a few more pictures

Pictures!

La Dolce Vita

Ciao!

I know it’s been a very long time since I’ve updated my blog. So much has happened that I don’t even know where to begin!

After Lucca, that week was full of exploring Florence and taking pictures. I went to museums like the Academia (to see the Michelangelo’s David again), the Uffizi to see the Carvaggio exhibit and the Birth of Venus, the Galileo museum, Dante’s house, the Santa Croce Church, and the Santa Maria Novella Church. Florence is the hub of both art and architecture in Italy-and I’m so incredibly lucky to be able to just walk in to all of these places and see them so easily.

Other than exploring the museums and churches of Florence, I spent that week after Rome eating at all sorts of amazing places in Florence. The food here is so absolutely delicious I can’t describe it. The fruits and vegetables at the Central Market are so fresh, sweet and crisp that fruit at home will not be the same. The restaurants here are all amazing because the pasta is so soft that it melts in your mouth-and the pizza is so light and amazing that its normal to eat an entire pizza by yourself. Some of my favorite restaurants (in case any of you ever come to Florence) are: Ac qua il Due (they have San Diego and Washington DC locations!), il Gato e la Volpe, GustaPizza, Salumeria Verdi, and Antica Trattoria Angiolini.

My favorite gelaterrias are: La Carraia, Perque No, Rivareno and Vivoli. There’s a Vivoli in Los Angeles apparently!

Moving on, Friday the 9^th was the last day of classes for the first summer session. All of the girls who I lived with that session left the next day, so we all went out to a nice dinner that night and celebrated. It was sad to see many of them go, but it’s been really fun meeting new people too.

Last weekend was spent in Florence reading in gardens and enjoying the wonderful views.

This week has been one of the most amazing weeks of my life. I went down to Naples on Tuesday with the school, and it was so gorgeous that I want to move there. Southern Italy is a like a completely different place from Northern Italy. Southern Italy is a dirtier and still has a strong presence of a Communist Party. It is home to a lot of organized crime as well. (Interesting Fact: a large part of Southern Italy is still clamoring to be its own country, separate from Northern Italy.) However, we were lucky and went to the safer and more beautiful parts of Naples. A friend of mine here has a cousin who lives in a suburb of Naples called Pozzuoli and we spent a day there. That city is beautiful and sits right on the water. The water is gorgeous-it’s a really deep clear blue. I was able see all of the Bay of Naples. That view was simply breathtaking. On Wednesday I went to Pompeii! Pompeii is a ruined and partially buried city near Naples. It was destroyed and completely buried during a long eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius (which I saw from the distance!) Pompei was amazing. I was able to see the ruins, plaster casts of victims that were still intact, the amphitheater and the Forum. I was able to walk through history that I’ve heard about since 5^th grade. It was really incredible.

Thursday was one of the best days of the trip. I went on all forms of travel except for a plane that day. I went on a bus, a train, a ferry, a cable-car and sat in the back of a jeep while sightseeing. I went to the island of Capri, which is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrentine Peninsula. After we took a train and bus to the get to the Naples harbor, we took an hour ferry over to the island. When we got to the island, we took a cable car up to the city on the island and began to explore. The views from the city were mind-boggling. The water was as gorgeous as the water in Pozzuoli and Cinque Terre. It was so clear and blue that in the distance, I wasn’t able to tell where the water ended and the sky began. This island is known for its lemons and perfumes. I had some lemon granite (granite is an Italian form of sorbet) and it was the best I’ve ever had. I saw the view from August’s Garden, the Marina Piccola, the Faraglione, and a panoramic view from Capri. We left the island around 5, and went on a sightseeing tour of the Bay of Naples. We literally drove through cities on cliffs overlooking the water, and drove around the entire Bay. It was a little bumpy sitting in the back of a jeep that was going on a little bit of rough terrain, but it was so so beautiful. My friend’s cousin has an amazing life in Naples.

We went to a small restaurant in Naples for dinner on Thursday, and no one in the restaurant spoke English. Despite that, we were able to communicate with the people relatively well, and it was so much fun. We spent two hours just eating, talking and laughing-trying to understand each other. It was the best way to learn the Italian language and immerse myself in Italian culture.

I’ve never been so motivated to learn the language and learn how to cook. My trip to Naples was unforgettable, and I feel so rejuvenated now. I want to do so many things, travel all over the world, meet new people, and learn about new cultures.

I’ve learned so much about culture and differences between places on this trip. I have two friends from Guatemala who generally give a kiss to their friends on each cheek as a normal greeting, but a friend from Hawaii is used to a culture that’s more stoic and not as friendly. In Italian culture, it’s considered rude to cut your pasta before eating it. Also, if other people are eating, you must eat.

The dialects between Southern and Northern Italy are pretty different as well. They said similar words differently. For example, the train terminal in Florence is “Firenze Centrale” pronounced as you see it. In Naples, “Napoli Centrale” is pronounced Napoli CHentrale, with the extra “h” sound. There are little things like that all over the language that were a bit confusing, but really interesting.

