Today we went to visit San Gimignano. I was a gorgeous day to visit the medieval town in Italy. Clear skies, warmth, sunny weather; a perfect day for sight-seeing and touring. We left Fiesole by coach bus and 8:30 this morning and were in San Gimignano by 10.
Bob took us on one of his quick tours through the city. We entered through the Porta San Giovanni which is one of the original five gates into the walled city. Bob pointed out little shops along the way to our first stop, little interesting places to visit and browse the merchandise. Our first stop was at the Piazza della Cisterna. It has a water well in the middle of the piazza that dates back to the 13th century. From there we came to the Piazza del Duomo.
Here Bob went and purchased tickets for us into the church Santa Maria Assunta. This church was simply beautiful on the inside. The walls of the church are filled with frescoes depicting the Old and New Testaments. The best part of the church is the depiction of hell and heaven on two of the arches in the church. The arch depicting hell is very graphic in its depiction of the seven deadly sins. There is one part of the fresco that has a woman being raped by a demon; another part shows the gluttonous being force-fed food. Back when people couldn't read and depended on the frescoes to tell them the stories, the depiction of hell in Santa Maria Assunta would be a great deterrent.
Upon leaving the church, Bob took us up to this old 13th century castle. We climbed one of the remaining towers and that's where I got some of the best landscape pictures. When I upload my album you'll be able to see what I'm talking about. With the clear day we had you can see for miles from this tower.
Then Bob took us to one of the other churches in town, Chiesa di San Agostino. Inside the 13th century church are frescoes down by Benozzo Gozzoli depicting the life of St. Augustine. There is also a little chapel inside the church, San Bartolo, with three statues depicting the virtues faith, hope, and charity. Here is where Bob's tour ended and the group split.
I first went with Nikki into this linen store and almost bought something for my Grandma but I couldn't decide. I then walked up the street, looking into shops, peering at post-cards. I bought this really pretty necklace at this one shop that sold a bunch of really great jewelry. Then, walking alone along the main street I saw Bob coming from the opposite way. He told me that Betsy, Ania, and Allyson had headed toward the co-op near where we were dropped off to pick up some lunch. I headed that way to meet up with them.
We picked up some bread, brie, boar sausage, Pringles, a bottle of Vernaccia wine, pesto, and peach juice. We took our food back up to the fort and had ourselves a little picnic. We had such a great time, the four of us, sitting in the sun, enjoying the food and having a great time. Afterward, we laid down in the grass and took a little nap. Others from our group joined us after a while and took a nap too.
Around 3ish, the four of went took off and walked around town again. We stopped and got gelato and went to the bathroom at this little shop, bought some postcards at this touristy shop and headed back toward the bus. Before lunch, Betsy, Allyson, and Ania tried some wines and bought a few bottles. They took me there after I met up with them and I bought a bottle of Chianti and Vernaccia to take back home with me. We boarded the bus at 3:45 and headed back toward Fiesole.
Most of us slept on the bus ride back. We headed up toward Villa Bonelli after departing the bus and waited for dinner.
Dinner tonight was not the greatest. We had a gnocchi dish for the first course with was okay but not great. For the second course, we had roasted potatoes, omelets, and cooked prosciutto. It wasn't very appetizing for me. Luckily we had tiramisu for dessert. Dr. Mary Fox joined us for a little bit after we ate and we chatted with her for a while.
Ania, Eldon, Bob, and I joined Dr. Fox for dinner at Etrusca after we left La Reggia. She ordered dinner for herself while the rest of us ordered gelato, Bob ordered ananas (pineapple). We shared a bottle of wine, many great stories, and great company. With the exception of Ania, we had limoncello for our after dinner drink. I had a blast talking with Dr. Fox about all sorts of different topics. It really was a great night preceded by a great day.
