Turkey = Tacchina

If you didn't know this already, Florence is a city filled with students, and American students especially. And all the American students have to celebrate Thanksgiving (as you probably knew already.) The Florentines sell turkeys specifically for us, and the butchers put little "Happy Thanksgiving" signs in their windows, which are naturally colored red, white, and blue.

So we reserved a turkey at the mercato, and Samantha picked it up on Thursday. (Luckily, it was a bird that fit - if narrowly - into our tiny oven.) Sara found some cranberry sauce at an American bakery, and we spent the whole day cooking! Marsha (our art advisor), Pietro, Laura, Nancy, Jackie, and Mark came by. Sara and John decorated our apartment with paper cut-out leaves and turkeys, and a colorful decorated sign reading "Buon Giorno de Ringraziamento!" John also made all of us Native American headdresses, and bestowed upon us our Indian names: Sara was Chipmunk Nuts. Gaby was Magic Corn Husk. Sam was Wild Belly. I was Glowing Moon, Glowing Face. And John was Great Snowcone. I know what you're thinking - and yes, we are kind of crazy...

It was an epic feast that night - corn, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans with panchetta, cream spinach, panzanella (a Tuscan bread salad), garlic mashed potatoes, sweet mashed yams, biscuits, and the turkey complete with stuffing, which Gaby prepared. For dessert, there was pear and dried cherry bread with cream cheese and cinammon butter, pumpkin pie, and afterwards, (naturally) the Thanksgiving food coma. I am still full - and we still have tons of leftovers.

Click for PHOTOS!

an eternal city...

ROME DAY 1:
Two weekends ago, our school took us on a field trip south to Rome. We met at the CSU center at 6:30 AM and took a bus all the way. There were a couple stops - one in the Necropolis at Tarquina to see Etruscan graves, and into the living town of Tarquina to see the Etruscan museum there. Our second stop was the Necropolis at Cerveteri to see more Etruscan graves. By now, I am completely Etruscan-ed out. However, the Cerveteri Necropolis is beautiful - it's foresty and green, maze-like with an air of peace and tranquility. The graves take the form of small hills with corridors leading inside. Think of the Hobbit Shire from "Lord of the Rings." I wouldn't mind being buried in this city of the dead...!
At around 6:30 PM we finally made it to Roma - our hotel was called the Jolly Leonardo da Vinci, and despite it's name, it was a very lovely place to stay! (There were lots of Nihon-jins staying there, which might say something...) Our dinner took place in the dining room at the hotel, with a first course, a second course, and a dessert.

ROME DAY 2:
I was spoiled during my last international trip - it was to Japan, and I had luxurious breakfasts of rice with misoshiru, onsen tamago, fresh fruit and 10 different types of juice. At the Hotel Jolly Leonardo da Vinci they also had a fantastic spread of mushrooms, sausages, juices, fruit, caffe, and an array of pastries. (Probably to live up to the standards of those Nihon-jin kankou-ers).
Our first sightsee-spot was the Roman Forum - the Palatine Hill, Capitaline Hill, Curia senate building, Commiteum, Triumphal Arch, Temple to Saturn and Hestia, the Basilica of Constantine...there were so many ruins, built during so many different reigns, and built at varying heights, that I couldn't take in all of that history in the 2 or 3 hours we were there.
On the bus on the way to Rome, we saw the Russel Crowe film "Gladiator." And the next day, there I was, standing in the Colosseum, where gladiators fought in ancient times. It was magnificent, awesome...and hard to imagine how it would have looked in 75 AD, with awnings pulled out, hearing the roar of thousands of Romans cheering on the fighters battling to the death.
The Parthenon and the Pantheon...the names are so similar and I always mix them up. But now that I've seen the Pantheon, it will hopefully be easier! On the outside, the Pantheon is a little dark and unimpressive...but once you walk inside, it's just as beautiful as any of the churches with colored marble and gold facades. It has a strange floor - it's concaved - and there is a circular opening in the roof - but rain never gets in. I didn't really understand it.
Later, we went to the Chiesa Luigi dei Francese, where I saw my first Caravaggio painting in person. The Calling of St. Matthew! Then to Piazza Navona, where we (sort of) saw Bernini's Fountain of the Four Rivers (it was under restoration - so our view was a bit obstructed). The church in the piazza - Chiesa Agnese in Agone, was in an unsual oval shape.
For dinner, some of us went to a restaurant where we had appetizer of fried olives stuffed with pork, and the Roman specialty pasta carbonara and for dessert, I had a ricotta torta (in the photo, the one on the very right.)
The Fontana dei Trevi was right down the street from where we had dinner...it was my favorite sight. It was more beautiful than any of the reproductions or photos I've seen of it - and we did the whole throw-a-coin-over-your-shoulder thing (I used a U.S. quarter, if you want to know), and then sat around sketching.
We found the Piazza Spagnolo and the Spanish Steps - the first thing I thought about was Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn in "Roman Holiday." A couple of us climbed to the very top and enjoyed a moment with a view of the Roman skyline - but then it started raining so we found the nearest subway and (using our Roma Pass) rode back to the hotel.
By then it was about midnight, which meant we had been out walking and being tourists for about 14-15 hours. BUT...the night was not yet over. I joined a group that was going to Vatican City - and I'm glad I did...even though I was ready to knock out in the warm room back at the hotel...even though my feet were aching like I'd just spent a whole day running around and standing in lines at Disneyland. The Vatican was deserted, except for a few people and cars passing through. St. Peter's Basilica was glowing, the fountains on either side of it looked like misting sculptures.
If you ever have the fortune to be in Rome - if you have the opportunity, see it late at night. This is when it really lives up to its name: "The Eternal City." Everything looks and feels so ethereal - there is a turquoise glow emanating from everywhere, dreamlike.