I came back to Florence on Friday, and spent the day relaxing a little bit. I had dinner with Melissa, a friend of mine who is a sweetheart, and we walked along the River Arne after dinner. It was really nice to walk the city in the evening. We came across a festival of old European and Italian cars from the 20’s and 30’s which was so awesome.

Saturday was another perfect day. Melissa and I went to the Mercato Centrale (which is still one of my favorite places in Florence), and then took a bus up to a small nearby city called Fiesole. Fiesole is quiet, clean and absolutely beautiful. We hiked up two hiking trails into the camping grounds of the city. It was so much fun and so gorgeous. We came upon a panoramic view of Florence, and it was simply incredible. It was so cool to be able to see all of Florence from a birds-eye perspective. The Piazzale Michelangelo has a similar view, but from the opposite side of Florence and not as high-so it was really fun to see Florence and the Piazza from the other side.

Today should be a nice relaxing day. I’m going to Cascine Park which is on the eastern end of Florence and I’m going to read a book in the shade.

I can’t believe my time in Italy is coming to an end soon! Better make the most of it!

I’d love to hear how everyone is doing-send me emails or comments with updates!

Love and miss you all!

Arrivaderci!

a few pictures!

Melting in Italy...

Buona Notte!

It is ridiculously hot in Italy. Everything I had heard before was not a lie in the least. I've tanned about 10 shades (not an exaggeration) in 3 days. Rome was absolutely amazing, but I felt like I was literally melting there.

We woke up at 6:30 and met the group going to Rome at 7 am. It was a four hour bus ride down to Rome, and we stopped once for coffee (which was much needed). My coffee addiction is up to 3 espressos a day. I keep trying to cut it down, but I end up drinking more. We got to Rome around 11:30, and got to explore the piazza outside of the vatican for about an hour. We then took a 4 hour walking tour through the Vatican, Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Basilica. I can't even begin to explain how amazing and surreal it was to be in these places. I've spent years learning about the history of these places-and they are constantly being alluded to in books/movies. I have to say it would have been more amazing if the heat wasn't beating down on us. It was a little over 100 degrees in Rome this weekend. The museum in the Vatican was crazy. We saw the apartments the Pope lives in, all sorts of holy objects, and the catacombs (graves/tombs) of all the previous Popes. We saw the "School of Athens" which I've learned about in history, political science AND art classes. It was incredible. It spanned an entire wall, and the detail was shocking.

We then saw the Sistine Chapel which was stunning. They said not to take pictures, but everyone was. The room was literally packed like fish in a can with tourists, so it was a bit difficult to hear all the history behind the Sistine Chapel, but just looking at it was more than enough.

And then, St. Peter's Basilica. I usually think things are gorgeous, but I'm never moved to stop in my tracks and verbalize the word "wow". I did this and stared for a good 5 minutes before moving closer when I walked into St. Peter's Basilica. There aren't words to describe how beautiful and moving it is. The only other time I've been so stunned by something was when I saw the Taj Mahal with my family in 2004. I can't wait to upload my pictures so everyone can see. (I'm really behind on pictures-I'm sorry!)

We then had dinner in Rome at a famous restaurant called "La Gallina Bianca". It was delicious, as per usual for Italy. We then saw the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain. The Spanish Steps are built on a slope between the Piazza di Spagna and Piazza Trinita dei Monti. It's known as the longest and widest staircase in Europe. It linked the Bourbon Spanish Embassy to to Trinita dei Monti (the church that was under the patronage of the Bourbon kings of France).

It was really fun to see the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain in the evening. There were lots os tourists from Spain who screamed with Spain won their soccer game on Saturday evening. It was a really fun and infectious atmosphere.

My roommates and I were pretty exhausted (it was midnight by this time) and decided to walk back to our hotel. The rest of the people in the group were going to explore Rome, but we wanted to get some sleep.

On Sunday, we had breakfast at 7:30 and were off once again to tour Rome. We saw the Colosseum, Palazzo Hill, Roman Forum, Capitol Hill and Pantheon. It was ridiculously hot, but it was surreal to be seeing all these places.

We took a train back to Florence in the evening, and were back within 4 hours.

It was quite a whirlwind of a weekend, but definitely a once in a lifetime experience.

As if my days couldn't get any better, Monday was fabulous. I was pretty exhausted when I woke up from walking so much in Rome this past weekend, but my roommates wanted to go to Lucca after class. Lucca is a small city about an hour and a half from Rome. Lucca is a beautiful city, and its unique because it still has Renaissance-era walls around the city. It's one of very few cities in Italy that still has the old walls around the city. One of my roommates had a friend living in Lucca who is on the women's U.S. Cycling Team. We met her and rented bikes and rode around the city. It was really relaxing and the atmosphere there was really calm. The city wasn't touristy like Rome or Florence and it was a big enough size to be called a city and not a small town. It was a wonderful way to spend a day relaxing without just sitting inside an apartment all day. I loved Lucca so much that I could see myself living there.

