Siena, Italy. That was the city of choice today; actually, there was no choice, Bob had this trip planned out already. Today dawned actually pleasant for once in Fiesole, but, too bad for us, we took a bus at 8 am and headed for Siena. The ride out of Fiesole and Firenze was so stop and go that my motion sickness almost did me in. I tried napping when we finally hit smoother traffic but even that didn't help. By the time the hour to hour-and-a-half bus ride was over I was ready to call it a day.
When we finally got to Siena and were able to disembark from the Coach bus we rode in, we waited for our tour guide and I was able to recover. Like six coach buses pulled into the parking lot we were waiting in in the half hour we waited for our tour guide. That didn't bode well for the tourist places we would be visiting today.
Chiara was our guide in Siena. She was a sight to behold. Purple coat, shoes, pants, purse, and umbrella. All purple. We were unable to lose her in a crowd.
Our first stop for the day was the Basilica of San Domenico, also known as Basilica Cateriniana. This is the church were St. Catherine and the Dominican nuns worshiped and prayed. Inside the basilica, there is a portrait of St. Catherine, painted during her life. The portrait now hangs where St. Catherine used to pray everyday. Also inside the basilica, there is an altar housing St. Catherine's head and another altar housing her right thumb with various other artifacts. We were unable to dally long in the basilica due tot he large number of tourists groups, but I went back before the end of the day and looked around some more. I also went into the gift shop and purchased a few items that may or may not become gifts so I will not tell you what it was that I bought. We were unable to take pictures inside the basilica.
After departing the Basilica of San Domenico, we headed down a street that crossed the street that leads towards Florence. There is a Y-shaped street in Siena where one arm leads towards Florence and the other towards Rome. Anyway, when we made it to the street that leads towards Florence, the Palazzo Salimbeni was in front of us. This palazzo is where three former family homes now house one of the first banks. The buildings are really gorgeous Renaissance style homes.
Walking down the street we came to a sculpture of a she-wolf suckling the infants Romulus and Remus. According to legend, Siena was founded by Senius, son of Remus, who was in turn the brother of Romulus, after whom Rome was named. Statues and other artwork depicting a she-wolf suckling the young twins Romulus and Remus can be seen all over the city of Siena (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena). I took a picture of the statue that will be posted later.
We continued on our walk, past the Piazza del Campo (which I will discuss later) and onto the Cathedral of Siena. The Cathedral is just gorgeous inside. I took a ton of pictures, which is great because I couldn't even begin to do the Duomo of Siena justice. Right before we got to the Cathedral, it started to rain. Most of us were hoping the rain would quit by the time we exited the Cathedral, but it didn't.
When we left the Cathedral we walked back to the Piazza del Campo. This is the site of the twice-yearly famous horse-race, the Palio, held around the edges of the piazza. It is also featured in the newest Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. I have a few pictures of the Piazza, but basically it is the principle public space in Siena, situated between the three hills that Siena is built on.
We ended the tour in the piazza and headed for lunch. All of us decided to eat at this really nice restaurant int he piazza and each of us enjoyed that meal greatly. After eating most of us went our separate ways. I walked back to the Basilica of San Domenico to look around some more by way of the road to Florence. We really only had about an hour after eating lunch to tour. Also, it was raining off and on so it wasn't the greatest day to see anything.
The bus ride back was not fun because it was again the stop-and-go movement that didn't help my upset stomach. We made it back to Fiesole around 4:30 pm.
We had dinner at La Reggia again at 7pm. Dinner was interesting. Thankfully, it didn't rain once we were back in Fiesole so the walk up the hill was as okay as it can be. The first course consisted of twirly pasta with meat. The second course was roasted potatoes and sliced turkey. Dessert was a huge flop/failure. They served us the creme caramel thing and panna cotta, neither of which any of us enjoy at La Reggia.
