Day 3 Art History Overload

Today was the first day with my group. At 7:45 we were off to the center of the city. We started by walking threw the oldest part of town were the streets where quitet and you could see all of the old architecture. It is beautiful there are large tall buildings but not like what we have in the US. They are all diffrent shapes and I would never describe them as skyscrapers. Here the buildings are not made of steal and glass panels like ours back home which makes them very cold and flat, there's have years of wear and you can see the craftsmanship and warmth in there designs. The bricks are each hand layed some are very structurally straight and tight others have a bit more character kinda crooked and not perfectly spaced apart. These buildings are my favorite. They usually have a bit more wear and you can usually see into a part of the stone which allowed you to give the building a feeling. They also have been taken back by the plants a bit. The vines run threw the cracks and cling on for survival. We also strolled past the market that I had spent the day befor exploring. Then we where off to the metro station, it was very crowded and the walkways were dirty. We were on our way to the Campidoglio. Here we had a few minutes to walk freely. I strolled off behind the plaza to see the view over the runes. Even though you do see mostly runes and very little is still left standing you can visualize the layout of the city. The foundations and outlines of the building have left there scars. As I wondered around I get to see a large spand over Rome.  It's beautiful and every building is unique no really cookie cutter houses like we have. As we met back up we learned about the plaza. Michelangelo was commissioned by the pope to design it. He build a good portion but died before he was able to complete it. The main building however is beautiful there is so much detail threw out the window pains and the staircase. As we walk we come to the ruins again which is actually the Roman forum, this time I am seeing the other side were a few of the ruins are more intact. A few of the columns still stand, they are beautiful and allow you to get an even better feel of just how large these buildings were. There is an arch towards the side were we walked as a group the detail in the sculpture is spectacular. They made sure ever space was pleasant to look at and had a story or a pattern for you to see. As we stand and aww over the spectacular arch our art historian gives us a great lesson on the history of the ruins. We slowly move around the ruins until we go down inside to see a few more. We visit the sacred spot were Julius Caesar body was cremated and an old church that still stands tall. At this point my mind can nolonger take anymore in about the ruins. As lucky as I am to have someone explaining it all to me and helping to understand what has happened here I truly enjoy just looking and feeling the wear and work threw the ruins. After the ruin tour is over we make our way to the Colosseum. We run threw as quickly as we can, the amount of people makes it hard to enjoy. As I have seen a colosseum in Croatia which was not as crowded and we were allowed to view much more of it I was satisfied with our time there. Soon after we headed for lunch. As we wondered down the streets we split off into two groups. Most of the girls went to a close buy sandwitch shop were Amy and I went into a small restaurant called Cafe Cafe. Here I ordered veal meatballs with a green curry and wild rice. I also got a fresh juice. The food was spectacular the veal meatballs were very soft and tender. The curry was not a traditional curry but had a thick creamy mild taste. Peared with the meatballs and wild rice it really let the other favors shine threw. The wild rice was diffrent then any rice I had ever had, it was short grained and had a nutty sweet and salty flavor to it. The food was also very proportional and not at all overpriced which I enjoyed.  I also had my first juice of the trip which was a very nice reminder of home. It was a carrot ginger juice and had a great balance of tartness. Once we were nice and full we headed back to meet our group. We were heading back to the subway and on our way to the Borghese museum.  As we started walking towards the gallery we walked threw a park that use to be the Borgheses private estate. Is was beautiful much like the beer gardens in Germany or Thomas Jeffersons house at Monticello. As we walked into the museum I was in aww. There were so many sculptures, finally a museum I could stay in for hours. There was marble carving after marble carving the rooms were filled. Then there was the building itself, in layed marble walles and floors, the ceilings were beautifully painted with molding that had so much detail I loved it. As this day was very hot and we had been waking for hours I had a huge desire to just sprawl across the marble floors and cool off like a dog on a tile floor on a hot summer day. On the other hand I didn't want to get kicked out so decided better not. As we romed I found the statue of Hades and Persephone, showing as Hades drags Persephone down to the underworld. The way Hades hands are sculpted grasping Persephones thighs so tightly that the skin actually dimples and stretches is spectacular. How to get stone to have movement like that is beyond any talent I hold. After staring and circling this piece repetitively I moved on to many more. Then I came across the piece I had been waiting for all this time, Apollo and Daphne. Apollo is in love with Daphne and Daphne is repulsed by Apollo both thanks to Cupid. So as he goes to steal her away her father turned her into a laura tree to escape the clutches of Apollo. In the stature Apollo is grasping at Daphnee as her limbs start to be change and be incased by this laurel tree. It is beautifully carved out of marble and stunning how thin parts of the carvings are that you can actually see the light come threw like thin skin. This sculpture has my sculpture teachers and my jaws on the floor, it's truly spectacular. I also got to see Van Dykes crucifixion among other famous pieces of art, It was a spectacular collection.  Once I was all sculpted out I found my first magnum bar of the trip. It was as good as I remember last time I was in Europe. The creamy vanilla bean ice cream incased In a sweet shell of white chocolate, perfecto. As I sit and enjoy my ice cream I talk with Marco our Italian local. He is part of the cortona program and teaches Italian.  I get to learn about his travels and tell him a bit about mine. It's always funny to hear people visiting places were you live and see so frequently but I guess it's just the same for him. After we leave we walk to the Spanish steps. There are so many tourist hear you can barely make your way threw them all, but I did get to walk down the steps. We made our way back to the hotel and settled in for dinner. After we were all done shoveling our faces full we had a short meeting to prepare for the next day. You could see the exhaustion in everyone straining to keep there eyes open for a bit longer. Finally we were able to go back to our rooms and crash for the night. 

