Hey all. This week was pretty uneventful, but great, of course. Also good, because... Christine had her baby. His name is Owen MacManus. And from the pics he seems pretty darn beautiful.
So what happened this week.
Monday, Tuesday all very uneventful. Wednesday was the big Two year gig with Bryan, so we went out to dinner and did gifts. I had some great gnocci and pork, and he had gnocci and rabbit. He tried to convince me to get the rabbit, and our convo went something like this.
"Just get the rabbit. Have you ever had it?"
"No, have you?"
"No, but I tasted it. It's good, really like chicken."
"I can't have it. I had a stuffed animal rabbit I slept with daily as well as a pet rabbit. It would be like eating Silas for dinner."
"Well I am gonna get it. Serve me up some Silas, waitress."
The food was great, as it always is here. Except the rabbit had this artery thingy in it and B face tried to chew it. It was all rubbery and gross. Rabbit arteries = slightly nauseating. After dinner, we went back and made espressos in the new espresso pot I had gotten him. Espresso tastes that much better when made from a new silver pot.
Thursday morning we have italian at 9. It was pretty slick outside as it had rained that night. As I don't have any rain-proof footwear, I doned my tried and true flip flops. The ones that are so worn that my toes have almost rubbed right through the rubber sole. Anyway, while we were walking to class, I remembered how terrible flip flops are on slick city cobble stones. They sucked in Boston, they sucked here too. I was sliding all over the place and nearly fell about oh, 806 times or so. As I was slopping and sliding all over Piazza della Republic, I suddenly had a very big slip, if you know what I mean. Well, I went and broke my flip flop. My foot went right through the soggy, worn leather thong. I looked ridiculous hobbling to school on a busted shoe, it looked like I had a terrible gimp. Bryan walked really fast, and I just tried to slide along really fast behind him. By the time we got there, he was ready to give me a piggy back, and I just took of the shoe once I got inside and into the stairwell. After class, and after the walk home, my foot was black from falling out of the shoe and landing naked on the cobbles. Delicious. So farewell sweet 6 dollar flipflops, I loved you well.
In light of my inappropriate rain footwear, I finally went and bought some sneakers. I had bought those terrible bronze ones, and finally exchanged them for some nice, euro style ascics. I still don't like sneakers though. Bryan thinks sneaker stores make me cranky, and they do. They look touristy, they don't go with anything, and they are poorly designed for women. Probably because we'd rather buy more exciting shoes than boring old sneakers. Anyway, I got them. I want them to get dirty so they aren't so blazing white and I can rock them as the italian chicks do.
Most people are away this weekend, but alot of us stayed behind as well. Midterms ( I can't believe already!) are this week, as well as two projects. We figured we best just hunker down and get some work done. So yesterday Andrew, Bryan and I went to the Uffizi, saw 'Venus on the Half Shell', as Andrew calls it, by Boticelli, as well as a few Leonardos, more Botticellis, some cool Mannerist stuff and the Venus of Urbino. All good stuff I've been waiting to see.
Last night we all went to Michael Collins in Piazza della Signoria, or all of us who weren't away. It's an 'Irish' pub that has this great live band that plays on Friday nights. Haley and I got there before the band set up, and it was dead. We got a table, some drinks, and met up with the boys who came later. And BOOM, WHAM as soon as the band set up it was packed like a tin of sardines. The band plays beetles and the rolling stones and some beach boys and kinks and stuff like that and they're good. Halely and I were those girls who got to the front of the gently swaying crowd and just went ballistic. I'm sure everyone thought we were toast, but we weren't at all -- just having a pretty fun time. By the end of the night, I was drenched in sweat. I cooled down with a nice cider, which is my absolute thirst quenching fave. That night must have been the first time that I have ever seen anyone crowd surf to a beach boys song.
Today was supposed to be 'Productive Day' but of course I slept until 11, ate, bummed around, kinda went to studio, left, and went with B to pick out a stuffed animal. I selected a really soft aligator. See, I have misplaced (not eternally lost) my stuffed animal bunny, who many of you have had the pleasure to meet or see or whatever. Anyway, he has been gone for some time, and I needed some soft creature to cuddle with at night. I figure the aligator, rather than the bear, will repsect bunny's memory in that I am not trying to replace him. Plus, an aligator is more damn fresh than a bear.
