Tuesday, 3/11/03
How shall I start? I am, of course, in Venezia. Yesterday we left at 7:10 in the morning for Ravenna. I was too exhausted to pull an overnighter and finish my project. I brought it with me. As we drove in the city on the bus we passed some pretty whitish trees. We didn't know what they were, but they had sweet gum-like things on them. Cady and Kate named them spiky ball trees.
We went to the Church of San Vitale. I was blown away by the shimmering mosaics (frescoes don't come close) and the alabaster windows that let the light shine through. The church was round and gorgeous. Afterward I was with Omar, Morgan, and Morgan's sister. We got food at a pizza/sandwich place and sat down in front of a McDonalds, the only place where it's safe to sit without being charged or go to the bathroom without buying something. We had a good laugh when Omar saw a sign advertising a McMexican meal. The burger supposedly has guacamole on it!
We all joked about singing songs without thinking about it, because at 5am on Saturday morning when Omar and I were at the computer, Omar thoughtlessly started singing "Build me up Buttercup." Omar singing doesn't phase me, but his choice of song really cracked me up. I've had that song (one of my very least favorite oldies) stuck in my head on and off since then.
After Ravenna, we came to Venezia and I slept the entire 3 hours. When we got to the coast of the mainland we were all raising our eyebrows at how ultimately ugly it was. It was fully of ugly busy streets, and enormous factories. We got on a boat and could see nothing. I'd been excited about coming to Venice, but wasn't really enjoying myself because I knew I had a ton of work to do. When we got to Lido (the island where our hotel is) we found out that we ought not to validate our 72 hr. boat passes until the next day, so they would be good through Friday. I was glad, because that meant there was nothing to see that night and I could work on my project.
I went to a Chinese restaurant with Carmen and Valerie for dinner. My pineapple chicken and wonton soup were satisfactory, but after seeing Carmen's spring rolls and tasting Valerie's sweet and sour chicken, that was what I wanted. Unfortunately, it wasn't cheap so I won't go again. I worked the rest of the evening (with a glue hunting interlude. I finally found scotch tape at a photo shop and that will have to do). I got a lot of work done, but still have more to do.
This morning we had breakfast at the hotel. I ate a whole lot (a dry oatmeal based cereal, to rolls, one with honey and one with jelly, and my first banana yogurt, as well as good old OJ). I wanted to make sure I minimized my mid-day hunger, so minimizing how much I spent on food.
We got on the boat, couldn't see the main island until we were on the dock, then stepped up to St. Mark's square. It was so foggy that we couldn't even see the lion. Paolo said we were lucky, though; on some days you couldn't even see your own feet. When I was walking up to where the group was gathering, Cady was in front of me and suddenly her leg was up in the air with a pigeon flying! She finally kicked a pigeon, something she's wanted to do since she came to Italy. She also said her mom's theory is that the reason Venice is slowly sinking into the ocean is because of all the pigeon poop.
When we got to the square in front of the church, President Bowen was there! [former Pres. of TAMU] We all took group pictures. It was exciting. We went into St. Mark's and, again, the mosaics were amazing. Behind the altar was the Palad'oro, a golden altar piece. Paolo's father was actually a museum curator in Firenze and when he was a child they lived in the museum. Once the Palad'oro was taken apart int 7 pieces and stored under Paolo's bed. So he feels very acquainted with it, having slept on top of it. They go way back, Paolo and the altar piece.
When Paolo was talking a woman came up to him and snapped, "It is forbidden to speak so fast. You are not a guide. You cannot speak so fast." Paolo was like "Okay, I will try to speak slower. Who are you?" She said, "I am a guide!" and walked off. We all wondered what the heck she was talking about. I think she got her English mixed up and meant that he couldn't speak so loud, since he wasn't a paid guide. Not that he was really even loud. He was just talking above a whisper.
Later, Valerie told me this story. Carmen was admiring the cross shaped candelabra hanging in the center of the church, saying that it would be so pretty if it were all lit up. Valerie answered that Carmen's boyfriend would really like that, since he's black, and that would make it a burning cross. I wonder if anyone besides the KKK has used burning crosses?
Kate is always meeting people with cool accents. There was a Brazilian guy at St. Mark's who lives in New York. She loaned him €.50 because at the postcard desk the man wouldn't take a bill for €.60 worth of postcards. The funny thing was that Kate only had a bill but he accepted it because she was spending more money. Alex, the Brazilian New Yorker, also had with him a Spanish girl and Australian guy who lived in London. We took a picture with them, then they left. Isn't it funny how people can pass in and out of your life just like that?
After St. Mark's, I went with Valerie and Carmen to find the Palazzo Grassi to see the Egyptian exhibit. We found it without much trouble but it took forever to get inside, the line was so long. The museum was pretty neat. It brought to life the Egyptian culture in a way I had never thought about before. It started when Valerie pointed to a ring (I don't remember which Pharaoh it belonged to) and said "Can you believe he was actually wearing it?" All of the sudden he became a man instead of a mere profile with lots of eyeliner. It makes Egyptian culture more interesting, as reality instead of just a legend, but it's also quite scary, since it's so foreign. Any empire scares me at the thought of how people were repressed. And maybe the royal families were repressed as well. It makes me wonder if the Pharaohs really believed they had divinity in them, or if they just felt the burden of trying to live up to that reputation. The people were probably so uneducated that they believed what they were told, or else.
After the museum we were tired and hungry (it was after 3), and we set out to the island where Il Redentore is, to find something to eat then see the church. But we were trying to figure out which church was the one in Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade with the X marks the spot on the floor. After we cruised around town on the ferry, we got off at one church to make sure it wasn't the one. It wasn't, and even more, we had to pay to get in. So we didn't do more than glance through the door.
By then the boat had left so we set out to find food there (that church was Il Gesuati). We walked down narrow alleys, but figured we were in a residential area because we couldn't find any food. We didn't want to eat on the water, of course, because there were only expensive sit down restaurants. Finally, we came to Santa Maria del Salute, which is a beautiful round church. We were at a dead end, with the water surrounding us, so we headed back and on the way we found a sandwich/pizza place. I got the best sandwich I've had in Italy there. It had lettuce, tomato, prosciutto, then sliced hard boiled eggs, and on bread that I think was seasoned with basil. It was so delicious.
