A is for Adventure

Yesterday, I went to a place called Cinque Terre. It's consisted of 5 villages along the Mediterranean Coast. Beautiful. It was seriously so gorgeous. It's supposedly a 12km hike from the first town to the fifth town. However, due to mudslides, the pathway along the coast from the third to fourth and the fourth to the fifth were closed, but everything else was open. It really didn't affect us anyway though. A few friends had told us that the prettiest part was between the second and third towns and was capable in one day - we really didn't want to stay the night to save some money for other trips.

It actually only took us about 15 minutes to walk from the first one to the second one and, if we didn't stop at all, probably only 25 minutes to walk from the second to the third. In between the second and third we were able to get down to the coast. We packed lunches so we sat on the huge rocks and ate our lunches as we absorbed the beautifulness of the area. After arriving in Corniglia - the third town - we stole some lemons from the mass amounts of lemon trees. They were so delicious, if you like tartness and sourness of lemons that is. We wondered around for a bit and found a restaurant that we decided we were going to eat at later.

There was a road that went from Corniglia to the next town, so we were going to follow that, since the pathway was closed, but we found another pathway that we decided to take. It wasn't on the coast, but there were lots of toe paths off of it that we took to be adventurous. They really did take us to a lot of really pretty stuff that not many people would have been too daring to do. One of the paths we chose consisted of a rope to help you get down the very steep path. Once you got down that part, it was literally about a foot wide path that if you fell to the left, you were dead - plain and simple. No guard rail. Not even a person in sight. It was pretty crazy but awesome at the same time.

We found our way down to the coast by following that toe path. There were a few older guys down there with a couple dogs. Pretty nice, Italian, but they knew some English. We didn't really know where to go after we got down there because it took us back to the paths that were closed so we asked them for advice. They told us that we could go through this tunnel that was 1km long and it would take us like right by the train station to get back home. So, after hanging out by the coast for a little bit, we decided to go through this tunnel to get back to the restaurant for an early dinner. Let me tell you this is probably the craziest thing I've ever done in my life. I seriously thought that I was going to die. First of all, on the way down to the coast there were signs on rocks that said beach - in English - with an arrow that followed the path. So pretty much luring in dumb English speaking people. This tunnel was pitch black and all we had were our cell phones to light the way. Mind you, at the beginning there was a gate - that the guy closed as soon as we started to get deeper into the tunnel. I was freaking out and almost cried. I was just waiting for someone or something to pop out and grab us, but somehow we made it out alive.

The restaurant that we went back to was sooo delicious! I got spaghetti with clams and we all shared a couple bottles of white wine. The wine was literally made in the backyard of the restaurant, and it was so tasty! We sat outside because it was so nice and also because of the view - great view of Corniglia and the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately, it got cloudy and our plan to watch the sunset failed, but it was so beautiful all day that I can't complain about anything. One awesome trip that lead to one crazy adventure.

When in Rome

Rome was just plain awesome. Our hotel was located about 3 blocks from the Pantheon - which was the very first thing I went to see. It was really cool. Seeing the dome was really cool, I didn't expect it to be in such good condition it was awesome. Some other things I saw that day were Zaha Hadid's MAXXI Museum [Contemporary Arts Museum that doesn't open until April or May], 1960's Olympic Gym, Park of Music, Piazza Navona with the fountain of four rivers, and the Colosseum at night. The Colosseum was beautiful at night. Me and a few friends decided to wander around the Roman Forum while everyone else decided to go to a shady bar crawl to get drunk in Rome. We did go to an Irish Pub, which was filled with locals, to get a beer and watch the Rome soccer game - more my scene anyway. I am pretty sick of everyone who has to get drunk all the time. It's really not that great and the culture here is not that at all. It makes me sad and upset that they aren't enjoying Italy as they should be. There's too much to see to be getting drunk every weekend.

The second day was pretty epic. Things seen: Ara Pacis Museum done by Richard Meier, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and the Roman Forum. I sadly wasn't impressed by Richard Meier's building, but everything else was really cool. A few friends decided to race up the Spanish steps; I got a video - it's pretty funny. After that we got lunch - by the way, I had an awesome lunch: a salad loaded with carrots, corn, zucchini, tomato, and tuna - and headed over to the Trevi Fountain. It was gorgeous in Rome pretty much the entire weekend. It rained in the morning and then always turned out to be a beautiful day. By the time we got to the fountain it was sunny and so warm. We just sat on the bench right next to the fountain and absorbed the sun and relaxed listening to the water run. Next, we had an archeologist take us on a tour of the Roman Forum. He was pretty cool, somehow he learned all thirty of our names by the end of the three hour session - pretty ridiculous. He definitely knew what he was talking about too, and kept us interested. Later, once it got dark, a group of us went back to the Trevi Fountain and Roman Forum, both were still awesome at night.