Jackie is comming in a week. Needless to say I am excited. She gets here on Saturday, we'll hang out here for the day, and the next day we leave for GREECE. I can already taste the bacclava and see the blue waters. From Athens we'll go to Santorini and Mykonos and back to Athens, and then Florence on the 8th. Be prepared for some wild and crazy blog updates involving my wild and crazy best, miss. Jacqueline A. John. P.S. the flight costs were slightly ridiculous.
Okay, see, nothing too thrilling about this week. But fun in it's own right. Time to go book some hostels/hotels for Greece.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Venezia with the Ladies
Yesteray Meredith, the resident get-your-ass-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn girl, woke me up at 5:00 a.m. I rolled over and told her to go away, I was up. An hour later we headed off to the train station at Santa Maria Novella and caught the train to Venice.
It was Me, Mayo, Meridith, Court and Haley. Five fabulous donnas all ready to hit the ancient city. The train ride down was rather long, and we had to transfer at Bologna. The train from Bologna to Venice was extremely crowded. We were standing, trying to find seats and noticed that all these old folks had their stuff in the seats next to them. They saw us, standing there, waiting to sit down, and did not offer to remove their crap. We had to ask them several times if we could sit down before they even acknowledged us. Yes we are American, but we bought a ticket to, you smelly old snobs. We ended up sitting at different places within the car. Meredith had the unfortunate circumstance to sit next to a woman who, as she puts it, made it her life-goal not to shower or bathe. Apparently evertime she moved, a stench would emmenate from her self, and make Meredith nautious. I was very thankful I sat next to Courtney, who I knew had showered that morning and was devoid of stank.
We rolled into Venice around 10. It was incredibly bright and blinding outside. Court and I opted to get our faces painted in the spirit of Carnevale. She got this nice, plaisley like green swirly gig on the side of her face. I, on the other hand, had the side of my face covered in pink lip gloss, and subsequently doused in glitters of every color. Silver, bronze, gold, green and red. It looked like a drag queen giraffe had been painted on my cheek, with the neck extending up along the bridge of my nose and the head being on my forehead. I was so bright with the sun reflecting off my glittery face, that I gave everyone who was around me a sunburn.
Venice was Wonderful. When we got there it was empty and we had the place to ourselves. The streets are very narrow, Rachel-scaled. You come out of a narrow street, and pow, a small canale, or to be exact, a rio. All the buildings are covered in a kinda black stuff, from being around the water. But it wasn't like I had heard. Everyone had complained that it was smelly and filthy. I found the opposite. It smelt like the ocean -- that brackish salty smell. And the dirtiness was just from being around the water. The canals were impeccibly clean, as were the streets. I loved every moment of the day.
We wondered the streets and eventually found San Marco... the world of tamed pigeons. It was awesome. I had remarked to Courtney, who makes fun of my strange obsession with pigeons, that all the little birds in Venice were very fat. Well, San Marco is why they are so well-fed. People grab crackers or cookies or buy bags of corn seed to feed to the pigeons. We took all the snack food we had, crushed them in our hands and sprinkled the crumbs on our sleeves. Instantaneously, pigeons fly up and perch on your arms, shoulders, even head and eat. It wasn't gross... we even got Haley to do it. They were very soft, with these little warm bellies and warm little feet. They would even make noises when they landed on you - little cooing sounds. We did this for about an hour. And we made it out poop-free.
There were alot of Veneitans dressed in old period outfits... gowns and of course, the trademark masks. Vendors lined the streets and Grand Canale, selling souvenirs and lots of glittery disguises. Carnevale was supposed to be going on, but we think it's more of anight thing. It was mostly people just wondering around enjoying the sun.
