December 7,
2005
Hello from
Italy one last time. I am getting everything all ready and
packed up to go home on Saturday...or D.C. I guess you could
say :-) But things have been kind of crazy trying to get
final papers done and study for my final.
Last week was
still full of things to do. In my Funerary Chapels and
Palaces class we went to the Palazzo Vecchio and the Pitti
Palace which were both absolutely wonderful. The Pitti is so
HUGE...we probably only saw about a third of it. It is the
old ducal palace the Medici lived in during their reign at
Dukes of Tuscany. The Palazzo Vecchio is still a government
building and used to house the Medicis before they moved to
the Pitti. It literally mean "old palace" so obviously it is
one of the oldest palaces in Florence. I really enjoyed both
of them. In the Pitti we were able to see some really great
art by Gentileschi, Raphael, Titian, Perugino, and many
others as well.
On Thursday, I
accompanied another class and went to the Accademia where I
saw finally, Michelangelo's David and some of his other
sculptures. They were all amazing and I could have stared at
the David for hours. He is really beautiful. The Accademia
also had many many paintings from the Trecento and later
periods. There was just so much to look at. I really enjoyed
it. I have now finally completed my major museum tour of
Florence. My favorite thing from last week though....was the
Opera. Yes, we went to an Italian opera. We saw La Traviata
which was AMAZING! The woman would played Violette was so so
phenomenal. The ending brought tears to my eyes...and I'm
not kidding. It is a tragic love story, and I think the
movie Moulin Rouge is base off it. So if you know that
movie, you can pretty much guess what happens in the opera.
But I was so impressed. There was a full orchestra and
everything. It was so nice to hear some really wonderful
music. I have been missing chorale something awful, so the
opera was nice remedy. Everyone got all dressed up too. It
was just a really great night.
The weekend
was pretty quiet. I went out Friday night with some people,
and Saturday I just relaxed. Sunday Gretchen and I went to
both the Scottish and German festivals that are going on in
Florence. They were both really neat. The German one was
especially. It has a carousel set up that was actually a
bar! I was going to get a bratwurst, but decided against
when I saw they cost 5 euro! So we just walked around mostly
and took in the atmosphere. It was really nice, a good end
to my last weekend in Italy.
I am getting
excited to see you all and I can't wait. I have my last
final tomorrow at 9. After that, it is packing up and
getting everything in order to catch my plane. Boy, this
semester sure flew by huh? I can't believe that it is
December already. I am looking forward to seeing you all for
Christmas. This is my favorite time of the year. Here they
have been putting up lights for the past two weeks, and the
center of the city looks so beautiful at night. I still have
to get a picture of it before I leave. It really is
wonderful. How is everything at home? I hope everyone is
doing well. I miss you all!! Love you too!! See you soon!
Ciao and love always,
Sarah
Good luck on all your finals girls!! I can't wait to see you
all next semester!!!
November
29, 2005
Ciao Tutti!!!
Well I am starting to
realize that it is almost time to pack my things up and head for home. I have finals next week, and then it back to the good ol US of A. I am
super excited to see everyone from home, but I am most definitely going
to miss Italy. I have seen so many amazing things this whole semester.
I have loved every minute of it. I can't believe it went by so
quickly. But...I do still have two weeks left (well closer to a week
and a half) so I am going to make the most of them. As for last week,I
am sure that all of you enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday. Mine was
quite wonderful. Our professor Janet organized for us to have a place
fix us dinner. We had the works: Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, AND yes,
pumpkin pie. The interesting thing about the pumpkin pie is that we
only had it because Janet and Rand's wife (our other professor) had
inherited cans of pie filling from previous studtents. Janet was going
to get pumpkin pies made, but apparently they have to be imported from
the United States which makes them 40-50 euro a piece!! Ridiculous
huh?? It all ended up working out though, and the pies were delicious.
Another rather interesting piece of information about our Thanksgiving
dinner was that we had it at none other than a Communist Bar....which is
like an American Legion...but Communist. Pretty great huh?? Only Italy
though haha. All in all it was really great night. We had class that
day though, which kind of sucked. The dinner made up for it though. We
even had wine in drawing class to celebrate. It was a good day. The
rest of the week wasn't incredibly eventful. My funerary chapels and
palaces class looked at several family chapels in Santa Felicitą and
Santa Maria del Carmine. The chapels and churches were like always
absolutely beautiful. The Capponi chapel in Santa Felicitą had some
really wonderful and unique Pontormo frescoes. I really enjoyed those.
Studio art is going well. I have almost finished my other big drawing.
It think it is going to turn out really nice. It still needs some work,
but I am getting excited for our little studio show next week. I have
never really done one of those before. Hopefully Janet will make her
AMAZING Guacamole. I never really liked it before, but hers is sooooo
good. Of course all of the other food here is amazing as well. I am
definitely going to miss that, but not the lack of heat. That I will
NOT miss. haha. The rest of the week I didn't do much. I went out on
Friday with some people, but the rest the weekend I took it easy and
wrote a paper. Real exciting huh?? It was pretty relaxing though, and
I enjoyed it. Anything new back home with anyone??? I miss you all
like crazy and am sooo excited that Christmas is coming. I am really
excited to be home for it. Missing Thanksgiving was one thing, but
Christmas just isn't an option :-) I am looking forward to it. Well I
have to get going. I have my Italian final today...last day of class
:-( I think I will do okay, though, but wish me luck.
Love you all!!!!
Ciao
Sarah
November
22, 2005
Ciao all!! I am sure you
are all getting geared up for Thanksgiving. I know that I
would be. We are having our own little dinner here on
Thursday, so that will be really nice. Last week was so
weird because of our Monday return from Rome, so I was all
sorts of thrown off. As interesting activities, my Funerary
chapels and palaces class went to see the Medici chapels
designed by Michelangelo. Though they are all unfinished,
they were still beautiful. I really like the design of the
interior by Michelangelo. He certainly was a genius.
