Friday, March 20, 2009
the eternal city...in a few days
ROME HAS MY HEART. I loved Greece for its ancient ruins and I love Florence for its breathtaking architecture and beautiful frescos and paintings.. all of this into one city equals Rome. We spent early Tuesday to Friday night in this wonderful city. The trip didn't start off too well... my friend Katherine and I missed the train- long story haha but funny- but all was fine once I set eyes on the Colesseum :) That is the first thing I saw. Talk about a monstrous masterpiece. It looks fit for the gods (if I believed in good ole Zeus and Athena). I think I took abou t500 pictures...no joke. We saw so much! My favorite thing was the Roman Forun :) It is a valley full of Temples, ancient arches, and all sorts of eye candy. I could have stayed there all day. Time seemed to stand still- it was so alien to see birds flying around the tall arches and columns. It is another trip where I could write a novel over all the things we saw...We went to the Vatican today...that was mind botteling..I am still trying to recover. The Sistine Chapel would take days to look at every single part, my neck started hurting after thirty minutes, but it is trully life changing..Seeing things that I have only seen in history books is amazing...and I still cannot believe it is really in front of my own eyes.
Monday, March 16, 2009
an alien world...full of alien letters..
GREEECCE!!! I finally got to go on my dream spring break trip!! I have been wanting to go to Greece for the longest time! The culture is totally different, they have gyros, teal water, myths, ancient statues and buildings... and a whole different alphabet! We left in the afternoon, trained into Milan, spent the night in the airport ( i didnt sleep at all..), and left for Athens at 6 that morning. I am not going to lie, it was pretty nerve racking...I have never been in charge of planning something...there were five of us girls...none of us had ever made train reservations or made our own flight...I definately grew up a whole lot haha. We made it to Athens and the directors of the HUG (Harding in Greece) program picked us up and took us to Porta Rafti-where the university is. My best friend Calle and I had a better reunion than I could ever have imagined. We probably pierced some ears while we were having this fantastic reunion..but we didnt care..We went straight to the water. Porta Rafti is a small port town..very quaint :) The next day we woke up and went into Athens. While the HUG group was in church us HUF girls went to the Archeological museum (whoops) It was so amazing!! Greeks laid the foundation for the art and architecture that I have been studying in Italy..instead of seeing works from AD 1200 I had sculptures from 600 BC right in front of my 2009 eyes. IT was UNREAL. We met the group at the Akropoli after they got out of church. let me tell you, as soon as i saw the Parthenon my heart almost stopped. It is so mystical. The hike up the mountain makes you feel other wordly. The grass is a sharp green and there are thousands of year old stones and blocks that held up temples all around. My camera didnt charge so I dont have any pictures of that day, but the rest of the girls did thank goodness....I have to go get money out the bank real fast then I'll blog more tonight
Thursday, March 5, 2009
my pictures will not load....and Cinque Terre
so the best part of cinque terre ...is getting to see everything..i took so many great pictures but this computer will refuse to let me load them...anyways i will try when i get back from
GREECE!!
We stayed in the little town of Vernazza ..one of the five cities
it was perfect
one pizzeria, two coffee shops (bar), a couple of cute jewelry shops, and a picture perfect sea and harbor to go with it.
It took my breath away
The next day we went hiking through all the cities and all of them were picturesque.When we went to Monterossa I jumped in the emerald Legorian sea!!!! It was freezing, but I just wanted to say i did it...in the first of march...haha. We had penne pasta with salmon cream sauce and calamari for lunch :) The water is so beautiful!!! It rained alot, but it didnt matter- I loved it. We walked the via della amore...and there is a seat for couples to sit and kiss...so of course our group stopped. Robbie explained it to us, and of course made me and Brett go first since we are the only legitimate couple ..haha it was so embarrassing...but hilarious. Then Mark and Loghan took the throne...then Rosie and Grant...Jonathan and Lauren... Monique and Steve...lets just say we had alot of fun haha
The next day the beauty continued, as did the great seafood. Me and some guys went to a restaruant in Monte rossa and had flat speghetti with clams mussles and crawfish-a platter of mixed grilled fish- and it was delectable
yum my mouth is watering
tomorrow I leave for my dream spring break!! We get to spend the day in Milan and our flight for athens leaves at 6 in the morning
AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
i gotta sleep
ciao! and ill talk to ya in a week! i get back on the 12
I am running out of time. I will have to put another entry in tomorrow or when I get to Greece.
GREECE!!
We stayed in the little town of Vernazza ..one of the five cities
it was perfect
one pizzeria, two coffee shops (bar), a couple of cute jewelry shops, and a picture perfect sea and harbor to go with it.