We hopped back on the ferry and finally made it to Il Redentore, one of Palladio's beautiful churches. I love it because it was built as a result of a vow that someone made, that if the Lord delivered them from a plague that was sweeping through Italy at the time, they would dedicate that church. It is simple, not gaudy inside like so many other churches, and they hold a procession every July to celebrate that promise.
Next we went to San Giorgio, the other Palladian church. It was really big and beautiful, with the choir stand behind the altar. The choir was in a semicircle, marvelously carved wood. I really wanted postcards of the interior of the church but I couldn't find a gift shop anywhere.
After San Giorgio we hopped across the water back to the tourist stands by St. Mark's and I bought a cute Italian map on a cloth, and looked at a lot of Venetian masks, one of which I am determined to get before I leave. We came back to Lido, went to the grocery store, and came back to the hotel. Now I will work.
Showing posts with label Cady. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cady. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
A Murder, and an..ahem..Art Exhibit
Sunday, 3/2/03
What a day, what an eventful day, what a stressful day! I got up at 7am to catch the 8:38 train to Arezzo. It's been raining all day, but it's not cold so it's kind of nice. I went down to breakfast at 8, but here at Santa Chiara breakfast is at 8:30 on Sundays. Luckily Jesus (Hey-Zeus) had already set out the cereal (cereal!) and milk (milk!) so I got some, my first of either since I've been in Italy.
While I was waiting for the train an Italian man introduced himself to me. His name was Guiseppe, and he's been to Massachusetts and New York. When we got on the train I sat by an older couple and their daughter, who were American tourists on their way from Cortona, to Firenze, to Pisa. But something happened. The train didn't go anywhere. People started hanging out the windows trying to figure out what was going on, and suddenly there were two ambulances and a slew of police cars. We thought someone had gotten hit by the train at first, then we heard there was a fight (there were a few Italians who spoke a little English and filled us in best they could). People were getting off the train, getting on again, not knowing what to do. The conductors didn't even come by to let anyone know what was happening.
Finally, we saw the police bring out an Italian woman, a larger woman with dyed red hair, in hand cuffs off the train. It came out--she had taken a policeman's gun and shot two policemen. How the situation started, I haven't a clue. Next we saw the body bags coming from the train to the ambulances. The American man automatically jumped to the conclusion that she must be a terrorist. I think that is B.S. Needless to say, that train wasn't going anywhere. We had to wait for the next Firenze-bound, which was over a hour later.
Anna cheered me up after church with fun questions like what my favorite animal was, and we talked about food. Paola, a sister in the branch, asked me over to her house next Sunday which I am excited about, but also nervous, because she understands English but doesn't speak it as well.
Monday, 3/3/03
When I got home there was no way I was going to go to the Carnivale in Val di Chiana with everyone else. I went to sleep. It turned out however, that it was canceled anyway, because of the rain. So much for the puppet factory, and so much for the actual carnival.
After dinner Peter showed tow 15 min videos by the super studio group from the '60s and '70s, which were weird and a little over my head. He lectured after that, but I wasn't about to stay when I had work to do. I went to Morgan's room and sketched her camcorder plug. She asked me what my goals and dreams were, and I told her about wanting to be a writer. She said, "I think you will be a better writer for majoring in architecture." I nearly jumped for joy. She is the first person I've told that to, whose first reaction wasn't "Why are you majoring in architecture?" I was happy she understood the general concept of how design can apply to anything and that more than anything, this degree stimulates my creativity in a way not found in, say, an English degree.
I forgot to mention that I talked to Britt after dinner about what happened this morning. She heard about it on the radio and apparently just one policeman died. The woman probably had drugs or something guilty on her, so when the man asked for her identification she pulled a gun and shot him. And we think it happened while the train was in progress before Castiglion so it wasn't a local person.
That doesn't change the tragedy of the occurrence, though. When I went to Morgan's room I told them (Morgan, Kate, Omar, and Marie) what happened. Kate and Omar said that at Cafe Ignorante this morning they saw it on the news, that everyone in the cafe stopped what they were doing and watched it. They, of course, didn't know what was going on because it was in Italian. Peter was there and they asked him to translate, but he was on his cell phone so he just said, "Oh, somebody got shot. It's nowhere near here."
So, back in Morgan's room the conversation took a twist. Morgan and Dixie decided to draw her boobies. They were making fun of what flat chests they have. Then Kate came in and drew hers, with a very exaggerated hourglass figure. They came up with the idea for everyone to add to it, but laughed at what the cleaning ladies would think if they saw elementary pornography on their wardrobe doors (we've seen many more explicit things in the art museums). Idalia joined us and drew a ridiculous picture of herself. I figured I might as well do it too, so I drew a one line profile of my body, including my stomach pudge, and labeled it "Mountainous Horizon". Kate was "Mt. Vesuvius" and Dixie was "Mosquito Bites". When I came upstairs I told Cady and Karin that if they went to Dixie, Morgan, and Kate's room, to be prepared to draw their boobies. They decided that now was a good time, so we all went back down. Cady labeled hers "Swamp Thing".
What an activity for a Sunday night!
What a day, what an eventful day, what a stressful day! I got up at 7am to catch the 8:38 train to Arezzo. It's been raining all day, but it's not cold so it's kind of nice. I went down to breakfast at 8, but here at Santa Chiara breakfast is at 8:30 on Sundays. Luckily Jesus (Hey-Zeus) had already set out the cereal (cereal!) and milk (milk!) so I got some, my first of either since I've been in Italy.
While I was waiting for the train an Italian man introduced himself to me. His name was Guiseppe, and he's been to Massachusetts and New York. When we got on the train I sat by an older couple and their daughter, who were American tourists on their way from Cortona, to Firenze, to Pisa. But something happened. The train didn't go anywhere. People started hanging out the windows trying to figure out what was going on, and suddenly there were two ambulances and a slew of police cars. We thought someone had gotten hit by the train at first, then we heard there was a fight (there were a few Italians who spoke a little English and filled us in best they could). People were getting off the train, getting on again, not knowing what to do. The conductors didn't even come by to let anyone know what was happening.
Finally, we saw the police bring out an Italian woman, a larger woman with dyed red hair, in hand cuffs off the train. It came out--she had taken a policeman's gun and shot two policemen. How the situation started, I haven't a clue. Next we saw the body bags coming from the train to the ambulances. The American man automatically jumped to the conclusion that she must be a terrorist. I think that is B.S. Needless to say, that train wasn't going anywhere. We had to wait for the next Firenze-bound, which was over a hour later.
