Venice

DEPARTURE 4:30 AM
Seven of us made our way to the train station nice and early Friday morning (or Thursday night if you didn't sleep at all like me!) to grab our train to Venice, with a quick transfer in Bologna on the way. We all tried to sleep, but due to cramped legs, necks and backs, only got a little rest. Luckily everything went off without a hitch and we arrived in Marghera (the mainland city where our hotel was) at 9:15am.

We follow the directions to our lovely Hotel Villa Serena (had to follow an unmarked road parallel to a gas station...awesome directions). Checked in, emptied our bags and bought bus tickets. Off we went!

Once we got into Venice, we grabbed a vaporetto (water taxis) and cruised on down the Grand Canal to San Marco square. Off the vaporetto there were stands on stands with Carnivale masks. Even though most of us had bought masks back in Florence, we stopped to try on a ton. Lauren found a beautiful purple one to match her purple blob costume for the next day!

Walking around San Marco, we stopped to watch the mass number of pigeons and lots of people feeding them. Kahla had one hop on her arm!


After wandering around the main island some more, taking pictures on the Rialto Bridge, we grabbed a vaporetto to Morano. GORGEOUS GLASS. Just wandered up and down the streets, going into every glass store. Who did we happen to run into there, but David Wile, a fellow AU student who is studying in Germany for the semester! Crazy, small world.


Dinner: Delicious. A little bit of a money/paying confusion but definitely worth it. We all got to share Mussels in Tomato Soup, Caprese Salad, and Spicy Salami in Balsamic Vinegar for appetizers. And then pasta with sausage, a macaroni thing that was cheesy and sweet, and a seafood risotto. Yes, I did eat all the seafood. I am expanding my tastes here!! We also split a bottle of fraggolini, the sweet strawberry wine Venice is known for.

Off to the hotel to pass out after a lonnngggg day of traveling and sightseeing.

Woke up early the next morning to head back to Venice, had to bring all of our stuff because we checked out. Luckily we all packed light/wore all of the clothes we packed to stay warm but also make our bags lighter.

After finally finding the 8th member of our group (he ended up taking a train the next morning instead of in the afternoon like we thought) we were off to Burano, a little island of multi-colored houses that is known for its lace. SO so so sooooo pretty.






Went back to the main island which had exploded with people for Carnivale.

Super fun, wandered around looking at everyone.





Grabbed some wine and found a piazza to relax in. Had many dance parties in the street, danced with a mix of little kids, vikings, Beatles and just random Carnivale goers. We all split a pizza for dinner and just generally enjoyed ourselves!

Took a train at 11:56 to Ve. Mestre where we had to wait 3 hours for our train at 3:11am. Found a room to nap in with heated floors. Got kicked out around 1am. Tried to nap in the train corridor but too cold so then we played games, running up and down to try to stay warm.

Finally our train came and we all passed out. Home safe and sound at 6:30am! Bed time!

Apertivo with Lee!

So after my Literature and the Visual Arts class Thursday night, we all went to grab apertivo with our professor. It was a great chance to all hang out after class, have a nice drink and eat delicious food.

Lauren and I had two plates of food, plus returning for a cup full of dessert fruit (kind of a fruit salad with a strawberry sauce covering it??).

The apertivo was deliciousssss. Everything from pasta to salami and cheese to this tomato mushy thing? Basically we had no idea what we were eating, but loved it anyways.

We learned more about my professor and his drama with his ex-wife, a topic he never hesitates to throw into discussion during class. Always amusing.

San Grimignano, Siena, Bologna

Went on another field trip with Helen, this time to the beautiful towns of San Gimignano and Siena.

I don't have much to say about them besides they were beautiful and fun to wander through! I'll let my pictures speak for me.


A view of San Grimignano from one of the many towers. San Gimignano is a small medieval town in the hills of Tuscany that is known for the towers that can be seen from all over. Also famous for its wine!


