Two weeks later....

Oh my goodness gracious its been quite a long time since I’ve updated. It turns out I’m going to end up having a lot less time on the computer then I would have expected. Now its looking like the only times I’ll have access is after 4:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So any emails or Facebook anything I’m being sent is delightful, but expect a bit on response time.
So ok! A lot has happened since last time I blogged. The biggest thing I feel that needs mentioning are the various trips I’ve taken. Lets start with Pietra Santa and Carrara. Pietra Santa is a beautiful town about an hour outside of Florence. The interesting thing about it is that it is predominately known as a sculpture town. (Yes, I do have plans with Lea and Kelly to move there forever). They have a bronze-pouring workshop where artists come to have their pieces made into metal. They also have a marble-carving workshop in which the people have literally been carving marble since childhood and artists who want work done in marble come with plaster models to be made into marble. There was also a mosaic workshop. I should say THE mosaic workshop. Any big modern mosaic you’ve seen is probably made there. Hollywood cemetery? Those guys. It was crazy.
After leaving Pietra Santa we headed for Carrara. It was one of the most stunning sights I’ve ever seen. You spend the entire bus ride paralyzed with fear as the bus takes turns up a mountain that probably shouldn’t be physically possible. But around the bends near the top you start to see sheer white cliffs of marble. You really can’t imagine it. It was sublime. We went in to two queries, one where we actually entered the query, and one where we walked around outside. We sculpture people were told we could take what we could carry for carving. Now, there are many people in the sculpture class that are not sculpture people in their blood. They got fist-sized rocks. Kelly Lea and I were literally the last people on the bus and were toting pieces of marble that caused us back pain for three days afterwards. Important note, the query we got our marble from is the one where Michelangelo selected the marble for his David.
I also finally met up with Benjamin after two weeks of simultaneous Italy living. There was much catching up and eating and city wandering that occurred. Its interesting to go from telling each other about camp and babysitting to telling each other about farming and marble lugging. This coming weekend I’m going to Castel Franco, the town he lives in to spend a little more time with him (he was only in the city for part of the day), and to meet his “host family”.
This passed weekend I went to Assissi and Ravenna. Assissi was absolutely breath taking. We went to the tomb of Saint Francis and saw SO MUCH ART. There were Giotto’s there that I’ve been looking at since I was tiny in Madeline L’Engle’s The Glorious Impossible. Giotto might be moving up in my books because of this trip and things I’m hearing about him in my art history. We were able to go into the crypt and touch the tomb of Saint Francis, which I found to be a much more moving experience then I expected. When I got close to it I saw a woman next to me who looked like she had maybe just undergone a round of chemotherapy. She was clearly deep in prayer as she cried with her hand on the tomb. She wasn’t the only person in this state. The thought of pilgrimage has never been particularly moving to me, but seeing people from all over the world who all felt a sense of presence and importance about such a small relic was fascinating and moving to me. The other delightful thing about Assissi was the ballin’ castle. So wait. Assissi is built all into the mountainside. There was a watchtower built at the highest point of the city which you can climb up to and enter for a small fee. WORTH IT. First of all the castle itself was incredible. There were spiral staircases and tiny arched hallways and confusingly laid out rooms. But \ the view at the top is what was truly breathtaking. You could literally see for miles.
Ravenna was also lovely. The city itself wasn’t as magnificent, but Ravenna is known for its mosaics...which were fully worth the trip. If the words “Justinian Mosaics” mean anything to you, I will have said enough. If not...I can’t take that long to explain because I need to sleep soon. But we went to four different churches with mind blowing mosaics. We also saw Dante’s tomb.
Other things worth mentioning: two favorite quotes as of recently: Lea:”you know, the sculpture town, where they worship sculptors.” (in reference to Pietra Santa.) Monica: “why you don’t eat bread with your food?” (in reference to Rachel and I trying not to die from too much food by adding more bread to the mix).
I have the famous cold that every newcomer to Florence is supposed to get. But I’m downing water and feeling pretty good. But now! To bed with me.

Art art everywhere.

Florence is the best. I could give a detailed description of everything I've seen but it would take forever and I haven't had lunch. So i shall compose a list:
-The Duomo (found it on the way to a club, best thing to happen upon after a zillion miles of street walking at night)
-The Academia (I saw David. I love David. We have plans to hang out.)
-The Ponte Vecchio. (They have a tradition here where couples write their names on locks and then throw away the key to sinify that they are sticking with eachother and there were HUNDREDS at the Ponte Vecchio. Also Rach and I had our first gelatto there).
-The first church built in Florence...INCREDIBLE. This place will make me feel inadequate as an artist for the rest of time.
-The Gate of Paradise...need I say more? I drooled.
-The Piazza Michelangelo (it looks out over the whole city)
AAAAAND there is much more. The school gave us a card that gives us free access to most big deal museums and allows us to cut the line. I intend to go to each about 16 times.