I'm going to go to the History of Science Museum tomorrow with Allyson and Adam as it's his last day in Italy. So, I'm exhausted now and probably a little bit tipsy from all the good alcohol I've had today so I'm going to bed. Buonanotte!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A day of agony
Achooo! I'm still sick. I woke up this morning actually feeling the worst I've been all week. My throat was sore, my nose was all stuffed up, and I was just plain sick. The night before I had Jill french braid my hair into pigtails. This morning I took them out and then put my hair up in a half-pony. I sat next to Eldon at breakfast this morning and as my back was to the door, a few people had to do double-takes because they didn't know it was me sitting next to Eldon. It's nice to know that by just changing you hairstyle you can shake things up a bit.
We had our Art & Architecture class this morning at 11. Claudia gave us back our midterms and explained the grades to us. I got an A/B and I was happy with that. But some people were not happy with their grade and complained. After class was over, some people stayed after and talked with Claudia about it. When we met up at 3:30 for the second half of our class at the San Lorenzo Church, Claudia told us that she re-examined our tests and re-evaluated our grades. Basically, my A/B will now be an A-.
I was happy with my grade and did not complain. What happened in the classroom was something I really hate. People started confronting Claudia in class, in front of everyone. That's not how these types of situations should be handled. I felt very uncomfortable with all the tension in the room. I can't stand confrontations like those because you're forcing the teacher to take a stand to control the room and no one comes out the winner. I was surprised that we could continue with the rest of the class as easily as we did. Those situations are ones I would rather be as far away from as I possibly can. But, what's done is done and in the past.
Touring San Lorenzo Church was great. San Lorenzo Church is a church made by Brunelleschi for the Medici family. There is so much Medici history in the church, and three Medici's buried there. Donatello did most of the artwork and sculpture inside the church as he was a close friend to Cosimo the Elder who patronized Donatello. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the 1st Renaissance church in Florence but everything was beautiful. We even were able to visit the newly opened museum attached to the church. Overall, it was a great experience and I learned a lot about the Renaissance style.
We had dinner early tonight because some of the guys were going to a late night soccer game. Dinner was again fantastic. We had a great pasta course, chicken and salad for the second course, and tiramisu for dessert.
I'm now back in my room, preparing for an early night as we're leaving for San Gimigano tomorrow at 8:30. As I'm also still trying to get over my cold. I'm going to bundle up and go to be early. I'll take a ton of pictures tomorrow to add to my blog for everyone to see. Amore e perdere di tutti voi.
We had our Art & Architecture class this morning at 11. Claudia gave us back our midterms and explained the grades to us. I got an A/B and I was happy with that. But some people were not happy with their grade and complained. After class was over, some people stayed after and talked with Claudia about it. When we met up at 3:30 for the second half of our class at the San Lorenzo Church, Claudia told us that she re-examined our tests and re-evaluated our grades. Basically, my A/B will now be an A-.
I was happy with my grade and did not complain. What happened in the classroom was something I really hate. People started confronting Claudia in class, in front of everyone. That's not how these types of situations should be handled. I felt very uncomfortable with all the tension in the room. I can't stand confrontations like those because you're forcing the teacher to take a stand to control the room and no one comes out the winner. I was surprised that we could continue with the rest of the class as easily as we did. Those situations are ones I would rather be as far away from as I possibly can. But, what's done is done and in the past.
Touring San Lorenzo Church was great. San Lorenzo Church is a church made by Brunelleschi for the Medici family. There is so much Medici history in the church, and three Medici's buried there. Donatello did most of the artwork and sculpture inside the church as he was a close friend to Cosimo the Elder who patronized Donatello. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the 1st Renaissance church in Florence but everything was beautiful. We even were able to visit the newly opened museum attached to the church. Overall, it was a great experience and I learned a lot about the Renaissance style.
We had dinner early tonight because some of the guys were going to a late night soccer game. Dinner was again fantastic. We had a great pasta course, chicken and salad for the second course, and tiramisu for dessert.