Siena. Also known for its wine. We had delicious sweets here!

BOLOGNA

Grabbed my train at 8:30am to head off to Bologna to spend a night with Emily Osborne!!

Arrived around 10am and met up with Emily. Dropped my stuff off at her apartment and then we left to wander the city.

Delicious lunch. Pasta with ragu sauce (Bologna specialty)

Took a nice afternoon nap before heading to apertivo with a bunch of Emily's friends. Apertivo is a deal where you buy a drink and get a buffet. It's supposed to be a light snack but most people use it to fill up for dinner.

Sunday it was rainyyyy and we got home late the night before so we slept in and then just wandered around some more. Ate a delicious huge sandwich.

Back to Florence at 8:30pm. Had a rough train encounter, had a layover in a sketchy train station for 1 1/2 but luckily I had Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to entertain me and distract me from the creepers around.

"I go to art school!"

GABBY AND DARA CAME TO FIRENZE!

(Don't we just look adorable at dinner...this is for all you Biddies Around the World thread-ers! Miss you!)

So, time to do tourist activities around Florence!
Day 1: Friday, Feb. 4
1. Get sandwiches from the Oil Shoppe: I had heard it was delicious. But I never knew how good. This could be dangerous as it is only a couple doors away from my school...at least their sandwiches are really cheap, all under 4 euro!

2. Climb the Duomo: Wow gorgeous view of the entire city. We also climbed on the best weather day that Florence has had yet. It was mid-60s, none of us needed our coats, and we just hung out, enjoying the view and the day for as long as we could (basically until a bathroom break became necessary!).


3. Swing by the chocolate fair that's in town for the week. Everything from chocolate covered fruit to chocolate salami to chocolate covered fudge...I could go on for days. The free samples were great, I plan to go back on Friday for a little end of week treat!


4. Head on up to Piazza Michelangelo for sunset and San Miniato to hear the Gregorian
Chants. I don't know what my favorite view of Florence is, on top of the Duomo or from across the river. Both were amazing.


5. Time to make a delicious homemade dinner. Who knew lasagna was so simple! We munched on baguette with brie and tomatoes with mozzarella while we waited for the lasagna to cook. And of course, the entire time sampling types of wine. We feasted and it was glorious.

Then, we had to show Gabby, Dara and Zoe the nightlife of Florence. We tried one pub, but it was too crowded, so we ended up next door at the Red Garter. And what could you do here but SING KARAOKE!! The performer in me came out. I sang many songs, probably the strangest being 3 by good ol' Brit Spears.
Jam packed first day huh?

Day 2:
1. Show the girls the Centrale Mercato. The best place to buy fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses. Lauren and I introduced them to our adorable market man, I dream of him becoming my Italian grandfather.

2. Academia and Uffizi
Can't have a trip to Florence without visiting David and the best art around. Lauren and I did not join, but have plans to visit next week on Free Museum Day! I will comment more then...

3. H&M: A little home away from home, love this store. Dara called me up when they finished at the museums and I went to meet them for a little shopping and then gelato!

4. THE BEST GNOCCHI IN ALL OF FLORENCE
We went to the most amazing restaurant I have been to yet, Osteria Santo Spirito. I already know that I am taking my mom here when she comes to visit in March. It was amazingggg. I got ravioli with a walnut sauce, but also was forced (although I was willing) to help the other girls try to finish their gnocchi. The only one to join the clean plate club (which is a most in Italy!) was Lauren. Probably because I was sitting next to her and helped her out some...But I have never seen or tasted such a cheesy, rich dish. It was fabulous.

5. Nightlife round two. Nothing like a good food coma before going out for the night. Everyone crashed for about an hour, but I woke everyone up with some jams. Gotta start the dance party! We went out to a club this time and had to fend off the aggressive Italian boys. The favorite of the night was our best friend, Italian Slim Shady. I'll add a picture when I steal it from Kahla. He did some break-dancing and then got the whole club dancing with his moves. His friends were a little sketchy, but all in good fun. Ended up being a really fun night, until I discovered gum in my hair when we got home...Gross. But I got it out pretty easily.