ROME DAY 3:
Our final day in Rome, we got up at 6:45AM - in time for breakfasts, checkouts, and a bus ride to the Borghese Museum by 9:00AM. Caravaggio is my favorite painter from art history, and Bernini my favorite sculptor (thanks to The Ecstacy of St. Teresa). The Borghese Museum has some of their most famous works. David & Goliath, St. Jerome...Apollo & Daphne, the Rape of Persephone...I was able to sketch from Caravaggio's paintings while Dominic (our resident director) talked. I was filled with inspiration - I wanted to make all my lights dark and all my darks really dark...!!
Next, we headed to Via Veneto, a street lined with designer stores and posh ristorante and bar/cafes. Dominic and one of the other staff members, Refuggio, told us they were taking us to a "surprise" and led us to a small, discreet church called Chiesa Immacolata Consezione and their Capella dei Cappucini. Refuggio hurriedly told us that he had gotten us 10 minutes to go inside, but we would talk about these 10 minutes for the rest of our lives. I know I was pretty excited - and this was what was inside: there was a long corridor, with enclaves on our left. In these spaces were graves. Not that strange. But on the walls were bones. Hundreds of hip bones or jaw bones arranged in decorative designs. Rib bones and leg bones made patterns around us. The tiny disks from the spines were used to make small chandeliers that hung from the ceiling. And surrounding the graves were the mummified bodies of deceased monks, either reclining or standing up in praying positions or holding crosses. I could see their fingernails. It was creepy, for sure, and to top it off there was spooky, solemn organ music playing from speakers somewhere. a photo...
I mentioned before that I was Etruscan-ed out - by the first day. The next stop in our tour was Palazzo delle Esposizione, where there was an Etruscan exhibition. I can only see so many Etruscan esophagi and artifacts, and in Florence and Rome I am constantly served up history, Renaissance, works from antiquity, etc. Luckily there was a Bill Viola show at the Palazzo delle Esposizione, which was perfect - a lot of people cut short the Etruscan show and headed for the video art. I saw his "Crossing," "The Greeting," "Observance," and "Departing Angel," to name a few. It really inspired me to learn more about video art, and perhaps even try it.
Afterwards, it was about time for an early dinner, so a few of us entered the first open restaurant that we found open, where I had a truffle arancini, and my first Italian lasagna. It was a very leisurely dinner, and by 7:00 we were back on the bus, and by 1!:45 that night I was back at home in Florence.

I want to spend a year in Rome too - 3 days is not enough for such a big, diverse, modern, yet historically epic city.
my facebook albums of Rome:
uno
due

The Coast and then...school!

The view from the Atrani beach:

Day One:
This last Tuesday, Sara, Sam, John, Gaby, and two of our friends Heather and Stefany took the 6:45AM train from Santa Maria Novella...our destination: the Amalfi Coast, and Ischia for Sara's 21st birthday. We switched trains in both Naples and Salerno, then took a bus to the coast. All the films and photos that I've seen capture the coast beautifully...there are the tiny buildings seemingly stacked up on each other, rising from the cliffs. It was wonderful to catch the scent of the sea again, hear the waves, and see palm trees. It was a little drizzly and overcast, but the place is still gorgeous. Because it is the off-season, our hostel was pretty much empty - there may have been two or three other occupied rooms, but we barely saw anyone. But we got to pick rooms in the front! Our first dinner was at a restaurant called "Le Due Palme." We all got an eggplant dish and mussels (the best ones I've ever had) for primi piatti, and then pizza for the main course. (We continued to eat a lot of pizza during our stay in Southern Italy ... I don't know if I can bring myself to eat the pizza in Florence afterwards!) The southern Italians also have a different way of speaking - they slur their words, and pay less attention to grammar rules. The first time I heard it on the train, I couldn't understand what they were saying.

