Happy late Valentine’s Day. I hope yours was as wonderful as mine! Saturday night Bri and I caught the train out to Bucine where Claudia picked us up. We went and got Pizza di Tonino, which I had to tell you about by name because Claudia told me it is the BEST pizza in Tuscany. We went to her friend Chiara’s house and had a girl’s night in this big downstairs room with a fireplace. We ate the DELICOUS pizza, guacamole, the best tira misu ever (mm mmm thank you Maffei women) and drank wine that Chiara’s grandpa makes. We ate baci which are little chocolates with fortunes that we all read out loud. I kept one that said: Invecchia insieme a me, il meglio deve ancora venire- Grow old with me, the best is yet to be! Everything just sounds better in Italian…Then we went to a bar called Mod’s, where they played all 80’s music, I particularly liked the theme song from The Breakfast Club, and we drank mojitos. After that we went to Mister Bloom’s and met up with the rest of the American kids, and stayed out til 4. That was a mistake…considering I had to be up at 8 to catch a train to Lucca!
Michelle and I went to Lucca and met up with some family friends of hers. It was a guy named Gabrielle and his girlfriend Giselle who, by the way, likes Berlusconi and doesn’t think Brad Pitt is good looking…We walked around the city and all along the old city walls which they’ve made into a park and then Gabrielle bought us lunch before we drove out to Viareggio. Viareggio…mm. It’s a town on the coast where you can stand on the beach and see snow-capped mountains! It was beautiful. Carnivale was going on so there were people everywhere in costumes with confetti and silly string and giant floats and rides in the streets. We walked around for a while, had a silly string fight, went down to the beach and walked the pier. I can’t wait to go back to Viareggio when it is warm and we can sit on the beach! We saw a sail boat that said ‘Scuola Nautica.’ I think I would like to move to Viareggio and go to sailing school..yeah, that sounds nice! I’m not sure I’m ever coming home…anyways, we caught hopped on the train and got back late, just in time to write a paper and study for Italian the next day before I collapsed in bed feeling like I hadn’t slept in years! The past couple days we’ve just been studying and relaxing. We watched wheel of fortune in Italian last night..and then Il Signore Dei Anelli- the Lord of the Rings- haha also in Italian. Miss you. Love you!
Baci
J
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Ciao!
Ahh..where to begin…
Ravenna and Classe. We had our 3rd art history class last week and went to see the mosaics in Ravenna and Classe. They were so beautiful. I think all of the paintings start to blur together in my mind after a little while…and its hard to appreciate the 130983545th painting we look at. But, mosaics I could stare at all day long. They were amazing. They were so colorful, and golden, and when the light came in through the church windows they would glow. Oh, and in Ravenna everyone rode bikes! Even cute little old men and women were on their bikes with baskets just cruising around town!
From there we hopped a couple trains to Venice. Ya know they aren’t kidding about Venice sinking. The high water, called acqua alta, came and went the whole time we were there. One night we were standing in Piazza San Marcos and all of the sudden sirens and bells started going off! Turns out, they were signaling high tide and within an hour the piazza was under a foot of water. That was of course when the real fun began…one of my roommates and I were the only ones wearing rain boots so we went exploring while everyone else tried to make it to dry ground. They put raised sidewalk planks, passarelle, all over the island for people to walk on. We hopped off the planks and just waded…there were places where the water was so high I had to walk on my tiptoes to keep the water from spilling into my boots! I think exploring during the flooding may have been my favorite part about Venice. Although, it was all pretty wonderful. One of our professors was in town with a different group so we got to tag along on a private after hours tour of the Basilica San Marcos…wow. When we walked in all of the lights were turned off, and the whole place was dark and spooky…and huge. Then, they turned the lights on one by one to light up the domes. The whole places glowed gold. After that they took us into the crypt to see the place where St. Mark is supposedly buried. They next day when we were on our way to go up in the campanile, the bell tower, we spotted the group again and got to go up for free :) The views of Venice were absolutely perfect, and while we were up there the bells started going off! We took a day trip to Murano island to see where they make all the handblown glass. The island was so quiet, like a mini Venice. The boat ride over was about an hour, but the sun came out and we stood on the deck and soaked it in. We road the waterbus up and down the grand canal to see everything…and I think we spent an entire day just wandering around and getting lost. I’ve never been in a place where it is so easy to get lost. Of course, getting lost in Venice isn’t such a bad thing…I loved it. Really, Venice is magical. There’s just no other way to describe it!