Anna cheered me up after church with fun questions like what my favorite animal was, and we talked about food. Paola, a sister in the branch, asked me over to her house next Sunday which I am excited about, but also nervous, because she understands English but doesn't speak it as well.
Monday, 3/3/03
When I got home there was no way I was going to go to the Carnivale in Val di Chiana with everyone else. I went to sleep. It turned out however, that it was canceled anyway, because of the rain. So much for the puppet factory, and so much for the actual carnival.
After dinner Peter showed tow 15 min videos by the super studio group from the '60s and '70s, which were weird and a little over my head. He lectured after that, but I wasn't about to stay when I had work to do. I went to Morgan's room and sketched her camcorder plug. She asked me what my goals and dreams were, and I told her about wanting to be a writer. She said, "I think you will be a better writer for majoring in architecture." I nearly jumped for joy. She is the first person I've told that to, whose first reaction wasn't "Why are you majoring in architecture?" I was happy she understood the general concept of how design can apply to anything and that more than anything, this degree stimulates my creativity in a way not found in, say, an English degree.
I forgot to mention that I talked to Britt after dinner about what happened this morning. She heard about it on the radio and apparently just one policeman died. The woman probably had drugs or something guilty on her, so when the man asked for her identification she pulled a gun and shot him. And we think it happened while the train was in progress before Castiglion so it wasn't a local person.
That doesn't change the tragedy of the occurrence, though. When I went to Morgan's room I told them (Morgan, Kate, Omar, and Marie) what happened. Kate and Omar said that at Cafe Ignorante this morning they saw it on the news, that everyone in the cafe stopped what they were doing and watched it. They, of course, didn't know what was going on because it was in Italian. Peter was there and they asked him to translate, but he was on his cell phone so he just said, "Oh, somebody got shot. It's nowhere near here."
So, back in Morgan's room the conversation took a twist. Morgan and Dixie decided to draw her boobies. They were making fun of what flat chests they have. Then Kate came in and drew hers, with a very exaggerated hourglass figure. They came up with the idea for everyone to add to it, but laughed at what the cleaning ladies would think if they saw elementary pornography on their wardrobe doors (we've seen many more explicit things in the art museums). Idalia joined us and drew a ridiculous picture of herself. I figured I might as well do it too, so I drew a one line profile of my body, including my stomach pudge, and labeled it "Mountainous Horizon". Kate was "Mt. Vesuvius" and Dixie was "Mosquito Bites". When I came upstairs I told Cady and Karin that if they went to Dixie, Morgan, and Kate's room, to be prepared to draw their boobies. They decided that now was a good time, so we all went back down. Cady labeled hers "Swamp Thing".
What an activity for a Sunday night!
Friday, February 4, 2011
Random life at Santa Chiara
Sunday, 3/2/03
One thing I forgot to mention about Friday is that before we went to Perugia, we visited a church outside Assisi that St. Francis was reportedly commanded to build. There is a big cathedral to house a little tiny chapel inside, that apparently world leaders always pray in when in Italy for diplomatic matters.
That said, let's go on. Yesterday Cady and Karin went to a psychology lecture on Mary Magdalene. I was supposed to go to the puppet factory for today's carnivale with the architecture group, but didn't know when or where to meet so I asked Kate and Morgan. Kate said she heard the puppet thing was canceled and I ended up hanging in their room for two hours. We talked mostly about weddings.
Finally, I got up to studio, grabbed a few things, and brought it all to my room. By that time the people were back from the lecture. Cady loved it. She is, of course, an art history minor and the lecture focused a lot on the artistic tradition of Mary Magdalene. What fascinates me is how Mary seems to have an entire life created out of the little it actually says about here in the bible. Where did they get the idea that she was a prostitute? I looked it up in the Bible yesterday, and all it says is that Jesus cast seven devils out of her. Everyone else I talked to thought the lecture was one of the most boring things they've ever been to.
I worked until dinner, not that I made much progress. I put together a crossword puzzle background for a page in my book, but I don't know what I'm going to put on it. Before dinner there was a peace march in Castiglion. [this was right before the U.S. declared war on Iraq] My roommates marched and I took pictures when they marched under our window. They had torches and everything. After dinner Valerie and I spent forever trying to find a place to hang Cady's Pace [peace] flag. We didn't succeed.
Carmen was upset when we went back to their room because the pay phone sucks minutes out of phone cards like nothing else. After we made a general list of our [spring break trip] destinations and I came back, Cady was upset about the same thing. There is no reason why we should spend €5 on a phone card and only get 10 minutes out of it. I think we would all rather pitch in a few extra dollars to get another regular phone line. Pretty much everyone is pissed about that.
I must take a nap or I will scream. Farewell sunflowers, you served me well. [referring to my sunflower journal]
One thing I forgot to mention about Friday is that before we went to Perugia, we visited a church outside Assisi that St. Francis was reportedly commanded to build. There is a big cathedral to house a little tiny chapel inside, that apparently world leaders always pray in when in Italy for diplomatic matters.
That said, let's go on. Yesterday Cady and Karin went to a psychology lecture on Mary Magdalene. I was supposed to go to the puppet factory for today's carnivale with the architecture group, but didn't know when or where to meet so I asked Kate and Morgan. Kate said she heard the puppet thing was canceled and I ended up hanging in their room for two hours. We talked mostly about weddings.
Finally, I got up to studio, grabbed a few things, and brought it all to my room. By that time the people were back from the lecture. Cady loved it. She is, of course, an art history minor and the lecture focused a lot on the artistic tradition of Mary Magdalene. What fascinates me is how Mary seems to have an entire life created out of the little it actually says about here in the bible. Where did they get the idea that she was a prostitute? I looked it up in the Bible yesterday, and all it says is that Jesus cast seven devils out of her. Everyone else I talked to thought the lecture was one of the most boring things they've ever been to.
I worked until dinner, not that I made much progress. I put together a crossword puzzle background for a page in my book, but I don't know what I'm going to put on it. Before dinner there was a peace march in Castiglion. [this was right before the U.S. declared war on Iraq] My roommates marched and I took pictures when they marched under our window. They had torches and everything. After dinner Valerie and I spent forever trying to find a place to hang Cady's Pace [peace] flag. We didn't succeed.
