It's kinda sad, but I'd almost like to stay in Florence for spring break, especially because Zev is here, and I've gotten awfully used to this sense of hey, let's just wander around the city aimlessly for hours because it's warm out and I have no class...sigh. What a cool kid, and we're going to lose him! Sniffles! I also wish that Sara could arbitrarily skip her classes and come with us. I heart that girl.
Oh well--Sardinia, here we come!
''One morning, I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.''
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
And the Beat Goes On
Sunshine has finally returned to Firenze, bringing with it a passel (what a word!) of new friends. First and foremost, dear Zev Moses from Montreal who randomly met Sara in Spain and then met up with us when he came to Florence, and who is awesome, and who we would sincerely wish to adopt, were he not off to Israel at the same time we're off to Sardinia..also we have decided to adopt Sara once her program ends, so she'll stay with us! Anyway, next on our list of is Justin, Carla's Maltese god, who unfortunately doesn't say much because he thinks his English is bad, but when he does speak, totally sexy accent. Love it. Finally, we have Sean, no, not mine, but Sara's recent date, who stopped by our place with her, is quite cute, and who excited Anna by wearing Prada glasses. It's delicious to have the Y chromosome present. When the last of the men leave, which will be TJ, after his spring break sojourn with us, I think it's going to be pretty depressing.
Last night Anna's parents cooked us a feast, and I mean a feast, of pasta, and god saw it and said it was good. And then Anna and Carla decided to watch Noises Off---again, and god shuddered and said he had someone to be smiting.
A few days until Sardinia....drumroll please...Oh, and I not only survived midterms with all mental faculties intact, I got a perfect score on my Italian. What now!
Last night Anna's parents cooked us a feast, and I mean a feast, of pasta, and god saw it and said it was good. And then Anna and Carla decided to watch Noises Off---again, and god shuddered and said he had someone to be smiting.
A few days until Sardinia....drumroll please...Oh, and I not only survived midterms with all mental faculties intact, I got a perfect score on my Italian. What now!
Thursday, March 23, 2006
Rain, Rain, Go Away
It's Thursday and still not a speck of blue sky has been seen since the boys left. However, I'm down to my last exam, having just left Renaissance Art of the Courts feeling quite good about it. The thing I like about that class is not so much the art we're studying, but more that it's giving me a well-rounded history of one of my favorite subjects, the families and the wars and the power struggles of the Renaissance courts. Also, the courts we're studying, which are all the fifteenth century families of Urbino, Ferrara, Florence, Milan etc, happen to be people who had cropped up here or there in things I've read, either for other classes or historical fiction--how I love those! One of my favorites, which is ridiculously long but still good, is "The Duchess of Milan". The main characters, Ludovico Il Moro, the Regent of Milan, and his wife, Beatrice D'Este, daughter of the Duke of Ferrara, are already people I knew the history of before I took this class, so reading about them and the court they created around them feels rather like getting more acquainted with old friends.
When I get home I'm going to read that book again. Yum. And you know, if I ever want to go over my textbook for this class at home, I certainly can, because guess what, I already owned the damn book in America before I came here! I got it from Dr Escobar when he had his book giveaway in our seminar, he suggested I take it, but never did I think it would actually be the textbook for the class of the same name in Florence. Therefore, I have refused to actually buy the book here, and I have been reading it in the library.
Sara wrote in her journal that she only has four weekends left in her program. I can't believe she would be leaving Florence only in a month! The four of us here in San Gallo have agreed that it would be truly excellent if she camped out at our apartment for a while before she goes home. She stayed over for like three days when the boys first got here, after having returned from a rather eventful spring break experience, and it was so much fun.
Meanwhile, I will be in Sardinia in a matter of days, where apparently a delicacy is toast with worms on it. Oh dear god.
I'm torn between really wanting to go home, because having seen Sean only amplified how much I've missed him the past couple of months, and really wanting this time not to be over. I know everyone talks about how when they get out of college they're just going to say fuck it all and go live in Europe for a couple of years, but the chances of that happening are quite tiny. For one thing, in my case, student loans would be a definite issue. The only plan I have for living abroad post-graduation is if I get a Fulbright to teach in Spain, which I would love to do, not for the children but for the location, but the chances of actually getting one of those, while not infinitesimally small, are rather limited. I don't have my heart set on it. It's probably just going to be grad school for me, and then someday in the future I know I will return to Europe and see places I haven't seen before. I just have to accept that living here again will never really be an opportunity.
Do Europeans know how lucky they are? Americans think we're luckier, but really only in material things. I think I could do without fruit loops, and water pressure, and a toaster oven, if in exchange I could have Tuscany. But Tuscany would be rather empty without Sean, and he would never be able to live abroad, as we learned from his traveling experiences lol. I suppose the idea of life in America can always be improved by the person who shares it with you.