Upon returning to Villa Bonelli, some of us started to play cards again. Eight of us got involved in two separate games of Hearts while enjoying the fine wines from around the area. A group of people are thinking about going to Pisa tomorrow but I'm sick of being wet and not seeing anything so I'm staying in Florence. Ania, Allyson, and I are going to walk into Florence and just basically get lost for the day. We want to go to the San Lorenzo market to where they have the meat market. I would just love to see a part of Florence that I haven't seen before. Maybe we'll walk across the Arno River and explore that side of the city. But, if I'm going to be walking all day tomorrow I'm going to need some sleep. Buona notte!
P.S. Burnt Sienna is a pigment color used in painting. It is also the color of many of the walls in Siena. The name is derived from the Renaissance city, Siena, and is short for terra di Siena, "earth of Siena" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sienna).
Friday, February 6, 2009
Thursday, February 5, 2009
And the heavens opened up
Got to love Thursdays. I mean, we have our class that starts at 11 and then we get to tour a church or museum in the afternoon. It cannot get any better than that.
Thursday started off great with me having a wonderful night's rest and sleeping in until (gasp) 8:30. I got dressed, had a quiet breakfast, and came back to the room where I stayed until 10 working on my laptop. At 10, I grabbed my backpack and vacated the room so the maids could clean. I then sat in the lounge and read the assigned chapter from Gomorrah . While I was reading said chapter, title Women, I heard a noise. It sounded like really strong wind. I look up out the window and what do I see? That's right, rain. It was raining so hard outside for like 20 minutes before the sky cleared up. When we walked to class at 11 we had clear skies, not a hint of rain.
We were touring the Brancacci chapel this afternoon. We had an appointment at 3:45 and we couldn't be late. All of us went down early and ended up at the chapel a good half hour early. We were shown a movie of the chapel first that highlighted all the main points before we were allowed to see the chapel. We were only allowed 15 minutes in the chapel but that was all that we really needed. The church was almost destroyed in a fire in the 1700s but the chapel was restored to its greatness. There are frescoes of Masaccio and Masolini that are really elegant and great. My favorite is the fresco of Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden. It is either the first or one of the first to show such intense and vivid emotions on the face.
Anyway, after we left the chapel, a few of us walked back to the Duomo and around town for a little bit. While walking through the San Lorenzo market, the sky opened and it really started to rain. We got a little wet but the rain was off and on for about an hour. We hopped the bus back up to Fiesole at around 6 pm and made it back by 6:35. The four of us girls decided to just head up to La Reggia instead of heading back to Villa Bonelli. But, as we leave the bus, it is raining extremely hard again. I couldn't believe it. By the time we got to La Reggia, my pants we soaked through in the front as were my socks due to the mesh in my shoes. I was completely wet and cold.
Dinner was okay when you take into account most of us being wet. We had spaghetti with pesto (really yummmy) for the first course, omelets and salad (omelets not so yummy) for the second, and tiramisu for dessert. When we left La Reggia it was, thankfully, not raining and we made is back to Villa Bonelli without becoming soaked again. I immediately took a shower as I was soooo cold and am now in my pajamas and my fuzzy socks all nice and warm.
Tomorrow we go to Siena. I hope it doesn't rain while we're there but my Yahoo! weather says rain. I'm going to have to get a better umbrella as the two I brought with me are slightly defective and the one I bought over here broke. Oh well, that's what I get for buying the cheap stuff. Fino a quando la prossima volta.
Thursday started off great with me having a wonderful night's rest and sleeping in until (gasp) 8:30. I got dressed, had a quiet breakfast, and came back to the room where I stayed until 10 working on my laptop. At 10, I grabbed my backpack and vacated the room so the maids could clean. I then sat in the lounge and read the assigned chapter from Gomorrah . While I was reading said chapter, title Women, I heard a noise. It sounded like really strong wind. I look up out the window and what do I see? That's right, rain. It was raining so hard outside for like 20 minutes before the sky cleared up. When we walked to class at 11 we had clear skies, not a hint of rain.
We were touring the Brancacci chapel this afternoon. We had an appointment at 3:45 and we couldn't be late. All of us went down early and ended up at the chapel a good half hour early. We were shown a movie of the chapel first that highlighted all the main points before we were allowed to see the chapel. We were only allowed 15 minutes in the chapel but that was all that we really needed. The church was almost destroyed in a fire in the 1700s but the chapel was restored to its greatness. There are frescoes of Masaccio and Masolini that are really elegant and great. My favorite is the fresco of Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden. It is either the first or one of the first to show such intense and vivid emotions on the face.