Carmen was upset when we went back to their room because the pay phone sucks minutes out of phone cards like nothing else. After we made a general list of our [spring break trip] destinations and I came back, Cady was upset about the same thing. There is no reason why we should spend €5 on a phone card and only get 10 minutes out of it. I think we would all rather pitch in a few extra dollars to get another regular phone line. Pretty much everyone is pissed about that.
I must take a nap or I will scream. Farewell sunflowers, you served me well. [referring to my sunflower journal]
Friday, January 28, 2011
Roma!
Wednesday, 2/19/03
I am pooped! This is the reason I didn't write last night, and it'll be a struggle now. To finish up pre-Rome: I regret to say that I hardly remember Monday. Oh yes, I had my first mixed media class and it was frustrating. I guess I'm just not very good at abstract design. It went okay, though. After lunch I finally started compiling my magazine cutouts in studio, but still don't have a lot of substantial work done.
I had only about 15 pages of I Capture the Castle left before dinner, and I was in agony. I told Karin that if I hadn't read the book before, I wouldn't have come down for dinner. After dinner Kate came into out room wanting to use the secret door and she grabbed my book and ran off! Before I could put my shoes on and run out after her she was back in, had circled out the secret door to the fourth floor, then back down the regular stairs. I ran out with her and we explored the entirety of secret passageways. Then I walked on the catwalk from Sean & Eric's window to Andrea & Rory's balcony. It was a little scary, but I did it because the boys said that Dixie had stolen all their food from their outside windowsill (we call them refrigerators) via the catwalk as a joke.
I finally finished I Capture the Castle an hour after I was supposed to and the ending still broke my heart, even though it was my third time reading it. I can't express how wonderful that book is.
I actually fit everything I needed for Rome and Pompeii in my normal backpack. Good thing too, for I haven't any other. So when we got to Rome we walked by the Colosseum but didn't go in, then through the Roman Forum which was awesome. Morgan and I stopped for a few seconds to take pictures and when we looked up the group had vanished! We ran up two exits at the other side, up to the Wedding Cake [Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II], and back to the Arch for about 20 minutes. Then Morgan called Omar's cell phone, and the group was still in the same place they'd been before! They had just moved into a corner for a few minutes. We felt pretty stupid, but it was funny.
We walked through the square of the Capitoline Museums [Campidoglio] with the statue of Marcus Aurelius (not destroyed, because the Christians had mistaken him for Constantine) then to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is always our landmark to get back to the hotel.
In our free time in the afternoon a lot of us planned on going out to the catacombs but we were slow in getting our plans together to get a taxi, so by the time we would've gotten there it would be closed (it turned out that it was closed on Tuesdays anyway). So then we were going to see the Colosseum inside (this whole time we were losing people from our group, and gaining some. It was confusing). But apparently we couldn't read maps, because by the time we figured out where we were, we were on the other side of the forum and it was getting dark. We went to the museums instead. They were really neat, with paintings, frescoes, and sculptures. I am desperately in love with sculpture, particularly Bernini and Michelangelo. Cady got a beautiful Bernini book at the museum. I am going to have to search for it on e-bay some time. Bernini: the Sculptor of the Roman Baroque, by Rudolf Wittkower.
When we got home in the evening Valerie and I watched Ghost in French. I didn't have the energy for anything else.
I am pooped! This is the reason I didn't write last night, and it'll be a struggle now. To finish up pre-Rome: I regret to say that I hardly remember Monday. Oh yes, I had my first mixed media class and it was frustrating. I guess I'm just not very good at abstract design. It went okay, though. After lunch I finally started compiling my magazine cutouts in studio, but still don't have a lot of substantial work done.
I had only about 15 pages of I Capture the Castle left before dinner, and I was in agony. I told Karin that if I hadn't read the book before, I wouldn't have come down for dinner. After dinner Kate came into out room wanting to use the secret door and she grabbed my book and ran off! Before I could put my shoes on and run out after her she was back in, had circled out the secret door to the fourth floor, then back down the regular stairs. I ran out with her and we explored the entirety of secret passageways. Then I walked on the catwalk from Sean & Eric's window to Andrea & Rory's balcony. It was a little scary, but I did it because the boys said that Dixie had stolen all their food from their outside windowsill (we call them refrigerators) via the catwalk as a joke.
I finally finished I Capture the Castle an hour after I was supposed to and the ending still broke my heart, even though it was my third time reading it. I can't express how wonderful that book is.
I actually fit everything I needed for Rome and Pompeii in my normal backpack. Good thing too, for I haven't any other. So when we got to Rome we walked by the Colosseum but didn't go in, then through the Roman Forum which was awesome. Morgan and I stopped for a few seconds to take pictures and when we looked up the group had vanished! We ran up two exits at the other side, up to the Wedding Cake [Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II], and back to the Arch for about 20 minutes. Then Morgan called Omar's cell phone, and the group was still in the same place they'd been before! They had just moved into a corner for a few minutes. We felt pretty stupid, but it was funny.
We walked through the square of the Capitoline Museums [Campidoglio] with the statue of Marcus Aurelius (not destroyed, because the Christians had mistaken him for Constantine) then to the Pantheon. The Pantheon is always our landmark to get back to the hotel.
In our free time in the afternoon a lot of us planned on going out to the catacombs but we were slow in getting our plans together to get a taxi, so by the time we would've gotten there it would be closed (it turned out that it was closed on Tuesdays anyway). So then we were going to see the Colosseum inside (this whole time we were losing people from our group, and gaining some. It was confusing). But apparently we couldn't read maps, because by the time we figured out where we were, we were on the other side of the forum and it was getting dark. We went to the museums instead. They were really neat, with paintings, frescoes, and sculptures. I am desperately in love with sculpture, particularly Bernini and Michelangelo. Cady got a beautiful Bernini book at the museum. I am going to have to search for it on e-bay some time. Bernini: the Sculptor of the Roman Baroque, by Rudolf Wittkower.
When we got home in the evening Valerie and I watched Ghost in French. I didn't have the energy for anything else.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Life in Castiglion Fio, a trip to Pisa, and a Pride & Prejudice Party
Thursday 2/6/03
I got almost 8 hours of sleep last night but nevertheless, I still went back to bed after breakfast. Then we met Paolo at the town hall at 11 and toured the local art gallery. I sketched, but didn't take pictures. We came back for lunch which, for a change, was tuna salad instead of meat and potatoes. After a course of pasta, of course.