When I get home I'm going to read that book again. Yum. And you know, if I ever want to go over my textbook for this class at home, I certainly can, because guess what, I already owned the damn book in America before I came here! I got it from Dr Escobar when he had his book giveaway in our seminar, he suggested I take it, but never did I think it would actually be the textbook for the class of the same name in Florence. Therefore, I have refused to actually buy the book here, and I have been reading it in the library.
Sara wrote in her journal that she only has four weekends left in her program. I can't believe she would be leaving Florence only in a month! The four of us here in San Gallo have agreed that it would be truly excellent if she camped out at our apartment for a while before she goes home. She stayed over for like three days when the boys first got here, after having returned from a rather eventful spring break experience, and it was so much fun.
Meanwhile, I will be in Sardinia in a matter of days, where apparently a delicacy is toast with worms on it. Oh dear god.
I'm torn between really wanting to go home, because having seen Sean only amplified how much I've missed him the past couple of months, and really wanting this time not to be over. I know everyone talks about how when they get out of college they're just going to say fuck it all and go live in Europe for a couple of years, but the chances of that happening are quite tiny. For one thing, in my case, student loans would be a definite issue. The only plan I have for living abroad post-graduation is if I get a Fulbright to teach in Spain, which I would love to do, not for the children but for the location, but the chances of actually getting one of those, while not infinitesimally small, are rather limited. I don't have my heart set on it. It's probably just going to be grad school for me, and then someday in the future I know I will return to Europe and see places I haven't seen before. I just have to accept that living here again will never really be an opportunity.
Do Europeans know how lucky they are? Americans think we're luckier, but really only in material things. I think I could do without fruit loops, and water pressure, and a toaster oven, if in exchange I could have Tuscany. But Tuscany would be rather empty without Sean, and he would never be able to live abroad, as we learned from his traveling experiences lol. I suppose the idea of life in America can always be improved by the person who shares it with you.
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Oh, Exams
Two down, three to go, and still it will not stop raining. I think Sean and Mike stole our sunshine when they went away. Literally and figuratively.
Last night I had a dream about my father, which isn't unusual, I have them often, except usually he hasn't died in the dreams and life is pretty much normal. In this dream, somehow I came across a spell or a potion or something crazy that could actually cause a dead person to be reconstituted for short periods of time. As in, poof! There they are, and then after a little while poof! they go away again. I don't really remember what I had to do, just something small and then he would appear, and he was a little confused and disorientated and I don't think I actually ever told him what had happened to him, or maybe he already knew. It's become mostly a confused muddle of a dream now, like they usually do. I just remember a feeling of such happiness, mixed with anxiety, because I kept doing the spell over and over again to bring him back, and I knew somehow that it wasn't healthy and I shouldn't keep doing it, but I did.
Oh, March and April, the things you do to me.
Last night I had a dream about my father, which isn't unusual, I have them often, except usually he hasn't died in the dreams and life is pretty much normal. In this dream, somehow I came across a spell or a potion or something crazy that could actually cause a dead person to be reconstituted for short periods of time. As in, poof! There they are, and then after a little while poof! they go away again. I don't really remember what I had to do, just something small and then he would appear, and he was a little confused and disorientated and I don't think I actually ever told him what had happened to him, or maybe he already knew. It's become mostly a confused muddle of a dream now, like they usually do. I just remember a feeling of such happiness, mixed with anxiety, because I kept doing the spell over and over again to bring him back, and I knew somehow that it wasn't healthy and I shouldn't keep doing it, but I did.
Oh, March and April, the things you do to me.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Update at Last
Aside from my little post from the hostel in Rome, I've had no chance to write anything on here for the duration of the boys' stay, which is too bad, really, because I wish I had written down every little thing that happened so I would always remember. Having Sean with me in Italy (and TJ and Mike, of course) has so far been the absolute highlight of my two months here, and now that he's gone, it seems that the sun doesn't want to shine on Florence anymore. No, literally, it was gorgeous the week they were here, and now, two days of clouds and rain. A sign, I tell you, a sign.
My second experience of Rome was far better than the first. The day we arrived, Wednesday, after taking a not-so-express train from Florence, was so warm I was actually sweating as we walked about the city. This time I not only saw the Forums but walked down into them, and it was an incredible feeling to walk amid the ruins, almost disappointing in that it's so hard to realize what these once would have been, but here and there there were pieces of the old magnificence, still clinging hardily after the centuries. It happened to be the Ides of March, and there was a fire burning on the Altar of Caesar. People had even left flowers on his statue. We also walked all around the monument to Vittorio Emmanuele II, which is even more impressive close up, and saw the copy of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius outside the Capitoline museum. The boys went up into the Colosseum while I stayed outside rahter than pay the entrance fee again...I petted a Colosseum cat! Which Sean later scolded me for, saying it was filthy, but homeless cats need love too. I walked under the Arch of Titus, which I had also previously seen, but this time Sean had reminded me that the frieze on the interior showed the Roman forces stealing the menorah from the Jewish temple.
