a bit of fabulous writing...

for my italian grand tour literature class we were asked to find a place in florence to sit and soak in the sights, sounds and people around us. sitting here doing the writing, i was finding myself distracted thinking about how my dad complained that i havent blogged in a while. well, hello people! im living in florence, im a busy florentine! so here is a teaser for the blog entries that are a long time coming. dont criticize my writing, im no shakespeare. but maybe it would be nice for you guys to close your eyes and pretend youre here too?

An Afternoon in Piazza Annunziata

Sitting here, on marble that is warmed by the sun, I glance down the street ahead of me at the Duomo in the distance. No matter how close or far you are, its beauty strikes you. On either side of the piazza, cascades of arches hug me give me the feeling of safety. I close my eyes and bask in the feeling of the sun and the sounds of the environs around me. The tik tik tik of bicycles pass me and the occasional vespa vroooom. I hear a giggle to the right of me and open my eyes to glance in the direction of the happiness. An observation I have made since living here is the immense amount of public affection. The idea of kissing your beau in front of whoever is watching because you cannot possibly wait another minute to touch them is an idea that warms me just as sufficiently as the sun. The couple next to me is young, maybe in their early twenties. As they gaze into each others eyes, I feel like I am eavesdropping on a secret. Just beyond Romeo and Juliet a familiar face stands in the distance. Everyday on my way to school I pass this elderly women in her huge wool coat (no matter what the weather), chin high, walking proudly and with purpose. On her arm is the leash that holds back one heck of a killer: a chihuahua. This dog is just a bit too chubby, gray and ailing. I have to admit that the woman resembles her dog quite a bit but I find that because of her air of confidence, her appearance seems unimportant. Now this, I am learning, is a trick of italian women. Confidence. Still thinking of Signora Wool Coat, I focus on the columns and shutters that decorate the architecture around me. The amount of history that shines from their cracks is blinding. The two frescos that decorate the area above the doors on the piece of history to my right (quite actually a piece of history - this building is on of the first Renaissance masterpieces by Brunelleschi) seem beautiful enough to be seen in the Uffitzi. The structures around me are dignified, just like their inhabitance, I would guess. I could go on forever in these observations but the sun is going down and duty calls. Tonight, I am making lasagne for my friends. If only i could make a quick trip to Ferrara to learn THEIR italian lasange secrets...

so there it is. thatll have to do until i can sit down and update yall about the goings on in florence. and no, i did not misspell lasagna. apparently, we've been saying it wrong. wacky americans.

to the city of bridges!

ok so: venice. carnevale. masks. wine. 10 degrees. wine. this weekend my roommate christine and i made our way to venezia. first, we went to st. mark's basilica to be dazzled by interior of golden mosaic walls and a true byzantine architectural facade. 

i am simply in love with the arabic touches smooshed in with romanesque ones.

and the inside? oh no big deal, just every single surface covered in tiny tiny glass mosaic pieces. the amount of time and energy...planning and dedication that the fabrication of of places like this take is amazing. i find myself wondering...does anybody have dedication like this anymore? excuse my french- but people bitch if the skyscraper in their neighborhood isnt being build fast enough. places like st. mark's basilica took years and years plus a few more to build. and then! and then! added to over centuries. masterpieces take time. italy has countless masterpieces like this. maybe they know how to do it right?

and then, the fact that it was 10 degrees and a cruel wind was coming in 

from those damn siberians hit us. wine maybe? 

and the opening of the carnevale ceremony! in this, they suspended a woman in crazy carnevale garb and slowly lowered her from the top of the bell tower to the main stage. all this while playing super dramatic opera music. im not gonna lie, it was pretty cool to see.

still drinking wine to keep warm...

a fun video of carnevale happiness

this video kind of stinks but i absolutely could not delete it because of the crazy dancing woman...

ciao venezia!

farmaceutica di santa maria novella

teal's mom suggested that we make a quick trip to the first ever pharmacy in florence. so we decided that might be a good idea! a quick trip on a friday because we were out till 5am the previous night...it was an easy outing. turns out, it was beautiful! they sold natural soaps, skin care and things. it smelled wonderful in there. also, they sold herbal teas (the girls and i bought a fruity kind with raspberries and sunflower) and all natural home remedies. the inside was all original- the walls had generations of paint and wallpaper applied and peeling in some places. but on top, there were big paintings with gilded frames and every room was beautifully furnished.