We had a meeting after lunch to discuss the Santa Chiara situation and we are now scheduled to move in the last day of February. We took a tour of it today, and it is gorgeous. The courtyard has a breathtaking view. Then we had studio and Peter demonstrated to us how to watercolor. I am going to try tomorrow. We then met officially with the Mayor of Castiglion Fiorentino in the town hall. I ate all my junk food while reading Persuasion in the 30 minutes we had between that and dinner. Tomorrow I am going to the Co-op to get some major grape juice because seeing wine makes me crave it. We had good chicken for dinner. I have also become very grateful for the fruit afterward.
A lot of people went out tonight, and several played a crazy card game and got drunk downstairs in the bar.
Sunday, 2/9/03
I am in a very somber mood at the moment. I just went up to the roof to get away and it was very nice but a breeze was blowing just too cool for comfort, and there was no where to sit outside the path of the wind. I don't mind being here, but I don't want my roommates to think I just sit in bed all day when I don't have anything else to do. I still haven't found out where church is, so I just have to make the most of the Sabbath on my own.
Now, to catch up on the rest of the weekend. What did I do on Friday? I slept in, for one. After lunch Karin and I attempted to get our train tickets to Pisa from the ticket machine, but it didn't work. Then we wen to the Co-op and I got apple juice, because I guess Italians use all their grapes for wine. I also got a cake thing for breakfast on Saturday, and some chocolate. They are both gone now.
Friday afternoon I couldn't find anything as a watercolor subject in my room and I didn't want to go outside so I was going to do a storyboard type thing for a scene in my story. I couldn't draw anything remotely to be identified with fire in pencil though, so Karin and I went to the Tobacci and I got some cheap colored pencils. She got markers. My storyboard didn't turn out too well because I just can't draw things worth anything that I'm not looking at. It's a beginning, though. I even wrote a little bit. It's terrible, but at least I got my ideas on paper in two mediums. Visualizing my stories helps me to think more creatively about them and will, I think, improve my writing.
The next morning Karin and I got up for the 6:54 train to Pisa. We ran to the station worrying that we wouldn't be able to get our tickets (we had talked to someone and straightened out the problem with the machine) but it worked fine and we had five minutes to spare. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get there, with changing trains in Florence. We took the early train because we thought there would be more to do in Pisa than there really was. We planned on meeting someone in front of the tower at noon and so we just wasted the morning in the drab, uninteresting town. But she didn't show up. So, using Karin's "Let's Go" book we hunted for a little sandwich place to eat. It wasn't there. There was only a broken down plant shop. So much for travel guides.
We crossed the Arno again (which, being near the mouth, was very dirty and un-beautiful) for the third time to make our way back to the restaurants that we knew were near the chapel/tower/baptistery complex. After grabbing a sandwich we got our tickets to the Piazza del Duomo. It was €8,50 for everything but the tower. We went to a museum first where we saw models of the buildings, statues from them, and all kinds of other artifacts. Then we went to the Baptistery because the Duomo was closed for lunch. The Battistero was absolutely beautiful, round with two stacks of arches around the inside, but I won't attempt to describe it further. We climbed to the third level inside the roof, which I didn't know you could do, and realized that we were as high as the leaning tower. My legs were shaking with fatigue by the time we got down, so we decided not to pay the extra €15 for the tower. It sure is amazing from the outside, though. It looks so much more unsettling in real life than in pictures. No matter how long I stared at it, every time I came out of another building, it struck me again. It just looks so wrong. It really looks like it's going to fall over.
After the baptistery we went into the Camposanto (cemetery), a beautiful rectangular building with a courtyard in the center. The frescoes on the walls were burned in WWII so the walls were just blank, but the statues and marble grave tiles were gorgeous, as well as the marble walls that divided the hall from the courtyard. The walls were intricate, looked like they should have stained glass windows in them, but they didn't. The interior, if you could call it interior, was very much linked with the inner courtyard.
The Duomo itself was more beautiful than either the Duomo at Florence, or Santa Croce. The walls were all painted, there was a double row of arches in the side isles with vaults, and the ceiling, though flat, had a gold square pattern on it. We went to one more museum after that but all it was was an attempt to reconstruct the ruined frescoes. It would have been interesting if there was enough left of them to able to tell what they were depicting. After that museum we were out of Pisa. So, let it be known that there is only one site worth visiting in Pisa and it only takes half a day.
So the question after Pisa was, "Where to now?" We didn't want to go back to Castiglion early so we could either hang out in Firenze or stop in a town called Lucca. Lucca won because we won't have another chance to go there, even though the way the trains worked out, we could only spend an hour there.
The cool thing about Lucca was that, unlike many Tuscan towns, it isn't on a hill, but has a thick wall and a moat around it. The wall is 4km in perimeter and is wide enough for a small road and jogging paths on either side of it. The inner side just has a steep slope of grass going down where the wall itself is visible from the outer rim. Karin and I walked up the wall, down on the inside, and went into the town. We saw hardly anyone until, suddenly, the streets were packed with people shopping. What the heck was going on? We had no idea the town even had that many people, and why were they all shopping at once? So we made our way to the center of town, the Piazza Amfiteatro, which really was dead. It was a square that really wasn't square, but oval, with all the surrounding buildings touching, except for the four arches which accessed the piazza.
So Lucca has an oval center, with a ring of buildings surrounding it, then circular streets and plan, a moat around that, with a wall around that, then the newer part of the city surrounding, and on top of that, the beautiful night silhouette of mountains all the way around. We walked to the opposite side of town and then circled back on top of the wall We went by the garden district which was very pretty, though we could hardly see because it was dark. All this in one hour!
I forgot to mention that in Pisa we saw a nun riding a bicycle! I wanted to take a picture but I thought it would be rude.
Monday, 2/10/03
To finish up yesterday, I sketched a key for my studio project then attempted to watercolor it. Ate dinner and was going to finish my painting, but I found out that Kate was having a Pride & Prejudice party. So we pulled all three of their beds together and me, Kate, Morgan, Dixie, and Cady started watching P&P on Morgan's laptop. We only meant to watch the first half but part 4 was on the first DVD and I thought that would be a better stopping place than right after she rejects him. But the ending of part 4 is so wonderful that Morgan insisted on watching the rest. Kate and I practically have the movie memorized but the others hadn't seen it. So I didn't get to bed until after 3. I slept in, went to lunch, and went to studio to build a model of my key. After dinner I was going to improve my project but Morgan wanted to watch P&P again so much that we did, this time with Marie. We were sensible though, and only watched parts 1 and 2. Morgan is in love with Colin Firth now. It is quite hilarious. Buona notte.