The next morning was the Vatican, where thanks to Mike's forethought, we did NOT have to wait in the huge line, but skipped ahead to the reservation area for a guided tour. It was almost twice as expensive, but this tour rocked so much more than the last one! We saw the Belvedere courtyard, with the original Laocoon, the Torso, and the Apollo, and we saw the Stanzae decorated by Raphael, all things our previous guide skipped right over. Then we hit the Sistene, which was still cool the second time, but I can understand why the boys preferred Raphael's more accessible frescoes. Finally we came to St. Peter's, which we had gone to see the previous night (absolutely spectacular--all lit up, with almost no one there), and despite the torrential rain outside it was a wonderful experience. Oh, and we saw a little procession of some Indian priests with hot pink vestments, and I got a compliment from a cute Vatican guard (ok, he whispered "speranza" to me, which means "hope", but the tone of voice was definitely there. meow.) After this, Sean dragged me aroudn the entire Vatican wall at a fast trot, because he had been forced to check his umbrella at the entrance, and feared it would close before he got there. Did I mention that it had not rained this hard since Noah's days? So naturally by the time we retrieve said umbrella and retreat to the guys' hotel, which was luxurious, I was pretty much soaked from shoe to knee. What better way to relax than with a jacuzzi bath soak? Unless you dont actually know anything about jacuzzis, for example that you must fill them up before turning it on, and therefore wind up with a demonic-sounding bathtub tuhmping and growling and shooting jets of water at random intervals, which leads of course to screams of "it's trying to eat me" and my rescue by Mike and Sean. Ah, adventure in the Eternal City.
Thursday night TJ treated us to a lovely dinner with the help of his aunt's gold card, so we all ordered the Italian way, with multiple courses, and it was good. Mmm. Friday morning we did a walking tour of the other side of the city, from the Trevi to the Pantheon, the Spanish steps and Piazza Navona. Friday night we had dinner all togehter, as Meredith and Carla had arrived, and then Saturday morning we departed for a 3 hr train ride to Pisa (saying goodbye to TJ before we left, but he's coming back in less than two weeks anyway). The Campo dei Miracoli, field of miracles, is a huge open area containing the Cathedral, baptistry, and of course the campanile, otherwise known as the leaning tower. It is indeed pretty cool, but I was not paying 15 euro just to climb it, so we looked at it instead.
Then the sadness started, because I knew the next morning I would have to say goodbye to Sean, not to mention Admiral Chickara, who I had entrusted to Sean's keeping (there were several important aerial battles fought in Rome and Pisa by opposing squadrons of paper airplanes and their respective commanders, Admiral Chickara and Emperor Fatty Cuckoo. Results were inconclusive, and both sides have declared a ceasefire until May 21st). We had to go to bed at 8pm so we could get up early enough to be at the airport by 5am, and I spent the night between Mike and Sean (not as sexy as it sounds, there was a dip). The next morning, if you could call it that, we went to the airport in the dark, and I found out unfortunately that I couldn't get out of there until 8am when the ticket office opened. Bah. Luckily Sean gave him his Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, so I read through about half of that while trying not to be incredibly depressed. It was a losing battle. I've never had to say goodbye to anyone at an airplane gate before. It was so upsetting to watch him walking toward the security line that I had to run outside for a second and sit on a bench. Then I went back inside and waved some more, because it just seemed that every glance I got of him would somehow be able to make it better. But then they had to go through the doors and they were gone.
Now Carla tries to cheer me by saying, the next time you see him you'll be home for good! But that has its own downside, namely that I will have left Italy for good. For a brief ten days, I was having my cake and eating it too.
Mmm. Cake.
My second experience of Rome was far better than the first. The day we arrived, Wednesday, after taking a not-so-express train from Florence, was so warm I was actually sweating as we walked about the city. This time I not only saw the Forums but walked down into them, and it was an incredible feeling to walk amid the ruins, almost disappointing in that it's so hard to realize what these once would have been, but here and there there were pieces of the old magnificence, still clinging hardily after the centuries. It happened to be the Ides of March, and there was a fire burning on the Altar of Caesar. People had even left flowers on his statue. We also walked all around the monument to Vittorio Emmanuele II, which is even more impressive close up, and saw the copy of the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius outside the Capitoline museum. The boys went up into the Colosseum while I stayed outside rahter than pay the entrance fee again...I petted a Colosseum cat! Which Sean later scolded me for, saying it was filthy, but homeless cats need love too. I walked under the Arch of Titus, which I had also previously seen, but this time Sean had reminded me that the frieze on the interior showed the Roman forces stealing the menorah from the Jewish temple.
