and I swear you’ll recognize it!) and Premavera (think: woodnymphs), Parmigianino’s Madonna of the Long Neck, da Vinci’s lesser-known Announciation, Titian’s Venus of Urbino…some Caravaggio's...the list goes on and on, by I know you guys are bored already. Seriously, though, it felt like every time I turned a corner it was like *BAM*, there’s a famous and priceless painting hanging there that I’ve seen images of fifty million times. Very awesome.
That afternoon was spent wandering the streets of Florence and bartering in the open market. I bought two silk and cashmere scarves that were made in Italy. Now I can wear them like a real European – folded in half, draped around the neck, and then looping the ends through where it folds in half. I actually wear my scarves like that at home, but shh! Let’s not ruin my feeling very Euro and chic here, lol). I also spent time finding the many different paper stores in Florence in order to buy my art supplies for my Bookarts and Papermaking class. You can buy the prettiest paper in Italy, and a lot of it is handprinted as well. The store owners are all very proud of their paper, and think nothing of taking out every single sheet in order for you to better appreciate the quality and quantity of their paper. If they see you are hestitating, then they begin to tell you about how no other store in Florence has paper equal to theirs, and how well made and beautiful theirs is. The stores are pretty tiny, and often the owners will follow you around in order to better serve you (though I think that Americans often feel as if they are being stalked). Now that I have most of my paper, I’m really excited and can’t wait for classes to start.
I’m not sure if I mentioned this before, but I’m taking art history (of course! Actually, those classes have already started and we’ve all already had two different writing assignments that we had to complete while visiting certain museums), Bookarts and Papermaking (specifically, how to bind books), Beginning Italian (stupendo! Now maybe I can learn how to speak a significant amount of Italian! Seriously, every time a local starts to talk to me, the first thing that pops into my head is German – AH), and advanced drawing. That night, I went out to a local Scottish pub (The Blue Fish) with a couple of friends. It was fun, although Italians don’t even begin to make an appearance until about 11:30, and since we went out so early the bar was fairly empty. A note: we were all having a really good time, but I have to admit that it’s unusual to see soccer on televison instead of football or whatever. I know, I know…there ARE soccer fans in the states, but still…it’s nowhere near as popular as in Europe. Or, at least, that’s my impression.
Okay…I realize that this is a very long post, and I totally understand if you’re flagging. I didn’t have easy access to the internet for such a long time that now I have to make up for it. And you all DID want to know what I was up to! =D Besides, you didn’t think I was doing this entirely for all of you, did you? This is also a way for ME to remember what I’ve been doing. If I don’t write down every single thing, it will disappear forever in that big black hole that I call my brain! So…onwards to my last day in Firenze, and then I PROMISE I shall call it a night!
This morning we went to the Acadamia museum. One word: David. Nothing can describe Michelangelo’s David. It is one of those experiences of a lifetime…just to stand there and look at it. I’m -sure all of you have seen pictures, so I don’t need to describe it (and if you are artistically challanged, don’t feel like you need to share this information. Just look it up on google and you can try to maintain your aura of intelligence). Whatever you’ve seen, it’s NOTHING like the real statue. For one thing, David. Is. HUGE. I don’t even have an idea of what that statue must weigh, but it fills up an entire room. I can’t conceive how Michelangelo worked on it... For real, I stood there for so long just looking. Walking around him and seeing him from every angle.
There were other Michelangelo statues in the other room (the Slaves), but as they were unfinished you couldn’t even begin to compare the works. A quick note of art historical interest: (aka: yes Drew, if you even got this far, I give you permission to skip this paragraph): After Michelangelo finished David, he didn’t complete another work of art (which is why the Slaves are named that – they are forever chained to the marble that they’re made of, because they are incomplete. They aren’t actually slaves) for 30 years. Thirty. That’s a really long time. Really long. That’s depressing, as you other artists will undoubtedly agree.
The rest of the late afternoon was spent wandering again. This program, if you haven’t noticed, is very loose. Whatever you feel like doing is perfectly fine. Teachers aren’t responsible for students at all and if you miss a bus, well then you better find some way to join the rest of the group! =D I like it, though. I’m glad that we didn’t spend all day every day in museums. Wandering the streets is really the only way you can get a feeling for a city. Talking to locals, eating at restaurants (NOT museum caffeterias, yuck), personally having to dig out a map and find places…that’s the way to do it. I went to an indoor market with a couple of friends (I’m actually feeling like I’m starting to get to know everyone, and know most people’s names, yay!). Mom, this place was like your dream come true: the whole downstairs was dedicated to meat and fish. The place smelled and every white apron in there was splattered with blood. Huge chunks of meat hung from every stall, and you could see animals (dead, not alive) that were waiting to be chopped up on back tables. The upstairs was all fruits, veggies, and dried goods. We found a stall that had every single type of dried fruit and nut. I bought about seven euros worth of nuts to keep in my room and snack on. Yuuuuuummmy! After that, my last purchase of the day (besides a quick and cheap lunch) was my…don’t cringe Teta Dana! Touristy duty of buying a t-shirt. Hey! I have to have one momento from Florence! So I bought a shirt that says: Universita Firenze (University of Florence). It's very cute and I like it. =D
Febuary 4, 2008
One of the best parts of the day is when everyone kicks back and relaxes in the hotel lounge. A bunch of us are sitting around and chatting, typing up homework, or checking mail. The teachers on the other side of the room are actually making even more noise than us! Every minute or so we’ll hear this huge explosion of laughter from their side of the room. It just started pouring, like seriously pouring, outside. I haven’t seen this kind of rain since I’ve lived in Florida. On minute it’s sunshiney and gorgeous, the next it’s raining so hard that the bottoms of your pants are soaked and rain is bouncing off your umbrella. Five minutes later, your freezing cold. The background music is funky – it keeps going from random Italian songs to American oldies sung in Italian. Nora Roberts is thrown in every so often. Today was one of those days that I ended up wandering Rome by myself for a really long time. In the morning we went to the Vadican museums…saw the Sistine Chapel, more Caravaggio, Dahli, Raphael, etc, etc. After that I went off and decided to find the Trevi Fountain – it was definitely not what I had pictured in my mind. For some reason (I guess because of how I had always seen it in movies? Think: Lizzie McGuire, lol), I had thought that you could walk all around the Trevi Fountain. It’s more like this huge fountain that’s stuck to the back of a building and has stairs surrounding its one excessible side – sorta like an ampitheater. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really neat! Just not what I had pictured. It’s definitely one of those “romantic spots” that couples like to sit at and make out (in case you’ve never been to Europe before to experience this yourself, people like to make out. A lot. Everywhere. Like, standing in the middle of the street in oncoming traffic kind of everywhere. The first time you see it, you’re kinda like, “Awww…I’m in Italy…everythings so romantic…they’re kissing. By the fifty millionth time, you’re like, “GET A ROOM!”
I really enjoyed some of the modern art in the Vatican. I can just hear you all perfectly, “What? Modern art in the Vatican???” There were some really neat paintings of the Crucified Christ done in this sketchy style that worked in layers and also used some cubism. I took tons of pictures and really want to look up these artists to see what else they’ve done.
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