Yesterday we went to Pisa Pisa! We had class about the transition into early Renaissance art…we looked at lots of old stuff. We took the obligatory goofy pictures with the tower. We visited the baptistery and church, and the cemetery which was seriously damaged during WWII. Pisa was relatively quiet, surprisingly so, and is apparently unpopular with Italians. There is a saying that goes better a dead person in your bed than a Pisan on your doorstep. Harsh.
Other than that, class is going well! I just bought Gomorra in Italian. It’s a book about the mafia family in Naples. I read the first page…and I think I understand it pretty well. Hopefully buying it in Italian wasn’t too ambitious. I’m still reading Angels and Demons in Italian and that’s going really well. I’m off to read on the terrace. It is sunny and beautiful today, though it snowed this morning!!!!
Tutto il mio amore,
Jenny
Ahh..where to begin…
Ravenna and Classe. We had our 3rd art history class last week and went to see the mosaics in Ravenna and Classe. They were so beautiful. I think all of the paintings start to blur together in my mind after a little while…and its hard to appreciate the 130983545th painting we look at. But, mosaics I could stare at all day long. They were amazing. They were so colorful, and golden, and when the light came in through the church windows they would glow. Oh, and in Ravenna everyone rode bikes! Even cute little old men and women were on their bikes with baskets just cruising around town!
From there we hopped a couple trains to Venice. Ya know they aren’t kidding about Venice sinking. The high water, called acqua alta, came and went the whole time we were there. One night we were standing in Piazza San Marcos and all of the sudden sirens and bells started going off! Turns out, they were signaling high tide and within an hour the piazza was under a foot of water. That was of course when the real fun began…one of my roommates and I were the only ones wearing rain boots so we went exploring while everyone else tried to make it to dry ground. They put raised sidewalk planks, passarelle, all over the island for people to walk on. We hopped off the planks and just waded…there were places where the water was so high I had to walk on my tiptoes to keep the water from spilling into my boots! I think exploring during the flooding may have been my favorite part about Venice. Although, it was all pretty wonderful. One of our professors was in town with a different group so we got to tag along on a private after hours tour of the Basilica San Marcos…wow. When we walked in all of the lights were turned off, and the whole place was dark and spooky…and huge. Then, they turned the lights on one by one to light up the domes. The whole places glowed gold. After that they took us into the crypt to see the place where St. Mark is supposedly buried. They next day when we were on our way to go up in the campanile, the bell tower, we spotted the group again and got to go up for free :) The views of Venice were absolutely perfect, and while we were up there the bells started going off! We took a day trip to Murano island to see where they make all the handblown glass. The island was so quiet, like a mini Venice. The boat ride over was about an hour, but the sun came out and we stood on the deck and soaked it in. We road the waterbus up and down the grand canal to see everything…and I think we spent an entire day just wandering around and getting lost. I’ve never been in a place where it is so easy to get lost. Of course, getting lost in Venice isn’t such a bad thing…I loved it. Really, Venice is magical. There’s just no other way to describe it!
Yesterday we went to Pisa Pisa! We had class about the transition into early Renaissance art…we looked at lots of old stuff. We took the obligatory goofy pictures with the tower. We visited the baptistery and church, and the cemetery which was seriously damaged during WWII. Pisa was relatively quiet, surprisingly so, and is apparently unpopular with Italians. There is a saying that goes better a dead person in your bed than a Pisan on your doorstep. Harsh.
Other than that, class is going well! I just bought Gomorra in Italian. It’s a book about the mafia family in Naples. I read the first page…and I think I understand it pretty well. Hopefully buying it in Italian wasn’t too ambitious. I’m still reading Angels and Demons in Italian and that’s going really well. I’m off to read on the terrace. It is sunny and beautiful today, though it snowed this morning!!!!
