Ciao Firenze!

I'm sad to say that this will be my final post from Italy. I feel like I have experienced so much in such a short amount of time; it's funny how that works. I have a whole new group of people that I consider to be friends for life. We each have extremely different personalities: personalities that sometimes clash and have occasionally caused some conflict. However, through those issues, we have all found our commonalities and created strong bonds. And that's what it's all about.

I have soaked up this culture, learning that some things make no sense at all and that some things just take some adapting. Yesterday, I decided to climb up to the top of the Duomo. I will admit that I got fairly dizzy and nearly passed out by the time I climbed the nearly 500 stairs. But once I got over my vertigo, I looked out onto a city that has become a vital part of me. I look in one direction and I see the Central Market, the other I see the Palazzo Vecchio, another I can see Santa Croce, and I can even see my apartment window in another direction. I circled the top of the Duomo for a few minutes, in part to catch my breath, but also to take in how much I have seen and experienced and how lucky I am to have had the opportunity to have this experience.

And now I will take the relationships that I have made and the many things that I have learned back home to reflect upon and share with others.

Ciao Firenze!

San Giovanni Day

There is something that changes in Italy when the sun sets. A city of tourists, traffic, and often a lot of chaos turns into a magical, peaceful, and memorable experience at night. I found this in Venice, and last night I found it right here at home in Florence.

Yesterday was San Giovanni Day (sort of Italy's version of The 4th of July, but not really). Italians, Americans, Germans, Asians, and so on lined up on the bridges and on the side of the Arno to witness the special moment in Florence. The fireworks began at 10 and lasted for about 45 minutes. There was nothing over-the-top about these fireworks: no loud obnoxious music, no huge God Bless Italy signs - just the company of friends (11 people that I have deeply bonded with and learned to appreciate), the beauty of Italy and the Ponte Vecchio, and the lights in the sky. It was perfect.

Last night is something that will stay with me forever. I feel like I am apart of this community. Each day that passes reminds me that this experience really is once in a lifetime. I know that I will come back (a lot), but it will never have the same feeling that it has now and I will never be with these same people in the same place ever again.

I plan on soaking up the next 2 days!

Ciao.

I love you Spritz!

Last night, we had our entire class and our professors over to the apartment for dinner... about 16 people. It was quite a feast: bruschetta (yes I made it and it was good again), bread and pesto, spaghetti carbonara, sushi, tiramisù, and Spritz's (my new summer love).

I decided to be the bartender for the evening (of course), and made my first official Spritz by myself. It's fairly simple... some Champagne (or sparkling wine), Aperol (the most important ingredient and something that I can't get in the States), fizzy water, some ice, and an orange. They were delicious! I am pretty loyal to my gin and tonic, but the Spritz has definitely taken its place while I am in Italy.

The evening was surprisingly successful, minus setting the oven mit on fire and sweating through the extremely humid night. Tom played guitar after we ate our tiramisù, and I relaxed to the tunes.

Ciao for now!

Jonathan with a Knife

I am the official Bruschetta man!

Elba

Up on the hill town.

Jackie's husband, Tom

Kelly and Lee on the beach - formerly known as The Wrestlers

'Twas on the Isle of Elba

It's funny how a bottle of Tanqueray can change your opinion about someone. I really did not have the highest regards for "The Wrestlers" at the beginning of this trip, but I saw a different side to them on the Isle of Elba. Now don't get me wrong... they are messy, big All-Americans, and occasionally (almost always) keep me up at night. However, they are good guys and definitely two people that I have bonded with over the past two weeks. From now on, I will try to refer to them by their real names: Kelly and Lee.

Now on to Elba! There is no place like Elba. Honestly, I really did not ever want to get off of that island. I would have been completely content there for the rest of my life... but my family and friends would have to come visit of course. The people are just happier in Elba. And how could they not be! They live on the most beautiful beach that I have ever seen and their daily life consists of the beach, bike rides, beautiful scenery, great food (seafood), very few American tourists (except for us), PURE HAPPINESS! Or, at least during the summer.

We spent the whole weekend there: eating dinner on the beach, drinking at least 4 or 5 spritz's a day, swimming with the fishys, walking around in the hill towns, drawing naked people at the beach, sleeping in an air-conditioned hotel with NO MOSQUITOES, and eating gelato! I think I will be spending every summer in Elba.

I will try to post pictures later today.

Off to class at the studio now. Ciao!