The next morning was the Vatican, where thanks to Mike's forethought, we did NOT have to wait in the huge line, but skipped ahead to the reservation area for a guided tour. It was almost twice as expensive, but this tour rocked so much more than the last one! We saw the Belvedere courtyard, with the original Laocoon, the Torso, and the Apollo, and we saw the Stanzae decorated by Raphael, all things our previous guide skipped right over. Then we hit the Sistene, which was still cool the second time, but I can understand why the boys preferred Raphael's more accessible frescoes. Finally we came to St. Peter's, which we had gone to see the previous night (absolutely spectacular--all lit up, with almost no one there), and despite the torrential rain outside it was a wonderful experience. Oh, and we saw a little procession of some Indian priests with hot pink vestments, and I got a compliment from a cute Vatican guard (ok, he whispered "speranza" to me, which means "hope", but the tone of voice was definitely there. meow.) After this, Sean dragged me aroudn the entire Vatican wall at a fast trot, because he had been forced to check his umbrella at the entrance, and feared it would close before he got there. Did I mention that it had not rained this hard since Noah's days? So naturally by the time we retrieve said umbrella and retreat to the guys' hotel, which was luxurious, I was pretty much soaked from shoe to knee. What better way to relax than with a jacuzzi bath soak? Unless you dont actually know anything about jacuzzis, for example that you must fill them up before turning it on, and therefore wind up with a demonic-sounding bathtub tuhmping and growling and shooting jets of water at random intervals, which leads of course to screams of "it's trying to eat me" and my rescue by Mike and Sean. Ah, adventure in the Eternal City.
Thursday night TJ treated us to a lovely dinner with the help of his aunt's gold card, so we all ordered the Italian way, with multiple courses, and it was good. Mmm. Friday morning we did a walking tour of the other side of the city, from the Trevi to the Pantheon, the Spanish steps and Piazza Navona. Friday night we had dinner all togehter, as Meredith and Carla had arrived, and then Saturday morning we departed for a 3 hr train ride to Pisa (saying goodbye to TJ before we left, but he's coming back in less than two weeks anyway). The Campo dei Miracoli, field of miracles, is a huge open area containing the Cathedral, baptistry, and of course the campanile, otherwise known as the leaning tower. It is indeed pretty cool, but I was not paying 15 euro just to climb it, so we looked at it instead.
Then the sadness started, because I knew the next morning I would have to say goodbye to Sean, not to mention Admiral Chickara, who I had entrusted to Sean's keeping (there were several important aerial battles fought in Rome and Pisa by opposing squadrons of paper airplanes and their respective commanders, Admiral Chickara and Emperor Fatty Cuckoo. Results were inconclusive, and both sides have declared a ceasefire until May 21st). We had to go to bed at 8pm so we could get up early enough to be at the airport by 5am, and I spent the night between Mike and Sean (not as sexy as it sounds, there was a dip). The next morning, if you could call it that, we went to the airport in the dark, and I found out unfortunately that I couldn't get out of there until 8am when the ticket office opened. Bah. Luckily Sean gave him his Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide, so I read through about half of that while trying not to be incredibly depressed. It was a losing battle. I've never had to say goodbye to anyone at an airplane gate before. It was so upsetting to watch him walking toward the security line that I had to run outside for a second and sit on a bench. Then I went back inside and waved some more, because it just seemed that every glance I got of him would somehow be able to make it better. But then they had to go through the doors and they were gone.
Now Carla tries to cheer me by saying, the next time you see him you'll be home for good! But that has its own downside, namely that I will have left Italy for good. For a brief ten days, I was having my cake and eating it too.
Mmm. Cake.
Friday, March 17, 2006
Rome Redux
Currently I'm in Rome, finishing up the boys' vacation in the Eternal City. The weather on wednesday was without a doubt the most amazing warm weather i have yet seen in Italy. It was then naturally followed by the worst day of rain Ive seen. Let's hope today is a nice mix!! Yesterday we spent most of the day in the Vatican, where we skipped the line because mike had gotten us reservations on a guided tour. sweet. I finally saw Raphael's rooms, as well as the chubby statue of Antinoo in the Egyptian gallery, plus the Laocoon, the torso, etc etc. It was great. Then I took a jacuzzi bath in the guys' hotel room, whihc is a sweet one, whereas TJ and I are sleeping in an OK hostel. REally we mostly live in the other hotel. For example, my stuff is all there now, we came here last night with a plastic bag with our pajamas in it, that's all!
Having Sean here has been the best week of my trip so far. It's scary to think he's leaving in two days. I'm going to miss him so much!! Italy is so much better with him in it.
Having Sean here has been the best week of my trip so far. It's scary to think he's leaving in two days. I'm going to miss him so much!! Italy is so much better with him in it.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Upcoming Craziness
The next few weeks are going to be pure insanity. Sean, Mike, TJ, Sinead, and Anna's brother Adam, as well as her best friend Lisa, are all coming this weekend, and next week will be one whirlwind Sean adventure in Firenze and Roma, naturally. The week after that is our exams, god only knows when I will be studying for them...eep...but both Capote and Pride and Prejudice will be at the Odeon that week, so I will be there! Then after that we leave for our spring break madness in Sardinia...then a paltry week of class before Carla and I jet off for our buddy-picture-esque revels in Spain! I'm going to be so broke, hahaha.
Sunday the 12th is Sara's 21st birthday!
Sunday the 12th is Sara's 21st birthday!
