una notte a napoli, con i cieli e il mare

When we were heading down towards Southern Italy for our final field trip, everything looked exactly like the Southern California landscape - the same hills and the same scenery. We stopped in the ruins of Hadrian's Villa near Rome. Another similarity between Socal and Southern Italy is the sunny weather. It was great because most of the sites we visited were outdoors, so we were able to go outside in nature without coats and scarves. As usual on our field trips, the first night we enjoyed a prepaid group dinner. At the Pizzeria Canta Napoli, we were served three different types of pizza: the traditional pizza margherita, pizza marinara, and pizza con prosciutto and mushrooms. For dessert there was a ricotta and rosewater torta. The pizza that night was the most delicious I've ever had! (The pizza marinara was my favorite). The crust was perfect - crisp on the outside and soft and warm on the inside!
Day Two, we went to Paestum, a site with ancient Greek temples said to be better preserved than the ones in Greece. The weather continued to be beautiful, and I tried some of the mozzarella di bufala, which is made from the milk of the water buffalo which live there. We went to the Museo Capodimonte, a huge place which has a collection spanning from 1500s Titians to 1900s and 2000s with Andy Warhol and Anselm Kiefer. (Unfortunately the modern art section was closed). BUT we got to see some Titians, Caraccis, and Caravaggio's "Flagellation of Christ." For dinner, pizza again, this time at Brandi, the pizzeria known for inventing the pizza margherita for Queen Margherita of Italy.Day Three, we walked a LOT. But it was outside and in the infamous cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii and later the Villa of Mysteries next to Pompeii. It was crazy to hear the stories of that day in 79 AD when Vesuvius erupted and completely covered these two thriving cities in ash and to walk through the ancient streets and homes and see the graffitti and plaster casts of the victims. That was the day that our bus broke down and could not take us back to the hotel. We had to take the train but it wasn't that bad because we were able to walk through the city of Naples. It reminds me a lot of a big U.S. city like LA - it is dangerous and dirtier than Florence - but it's also bigger, and the personality is interesting. The Napolitans are so much nicer too!

Our last day we went to the National Archeological Museum of Naples. It was like being hit in the head by my art history class. (In a good way). I saw the famous "Merchant and his Wife" and the Roman copy of the Doriforos (when I first learned about contrapposto.) On our long drive back to Tuscany, we stopped in a site called Cuma, founded by the Greeks in 79 AD, and where Daedaleus was said to have landed. We walked around to the temples dedicated to Apollo and Jupiter, and then to the Sybil Cave, which is the gate to hell in the Aeneid. This is where the Sybil would foresee the future. Cuma was a nice end to a fun weekend - it was high on a hill by the sea, so we had a beautiful view of the ocean.Now that we're back, it's a lot of school stuff! Luckily, Elisse and her friend Gladys are coming to visit on Saturday so they will distract me from being too studious. LOL. Also, I need to start making plans for Spring Break!!! ahemGREECEahem

+++ shutterfly ALBUM+++

masks of carnevale

New month, new post!

Last weekend I made a trip up to Venice to stay a couple nights with some friends from the program to celebrate Carnival (or Carnevale in Italian.) Venice is a beautiful port city with labyrinths of winding pathways that lead you over narrow canals. It's easy to get lost. We were able to see St. Mark's square and the church, which houses the body of Mark the evangelist.

view from the inside of the church

The square was filled with masqueraders and tourists. There were plays of the Commedia Dell'Arte, and costume processions, and at one point a giant balloon floated up with an air acrobat flying from it. At night, there was even a drag contest.

everyone in their masks

The next morning we visited the Venetian island of Murano, which is famous for glass. (I got a small glass ring as a souvenir). We had a very pleasant picnic sitting on the edge of the canal, and wandered around a bit more before going back to the main island of Venice, and getting to see everyone's crazy costumes and the nightlife of Venice during Carnival.

on the ferry bus

photo album!

The new semester started this past Monday. There are only four months left. I need to start working harder!

"Amsterdam was stuck in my mind"

Finals are over!
The semester is done!

The night after my final final was over, Sara, Sam, Gaby and I took a bus to Pisa, then a plane to Eindhoven, then another bus to Amsterdam. When we stepped off the bus we were tired (we hadn't slept that night, and had been traveling for about 8 or 9 hours) and it was raining, snowing, and windy.

Eager to find some food and warmth, we headed straight for the Pancake Bakery, which our roommate John had recommended from his trip to Amsterdam earlier this year. These weren't normal pancakes - mine had spinach, melted cheese, and cashews; Gaby's had apple and bacon, Sam's had ham and cheese, and Sara's was an "Indonesian" pancake with curry. If this sounds disgusting/weird, think of okonomiyaki and how delicious that is. This is the international/Dutch version!
We also visited the Anne Frank House. It was an incredibly strange feeling to know that I was walking in the same places that Anne Frank and the other people in hiding did. I would go crazy being stuck in there for two years.
For dinner, we had a Turkish/Algerian feast. There was hummus, a lamb/chicken/apricot/yam kebab with cous cous, veal ribs, Turkish delight, and baklava.