Day 3: Sunday
Pretty relaxing day. We did some leather shopping, wandered around the city, ate delicious Doner Kebab and just relaxed.

I took the girls to the train station around 6pm :( Great weekend!

Then...what was Sunday night but SUPERBOWL SUNDAY. I didn't make it to the game (kick-off was at 12:30am), too drained from the weekend. But I did manage to celebrate with some Superbowl food. We had a party next door and feasted on hotdogs, deviled eggs, potatoes with cheese,chips, popcorn, crackers with dip, and cookies. YUM!

Pisa and Lucca

Another field trip with Helen...

Lessons Learned in Pisa:
1. The leaning tower does not lean as much as one might think! Still fun to do the typical poses though. My roommate Liz decided to start a photo collection of other tourists pretending to push the tower straight from angles that you couldn't see the tower. An example:


2. Inside the baptistery, when a man tells you to be quiet for the vocal demonstration, listen to him. He will stroll into the center and his voice will be AMAZING. One voice sounds like an entire chorus. Also, listen to Helen talk a little, but take the time to go to the second level and look around. She doesn't stop to do this.

3. When craving artichokes, don't go for fried artichokes. Pizza will be a better option.

4. If Helen says meet at 2pm, do not think 2:05 will be okay. The group will have moved on to the next stop (but don't worry, the bus hasn't left yet!)




Lucca
A gorgeous little town. Lauren and I split off from the group almost immediately, and were later joined by Kahla, Liz and Diana. We just wandered around town, bought some delicious candies and then ended up meeting up with everyone to go into some churches.
At the end of the day, Helen bought us cakes that are only made in Lucca. SO GOOD. The flavors were vegetable, chocolate, plum and chocolate chip. The most interesting one was the vegetable one, surprisingly delicious!

Second Week of Classes

Monday morning my friend Kahla and I went out an adventure to kill two birds with one stone; I had to walk to do my digital multimedia Florence walk and we wanted to investigate the stadium for soccer or volleyball leagues. Sadly, we were only successful in one goal, but at least it was my homework assignment! The women we talked to at the stadium just laughed at us and told us there were only men’s leagues for soccer. I think we’re going to go play pick-up at the park and I’m e-mailing the University of Florence to see if I can play volleyball with one of their club/intramural teams (not sure what exactly it is as the website was in Italian…)

Otherwise, just lots of normal class stuff. Two Italian quizzes, I am a champ at responding to Come te chiami? (what is your name?) and Come sta? (How are you?). I successfully ordered everything I wanted at the market all in Italian. And I have a cute old Italian man at the market that I always go to his vegetable stand. He teaches me new words in Italian and slips extra things in my bag for free! I’ve gotten spring onions, extra oranges, extra lettuce and more from him! Gotta love making new friends.

I also made a boot investment! I bought real Italian leather black boots. I’m pretty pumped about them, my first substantial Italian purchase (probably my only big buy besides purchase. Unless I decide to get a leather coat…Florence is known for its leather by the way if anyone didn’t know!) It was kind of intimidating though because I went into this store on my own since I had separated from my roommate Diana so I could go to class and she could go back to the apartment. They brought me to the basement to look at more boot options and then the woman helping me decided I should look at leather jackets and began dressing me in “Italian style.” I barely escaped, running to class. But afterwards I headed back to buy my boots, refusing the jacket they kept trying me to buy. I was not ready to make that big of a decision…we all know I am awful at making up my mind and all I knew was I wanted boots.