In other news, my photography class is going well. I think I'm slowly getting better at matching shutter speed and aperture to the object of my photo. It's really hard to measure these numbers and make sure there's enough light for a good photo-all within a few seconds.

The end of this week will be the end of the current session of classes. Next week I'll be taking Foundation Painting! I'm so excited to get back to an art form that I know something about (not a lot, but a little).

Learning the Italian language is going slowly, as almost everyone in Florence speaks English-especially when they know you can't speak Italian. I spend as much time as possible on the south side of the river, where more Italians live and where it would be easier to learn the language, but its a bit difficult sometimes. Its a good 35-40 minute walk to the other side of the river. I have learned the days of the week and numbers up to 10 and a few other numbers.

I think that's all for now. I love and miss you all!

A presto (see you soon!)

:-)

Weather's Heatin' Up!

Saluti!

It's been a busy couple of days! It's getting a lot hotter here and the heat is definitely draining. Monday was a fairly relaxing day. My photography class is going well. We spent all of monday developing pictures. It's getting easier and quicker the more I practice. I don't know why film photography is a dying art-there are so many things you can do to change how a picture looks and comes out. I know its a pretty expensive and time consuming process (especially for a hobby) but it's really wonderful and I'm glad I'm learning how to do it.

After that, I went to the Academia and saw the real David. This is actually the second time I've seen the real David! It's spectactular in person-pictures and descriptions don't do it justice.

I spent the afternoon relaxing from the heat, and then had dinner with a friend in front of the Palazzi Pitti. I say that so casually "oh I had dinner in front of the palace". :-) It was really wonderful.

Tuesday was a great day! I went to Pisa with a friend, and we ran into two other people from our program. We walked through the city for a while, and then saw the Leaning Tower of Pisa! Pisa is a lot smaller than I thought, and the tower is definitely a lot smaller than I thought it would be. It was still really amazing to see. It costs 15 euros to climb to the top-and we all didn't think it was worth it because we already had a great view of the city, so we just took some pictures and took a train back to Florence.

Speaking of trains, the train system here in Italy is so easy to navigate. People have told me that before about Europe in general, but I can't believe how easy it is. It's really great and exciting. I really wish Los Angeles/California had better public transportation. I love being able to walk everywhere and get around easily. I really started hating driving by the time I left SD, and I still do. I don't miss driving at all.

I spent Tuesday evening with my roommates. They're all really nice girls and it was fun to explore Florence in the evening with them. We had a good time.

Wednesday was a good day-although even hotter than the previous days. Class was really great today. We went to the San Ambrogio market which is similar to the Mercato Centrale, except it also has a lot of clothing vendors. Our next project focuses on people-candids, portraits, and anything. We talked to the vendors and asked them to take their pictures. "Sono un studiante di fotografia. Permisso, posso farre un foto?" (I'm a photography student, may I please take your picture?) It was a little hard at the beginning, but it was really really fun to actually talk to some Italians in their language. I plan on going back to the market so I can talk to more people.

I spent the rest of wednesday taking photos around Florence and made dinner with some friends.

Thursday was really fun. We're learning a lot of new techniques in photography. We learned how to dodge and burn pictures. Those two techniques play with light and dark contrasts in pictures. I was able to improve one of my photos by highlighting the top corner of it to brighten that area, while keeping the rest of my photo the same. It's the same type of work that Photoshop does on a computer, just manually. I had lunch with my roommates and friends at a place across the river called Gusta Pizza. This pizza was by far the best pizza I've had in Florence-and really affordable. We then went to a place called Mama's Bakery that had amazing desserts. I had a cookie and bought a peach muffin for later. (This muffin was quite excellent. :-) )

I went running around Florence after that. I have to say, I'm in awful shape these days. I was huffing and puffing after 15 minutes. I really need to start working out more to work off all these carbs. I'm getting rounder by the day. I went out with some friends later that night to a place called Central Park which was really really fun. It's in a non-touristy area of Florence and it was great to see what Italians do for fun.

Today was a nice relaxing day. I spent almost 5 hours in the darkroom working on pictures and developing them. My pictures are turning out nicely now. It's definitely a lot more time-consuming than I thought it would be. I then went to the Galileo Museum! I love having the museum pass-I don't have to pay at any museum and I can bypass all lines. (Much to the annoyance of everyone in line...)

I just went for a run, and now I'm relaxing in the apartment for the evening. I'm going to Rome tomorrow! I'm really excited to see the Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps and Vatican. I'll definitely put up some nice pictures soon.

Things I want to do before I leave Florence: ride a bike around Florence, learn more of the language, take pictures of the Mercato Centrale, and go to surrounding cities: Lucca and Parma.

It would be really fun to make a good Italian friend who I can keep in touch with when I leave, so I can continue practicing the language through email. We shall see.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Arrivaderci!