Biennale pictures

5 projectors at the Italian pavilion at the Giardini.

Web action at the Italian pavilion at the Giardini.

Cafe at the Giardini.

Bookstore at the Giardini.

Shadow wonderland at the Italian pavilion at the Giardini.

Kid's room at the Denmark pavilion at House #1 at the Giardini.

Again.

Mr. B's house at the Denmark pavilion at the Giardini.

At the Denmark pavilion/Mr. B's house at the Giardini.

Crazy projector action at the Italian pavilion at the Giardini.

Ring guy at the Russian Pavilion at the Giardini.

Memories at the Arsenale

Bookstore at the Arsenale

Shadow Sex at the Arsenale

La Biennale di Venezia

Venice is full of tourists, especially around St. Mark's square. The trick is to find the authentic places that are far enough away from the tourists and the Disneyland areas of Italy. And I have to say that we have been fairly successful in achieving those goals.

On Monday, we took the three hour train from Florence to Venice. There is simply no place like this - a city built on water. Everything that comes in and out of this place is by water. That means, every roll of toilet paper, every bottle of wine, every tourist, every block of Parmesan cheese, EVERYTHING! Our hotel was on the island of Lido, just across from the mainland of Venice and right next to the beach. Lido feels nothing like Venice, but it is definitely a nice place to escape to, where the tourists and pigeons don't run wildly through the streets.

Our trip to Venice was mostly for the purpose of walking through La Biennale di Venezia, an international art exhibition featuring some of the most cutting edge and visually stimulating peices in contemporary art. There are two parts to the Biennale: the Giardini and the Arsenale. The Giardini gardens feature about 30 pavilions of different countries, each with a very unique exhibition. From paintings and drawings to claymation and real to-scale houses illustrating something fun and corky about life, I saw a little bit of everything. Some of the peices allow for the audience to participate in the art. For example, one of the exhibitions included hundreds of free postcards of "Venice." But the pictures on the postcards were of things that had nothing to do with Venice. Some of you will be recieving those postcards soon...

The Arsenale, old shipyards and warehouses that used to build and fit the fleets of the Venetian Republic, was much more of an interactive exhibition with video, and peices that involved more patron participation.

Aside from the Biennale, we ate dinner in a not so touristy part of Venice, and took the boat at night back to Lido. Venice is a different city at night. It is quiet and romantic, peaceful and special. It is something that everyone should experience at least once in their lives. As the boat left Venice headed for Lido, the lights of Venice left me feeling tranquil, completely at ease and content with where I was going.

Ciao! Pictures of the Biennale soon...

All fixed

Mom took care of everything. No worries!

I lost my debit card today... not the best day.

Today has been quite a relaxing day. I stayed in bed until about noon... I needed to catch up on sleep after my exciting and expensive night in Rome.

It was such an odd feeling to come back to Florence yesterday. Florence is no longer as foreign as it was to me last week. I feel very comfortable here now; it is my summer home. Today, after forcing myself out of bed and spending too much time catching up on things on the Internet, I went for a long walk by myself around Florence. I crossed the Ponti Vecchio and walked along the Arno. I stood there for some time just trying to take it all in. There was something really special about today: a realization of how lucky that I am to have this opportunity to live and study in such a beautiful city and how much history that I have left to learn about the city.

Out of time now!

By the way... the guy sitting next to me at the Internet cafe is singing to his girlfriend on Skype. It is really funny.

Ciao!

We may not be able to communicate, but we sure can dance.

Rome was so much different than I had remembered it. Once you get away from all the tourists, it is an extremely fun city. After a long day of walking, we decided to take a taxi across the river to go to a bar. I was a little hesitant at first because I knew that I would wind up spending too much money... and I did.

We went to an area in Rome where there are many bars all right next to each other. The area reminded me of Galloway Village: it was in a low area with lots of trees and outdoor areas. The girls wanted Sangria and a shot to start off with. By the end of the night, or the early hours of the morning, we had gone through many pitchers of Sangria as well as many shots.

What we didn't know before walking into this bar was that it was actually a somewhat private party for one of the Italian members of the European Parliament who was running for re-election. We were the only Americans there. In fact, we were the only non-Italians there. But it wasn't a bad thing. They loved us! They announced over the PA, "Welcome United States." It could have just been that we spent the most money, but we were happy to have such a warm welcome from the Italians. We laughed and got up and danced with all of the Italians, including the man running for Parliament. I'm not sure that I have ever had that much fun at a bar.