Anyway, after we left the chapel, a few of us walked back to the Duomo and around town for a little bit. While walking through the San Lorenzo market, the sky opened and it really started to rain. We got a little wet but the rain was off and on for about an hour. We hopped the bus back up to Fiesole at around 6 pm and made it back by 6:35. The four of us girls decided to just head up to La Reggia instead of heading back to Villa Bonelli. But, as we leave the bus, it is raining extremely hard again. I couldn't believe it. By the time we got to La Reggia, my pants we soaked through in the front as were my socks due to the mesh in my shoes. I was completely wet and cold.
Dinner was okay when you take into account most of us being wet. We had spaghetti with pesto (really yummmy) for the first course, omelets and salad (omelets not so yummy) for the second, and tiramisu for dessert. When we left La Reggia it was, thankfully, not raining and we made is back to Villa Bonelli without becoming soaked again. I immediately took a shower as I was soooo cold and am now in my pajamas and my fuzzy socks all nice and warm.
Tomorrow we go to Siena. I hope it doesn't rain while we're there but my Yahoo! weather says rain. I'm going to have to get a better umbrella as the two I brought with me are slightly defective and the one I bought over here broke. Oh well, that's what I get for buying the cheap stuff. Fino a quando la prossima volta.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Ironically it happened twice
Wednesday, I woke up to a beautiful clear sky. I had a great breakfast of croissant, yogurt, and orange juice. I wrote Tuesday's blog this morning before while Betsy was out for a run. Then I went to History class at 10 where we discussed more on Florence's history. We have an exam next week in History, as well as language and literature. About ten minutes before class is over with I noticed it was darkening outside. Sure enough, when we leave the classroom and head back to Villa Bonelli, it starts to rain. Just as we get to the terrace of Villa Bonelli, it really starts to rain. Another day of rain.
I spent the next two hours, before language class, doing some reading. In language class we went over more info on the definite articles and how they're used. After class, I followed Ania and Allyson to the pastry shop we usually go to to get pizza, but it was closed today. We head back up the hill and stop in this other pastry shop. Ania got this, apparently, divine pastry and bought me an equally nummy donut. But, as we leave the pastry shop it starts raining again!!!!! I had said before class, as we were walking that the sky was clearing up a little bit, even though the cloud cover over Firenze was very heavy, but that it would probably rain again right after class. Low and behold it did!!! I cannot believe it.
I spent the rest of the afternoon before supper doing some more reading and taking a mini nap before Betsy came back from going into town and buying soccer tickets with the guys. The game's next Sunday in the afternoon. I have no inkling to see a game because I don't really know the rules so I wouldn't know what was going on.
We ate dinner at La Reggia tonight were dinner was, as always, great. Pasta for the first course, the roast beef and potatoes for the second course, and gelato for dessert. It was great and made even greater that it wasn't raining either before or after dinner. In fact, the sky was cloudless when we left Villa Bonelli to walk to La Reggia. We were able to see many stars and the moon.
Tomorrow, I have art class at 11 so I'm going to sleep in a little bit. I'm going to bed early and waking up late. Ciao!
I spent the next two hours, before language class, doing some reading. In language class we went over more info on the definite articles and how they're used. After class, I followed Ania and Allyson to the pastry shop we usually go to to get pizza, but it was closed today. We head back up the hill and stop in this other pastry shop. Ania got this, apparently, divine pastry and bought me an equally nummy donut. But, as we leave the pastry shop it starts raining again!!!!! I had said before class, as we were walking that the sky was clearing up a little bit, even though the cloud cover over Firenze was very heavy, but that it would probably rain again right after class. Low and behold it did!!! I cannot believe it.
I spent the rest of the afternoon before supper doing some more reading and taking a mini nap before Betsy came back from going into town and buying soccer tickets with the guys. The game's next Sunday in the afternoon. I have no inkling to see a game because I don't really know the rules so I wouldn't know what was going on.