I'm now back in my room, preparing for an early night as we're leaving for San Gimigano tomorrow at 8:30. As I'm also still trying to get over my cold. I'm going to bundle up and go to be early. I'll take a ton of pictures tomorrow to add to my blog for everyone to see. Amore e perdere di tutti voi.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
The Medici
Today I had history class down town. We met at the Piazza della Signoria and went into the Medici Palace. For some reason it was free to tour the palace today. Luciana said something about it being because the last Medici declared in her will that the people should be able to see the paintings/sculptures that the Medici's collected. So we went into the Medici Palace.
We first had to go through security and then check our backpacks. Then we found out that the tour Luciana scheduled for us was mixed-up. We were supposed to have an English guide but because of a computer glitch there wasn't one scheduled. So we decided to take the Italian guide instead. But, before our tour was scheduled, we looked around most of the public areas of the palace.
There is a lot of really great art and history inside the palace. I was amazed at all I saw there today. When it was time to go on the tour we went back to the entrance of the palace and caught up with our guide. She took us through private passages, up narrow, twisting stairs, and into secret rooms. Even though the tour was in Italian, the guide was kind enough to speak quick summaries to us in English. I was actually able to understand some of the Italian that she spoke. She also took us above the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento (‘Room of the 500’)this large meeting room and we saw how the ceiling was able to self-support itself without the use of columns.
The best part about the whole tour was when we were able to go into this secret room. Adjacent to the Salone is Francesco de’Medici’s tiny, precious, windowless studiolo (‘study’), also designed by Vasari. It is filled with secret cupboards containing glass, precious stones and coins, and the walls hold a collection of paintings and frescoes about the natural sciences, a testimony to fine Florentine Mannerist decoration (http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=2041). That was the little blurb I could find on the room, but seeing it in person was amazing. It had three secret doors, a secret window, and secret cupboards behind paintings. All the paintings/frescoes in the room had a purpose and reason for where they were and what they meant. Four paintings depict the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) while four other paintings depict cold, hot, humid, and dry. But the placement of each painting was what made it all come together. The for elements were surrounded by the four other things to make everything interconnected. I can't seem to describe it and I haven't found anything online to help me but it was the most fascinating thing that I saw today. I had such a blast.
After the private tour, finished viewing the rest of the Medici Palace. Class lasted three hours but the extra time was definitely worth it. After class, I split up from the group and walked to the Supermarket along the #7 bus route. I picked up some chocolate and then hoped the #7 bus up to Fiesole. Language class was pushed back to 4pm for some reason so I had 2 hours of down time. I just rested as my cold was not any better. I had been sneezing and sniffling all morning and it seemed to have gotten worse throughout the day.
Language class was fun. We learned some more verbs and how to conjugate them in the third person. We also played a game with the two teams we have. I'm on Team B and so far we are ahead of Team A 4-3. After class I went back to the room and lied down for a while.
Dinner was at La Reggia tonight. Adam's family was back from their trip to Rome so they joined us as well as the other Adam who came to Florence during SMU's February break. We had a great pasta dish, turkey and rosemary potatoes for the second course, and then the creme caramel for dessert. I barely ate half my dessert as it's not the greatest dessert.
Upon returning to Villa Bonelli I took a shower hoping I'd feel better afterward. I didn't, I'm actually feeling more stuffed up. I'm gonna take another allergy pill before I go to bed. Hopefully it helps. Anyway, after my shower, Jill french-braided my hair in pigtails so tomorrow my hair will be kinky. We'll see how it turns out. I'm now going to end this entry in my blog and call it a night.
Amore e perdere tutti voi! Ciao!
We first had to go through security and then check our backpacks. Then we found out that the tour Luciana scheduled for us was mixed-up. We were supposed to have an English guide but because of a computer glitch there wasn't one scheduled. So we decided to take the Italian guide instead. But, before our tour was scheduled, we looked around most of the public areas of the palace.
