In a Glass Case of Emotion

On our last Friday night in Florence, my Italian family and I wanted to have a nice Italian meal all together. We went to a very good restaurant across the river, where I had amazing red pepper soup. The night and dinner was perfect until we got back to the apartment.

We all decided it would be a fun idea to pile eight of us into the elevator that takes us up to the third floor of the girls and guys apartment. When the last few guys jumped into the small elevator the girls shouted for them to get out but it was too late. They had already hopped in and hit the button to the third floor. Everyone was laughing and squeezed together so uncomfortably.

Soon enough the elevator started to slow down and came to a complete stop in between the second and third floor. Our laughs and smiles were wiped from our faces. We all started to get panicked. The elevator had an emergency alarm button so we kept pressing it, hoping one of the neighbors would hear and come out to help us. No luck. I found this quite ironic because we always got noise complaints by the other tenants, cause we would leave the door to the guys and girls apartments open at the top and walk back/forth constantly. But when this on time we are being very loud and setting off a really annoying alarm to get some attention, we were all ignored.

After that failure, Ricky called our schools emergency contact phone and it was turned off. We then tried calling all of our other friends, who were not stuck with us in the tiny elevator, to come help us. Jodie came and tried to ring all the bells of the neighbors, within the building, to get inside the apartment but she was unsuccessful. Giancarlo, Liz, and Steph were out to dinner with their parents and came as soon at they could. But even they couldn’t do anything but keep us company outside the elevator. Although they laughed, pointed, and took several photos of us stuck, it was still a comfort to have someone in the outside world know our little problem. When we finally did get a hold of CEA, they sent one of the staff to come and try to help us. When they arrived, they contacted the closest repair man and got him to come get us out. When he got to the apartment, all eight of us were freed from the small suspended glass box. Apparently, when Ricky went to thank the technician he found out he was drunk and invited us all out to a local bar where he was previously. Thank God I didn’t know that fact when the elevator man came. I am just glad he was sober enough to get us out!

Being stuck in an elevator for over an hour with eight people was definitely an interesting experience. A couple of the girls were freaking out, angry, or on the verge of tears. The guys were trying to stay logical but clearly they were still worried. I on the other hand, thought it was kind of funny.  Marissa and I tried to stay positive and tried to distract the others. We decided to play twenty questions, which was quite entertaining, at least it was for me. But after that whole ordeal, I learned to never again try to squeeze eight people into a four person small Italian elevator.

8 people in a 4 person elevator!

Roma!

Ecstasy of Saint Theresa - Bernini

Pope Juluis II tomb designed by Michelangelo during the 1530s

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum

Caravaggio

Pantheon

Trevi Fountain - with Krissy and JC

Transfiguration by Raphael

Liberation of Saint peter - Raphael

School of Athens - Raphael

Last Judgment & Sistine Chapel - Michelangelo

The Pietà

Busy Busy Roma

The following day, after Thanksgiving, my art history class took us on a weekend long trip to Roma, Italy’s capital. The weekend was full of eighteen American students being herded back and forth through the busy city. By the end of each day everyone was exhausted. Our art history teacher managed to take us to see over ten churches, the Borghese museum, the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Roman Forum, Saint Peters Basilica, the Spanish Steps and much more.

A couple of my favorite memories from this trip were spending Friday night hanging out on the Spanish Steps, admiring Bernini’s sculptures, and getting to know my professor. After getting a yummy dinner outside of a small Piazza, my friends and I walked over the steps, bought a bottle of wine and observed the city. We listened to Christmas music from one of my friend’s ipods and saw two separate couples get engaged. Quite a surreal experience and yet very romantic for them.  While there, I had my first batch of roasted chestnuts. The toasted chestnuts were very delicious and very warming. Just what I needed on a chilly winter night in Roma.

Rome is full of Bernini’s sculptures and my art history professor tried to show us as many as possible. I lost count after the fifth sculpture we looked at but I truly enjoyed his work. One of my favorites is his Daphne and Apollo sculpture in the Borghese Museum. The marble statue shows Daphne turning into a tree by the touch of Apollo. The way Bernini smoothly transitioned Daphne’s hard marble body into a whimsical tree was truly remarkable.  This was the first time I had seen Bernini’s work in person and I really appreciated his talent.