Monday, March 06, 2006
Left Untitled
At this moment, almost to my own surprise, I find myself extraordinarily angry on behalf of a friend, to an extent that I haven't felt in some time. The cause of my anger is this friend's treatment by another girl at our school over the eternally provacative subject of "housing drama". The offender feels that she was duped and backstabbed by my friend, who, in her own best interests, found a future roommate from among that girl's current suitemates, who she was apparently depending on as well. That her own roommate and supposed friend of several years would want to leave her and live elsewhere, might speak to this individual's personality, or it might not; that's really none of my friend's concern. However, this girl's reaction and subsequent behavior toward my friend were unpardonable, especially since she apparently reacted a good deal less harshly towards her own deserting roommate! My friend was called by her, among other things, a "worthless cunt", on an internet journal for the world to see, a friend whose only real crime to was to secure her own living situation for the following year.
That this entry was later replaced by a flimsy "I was out of line" is immaterial to me. Nor would I accept any explanations on the part of mutual acquaintances who might posit that it was all done in a fit of pique and of course doesn't represent the girl's true feelings or manners. On the contrary, I feel that a person's true character is sometimes most clearly revealed by their reaction in situations such as this one. When given the choice between lashing out violently at perceived persecutors or calmly evaluating the possible reasons why friends seem to leave her like rats from a drowning ship, she chose the path of malice.
Her vicious attack on her journal came to the conclusion that all my friend's sins could be traced back to her "membership" in our group of friends, who have evidently made it our lives' mission to cause her pain. Au contrair, we, by and large, would like nothing more than to forget that a person by her name exists on the face of the earth. We do not have a cult. People are free to choose their own friends, and this girl resented that after knowing her for some time, we chose not to be friends with her. A lot of pent-up aggression exists relative to that point, and was apparently released in this pointed assault towards my friend.
My response to this is, if you will pardon my French, tough shit. If you cannot make and keep friends it is no fault of ours, and the same goes for roommates. Less time spent villifying others and more time spent examining your own conduct might turn up some interesting observations on this point. In conclusion, this girl demanded on her journal that whosoever chose to make comments against her and her behavior at least do the courtesy of signing their name, I'll do that.
--Michelle
That this entry was later replaced by a flimsy "I was out of line" is immaterial to me. Nor would I accept any explanations on the part of mutual acquaintances who might posit that it was all done in a fit of pique and of course doesn't represent the girl's true feelings or manners. On the contrary, I feel that a person's true character is sometimes most clearly revealed by their reaction in situations such as this one. When given the choice between lashing out violently at perceived persecutors or calmly evaluating the possible reasons why friends seem to leave her like rats from a drowning ship, she chose the path of malice.
Her vicious attack on her journal came to the conclusion that all my friend's sins could be traced back to her "membership" in our group of friends, who have evidently made it our lives' mission to cause her pain. Au contrair, we, by and large, would like nothing more than to forget that a person by her name exists on the face of the earth. We do not have a cult. People are free to choose their own friends, and this girl resented that after knowing her for some time, we chose not to be friends with her. A lot of pent-up aggression exists relative to that point, and was apparently released in this pointed assault towards my friend.
My response to this is, if you will pardon my French, tough shit. If you cannot make and keep friends it is no fault of ours, and the same goes for roommates. Less time spent villifying others and more time spent examining your own conduct might turn up some interesting observations on this point. In conclusion, this girl demanded on her journal that whosoever chose to make comments against her and her behavior at least do the courtesy of signing their name, I'll do that.
--Michelle
Another Glorious Weekend
I can't believe it, every day moves me closer to when Sean comes to Florence! This is so exciting!
We had another amazing time this weekend, starting with me, Anna and Carla getting drunk on our cheap rum Friday night, culminating in yet another drunken dial to poor TJ, who I think was asleep and none too pleased to hear from us. But it was good. The next morning, remembering some of the things we had all said, admitted to, shared, etc, it was one of those awkward laugh-grimace moments, but it's OK, as Anna says, because we're closer now...right? Haha. Whatever, it was fun.
Saturday was even better, because we met up with Maria at 5:30 and went leather shopping. Because Maria is amazing and knows everyone, we were offered scandalous discounts at the leather place, ie, Anna wound up buying a 180 bag and an 80 wallet for 110 total. There was, surprisingly enough, a bag I actually liked enough to purchase, but they didn't have it in black, and no way will I ever carry something white--I would rather carry a puggle.
After this we set about having a traditional Italian evening--we went to one bar for an aperitivo, where I discovered they make delicious amaretto sours, then we went to the restaurant, which in this case was actually just a fifties-diner esque American burger joint because we all craved one, then to another bar for coffee, then finally to a lounge/bar place called the Blob. Here yet again Maria is hooked up, because she used to live right next door and has been friends with owner and staff, all brits, for years. The place was really well decorated and low key, and I had another amaretto sour which was incredibly sour and almost killed me. Maria is fun for many reasons, perhaps the most important being she is not the same person we see every day, ie each other, so there are suddenly NEW topics to discuss, and new opinions to hear. She's also really nice, and calm, and has an ironic little sense of humor that I quite enjoy. Plus, we know an actual Italian, who can ask questions for us at the bar! Yipee!
