Firenze

So almost two weeks ago API sponsored another trip for us to go to Florence for two days and one night. Of course this meant that we had to be up at the crack of dawn to leave Friday morning but even after only two and a half hours of sleep we were up and ready to go. The bus ride was about four and a half hours but I slept the entire time, including through the rest stop we made around 8:30.

After arriving we check into the hotel, dropped our bags and began our guided tour of the city. We saw the D'Uomo and Santa Croce churches as well as the statue of David in one of the museums.D'Uomo
Santa CroceFrom left to right: Chelsea, me, (David) Lindsay. This picture was taken illegally since you're not supposed to have cameras out at all. Shhh don't tell.

We passed the Uffizi gallery which is the home of the most Italian paintings in the country, and headed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge. After a couple hours of that we had free time to spend in the famous leather and goods market. I hunted for about 45 minutes going up and down every street looking for the perfect shoulder bag which is all I wanted out of this Florence trip. Eventually I set on one and started to haggle with the small man trying to push it onto me. I won't say how much I paid but I will say that I got him down by 60 Euro which I was proud of. I'd like to think I'm a pretty savvy bargain shopper, so this one splurge is ok with me.
ugh it's SO nice. But anyway after that we trooped back to the hotel for an afternoon nap before the night festivities. At 7pm we met back up with the entire group and walked over to a great Apertivo place for Italian cocktail hour. The food was fantassstic but because we were there on an API sponsored event we had to get fruit drinks or soda which was lame because I just wanted a glass of wine. After apertivo mi amici and I wanted to see as much of the city as we could since we were only there for really a day and a half because we were scheduled to leave at 5 on Saturday afternoon. We decided to find some Florentines and ask them what to do at night. Luckily enough we found two girls about our age outside the Santa Croce where we had apertivo and they gave us a few nightspots to see, with the last one being an Italian discoteca called Mericana. Before making it there we went to three different places while taking a mini walking tour and a much needed stop for some gelati. Once ending at Mericana we met up with some more friends and danced the night away.

Api loves waking up early so we dragged our bodies down to breakfast in the morning where I had the best hot chocolate ever mixed half way with a cappuccino and a lovely ciccolato cornetto, the essential Italian breakfast, coffee and a chocolate pastry. Who can't live with that. Following breakfast was another guided tour across the Ponte Vecchio, through town and up a great hill to a beautiful church overlooking the entire city.View from the center of the Ponte


This is the Ponte Vecchio and when you cross the bridge either side is lined with shops and trattorias. Lots of jewelry for sale here. The church we saw was on top of this hill overlooking the city. Look to the right of my chin and there is the bridge in the earlier picture.

After the second guided tour we had more free time to shop and see anything else in the city we were interested in. I stayed with Kate for the most part and we shopped here and there. I really wanted to get into the Uffizi but we didn't leave enough time because I didn't account on the line being almost an hour to get in. I'm planning on going back to Florence for at least a day trip to make it to the museum. Kate and I also got lunch then gelato and sat on the D'Uomo steps to do a little people watching.

We met back up with the rest of the group to head back to Rome around 5. Various people were now adorned with new leather jackets, belts and bags. Everyone was giddy from their shopping and haggling experience but only 15 minutes into the bus ride, as usual, the bus was silent and everyone napped the ride home away.

Tonight I'm flying to Budapest with Lindsay and Chelsea and staying with one of Chelsea's friends and day tripping to Vienna on Saturday. I'll be back in Rome Monday night but hopefully I'll get in one more entry before I leave tonight, I have much more to catch up on.

9/22/08

So I've just walked for about an hour trying to find the deBernardis camera shop near Campo. I began too proud to stop and ask someone to help me find it but have already referenced my map three times since I left the art studio. Defeating from wandering, I finally stopped in a little trattoria and asked, turns out I was around the corner for the last fifteen minutes just not looking in the right place. Damn the little Roman curvy side streets everywhere with no street signs. As I follow the road a dentra (to the right) the store front comes into view with the kodak logo hanging above the door, the door which is blocked because of the large metal grate that's been pulled down. Shop's closed. I look at my phone: 3:30. Here I sit killing time til 4 when I hope the shop reopens after riposo. Roman naptime.

I'm glad to be taking so many art classes here. I hope it opens my eyes to new things. Already I can feel my perspective changing. Painting today was relaxing and really cleared my mind, the fact that we're allowed to listen to music while we do so is really enjoyable too.

Sometimes I feel the pressure from the city crunching down on me. It's not school because my classes aren't so hard or anything, and I get along with everyone here so the only thing else I could think of it to be is the hustle and bustle of the city. Boston never really got to me like Rome does, it's much bigger here and way more intimidating. It's definitely the city that's bothering me, and it's inhabitants. The pushing and honking and rudeness, you never escape it. Maybe a good talk with my photo or sketch professor would do me good. I think I'm missing adults in my life. When I'm at home I have my family around me at all times and when I'm in Boston I have professors to talk to as well as people at Bed Bath. I want to talk to everyone everywhere I go now, just strike up conversation with a stranger, especially when I see mom's on the tram with little kids or babies, but the language barrier is killing me, I've been trying to get better though. I don't think Italians are too up for random conversation though.

scrap book

I've been buying a few postcards from each place that I've been to so far.
The only one I've missed is Bracciano when we went camping, but at the same time I'm kind of glad I didn't get one because that entire weekend was like a hazy riposo so it seems fitting to not have one. Once this trip is over I plan to make a giant scrapbook and use the post cards as well as pictures and tickets and little written passages about each place I went to and the things I did with my new friends and roommates. I hope it's something I'll actually do and complete it before I lose interest it in. Maybe I'll ask for a nice photo album/book for Christmas.