Probably the best thing we did was rent a Gondola. Best Ever. It was 100 euro for a five person hour ride and it was worth every cent. Our gondola man looked like Billy Bob Thornton, but not as freaky, and he gave us a little history of Venice as we went. Going through the small canals was special, as it was very quiet compared to the streets that were filled with foot traffic. Our gondola man knew everyone too -- the construction workers, the other boat men, people on the streets. Mayo bent over to look in river under the Bridge of Sighs and she lost her sunglasses. We all sighed in sympathy, but it was okay, they were cheapos- easily replaced. We passed the birthplace of Marco Polo, and Casanova's residence. Just small, indiscreet buildings along the way. It was an amazing ride that we did not want to end. I can see how Venice is said to be romantic. I mean, I was with 5 ladies, but it was a great date none-the-less.
At around 5, we decided to go home. We had been walking for 7 hours straight, after all. If you can get there, go to Venice. It was definitely worth all those griping italians on the train ride there.
It was Me, Mayo, Meridith, Court and Haley. Five fabulous donnas all ready to hit the ancient city. The train ride down was rather long, and we had to transfer at Bologna. The train from Bologna to Venice was extremely crowded. We were standing, trying to find seats and noticed that all these old folks had their stuff in the seats next to them. They saw us, standing there, waiting to sit down, and did not offer to remove their crap. We had to ask them several times if we could sit down before they even acknowledged us. Yes we are American, but we bought a ticket to, you smelly old snobs. We ended up sitting at different places within the car. Meredith had the unfortunate circumstance to sit next to a woman who, as she puts it, made it her life-goal not to shower or bathe. Apparently evertime she moved, a stench would emmenate from her self, and make Meredith nautious. I was very thankful I sat next to Courtney, who I knew had showered that morning and was devoid of stank.
We rolled into Venice around 10. It was incredibly bright and blinding outside. Court and I opted to get our faces painted in the spirit of Carnevale. She got this nice, plaisley like green swirly gig on the side of her face. I, on the other hand, had the side of my face covered in pink lip gloss, and subsequently doused in glitters of every color. Silver, bronze, gold, green and red. It looked like a drag queen giraffe had been painted on my cheek, with the neck extending up along the bridge of my nose and the head being on my forehead. I was so bright with the sun reflecting off my glittery face, that I gave everyone who was around me a sunburn.
Venice was Wonderful. When we got there it was empty and we had the place to ourselves. The streets are very narrow, Rachel-scaled. You come out of a narrow street, and pow, a small canale, or to be exact, a rio. All the buildings are covered in a kinda black stuff, from being around the water. But it wasn't like I had heard. Everyone had complained that it was smelly and filthy. I found the opposite. It smelt like the ocean -- that brackish salty smell. And the dirtiness was just from being around the water. The canals were impeccibly clean, as were the streets. I loved every moment of the day.
We wondered the streets and eventually found San Marco... the world of tamed pigeons. It was awesome. I had remarked to Courtney, who makes fun of my strange obsession with pigeons, that all the little birds in Venice were very fat. Well, San Marco is why they are so well-fed. People grab crackers or cookies or buy bags of corn seed to feed to the pigeons. We took all the snack food we had, crushed them in our hands and sprinkled the crumbs on our sleeves. Instantaneously, pigeons fly up and perch on your arms, shoulders, even head and eat. It wasn't gross... we even got Haley to do it. They were very soft, with these little warm bellies and warm little feet. They would even make noises when they landed on you - little cooing sounds. We did this for about an hour. And we made it out poop-free.
There were alot of Veneitans dressed in old period outfits... gowns and of course, the trademark masks. Vendors lined the streets and Grand Canale, selling souvenirs and lots of glittery disguises. Carnevale was supposed to be going on, but we think it's more of anight thing. It was mostly people just wondering around enjoying the sun.
Probably the best thing we did was rent a Gondola. Best Ever. It was 100 euro for a five person hour ride and it was worth every cent. Our gondola man looked like Billy Bob Thornton, but not as freaky, and he gave us a little history of Venice as we went. Going through the small canals was special, as it was very quiet compared to the streets that were filled with foot traffic. Our gondola man knew everyone too -- the construction workers, the other boat men, people on the streets. Mayo bent over to look in river under the Bridge of Sighs and she lost her sunglasses. We all sighed in sympathy, but it was okay, they were cheapos- easily replaced. We passed the birthplace of Marco Polo, and Casanova's residence. Just small, indiscreet buildings along the way. It was an amazing ride that we did not want to end. I can see how Venice is said to be romantic. I mean, I was with 5 ladies, but it was a great date none-the-less.