Yesterday it poured in the morning so we didn't want to go anywhere. Instead we snuggled up to watch Gallipoli, which was an early Mel Gibson flick ,and I will admit, he was heart stoppingly handsome. It was a war movie in part, which led me to determine that I must see Saving Private Ryan again soon. Also, Im going to go see Pride and Prejudice again at the Odeon...it's coming back!! Plus Capote is coming as well, I'm very excited to see that, I heard Hoffman won best actor for it. Oh, and Carla's mother was nice enough to bring us some magazines and books, so I read John Grisham's the Last Juror, and it was very good. I'm not usually partial to his books because I'm not big on law stories, but this one was actually told from a college boy turned journalist's point of view.
Christopher Moore has a new book out come April 1st, called a Dirty Job, I cant wait to read it!!
We had another amazing time this weekend, starting with me, Anna and Carla getting drunk on our cheap rum Friday night, culminating in yet another drunken dial to poor TJ, who I think was asleep and none too pleased to hear from us. But it was good. The next morning, remembering some of the things we had all said, admitted to, shared, etc, it was one of those awkward laugh-grimace moments, but it's OK, as Anna says, because we're closer now...right? Haha. Whatever, it was fun.
Saturday was even better, because we met up with Maria at 5:30 and went leather shopping. Because Maria is amazing and knows everyone, we were offered scandalous discounts at the leather place, ie, Anna wound up buying a 180 bag and an 80 wallet for 110 total. There was, surprisingly enough, a bag I actually liked enough to purchase, but they didn't have it in black, and no way will I ever carry something white--I would rather carry a puggle.
After this we set about having a traditional Italian evening--we went to one bar for an aperitivo, where I discovered they make delicious amaretto sours, then we went to the restaurant, which in this case was actually just a fifties-diner esque American burger joint because we all craved one, then to another bar for coffee, then finally to a lounge/bar place called the Blob. Here yet again Maria is hooked up, because she used to live right next door and has been friends with owner and staff, all brits, for years. The place was really well decorated and low key, and I had another amaretto sour which was incredibly sour and almost killed me. Maria is fun for many reasons, perhaps the most important being she is not the same person we see every day, ie each other, so there are suddenly NEW topics to discuss, and new opinions to hear. She's also really nice, and calm, and has an ironic little sense of humor that I quite enjoy. Plus, we know an actual Italian, who can ask questions for us at the bar! Yipee!
Yesterday it poured in the morning so we didn't want to go anywhere. Instead we snuggled up to watch Gallipoli, which was an early Mel Gibson flick ,and I will admit, he was heart stoppingly handsome. It was a war movie in part, which led me to determine that I must see Saving Private Ryan again soon. Also, Im going to go see Pride and Prejudice again at the Odeon...it's coming back!! Plus Capote is coming as well, I'm very excited to see that, I heard Hoffman won best actor for it. Oh, and Carla's mother was nice enough to bring us some magazines and books, so I read John Grisham's the Last Juror, and it was very good. I'm not usually partial to his books because I'm not big on law stories, but this one was actually told from a college boy turned journalist's point of view.
Christopher Moore has a new book out come April 1st, called a Dirty Job, I cant wait to read it!!
Friday, March 03, 2006
Rain, Go Away, Please
Yes, I know it's snowing like mad in the States, but this does not prevent me from being annoyed at the persistent rain here! Today I had to go on a class trip to the contemporary art museum in Prato, which was kind of a waste of time because I hate contemporary art. There is no way you're going to convince me that cutting a giant canoe in half and suspending it from the ceiling is art. Sorry.
Yesterday was a day of wonder. In the morning I explored the neighborhood of Santa Maria Novella, the coolest aspect being the church of Oggnisanti, where both Botticelli and Amerigo Vespucci are buried. In the afternoon I wandered into an Arab market store and found nothing other than my beloved, long last Syrian bread, here called panne siriano--sadly they did not know what Syrian pepper is, so my search must continue before I can make hushwei here. Then, in the evening, I went into the only second hand store in town that I know, where the fur coat still remains at 70 euro, and bought instead a green A-line coat for 30 euro that looks just like my ivory coat, just, you know, green, and not cashmere, but that's kind of good because my poor ivory coat was never meant to be worn regularly, I fear. I wore the coat today and it is sexy, I love it.
I've been writing poetry again! Yay!
Yesterday was a day of wonder. In the morning I explored the neighborhood of Santa Maria Novella, the coolest aspect being the church of Oggnisanti, where both Botticelli and Amerigo Vespucci are buried. In the afternoon I wandered into an Arab market store and found nothing other than my beloved, long last Syrian bread, here called panne siriano--sadly they did not know what Syrian pepper is, so my search must continue before I can make hushwei here. Then, in the evening, I went into the only second hand store in town that I know, where the fur coat still remains at 70 euro, and bought instead a green A-line coat for 30 euro that looks just like my ivory coat, just, you know, green, and not cashmere, but that's kind of good because my poor ivory coat was never meant to be worn regularly, I fear. I wore the coat today and it is sexy, I love it.