the ceiling in one room in the farmaceutica

the wall in that same room

this room was awesome because it felt like art museum status but there were 

no boundaries whatsoever. 

you could walk up to the walls and actually see the texture on the fresco. bellissimo!

lucca, tuscany

on saturday last week, the girls and our friend rain ventured out into the countryside to a small town called lucca. lucca is surrounded by a tall wall that you can walk/ride a bike around and see the whole town. so we rented bikes and rode around. enjoyed the beautiful scenery. it was a little cold but we managed.

       me on top of the wall that surrounds the town

awesome church in lucca

the main square where we sat on little bistro tables and ate panini- yum!

cheers to new drinks

my roommates and i have decided that we need to branch out in the 

drink department. so we decided that whenever we enter a bar 

(which is excessively done on our parts) we will pick a random new drink to try. 

this is the drink menu at the red garter 

(a mostly americanized bar- they have wing night for gosh sakes) 

the place we got our first three drinks

the orgasmo--kahlua, baileys, milk and cinnamon. looked gross when she was pouring it but boy was this baby delicious. tasted like a milkshake. i want a do over :)

sex on the table--some fruity tropical thing. pretty gross. i needed a tequila shot after this one...

and, the remains of the tequila shot...

zombie--equally fruity and girly. two things that i am not! so whiskey made an appearance shortly thereafter for me (compliments of an italian man named guiseppe that claimed he was in love with me)

im an irish car bomb virgin so this weekend, ill be watching some football not rooting for the giants and chugging irish car bombs at an irish pub called the lions fountain. monday classes may be hazy...

wackadoodle americans

have i learned any italian yet? um..un due tre cuattro and so on. and the hand motions to say eff you to the forward italian men in the streets who try to grab your goodies. the latter is extra useful.

other things ive learned-

wackadoodle americans call one panini a panini and add an S to make it plural. here if you order a panini, you are going to get multiple...so if youre ever in italy and you want a panini, say vorrei un panino. then youll have one meal rather than breakfast lunch and dinner...

also- eggs do not come in a dozen but ten.

when ordering food, putting up your index finger does not mean you want one of something- they use their thumbs as their number one. so when you put up your pointer, they assume your thumb counts for one and give you two. can you tell im eating a lot? at least its awesome food.

pigeons pooping on your clothes hanging outside is a REALITY.

showers are little. shaving your legs is a struggle.

the jenna marbles face will never make you ugly enough for an 

italian man to leave you alone on a dance floor or in a bar.
click here if you dont know what the jenna marbles face is...

smiling too much pegs you as an american. so...everyone knows im american.

italian markets have awesome farm grown organic veggies. im never going back to giant, whole foods or a&p.

im sure im forgetting some- ill update as i come across them.

maybe im being too ambitious?

traveling while i am here is a must. i have all these thoughts about traveling to new places every minute. its too much! there are so many beautiful places to see and experience and not enough time to see them. for spring break, im heading to croatia to swim in a beautiful clear ocean, go hiking to camp out next to breathtaking waterfalls, sleep on beaches...im extra excited. here's a taste of what ill be seeing...

other places im hoping or have already planned to see- venice, rome, morocco (maybe a long shot), barcelona, capri, pompeii, cinqueterre, switzerland, prague, frankfurt, pisa, ancona. 

thats not even the tip of the iceburg of the places i want to see in my life. all before im 30? lets see about that one. id rather be broke, eating ramen noodle and happy then less broke, eating higher quality ramen noodle and pouting. and thats that.

anywho, classes are good- LdM is pretty lax. the professors want you to call them by their first name, i like that. the classes are small and that makes things a little easier for learning when there are so many other distractions around you. my italian renaissance professor, marcello talks at the speed of light- in half ass english. extra entertaining but does not help when taking notes that every other word is italian or slurred english. he has so many thoughts at once that he just wanted to blurt at you and gets excited to teach you something new that he ends up conducting the class with one looong run on sentence. i like the excitement though. the constant smile from a tiny italian man makes my day a little bit better.