Day Two:
Our hostel's free breakfast was so sweet! The cappucini have small smiley faces in them (see my facebook album for a photo). The second day we began our hike to Ravello. I have never known a place like this existed! Everything was green, moist, and almost tropical. There were moments when I was reminded of Hawaii or even the mountains of Japan, but instead of temples I saw the stacked Italian homes and churches. We passed by the private olive and lemon groves, and strange abandoned homes. There was a ceramics studio on the road up to Ravello where the lady, Giona, makes all her own ceramics (which the coast is famous for) and sells them. We finally made it to Ravello after maybe three hours. It is a cute town, although the items are a little overpriced (they take advantage of the tourists). We went into a church that housed the centuries-old (at least 400 years old) blood of Ravello's patron martyr.
That night for dinner we walked from Atrani to Amalfi along the cliffside, which is high above the rocky ocean below. In Amalfi we tried a restaurant called Tari, where I had a homemade pasta dish with squid, clams, and mussels. After dinner we walked out onto the pier and watched the waves and lightning, and getting sprayed by the Mediterrenean. We decided to head back to Atrani...and this is when we almost died! It was raining a little when we started back, but then the rain started going sideways. I closed my umbrella because it would have just snapped. When we got to the cliffside, the wind started picking up and I was forced to run because of the wind. I fell down, skinning my knee a little and ripping my jeans. I was huddled there with Stefany, Gaby, Sara, and Sam (I think) a few feet in front of me. There were motorcycles falling around us, and I remember being crouched on the ground there, thinking "I'm just going to stay here until it stops!" Luckily, Heather and John came back, dragged us through the wind and rain away from the edge of the cliff, where the wind was lighter. Exhausted and soaked through, we dragged our feet back to Atrani where we hung our clothes out on the clothesline, and took hot showers. For a while I was too much in shock to sleep!

Day Three:
We went to Amalfi to explore the town and see the Cathedral of Amalfi, which is beautiful. There was the Cloister of Paradise, filled with palm trees, and housed the remains of Amalfi's saints. Then the Basilica of the Crucifix, which holds some of Amalfi's treasures, such as jeweled crosses, crowns, and relics. The Cathedral of Amalfi also has the remains of the disciple Andrew in the Crypt of St. Andrew. Finally, there was the Cathedral, and there was a Eucharist in progress when I entered, so I got to see the priest speaking and hear the organs. We also visited the Museo delle Carte - the first paper mill in Europe, in use since the 1100s. After Amalfi we took a bus up to Positano. It is amazing taking the bus along the coast - it's so beautiful but it's also very scary - the street is so narrow so the driver has to honk a few times before turning any corners. Positano was a beautiful town, probably a destination more for people with money than for students. But the beach there was beautiful, and the water was warm, so we waded in. Because everything was so expensive, we went back to Atrani for dinner at a pizza kitchen right on the beach. I had a seafood pizza!

Day Four:
Sara's 21st birthday! We took the bus to Naples (a very dirty and crowded city...kind of like L.A. except maybe a little dirtier) and then a ferry to the island of Ischia, in the Bay of Naples. When we met the hostel owner, he offered us an apartment (instead of a room) which was basically a beach house with two terraces - one of which was over the water. When the hostel owner found out that it was Sara's birthday, he offered to open up his family's restaurant for us. It was really nice to have the restaurant to ourselves (along with a Canadian and Australian who came from the hostel) and I had a whipped egg and parmesan in chicken broth soup and tomato, mussels, & pecorino on giant tube sized-pasta. It was really nice - they brought out small chocolate cakes with a candle and we all sang "felice cumpleanno" for Sara.
(I had my first soft persimmon in Ischia - it was like jelly and delicious! I never knew I liked persimmons before this.)

Day Five:
We were originally going to leave on this day, but after seeing the beach house we couldn't help but stay another night, so we wouldn't feel rushed. We had heard about a thermal beach, so we went to the grocery store, picked up some things for sandwiches and lunch, and took a bus and short hike down to the Sargento beach. There wasn't any sand - just rocks, but we could climb on top of them and sit in the sun. (It was actually pretty sunny there and I got a little bit burnt!) The hot springs water came out of a small ledge under the shallow water. The cooler water from the waves perfectly balanced out the boiling water from the thermals. There was a man who was sitting there the whole time, and he was selling these jars of a mud skin treatment. We bought some for 2 Euros each and painted ourselves with it. After letting it dry, we rinsed off in the hot springs - and my skin did feel much softer!
...It was definitely very strange coming back to Florence, and finding myself thinking, "I'm glad to be home."

Check out my Facebook albums of the trip:
Uno . Due . Tre

This week was also my first full week of class at the Accademia. My painting class is very confusing - apparently it's hard for even the Italian students to understand the teacher, Professore Bisi. Hopefully it will get easier to communicate! I am also taking Anatomy, which consists of two 1 hour lectures and 2 hours of life drawing during the week. The teacher, Gennari, speaks a little English so it's a bit easier. My last class at the Accademia is Etching (Tecniche delle Incisione) with Viggiano, who has been teaching for about 40 years, I think, and was the head of the Accademia for several years as well. He doesn't speak English, but is able to communicate to us and is very helpful! It's exciting to finally go to an Italian school and meet people from Italy and from around the world.