La Spiaggia a Cecina (The Beach in Cecina, Italy)

Hey all,

This last weekend was fairly tame compared to every other weekend I've had hear in Italy. Saturday and Sunday were both very relaxing. Saturday, my host mom, Orsola, took Mackenzie and I to the beach. We went to a little town called Cecina just outside of Livorono. It's about a 2 hour drive by car to the western coast of Italy from Firenze. It was much more subdued than the beach at Viareggio. This beach had no sand, but was instead covered with the most beautiful stones and small pebbles. It sounds painful. Surprisingly, sleeping on the beach for a few hours was incredibly comfortable and peaceful. So the majority of my day included laying out, swimming, chatting with my host mom, and reading on the beach. Quite enjoyable, if I do say so myself!

Then on Sunday, a group of 6 us from the ACM participated in the Corri La Vita 5k cancer walk through the middle of Florence. It is annual even in Florence sponsored by Salvatore Ferragamo, who actually made an appearance both the walk began. It started in the Piazza della Signoria. I have never seen so many people packed into one town square. It was incredible to see how many people came out to support cancer prevention and research! I spent the rest of the day relaxing, cleaning, and doing homework. While it was significantly less busy, it was a very pleasant weekend. :)

Venezia

A few weekends ago, the ACM took us all to Venice (aka Venezia in Italy). I wasn't really certain what to expect because I had heard mixed reviews of the city from friends who had been. Quite honestly, I don't think we could have had a better weekend to go. The weather was absolutely gorgeous as were the views around the city.

The trip began at 8:00am Saturday at the train station in Florence. We took a Eurostar train from Florence to Venice. I think our group from the ACM took up pretty much the entire car. It was fun experience and a good way to see the Italian countryside. Our first afternoon in Venice, we spent at the Piazza San Marco. Venice is the final resting place of Saint Mark, the gospel writer. We went on a tour of the church at San Marco. It was absolutely gorgeous. The church is in the shape of a Greek cross with a dome over each arm and one over their intersection. The ceiling of the church was covered in a square acre of mosaics with gold leaf background. One of the professors, Gail, gave some of the history of the church itself and the artwork within the church. I, of course, found it absolutely fascinating.

On Sunday, we went to Ca'Rezzonico, a typical Venetian palace from the 18th century located along the Grand Canal. Just about every wall and ceiling in the house is covered with frescoes from several well known Italian artists. We spent several hours just wandering and exploring this house. It was massive. We had some free time after Ca'Rezzonico, some of my friends and I headed out to explore Venice and get some shopping in. There is some amazing Murano glass in Venice in all price ranges imaginable. We came across one chandelier which was 15,000 Euro. Later in the after, we went to the Peggy Guggenheim Art Museum. It includes art from her private collection and is displayed in her Venetian palace on the Grand Canal. I LOVED that museum! She had 4 paintings by Jackson Pollack, 2 by Pablo Picasso, 1 by Salvador Dali, 3 by ManRay, and pieces from countless other artists including a temporary exhibit by Robert Rauschenberg. We only got to stay for about 2 hours because of when the museum closed, but I think I probably could have been then for another 3 hours and been perfectly content. If you ever get to go to Venice, make sure you make it to the Peggy Guggenheim. It is well worth it.

Our final day in Venice began at 6:00am for me. A group of about 6 of us headed out to the end of the pier near our hotel to watch the sunrise over the Gulf of Venezia. I have never seen the sky turn such brilliant shades of red, orange, pink, and then finally blue. It really makes you appreciate the beauty of God' creation and the diversity. It was such a calming and refreshing way to start the day. The only sounds to be heard were the waves crashing up against the pier and the occasional seagull. Our final ACM expedition in Venice was to the Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. We Titian's most famous painting on the high altar in the basilica. It was a pretty cool church, although rather small compared to San Marco. I never imagined that exploring churches would be so interesting.

On the whole, my excursion to Venice was exhausting but absolutely worth it. I hope everyone gets a chance to make it to Venice someday.

If you want to comment...

I heard from my parents that commenting on here is a rather cumbersome process. I didn't realize that when I set it up, sorry! In any case, I would love to hear back from anyone and everyone about my blog. If you would like to comment or have a question, feel free to just send me an email at presbypk88@hotmail.com.

Have a great day!

Honest experiences..not just fluff

It was bound to happen. Life in Italy couldn't stay perfect forever. Today was the day perfection came to an end all because of Italian class. We had a quiz this morning over passato prossimo (one of 2 forms of the past tense in Italian). I felt somewhat unprepared for it as our instructor did not provide adequate information regarding the content of the quiz. I figured I would just do the best I could and hope for a good outcome. Well as it turns out, none of us were really ready for the quiz. Our professor flipped out, so now we have another quiz tomorrow. I don't so much mind having to study for another quiz. What I do mind, however, is the behavior of my fellow classmates. We are all in college and thus should be able to behave accordingly. We spent the first hour and a half of class in a state of complete and utter chaos. How am I supposed to learn anything if all we do is repeat everything we have already taken notes over? How hard is it to look it up yourself instead of wasting everyone else's time? I came to Italy learn, and right now I feel like there isn't much of that going on.

Sorry for the rant about school. In someways, it seems appropriate to share all sides of my experience--not just the happy rainbows and butterflies moments. It would be unrealistic. I am certain today will improve. The course I am taking on the image of women in Renaissance Rome and Florence begins this afternoon. I am quite excited for it to begin. The professor seems amazing and the topic is very intriguing. Things have to get better in time. It helps knowing that in just 2 days I will be in Venice!

