Buon Natale!

We had our school Holiday party last week. It was quite fun, champagne and food and dancing. Jeana comes to Florence tomorrow, and then we depart for Spain the next day!! I'm so excited. So, if I don't get another chance....Happy Holidays, Merry X-mas, Happy Hannukah, etc!! (see you next year! and this is a really neat site I found if you are ever bored and in a need for a laugh....BedJump.com)

art stuff!

School is out for Natale! I finished with midterms yesterday, and had my last day of class today.. This past week was so intense, many many hours were spent in the art studio--which we dubbed the Art Hole. John made this lovely sign:Welcome to our closet!
But I actually really like it. It's cozy, and the atmosphere reminds me of Long Beach. Spot lights, music playing, the smell of oil paint, crazy people painting at all hours or taking naps in the corners...
The Accademia has been interesting lately as well. There is some kind protest that's been going on for a week, and the entryway and courtyard look like a bizzare art installation...

Trapani!

On our last day in Tapani, we tried to get to the Egadi islands, but the water was rough, so we couldn't go...We walked through the center, and hung out by the sea basking in the sun (something I have been seriously missing in Florence) It felt like California....

We had a nice lunch, and I sampled a specialty of the area, cous cous con pesce. It was very yummy with some white wine! And then we tried another oddity of Sicily, gelato in a brioche! I wasn't crazy about the brioche, but we got an insane amount of gelato for 2 euros. I've never had so much in one sitting before...mmm...

Then we hopped on our plane and said ciao ciao to sunny Sicilia! More Pictures!

Trapani

After exploring Erice, we discovered the historic center of Trapani. It was so beautiful with all the lights! It was Santa Lucia day, and all of the Italians were out taking their evening passeggiata. We went church hopping for a little, and had an impromptu tour in a church in need for restoration. It was beautifully in ruin, and our guide showed us tons of amazing details I would have missed on my own. This reflief represents air.

A very kind policeman recommended that we take a walk along the sea, and sample the free Arancini for Santa Lucia day. It was a beautiful night...
We had delicious pizza for dinner in our room. We watched Italian TV, I think my comprehension is finally getting better, especially after having to speak Italian all weekend!

Erice!

We arrived on the top of the mountain...Erice is a beautiful town, narrow steep paved streets, full of churches and gastronomical shops...We visited the most famous pasticceria in Erice/Sicily, and perhaps even Italy!

I sampled a marzipan manderin, it was really good, and someone actually thought it was a real tangerine!
We walked around and admired the views...it was beautiful beyond words...

Bella Sicilia!

This weekend I ventured south to Sicilia! Samantha and I left from Pisa airport, and stopped by to see the leaning tower...it was a rainy, dreary day in Tuscany.
We arrived in Trapani, Sicily that evening, found our B&B, explored the main shopping street, and had a wonderful feast at "Il Solito Posto." We had heaping portions of busiate pasta-homemade and special to the region. I had "mediterranea" with all kinds of seafood, and Sam had marscapone and funghi. We split the pesce spada (swordfish) for our secondi, and shared a 1/2 litre of the vino locale, which was a very nice white wine. We shared a tiny piece of cassetta siciliana cake for dessert, which was interesing, but not my favorite.
The next day we set out for Mt. Erice. We hiked to the base, with the help of many jind people we had to ask for directions on the way.. and after some delays due to wind, we took the cable car up to the top with a nice British girl we met who is studying and teaching in Palermo.

It was a beautiful ride up, we could see the entire peninsula of Tapani, the blue blue sea, the islands. It was so beautiful and clear, it reminded me of California :)

Field Trip--Ravenna

On Sunday, we continued onto Ravenna...We saw a TON of early christian mosaics...and then had lunch at the most amazing piandini place. It's like a flatbread panini. I had mine with parma, rucola and a soft cheese squaquerone!


More mosaics...
The last church we saw had a flooded crypt (with goldfish!)

Field Trip--Urbino and Assisi

Last weekends field trip was very intense...lots and lots of art and art history and mosaics and churches. Our first night, we had an immense never ending feast--the antipastas alone were amaaazing! Ricotta and mozzarella..salumi, olives, artichoke hearts...more cheese! Then a huge sampling of pastas for the primi--risotto alle verdure, ravioli, gnocchi al pomodoro, passatelli ai funghi porcini, tagliatelle al ragu.....for the secondi, carne e patate con verdure e insalate. And dessert of course! And wine!The next day, we went to Raphael's childhood home in Urbino
Then to Assisi! We visited the immense Basilica di San Francesco. The frescos were so beautiful..
And then, back to Urbino for free time in the evening. I went to a really neat bar with some friends to drink our dinner...

ciao ciao

It's been another busy busy week! I haven't taken any pictures recently...it's been getting colder and colder. We've had a few days of rain and hail and storms! But tomorrow we go up north on another field trip. I am very excited even though it will be even colder than Florence. We are going to Assisi, Urbino and Ravenna...we are going to see some beautiful art..frescoes and mosaics....wee!

Buon Giorno di Ringraziamento!

My first Thanksgiving abroad was a success! We spent all day cooking wonderful things, it felt and smelt like home. We had a 5 kilo turkey, moist and roasted to perfection...mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (patate americane) with marshmallows of course! Green beans with pancetta, creamed spinach, mushroom gravy, stuffing, panzanella, biscuits with honey butter, garlic mozzarella bread, pear/cherry bread, and pumpkin pie! John made us awesome headdresses and names (I am Wild Belly!)

We had a wall of post-it notes....things we are thankful for :) I stuffed myself silly. And now it's time for a brief nap before tuning into the California Thanksgiving fest via skype. For more pictures, go here!

Bologna!

I went to Bologna on Saturday with Sara and Avery for a shopping mission. We discovered the hugest outdoor mercato we've ever seen (and with the best prices too!) I got a scarf for €1, and a purse for €5...we walked around the freezing cold for 2 hours and barely covered half of it...We also saw the massive San Pietro Basilica, and stumbled upon an awesome chocolate festival which was almost too overwhelming. We tried some hot chocolate to die for...and then did some shopping for winter clothes at H&M...
Go to my shutterfly for more pictures! And Happy Thanksgiving to everyone tomorrow! We are going to have our own little feast here :)

Roma! (part fine)

After the Galleria Borghese, we saw an exposition on the Etruscans and a really cool video artist Bill Viola. I had a lovely dinner/lunch with Heather and Avery. We ate Aranchini (fried risotto--piccante and tartufo), lasagna (my first time here so far) and vino!





We hung out in Piazza della Republica for a bit before heading back to the hotel via metro to catch our bus back to Firenze. It was an exhausting but beautiful trip with amazing things stuffed into every nook and cranny. Here is the link to the rest of my pictures again!

Roma! (part...?)

Laura and I were the sleepiest roommates ever! The hotel was so nice...I slept like a baby...On Sunday, a group of us went with Domenic to the Galleria Borghese to see some Bernini statues and some Caravaggio paintings (amazing!!)
I think one of the reasons I loved Rome so much...there were trees! and grass! It was so open and full of greenery...it felt a little more like home. Plus ruins.
Some of my sketches from the Galleria. We could only spend two hours there...I want to go back!