We ate dinner at La Reggia tonight were dinner was, as always, great. Pasta for the first course, the roast beef and potatoes for the second course, and gelato for dessert. It was great and made even greater that it wasn't raining either before or after dinner. In fact, the sky was cloudless when we left Villa Bonelli to walk to La Reggia. We were able to see many stars and the moon.
Tomorrow, I have art class at 11 so I'm going to sleep in a little bit. I'm going to bed early and waking up late. Ciao!
Noah, where's the ark
Tuesday dawned an okay day after a crazy night for most of us here. A lot of people went out to J.J.'s for Joey's birthday and had a great time. It was when they came back that it affected me. All I remember hearing was this load crash. Not the type of crash you hear if glass falls and shatters but definitely like the crash you hear when something big falls. I thought to myself that I hope no one fell down or broke anything. I find out the next morning that Joey ran into one of the tables in the girls' hallway and that was what the loud noise was. Crazy.
I had my early class, 9 am for Italian Literature. Our teacher, Chiara, told us we would be having our midterm exam next week, yucky, but I guess they have to grade us somehow and tests are it. We read three more cantos from Dante before talking briefly about the exam. Two hours from the start of class, we started our Italian Language class, also taught by Chiara. Again, exam next week, only this time on Wednesday the second day of language classes. In language we went over masculine and feminine articles.
After class we all came back to Villa Bonelli. First, Ania, Allyson, and I went to this little pastry shop that sells pizza by the slice. Each of us picked up a little lunch and brought it back to Allyson's new room. Allyson's all by herself now and Ania and I joined her in her room for a couple hours after class.
Of course, it was around the time right after we get back to Villa Bonelli that it starts to rain again. My Yahoo! weather said light rain; this was no light rain but instead another downpour of rain. It wouldn't be soooo bad to have a rain a lot if we were given some variety. I mean, throw in a thunderstorm or two to mix things up a bit and make life a little interesting, please! Allora. Due to the rain, I was unable to go for my walk yesterday but hopefully will today as it is once again not raining so far this morning. Instead, I stayed in my room and sat on my laptop until we decided to go out for dinner.
As it was Tuesday, we were on our own for dinner. I didn't want to eat with the whole group and neither did a few others. Ania, Allyson, Betsy, and I decided to try the pizza place the guys went to last week, but when we were on the bus we missed our stop and thus decided to go all the way into town and eat at Za-Za again. When we get to Za-Za, we have to wait to see if they have room for us. The entire upstairs floor looks empty to me but I don't comment. Finally we're told that we can go eat and the waitress leads us down to the basement to this table in the corner. It's now going on 8 pm.
The basement is filled with Americans, that's the only language I hear being spoken. I felt kind of caged and hidden as if they didn't want anyone important to know that they serve Americans. But, after we finally decided what to order and our waiter took our order, we started to relax and have fun. We had ordered a 1/2 liter of the house white wine and finished it before we even got our food. It seemed, to me, to take a very long time to bring us our food, but when they did it was all together, not a plate here or there. Each of us ordered something different: Ania had pasta and clams; Allyson had a spicy, stuff pasta; Besty ordered seafood skewers, and I had fettuccine with pesto. We also order another 1/2 liter of the house wine, this time red.
We had a great time at the restaurant. We were able to relax, away from the group, and able to laugh over nothing. Just four girls have fun in a foreign city. We then finally asked for the check. Thank goodness for Betsy to have read the receipt because there were two charges that weren't ours. We told our waiter and he fixed it so no harm done but it was an extra 14 euro that was added to our bill. We left Za-Za saying next time we'll try elsewhere as we've been there twice now.
We started walking back to the bus stop then. We each wanted to get gelato for dessert so looked for a good place to buy some. On the way to the street with all the shops, we passed by these guys sitting on the sidewalk. As we passed, one of them said something along the lines of "I'll buy wine for love" or some other such nonsense while another neighed at us. All of us broke out laughing because it was just too hilarious to think that we were being neighed at.