Day 2 The market place

Today I woke up and went to the market. I spent several hours just walking threw it and taking it all in. As I circled the venders decided what I wanted to eat I tryed a few things here and there. The first stand I came to was full of diffrent types of cellos, lemoncello, chocolate cello, hazelnut cello any thing you could think of. I decided to try the mellon cello, it was fabulous it had a creamy mellon flavor with a hint of the alcohol much better then the everclear we call lemoncello back in the states. Then I moves onto the fruits and nuts. As I restrained from buying a bit of everything I settled with some dates. They had a sweet nutty flavor with a soft juicy texture. The wrinkly skin was soft and not leathery like many of the dates you get in the states, very fresh and not to sweet. Then I moved on to currents/ribes. They call them ribes I've always called them currents so I'm probably wrong but either way they tast amazing especially with vanilla ice-cream. The are a tiny red fruit that when you bight into they kinda pop in your mouth. They are sweet and tart at the same time with a small seed in the middle which gives the juicy fruits a change in texture much like a pomegranate seed. Yep they come on a vine much like a grape. So I decided to take a few back for breakfast tomorrow. As I pondered on I resisted all the olive oils, balsamics, and cellos. Glass bottle before I've even gotten to Cortona sounds like a disaster waiting to happen. Then there was all the dryed pastas I could fill a whole crate with the ones I wanted to try but carrying noodles around for 4 monthes when I have an endless amout in every restaurant surrounding me seamed silly. However the spices I could use to cook my lunches on the trip. Plus after working in a spice shop it kinda felt a little like home. I talked to the man about all his diffrents spices and blends and then decided to get one for chicken. At some point I may get tired of pasta, probably not but I most likely won't want to cook it for lunch. So now I have dates, currents, and a spice blend but what's missing?  So I kept searching, searching for the one thing I came to the market place to find. Figs, Sweet juicy necture Incased by a soft seeded teardrop of goodness. There they were green ones purple ones, I bought a few of each. The girl bagging then asked if they were for today or the week inorder to choose ones at the right ripeness. I kinda chuckled they weren't going to make it past the last vender much less tomorrow. I took my bag of goodies and sat at a stained steped statue in the middle of the square. Here I enjoyed my figs as I wrote in my journal, mostly about my figs but I got a postcard or two done also. They also talked about my figs. They were just so delicious the purple ones are a bit sweeter then the green and have a juicer inside they lasted all of 30 seconds. As I sit and write I study the people around me they are mostly tourist as the day gets later all the locals came early and hand picked the good stuff before the crowed go to it. I watch as the Americans crave over the watermelon I just wanted to be like try something you can't really find in the states it's much more exciting then watermelon. I decided to bite my tung if they didn't eat the figs more for me right. After I sit for a while I ask a young girl who's sister sold me the figs to take my picture. Her sister chuckles as the little one doesn't speak but maybe two words of English luckily the camera has a screan and a button not much English needed to show how to use, just a quick game of sharades and I had my photo. Then I was on my way. I walk the streets back the way I came to a small bakery I had stopped into the day before. Here I snagged a small piece of foccacia with ham and cheese and I was off for another walk. I came across a 30 foot door that led into a square with 30 foot pillars and 35 foot arches. It was beautiful and home to some of Da Vincis machines. Here I ate my foccacia and wrote the rest of my postcards. Now it's time to head back to the hotel. The group is meeting soon and I'm excited to meet all the people I will be living with for the next 3 monthes. When I get back I meet my roommate we walk to the town and grab her some lunch and I try my first latte cafe. It was so cute and I forgot to take a picture of it. However I enjoy getting to know my roommate she seams very nice. Once we returned we had our meeting, at this point I realized the program had turned out to be all girls. Yikes..... All girls this is the one think I didn't mentally prepare for and didn't relies could be a reality. Plus most of them already met on the plain so I just kinda ran away for an hour befor dinner. As soon as we all sat down I became more comfortable. Not sure if it was the wine or the latte from earlier but I was wide awake. Dinner was very good and I really enjoyed meeting everyone. For a group of girls they all so far seam very unique in there own ways but we all seam to feed off of each other well. I'm other words I didn't go hide again after dinner. But I am going to turn in for the night there's a big day of sight seeing tomorrow. Ciao... 

Met my program

It's All Females......  

