Sunday, January 14, 2007

As Promised....

Here is my blog via word document... it's kind of long, read it if you want. I will post this and then I will post a few photos as proof that I am actually here.

Buon Giorno! Okay so actually it’s 2am so it is the morning, but not really. I am here in Florence typing in my hotel room – the flights went very well…. I didn’t sleep much hence me being up at 2am. I tried to stay awake last night but I had been up for almost 28 hours and I couldn’t stop the eyelids from closing.

Italy is even better than I remembered it. My first cappuccino was at a bar down the street from the hotel we’re staying in… all that yummy goodness for a euro! My hotel room is small but cozy – I am up at the very tip top (I have to climb about four or five flights of stairs to get there) and I share a common bathroom with two other girls on our trip. Their room has a big queen bed and a big window, I think their room is nice, but compared to some of the other rooms it is very simple. There was some grumbling going on and I guess I don’t blame them… but at my advanced age there are more important things to complain about (finding a good cup of coffee, getting a date…).

Later on this morning there is breakfast! I love food, I love breakfast and I love coffee!!! I am in heaven! We will also be having a lecture on Renaissance history at the Lorenzo de Medici school and then going to the Duomo to spend time in the baptistery. Hopefully there will be time to wander around this afternoon and look at some of the shops… we went on a tour of the city last night and all those shops full of leather! Shoes, jackets, shoes! I just wanted to throw down all those pretty things and roll around naked in them! Sorry if that sparks a bad visual for you.

Tomorrow (today?) Friday the 5th is Stinky’s birthday. I think she’s six… yeah she must be because the last time I was here she would send me letters and I’m sure she must have been more than six months old at the time. If you see her give her a big squeeze for me.

I think I’m going to try to go back to sleep for a while.. if I can get a few more hours then I won’t be dying come this evening.

Friday, January 5th, 5:30 FIT* (*FIT = Florence Italy Time)

I am happy to report that this morning I did manage to go back to sleep for a few hours. Breakfast was terrific. I have pictures and I will post them as soon as I find a computer place with wireless internet. Today was long and it’s not over, well it could be over if I chose to just go to bed now but that’s not wise. I may go to dinner at the Chingale Bianca (White Wild Boar). For lunch today I had a mixed salad and a wood fired pizza with prosciutto and mushrooms. It was alright but I’ve had better. I sure hope all this walking I’m doing counteracts the eating… I also had pistachio gelato this afternoon.

Can I say one word about cramps – suckola. Just what I wanted for my first full day in Italy MENSTURAL CRAMPS! It is not fun… and for all of you there that know the toilets of Europe… enough said.

I supposed there are worse things, I could have the flu or a rash of some sort. I have to look on the bright side. I’M IN ITALY!

Currently I’m listening to my Renaissance CD’s for class. I better focus.
Ciao!

9:07pm
Two Italian men (separately) asked me for directions tonight when I was out looking for food. I couldn’t help them, but it was interesting being asked. I found a grocery store and bought one of my favorite things… limonata. It’s a lemon soda that is very tasty. You can get it in the US but only the San Pellegrino kind which is expensive. I bought the cheap bottle that was .69 cents… I topped that off with a can of tuna and that’s what you call a meal. I think I’m going to just eat a butt load at breakfast and live off the stores until the next day… well, maybe not.

I’m feeling a bit anti social. I get in that spot sometimes… I’m a little too old to hang with the students and a little too young to hang with the professors (not that young though). I bet it will pass… Tomorrow is a free day. I think I will explore and try to find some nice Italian leather boots and toothpaste for my friend Jefferson.

Saturday, 9:53 pm
On the eighth day God created meatballs marinated in a chianti sauce with homemade pasta. And Jen ate it and Jen said it was good… and She can die a happy woman.

Today I went to the Contemporary Art Museum in Prato which is just northwest of Florence. We (Min – a student and I) saw a retrospective of David Tremlett, he’s a British Artist I hadn’t heard of… some interesting, some not so much so.

When we got back into town we watched the La Bafana parade. I took many many photos (over 150) and will post some once I find wifi. I know it’s around but I haven’t had time. Tomorrow we’re off to Pisa for the day.

Right now I am really multitasking – I’m typing, listening to my iPod and watching the Italian version of dancing with the stars. It’s hard to tell who are the stars and who are the dancers… with the exception one guy who is the Jerry Springer of the Italian version
Now I think they’re having a dance off. I sure like the costumes.