At around 5, we decided to go home. We had been walking for 7 hours straight, after all. If you can get there, go to Venice. It was definitely worth all those griping italians on the train ride there.
Milano
Hi Guys,
For some reason, the format of the blog is in italian right now. Hopefully this won't affect what I post.
It's been beautiful here in Florence and Italy lately. Not to rub it in, but I hear it's been snowy and near zero temps at home. We're comming in around 55 degrees daily, and today when I was walking around I went sans jacket, just a sweater. Very sunny and mild.
Last weekend our whole arch studio took an overnight trip to Milan, a.k.a. Milano. Upon arrival, I was desperate to find the Milano cookie factory, but someone informed me that they were probably made in the States back on the ol' Pepperidge Farm, so I soon gave up the pursuit.
Milan is about a 3.5 hour train ride north. It was a pretty pleasant ride, as we had our own reserved cabin of 6 people. We got there, and headed immediately to our hostel, which was quite nice as far as hostels go. After we dropped our things and washed up etc., and after I took a tripple dose of cough medicine, we got on the metro and went to this enormous architecture expo. Think home depot gone mad.
The exhibit was cool, and the complex it was in was cooler. It was based on this mile long linear walk, with people movers. Along the axis, were different buildings, like branches off the trunk of a tree. In each branch was a warehouse with different themes: construction materials, lighting, etc. I liked the building better than the exhibits, but it was fun regardless. I was coughing alot though because it was cold. Surprise.
We left, and headed back to the hostel for a rest and stuff. Then a bunch of us headed out to dinner. I thought it was a Chinese restaurant because we were talking about going to one, and everyone that worked there was Asian. I felt incredibly dumb and non p.c. when someone told me it was Italian, just with Asian waitstaff. The food was cheap, good, and very satisfying.
After dinner, most people headed out to meet our crit at the ice bar, a bar made completely out of ice. You pay 17 euro for a drink and these enormo silver cape-coats to stay warm. I opted out, because if I hacked up a lung during normal temperatures, I sure would just evict my whole insides coughing if I went. I'm sorry I missed out, as I hear out crit got a little 'silly', and beloved germ-freak Meredith licked a subway pole, but it was probably better I stayed behind. Plus, they have a larger one in Rome, so when we visit again, I'll be sure to pay it a visit.
The next day was fun. We trekked around Milan, and saw the architecture and sights. We were going to go into this post-war, rationalist museum, but the place and surrounding gardens was closed down. The day before they had found a bomb from World War II burried in the gardens. They were calling in the police to ensure that the little guy wouldn't explode and take all of Milan with it. Instead, we went to this huge medieval castle that Napoleon had used as a barracks, and to the Duomo of Milan. The Duomo is a large gothic church. It's rare to find the gothic style in Itlay, because it never really took off there. But because Milan is so close to the rest of Europe, it took a liking to it and built this incredible cathedral. It looked like one of those drip-sand castles where you pour water mixed with sand into peaks. Very intricate and sculptural. In front of the Duomo, the boys tried to kick the pigeons, which has become an pastime. Bryan apparently got his foot on two of them. I like the pigeons. They are interesting because they are this little animal that depends entirely on the man-made city. Sure they are flying rats, but I like them.
All in all, the trip was pretty uneventful, but nonetheless fun and oh so educational. Oh, and I saw the first ever Prada store.
I rencently bought a pair of bronze nike sneakers with velcro and a red swoosh. I bought them at footlocker here, and I only bought them because people keep telling me I can't walk around in my smelly old mocassins (which I wear daily, rain or shine, so they were worth every cent.) It's true they are not so good in the rain, and yes, they are a bit unsupportive, but I hate wearing sneakers for everyday walking. I feel so touristy wearing them. I can't rock the sweet sneakers and tight tapered jeans like the Itlian girls here. I'm not so sporty/trendy. I do like the boots, but I'm having trouble finding a pair I enjoy. Anyway, so I bought these bronze kicks and have decided I don't want them because they have a likeness to bowling shoes. So now I am stuck with an 80 euro credit at footlocker because they don't do returns. Yes, they were 80 euro and that is incredibly cheap for sneakers here. I am so picky about sneakers anyway. Oh man, I just went on a rant about shoes. Forgive me. But now you know some of the daily woes I concern myself with.