Studio is going okay. We
are still working on our second big drawing. I am getting
worried about it being finished for the studio show at the
end of the semester though. Crazy that the end of the
semester is coming up. Boy where did the time go?
Friday was really great. We
took a group day trip to Siena which is absolutely
beautiful. The town has passed ordinances that buildings can
only be built so high and with certain materials, so the
whole town still retains a very old, antique look. We were
able to see the whole town from a wall of the church that
was left unfinished. It was really really beautiful. We also
went into the Duomo there. It is so unique in design because
they used striped marble on the inside for construction. It
is kind of busy, but I think it is one of my favorites. That
is saying a lot too considering we have seen probably 50
churches at least. Each one is beautiful in each own right
too. :-)
We also went to a Domenican
church in Sien where the head and thumb of St. Catherine
are. I know crazy, but us Catholics like those relics I
guess. :-) After that we wondered around town. Janet bought
the whole group cappuccinos, cookies, and pastries. (just
what we need right....haha it was delicious!) Then we went
to the Palazzo Publicca...which is like the Palazzo Vecchio
in Florence. It is the center for the city's governing body.
We toured it, and saw some really great frescoes, and a
chapel that the most beautiful wood-inlayed benches I have
ever seen.
Man I am telling you...they
just don't make things like they used to. That was about all
we did in Siena...it is kind of a small town. So, it didn't
take very long to see things. I would have liked to have had
a bit more time to look around in the shops, but we had to
get back to the bus.
When we got back a bunch of
us met at a pub called the Joshua Tree (it is a pretty
regular place for us) because it was there 8th anniversary.
So we had a good time. Saturday, Gretchen and I made
chocolate chip cookies with our host mom and our roommate
Ariana! It was so much fun. Palma, Gretchen, Ariana, and I
had such a time trying to convert measurements and finding
all the ingredients. We couldn't figure out what the Italian
word was for baking soda...and Palma didn't know what we
were talking about. It was ridiculous. Eventually though we
figured it out and apparently baking soda in Italian is:
bicarbonato di soda. Yeah....pretty ridiculous. Well, the
cookies ended up turning out and everything was fine. I took
some really great pictures too.
Later that night, we all
went to our professor Rand's house for a party he was
putting on for us. That was a really great time too. We had
wine and food and just hung out in a heated space. (yes it
is true Italians don't like to turn the heat on very much)
After Rand's we decided to go to a disco....my first time at
one mind you. It was called Dolce Zucchero (Sweet Sugar) We
had a pretty good time...they played horrible techno music.
So not my favorite place to go. It was an interesting
experience. I mean if you are going to be in Italy...you
have to go to a disco at least once. And now I have.
Sunday was major homework
day. I have so much to do in the next 2 weeks before finals.
But I can't complain...I am in Italy taking finals right??
haha. Well seeing as I have a paper to write, I have to get
going. I can't wait to see you all in a few weeks. Have a
wonderful safe holiday. Eat lots and lots of turkey!!
ciao and love always
Sarah
Girls- Congrats on a wonderful football season. You all make
me so proud. I am getting ready to watch the homecoming DVD
thanks to my lovely little. I know you guys will look
phenomenal. I want all of you to have a wonderful
Thanksgiving and travel safely home for me. I love you and
miss you all so very much!!!
November
17, 2005
Ciao and hello
again everyone. I am a little slow this week with the
emailing situation because this past weekend we went to Rome
for 4 days. It was really great, but extremely tiring. Rome
is soooo huge it is impossible to do everything in a week
let alone 4 days. So needless to say we were constantly
moving and walking and STANDING IN LINES for a majority of
the trip. Of course, don't think I am complaining, we got to
see some of the most amazing art in the world. I would never
complain about that.
I LOVED Rome
and want to go back. Anyway, back to the beginning of last
week. We were in the classroom for all my classes on Monday,
and Tuesday wasn't anymore exciting. Wednesday for funerary
chapels, we went to Santo Spirito which was designed by one
of my personal favorites Brunelleschi. We saw all of the
family chapels in there which were all wonderful. The church
itself was gorgeous as well, and afterwards we walked around
and looked at various family palaces on the otr'arno. It was
a great class all in all. Of course, I always think class is
great when I get to look at amazing art and architecture.
:-)
Thursday, I
had a test in two of my three classes- Italy in Europe and
Italian-and I think they went pretty well. That night a big
group of us went to The Odeon which is a beautiful old
movies theater that shows movies in English. We saw Corpse
Bride by Tim Burton, and I think it was pretty good. We are
going back there to see Harry Potter 4 when it comes out. I
am soooooo excited about that, but I think it is the nicest
movies theater I have ever been in. Very old fashioned and
beautiful. We even had intermission in the middle of the
movies. :-) It was really neat.
So the next
morning bright and early we left for Rome. The first day, we
went to Capitoline Hill which had buildings designed by
Michelangelo and the Church of the Aracoeli which was
absolutely gorgeous. On Friday we also went to the
Pantheon....which can I say really does have a perfect
ceiling. I could have sat in there all day and just looked
at it. It was so calming and well....perfect. After that we
went and to several churches: Santa Maria Sopra Minerva
(with sculpture by Michelangelo and painting by Fillipino
Lippi), Sant'Ignazio (with a really really cool perspective
dome by Andrea Pozzo), Sant' Agostino (with Raphael frescoes
and a Caravaggio altarpiece), and San Luigi dei Francesi
(which had an entire chapel done by Caravaggio). We ate
gelato at Giolitti's which is according to Janet the best
ice cream in Italy. I enjoyed immensely myself, and they had
sooooo many flavors to choose from.
