busy week

This week has been busy!  It all started Sunday when my Dutch friend Anna and I decided to venture out in Lucca.  Lucca is 2 hours away via train from Firenze and it holds one of the most preserved medieval cities.  It even has a fort which protects the city.  You can walk one revolution and practically see the whole city in an hour or so.  I saw a cadaver of a Saint which was a surreal experience.  My friend Anna said they have one at Pisa, so for sure I will check that one out too; the cathedrals are amazing there also.  It was just nice to get away and see something different.

On Tuesday, I trekked out to Cinque Terre with Jill and her bf Tommy.  Oooh, I had so much fun because we are all chill type people.  It has been raining this whole week and to have Tuesday with no rain (well, except at the end) was a relief.  I even got sunburned from my back.  I was wearing a black and white striped shirt and was surprised the sun's rays penetrated through it and burned me!  The path started out easy and the book said it would be a leisure walk.  There is no such thing as leisure to me since there were steep steps and hills to walk through.  The book said the hardest trail was the last one that would lead you to Monterosso (the last village).  It was a fulfilling experience to walk on the cliffs and have an amazing view throughout the entire time.  In the last village, I ended up chillin on a beach chair and they swam, which I was so jealous!  After a strenuous hike, It would have been nice to swim and feel the nice cool water.  It was good times.

Today, was a great day as well.  I had another Italian lunch with Jill and her Italian family.  It was so good to have a 2 course meal with fruit as dessert and coffee with biscotti to end the meal.  It is good to be in Italy!  I also biked around Jill's neighborhood which was scary as hell, but definitely fun.  Of course had coffee with a design on the coffee foam, it made my day.

I am off to Venice tomorrow and have not even packed up my things, so I will be busy tonight.  It will be some good times ahead since I'm meeting up my sister and damn, I am going to Venice! Ciao!

prato adventure

Yesterday after class I headed out to Prato.  It is only 18km from Florence and supposedly it is a small city.  The sole reason to go to Prato was to catch Daniel Spoerri's exhibition.  I saw his advert on a pamphlet of exhibitions to check out in April.  I was excited to see him since I have been tired of all this gothic, renaissance stuff.  I recommend Madrid to anyone because you can have the feel of the old and new in one city.  Madrid is just an amazing place. I like Florence, but the whole city is infested with all this old art.  I studied it, and like to see it, but hell yah I am tired of looking at it.  Prato was a breathe of fresh air because it had all those old and new sensibilities.  The old town center is small and covers only 2 blocks.  Sometimes I can get retarded and think oh, I can walk this, and then I realized the place I want to get to is far. I took the train and got off on the second Prato stop.  I didn't have a map, so I was looking aimlessly for tourist offices, but no luck whatsoever.  Finally I spotted a hotel, and with luck he spoke english and gave me a map. On the map, it didn't look far, but actually taking that walk of 2 km, it was far!  The route to get there was not scenic at all, so the walk did feel long.  I did manage to find the place, and so that is why there is an abundant of pictures because I was just giddy that I actually made it.  I was not planning to walk back, so I manage to find another hotel and asked them where to purchase tickets.  Prato has an easy bus system because there is only 2 buses, red and blue.  It is pretty straightforward and I was just thinking to myself, why didn't I ask earlier.  Nevertheless, it was an adventure because even in the train station, stamping my ticket was a task, and even finding the platform. I have an angel on my side for sure because I made it back in Florence at a decent time, and even manage to buy wine at the local store that a classmate suggested to me.  yay!!

Today, I went to the Bargello and it was an enjoyable experience since it was not as crowded, and there were some good art to see. I can always laugh how ridiculous some of the female sculptures are. They have amazing muscles and boobs like tennis balls! You couldn't take any pictures at the Bargello, but that doesn't stop me, I manage to sneak some but did get caught.  I'm thinking, these sculptures manage to stay intact out in the sunlight and are made of materials that can withstand anything, and I can't take a pic, even on museum function on my Nikon, retarded! 

italian lunch

Woo hoo!

Jill and her bf have been so welcoming and have been entertaining me for my stay here.  Last night, I finally got a chance to go to a bar and enjoy some Italian beer.  I am not a beer drinker, but wanted to try the beer in Italy.  The bar was in a tourisy area, but I welcomed it because I needed to experience a bit of night life in Florence.  I was surprised there was a lot of people outside taking a stroll or enjoying a glass of wine and beer in a bar on a Monday night.  One of these nights I must try to go to club err something and dance the night away.  It was nice to finally meet Tommy and his friend.  I felt like a moron because I could not speak Italian.  I just get too shy around people to speak the language, and I tend to get nervous and forget all the verbs I know.  I have been practicing with a Peruvian classmate who only speaks Spanish during our coffee breaks.  If I can't express myself in Italian, well my bad Spanish is helpful in getting to communicate with her.