On one of the afternoons in Rome, my friend Krissy and I had lunch with our art history professor Katharina. Here in Italy I have a closer bond with my teachers than back at home.  I would consider most of my professors at CEA as friends, including Katharina. Hearing her life story, as well as many other small ones, was very nice. Eating lunch with her broke a boundary between us. I would never get lunch with a professor from Cal Poly but there I was in Rome sharing a glass of wine with my art history teacher. And later that night, Katharina took all of us students out to dinner and bought us all beer. This was another thing that would have never happened at home. It was hilarious but amazing at the same time.

Unfortunately on Sunday, it happened to be free admission to go see the Vatican and the line to get into it was a two hour wait. The good thing about this situation was that it was free and we didn’t have to pay. The Vatican was huge and quite fascinating. There was too much to take in and, at times, I felt overwhelmed, especially in the Sistine Chapel. It was horribly crowded and hot. Every couple of minutes the Vatican guards would yell “NO PHOTO” “NO PHOTO”. I found it pretty distracting and made it hard for me to admire Michelangelo’s and Raphael’s masterpieces. But overall, I truly enjoyed Roma. After running around the city all weekend, it made me appreciate Florence much more.

City of the Beautiful Towers and One Very Thankful Day

San Gimignano

medival towers

Rick & Marissa being cute

100 year old olive tree

Florence Christmas lights

Thanksgiving feast

the family

A Florence Thanksgiving

 Lazy weekends in Florence are the best. The free time I spend exploring the city makes me feel more like it’s my home. I learn more about the little hidden treasures, good eating spots, and create great memories with my friends while walking around.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 1 was the second movie I have seen since I left home. (The first one was Letters to Juliette and I saw it in Germany with my mom.) I went with a big group of my friends to a small local theatre that was about a 20 minute walk away. We wanted to see it during the opening weekend and none of us expected it to be sold out or have a long line. Harry Potter is a British fantasy book and the film was produced by an American, why would Italian want to see it? We didn’t consider how many American or British students would want to see it. The line to see the movie was so long and we were all so lucky to have made it to that showing.

Italian movie theaters are very different from American: the seats were velvet and huge, everyone had their own armrests, it had a great amount of spacious leg room, and the projection screen was pretty small. And a weird addition that Italian theaters do is an intermission half way through the film. It’s actually quite a smart idea because more people got up and bought popcorn/food. My own theory on the short break was there so Italians can have a smoking break. The only Italians, that did happen to be in the theater, all piled out of it to smoke.  I think its quite comical that they cant go longer than three hours without smoking. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, some of my other friends, who don’t necessarily like the story as much as I do, did not particularly like it. One of them, in fact, fell asleep during the first half of it and woke up at intermission. After seeing the movie, he decided to recall it “Brooms and Shit” instead of Harry Potter. I personally like this new title and think it is hilarious. But in all practicality, its too inappropriate to officially rename it that and it can be misleading to mass audiences who want to see the story of Harry Potter not one of magical brooms.

Later that night I was invited to dinner with Marissa and her parents. We went to a small restaurant by the Pitti Palace called Quartto Leoni. I had some of the best Italian food in the world. The pear ravioli with cream sauce was delicious. It was also amazing getting to know her parents. It is always so nice to have one of my friends parents come to visit. I feel like it is a piece of home for me as it is to them. I love sharing my experience with the loved ones of my friends and being surrounded by people who love each other.

I had such a nice time with Marissa, Ricky, and her parents that they all invited me to go to San Gimignano with them the next day. San Gimignano is a small hill town in Siena, Tuscany. Its famous for its medieval towers and was featured in a movie that I like called “Tea with Mussolini”. (A film about World War II featuring Cher, Judi Dench, and Maggie Smith.) The views were gorgeous and there were so many old towers that were scattered about the town. It was a great excursion and I am so happy I got to spend more time with everyone.

Thanksgiving in Florence was a different, unique, and surprisingly fun. I had a feeling that since I wasn’t going to be with my family this year thanksgiving was going to be very disappointing. I actually had a wonderful time! My new Italian family made me feel at home. Although I couldn’t be with my real family I was so happy to be around people I love.