The last
places we stopped on Friday was Piazza Navona which is where
Bernini's Four River Fountain is. This long day was so
wonderful. I saw so much art, and the next day was even
better. We began the day at waiting in a 2 block line to get
into the Vatican museums. It took two hours to get in, and
then it was more lines as we went through the museum. It was
worth it though. I saw so much antique sculpture to name,
and then there were the paintings that were amazing. I would
name them, but there were just so many. It was so great.
After that we went to the Sistine Chapel...which was so
incredible. Michelangelo is a genius. We couldn't talk or
take pictures in the really crowded space, but everyone did
anyways. And this annoying little man working there kept
yelling "Silenzio!" and "NO PHOTOS!!" it was funny.
Then, we went
to St. Peter's and waited in line some more. Once we finally
got in...we saw Michelangelo's Pietą (a personal favorite)
and the Bernini's Baldichino and altar for the chair of St.
Peter. It was really amazing on the inside and HUGE. I loved
all of it. What was really funny though, was that our
professor Janet was almost arrested IN St. Peter's!!! She
was telling us about the church and apparently, you aren't
supposed to talk in the church unless you are a licensed
tour guide and rent the equipment they require for the
church. Well this annoying jerk that works in there came up
to and told her not to talk. So we go around the corner and
she whispers stuff to us as a Spanish tour guide is doing
the same thing right next to us only louder. He follows us,
and tells her if she talks again he is going to have her
arrested!! Well after that she doesn't talk and her
continues to follow us, approaches her again and tells her
to stop talking and radios someone to come get her!!! This
time she hadn't even opened her mouth!! Well needless to say
we left not long after that, but that guy was a real
first-class jerk. I guess it made for an interesting time
though. I mean how many people can say their professor
almost got arrested at the Vatican?? :-)
After that my
friend Jaci and I got a picture with one of the Swiss
guards. Well, they really aren't supposed to take pictures
with people, so we pretended like we were talking to him. I
guess people do that all the time because he told us no
photos and then asked why Grethcen hadn't taken the picture
yet?? It was quite humorous. I will have to get that one
posted on-line. :-) It's a good one.
That night we
went for a walking tour of some of the palaces around the
neighborhood, and then some of us girls chilled up on the
roof of the hotel and drank wine. It was really nice. The
next morning began really early again, but we got to see the
Roman ruins of the Forums, Trajan's market and column, and
the many triumphal arches like that of Constantine. We also
went to the King Vittorio Emanuele III monument, and....The
Colosseum!! It was soooo incredibly cool, and Jaci and I got
our picture taken with the gladiators that stand outside.
That is a good pic too.
Later on that
night we went to the Villa Borghese and saw some phenomenal
statues by Bernini It was really amazing the way that
Bernini manipulates the marble. It seems impossible really.
I was so impressed. We ate at a restaurant in Campo de'
Fiori and I ate a typical Roman pasta dish with bacon. It
was delicious. Our final day in Rome consisted of going to
see more churches that contained sculpture by Michelangelo
and Bernini. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, but man was I
tired by the end of the trip.
Wow this is a
long email...I told you we did a lot in 4 days. It was
ridiculous. I think I am still recovering and it is Thursday
:-) I am sorry if the length of this email annoyed you, but
Rome was really great and we did a lot of things. I hope I
didn't bore you. Don't worry you will probably only get like
3 more of these because I go home in 3 weeks. Crazy huh?
Time is a-flying.
I am going to
be sad to leave here I think, but I do miss all of you so
very much. I am especially sad because I am missing
Thanksgiving. Everyone eat lots of turkey, dressing and pie
for me because that is my favorite :-) Our professor Janet
it going to fix us Thanksgiving dinner next Thursday though,
so that will be nice. Not the same, but really nice and
thoughtful. Well I guess I have taken up enough of your
time. I hope everyone is well. I miss you all so much. Have
a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Ciao and love always,
Sarah
P.S. Cheer
your asses off at the game this weekend for me!! I am so sad
I am going to miss it. Although...Tyler tells me that if
that make the national championship I would be back in
States to help you guys out. :-) So do me proud...and cheer
them to the championship!! I love you girls and miss you so
much. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving break if I don't get an
email to you before hand. Love you!!!
November 8,
2005
Ciao Ciao
everyone! It is once again time for my weekly update. Things
are pretty good here. School is picking up work wise with
the end of the semester quickly approaching. Hard to believe
huh?
Anyway, last
week was kind of jammed with things to do. Well at least the
beginning of the week was super busy. Monday, even though
Italians really don't celebrate it, a bunch of us got
dressed up for Halloween and went out. It was a really great
time. I dressed up as a devil (thanks to the trusty 99 cent
store) :-) I had the forky thing, but they ran out of horns
so I made my own out of my hair. Don't worry I took
pictures. :-) We drank Spumante on the steps of the Duomo
and everything. It was a really fun night.
As for school,
Tuesday consisted of a trip to the Uffizi Gallery. We didn't
have Italian because it was a national holiday (All Saints'
Day) so all I had was my museum trip, which was phenomenal.
I saw so many famous paintings and altarpieces: Botticelli,
Michelangelo, Titian, del Fabriano, Raphael, Gentileschi,
Giotto, Caravaggio, Perugino, and tons more. It was really
amazing and so very wonderful.
The next day,
we went to the Bargello Museum, which also boasts extremely
famous art, mainly sculpture. I saw Donatello's famous
David, Verocchio's David, sculptures by Cellini,
Michelangelo, Giambologna, terra cotta pieces by Della
Robbia, and so many others. I am just overwhelmed with the
art I am getting to see. It is so fabulous. I wish that
museums had let us take pictures so I could share it with
you all, but I guess you guys will just have to see it for
yourselves :-)
The only main
museum I have yet to see in Florence is the Accademia with
Michelangelo's famous David. That is toward the end of the
month though. The rest of the week was really low-key. We
started a new drawing in my studio art class. We are drawing
a woman this time, and things are going well so far.