It took my breath away
The next day we went hiking through all the cities and all of them were picturesque.When we went to Monterossa I jumped in the emerald Legorian sea!!!! It was freezing, but I just wanted to say i did it...in the first of march...haha. We had penne pasta with salmon cream sauce and calamari for lunch :) The water is so beautiful!!! It rained alot, but it didnt matter- I loved it. We walked the via della amore...and there is a seat for couples to sit and kiss...so of course our group stopped. Robbie explained it to us, and of course made me and Brett go first since we are the only legitimate couple ..haha it was so embarrassing...but hilarious. Then Mark and Loghan took the throne...then Rosie and Grant...Jonathan and Lauren... Monique and Steve...lets just say we had alot of fun haha
The next day the beauty continued, as did the great seafood. Me and some guys went to a restaruant in Monte rossa and had flat speghetti with clams mussles and crawfish-a platter of mixed grilled fish- and it was delectable
yum my mouth is watering
tomorrow I leave for my dream spring break!! We get to spend the day in Milan and our flight for athens leaves at 6 in the morning
AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!
i gotta sleep
ciao! and ill talk to ya in a week! i get back on the 12
I am running out of time. I will have to put another entry in tomorrow or when I get to Greece.
just cruisin baby
Man do i have alot to right!! AH this is going to take a couple of entries... Our trip this week began in Luca. Luca is basically the Pheonix of Italy... It is a quiet city surrounded by huge medieval walls that date back from the thirteenth century! The churches were cool and all, but my favorite part was renting bikes and riding on the walls. Lets just say i have been itching for a bike ride ever since i got here...and i got to scratch in Luca! There are ancient trees that line the walls and ruins on the sides, you really feel like you are in Narnia... other wordly...we got gelato and just cruised for about thirty minutes...on to Pisa
The best part about Pisa was the graveyard. There are outside hallway type of building...really hard to describe.. that house hundreds of bodies. The contrast between the white limestone of the building with the bright green grass was so...Britainia.. anways the baptistry has the best acoustics, and a man demonstrated for us..the leaning tower...is still leaning...dont worry..overall i didnt really like it, it is run now by touristy stands and African men chasing you down with fake prada purses...i dont even like prada...
i need to go paint my toenails for greece and i'll finish up later tonight :)
The best part about Pisa was the graveyard. There are outside hallway type of building...really hard to describe.. that house hundreds of bodies. The contrast between the white limestone of the building with the bright green grass was so...Britainia.. anways the baptistry has the best acoustics, and a man demonstrated for us..the leaning tower...is still leaning...dont worry..overall i didnt really like it, it is run now by touristy stands and African men chasing you down with fake prada purses...i dont even like prada...
i need to go paint my toenails for greece and i'll finish up later tonight :)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Casa Buonarotti e il Ufizzi
Michelangelo's crib-
My small group for Humanities was assigned to the casa Buonarotti. It doesn't seem to special on the outside, but just remember that it did house one of the most important geniuses in the world...
Being me, I got in trouble by the over zealous guard...I took a picture of Michelangelo's shoes...I turned the flash off, but apparently ( the guard physcially made me go and look at the sign) there is a sign on a wall somewhere that prohibits all photography... whooops. :) so now I have an illegal picture of a self portrait, and some shoes... ( sometimes Michelangelo worked so hard and for so long that when he took his shoes off when he finished his art, his skin would come off just like a sock--sick)It was kind of confusing, I mean the lay out of the house. The english signs didn't explain the art very well. All I know is that I saw some parts of Michelangelo's drawings and designs! that was awesome...and I was in the same house that he lived in! Most of the art wasn't Michelangelos unfortunatly. It was neat to see where he studied and pulled away to (his sanctuary).
the Ufizzi
I LOVE MUSEUMS!!! call me what you will(nerdess)but the museums are my favorite! The Ufizzi is beautiful and is ORGANIZED! The Medici family built the Ufizzi for office buildings, but changed their mind (thank goodness) and created the greatest art gallery of all time. All the red carpet italian artists are featured there, and it over looks the beautiful Ponte Vecchio. I saw so much..its so hard for me to remember! but dont worry its all in my moleskin. My favorite works were by Barcacci- the birth of Venus and Spring- painted in a time where unreligous art was very uncool. The paintings are so much more than color on canvas.
i love art
too bad my skills dont go past hearts and peace signs..
Gotta go study for il esame italiano
ciao!
My small group for Humanities was assigned to the casa Buonarotti. It doesn't seem to special on the outside, but just remember that it did house one of the most important geniuses in the world...
Being me, I got in trouble by the over zealous guard...I took a picture of Michelangelo's shoes...I turned the flash off, but apparently ( the guard physcially made me go and look at the sign) there is a sign on a wall somewhere that prohibits all photography... whooops. :) so now I have an illegal picture of a self portrait, and some shoes... ( sometimes Michelangelo worked so hard and for so long that when he took his shoes off when he finished his art, his skin would come off just like a sock--sick)It was kind of confusing, I mean the lay out of the house. The english signs didn't explain the art very well. All I know is that I saw some parts of Michelangelo's drawings and designs! that was awesome...and I was in the same house that he lived in! Most of the art wasn't Michelangelos unfortunatly. It was neat to see where he studied and pulled away to (his sanctuary).
the Ufizzi
I LOVE MUSEUMS!!! call me what you will(nerdess)but the museums are my favorite! The Ufizzi is beautiful and is ORGANIZED! The Medici family built the Ufizzi for office buildings, but changed their mind (thank goodness) and created the greatest art gallery of all time. All the red carpet italian artists are featured there, and it over looks the beautiful Ponte Vecchio. I saw so much..its so hard for me to remember! but dont worry its all in my moleskin. My favorite works were by Barcacci- the birth of Venus and Spring- painted in a time where unreligous art was very uncool. The paintings are so much more than color on canvas.
i love art
too bad my skills dont go past hearts and peace signs..