Tutto il mio amore,
Jenny
Monday, February 2, 2009
Exorcists, Antique Markets and Obvious Americans
I miei amori,
It’s raining again in Arezzo…We had a couple days of sun and now we’re back to the rain. It might snow tomorrow which will be…interesting. Today was the first day of Italian class and I’m so excited! We mostly did logistical stuff…but then we learned gestures. Italians love their gestures. We also learned some fun facts about Arezzo! For example, there are only 7 exorcists authorized by the pope in the whole world, and one of them is the priest at the big duomo here. The past couple days in Arezzo have been beautiful. It’s been chilly, but so sunny! And, two exciting things happened in Arezzo this weekend. Since it’s the first of February, the gelato stores all over town have opened up! Mmm mm..so good. I love gelato and crepes with nutella. Also, every first weekend of the month there is a big antique fair and the streets are flooded with vendors with all kinds of interesting stuff. They have really beautiful old furniture and fixtures and paintings and jewelry and the most ridiculous fur coats…everything you can imagine! The tourists come for the market, and I saw other Americans in Arezzo for the first time this past weekend. We are so obvious and easy to spot…from across the Piazza you can see a group and think..yeah..they’re definitely American. My friend Lyndsay and her roommate Allie are staying in the next town came to Arezzo for the market and I got to meet up with them. It was really great to see someone from home here! After they left I went exploring! I just started walking and found all kinds of great stuff...there are cute little piazzas and churches everywhere. I think I found a place where they are excavating something…old haha. I also stumbled upon the cemetery…WOW. I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life. It is enormous. There are all kinds of different levels and staircases all over the place and chapels. I felt like a kid on a playground..and really, REALLY wanted to play a huge game of hide and seek there…but don’t worry...my better judgment will stop me. I’ll put pictures of that up soon. It is so incredible. We’ve also discovered a Blockbuster in town haha and my roommates and I rented a couple movies. Fun fact, they sell popcorn in chip bags, pre-popped, because no one has microwaves here! In other exciting news… we just booked a hostel in Venice for 3 nights this weekend! Can’t wait to go there…Love you all :)
Baci,
J
It’s raining again in Arezzo…We had a couple days of sun and now we’re back to the rain. It might snow tomorrow which will be…interesting. Today was the first day of Italian class and I’m so excited! We mostly did logistical stuff…but then we learned gestures. Italians love their gestures. We also learned some fun facts about Arezzo! For example, there are only 7 exorcists authorized by the pope in the whole world, and one of them is the priest at the big duomo here. The past couple days in Arezzo have been beautiful. It’s been chilly, but so sunny! And, two exciting things happened in Arezzo this weekend. Since it’s the first of February, the gelato stores all over town have opened up! Mmm mm..so good. I love gelato and crepes with nutella. Also, every first weekend of the month there is a big antique fair and the streets are flooded with vendors with all kinds of interesting stuff. They have really beautiful old furniture and fixtures and paintings and jewelry and the most ridiculous fur coats…everything you can imagine! The tourists come for the market, and I saw other Americans in Arezzo for the first time this past weekend. We are so obvious and easy to spot…from across the Piazza you can see a group and think..yeah..they’re definitely American. My friend Lyndsay and her roommate Allie are staying in the next town came to Arezzo for the market and I got to meet up with them. It was really great to see someone from home here! After they left I went exploring! I just started walking and found all kinds of great stuff...there are cute little piazzas and churches everywhere. I think I found a place where they are excavating something…old haha. I also stumbled upon the cemetery…WOW. I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life. It is enormous. There are all kinds of different levels and staircases all over the place and chapels. I felt like a kid on a playground..and really, REALLY wanted to play a huge game of hide and seek there…but don’t worry...my better judgment will stop me. I’ll put pictures of that up soon. It is so incredible. We’ve also discovered a Blockbuster in town haha and my roommates and I rented a couple movies. Fun fact, they sell popcorn in chip bags, pre-popped, because no one has microwaves here! In other exciting news… we just booked a hostel in Venice for 3 nights this weekend! Can’t wait to go there…Love you all :)
Baci,
J
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