Friday and
Saturday, I went and did some sketching of sculptures in
Piazza della Signoria and San Marco. It was really nice. At
some point, I need to sketch the dome of the Cathedral. It
is on my list of things to do before I head back to the good
ol U.S.
On Sunday, my
friend Jackie and I went to Arezzo. It is a small town
pretty close to Florence. We went that day because the first
Sunday of every month there is a HUGE and I mean HUGE
antique fair. The whole center of the city was just tents
and tents of antique vendors. There were side streets and
buildings that had even more booths. It was really really
cool. The town itself was simply wonderful as well. I
couldn't afford most of the stuff there, but it was fun to
look. I did buy a vintage hat though. It was something I had
been looking for.:-)
So the day was
nice, but what gets interesting is our trip back to
Florence. See, in Italy, you have to validate your train
ticket before you get on the train. Well, our train left the
station, and we were just chatting about the day when we
realized we forgot to validate our tickets! So we got this
great idea that at the next stop we would hop off real fast,
validate, and get back on the train. Well, Jackie volunteers
to run to the validator box, and when she is coming back the
doors close to the train car. Problem: I can't open them
back up! So she ran to the front of the train and got caught
by the ticket man (he checks tickets on the train). So we
got a 5 euro fine for not validating, which was very
generous considering it can sometimes be 40 or 60 euro! I
think the man was just being nice to us. So I am now a train
violator! :-) haha.
Well, it was
an interesting end to a great week. I am getting really
excited about Roma this weekend. It is going to be really
great. As for all of you....I miss you all so very, very
much, and I am looking forward to coming home. Although, I
am not complaining about my present situation :-)
I hope
everything is well with all of you....any news you would
like to share?? An email is always welcome ANYTIME. I have
to get going though. I love you all....miss you like crazy.
Ciao for now,
Sarah
P.S. Congratulations to the new initiates!! I am so proud of
all of you! I wish I could have shared that day with you,
but know that I was think of you all!! Love and miss
everyone so very much!!!
November 2,
2005
Ciao once more
everyone!!
I am late
getting out my email this week because yesterday was a
national holiday in Italy: All Saints' Day. So the school
was closed which = no internet. But anyway, last week was
wonderful as well. I didn't leave Florence, but then again
there is always something to do in this wonderful city.
For my
Funerary Chapels and Palaces class, we went one day to Santa
Maria Novella which is one of the oldest churches in
Florence. We saw the famous fresco by Masaccio of the
Trinity,and also some really phenomenal family chapel within
the church. There was the Tournabuoni, Strozzi, Minerbetti,
and the Rucellai to name few. We concentrated mainly on the
Tournabuoni which is behind the high altar and boasts
beautiful frescoes by Ghirlandaio.
The next class
period we went to Santa Trinitą, and we looked at more
funerary chapels concentrating on the large Strozzi sacristy
and the Sassetti family Chapel which also had wonderful
frescoes by Ghirlandaio. They were all really beautiful.
After Santa Trinitą we hustled it over to see the private
Rucellai Chapel. The funny part of the story was that when
we got there is was closed. So our professor, Janet, went to
ask the "bread lady" down the street of all people for the
key to the chapel. In exchange for this massive
old-fashioned key, we had to buy bread from her afterwards.
It was really hilarious. We asked Janet why the bread lady
had the key, and she said she didn't know. She said the
thirty some odd years she has been in Italy the bread lady
has always had the key :-) It was just extremely odd and
funny. Something that would only happen in Italy.
As for the
rest of my week, studio went well. We just finished our
first drawing. Although, I would have like some more time,
but hey what can you do? On Thursday and Friday, I went out
with some of my friends here, and had a good time. Then on
Saturday, Gretchen and I went to the Boboli Gardens. The
weather was absolutely beautiful, and the gardens were so
wonderful. It was really relaxing. My favorite part of the
garden was the Grotto at the end by Buonatalenti. It was so,
so very beautiful, and I have decided that when I am older I
am going to have a grotto in my gardens too :-)
We also saw
the famous sculpture of the fat man on the turtle. I am not
sure what the proper name is, but it is a funny sight. I
took a picture of it so you all will be able to see it at
some point. My favorite happening in the garden though, was
our meeting with these 3 people from Milan. We were walking
along when they stopped us and asked Gretchen to take a
picture. So while she is getting ready to do that, one of
the guys in the group tell me I need to be in the picture! I
was like "okay..." So we took that picture, and then another
two people came along.
We asked these
two people to get a picture of all 5 of us. It was really
funny, and totally random. I thought it was great. After the
gardens we went to the Museum of Silver and saw many of the
Medici family's artifacts that they used when the lived at
the Pitti Palace. Overall, Saturday was a good day.
For the rest
of the weekend though, I kind of just relaxed. It was nice.
Next week we head out for Rome. I am super excited about
that. I am really really looking forward to it. I can't
believe that it is November already. Crazy!! How are you all
back home?? I miss you terribly. I hope things are going
well. I don't think I left out anything....hmmm. So much to
remember sometimes. Well, I love you and miss you all. I
have to get going. Limited internet time (ugh).
Ciao and love always,
Sarah
P.S. Boys- Good Luck at the Knox game and congrats on
winning conference!! I wish I could come watch the playoff
games. Love you and miss you!! KNUCK FOX!!!! You better win
that Bronze Turkey! Oh and be careful after the game ;-) But
not too careful!!
MC Girls-
Remember me on Knox night...I'll be celebrating with you in
Italia
October 25,
2005
Hello everyone!!! I am now
safely back in Florence and starting classes again. Germany
was absolutely wonderful. The Alps are so amazingly
beautiful. I can't wait to go back.