Everyone pitched in to create an amazing and very American meal. Krissy and I made crispy garlic bread, a delicious fruit salad, and yummy green beans. Jodie made mouthwatering home made corn bread from scratch. Giancarlo baked tender chicken in lemon and herbs.  Liz and Steph made big batch of tasty mashed potatoes. Jon-Michael contributed baked sweet potatoes with marsh mellows and Ali made a very good apple crumble cake. We were all stuffed at the end and it was such a good meal. Instead of doing our usual highs and lows of the day, everyone went around in a circle and spoke about what they were thankful for, their highs of the day, and described what their families would be doing to celebrate the holiday. This was particularly special to me because everyone was paying very close attention to what each person had to say. Discussing these topics made everyone very thoughtful, reflective, and thankful. If I couldn’t have been with my family at home I was so glad to be with my new friends in this beautiful.

When I got home later that night, I was able to skype with my family. I got to chat with not only my mom, dad, and sister, but I was able to see so many more people. It was such a pleasant surprise to be able to see my Aunts, cousin, Uncle, and Grandparents. Family is such an important part of my life and I was so pleased to have seen them even for a little bit. It truly made my foreign and new holiday experience so much better than I would have thought.

Foto di Venezia

Venice

overlooking San Marcos square from the cathedral 

gondola ride

heart snatcher

Florian Cafe

"The Floating City"

As you can tell, the first half of my stay here, in Italy, has been full of many adventures. I have never had such amazing experiences before and I each day I try to remind myself about how lucky I am.

On my first weekend back, CEA (my school here in Italia) took us all on a trip to Venezia, the floating city known for its beautiful blown glass. Venezia was mystical, enchanting, and quite fascinating. Last time I visited this area was seven years ago and I was with my family during the hot, sticky, and swampy summertime. This visit was foggy, cool, and jammed pack full of tours. You know how the atmosphere is when you wake up early in the morning during winter time? The air is full of mist, there is a slight chill in the wind, and its hard to make out distinctive shapes that are father than several feet in front of you. Well, this was my experience of Venice. Quite different than the first time I came. In fact, it was the opposite of humid but haunting and eerie. I actually prefer this new mood of Venice instead. The weather added a taste of fantasy to the city and suited its masquerade historical background.

Although it is usually expensive to ride on a gondola, my friends and I, being the clever and thrifty students we are, swindled our way into going on a ride throughout the city with a good price. I know my mom would be proud of those bargaining skills. The ride was picturesque and beautiful. We managed to get on the small rickety gondola right as the sun was setting. The many colored lights that adorned Venice reflected back into the water as if they were fireworks in the sky. Slowly gliding through the small back alleys and underneath the many bridges, was an amazing experience. As the fog rolled in, our guided tour through the city’s passage ways reminded me of a scene from the musical Phantom of the Opera.

While I was in Venezia, I traveled all around the city with my school. We raced back and forth, through many cathedrals, San Marcos Square, and into a couple of art galleries. I was introduced to the Venican artist named Tinteritto and I thoroughly enjoyed his work. Also, I happened to find a café that shares the same name of my dad “Florian”. He warned me about this while we were traveling in Spain together and I had to see it for myself.

Venice was beautiful. I just wished I had more time to explore it. My second visit of this floating city gave me a much more intriguing view of it than my first.

The following weekend my friends and I stayed in Firenze. Although we ambled and scouted out our city more we also visited a small Tuscan town named Montepucliano. To get there was an adventure itself. It was a two hour train ride and another hour bus ride to the city.

When we all arrived to the train station in the early morning, everyone was in a rush, as usual. All of us decided the night before to meet up at the SMN station (Santa Maria Novella) at least fifteen minutes before the train left to get tickets etc. But we only had five minutes to spare when we got there. When we all hoped on the train to get to the small hill town, not only had three of us (including me) forgot to validate our ticket but we had forgotten Jodie behind!  She was running late and missed the train by five minutes. We all were in too much of a rush to remember that she was joining us at the station early that morning instead of being with us already. As the train pulled away, we realized what had happened and felt horrible. We ended up calling her and figuring out she could take the next train and meet us in Montepulciano two hours after we got in.