We finally came to a gelato place and each order two scoops in the smallest dish. Turned out to be 6 euro each, a bit expensive, but it was good gelato. When we finally hopped on the bus it was closing in on 10 pm. There was like no one on the bus. A few people here and there but practically just the four of us. We continued in our way of laughing and talking while the rest of the bus was silent. We get back to Fiesole and decided not to join the others as we four are all exhausted and ready for bed.
Such was my day for Tuesday. Let's hope that Wednesday is a little better.
Mille e mille di questi giorni! (Thousand and thousand of these days.) Ciao!
I had my early class, 9 am for Italian Literature. Our teacher, Chiara, told us we would be having our midterm exam next week, yucky, but I guess they have to grade us somehow and tests are it. We read three more cantos from Dante before talking briefly about the exam. Two hours from the start of class, we started our Italian Language class, also taught by Chiara. Again, exam next week, only this time on Wednesday the second day of language classes. In language we went over masculine and feminine articles.
After class we all came back to Villa Bonelli. First, Ania, Allyson, and I went to this little pastry shop that sells pizza by the slice. Each of us picked up a little lunch and brought it back to Allyson's new room. Allyson's all by herself now and Ania and I joined her in her room for a couple hours after class.
Of course, it was around the time right after we get back to Villa Bonelli that it starts to rain again. My Yahoo! weather said light rain; this was no light rain but instead another downpour of rain. It wouldn't be soooo bad to have a rain a lot if we were given some variety. I mean, throw in a thunderstorm or two to mix things up a bit and make life a little interesting, please! Allora. Due to the rain, I was unable to go for my walk yesterday but hopefully will today as it is once again not raining so far this morning. Instead, I stayed in my room and sat on my laptop until we decided to go out for dinner.
As it was Tuesday, we were on our own for dinner. I didn't want to eat with the whole group and neither did a few others. Ania, Allyson, Betsy, and I decided to try the pizza place the guys went to last week, but when we were on the bus we missed our stop and thus decided to go all the way into town and eat at Za-Za again. When we get to Za-Za, we have to wait to see if they have room for us. The entire upstairs floor looks empty to me but I don't comment. Finally we're told that we can go eat and the waitress leads us down to the basement to this table in the corner. It's now going on 8 pm.
The basement is filled with Americans, that's the only language I hear being spoken. I felt kind of caged and hidden as if they didn't want anyone important to know that they serve Americans. But, after we finally decided what to order and our waiter took our order, we started to relax and have fun. We had ordered a 1/2 liter of the house white wine and finished it before we even got our food. It seemed, to me, to take a very long time to bring us our food, but when they did it was all together, not a plate here or there. Each of us ordered something different: Ania had pasta and clams; Allyson had a spicy, stuff pasta; Besty ordered seafood skewers, and I had fettuccine with pesto. We also order another 1/2 liter of the house wine, this time red.
We had a great time at the restaurant. We were able to relax, away from the group, and able to laugh over nothing. Just four girls have fun in a foreign city. We then finally asked for the check. Thank goodness for Betsy to have read the receipt because there were two charges that weren't ours. We told our waiter and he fixed it so no harm done but it was an extra 14 euro that was added to our bill. We left Za-Za saying next time we'll try elsewhere as we've been there twice now.
We started walking back to the bus stop then. We each wanted to get gelato for dessert so looked for a good place to buy some. On the way to the street with all the shops, we passed by these guys sitting on the sidewalk. As we passed, one of them said something along the lines of "I'll buy wine for love" or some other such nonsense while another neighed at us. All of us broke out laughing because it was just too hilarious to think that we were being neighed at.
We finally came to a gelato place and each order two scoops in the smallest dish. Turned out to be 6 euro each, a bit expensive, but it was good gelato. When we finally hopped on the bus it was closing in on 10 pm. There was like no one on the bus. A few people here and there but practically just the four of us. We continued in our way of laughing and talking while the rest of the bus was silent. We get back to Fiesole and decided not to join the others as we four are all exhausted and ready for bed.
Such was my day for Tuesday. Let's hope that Wednesday is a little better.
Mille e mille di questi giorni! (Thousand and thousand of these days.) Ciao!