Our first project for studio is due soon. We're supposed to redo the Piazza di Cestello. Currently, it is a parking lot in front of the San Frediano church. The premise is we have to take out the cars, and make it so that's it better, generally, and so that it can accomodate a temporary book market. Normally, this would be a fabo project. It's light, and fun, and etc. However, when you are in Italy, you don't want to do anything that requires time away from being out in Florence. You fall into the Italian lifestyle of take-it-easy far too easily.
Alright, time to pump out a site model for San Frediano. Should be loads of fun.
For some reason, the format of the blog is in italian right now. Hopefully this won't affect what I post.
It's been beautiful here in Florence and Italy lately. Not to rub it in, but I hear it's been snowy and near zero temps at home. We're comming in around 55 degrees daily, and today when I was walking around I went sans jacket, just a sweater. Very sunny and mild.
Last weekend our whole arch studio took an overnight trip to Milan, a.k.a. Milano. Upon arrival, I was desperate to find the Milano cookie factory, but someone informed me that they were probably made in the States back on the ol' Pepperidge Farm, so I soon gave up the pursuit.
Milan is about a 3.5 hour train ride north. It was a pretty pleasant ride, as we had our own reserved cabin of 6 people. We got there, and headed immediately to our hostel, which was quite nice as far as hostels go. After we dropped our things and washed up etc., and after I took a tripple dose of cough medicine, we got on the metro and went to this enormous architecture expo. Think home depot gone mad.
The exhibit was cool, and the complex it was in was cooler. It was based on this mile long linear walk, with people movers. Along the axis, were different buildings, like branches off the trunk of a tree. In each branch was a warehouse with different themes: construction materials, lighting, etc. I liked the building better than the exhibits, but it was fun regardless. I was coughing alot though because it was cold. Surprise.
We left, and headed back to the hostel for a rest and stuff. Then a bunch of us headed out to dinner. I thought it was a Chinese restaurant because we were talking about going to one, and everyone that worked there was Asian. I felt incredibly dumb and non p.c. when someone told me it was Italian, just with Asian waitstaff. The food was cheap, good, and very satisfying.
After dinner, most people headed out to meet our crit at the ice bar, a bar made completely out of ice. You pay 17 euro for a drink and these enormo silver cape-coats to stay warm. I opted out, because if I hacked up a lung during normal temperatures, I sure would just evict my whole insides coughing if I went. I'm sorry I missed out, as I hear out crit got a little 'silly', and beloved germ-freak Meredith licked a subway pole, but it was probably better I stayed behind. Plus, they have a larger one in Rome, so when we visit again, I'll be sure to pay it a visit.
The next day was fun. We trekked around Milan, and saw the architecture and sights. We were going to go into this post-war, rationalist museum, but the place and surrounding gardens was closed down. The day before they had found a bomb from World War II burried in the gardens. They were calling in the police to ensure that the little guy wouldn't explode and take all of Milan with it. Instead, we went to this huge medieval castle that Napoleon had used as a barracks, and to the Duomo of Milan. The Duomo is a large gothic church. It's rare to find the gothic style in Itlay, because it never really took off there. But because Milan is so close to the rest of Europe, it took a liking to it and built this incredible cathedral. It looked like one of those drip-sand castles where you pour water mixed with sand into peaks. Very intricate and sculptural. In front of the Duomo, the boys tried to kick the pigeons, which has become an pastime. Bryan apparently got his foot on two of them. I like the pigeons. They are interesting because they are this little animal that depends entirely on the man-made city. Sure they are flying rats, but I like them.
All in all, the trip was pretty uneventful, but nonetheless fun and oh so educational. Oh, and I saw the first ever Prada store.