Unfortunately, Giancarlo, Jon-Michael, and I still needed to validate our tickets. Us three came up with a plan to fix our little problem. Since none of us wanted to get a fifty euro ticket or get thrown off the train, we all decided to jump off at the next station find the small yellow validation box and punch our ticket then hop back on as quickly as we can.  Well into our ride, over five stops later, and after waiting by the exiting door, we finally managed to find a validation box. Seizing their moment, the two boys flew off the train and validated their tickets. They were in such a rush that Giancarlo’s scarf blew right off him and Jon-Michael managed to pick up for him in time. They hopped back on the train with their goal accomplished. On the other hand, I was too nervous and flustered to take a risk of not getting back on the train so I stayed safely behind. At the next stop, I mustered enough courage and plunged off the train, with the help of Giancarlo, and got my ticket punched. When we finally arrived at our destination, not one of the three of us got our tickets checked! Looking back on it now, I think the situation we were in was very comical and funny, in a strange way.

Montepulciano was amazing! It was very small and humble. This small town is known for its wine and for being in a popular teenage movie called “New Moon”. Surprisingly, the streets there were full of vendors promoting their products and handing out free samples. I didn’t even need to eat lunch the free food was perfect for me. I tasted a handful of fresh pressed olive oil, cookies, and cheese. It was an amazing display and buffet of Italian food. We were all truly lucky to have that opportunity to walk around an old Tuscan city and taste an assortment of food.

Fun, Fascinating, and Amusing Facts about Italy/Florence

After living in Florence for a several months I have gathered many fun, fascinating, and amusing facts that I wanted to share with you. Some of these may make you smile, surprised, or just amused.

1) Apparently, 60% of the world's most important works of art are located in Italy and approximately half of these are in Florence.

2) Italians live life by their own set of rules, even on some occasions the exact opposite of the law:

- While driving, Italians consider red lights more of a suggestion than a enforcement.

- Italians choose to close and open their shops/restaurants/buildings at their own leisure, even if it happens to contradict their supposed hours. (especially on Sundays, nothing is open)

-Italians love to stand really close to people; they don’t seem to understand the idea of personal space.

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3) 90 % of Italians say they are Catholic but roughly only 20% attend mass each Sunday.

4) It is impolite and looked down upon if someone orders any drink that has milk in it after 11 o’clock in the morning. This long list includes cappuccinos, lattes, and mochas.

5) It is impossible to buy chocolate chips here. This makes it especially difficult for a certain young foreign exchange student from American to make proper chocolate chip cookies. 

6) Italians prefer having baby boys than baby girls. When a baby boy is born, a typical Italian would congratulate the family by saying it’s a “un maschio”. In other words, congratulations on having a boy. When a baby girl is born in Italy, one would sooth the family by stating it’s a “bella bambina”, meaning you have a beautiful baby girl. On average, an Italian would add on beautiful to baby girl to ease the tension of having a girl instead of a boy.

7) Italians love to go on strike; especially the public transportation sector and even more specifically when you need to use them. It tends to be the most scheduled strikes as well. For example, everyone would plan to strike from 6 in the morning till 5 in the afternoon, and then continue on with their day.

8) On average, Italians only drink while eating food.

9) Florence is known for its leather, raw steak, hand-made paper, and, of course, art.

10) The Arno River is infested with large catfish-looking serpents. Apparently, this is a growing problem for the other creatures living in the river because they are currently being killed off by the serpents.

11) The Uffizi houses over a thousand pieces of art and has about 1.5 million visitors a year.

12) The twenty-five year old Michelangelo took on the challenge “David” and chiseled this sculpture for two and a half years. When finished, “David” was supposed to be placed on Florence’s Duomo but after seeing Michelangelo’s masterpiece the community moved it to Palazzo Vecchio. If a modern day artist tried to recreate Michelangelo’s “David” today, without the help of any power tools, it would take about seven years.

13) Since we are already on the topic of the “David”… Apparently, Verrocchio’s bronze sculpture of the “David” was modeled after his young student, Leonardo Da Vinci.

14) Italians really don’t like it when you rest your feet, or legs, on top of chair, tables, or foot stools. They find it very impolite and rude.

15) The city of Florence is still restoring art that was damaged from the flood from 1966. The water from the Arno River was so great that it reached up to, or more than, 3 meters high.

16) Italians start celebrating Christmas well before Americans. (This might have to do with the fact we have Thanksgiving, while Italians do not.) But Florence has been decorating its’ streets with lights, little Christmas trees, and festive wreaths since the beginning of November.