The town of Garmisch is the
cutest little thing. All of this Bavarian houses and sheep
in the yards. It was really wonderful. I took lots of
pictures, and am currently trying to load my first half of
the semester on my newly purchases jump drive. It is still a
work in progress though. I am not exactly the most computer
literate person. Where is my little bro when I need him :-)
Alicia and I had a
wonderful time. We did some sight seeing and also lots of
hanging out. Monday was our trip to Munich which was
phenomenal. We tried to go to the Old Pinotheka...I think
that is how you spell it. Forgive me if I am off a letter or
two. However, we didn't realize that all museums are closed
on Mondays. So we missed the Rembrandts and Durers. We made
up for it though the rest of the day.
We went to the Marienplatz
and saw the big Glockenspiel on the New Town Hall Building.
It was super cool. We also went into St. Peters and the
Cathedral of Our Lady. Both churches were sooooo beautiful.
Alicia was pretty amazed. I think these were her first
European churches. I have seen so many here in Italy, but I
still am in awe every time we go into a new one. After that
we were starving....so we found the best place of the day:
The Hofbrauhaus. It was soooo much fun. There was a German
band playing in full dress, we ate great German food and had
the BIGGEST mug of Weissbeer (Weissbeer is wheat beer ...it
is delicious) I have ever seen. We had a blast. We sat with
these two old couples from the States and one of the old
ladies tried to tell the waiter we both were looking for
good German men. I almost died laughing. It was just a
really great time.
The rest of the week
consisted of sight-seeing in Garmisch, which was wonderful,
going out with her friends, and watching some movies. In
Garmisch, we went to the ski jump arena from the 1936
Olympic Games -super cool. Absolutely loved it. We also went
to the Marienplatz in Garmisch which had this beautiful
park. Alicia's roommate showed me around the resort-which
was beautiful, and she also took me to Lake Eipsee. This
lake was so clear and so beautiful. I got some great
pictures, especially because it is at the foot of the
Zugspitz. The Zugsptiz is the tallest mountain in Germany,
and soooooo beautiful.
I feel like I keep
repeating myself, but everything really was beautiful. As
for going out, we went to this place called the Evergreen
one night, and they had KARAOKE!! I was sooooo excited. It
had been so long since I had sang, so I was very happy :-) I
know that watching movies doesn't sound like too much fun,
but I don't get to watch too many movies in Itlay. It was
really nice to hang out with my sis and kick back to a
flick. So break was incredibly fun and relaxing....up till
the time I had to leave.
Ah yes, another traveling
adventure for Sarah. So we assumed that there were trains
that ran late from Garmisch to Innsbruck. My train left
Sunday at 1:48 in the morning. We thought I could get a
train to Innsbruck at 11:00 something. So I decided that we
should go in a little early get something to eat, and then I
would be on my way. Well we got to the train station found
out that the last train left at 8:00. It was 9:00 at that
time. I started freaking out because there was no bus, and
we didn't know what to do. We ended up miraculously finding
a friend of Alicia's who was super nice enough to take me to
the train station in Innsbruck in his car. I was so
incredibly grateful. No worries in the end though.
Everything turned out just fine, and I arrived on time in
Florence. It was crazy end to an relaxing week. I guess I
should have seen it coming huh? :-)
As for you all, I hope that
things are still going well. I am missing you guys like
crazy, but there are only 6 1/2 weeks left. Crazy huh? This
next month is especially going to fly by because we have two
field trips to Rome and Siena. I am really looking forward
to those. Email me with updates if you would like. I have to
get going though. Love you all!!!!!
Ciao and love always
Sarah
New Girls- Congrats on the float!! I heard it was super
cute. Someone better have pictures :-) I can't wait to meet
you all!!!
Love and miss you all soooooo much.
October 18,
2005
Ciao once more everyone! This past week kept me pretty
busy with homework and trying to get ready for break. For my
funerary chapel and palaces class, last week we concentrated
on many of the palaces around Florence. We saw the Rucellai,
Strozzi which is HUGE, Pazzi, Antinatori, Gondi, Corsi-Horne
which has an amazing museum in it, Davanzanti which was a
really cool medieval palace, and a maybe a couple more whose
names I can't seem to remember right now. The palaces
though, were really cool. Being a big fan of architecture
this class has quickly become a favorite of mine.
We only got to
go in a and see all of a few, but most of the palaces we
were able to at least see the courtyards. The Strozzi palace
is absolutely massive. It is actually two palaces in one and
was built that way so the two sons of the household could
have their "own" palace. They are connected internally by
this amazing courtyard. It is just huge. As for my other
classes, I had two tests last week which kind of sucked, but
hey I guess I do have to do the school things sometimes over
here. :-)
My drawing
class is still going well. I have been sketching in my
sketchbook around the city, and one day I was sketching the
statues in the Piazza della Signoria. Well as I was
sketching these two tourists came up to me and one started
videotaping me as I was drawing! I didn't know what to do
except look down at my sketchbook and pretend I didn't
notice. Then what was really weird was the lady asked me
what my name was, and when I told her she said my last name
as if she knew me. It was really bizarre. I was kind of
weirded out, but hey how many times is someone going to tape
me drawing as if I was a celebrity?? It was still really
weird though.
As of the
moment I am in Germany and enjoying myself immensely. I left
early early Friday morning (12:05 am to be exact) on the
train and got into Garmisch where Alicia works at about
10:15. That night she took me out and introduced me to some
of her friends. It was really great. As for the weekend, we
kind of took it easy. She had to work and I wanted some time
to relax. So I stayed and slept in and then chilled out with
the Alps outside my window :-) We also watched the NLCS
which was nice considering I don't get ANY baseball in
Italy.
Unfortunately
we didn't see any W's from the Cards but that is okay. I
didn't watch last night and they won. I have decided I can't
watch anymore because they stress me out. I get so worked up
and nervous I just can't do it. I am crossing my fingers
though. Thank heaven for Albert! Everything is really
beautiful and cute here in Garmisch. The houses are adorable
and the Alps are so, so very beautiful.
I think Alicia
is going to try to show me around and stuff. I am looking
forward to it. As for you all....I hope things are going
well. I have about 7 weeks left over here. Crazy huh?? I
miss you all so much and can't wait to see you all. Keep in
touch!!