Sunday, 11:01pm

Pisa was very nice. I had lasagna at the same place I had it before (in 2002).. I also had gnocci with pesto which was very good. On the ninth day god made gnocci pesto…

Luigi, a guy who works here at the hotel gave me a slice of his pizza tonight while I was waiting down in the lobby to do some research on the computer. I wonder if he’s single??? He is kind of cute in a Bob Hoskins sort of way (but not as old as Bob Hoskins is.).

Tonight I also found a Standa. It’s and Italian grocery store that I like a lot. I bought some prosciutto, salami, peppers, mozzarella and crostini (breadsticks). We had a happy hour sort of time in the room next door. Oh, I also found a 99 cent store (which reminded me of Matt) at which I bought a big-ass Peroni beer for guess???? 99 cents!!! You know how I love cheap beer! Peroni is not the best, but for 99 cents who cares! Maybe tomorrow I’ll find an internet place so I can post all this crap.

And someone tell Jefferson that I haven’t found his toothpaste yet.

1/8/07 11:44pm
I didn’t plan on staying up this late. Today was a yarn and food fest. I found the yarn shop and forked over 75 euros for a lot of pretty things for a scarf… tonight we had a group dinner at a restaurant on the other side of the Arno. Yikes! I must have eaten about a thousand points… artichokes and grana (cheese) spaghetti al pesto and Florentine steak… homemade tiramisu and wine??? I’m still full and it’s been almost three hours.

I found three tubes of toothpaste and I’m still on the lookout for more.

I better go to bed now, tomorrow is another busy day and then Wednesday it’s off to Venice, yay.

1/9/07 9pm
It’s all about me…
Today I bought some goodies. Two nice pashmina scarfs… One is supposed to be cashmere and the other is silk and cashmere… even if they aren’t that’s alright. I can pretend… I also bought a CD called Hot Party – I bought one back in 2002, they’re like the ones in the US (I can’t remember the name of them) but they have all the latest hits some are in Italian and some are in English.

Tomorrow we’re going to Venice so I better get to bed soon. I have to knock on everyone’s door at 7 am in the morning to make sure they’re up. I did find a free wifi place which I will try to go to on Friday if I get a chance. My eyelids are heavy, I better go.

1/10/07 11:44pm
Venice was nice. I would like to go back some day. Highlights were going to the Peggy Guggenheim Collection and seeing the Assumption of the Virgin Mary by Titian. Some of you may know about my early pieces of artwork based on the Assumption. I actually made a copy of the piece (Titians) and pasted it onto a pasticeria plate and added twine, bottle caps and wax to it. I’ll try to find a picture to post.

I also took a few photos of reliquaries for my friend Joanna from Text off the Page. She likes them so I thought I’d share.

Tomorrow it’s San Marco to see the work of Fra Angelico and then to the Academia to see David (the big naked guy!). I’ve been to the Academia before but it will be nice to see everything again.

Tomorrow I promise to post all of this for you all. Hopefully you will read it.
A domani. (that means see you tomorrow – more of less).

1/11/07 so I am lame. I didn’t go to the bar to post. I am feeling really old right now. I miss the days when I thought I had money and I had the energy to go out drinking every night (not that I did that… I chose to drink alone in my room). I just don’t have the energy or the resources to do it. It’s 8:43 and I’m ready to go to bed. I did go to Standa (the supermercati) and bought myself things to make dinner in my room… I had a nice salad with tonno (tuna) and a little sandwich with salami. I also bought more Italian beer – this time it was Moretti which is better than Peroni… I guess it would be about the equivalent of Budweiser.

Today we went to San Marco to see the frescos by Fra Angelico and then to the Academy to see David (the big naked guy!). The rest of the day was free. I wandered around a bit – didn’t see anything too spectacular… I guess I should start making a list of things I need to see before I go and go see them.

Tommorow we’re going to the Leather School, the Science Museum and we’re going to look at DaVinci’s toys. I guess that’s it for now. Later.

BTW I am going to need a Weight Watchers intervention when I get back.

Okay, I’ve missed a day. It’s 1/13/07 11:15pm
New news – I have three mosquito bites on my face (my quaint room has a few quirks)…
I woke up in the middle of the night, went to the bathroom and found that there was no toilet paper… I had to improvise. I found more toothpaste for Jefferson and it was on sale.
Today we went to the DaVinci museum and play with his machines… and then we had a free day – I saw Pontormo’s Deposition of Christ. It’s a Mannerist painting you might know of… look him up.
Tomorrow it’s off to the Uffizi for a long day of walking. And Caravaggio… yay!

I touched Luigi’s hand tonight. Now I have something to dream about.

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