St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum, and the Colosseum took up the entire next day. St. Peter's was actually smaller than I expected. However, still extraordinary. It was just amazing to be there as a Catholic - something that I've always wanted to do. I went down into the catacombs and saw Pope John Paul's tomb, which was very crowded for obvious reasons. The Vatican Museum was huge, and packed since the Sistine Chapel is located there. It was weird though in the Sistine Chapel. Everyone was packed in like sardines and there were only two security men telling everyone to not take pictures and videos and be quiet. I did sneak a few pictures [oops]. I also saw Raphael's famous The School of Athens painting - awesome. It still gets me every time I see something that I've read and studied about for the past 2 1/2 years. From there we trekked all the way to the Colosseum before our pass expired - at 4:00. Let me just say that that walk, from the Vatican Museum to the Colosseum, is a long one. Finally getting there, though, was bitter sweet - only bitter because my feet were killing me. I was so excited to be in a building that has been there since before we can even think to remember. Dinner was tasty, we went back to the Irish Pub because we had looked at their menu from before, delicious burger and potatoes - something I haven't had in I don't even know how long! I think this night was the best one I've had since I've been here. I got some gelato and sat next to the fountain by the Pantheon. A couple was playing the guitar and singing, everyone was having fun and enjoying the people they were with, the night air was decently warm, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Not to mention there are those cute little Italian restaurants all around the Piazza and the apartment buildings/hotels had little baskets of flowers outside of each window. I only sat there for a couple hours, but probably could have sat there forever. It was definitely the picture I had in my head of Italy, and I think it finally started to hit me that I'm really here.

The fourth and last day we had a Baroque tour. Our tour guide seriously looked like a bum off the street. He kept lighting up cigarettes and it was bugging the crap out of me. To say the least, I unfortunately couldn't pay attention to him because of it. After that, we went to the Isola Tiberina - an island in the middle of the Tiber River. Got a sandwich from a snack bar/cafe, went all the way down to the river, sat in the sun, and enjoyed our food and the weather. I can't get over how nice it was the entire time we were there, it was t-shirt weather in the middle of February. From there, we wandered around until meeting up with the rest of the group at the hotel to make it back to the train station. Unfortunately we had to ride the bus to the train station, and even more unfortunately I have a similar story to that of my Grandma's while on board. She warned me about this, but I figured being in a large group it wouldn't matter to me. Wrong. To say this in the least amount of words as possible, the bus was crammed - like no place to move, not even an inch - and there were creepy men - or at least one - on board. Me and another friend were violated. I kept elbowing him his stomach as hard as I could to get him away from me since I couldn't move, and when I finally got around to get away from him he went to another girl in our group. Disgusting, and if I would have been there another minute I probably would have punched him in the face.

Other than that I had an amazing time in Rome. Such a great time and saw so many incredible things. Can't wait to go back for Easter!!

What I Came Here For

I find it ironic that I never talk about classes or school and that's the reason I'm here. My first field trip is tomorrow. We are going to be in Rome from Thursday through Sunday, getting to see some modern architecture and some old/ancient architecture: Roman Forum, St. Peters as a few examples. I'm pretty excited, especially because every night after 5 we have free time so I can go see everything else that they aren't taking us to.

My Italian Art class is awesome! Today we went to Santa Maria Novella and the Duomo for our lectures. Next week we are going to the Duomo museum and the Uffizi Gallery, and some upcoming classes are up the Duomo dome and San Lorenzo. It's probably the best way to learn about art and architecture when your right in front of it, and when your teacher knows so much!

Conversational Italian class...well not great. I do really good on tests because I can read it, but I am awful at speaking it.

Sketching and Drawing is really cool too. So far we have gone to sketch the Duomo, Piazza Signoria, Pitti Palace, and the Hospital of Innocents. I'm glad I took this class because I already feel like I'm getting better at sketching, which I thought was a lost cause.

Studio is very cool as well. We just finished our site model and did precedents so now we are starting to analyze our site. My professor is very cool and thinks that trips are the most important thing for an architect, which is nice for when we are gone an entire weekend and don't get a lot of studio work done.