Ciao and love always,
Sarah
October 12, 2005
Ciao everyone! Sorry it took me a little longer again
with the email thing. I wrote a whole big long one
yesterday, and for some reason it did not send to ANYONE. To
make matters worse...I could not find the draft of it
anywhere. But that being said, last week was not extremely
exciting.
I took it easy
on the weekend one because I did not feel to well, and two
because I am gearing up for break next week! I am so
excited. Anyway, my funerary chapels class went to some
pretty amazing places last week. We were discussing the
Medici influence, so Monday we went to the Medici palace.
This palace is something I have been wanting to see since my
art history class last year. I was so excited. Inside the
palace is a personal chapel built for Cosimo di'Medici. It
is covered with beautiful beautiful frescoes of the
adoration of the Magi. I was in awe. It was wonderful.
On Tuesday, I
tagged along with another class to go to the Museo di Opera
del Duomo. This museum houses the original bronze doors by
Ghiberti, many works by Donatello like his Mary Magdalen,
Michelangelo's Pietą that he began late in his life and
never finished, and many other painting and sculpture from
the Duomo, Baptistry, and Campinile.
I was just
beside myself to be able to see all of these things, and be
in CLASS of all places. Later that day, my funerary chapels
class went to a 16th century Baroque palace, and at the
palace was an antique show. This were not just any old
antiques, but antiques that cost thousands if not hundreds
of thousands of dollars. It was pretty cool.
On Wednesday,
we went to San Lorenzo which is the Medicis parish church,
and was paid for by Cosimo. It was built by Brunelleschi, so
it is one of my favorites. It was absolutely beautiful. I
loved it.
As for the
rest of the week, studio art is going well. I am still a bit
frustrated at times, but I guess you can't be perfect when
you are learning. I know that I will definitely benefit from
this class though.
On Friday, my
funerary chapels class went to San Marco, which is a
monastery that was also built and financed by Cosimo. He had
his hand in just about everything around Florence. It was
also extremely beautiful. That pretty much does it for class
meeting places.
This past
weekend I did not do much of anything. On Sunday afternoon
though, the weather was beautiful, and I decided to go to
Fiesole, which is a small town in the hills outside
Florence. There, I saw Roman ruins, which never cease to
amaze me. I mean they were built in B.C. and the theater is
still used for events. The view in Fiesole is also
wonderful. You can see the entire city of Florence from up
there. I took some pictures, and just enjoyed relaxing. It
is a lot quieter than the city. So it was really nice.
Other than
that...nothing else to report. Just getting super excited
about break. I have a test in one of my classes tomorrow,
which sucks. But hey...I guess I am here to go to school
too. As for you all, I hope everything is well. I miss you
so much and cannot wait to see you all soon. Keep in touch,
and I will keep the emails coming!
Ciao and love you all,
Sarah
October 5,
2005
Ciao everyone!
Sorry it took me a little longer to send out my weekly
email. Things have been busy this week so far. I have had a
lot of homework due this week, and I have been trying to
catch up on sleep from this past weekend :-) But anyway last
week during the week was not incredibly exciting. My
funerary chapels class went to Santa Croce which was
beautiful like all of the other churches we have been to,
and they never cease to amaze me. It really is incredible
that buildings of that size and mass were built hundreds and
hundreds of years ago.
Santa Croce
had wonderful frescoes by Giotto, but they had been damaged
:-( from remodeling and modifications that had taken place
at different times over the years. However, they were still
magnificent. Santa Croce is also where Michelangelo (yes the
Michelangelo) is buried. We got to see his tomb which I
thought was incredibly cool. It is absolutely huge, and my
roommate got a picture that she is going to share with me
:-)
Studio art
also is going well. We have a model named Cedric to draw
during class, and I am really enjoying learning a new method
of how to draw. It is called the sight-size method. It is
tedious at times, but I think I am going to learn a great
deal from that class and improve as an artist. Other than
that nothing else really happened during the week.
But this
weekend....well this weekend was a different story :-) We
left for Naples on the train at 6:40 in the morning. It was
extremely early, and I was incredibly tired. I couldn't
sleep on the train though I think because I was too excited.
We got into Naples about 10:30 and walked to the hostel that
five of us out of the nine who went were staying. Let me
just say that Naples is....how do I put it Nappy :-) The
city is actually really dirty (in the inter part of the
city. the coast is absolutely beautiful). So just walking
around Naples was an experience in itself. After we got
settled into the hostel, we met the other group at the
Archaeology Museum which houses relics and sculptures from
Pompeii. It was wonderful, but at the same time we were a
little upset because it cost 9 euro to get in and only about
2/3rds of the exhibits in the Museum were on display. What
we saw was amazing, but some of the pieces we really wanted
to see like the frescoes were not open. All in all though it
was worth the money to see the art that dates from B.C.! So
I cannot complain too much.
That night we
went out for some Neopolitan pizza. We thought that since
Naples is the place Margherita Pizza was invented we figured
we better have some. It was absolutely delicious too. It is
stone baked in a fire, and just wonderful. It is also cheap
which makes it even 10 times better. The next day was the
most exciting. We made our way to Pompeii. We spent 4 hours
there and did not even come close to seeing all of it. The
city is seriously HUGE, and apparently they have not even
finished excavating yet! I was so amazed the something that
massive could be preserved from B.C. times. It was really
unbelievable.
The original
roads were still there and you could see the ruts worn down
in the stone from chariot wheels. I was just completely in
awe. I also saw the people that had been petrified from the
volcano. It was totally amazing but really eerie at the same
time. You could see the skulls of a couple of them. Weird
huh? I could say so much more about Pompeii, but you really
need to see if for yourself. It is simply amazing, a miracle
that we are still able to see the remnants of a powerful
ancient civilization. That night, we went out for pizza
again (what can I say Neopolitan pizza is great).