There is a lot of really great art and history inside the palace. I was amazed at all I saw there today. When it was time to go on the tour we went back to the entrance of the palace and caught up with our guide. She took us through private passages, up narrow, twisting stairs, and into secret rooms. Even though the tour was in Italian, the guide was kind enough to speak quick summaries to us in English. I was actually able to understand some of the Italian that she spoke. She also took us above the ceiling of the Salone dei Cinquecento (‘Room of the 500’)this large meeting room and we saw how the ceiling was able to self-support itself without the use of columns.
The best part about the whole tour was when we were able to go into this secret room. Adjacent to the Salone is Francesco de’Medici’s tiny, precious, windowless studiolo (‘study’), also designed by Vasari. It is filled with secret cupboards containing glass, precious stones and coins, and the walls hold a collection of paintings and frescoes about the natural sciences, a testimony to fine Florentine Mannerist decoration (http://www.theflorentine.net/articles/article-view.asp?issuetocId=2041). That was the little blurb I could find on the room, but seeing it in person was amazing. It had three secret doors, a secret window, and secret cupboards behind paintings. All the paintings/frescoes in the room had a purpose and reason for where they were and what they meant. Four paintings depict the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) while four other paintings depict cold, hot, humid, and dry. But the placement of each painting was what made it all come together. The for elements were surrounded by the four other things to make everything interconnected. I can't seem to describe it and I haven't found anything online to help me but it was the most fascinating thing that I saw today. I had such a blast.
After the private tour, finished viewing the rest of the Medici Palace. Class lasted three hours but the extra time was definitely worth it. After class, I split up from the group and walked to the Supermarket along the #7 bus route. I picked up some chocolate and then hoped the #7 bus up to Fiesole. Language class was pushed back to 4pm for some reason so I had 2 hours of down time. I just rested as my cold was not any better. I had been sneezing and sniffling all morning and it seemed to have gotten worse throughout the day.
Language class was fun. We learned some more verbs and how to conjugate them in the third person. We also played a game with the two teams we have. I'm on Team B and so far we are ahead of Team A 4-3. After class I went back to the room and lied down for a while.
Dinner was at La Reggia tonight. Adam's family was back from their trip to Rome so they joined us as well as the other Adam who came to Florence during SMU's February break. We had a great pasta dish, turkey and rosemary potatoes for the second course, and then the creme caramel for dessert. I barely ate half my dessert as it's not the greatest dessert.
Upon returning to Villa Bonelli I took a shower hoping I'd feel better afterward. I didn't, I'm actually feeling more stuffed up. I'm gonna take another allergy pill before I go to bed. Hopefully it helps. Anyway, after my shower, Jill french-braided my hair in pigtails so tomorrow my hair will be kinky. We'll see how it turns out. I'm now going to end this entry in my blog and call it a night.
Amore e perdere tutti voi! Ciao!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
SNOW!!!!!!!
Rise and shine!!! This morning I had my early class, Italian Literature. The group of us are sitting in the lounge waiting to go to class when we look out the window and see that it's raining. Only, it looked like really heavy rain. But when we all left Villa Bonelli to walk to the classroom we realized that it was snow. It was snowing in Fiesole! A bunch of us made the comment that we flew over 4000 to escape from snow and here it was in Italy. Not only was it snowing, albeit lightly, it was very cold as well.
Lit went well. We got our midterms back and I got an A/B on it. We started reading Petrarch's sonnets as well. I like his style of poetry. It's very vivid images and even could be considered romantic, even though that era was 500 years in the future. I woke up even sicker than yesterday, so I was sneezing and very out of it in class today. After literature we had language. We started working on indefinite articles. At the end of class she gave us back our midterms for language. I got an A on that one, WooooHoooo!!!!! So far so good when it comes to the midterms.
After classes, I was feeling even more like crap so I decided to not go anywhere today as it was now raining out. I just wrapped up in my blankets and surfed the net for the rest of the afternoon. I also ate like six oranges and finished my orange juice. I got as much Vitamin C as my body could hold so hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
We went down to JJ's for dinner. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a coke. The burger had onions and BBQ sauce on it but other than that it was really good. I than ordered a "Blue SMU" as we call it; I think it has Malibu in it, but its color is blue hence the name. After that drink I walked back up to Villa Bonelli, took a shower, and am now blogging about my day. The most exciting thing that happened was the snow we got this morning.