Urban design is my last class and it is also pretty neat. It's just a lecture series of all the studio professors. They show us their work and teach us about planning cities. It's cool when you are getting to see some work of architecture firms that you actually hear about like Metrogramma [Alberto Francini is the professor that works for them], Morphosis and RoTo [Paola Giaconia worked for them and is a professor], Andrea Ponsi [pretty awesome and insane architect], and my studio professor Filippo Caprioglio [actually not too famous but has his own architecture firm and is very intelligent].

I definitely have some great classes that I'm learning a ton from, even though I am only in class for three days of the week. And I'm definitely getting taught by some very intelligent people.

Vienna and Bratislava

Vienna was beautiful. I feel kinda bad saying this, but I'm so glad I got out of Italy for a weekend. I almost felt at home in Vienna. Maybe it's my German heritage, but I didn't feel like I stuck out like a sore thumb like I do in Italy. All the people there were so nice too. It was pretty much freezing the entire time we were there, and snowing. I really enjoyed it, though, since we haven't really had winter here in Florence, just rain and 40 degree weather.

We got into Vienna Wednesday afternoon and pretty much just wandered the city for the whole day. I saw the Succession building, Opera House, St. Stephansdom, MODERN BUILDINGS, and other Gothic Cathedrals around town. I was so happy to see some buildings that were built less than 50 years ago, and not classical, classical, classical. It was a nice change in scenery. We also went to a pub and got a beer called EKU 28. Really good, and really strong. I was seriously slightly drunk after only having one bottle. We also went to see a tower at night that lights up and changes colors.

[Sorry for my friends, this was after we had the beer..]

The next day, we pretty much did the same thing over again. We went to the Town Hall and park - located directly in front of the Town Hall. The park was so awesome! They put ice skating rinks in and had music and food all over the place. It really just put me in a Christmas-y mood. Everyone was enjoying themselves and the food. I also got to see some of my favorite architects work, which was awesome to see in person. Later that night we had an Austrian-style dinner.. weiner schnitzel, potato salad, and beer. It was freaking delicious. I actually had a lot of good food while on the trip, a lot that didn't cost a whole lot and tasted amazing.

Our last day in Vienna we went to one of the Palaces outside of the city. It was so pretty, but I wish I could have seen it in the Spring or Summer with the gardens in full bloom. We also headed back to the city center and hung out until it was time for us to go to Bratislava.

Bratislava was much more than I expected. I knew I was going to see a church and some older, along with newer, buildings, but the atmosphere was great. Everyone was so friendly, and pretty - honestly I wasn't expecting that at all. We saw all the main attractions, and had some traditional Slovakian dishes, such as roasted pork and dumplings.

It was really a great weekend, even better than I expected it to be. A lot of the culture was German, obviously, and it makes me want to go to Germany so much more now. I can't wait!

Lessons. Learned.

Naples is a pretty neat city. It reminded me a lot of San Fransisco though, especially when walking along the coast. It's very impoverished, and quite large for an Italian city. To be honest, I was kind of disappointed. The coast line was pretty and the pizza was really good, but I think I would be okay with not going back. Pompeii, on the other hand, was awesome! I don't really know how to describe it since it consists of ruins after ruins, but it is definitely a place to go see. I mean the city was preserved from 79 A.D. to the 17th century by volcanic ash, pretty crazy. We got to see the basilica, houses, crosswalks, where restaurants would have been, bakeries, DOGS - there are stray dogs everywhere, and you can adopt them - and the pottery, people, and dogs that were able to be preserved with plaster.

I know I've already asked this question, but seriously what if the Roman Empire hadn't fallen? They had a running water system in, some say, 500 B.C. which didn't really happen again until, at the earliest, the 16th century. What happened for 1000 + years? I keep asking myself that question every time I see something else the Roman's accomplished.

I learned a lot of lessons on my journey to Napoli... Lessons that I hope I never have to learn again.

Lesson 1 - Do not, I repeat, do not get on a gray and red train if in Italy. These are the fast trains that cost a fortune. Yes, very nice, and you get there extra quick, but EXPENSIVE! After buying a train ticket to Naples, we saw on the screen train leaving to Naples. We got on not realizing we had to go to Rome, and then get a connecting train to Naples. Sometimes, not always, a person comes around and checks your ticket to make sure you're on the right train, or to see if you actually bought a ticket. We were on an express train that costs 72 euro one-way. Not the regular train that costs 52 euro round-trip.

Lesson 2 - Try to persuade the guy checking tickets into letting you get off at the next stop. Me and three other friends were checked before the 6 others were. We paid our 50 extra euro since we got on the wrong train then went to the others and told them what had happened so they knew it was coming. They argued their way out of not paying and got off at Rome - the only stop other than Naples that was taken - and proceeded to get on the right train to Naples at no extra cost.