Gotta go study for il esame italiano
ciao!
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
A world with the same cold*Barcaccio* and the Pitti Palace*
Ok so apparently there is a cold epidemic..are you aware? I have had this same stupid cold for a week! I don't feel that bad, but I have used about a walmart stock house full of toilet paper to blow my nose... Our group has had the crud ever since we have gotten here, and it is still making its way, paying a personal visit to everyone who has a nose and throat- awesome. haha enough of my moaning...next topic: our onsite class today!
we have been stuck in the villa every morning for class till today!! We started off (of course) in a cute little bar near our destination- The Brancacci Chapel. We were only allowed to stay inside for fifteen minutes, so our tour guide, the lovely Cindy, told us the important words about what our eyes were about to see as we scribbled in our moleskins. The Brancacci chapel was almost destroyed in a fire in 1771, and the only thing that remained is the left and right chapels in the trancepts of the church. This is why it is so precious to the Florentines. The chapels include frescoes done by very famous artists including Masaccio, Masolino, and Fillippino Lippi. The scene that you might be familiar with is the expulsion of Adam and Even from the garden. The picture is absolutley dreadful. Eve is in terrible pain and Adam is bending over in anguish- I am beginning to appreciate how these artists can make these still pictures show humanistic emotion- they are my favorite. There are also frescoes of the stories of St. Peter including his martyrdom on the upside down cross.
The next place we traveled was to the Santo Spirito. It is a beautiful church and it is the first time in ten years that the HUF group got to go inside!! So as you can imagine it was quite a treat! The gray stone columns, and arches designed by the AMAZING Brunelleschi of course took my breath away. I love his style!
then we moved on to the AWESOME PITTI PALACE!!!
it is unbelievable how much artwork, frames, paintings, tables, SATIN WALL PAPER!!!, and other apolstries is still here! from hundreds of years ago!! The Palace has several museums inside of it- costume, silver, sculpture, modern art, a buffet of wonders... isn't that so freaking cool!!! We went to the painting gallery and saw works from Rafael to Andrea del Sarto. There were hundreds of paintings, and all in these extravagent rooms with satin on the walls that were original from the days of the Hapsburg rule. That blew my mind. And they say that the fabrics are so delicate and beaufifully made that they cannot be copied...
The Boboli Gardens
Beautiful
go there asap
we ate lunch in the Boboli Gardens, and let me just say that once again i have found another favorite spot and WILL be going back ( i hope Brett takes me on a date there :) i threw a little hint today haha)
then we went back to the villa because we have tons of homework and tests tomorrow :) Phillipians 4:6
ciao
:) ti amo
we have been stuck in the villa every morning for class till today!! We started off (of course) in a cute little bar near our destination- The Brancacci Chapel. We were only allowed to stay inside for fifteen minutes, so our tour guide, the lovely Cindy, told us the important words about what our eyes were about to see as we scribbled in our moleskins. The Brancacci chapel was almost destroyed in a fire in 1771, and the only thing that remained is the left and right chapels in the trancepts of the church. This is why it is so precious to the Florentines. The chapels include frescoes done by very famous artists including Masaccio, Masolino, and Fillippino Lippi. The scene that you might be familiar with is the expulsion of Adam and Even from the garden. The picture is absolutley dreadful. Eve is in terrible pain and Adam is bending over in anguish- I am beginning to appreciate how these artists can make these still pictures show humanistic emotion- they are my favorite. There are also frescoes of the stories of St. Peter including his martyrdom on the upside down cross.
The next place we traveled was to the Santo Spirito. It is a beautiful church and it is the first time in ten years that the HUF group got to go inside!! So as you can imagine it was quite a treat! The gray stone columns, and arches designed by the AMAZING Brunelleschi of course took my breath away. I love his style!
then we moved on to the AWESOME PITTI PALACE!!!
it is unbelievable how much artwork, frames, paintings, tables, SATIN WALL PAPER!!!, and other apolstries is still here! from hundreds of years ago!! The Palace has several museums inside of it- costume, silver, sculpture, modern art, a buffet of wonders... isn't that so freaking cool!!! We went to the painting gallery and saw works from Rafael to Andrea del Sarto. There were hundreds of paintings, and all in these extravagent rooms with satin on the walls that were original from the days of the Hapsburg rule. That blew my mind. And they say that the fabrics are so delicate and beaufifully made that they cannot be copied...
The Boboli Gardens
Beautiful
go there asap
we ate lunch in the Boboli Gardens, and let me just say that once again i have found another favorite spot and WILL be going back ( i hope Brett takes me on a date there :) i threw a little hint today haha)
then we went back to the villa because we have tons of homework and tests tomorrow :) Phillipians 4:6
ciao
:) ti amo
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