I've been writing poetry again! Yay!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Via Francigena
I just got out of the coolest lecture! Ok, it was nominally about the Via Francigena, this ancient pilgrim's road that led from Canterbury to Rome. The speaker was a man who, on the basis of a diary from 900 ad, plotted out the missing parts of the path, ie everything above Lucca in Italy, and traveled it himself, finding all these ancient stopping points--80 of them, according to him. He found pieces of ancient pottery, one of which was a 2 meter high bronze Etruscan vase, which he found in a barn somewhere in France, and found old Bronze age camps, medieval granges where there are just farms now, etc etc. He explained that the road was not merely a pilgrim's way, it was a very ancient traveling route that followed the primitive wisdom of traveling along the tops of ridges and in watersheds. Basically, because all of Tuscany is hills, you can walk from Lucca to Rome without getting your feet wet. He also explained that only in Tuscany are hills callled "poggio", or stands...everywhere else they're just called hills, but in Tuscany, they had a special purpose, to serve as stands or bases for Etruscan and Bronze Age settlements and stopping points.
This post is going to be exceedingly disjointed because I am in such a high tempo of excitement right now. Basically, this man inspired me to an immense degree. I want to explore, I want to hike, I want to uncover pieces of ancient pottery lying in vineyards! He told us so many cool things, like how many Irish saints traveled the road to re-convert an Italy that had been destroyed by the barbarian invasion. They settled in towns in Tuscany, towns which now have as their patrons saints with names like Brigida and Finiano--one town, he added, was ruled in the early medieval era by a single Irish nun! He went to some of these places and actually discovered the caves where they lived, covered in crosses.
This man, Giovanni Caselli, said that his purpose was to inspire people, to make them think differently about what they see. He said it's one thing to go on vacation to a touristy spot, and another to follow a road, an ancient one, and see the history it leads you to. He said when he crossed the Alps on this road, he was able to ignore the parking lots and hotels because he saw the Roman road marker, and fragments of their original road, and knew he was seeing history. He advised us to just climb a hill and start walking along the ridges, to look for hills that are "poggio tondo" because they were probably round camps in the old days, or things called Kalla, which were teutonic camps. Listening to him I suddenly didnt want to spend my money on a weekend trip to Madrid, I wanted to go into the countryside and start looking for the past.
Even better, I actually made a friend at this lecture. After the other students departed, one girl and I stayed behind to talk to this guy. He offered us his business card and said that he invites students to visit his town, north of Florence, in the spring, and he takes them on tours free of charge. He even told us there's a hotel there where for 38 euro you get two meals. This girl, Megan, and I exchanged info in case either of us goes hiking. She said she was thinking of going to Fiesole on Sunday, which is one of the places he said you could start on an ancient path, and I told her I'd definitely meet her there if she was going. He did mention that this is not the best weather, and that May will be better, but I'm so pumped I would go tomorrow if I could.
His book is out of print and only in Italian, but im going to hunt it down in used bookshops anyway. He published his maps and information online on his website, uncopyrighted because he says it belongs to everyone. I wish I could be like this man, and spend months just following my guesses and a 1000 year old manuscript. I want to have adventure!
This post is going to be exceedingly disjointed because I am in such a high tempo of excitement right now. Basically, this man inspired me to an immense degree. I want to explore, I want to hike, I want to uncover pieces of ancient pottery lying in vineyards! He told us so many cool things, like how many Irish saints traveled the road to re-convert an Italy that had been destroyed by the barbarian invasion. They settled in towns in Tuscany, towns which now have as their patrons saints with names like Brigida and Finiano--one town, he added, was ruled in the early medieval era by a single Irish nun! He went to some of these places and actually discovered the caves where they lived, covered in crosses.
This man, Giovanni Caselli, said that his purpose was to inspire people, to make them think differently about what they see. He said it's one thing to go on vacation to a touristy spot, and another to follow a road, an ancient one, and see the history it leads you to. He said when he crossed the Alps on this road, he was able to ignore the parking lots and hotels because he saw the Roman road marker, and fragments of their original road, and knew he was seeing history. He advised us to just climb a hill and start walking along the ridges, to look for hills that are "poggio tondo" because they were probably round camps in the old days, or things called Kalla, which were teutonic camps. Listening to him I suddenly didnt want to spend my money on a weekend trip to Madrid, I wanted to go into the countryside and start looking for the past.
Even better, I actually made a friend at this lecture. After the other students departed, one girl and I stayed behind to talk to this guy. He offered us his business card and said that he invites students to visit his town, north of Florence, in the spring, and he takes them on tours free of charge. He even told us there's a hotel there where for 38 euro you get two meals. This girl, Megan, and I exchanged info in case either of us goes hiking. She said she was thinking of going to Fiesole on Sunday, which is one of the places he said you could start on an ancient path, and I told her I'd definitely meet her there if she was going. He did mention that this is not the best weather, and that May will be better, but I'm so pumped I would go tomorrow if I could.