I rencently bought a pair of bronze nike sneakers with velcro and a red swoosh. I bought them at footlocker here, and I only bought them because people keep telling me I can't walk around in my smelly old mocassins (which I wear daily, rain or shine, so they were worth every cent.) It's true they are not so good in the rain, and yes, they are a bit unsupportive, but I hate wearing sneakers for everyday walking. I feel so touristy wearing them. I can't rock the sweet sneakers and tight tapered jeans like the Itlian girls here. I'm not so sporty/trendy. I do like the boots, but I'm having trouble finding a pair I enjoy. Anyway, so I bought these bronze kicks and have decided I don't want them because they have a likeness to bowling shoes. So now I am stuck with an 80 euro credit at footlocker because they don't do returns. Yes, they were 80 euro and that is incredibly cheap for sneakers here. I am so picky about sneakers anyway. Oh man, I just went on a rant about shoes. Forgive me. But now you know some of the daily woes I concern myself with.
Our first project for studio is due soon. We're supposed to redo the Piazza di Cestello. Currently, it is a parking lot in front of the San Frediano church. The premise is we have to take out the cars, and make it so that's it better, generally, and so that it can accomodate a temporary book market. Normally, this would be a fabo project. It's light, and fun, and etc. However, when you are in Italy, you don't want to do anything that requires time away from being out in Florence. You fall into the Italian lifestyle of take-it-easy far too easily.
Alright, time to pump out a site model for San Frediano. Should be loads of fun.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Roma
Hi Everyone,
Sorry I have not written in some time; things have been a little busy here, what with traveling and our school working picking up a bit. Thankfully, even our busy days here, however, would have been our easiest back in Bristol.
Two weekends ago Bryan and I went to Rome. We left on a Saturday afternoon, as we had a field trip to this famous monastary on Friday with our Architecture in Context class. We went to the train station, and found the first train leaving from Firenze. We thought, yeah, maybe the trip with take 2 hours or so. Well, it took almost 4. The non-express train stops at every little town along the way to Rome, so it never gets up to full speed, it the trip is always puncuated with these little stops. We were stir crazy by the time we got there, but we got there nonetheless.
We headed straight towards the Campidoglio. What hit me instantly was the scale change from Florence. Rome was huge... big streets, big buildings, lots of cars and not so many vespas. People say that Rome is dirty. It's not dirty, it's just a big city. It's no dirtier than New York or Boston.
On the way towards the Campidoglio, we passed a small side street. We saw this hulking building in the distance, silhouetted by the evening sky. Bryan was like, oh my is that the Coloseum? I said, no way, but it was. We took a slight detour, and checked it out. It was incredible, enormous. I just stared at it and couldn't believe that this got built so long ago, just with a ton of elbow grease, so to speak. And the Coloseum was just there, like everything in Rome. By 'there' I mean, the Romans just learned to live around and adapt to this ancient thing in their city. The Colseum is now a giant rotary. They are so used to living with ancientness, that it gets absorbed into their daily lives.
We continued on, and crossed a road that went over a sea of ruins. Lots of old columns and foundations and arches... a field of ancient Roman ruins that were roped off. After this, we came upon the Monument to Emmanuel Victor, the first king of unified Itlay. It sat on this giant hill, let's call it a minimountain. It was just a structure of all white columns, all white stone, with exceptional lighting. I took lots of photos, as was everyone else, but I kept hacking because I've had this terrible cold. Everyone and their grandma kept staring.
Beyond the monument, we finally came upon the Campodoglio by Michaelangelo. It is up on this minimountain as well, and you have to climb lots of shallow stairs to get to the top. At the top, there are three buildings. Two flank either side of a piazza, and are at slight angles, so that they screw with the perspective. The third building faces the entire piazza, and it has a fountain and it's own set of glorfifeid steps. The whole thing is absolutely stunning, with pale yellowish stone and intricate tile inlays all over the piazza. There was a wedding taking place when we got there, and we were able to watch the bride descend the steps and come down back into Rome.
We stayed here for awhile, sketching and wondering around. I kept complaining that my butt was cold from sitting on the stone. We decided to head to our hostel at this point.
Our hostel was in a seedy area, near the trainstation. I think it was Rome's China Town. The hostel was called 'hostel beautiful', which it was anything but, but we got our own room and bath, which was essential. We ate some delcious chicken scallopene from a nearby restaurant, and called it an early night. We woke up early, and moved on to find the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, and the Spanish Steps.