Monday, February 2, 2009
I really hate rainy Mondays
So, I wake up this morning in tip-top shape, ready for a new week, with lots of energy to keep me going. The first thing I notice is that it's a little chilly in the bathroom with the window open and that it's raining. Yah!!!! Rain!!!!! (Said in a sarcastic, monotone of voice.) Raining Mondays really suck. Walking to Global Issues, as taught by Bob, it wasn't raining or sprinkling so I didn't have to use my umbrella.
We don't really do much in Global Issues. Bob gives us the assignments for next week, we talk about the newspaper articles we were supposed to have read throughout the week, and then he asks if we have any questions on any of the reading. That's about it. I'm not used to this kind of course where everything is on the student. Bob told us to make sure we read up on Assisi, Lucca, and Siena (where we're going on Friday) because they will also be on the midterm exam in two weeks. My only question is what about the cities will be on the exam? What am I supposed to know? I'll have to ask Bob later as he wasn't at dinner tonight (but that's for later.)
After Global Issues it wasn't really raining either. We all went back to Villa Bonelli, waited for the maids to finish cleaning and went our separate ways. I pretty much sat in my room all day because soon after it started pouring out, really pouring. I wrote about Lucca and set up a table for my pedometer info which I'll post later. I fooled around in excel, learning how to do equations and sums in the program. I also called my papa and talked with him for a while. I was going to call my brother tonight but I'm not feeling so hot so I'll do it tomorrow.
Most of us were looking forward to dinner tonight. Today is Joey's birthday and tomorrow is Jill's birthday. Bob had set up a special surprise for them at dinner. We get to Etrusca to find out that Bob will not be dining with us tonight. I'm looking at Ania wondering how the little surprise will work out if Bob's not there. The owner of Villa Bonelli came and ate with us tonight and helped us figure a few things out.
First of all, we were served garlic pasta tonight, sooooo gooooood. Then our server, whose name escapes me, gave out a bottle of wine to the opposite end of the table. Four people got glasses of read wine and one person got a glass of white. It was really weird and random considering none of us ordered any. Laura (I think that's the name of the owner of Villa Bonelli) asked our waiter and she told us it was complimentary from the owner of Etrusca in honor of the birthdays. After dinner and dessert, champagne flutes were brought out for everyone and three bottles were open for a toast to the birthday people. We sang happy birthday, toasted all around, and drank down the three bottles. A fourth bottle was given to Joey and Jill to share for they were the birthday people.
It was a really amazing dinner and we all had an amazing time. Everyone's going out to J.J.'s tonight to celebrate but I'm not going to go because after I came back from dinner I was not feeling so well. Even after taking a shower I still don't feel so good. I've decided to call my brother instead, now if he only answers the phone. Amore a tutti voi, arrivederci.
We don't really do much in Global Issues. Bob gives us the assignments for next week, we talk about the newspaper articles we were supposed to have read throughout the week, and then he asks if we have any questions on any of the reading. That's about it. I'm not used to this kind of course where everything is on the student. Bob told us to make sure we read up on Assisi, Lucca, and Siena (where we're going on Friday) because they will also be on the midterm exam in two weeks. My only question is what about the cities will be on the exam? What am I supposed to know? I'll have to ask Bob later as he wasn't at dinner tonight (but that's for later.)
After Global Issues it wasn't really raining either. We all went back to Villa Bonelli, waited for the maids to finish cleaning and went our separate ways. I pretty much sat in my room all day because soon after it started pouring out, really pouring. I wrote about Lucca and set up a table for my pedometer info which I'll post later. I fooled around in excel, learning how to do equations and sums in the program. I also called my papa and talked with him for a while. I was going to call my brother tonight but I'm not feeling so hot so I'll do it tomorrow.
Most of us were looking forward to dinner tonight. Today is Joey's birthday and tomorrow is Jill's birthday. Bob had set up a special surprise for them at dinner. We get to Etrusca to find out that Bob will not be dining with us tonight. I'm looking at Ania wondering how the little surprise will work out if Bob's not there. The owner of Villa Bonelli came and ate with us tonight and helped us figure a few things out.