Piazza della Repubblica

Today, I was invited to have lunch with Jill and her Italian family.  I had an amazing meal!  I have been eating like a poor student, sandwiches and greek salads (my speciality).  Tommy's grandma cooked lunch for us and it was very traditional.  We ate pasta with sun dried tomatoes, then salad, fruit, and coffee with biscotti.  I had such a great meal!  Tommy's grandma was such a cute lady and was worried if I was full; omigosh, I was stuffed!  It was a nice lunch indeed.  Afterwards, just walked around the barrio and went to Piazza della Repubblica to do some homework and practice the italian language.  It was a chill day indeed! 

san gimignano & siena

Siena

San Gimignano

I can't believe I have been here for a week and time keeps moving faster.  I finally ventured outside of Florence, and visited 2 cities, San Gimignano and Siena.  I wished I had a weekend to explore both cities, but nevertheless, I did have a great time and met a couple of new people from my school.  Memorable moments of San Gimignano consisted of tiny streets, steep hills and amazing views of the vineyards near by.  Also, Gothic architecture that transports you back in time is not bad either.  As for Siena, the Duamo is breathtaking and the Piazza is a wonderful place to relax and people watch. 

around firenze

In front of Arno River in Ponte Vecchio

A really small car

I heart these ads!

I finally met up with Christi's friend Jill, and she took me to this really good gelato place.  There was this one flavor which consisted of pistachios nuts, chocolate and black pepper.  It was so good and authentic.  We chatted up a bit and after that we separated since she was going to cook dinner for her Italian family.  I decided to go crazy again, and take more random photos while walking around in Florence.  I saw some great classic sculptures that I have learned back in college.  I find some of these sculptures to be hilarious, especially fig leaves on genitalia.  In all, it is impressive that these sculptures have manage to survive all these years.  Ciao for now!

firenze arrival

Cezanne exhibit Palazzo Strozzi

View of my barrio from my room window

I finally feel adjusted in Firenze (Florence), but still suffering jet lag!  I keep waking up 3 hours later and I simply can't get back to sleep.  I still have a lot of energy to walk around the city and explore it's beauty; it must be the coffee.  My experience so far has been mixed with emotions.  At times, I pinch myself in disbelief that I am here, and surviving on my own, but at times I miss everybody back home and want to go home.  Being homesick will pass and most likely I would not want to leave.  I have been keeping myself busy by walking around the city and just taking some random pictures.  Yesterday was a full day since I went to see the Cèzanne exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi.  It was an interesting one since some of these paintings have not been in one exhibition because they are displaced all over the world and some are private collections.  It was a treat to see some great art.  There were also showcasing other Expressionist artists and Van Gogh was represented.  During the night, I had a 3 course meal at Casa Di Dante già Ristorante with my classmates.  I was so stuffed because my usual meals consisted of tuna sandwiches and greek salads, not 3 courses.  I am in a less than 40 dollars a meal day plan.  The meal was not typical Florence, but they served authentic Italian dishes.  I have yet to enjoy some bowl of soup, which is what they are famous for. 

a long journey to italia

View of Amsterdam en route to Firenze, Italia.

Lufthansa has great snacks for only 2 hour plane rides and the Coca Cola light is small.

The Alps!

I just arrived last night, and it was the longest flight I have ever experienced.  I had many stops, and I just cannot believe I made all of them.  I left LAX around noon Friday, stopped by in Houston, Texas, go through customs in Amsterdam, pick up my bags and go to Lufthansa Airlines, which is across the other side of the airport.  The line for customs went fast, but it felt like an eternity since I had only 2 hours of transfer time.  I landed in Frankfurt, Germany and then finally Pertola Airport in Florence.  I arrived in my flat Saturday, 7pm and welcomed by my landlady, Sylvia. She is a nice, sweet typical Italian lady.  She gave me some bread, fruits, egg, and goat milk (she says it's the best milk) so I won't be hungry when I wake up.  The lady living with her, kinda like a daughter, named Rosey is very nice too.  I am so thankful for their genorosity because it made the transition of coming here much easier.  When you lack sleep and thrown into a different world, it can be shocking and lonely.  It takes a couple of days to get used to the situation and in the end it's all worth it.

Today, I oriented myself to the city, found my school for my language classes, and went to the Duomo, the city center.  I am only a 5 minute walk to Duomo, like I said, the city is small.  The Duomo is beautiful.  The facade has many intricate details with various stonework and religious figures.  I wish I could show you pics, but uploading pics takes a while, and I don't think I can upload on a public computer.  So far, just walking around and getting lost on purpose.  I haven't manage to enjoy a cup of coffee in a cafe because everything here is so darn expensive!  The dollar is weak compared to 3 years ago.  The cost of living is high here, unlike Madrid.  I expected Florence to be expensive, but in the back of my mind, I wanted to be wrong with my predictions.  I hope to read my Italy guide book more, and explore the city in the coming days.  I have no plans to travel  yet to other cities near by, I'm just getting used to Florence.  Ciao for now.