Then we were
so tired from climbing all over Pompeii that we went to
sleep early. The next day we took a ferry to the island of
Ischia. We were only able to stay for a couple of hours, but
those couple of hours were so worth it. Ischia is so
beautiful. We sat at a bar right on the beach and had a
drink (Campari Orange). It was absolutely disgusting do not
ever, ever get it. The whole menu was in Italian and he did
not have anything we wanted. So we went with the yucky
orange drink. Ugh .But I finished it because it cost 4 euro.
It looked pretty but tasted gross :-) Live and learn right?.
It really was great though.
The sea was so
calming and beautiful. There were sailboats and the weather
was absolutely perfect. I was so glad we were there for even
a small amount of time. I plan on going back there sometime
and staying like a week there. It was wonderful. I know I
just made the trip sound calm and serene, but we definitely
had some interesting points.
Trying to find
where we needed to go was one obstacle in itself, and the
traffic in Naples is 10 times worse than in New York City.
It was horrible. I am serious. I also never appreciated the
street cleaners in Florence until after that weekend. Ugh.
The inside of the city of Naples was horrible. I enjoyed
myself, but I would probably pick a different place to stay
when I go back. The hostel close to the train station is not
an ideal location. If you know what I mean ;-) But we
survived, and had a wonderful time.
I am just
going to take it easy this weekend though, and get geared up
for break next weekend. But that is my trip in a nutshell. I
am just fine, but I cannot believe it is October already.
Time is flying huh? I will be home before I know it. Oh well
live it up right? Other than that nothing else going on. I
am just super excited about break. Whoo-hoo Germany!! Well I
have to get going. Miss you and love you all. Hope to hear
from you soon!!
Ciao and love always,
Sarah
September
27, 2005
Ciao once again. This past
week was wonderful. Partly because we went to Venice. Can I
just say that it is the most beautiful city I have ever
seen. I loved it, and intend to go back at some point. The
weekend was so not long enough to see everything. I did not
want to leave. But on the way to Venice on Thursday, we
stopped in Padova (Padua) and saw the church of St. Anthony
where he is buried. The church was massive and absolutely
beautiful. I also got to touch the tomb of St. Anthony which
I thought was extremely cool. People come from all over for
pilgrimages to St. Anthony. So it is kind of a big deal that
I saw and touched his tomb.
After that we went to the
Arena Chapel also in Padova, and saw the famous frescoes of
Giotto. The pictures of that places are no comparison to the
amount of skill that Giotto possessed, and in that time
frame. It truly was amazing. However, we were only allowed
to be in there for 15 minutes at a time to keep the chapel
from being exposed to too many outside elements, being as it
is 700 years old this year. That is right.
It was painted in 1305.
Amazing huh?? We also had to go into a room for 15 minutes
that supposedly cleaned us before entering the chapel. It
was really bizarre but interesting. After that we continued
on to Venice. Ah....Venice. It is so wonderful. I love it
there. I didn't actually ride in a Gondola because they cost
like 70 euro, but basically the same thing is called a
traghetto. It is like a ferry but looks like a Gondola. It
was only 50 cents to go back and forth across the Grand
Canal. We even had like the picture perfect gondolier. :-)
On Saturday, we went to St.
Marks Square and into the basilica. It was absolutely
amazing. The entire ceiling of the basilica is mosaic.
Something like 3 acres of mosaic I think. It was really
impressive. After that a small group of us went to the Peggy
Guggenheim Museum. It is her private collection, and by
private collection I mean enough famous art to fill a major
metropolitan museum. She had pieces by Chagall, Pollock,
Klee, Braque, Picasso, Boccioni, Brancusi, and on and on. I
was thoroughly impressed, and modern art isn't even my
favorite. I was so glad that I went. I did some shopping in
Venice. Couldn't help. Muranese glass is absolutely
beautiful, and they make jewelry :-)
On Sunday, we went to an
famous 18th century Palace in Venice, and then I went to the
Accedamia. That was just so much art. But I saw some really
impressive stuff from the most famous Venetian artists of
the last Renaissance/Baroque period. Bellini, Titian,
Tiepolo. It is just so hard to believe sometime that I am
actually seeing and standing in all of these historical
places. I am so lucky to have such and opportunity. This
weekend we are going to Naples and Pompeii....maybe Capri. I
am really excited.
I wish you all were here to
share this with me. I miss you all so much. Sometime you all
must come over here. It is so worth it. But that is about is
for me. Nothing much else to say other than the fact that I
miss you all terribly. But I have to get going. Never much
time for internet. Gotta love Italy for that (not :-]). I
love and miss you all. Hope to hear from you.
Ciao and love always,
Sarah
Boys- I hope that football is still going well. Miss you all
like crazy. Keep me updated.
Mark-I have this picture that you are going to love from
Venice. I will send it to you as soon as I can. You are
going to laugh. :-)
Marjorie- The Guggenheim was absolutely amazing. Have you
seen it before? You would appreciate it.
Aud- We so have to go Venice again. It is so beautiful and
romantic and lovely and I could go on and on. Miss you!
MC girls- Hope that the birthday bash last weekend was
awesome. I wish had been there. Miss you like crazy!!
September
19, 2005
Ciao!! Well my
full third week in Italy has been wonderful as well. On the
14th, we took a field trip to one of the many Medici Villas
at Poggio a Caiano near Florence. This villa was one
commissioned by Lorenzo di Medici and was the first of its
kind in its design concept. It was made for outward
enjoyment rather than inward contemplation. For example,
older villas had an open courtyard within, but this villa
has an open terrace encompassing the entire house. It was
truly beautiful, though not kept up in the greatest shape.