First of all, we were served garlic pasta tonight, sooooo gooooood. Then our server, whose name escapes me, gave out a bottle of wine to the opposite end of the table. Four people got glasses of read wine and one person got a glass of white. It was really weird and random considering none of us ordered any. Laura (I think that's the name of the owner of Villa Bonelli) asked our waiter and she told us it was complimentary from the owner of Etrusca in honor of the birthdays. After dinner and dessert, champagne flutes were brought out for everyone and three bottles were open for a toast to the birthday people. We sang happy birthday, toasted all around, and drank down the three bottles. A fourth bottle was given to Joey and Jill to share for they were the birthday people.
It was a really amazing dinner and we all had an amazing time. Everyone's going out to J.J.'s tonight to celebrate but I'm not going to go because after I came back from dinner I was not feeling so well. Even after taking a shower I still don't feel so good. I've decided to call my brother instead, now if he only answers the phone. Amore a tutti voi, arrivederci.
Super Bowl Sunday
When I woke up Sunday, it was to a cold and rainy day. I was at breakfast before almost everyone. Most of us went out to J.J.'s the night before. I left at midnight but others were out until later. So, being one of the first people awake, I had a wide variety of croissants and yogurt to choose from. The most important fact, though, was that I was able to sign up for laundry slots before anyone else.
I had not done laundry in two weeks and needed to wash my jeans. I signed up for 4 hours hoping it would be enough. The washer here has a very small capacity. I fit my three jeans, a sweatshirt, a pair of sweatpants, and two t-shirts in and the washer was packed. I was able to do only two load of laundry, plus some hand washing. I also tried the dryer out. The first load I put into the dryer, socks and underwear and my pajamas, dried completely after about 2 hours. The second load that had my jeans in only steamed my clothes. I had to hang my jeans up afterward on the heated towel rack to dry.
I had started doing laundry at around 9:45-10 o'clock. I stopped washing at 1 and drying at 3. After hand washing five shirts (my hands we soooo cold afterward) I hung these items up first on the heated towel rack. It took all morning and afternoon for some of these to dry and they still were a little damp. I hung up the wettest before dinner and when I came back they were finally dry. Thank goodness because I didn't have any clean jeans to wear.
So, while I was taking care of laundry, in between I was catching up on my reading assignments. I read the newspaper articles we are required to read, I read the assigned reading from my art and literature classes (Canto V in Dante's Inferno.) But I pretty much lounged in bed on the computer for most of the day.
Dinner at Etrusca was one to remember. We had been looking forward to Sunday dinner ever since Bob told us that we would be having burgers, Italian style. We had spaghetti with red sauce for the first course and then burgers and fries for the second. The burgers were spicier than they are in American but still soooooooo very gooooooood. Mmmmmmm. It was a great meal and most of us cleaned our plates fully. I've noticed before on past Sunday's that it seems everyone eats more on Sundays than on other days. I think it's because we have to fend for ourselves on Saturdays but that's just my opinion.
Funny word, opinion. Newspapers have opinion columns, discussions in class are based on facts and opinions, and people constantly ask for your opinion on this or that. Dictionary.com states that an opinion is:
1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3. the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.
4. Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.
5. a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion.
6. a favorable estimate; esteem: I haven't much of an opinion of him.
So there are many different ways to take the word opinion or use it. My blog here is my personal journal and opinion on whats happening here in Italy for the benefit of my family and friends back home. But I digress.
A bunch of the group went into town to watch the Super Bowl. I jokingly told them as they left that my money was on the Steelers. Turns out I was right. I didn't go with them and after hearing their stories about it I'm glad I didn't. The place they went to to watch the game was a small, hot room with a big screen TV. They said that there were limited commercials and the commentary was in Italian. I went to bed early instead of staying up to watch the game.
Now, to talk more about visiting Lucca on Saturday. Bob took us to three of the numerous churches in the walled city. Duomo di San Martino, Church of San Michele, and the Basilica di San Frediano were the three that we toured. I have many pictures of each of these in my slideshows. The album is labeled Assisi but the Lucca pictures are also posted there. We saw the tomb of St. Zita, the patron saint of maids and servants in the Basilica di San Frediano. We saw some very gorgeous artwork in each church and I felt very much in the presence of God.