As far as class goes I'm greatly enjoying it. I have two close friends from the SU sculpture department, Kelly and Lea with whom I trek all about to our various (across the freaking city) classes. We have the exact same schedule which is fun. Our jewlery and metalsmithing class is in a place called Fuji studios which is like the baby ComArt of Florence. Our weving class is probably a good two or three miles from school, but its in an old weaving factory which is really cool.

Mondays and Wednesdays are actually absurd. We have classes from 8:50 to 7:30 and I have had quite interesting experiences getting back to my host families house from class. Fortunately they are classes I like with people I enjoy in a city that could not be more gorgeous.

Change from last post...OBSESSED with Loioli family.

Last night Rachel and I met our family! We spent the preceding half hour practicing our "piacere", which is the formal greeting. We were the last of 30 people to get paired with our delightful hosts Cristina and Monica (who immediately greeted us with the friendly and informal "ciao" and the Italian double cheek kiss). After lugging our embarrassingly large luggage to the house we chatted for a while. The ladies headed out to do some shopping and allow us room to unpack, so we are finally settled. We met Frederico, the older son, who was delightful and friendly, and whose English was very good.
We had dinner around 8...and HOOOOLY CRAP. We started with potato pasta and pesto. Now, i say started, but by the time we finished our HUGE pasta plates i was all set fullness-wise. But then came the salad. Part way through the salad they busted out the breaded lemony chicken. (I should also add that they were piling huge portions onto Rachels and my plate). As I attempted to keep up with the hosts (who had finished eating a good five minutes before me) Monica admonished us for not eating any bread with our meal...so I piled that on too. After dinner we had to valiantly defend ourselves from eating the copious volumes of fruit offered up to us. It was absolutely incredible food.

The Loioli sisters and Frederico are wonderful as well. Monica told us that its a house where people come and go, and that we are young and are completely free to do our own thing. She has a boyfriend of 15 years, as does Cristina, and they sleep out of the house sometimes and tell us if we sleep friends or out late its no problem at all. Frederico informed us that he and his brother go out dancing till the wee hours of the morning quite frequently and offered to bring Rachel and I along some time.

We could not have asked for a more gracious family, better food or a more laid back situation.

(The pictures are views from our bedroom window)

Ciao Loioli Famiglia!

Wow baby. So it turns out to get settled in a foreign country and register for classes in two days is a poo ton of work. I've got all my classes set up and I register tomorrow. The most unusual you ask? That would be the Black Death and Medieval art. Imma know all sorts of things about the plague. Aside from that I'm taking Italian, weaving, jewelry and metalsmithing,and intermediate sculpture.
The most exciting thing on the horizon, however, is that today at 4:30 Rachel and I meet our host family!
We got a little explainy thing and we know so far that the house is owned by Monica. Her sister Cristina lives there with her two sons Francesco(21) and Frederico (18).
They have been hosting for a long time and are apparently SUPA COOL. Additionally they are a 25 minute walk from school, so my fears of obesity are quelled slightly.
Makin friend takin names kids.
CIAAAO. (which is the aloha of Italy, teehehehe)

The trip from hell.

The Italian airport workers were on strike today. What does that mean for me you ask? Well I got to the airport at 1:20ish, checked in, and sat around until 5:40 when my flight left. It was an 8 hour flight that arrived in Munich at 7:30 European time. I then had to wait until 3 when I took yet another plane to Nice. I am currently sitting in Nice waiting for another flight to get in around, well, now. When they arrive we have a five hour bus trip. Also apparently they didn't know our flight was even coming in here. They just happened to show up because of this second flight coming into Nice. OYYY VEEEEYYY. Fortunately my wee Bettay is here with me.

Twas the night before Italy

ALRIGHTY THEN! It's the night before my departure to Italy, and so the blogging begins. I'm all packed with a bag that is quite possibly overweight. My flight plans have been slightly thwarted by the Italian airport fellas who have decided to strike the day I'm scheduled to fly in. Now there is a 10 hour delay in Frankfurt...or Munich. Thats yet to be determined. But there will be good friends and German food and beer so all shall be well!!