Then today (Friday) I had a field trip to Bologna for Arte Fiera (Art First), an international exhibition of contemporary art. All of those conference centers I’ve played in for volleyball tournaments have nothing on this place. The art show was spread out over three buildings and each was FULL of art everywhere. Very overwhelming. But also an amazing opportunity. We arrived in Bologna around 10:45 and weren’t leaving until 6. I might go to an art school here in Florence, but that did not prepare me to look around for 7 hours of pure art…

A group of 5 of us decided around 3 pm that we had had enough and needed a break, so grabbed a bus to the center of Bologna and wandered around the actual city. We took a break in a nice café, and then headed back to get the bus back to Florence. Definitely would not have made it for three more hours looking around the convention center as amazing as it was. Now I need to catch up on sleep for my trip to Pisa and Lucca tomorrow!

Adventuring out of Florence

Saturday- Ravenna
Woke up at an ungodly hour and had to meet at Piazza Indipendenza at 6:50 am. As you can guess, the streets were pretty much empty except for bleary-eyed SACI kids making their way to the bus. Luckily, we had a 3 hour bus trip ahead of us and ample nap time.

Circa 10 am (this comes directly off the schedule we got from the professor guiding us! She is very tied to her schedules and timing. Nothing gets in her way. Gotta love Helen) we arrive in Ravenna.
[Brief explanation. SACI’s art history classes have an on-site component, which basically means there’s a 3 credit field trip addition to the course. But for those of us not in the art history classes, sign-ups are put in the main building every Monday before a trip and anyone is welcome to go on the trip for free as long as there is room. Amazing deal! Free trip, plus the most knowledgeable art history guide I have ever met.]

So Ravenna is known for it’s Early Christian and Early Renaissance art. The trip was full of church after church after baptistery. My favorite church was San Vitale, the official church of the Byzantine emperor and his church. The interior was gorgeous and had mosaics everywhere. I also liked San Francesco which has a crypt that is always full of water and goldfish swimming around in it. Not sure why that is…but pretty cool to see!

After a longggg day of trekking around Ravenna, we got back on the bus and headed home to Florence, getting back around 8:30 pm. Good thing we had to wake up for round two tomorrow…







Sunday- Medici Villas and Vinci
Biggest mistake was two Helen field trips in a row. Helen is a whirlwind of knowledge. On the bus every morning of a field trip, everyone is given a headset so that we can hear her explanations (fancy fancy eh?). Luckily, this means when you have had enough history of what that giraffe symbolizes in the fresco, you can just turn the headset off and explore on your own. Which is what I learned day 1 in Ravenna, giving me an advantage day 2 and making the trip that much more enjoyable!
This trip was absolutely gorgeous. The sights and views we saw really were how I always imagined Italy.

We started the morning off later (7:40 am woo!!), arriving at the first Villa soon after. The Medici Villas are just outside of Florence, making it a pretty convenient visit. We saw three different villas, Castello, Petraia and one farther away, Poggio a Caiano. This last one was my favorite with a gorgeous front porch, impressive frescoes throughout the house and a fun interior to explore (turns out all thouse house tours with my parents when I was younger really made me a fan of looking at old/new/model/villa/anything houses.) Then we were free to explore the gardens for a picnic lunch!




We left the villa and headed into the winding hills of the Italian countryside. GORGEOUS GORGEOUS GORGEOUS. Cameras were snapping away like crazy. Another funny note about field trips with SACI kids is the quality of the camera and the amount of scrapbooks out, pencils quick at work observing what we see. Definitely not what I’m used to but I love looking through everyone’s work. One guy also gave me some great pointers on perspective that will help with my illustration projects.
When we got to a little village, Carmgnano. The rest of the group set in the church for about 30-40 minutes to observe the renowned Visitation. My friend Lauren and I decided to peek in at the painting and then explore the town to see the views. It was a refreshing break and we got great pictures!

Then we traveled to the land of Leonardo, Vinci! We went to the Museo Leonardiano with reconstructions of some of his inventions. We also stopped at the house that it is believed he grew up in.

All in all it was a great trip. Exhausting weekend though.