In the Duomo di San Martino, there is this cedar-wood crucifix with the image of Christ that, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, and miraculously was conveyed to Lucca in 782. The story is that the ship carrying the cross came ashore and the cart driven by two oxen wandered into Lucca and that's where the cross remains. Now, I took artistic privilege with that last sentence. That's my very condensed version and could possibly be wrong in places.
I had a great time in Lucca. We were blessed with a warm sunny day which made the experience better. This Friday we're going to Siena and I hope the weather is just as great. I now have to get some homework done. More blogging tonight. Ciao!
I had not done laundry in two weeks and needed to wash my jeans. I signed up for 4 hours hoping it would be enough. The washer here has a very small capacity. I fit my three jeans, a sweatshirt, a pair of sweatpants, and two t-shirts in and the washer was packed. I was able to do only two load of laundry, plus some hand washing. I also tried the dryer out. The first load I put into the dryer, socks and underwear and my pajamas, dried completely after about 2 hours. The second load that had my jeans in only steamed my clothes. I had to hang my jeans up afterward on the heated towel rack to dry.
I had started doing laundry at around 9:45-10 o'clock. I stopped washing at 1 and drying at 3. After hand washing five shirts (my hands we soooo cold afterward) I hung these items up first on the heated towel rack. It took all morning and afternoon for some of these to dry and they still were a little damp. I hung up the wettest before dinner and when I came back they were finally dry. Thank goodness because I didn't have any clean jeans to wear.
So, while I was taking care of laundry, in between I was catching up on my reading assignments. I read the newspaper articles we are required to read, I read the assigned reading from my art and literature classes (Canto V in Dante's Inferno.) But I pretty much lounged in bed on the computer for most of the day.
Dinner at Etrusca was one to remember. We had been looking forward to Sunday dinner ever since Bob told us that we would be having burgers, Italian style. We had spaghetti with red sauce for the first course and then burgers and fries for the second. The burgers were spicier than they are in American but still soooooooo very gooooooood. Mmmmmmm. It was a great meal and most of us cleaned our plates fully. I've noticed before on past Sunday's that it seems everyone eats more on Sundays than on other days. I think it's because we have to fend for ourselves on Saturdays but that's just my opinion.
Funny word, opinion. Newspapers have opinion columns, discussions in class are based on facts and opinions, and people constantly ask for your opinion on this or that. Dictionary.com states that an opinion is:
1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty.
2. a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
3. the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion.
4. Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case.
5. a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion.
6. a favorable estimate; esteem: I haven't much of an opinion of him.
So there are many different ways to take the word opinion or use it. My blog here is my personal journal and opinion on whats happening here in Italy for the benefit of my family and friends back home. But I digress.
A bunch of the group went into town to watch the Super Bowl. I jokingly told them as they left that my money was on the Steelers. Turns out I was right. I didn't go with them and after hearing their stories about it I'm glad I didn't. The place they went to to watch the game was a small, hot room with a big screen TV. They said that there were limited commercials and the commentary was in Italian. I went to bed early instead of staying up to watch the game.
Now, to talk more about visiting Lucca on Saturday. Bob took us to three of the numerous churches in the walled city. Duomo di San Martino, Church of San Michele, and the Basilica di San Frediano were the three that we toured. I have many pictures of each of these in my slideshows. The album is labeled Assisi but the Lucca pictures are also posted there. We saw the tomb of St. Zita, the patron saint of maids and servants in the Basilica di San Frediano. We saw some very gorgeous artwork in each church and I felt very much in the presence of God.
In the Duomo di San Martino, there is this cedar-wood crucifix with the image of Christ that, according to the legend, was carved by his contemporary Nicodemus, and miraculously was conveyed to Lucca in 782. The story is that the ship carrying the cross came ashore and the cart driven by two oxen wandered into Lucca and that's where the cross remains. Now, I took artistic privilege with that last sentence. That's my very condensed version and could possibly be wrong in places.
I had a great time in Lucca. We were blessed with a warm sunny day which made the experience better. This Friday we're going to Siena and I hope the weather is just as great. I now have to get some homework done. More blogging tonight. Ciao!
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