Oh, yeah. I also filled out a couple of scholarship applications online and continued to fill out the Kwik Trip scholarship application I received. I have to meet for history class tomorrow at the Piazza della Signoria at 10 am. Afterward, I'm going to pay my deposit for skydiving and maybe do a little shopping. We don't have language class until 4 pm tomorrow for some reason so I have time to roam the city for a while. I think a bunch of us are meeting in the city after my history class for lunch somewhere but the plans are not concrete.
Well, I'm once again sneezing and feeling congested and all stuffed up. I just want to sleep and wake up healthy. Pray for me! Amore e perdere tutti voi. Ciao!
Lit went well. We got our midterms back and I got an A/B on it. We started reading Petrarch's sonnets as well. I like his style of poetry. It's very vivid images and even could be considered romantic, even though that era was 500 years in the future. I woke up even sicker than yesterday, so I was sneezing and very out of it in class today. After literature we had language. We started working on indefinite articles. At the end of class she gave us back our midterms for language. I got an A on that one, WooooHoooo!!!!! So far so good when it comes to the midterms.
After classes, I was feeling even more like crap so I decided to not go anywhere today as it was now raining out. I just wrapped up in my blankets and surfed the net for the rest of the afternoon. I also ate like six oranges and finished my orange juice. I got as much Vitamin C as my body could hold so hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
We went down to JJ's for dinner. I had a bacon cheeseburger with fries and a coke. The burger had onions and BBQ sauce on it but other than that it was really good. I than ordered a "Blue SMU" as we call it; I think it has Malibu in it, but its color is blue hence the name. After that drink I walked back up to Villa Bonelli, took a shower, and am now blogging about my day. The most exciting thing that happened was the snow we got this morning.
Oh, yeah. I also filled out a couple of scholarship applications online and continued to fill out the Kwik Trip scholarship application I received. I have to meet for history class tomorrow at the Piazza della Signoria at 10 am. Afterward, I'm going to pay my deposit for skydiving and maybe do a little shopping. We don't have language class until 4 pm tomorrow for some reason so I have time to roam the city for a while. I think a bunch of us are meeting in the city after my history class for lunch somewhere but the plans are not concrete.
Well, I'm once again sneezing and feeling congested and all stuffed up. I just want to sleep and wake up healthy. Pray for me! Amore e perdere tutti voi. Ciao!
Monday, February 16, 2009
Oh for the love of (achooo!)
Oh, Monday morning, the beginning of the week. I woke up this morning feeling like crap. My throat was sore, my nose was stuffed up, and my head just ached. Throughout the day the feeling of intense pressure in my head got worse. Now, as I type this, my head feels three sizes too big, my nose hurts from sneezing, and my eyes are burning. But enough about my symptoms, let's talk about my day.
Today, we had our midterm for Global Issues. Bob's test was not as difficult as I thought it could be. Thank goodness that I quickly skimmed one of our books we read for his class, though, otherwise I would have not known about three or four names that were on the test. It was only six questions on the books we read and the newspaper articles. No sweat.
After taking the test, I left and went back to Villa Bonelli and lied in bed all day because I was steadily feeling worse. I tried to take a nap, but I don't take naps. They make me cranky so I just rested in bed. I read some more, did a little Internet surfing, filled out a scholarship application, and rested. I dozed off right before dinner for a little bit but not too much.
Dinner was at Etrusca tonight. We had spaghetti with tomato sauce, pizza, and gelato for dessert. I was sneezing throughout dinner so when I came back to the room, I took some allergy pill. I'm going to call it an early night and go to bed very soon. Hopefully when I wake up in the morning I'll feel better. I need to go into Firenze tomorrow to take care of some business dealing with my trip to Interlaken and skydiving. We also are on our own for dinner so I'll probably catch an early dinner while I'm down there with the girls.