Lesson 3 - The food on the express train is not free. They do have a buffet and drinks on the train, but they are not free. However, we did not get the food, we were thinking about it. Good think we actually asked on this one and didn't just go help ourselves.

Lesson 4 - Actually do research before you go to a foreign city. I was just along for the ride because I didn't really know much about Naples, and I just really wanted to go to Pompeii and Vesuvius. Bad idea, I feel like I didn't see anything because we didn't really know where to go or what to see.

Lesson 5 - CHECK THE FORECAST! [This one can be broken down to a few parts] If it is going to be raining the entire weekend, do not go to Naples. We walked in the pouring rain, with no umbrella, for oh a good 40 minutes. We were soaked, and even though we used the dryer at the hostel, my clothes were still a little damp in the morning. I didn't really come prepared for soaking wet clothes either, so I was wet pretty much the entire trip. Also, we couldn't climb Mount Vesuvius because of bad weather. I was pissed - one of the only reasons coming to Naples.

Lesson 6 - Before you leave stations, check the times of your connecting trains. Not one of us checked the last train back to Florence from Rome, thinking it's a big city and there are plenty of trains at least stopping through Florence. We got into Rome at about 7:30. The last train to Florence left at 6:45. We had to spend another 22 euro to get to Pisa and then take a bus from there to Florence [arriving back into Florence at about 3 A.M.]. Our other option would have been walk around [or get a hostel] Rome until 6 A.M. to then spend more money on a ticket from Rome to Florence. We decided to go home the earliest we could.

Lesson 7 - 25 and up, run. Romes train station is huge! After deciding that we were going to get on the train to Pisa, we had to buy our tickets and get to the train. It was at terminal 28. We had to speedwalk/run to get there to make sure we got on in time because 25-29 are out in the middle of nowhere.

Lesson 8 - This one isn't too bad and is the last one, thankfully. Don't put your feet on the seats across from you. The train from Rome to Pisa was 4 hours long, and there was like no one on the train. We each decided to stretch out and use another seat to put our feet up. The guy that came around checking tickets yelled at us like three times for having our feet up there. Oops.

I think it's safe to say this weekend wasn't one of the best weekends I've had since I've been here. It was still fun and I did see some pretty cool things. Just wish it went a little better than that.

Scatter-brained week

This week was pretty crazy. A small project was due on Tuesday for studio. It went well considering I didn't start final production until Monday since I went to San Gimignano and the outlet mall over the weekend. I did finish though, and did get some sleep. Today, our professor went over our projects with us which went good, too. I'm looking forward to the rest of the semester and the next project. We get to design a library for an existing university, along with some other programs, like a cafe and such.

Also, this week we found out we had to go to the police station to obtain our stay permit. Finding out Tuesday, my day to go was yesterday - Wednesday. There was a group of about 30 or so that had to go at once. Our appointment was at 7:45 A.M. They did not start finger printing our group until 10:45 A.M. I was last. To say the least, I missed the class that I absolutely love and wasted five hours of my life. The place was crazy full of people trying to stay here, whether they were students or just people trying to live here. Oh, and the best part - I get to go back in a month and do it all over again just to receive my card, HOORAY!

I have seen so many Riley's since I've been here. Both days going to class this week, I saw a black lab puppy...cutest thing ever! It reminded me of the day I first saw Riley. I don't think I've mentioned this yet but Italians - especially Florentines - treat their dogs like humans. They are almost always wearing clothes, some in leather - yes leather - coats, and they are allowed to go into every store. It's awesome because they are everywhere, but it makes me miss my dogs :(

Pretty much everyday of the week, me and a few friends make family style dinners. We've had very good meals too - baked ziti, humongous steaks, chicken parm, and different pastas with homemade sauces. Yesterday was my day to cook and I decided to go Mexican since you can't find it anywhere in Florence. I make my own salsa, and seasoned the ground beef and chicken with my own concoction. It was pretty hard to get a spicy flavor since they have like no hot peppers anywhere, and taco seasoning packets don't exist. But it turned out pretty well and everyone seemed to like it. The salsa, I have to say, was freaking good - so fresh since I bought all the veggies fresh from the market. It's going to be weird going back to the states and going to the grocery store. I'm really getting used to shopping daily for dinner and always getting really fresh foods - with no preservatives. It's like a luxury almost that I'm definitely going to miss.

Well tomorrow I'm headed to Naples and Pompeii. I'm so excited! We are planning on climbing Mount Vesuvius, which I'm really looking forward to. We are only staying Friday and Saturday so it will be a lot of running around, but hey it's a once in a lifetime experience!