It was still wonderful though. The grounds for the villa
were enormous. There were gardens and stables and so on and
so on. I really enjoyed it. On a different note, some of us
girls have found a favorite fruit vendor in the market. He
is this cute old Italian man who is always like "Ciao
Bellissima!" and he gives us free fruit. It is the cutest
thing. :-) I also did some more shopping with my roommate,
Gretchen. She purchased a few things and so did I. Then
Saturday we went to Pisa. It was wonderful. The Duomo
(Cathedral) there was absolutely beautiful. I was thoroughly
impressed. I am still working on the picture situation, but
I promise I will get the uploaded as soon as I can. As for
other sights in Pisa we went to the Baptistry, which was
also beautiful, and yes, we saw the famous leaning Tower. It
was definitely worth seeing. I even broke down and took one
of those cheesy tourist pictures like I'm holding up the
tower :-). Unfortunately it cost the ungodly amount of 15
euro to climb to the tope of the tower, so we passed on
that. Finally, we went to the Museo Nazionale di San Matteo
which houses altar pieces and some sculpture from the 12th
and 13th centuries. I really enjoyed that. It was absolutely
wonderful. And that is pretty much all that has been going
on. Gretchen and I tried out the Laundromat for the first
time- it was interesting. And I am starting my last week of
intensive Italian. Next week...my other classes start full
time. So I will now have even more homework. Awesome right?
Well, not a whole lot else except that this weekend we go to
Venice!! I am super excited about that. I am hoping a
Gondola ride isn't too expensive. I really really want to do
that. But we'll see I guess. I hope everyone is well and
things are going wonderfully at home. Anything new??? Just
curious.
I miss you all so much!!!!
Can't wait to see you all in December.
Ciao!!
& love always
Sarah
P.S. Boys- I hear you kicked ass against St. Norbert.
Congratulations!!! I am so excited for you. I wish I could
have been there. Can't wait to see you all!!
September 13,
2005
Buongiorno!! Come sta? (How are you?) I
hope everyone is very well. I am molto
bene and still having a great time. Last
weekend I went to London and visited Mom.
It was a lot of fun, also tiring, but a
wonderful time. It was adventure getting
there though let me tell you. So I took
the train to Bologna (and no it's not
pronounced like the American version :-) )
so I could get to the airport for my
plane. However, when I got there, I found
that I was at the wrong airport!!!
Apparently my ticket that said Bologna-Forli
menat Forli which was the name of the
airport in Bologna as I thought but a town
45 minutes outside the city! So I had to
take a bus back the train station and then
go to the bus station to take a bus to
Forli. Well everything turned out okay,
and I finally got to London with
mom. Needless to say though I was freaking
out a little. In London though we took a
double-decker bus tour and saw just about
everything: Big Ben, Tower of London, The
Globe Theater, The London Eye, etc, etc.
We even went to King's Cross and saw
Platform 9 3/4!!!! It was so neat. (For
those of you who don't know, it's the
magic platform in Harry Potter) The wall
even had a luggage cart halfway in the
wall. Anyway I was really tired after I
got back on Sunday because we didn't sleep
much, it was so worth it. Let's
see....what else. Oh yes I went to this
festival last Wednesday that they have
every night for the Virgin Mary's Birthday
with my roommate. And the children parade
through the streets with paper lanterns to
the piazza of Santissima Anunziata where
there is music, food, and pea
shooters. Apparently, it is custom for the
children to use pea shooters to make the
other children's lanterns burst into
flames!! It was hilarious to watch, but at
times very dangerous. I was hit a few
times myself with peas. Then the next day,
on the Virgin's birthday, they let people
go up to the cupola of the Duomo for
free. It was so amazing the view from up
there was phenomenal. I took a lot of
pictures so don't worry. And this weekend,
we are going to Pisa!! I can't wait.
Tomorrow we are also going to one of the
many Medici villas here it Italy. This in
my own opinion is the most spectacular, so
I am excited. I hope everything is
wonderful with everybody. I miss you all
so much, and wish you were here. My host
mom, Palmina is the sweetest thing ever
and a wonderful cook, but she is not my
family.
Love and miss you all bunches!!! Ciao
Belle!!!
Sarah
September 4,
2005
Ciao! I'm sorry I had to send out that massive
email. But the first night I used the internet one
of my emails didn't send so I was pressed for time
to get a hold of all of you the next time. See,
paying to use the internet really sucks. I just
bought six hours worth so that should be
better. Anyway, I've been here a week and though I'm
having a great time it feels like I've been here
much longer. I haven't heard a whole of details
about the hurricane as the news is all in Italian,
but I know that it is the worst natural disaster in
history. Which also sucks. Here, though everything
is great. I'm learning some more Italian, and our
host mom is helping with that as well. Why? She
doesn't speak ANY English. So dinner is an
entertaining time. This coming weekend I'm going to
London to visit mom so that is going to be fun. It
doesn't sound like we're going to sleep much but it
will be worth it. Let's see what else.....we went
shopping at the open market here in Florence which
is super cool. I got a skirt and shirt for 5 euros
each. I also purchased a lovely pair of Italian
boots for 29 euro!!! See Florence has their end of
the season saldi (sale) and everything is really
cheap. Well cheaper than normal anyway. So my pair
of Italian boots I promised myself before I left
have been successfully purchased. I also had an
adventure on the bus on Friday night. I took the bus
14 which eventually goes to the station the wrong
way and ended up in some town outside Florence call
Giorne. It was a little scary, but I made it back
and am wiser because of it. It something we all
laugh about now. Friday we also took a trip to the
parco medicea in Pratolino which is this huge villa
and garden area once owned but he Medicis (for you
info the Medici family ruled basically all of Italy
for hundreds of years and they weren't
monarchs. They just had that much influence and
money in religion, politics, and the economy.) The
gardens were absolutely beautiful. I have pictures,
and I will send some as soon as I can. We have to
figure it out first. its a bit more complicated with
the whole pay as you go internet thing. Other than
that nothing special. I'm glad to hear that everyone
is doing okay, especially Tiffany.
August 29,
2005