Amore e perdere tutti voi. Ciao.
Today, we had our midterm for Global Issues. Bob's test was not as difficult as I thought it could be. Thank goodness that I quickly skimmed one of our books we read for his class, though, otherwise I would have not known about three or four names that were on the test. It was only six questions on the books we read and the newspaper articles. No sweat.
After taking the test, I left and went back to Villa Bonelli and lied in bed all day because I was steadily feeling worse. I tried to take a nap, but I don't take naps. They make me cranky so I just rested in bed. I read some more, did a little Internet surfing, filled out a scholarship application, and rested. I dozed off right before dinner for a little bit but not too much.
Dinner was at Etrusca tonight. We had spaghetti with tomato sauce, pizza, and gelato for dessert. I was sneezing throughout dinner so when I came back to the room, I took some allergy pill. I'm going to call it an early night and go to bed very soon. Hopefully when I wake up in the morning I'll feel better. I need to go into Firenze tomorrow to take care of some business dealing with my trip to Interlaken and skydiving. We also are on our own for dinner so I'll probably catch an early dinner while I'm down there with the girls.
Amore e perdere tutti voi. Ciao.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Ah, surprises
Sunday dawned a bright, glorious day. Few clouds but a chilly temperature due to the wind. This morning I spent catching up on my homework for Global Issues tomorrow. We have our midterm for it tomorrow and I needed to finish the assignment before starting to study for it. After finishing the reading I watched a few back episodes of Grey's Anatomy online. Oh, I was crying like a baby during most of it as some parts were very emotional.
Around 1ish, Allyson comes and asks if Betsy and I wanted to join her and Ania in meeting Adam in Florence. Adam came here as a surprise for Michelle and we went to meet him in Florence, show him around a bit, and then bring him back up to Fiesole. So, the four of us head for Firenze and get off at the Duomo. We find Adam's hotel and then took him on a mini-tour of some of the sites in Firenze. After splitting up, Allyson, Adam, and I walk to the stazione to get bus passes. While we're paying for the passes (Adam needed one and I just ran out of my old pass), the #7 bus pulls out of the stazione. On that bus was the rest of the group that went to Venice this past weekend. Allyson and I couldn't believe that the surprise we were planning was ruined because of timing. The whole group found out Adam was here before we wanted them to. After catching the next #7 bus up to Fiesole, we walk into Villa Bonelli and were told that Michelle knew.
I listened to a bunch of stories about Venice and before we knew it it was time for dinner. We ate at Etrusca and had a great dinner of pasta and grilled chicken breast. Most of us had the gelato for dessert.
I now have to continue studying for this exam as Bob hasn't told us anything about it. I need to know the names of various people from the two books we're reading and the newspaper articles.
Around 1ish, Allyson comes and asks if Betsy and I wanted to join her and Ania in meeting Adam in Florence. Adam came here as a surprise for Michelle and we went to meet him in Florence, show him around a bit, and then bring him back up to Fiesole. So, the four of us head for Firenze and get off at the Duomo. We find Adam's hotel and then took him on a mini-tour of some of the sites in Firenze. After splitting up, Allyson, Adam, and I walk to the stazione to get bus passes. While we're paying for the passes (Adam needed one and I just ran out of my old pass), the #7 bus pulls out of the stazione. On that bus was the rest of the group that went to Venice this past weekend. Allyson and I couldn't believe that the surprise we were planning was ruined because of timing. The whole group found out Adam was here before we wanted them to. After catching the next #7 bus up to Fiesole, we walk into Villa Bonelli and were told that Michelle knew.
I listened to a bunch of stories about Venice and before we knew it it was time for dinner. We ate at Etrusca and had a great dinner of pasta and grilled chicken breast. Most of us had the gelato for dessert.
I now have to continue studying for this exam as Bob hasn't told us anything about it. I need to know the names of various people from the two books we're reading and the newspaper articles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