Finally in the land of pasta.

Today I landed in Italy. Unlike the movie and much like the real world my driver was at the wrong terminal I did get a photo of my sign though. As I was on my way to my hotel it all started to hit me. I'm in a foreign country alone and I don't speak the language. I get to my hotel and flot down on my bed. Every thing that could go wrong is flashing thew my head plus I have no internet and have no clue how to get into the city. As I lay there psyching my self out I realize I'm being stupid I'm in Rome grow a pair and get the hell out of this room. So I do. I go to the front dest and ask how to get to the Parthenon I mean it's in the middle of the city and who doesn't know what the Parthenon is. He gives me a piece of paper that tells me the busses and points me in the direction of the bus stop. After buying my ticket from the bar witch I found kinda weird. I grabbed my stuff and headed out. I met a nice mother and daughter from England at the station who were headed in my direction so check right buss. As I look at my lovely picture map I relies as long as I cross the river I can walk ever were. So I plan to hit the Parthenon and a church close by. Then I get off the bus. Everything is beautiful the architecture is amazing and the statues could keep me interested for hours but I don't think the police would appreciate me climbing up to them to see them as closly as I would like to. So I decide to walk. At this point I said screw my map I'm going to pretend I'm Italian for the day. I stroll around the city stoping here and there to admire a building or a huge door witch let me tell you there are a lot and I love all of them. Untill I run across a small honey and tea shop. As I restrain my self from spending all my money on tea I leave with a small jar of honey. I wish I could tell you exactly what kind but that's more Italian then I can read. However it is from Italy and the flowers here are diffrent then those in the US so I am excited to see the diffrence in the taste. After the honey store I stared to think about food. I keep walking until I find a little street were very few tourist had strolled. Here I came across a man calling his dog into the car for a trip, as I love dogs I couldent help but stop and watch Then there it was a small restaurant across the street. The door was lined in Ivy and the room was no bigger then a small classroom. I wondered inside were Alexander the owner sat me at a table. I ordered a glass of the house wine and the gnocchi. Across from me sat an older man In a flannel named Bryan. He is a retired Dean from Australia who now lives in Italy. He knows Alexander and the restaurant very well and is great fun to talk to. As I sip my fabulous wine and talk my gnocchi emerges from the kitchen. I take a bight and instantly feel like I'm in heaven. The cheese in the gnocchi along the the fresh sage and butter sause is so light it melts in my mouth yet still dense and savory. I couldn't have asked for a better meal to start off my trip. Then I meet Anne, Anne and her daughter are here on vacation from France. She tells me about her travels and all the wonderful places she has been. Even jots down a hotel for me to stay at when I go to visit one of them. Even though I have just met Alexander, Bryan, and Anne they welcome me like an old friend. The people here are wonderful, they defiantly know how to live. They taking on each day one at a time and just enjoying themselves, I'm envious. This is the first meal in a while were I ate every last bit of my plate which was a gracious amount of food and didn't feel like I had just stuffed my self silly. As I ate I also talked with Bryan and Anne and just enjoyed my self. There was no rush to get anywhere or any deadline to meet, Yes lunch took me two hours to finish but I got to enjoy every bite like it was the first. Rome is truly a remarkable place. Then I said my goodbuys and stared to walk again. After lunch I was so relaxed and happy nothing could touch me. The wine may have had something to do with it but shhh I was enjoying myself. I stumbled across a market were I wondered and ate my first pistachio gelato of the trip. Unfortunately it was closing so I decided I would return tomorrow morning. After a bit more walking and never actually finding the Parthenon I decided to head back to my hotel were I instantly crashed after a wonderful first day in Rome. 

It's finally here

Today I fly out to Italy. I haven't been able to stop jittering all day. I will arrive in Rome around 8:30 am after a 9 hour plain ride. There will be a man with my name on a sign waiting for me, just like in the movies. I had my last meal with my mom for awhile and beat the luggage scail with a 50.10 bag. I am so excited and can't wait to be there. Even though I am writing this from the take off strip I can't wait to get out of this plain. But for now I'm just overly excited and will write again when I'm in the land of pasta. 

The Day Before I Leave

First post to my new travel blog, its the day before I leave for Italy and Im supper excited. I have a backpack that is about as big as I am filled with all sorts of fun clothes and fancy new shoes thanks to toms online and my wonderful mother. I have a handful of euros and my passport close by. My puppy Isis was very sad to see me go and I her, but she has her wonderful grandparents watching out for her along with a group of loving friends that I thank very much. But all of this would not have been possible with out the help of my wonderful parents. They have very graciously helped me with school and thanks to them I am able to spend an entire semester roaming threw Italy, Paris, Morocco, Ireland, and Scotland. Also a big thanks to all of my friends who have encouraged me to fallow my dreams of art and travels yall have helped me get here today. I really cant say thank you enough. So keep checking in on the blog to see my adventures I will do my best to post daily so yall can see what I am up too. Ps: No apologies for the amount of food pics theres about to be I plan on eating my way threw Europe :)