We were the last to leave the bar, dancing with the bartenders until it was obvious that it was time to leave. So, we got in a taxi and made our way back to The Yellow for some much needed rest.

I like Rome now... I like it a lot!

Living Italian

Via dei Conti #6

This is the view from my bedroom window. It's a little courtyard, and about 300 pigeons wake me up every morning. I love it!

The Yellow

We just got to Rome early this morning. I wasn't really looking forward to it becuase I knew we would be visiting many of the sights that I have already seen... but it was a really great day and the weather was spectacular!

I am staying at The Yellow in Rome. I wouldn't exactly call it a hostel because it is so nice... but that's basically what it is. There are four people to a room and a bathroom. PLUS AIR CONDITIONING! It is such a luxury right now. But it really has not bothered me being without it in Florence.

Today we went to the Colosseum, The Pantheon, a lot of Fountains, had a great luch with wine and espresso as the desert. Yummy!! We passed by the Forum after leaving the Colosseum and plenty of churches and historical spots that I currently cannot remember. I nearly died crossing the street... I counted 10 honks from angry Italians. It made me laugh a little.

I'm running out of time on my free 30 minutes at the hostel. Please do not pay attention to grammatical/spelling errors in my posts... I don't have enough time to check it very closely.

Pictures soon. Ciao!

June 1-2

After a long day of traveling including barking dogs on planes, angry German flight attendants, and no sleep, I arrived in Florence on Monday. It's incredible, just as I had remembered it from the time that I was here a few years ago. I remember thinking how much I wanted to live here. And look at me now!

I was greeted by Todd, one of my professors, at the airport. We waited for some other students to arrive, and then took a taxi to our apartments. The taxi driver drove frantically. I remembered then that there are virtually no traffic laws in Italy... or at least none that make any sense to me. Todd dropped me off at my apartment and took the girls to their apartment at #12 Via Faenza. I buzzed the bell of my apartment at #6 Via del Conti. I was greeted by William, one of my roommates, and he took me up to the apartment on the fourth floor. The building is old and full of character. I walked through my apartment, which also has a long Italian name that I can't remember right now, and I was shocked by how big it was. I assumed before arriving that our apartments would be somewhat small and not very well kept... but that is not the case. There are four bedrooms for 6 guys, a large living and dining space, a kitchen, and another large dining room. I am sharing a room with a guy named Alex from Drury.

My roommates are huge... like wrestler size. Two of them actually are wrestlers, and I am slightly intimidated by them and a little annoyed by their All-Americanness. For example, one of the first things that they figured out was that the dining room table is a perfect spot for "beer-pong." Really? In Italy?!? I hope they forget about that... I don't think I can handle that. Aside from that, they seem like nice guys.

After getting settled in and taking a nap, we went over to our other professor Jackie's apartment for our welcome dinner. Her apartment is of course complete with high ceilings, tons of space, and is one of the best locations in Florence. It overlooks the Arno, the Ponti Vecchio Bridge, and the long hallway of the Ufitzi Gallery where many of Michelangelo's work hangs on the walls. It's unbelievable! I can't believe that I'm actually living here. After dinner, Jackie bought everyone gelato.... delicious! And then I went back to the apartment for some much needed sleep.

Day number 2 and I feel like I have been here for a week. My sleep schedule is all out of whack. I slept fairly well, except for the drunk boys that came in at 4:30 am. But it didn't bother me too much. I fell right back into a deep and much needed sleep.

We met in the morning on the steps of the San Lorenzo Church, conveniently located in our backyard basically. Jackie, Tom, and Todd took us on a tour of the city, stopping at important and historical spots. We walked up the Via San Gallo to a Silver exhibition, to look at some frescoes of "The Last Supper" by Andrea D. Bartola. They are not as famous as a Michelangelo, but still incredible. Then we walked down Via XXVII Aprile to the Piazza San Marco and on to the Piazzo della SS. Annunziata. From there you can see the Duomo as well as the top of the bell tower. Walking past the Duomo and down some other streets, we passed by Michelangelo's studio. Our final stop was at one of the main attractions in Florence, the Piazza della Signoira, where the fake David is and the Ufitizi gallery.

We had a couple hours for lunch and a break before we went to Jackie's apartment for our introduction to Jackie and Todd's classes. I'm running out of time at the Internet cafe... so I will have to stop there.

Hopefully pictures soon...