His book is out of print and only in Italian, but im going to hunt it down in used bookshops anyway. He published his maps and information online on his website, uncopyrighted because he says it belongs to everyone. I wish I could be like this man, and spend months just following my guesses and a 1000 year old manuscript. I want to have adventure!
Not Much
It's amazing how I can spend several hours sitting on my ass in this computer lab while outside the world of Italy drifts by. Ok, I intended to be productive and visit the Laurentian library this morning, ie the library where Michelangelo created his innovative and incredible staircase, but when I went in, that section was marked as closed indefinitely for restoration. Bastards. I fully intend to sneak in at some point. What are they going to do to me, arrest me?
The time draws near when the heavens shall open up and deposit half the contents of Fairfield's campus on our little Firenze! Haha, I'm so excited. The first week alone, we will have Anna's brother, Meredith's friend Sinead, TJ, Mike, and of course, my very favoritest traveler of all, SEAN!! Sara's mom will be visiting, followed shortly by Carla, Meredith, and Anna's parents (yes, I am the only one whose mom is not coming, it's kind of sad, but my mom refuses to travel alone, and she doesn't like the group tour idea like Sara's mom does, so, *shrug*). Anna's friend Lisa is coming too, as well as Fairfield's Glee Club, during the same week. Insanity. March 12 shall be a date that lives in infamy, for it is Sara's 21st birthday, and we will be celebrating it in style at Apartment 19, Via San Gallo 33! Main Chef Carla will be producing something like five courses, in addition to appetizers and a homemade tiramisu. It's going to be intense, as well it should because it is the birthday party of my very oldest friend and companion, the incomparable Sara Mari Juana!
Oh yes, and the week after the guys leave, midterms smack us in the face. But then we go on spring break to Sardinia! And then the very next weekend there's a trip to the Amalfi coast that I'm considering going on...it goes to Naples and Pompeii, and I won't go to Pompeii on my own, probably, but it's expensive, so I think I will have to explore and choose between Spain or Amalfi.
Last night we had a Tuscan dinner courtesy of the program, to which I showed up with a couple of shots in me, thereby creating a lovely beginning, and Anna drank so much of the table wine that she ensured a hilarious ending as well. Naturally, we had to call someone, and being in Europe drastically reduces dialing options, so TJ was the lucky recipient of Anna's drunken goodwill. Equally humorous was her telling me that we both scare people, and asking me point blank if I disliked her when I first met her, which I answered honestly, yes, I did, but we've become friends now, to my surprise, and I really enjoy Anna's company. Oh yes, and let us not forget her declaration of "Living in 121 was just not fun, can I just put that out there?" as she stumbled home on Carla's arm. Hahaha. Good times!
The time draws near when the heavens shall open up and deposit half the contents of Fairfield's campus on our little Firenze! Haha, I'm so excited. The first week alone, we will have Anna's brother, Meredith's friend Sinead, TJ, Mike, and of course, my very favoritest traveler of all, SEAN!! Sara's mom will be visiting, followed shortly by Carla, Meredith, and Anna's parents (yes, I am the only one whose mom is not coming, it's kind of sad, but my mom refuses to travel alone, and she doesn't like the group tour idea like Sara's mom does, so, *shrug*). Anna's friend Lisa is coming too, as well as Fairfield's Glee Club, during the same week. Insanity. March 12 shall be a date that lives in infamy, for it is Sara's 21st birthday, and we will be celebrating it in style at Apartment 19, Via San Gallo 33! Main Chef Carla will be producing something like five courses, in addition to appetizers and a homemade tiramisu. It's going to be intense, as well it should because it is the birthday party of my very oldest friend and companion, the incomparable Sara Mari Juana!
Oh yes, and the week after the guys leave, midterms smack us in the face. But then we go on spring break to Sardinia! And then the very next weekend there's a trip to the Amalfi coast that I'm considering going on...it goes to Naples and Pompeii, and I won't go to Pompeii on my own, probably, but it's expensive, so I think I will have to explore and choose between Spain or Amalfi.
Last night we had a Tuscan dinner courtesy of the program, to which I showed up with a couple of shots in me, thereby creating a lovely beginning, and Anna drank so much of the table wine that she ensured a hilarious ending as well. Naturally, we had to call someone, and being in Europe drastically reduces dialing options, so TJ was the lucky recipient of Anna's drunken goodwill. Equally humorous was her telling me that we both scare people, and asking me point blank if I disliked her when I first met her, which I answered honestly, yes, I did, but we've become friends now, to my surprise, and I really enjoy Anna's company. Oh yes, and let us not forget her declaration of "Living in 121 was just not fun, can I just put that out there?" as she stumbled home on Carla's arm. Hahaha. Good times!