I got almost 8 hours of sleep last night but nevertheless, I still went back to bed after breakfast. Then we met Paolo at the town hall at 11 and toured the local art gallery. I sketched, but didn't take pictures. We came back for lunch which, for a change, was tuna salad instead of meat and potatoes. After a course of pasta, of course.
We had a meeting after lunch to discuss the Santa Chiara situation and we are now scheduled to move in the last day of February. We took a tour of it today, and it is gorgeous. The courtyard has a breathtaking view. Then we had studio and Peter demonstrated to us how to watercolor. I am going to try tomorrow. We then met officially with the Mayor of Castiglion Fiorentino in the town hall. I ate all my junk food while reading Persuasion in the 30 minutes we had between that and dinner. Tomorrow I am going to the Co-op to get some major grape juice because seeing wine makes me crave it. We had good chicken for dinner. I have also become very grateful for the fruit afterward.
A lot of people went out tonight, and several played a crazy card game and got drunk downstairs in the bar.
Sunday, 2/9/03
I am in a very somber mood at the moment. I just went up to the roof to get away and it was very nice but a breeze was blowing just too cool for comfort, and there was no where to sit outside the path of the wind. I don't mind being here, but I don't want my roommates to think I just sit in bed all day when I don't have anything else to do. I still haven't found out where church is, so I just have to make the most of the Sabbath on my own.
Now, to catch up on the rest of the weekend. What did I do on Friday? I slept in, for one. After lunch Karin and I attempted to get our train tickets to Pisa from the ticket machine, but it didn't work. Then we wen to the Co-op and I got apple juice, because I guess Italians use all their grapes for wine. I also got a cake thing for breakfast on Saturday, and some chocolate. They are both gone now.
Friday afternoon I couldn't find anything as a watercolor subject in my room and I didn't want to go outside so I was going to do a storyboard type thing for a scene in my story. I couldn't draw anything remotely to be identified with fire in pencil though, so Karin and I went to the Tobacci and I got some cheap colored pencils. She got markers. My storyboard didn't turn out too well because I just can't draw things worth anything that I'm not looking at. It's a beginning, though. I even wrote a little bit. It's terrible, but at least I got my ideas on paper in two mediums. Visualizing my stories helps me to think more creatively about them and will, I think, improve my writing.
The next morning Karin and I got up for the 6:54 train to Pisa. We ran to the station worrying that we wouldn't be able to get our tickets (we had talked to someone and straightened out the problem with the machine) but it worked fine and we had five minutes to spare. It took us 2 1/2 hours to get there, with changing trains in Florence. We took the early train because we thought there would be more to do in Pisa than there really was. We planned on meeting someone in front of the tower at noon and so we just wasted the morning in the drab, uninteresting town. But she didn't show up. So, using Karin's "Let's Go" book we hunted for a little sandwich place to eat. It wasn't there. There was only a broken down plant shop. So much for travel guides.
We crossed the Arno again (which, being near the mouth, was very dirty and un-beautiful) for the third time to make our way back to the restaurants that we knew were near the chapel/tower/baptistery complex. After grabbing a sandwich we got our tickets to the Piazza del Duomo. It was €8,50 for everything but the tower. We went to a museum first where we saw models of the buildings, statues from them, and all kinds of other artifacts. Then we went to the Baptistery because the Duomo was closed for lunch. The Battistero was absolutely beautiful, round with two stacks of arches around the inside, but I won't attempt to describe it further. We climbed to the third level inside the roof, which I didn't know you could do, and realized that we were as high as the leaning tower. My legs were shaking with fatigue by the time we got down, so we decided not to pay the extra €15 for the tower. It sure is amazing from the outside, though. It looks so much more unsettling in real life than in pictures. No matter how long I stared at it, every time I came out of another building, it struck me again. It just looks so wrong. It really looks like it's going to fall over.
After the baptistery we went into the Camposanto (cemetery), a beautiful rectangular building with a courtyard in the center. The frescoes on the walls were burned in WWII so the walls were just blank, but the statues and marble grave tiles were gorgeous, as well as the marble walls that divided the hall from the courtyard. The walls were intricate, looked like they should have stained glass windows in them, but they didn't. The interior, if you could call it interior, was very much linked with the inner courtyard.
The Duomo itself was more beautiful than either the Duomo at Florence, or Santa Croce. The walls were all painted, there was a double row of arches in the side isles with vaults, and the ceiling, though flat, had a gold square pattern on it. We went to one more museum after that but all it was was an attempt to reconstruct the ruined frescoes. It would have been interesting if there was enough left of them to able to tell what they were depicting. After that museum we were out of Pisa. So, let it be known that there is only one site worth visiting in Pisa and it only takes half a day.
So the question after Pisa was, "Where to now?" We didn't want to go back to Castiglion early so we could either hang out in Firenze or stop in a town called Lucca. Lucca won because we won't have another chance to go there, even though the way the trains worked out, we could only spend an hour there.
The cool thing about Lucca was that, unlike many Tuscan towns, it isn't on a hill, but has a thick wall and a moat around it. The wall is 4km in perimeter and is wide enough for a small road and jogging paths on either side of it. The inner side just has a steep slope of grass going down where the wall itself is visible from the outer rim. Karin and I walked up the wall, down on the inside, and went into the town. We saw hardly anyone until, suddenly, the streets were packed with people shopping. What the heck was going on? We had no idea the town even had that many people, and why were they all shopping at once? So we made our way to the center of town, the Piazza Amfiteatro, which really was dead. It was a square that really wasn't square, but oval, with all the surrounding buildings touching, except for the four arches which accessed the piazza.
So Lucca has an oval center, with a ring of buildings surrounding it, then circular streets and plan, a moat around that, with a wall around that, then the newer part of the city surrounding, and on top of that, the beautiful night silhouette of mountains all the way around. We walked to the opposite side of town and then circled back on top of the wall We went by the garden district which was very pretty, though we could hardly see because it was dark. All this in one hour!
I forgot to mention that in Pisa we saw a nun riding a bicycle! I wanted to take a picture but I thought it would be rude.