The next day, we had a bagel breakfast. I never knew I missed bagels so much! Another reason to go back to California.... Next, we headed to the Rijksmuseum (pronounced "raiks" museum), which is scheduled for intensive construction and renovation from 2005 - 2008. It's now 2009, but only a quarter of the building was open. At least we got to see some beautiful Rembrandts and Vermeers! For our Valentine's dinner we went to an "Asian Fusion" restaurant in the vicinity of the Amsterdam Chinatown, got some noodle soup and Ben & Jerry's!

Our final mission was to the Van Gogh museum. A new exhibit focusing on Van Gogh's nightscapes just opened, and it ended with "The Starry Night," which is smaller than I thought... The Van Gogh Museum was full of inspiration for me - and seeing his paintings in person is a very different experience.
For dinner, we went to an Indian restaurant. We couldn't leave Amsterdam without having some Indian food. I finally had some naan!

I was just getting used to eating Italian food every day...and this trip reminded me of the other foods out there...!! I liked Amsterdam a lot, though. It's very peaceful, and the fact that everyone seems to have flower displays in their windows and balconies makes the city that much better. My album - sorry not many photos!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's and President's Day...I am headed off to Venice for Carnevale on Friday and will update about that soon!

5 Months

To everyone at home; THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the Christmas/お正月 presents! I will try to get out thank-you postcards as soon as I can...!!!
Last weekend we went on a Northern Italy field trip to Ferrara, Padova, Vincenza, Mantova, and Venice. We saw many beautiful buildings; a Palazzo Ducale which contained the Camera degli Sposi, and an amazing theater (in the photo on the right.) In Venice we went to the Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia, where we got to see a lot of paintings by Tintoretto, Titian, Veronese, and Giorgione. Venetian painting is distinctly different from Florentine painting. It's darker because it's painted on dark canvas and wood. (I actually like it better). The weekend definitely helped inspire me, which is a good thing because I need to get a lot of painting and drawing done!











Something weird: When we went to the Hong Kong ristorante two Tuesdays ago, the waitress was talking to us for a bit, and mentioned that she had a 5 month old baby. And I realized, that baby has been alive as long as I've been here in Florence.
FIVE MONTHS has gone by fast...but there have been some "slow" times as well. However, It's been five months of rediscovery, normal discovery, and change. Already I can feel how it will be difficult for me to adjust to life back in the States. Now that I know that 5 months is not enough to fully know and understand a place, how can I ever settle in one place when there are so many places to explore?

duemillenove + adventures

This was the craziest New Years I've ever experienced. First we had a potluck for the people who were still in Florence (as opposed to traveling Europe or back home in California). The photo is our apartment decorated with artwork and ribbons!

Then we went to Piazza della Signoria to see how Florentines celebrate Capo d'Anno. It insane. There were fireworks - but not organized ones. These were fireworks that normal people were shooting up into the sky - fireworks that exploded and made sounds like bombs in your ears - and fireworks that shot horizontally at you. It sounded like the city was being bombed. Once the clock struck midnight, people started throwing their empty wine and prosecco GLASS bottles. It was scary!

The next morning I hopped on a train to Rome to meet Nate there at the airport. It was weird to see him after five months. We got extremely lost on the way to our hotel, but we finally found it. The next day after lunch in Piazza Navona, we returned to the airport (after getting lost yet again) to pick up Judy.
Exploring Rome was an amazing adventure - we went to the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Vatican Museums and into St. Peter's. And I saw Michelangelo's Pieta! (See photo) - and also the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and Raphael's School of Athens.

After Rome we returned to Florence - we got to go to all the markets - Sant'Ambrogio, San Cascine, and San Lorenzo - we went to the Galleria at the Accademia and the Uffizi, got gelato and good food (including Chinese for the first time in a long time for me). For a weekend we spent a night in Bologna where I found 50 euros on the ground and we blew it on an amazing dinner in a beautiful, cute restaurant that served traditional Bolognese food. We also visited Pisa and Lucca, and on our last night we went across the Arno to a small trattoria for a classic Tuscan meal. I will definitely miss them but believe it or not I've been here for five months next week. Half of my ten months in Italy has flown by and it won't be long until I see them and my family again.

















I also got to see the Obama inauguration! It was amazing to see the ocean of people there, and even though I'm not in the USA for this historical election/change of power, at least I can always say, "The first time I got to vote, it was from Italy for the first black president - and I got to watch his inauguration on CNN.com!"
Go Obama!