On the way, we snagged some croissants and San Pelligrino orange drinks for breakfast. Of course, the drinks had tops where you need an opener. Bryan tried hitting them against all the ancient buildings we passed, to no avail. We had these drinks and no way to drink them. Finally we had to stop and buy a cheap souvenir opener. It worked, but barely. Just when we openened them, we stumbled upon the four fountains. Once again, the ancient stuff here just appears like whammo! Ancientness!
We ate lunch outside the church, and waited for them to open. It was so tiny inside, but the ceiling is so intricate and scuplted and perfectly white. I was so inspired, I figured out how to work the video setting on my camera and yes, I caught the gorgeousness on camera. Stay tuned.
Afterwards, we finally found the Spanish Steps. They were alot of them, and we ran down and back up. Bryan made me take a picture of him next to a palm tree. It's warmer there so they are all over the place. As we were running back up the steps, I kept coughing up phelgm, and so I had to spit. So I spat all over the Spanish Steps. I can immagine what this looked like to people who saw me.
The whole area of the Steps is really nice. The higher part, the top of the steps, has this boulevard running along it -- lined with trees and gorgeous views of the entire city. You can see the Vatican, and it's enormo -- we plan to come back and see that again. I think this was my favorite part. My favorite part besides seeing the nuns. I love seeing nuns. I see them in Florence sometimes too. I don't really see nuns at home. Here, they walk around arm-in-arm, chatting and moving slowly. I like that about them. They are very historic part of this historic city.
After this, we decided we wanted to go home. We payed extra for an express train, and boarded. It was so nice... no one was on it, and we got free newspapers that we couldn't read, free candies, drink offers. Bryan asked me why no one was on the train, and I said, Oh well, it's a Sunday people must not travel on Sundays. Idiot. Turns out we were on a First Class train for half the trip, and when the ticket man came, we got the boot to the much more crowed, hotter, plebian second class train. Anyway, we got home in 1.5 hours all in one piece.
Since then, we've been to Milan, but I'll write that in a different entry. I write these long winded accounts, and writing about one city tuckers me out.
At home we had an episode today. We awoke to find a dead pigeon on the floor of our pigeon-poop coated lightwell patio thingy. It was very sad. Mayo took the dead thing outside and put it in a dumpster and Meredith got upset because she wanted to take a picture of it. Today is Valentine's day, and Bryan got me a gorgeous bouquet of roses and white lillys... i love them both alot, as well as a box of italian chococlates. He's such a good boy. Tonight is a girls night, all 8 of us are going to trek in our stilettos to a little trattoria for dinner. I'm suped, and I'm getting dessert god damn it.
Okay, I'm out. I've got some trip planning to do.
Rachel
Sorry I have not written in some time; things have been a little busy here, what with traveling and our school working picking up a bit. Thankfully, even our busy days here, however, would have been our easiest back in Bristol.
Two weekends ago Bryan and I went to Rome. We left on a Saturday afternoon, as we had a field trip to this famous monastary on Friday with our Architecture in Context class. We went to the train station, and found the first train leaving from Firenze. We thought, yeah, maybe the trip with take 2 hours or so. Well, it took almost 4. The non-express train stops at every little town along the way to Rome, so it never gets up to full speed, it the trip is always puncuated with these little stops. We were stir crazy by the time we got there, but we got there nonetheless.
We headed straight towards the Campidoglio. What hit me instantly was the scale change from Florence. Rome was huge... big streets, big buildings, lots of cars and not so many vespas. People say that Rome is dirty. It's not dirty, it's just a big city. It's no dirtier than New York or Boston.
On the way towards the Campidoglio, we passed a small side street. We saw this hulking building in the distance, silhouetted by the evening sky. Bryan was like, oh my is that the Coloseum? I said, no way, but it was. We took a slight detour, and checked it out. It was incredible, enormous. I just stared at it and couldn't believe that this got built so long ago, just with a ton of elbow grease, so to speak. And the Coloseum was just there, like everything in Rome. By 'there' I mean, the Romans just learned to live around and adapt to this ancient thing in their city. The Colseum is now a giant rotary. They are so used to living with ancientness, that it gets absorbed into their daily lives.