Monday, 2/10/03
To finish up yesterday, I sketched a key for my studio project then attempted to watercolor it. Ate dinner and was going to finish my painting, but I found out that Kate was having a Pride & Prejudice party. So we pulled all three of their beds together and me, Kate, Morgan, Dixie, and Cady started watching P&P on Morgan's laptop. We only meant to watch the first half but part 4 was on the first DVD and I thought that would be a better stopping place than right after she rejects him. But the ending of part 4 is so wonderful that Morgan insisted on watching the rest. Kate and I practically have the movie memorized but the others hadn't seen it. So I didn't get to bed until after 3. I slept in, went to lunch, and went to studio to build a model of my key. After dinner I was going to improve my project but Morgan wanted to watch P&P again so much that we did, this time with Marie. We were sensible though, and only watched parts 1 and 2. Morgan is in love with Colin Firth now. It is quite hilarious. Buona notte.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Intro to Firenze
Saturday, 2/1/03
I'm going to try to never miss a day again. If I can stay awake, this will be an extremely long entry. Yesterday we went to Florence and today we went to Arezzo. And it is so important to get everything out because every day here is going to be so jam packed with memories that I won't be able to remember them for long.
Thursday night people came in at 2 in the morning and woke me up. I couldn't get to sleep for another four hours. That might have been because I took an allergy pill, not realizing that it was non-drowsy, and it had the hyper effect on me. Cady came in and said that when they got back Dixie jumped up and got in the shower thinking it was 6:30 in the morning! Then Kate came out and said something like, "What is going on? My hair is still wet!" because she had washed it before she went to bed. She told me the story again at breakfast and it was even funnier the second time.
While I was awake in bed I started thinking about the story I developed over the summer. Everything about it became so much more vivid and detailed after seeing with real eyes these glorious Italian buildings and landscapes.
So I went to Florence on four hours of sleep and for the first time in my life, sleep deprivation didn't destroy my day. It was an hour long bus ride to Firenze. First we went to a Benedictine church [San Miniato al Monte] on the hill away from the city, where we could see the whole cityscape. We toured the church and Marco gave us a lecture on the history of Firenze. Modern architecture in Florence means less than 500 years old. And Firenze is actually a relatively new city. It was founded by the Romans, not the Tuscans. The Roman wall is still around part of the city. The Arno is beautiful. We next went by the Santa Croce squere where that pivotal scene in A Room With a View was filmed. We saw the Bargello, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Loggia de Lanzi, and the financial district where the Peruzzi family house is. We ate lunch (pasta, pork, salad again), only we had ice cream for dessert. After lunch Peter took the architecture students to Brunelleschi's Hospital of the Innocents, then back to Santa Croce where we actually went inside. We walked by the Duomo, but only got to see the back. I really really really want to go inside next week. It was so big. More tomorrow.
Sunday, 2/2/03
On the way back from Firenze, I still didn't sleep on the train. I took an hour long nap after we got back before dinner and I wanted to sleep through dinner too, but I knew if I didn't eat I would be too hungry at the concert and I was not going to miss the concert. So was a little but of a zombie during dinner. The concert was divine. It was an orchestra from all over Tuscany and they were amazing. First they played a really fun Schubert piece, then a Mozart violin concerto with a guest violinist. She was Asian and only 19 or 20 and she was wonderful. Then they ended with Beethoven's 8th symphony, which was really good too, but I can understand why it isn't one of the most famous. It isn't as singable, or memorable. The concert hall is beautiful, too. Red velvet curtains, white walls, painted to look like they have carvings. The shadow work is perfect. All right, it is already time for bed so I'll have to write about Arezzo tomorrow.
I'm going to try to never miss a day again. If I can stay awake, this will be an extremely long entry. Yesterday we went to Florence and today we went to Arezzo. And it is so important to get everything out because every day here is going to be so jam packed with memories that I won't be able to remember them for long.
Thursday night people came in at 2 in the morning and woke me up. I couldn't get to sleep for another four hours. That might have been because I took an allergy pill, not realizing that it was non-drowsy, and it had the hyper effect on me. Cady came in and said that when they got back Dixie jumped up and got in the shower thinking it was 6:30 in the morning! Then Kate came out and said something like, "What is going on? My hair is still wet!" because she had washed it before she went to bed. She told me the story again at breakfast and it was even funnier the second time.
While I was awake in bed I started thinking about the story I developed over the summer. Everything about it became so much more vivid and detailed after seeing with real eyes these glorious Italian buildings and landscapes.
So I went to Florence on four hours of sleep and for the first time in my life, sleep deprivation didn't destroy my day. It was an hour long bus ride to Firenze. First we went to a Benedictine church [San Miniato al Monte] on the hill away from the city, where we could see the whole cityscape. We toured the church and Marco gave us a lecture on the history of Firenze. Modern architecture in Florence means less than 500 years old. And Firenze is actually a relatively new city. It was founded by the Romans, not the Tuscans. The Roman wall is still around part of the city. The Arno is beautiful. We next went by the Santa Croce squere where that pivotal scene in A Room With a View was filmed. We saw the Bargello, the Palazzo Vecchio, the Loggia de Lanzi, and the financial district where the Peruzzi family house is. We ate lunch (pasta, pork, salad again), only we had ice cream for dessert. After lunch Peter took the architecture students to Brunelleschi's Hospital of the Innocents, then back to Santa Croce where we actually went inside. We walked by the Duomo, but only got to see the back. I really really really want to go inside next week. It was so big. More tomorrow.
Sunday, 2/2/03
On the way back from Firenze, I still didn't sleep on the train. I took an hour long nap after we got back before dinner and I wanted to sleep through dinner too, but I knew if I didn't eat I would be too hungry at the concert and I was not going to miss the concert. So was a little but of a zombie during dinner. The concert was divine. It was an orchestra from all over Tuscany and they were amazing. First they played a really fun Schubert piece, then a Mozart violin concerto with a guest violinist. She was Asian and only 19 or 20 and she was wonderful. Then they ended with Beethoven's 8th symphony, which was really good too, but I can understand why it isn't one of the most famous. It isn't as singable, or memorable. The concert hall is beautiful, too. Red velvet curtains, white walls, painted to look like they have carvings. The shadow work is perfect. All right, it is already time for bed so I'll have to write about Arezzo tomorrow.