Pisa + Viareggio= Good Weekend

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It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly the weekend goes by here. Friday after 3 hours of Italian class, 20 ACM students and 3 faculty members caught the train to Pisa. I don't have much experience with trains, so it was a fun/quick way to get to Pisa. I think the train ride only took about an hour with a few stops in between. It was a beautiful ride because you can see the Italian countryside. We spent about 4 hours in Pisa. We walked the mile long route through the middle of Pisa from the train station to the the Field of Miracles (with the Leaning Tower, Cathedral, and Baptistery). Once at the Field of Miracles, we had a chance to take pictures with the tower (we were such tourists). Janet gave us some of the history behind the tower and cathedral before taking us into the cathedral. I have come to realize that while looking at the art inside these establishments is interesting, I would much prefer to study the history and the architecture of the buildings. Our professors don't really go into those areas of study much. I guess I will just have to research it on my own.

After we got done at Pisa, a group of about 15 of us caught the train from Pisa to Viareggio, a nearby coastal town on the Ligurian Sea. We didn't have any plans for where we were going to stay or what exactly we were going to do. We wandered around Viareggio for awhile before we lucked into a 2 star hotel only a few blocks from the beach. They had room for all 15 of us. I think we pretty much made up the whole hotel. Dinner that night was less than ideal. The restaurant some of us went to treated us like crap probably because we were Americans. But hey, at least the food was good.

I spent all of Saturday at the beach. The weather was ideal beach weather. It was just warm enough to be pleasant, but not too hot either. I enjoyed just sitting in the sun reading a new book I just got. It is called The Elegance of the Hedgehog. It's an awesome book. You can tell when reading it that the author is very intelligent. I love the vocabulary she uses. It's one of those books you just can't put down. I strongly recommend it.

Sunday was really laid back. I got up late and spent the day in the park reading. It was the quintessential Sunday afternoon followed by a gelato outing. In short, it was amazing!

Next stop, Venice!

View from my apartment window

Oh what a wonderful world...

This weekend was fantastic. Friday night a group of us from the ACM headed to a local bar called The Joshua Tree. It had a really relaxed atmosphere and the bartenders were hysterical. It was a good way to unwind after the first week of Italian class.

Saturday began bright and early at 8:00am with a trip to Cinque Terre. It's about 2 1/2 hours northeast of Florence on the coast of the Ligurian Sea. Cinque Terre, which means "5 villages", is probably the most gorgeous place I've ever seen. We took a 45 minute hike along the Via dell'Amore to get from Manarola to Verannza. Along the Via dell'Amore, we came across a guy playing his accordian. So as we strolled, we heard "What a Wonderful World." We didn't have much time to explore Manarola, but the walk to Veranzza made up for it. The weather was perfect. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too hot. The breeze off the sea was refreshing. While in Veranzza, we went swimming in the sea. We ended our time in Cinque Terre with a stop at the local gelateria. Yum!

Sunday, then, we went to Fiesole. It is a little town just outside of Florence up in the hills. There is so much history in that small town. It has both Etruscan and Roman roots. We went with one of the professors, Ed Burke, and his wife Maureen. They took us to the see the Roman ruins which included 3 Roman baths, the foundation of a Roman temple, and an amphitheater. I loved getting to explore. Ed could answer just about every question we could come up with. Studying history first hand is so much better than simply reading it in a book. While in Fiesole, we also went up to the church San Francesco. It had a gorgeous view of the city, but the hike up the hill was a killer. I felt like such a wimp climbing up it. In the end it was totally worth it. On the way back down, we met a jewelry vendor who is in Fiesole everyday. He makes all his own pieces for fairly cheap. The were very funky and fun. I got a sweet ring for Euro 2,50. I want to go back up there to get some other pieces.

This coming weekend we are heading to the beach again after a day trip to Pisa! :)

Amazing Italy

Today was our third day of Italian class. It's astounding how much you can learn in the course of 4 hours. We ultimately focused on vocabulary you need to know when shopping in a market for either clothes or food. I think the best part of today's class was going to the central market near San Lorenzo. I think you can find just about anything there. They had tons of fresh meats, cheeses, breads, pasta, wine, and produce. Outside you could fine belts, purses, scarves every color, size, and style, key chains, shoes, jewelry, magnets, etc. It was incredible. The prices are pretty reasonable, but you can always bargain...at least on accessories and clothing. Once it cools off, I will definitely be going back to load up on scarves. :)

I think yesterday activities were among my favorite since I've been here. Everyone from the ACM program met up at the school in the afternoon for a brief history lesson about the development of Firenze (Florence) before heading out to the Piazzale Michelangelo. The piazzale is on a cliff/hill overlooking the Firenze cityscape. It's absolutely goregous from up there. You can see the Fiume Arno (the river), the top of the Duomo, Santa Croce, Santa Maria Novella, and everything in between. I took tons of pictures which are coming soon (they take forever to upload and my computer time is limited). From the Piazzale we headed up the hill a little ways to the Basilica di San Miniato which also looks out over Florence. The basilica is actually also a monastery. The artistic details of both the interior and exterior of the building are superb. It's as if you can feel the history and granduer of the place. I really enjoyed hearing about the history of the basilica. What fun!

In just a few hours, my roommate Mackenzie and I will be moving in with our host family. I don't know to much about them other than they are from Southern Italy and are very nice. More details to come soon enough.

I'm absolutely loving my time here!