We continued on, and crossed a road that went over a sea of ruins. Lots of old columns and foundations and arches... a field of ancient Roman ruins that were roped off. After this, we came upon the Monument to Emmanuel Victor, the first king of unified Itlay. It sat on this giant hill, let's call it a minimountain. It was just a structure of all white columns, all white stone, with exceptional lighting. I took lots of photos, as was everyone else, but I kept hacking because I've had this terrible cold. Everyone and their grandma kept staring.
Beyond the monument, we finally came upon the Campodoglio by Michaelangelo. It is up on this minimountain as well, and you have to climb lots of shallow stairs to get to the top. At the top, there are three buildings. Two flank either side of a piazza, and are at slight angles, so that they screw with the perspective. The third building faces the entire piazza, and it has a fountain and it's own set of glorfifeid steps. The whole thing is absolutely stunning, with pale yellowish stone and intricate tile inlays all over the piazza. There was a wedding taking place when we got there, and we were able to watch the bride descend the steps and come down back into Rome.
We stayed here for awhile, sketching and wondering around. I kept complaining that my butt was cold from sitting on the stone. We decided to head to our hostel at this point.
Our hostel was in a seedy area, near the trainstation. I think it was Rome's China Town. The hostel was called 'hostel beautiful', which it was anything but, but we got our own room and bath, which was essential. We ate some delcious chicken scallopene from a nearby restaurant, and called it an early night. We woke up early, and moved on to find the San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, and the Spanish Steps.
On the way, we snagged some croissants and San Pelligrino orange drinks for breakfast. Of course, the drinks had tops where you need an opener. Bryan tried hitting them against all the ancient buildings we passed, to no avail. We had these drinks and no way to drink them. Finally we had to stop and buy a cheap souvenir opener. It worked, but barely. Just when we openened them, we stumbled upon the four fountains. Once again, the ancient stuff here just appears like whammo! Ancientness!
We ate lunch outside the church, and waited for them to open. It was so tiny inside, but the ceiling is so intricate and scuplted and perfectly white. I was so inspired, I figured out how to work the video setting on my camera and yes, I caught the gorgeousness on camera. Stay tuned.
Afterwards, we finally found the Spanish Steps. They were alot of them, and we ran down and back up. Bryan made me take a picture of him next to a palm tree. It's warmer there so they are all over the place. As we were running back up the steps, I kept coughing up phelgm, and so I had to spit. So I spat all over the Spanish Steps. I can immagine what this looked like to people who saw me.
The whole area of the Steps is really nice. The higher part, the top of the steps, has this boulevard running along it -- lined with trees and gorgeous views of the entire city. You can see the Vatican, and it's enormo -- we plan to come back and see that again. I think this was my favorite part. My favorite part besides seeing the nuns. I love seeing nuns. I see them in Florence sometimes too. I don't really see nuns at home. Here, they walk around arm-in-arm, chatting and moving slowly. I like that about them. They are very historic part of this historic city.
After this, we decided we wanted to go home. We payed extra for an express train, and boarded. It was so nice... no one was on it, and we got free newspapers that we couldn't read, free candies, drink offers. Bryan asked me why no one was on the train, and I said, Oh well, it's a Sunday people must not travel on Sundays. Idiot. Turns out we were on a First Class train for half the trip, and when the ticket man came, we got the boot to the much more crowed, hotter, plebian second class train. Anyway, we got home in 1.5 hours all in one piece.
Since then, we've been to Milan, but I'll write that in a different entry. I write these long winded accounts, and writing about one city tuckers me out.
At home we had an episode today. We awoke to find a dead pigeon on the floor of our pigeon-poop coated lightwell patio thingy. It was very sad. Mayo took the dead thing outside and put it in a dumpster and Meredith got upset because she wanted to take a picture of it. Today is Valentine's day, and Bryan got me a gorgeous bouquet of roses and white lillys... i love them both alot, as well as a box of italian chococlates. He's such a good boy. Tonight is a girls night, all 8 of us are going to trek in our stilettos to a little trattoria for dinner. I'm suped, and I'm getting dessert god damn it.
Okay, I'm out. I've got some trip planning to do.
Rachel
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