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Intro to Castiglion Fiorentino
Wednesday, 1/29/03
It is 9pm and I am so ready to go to sleep. This morning we had a nice big roll for breakfast. Yay! I didn't think it would fill me up but it stuck for a surprisingly long time. After breakfast we went on a nice long tour of the town. This town is awe-inspiring. It didn't seem very remarkable at first because we were on the main roads at the bottom of the hill. But once we got up into the old part of town, every cobblestone wanted to claim my fascination. The streets are very narrow, yet cars drive through just like they have all the room in the world. We had to stand flat against the walls several times to avoid being run over. The walls are high, the tiny gardens beautiful. And the streets are the steepest I have ever seen. The ones that had steps in addition to being very steep were the scariest and most beautiful. There are arches everywhere, each door is a work of art, and the scenery of the hillside is gorgeous.
We got back in time for lunch, which was (as well as dinner yesterday and today) pasta with Parmesan, then sliced meat and potatoes of varying forms (mashed or roasted). After lunch we had orientation info on trains, then studio, etc., then the history and culture of Italy.
Karin and I went back into town after that to retrace our steps and take pictures. We went into the city library and city hall, then went up to the top of the hill to the castle ruin. The castle was great, full with those narrow arrow holes in the walls. The only problem was that we couldn't get inside anything other than a courtyard. Then, on the way back down we couldn't find Santa Chiara, which we had passed this morning, and we got a little lost. But you really can't get lost in Castiglion Fiorentino, so we made our way back to the main road pretty quickly. We never found Santa Chiara. I'm going to bed. Jet lag is extreme.
Thursday, 1/30/03
A lot has happened today. First of all, I woke up at 3:45 in the morning. For the life of me, I coudn't go back to sleep. I'm sure my biological clock is completely jacked up. I set my alarm for 7, but didn't get up until 8:15. Cady had even more trouble than I did, and finally, we made it known to each other that we were both awake. She said she needed medicine (a lot of the other students' digestive systems, we found out later, were going beserk) and suddenly a voice piped up, "I have some!" It was Karin, who we had accidentally woken up. When she said that so unexpectedly I just couldn't stop snickering. The entire time while I was awake I just wanted to burst out in guffaws to release some repressed energy, even though I was still dead tired.
We ate our trusty roll for breakfast, and hot chocolate in my case, then we went back up into town for a lecture from Paolo. We went inside a beautiful Catholic church and he talked about the religious symbolism of the architecture. We came back for lunch, which began with the traditional pasta, but lo and behold the second course, instead of sliced meat, was a delicious tuna salad! It had tomatoes and celery in it.
After lunch we again went back up into the town with Peter and went up to the tower at the top of the hill were he pointed out our project site, talked a bit about Etruscan architecture, and what types of buildings would and wouldn't fit in the setting and be allowed by the community. We also toured the Etruscan museum in the community library and Peter talked about how much Americans waste. 4% of world population, 20% consumption of energy and natural gases. He also gave an assignment to sketch the objects there and become obsessed with the shapes.
Directly afterward, us architecture students met with everyone else at a bar where they were welcoming us with hors d'oerves. The bar was neat--its lower portion of three rooms was all underground. Then I went with Dixie to the cell phone shop and we came back for dinner (I haven't had a drumstick in forever! It was great). And that brings me to now, where I am sitting in the lobby with a silly television show and a handful of smoking Italians.
It is 9pm and I am so ready to go to sleep. This morning we had a nice big roll for breakfast. Yay! I didn't think it would fill me up but it stuck for a surprisingly long time. After breakfast we went on a nice long tour of the town. This town is awe-inspiring. It didn't seem very remarkable at first because we were on the main roads at the bottom of the hill. But once we got up into the old part of town, every cobblestone wanted to claim my fascination. The streets are very narrow, yet cars drive through just like they have all the room in the world. We had to stand flat against the walls several times to avoid being run over. The walls are high, the tiny gardens beautiful. And the streets are the steepest I have ever seen. The ones that had steps in addition to being very steep were the scariest and most beautiful. There are arches everywhere, each door is a work of art, and the scenery of the hillside is gorgeous.
We got back in time for lunch, which was (as well as dinner yesterday and today) pasta with Parmesan, then sliced meat and potatoes of varying forms (mashed or roasted). After lunch we had orientation info on trains, then studio, etc., then the history and culture of Italy.
Karin and I went back into town after that to retrace our steps and take pictures. We went into the city library and city hall, then went up to the top of the hill to the castle ruin. The castle was great, full with those narrow arrow holes in the walls. The only problem was that we couldn't get inside anything other than a courtyard. Then, on the way back down we couldn't find Santa Chiara, which we had passed this morning, and we got a little lost. But you really can't get lost in Castiglion Fiorentino, so we made our way back to the main road pretty quickly. We never found Santa Chiara. I'm going to bed. Jet lag is extreme.
Thursday, 1/30/03
A lot has happened today. First of all, I woke up at 3:45 in the morning. For the life of me, I coudn't go back to sleep. I'm sure my biological clock is completely jacked up. I set my alarm for 7, but didn't get up until 8:15. Cady had even more trouble than I did, and finally, we made it known to each other that we were both awake. She said she needed medicine (a lot of the other students' digestive systems, we found out later, were going beserk) and suddenly a voice piped up, "I have some!" It was Karin, who we had accidentally woken up. When she said that so unexpectedly I just couldn't stop snickering. The entire time while I was awake I just wanted to burst out in guffaws to release some repressed energy, even though I was still dead tired.
We ate our trusty roll for breakfast, and hot chocolate in my case, then we went back up into town for a lecture from Paolo. We went inside a beautiful Catholic church and he talked about the religious symbolism of the architecture. We came back for lunch, which began with the traditional pasta, but lo and behold the second course, instead of sliced meat, was a delicious tuna salad! It had tomatoes and celery in it.
After lunch we again went back up into the town with Peter and went up to the tower at the top of the hill were he pointed out our project site, talked a bit about Etruscan architecture, and what types of buildings would and wouldn't fit in the setting and be allowed by the community. We also toured the Etruscan museum in the community library and Peter talked about how much Americans waste. 4% of world population, 20% consumption of energy and natural gases. He also gave an assignment to sketch the objects there and become obsessed with the shapes.
Directly afterward, us architecture students met with everyone else at a bar where they were welcoming us with hors d'oerves. The bar was neat--its lower portion of three rooms was all underground. Then I went with Dixie to the cell phone shop and we came back for dinner (I haven't had a drumstick in forever! It was great). And that brings me to now, where I am sitting in the lobby with a silly television show and a handful of smoking Italians.
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