MY LIFE IS NOW COMPLETE

February 20th- FIRENZE!!!
It is possible that my life may now be complete; I checked two things off my bucket list in one day. I did and saw some things that will be some of the most memorable experiences in my life. For those who do not know I am studying Art Education and Art History. I really enjoy learning about different art styles, artists, and the history behind different pieces. During the spring semester of my freshman year I took an art history class with Dr. Mulvaney, who got me very interested in learning more about the history of art. One day she taught us about Michelangelo and David. Michelangelo was only 26 years old when the Cathedral Works Committee commissioned him to make David from a let over, previously worked on piece of marble. After working on the 13 ½ foot sculpture for 3 years Michelangelo finished David in 1504. I also learned about the Santa Maria del Fiore, the Baptistery with Ghilberti’s doors, and the Brunelleschi’s Duomo in my art history class. As Santa Maria del Fiore, the Cathedral was constructed the Opera de Duomo held a contest to see who could design a successful l dome. Filippo Brunellescho had a secretive plan that did not need supports. The Opera de Duomo took a chance on him and he created a 142 foot dome in the 12th century. The Duomo has two layers, an interior, and exterior made for wind and weather protection. From the time I saw David and the architecture projected on the wall in class, I knew that one day I would have to go to Firenze and see the art for myself….

Michelangelo once said "In every block of marble I see a statue as plain as though it stood before me, shaped and perfect in attitude and action. I have only to hew away the rough walls that imprison the lovely apparition to reveal it to the other eyes as mine see it." Saturday morning I woke up in Firenze, home to the Duomo and David! After a quick breakfast I excitedly departed for the Accademia home of the infamous David. As I previously stated I really wanted to come to Italy and see David, but I don’t think that expresses how much I love him. My roommates here keep telling me it’s weird that I am in love with a piece of marble. My response back is that he is perfectly sculpted, handsome piece of marble that has not ,nor will ever, let me down.  I walked into the room with David, not knowing he was in there because I was looking at other pieces; then looked up and was in ecstasy. I think my eyes started to water with all my excitement. He was even better in person than in the pictures. I was shocked at how large he actually is. David is stunning, shocking, magnificent, and any other adjective that means or is equivalent to the word awesome. Michelangelo was an insanely talented artist; his attention to detail is incredible. David’s flawlessly sculptured body shows with each muscle, vein, and knuckle from his curly hair down to his toe nail. Seeing him put me in a good mood for the entire weekend!

After purchasing postcards and a calendar of my true marble love, we headed to the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral, Battistero (baptistery), Duomo ,and Torre (tower). Once again I was so excited. I love to see the pieces of art and architecture that I have learned about in Dr. Mulvaney’s art history class. There is so much attention to detail on Santa Maria del Fiore. The green and pinkish red walls with additional sculptures and reliefs on the exterior gave the cathedral visual interest that I really enjoyed. There is always something for the eyes to look at. It is the most decorative cathedral I have ever seen.

After taking lots and lots of pictures we strolled the streets of Firenze to find some gelato. For some reason every time we really wanted it we could not find any gelatrias. We ended up stopping in la loggia Degli Albigi a pastry shop. I got a cute petite cheesecake with strawberry sauce on it. It was delizioso!

After we finished out desserts we met up with Hilary, Kelsey, Megan and Kayley and had lunch in I Ghibellini a nice pizzeria. I ordered a huge ham and cheese calzone. After we finished eating we discussed the plans for the rest of the day.
Megan, Jess, Lilly, Hilary, Kayley and I were going to climb the Duomo! We knew the 463 steps would be hard, but we knew the view would be worth it! The stairways were dark and very narrow.

I would not recommend climbing the Duomo if you are severally claustrophobic because it is tight squeeze. It was a little painful on my legs and lungs as we were hurrying up the Duomo. I stopped every once in a while to catch my breath. When you are halfway to the top you are up behind a glass wall looking up in the detailed frescoes of The Last Judgment. It was awesome to see the frescoes up close. The very last part of the climb was very steep! Finally seeing the view was incredible. The Duomo overlooked all of Firenze. Depending on what side of the Duomo you walked to the views changed. Some were just buildings and churches that went on for miles, and on another side we could see the mountains. Since we worked so hard to climb to the top we decided we were going to stay up there for a while. After 20-30 minutes we walked back down all the stairs.

With shaking legs we decided to treat ourselves to some much needed gelato. After our delicious gelato we walked around the markets. Scarves, purses, Italia clothing, shoes, decorative items and more are sold in the markets. I bought two beautiful sciarpas (scarves) for 5 euro.
Feeling exhausted from walking all over Firenze and up the Duomo we decided to try to get a bus back to our hotel since it was on the other side of town. As we walked up to the bus stop there was a bus that had just arrived. We ran into a bar to buy a ticket and hopped on a very crowded bus. Stupidly we did not ask the driver where he was going. He started driving north. Megan decided that one stop looked like ours and we should get off. Jess and I were discussing that we were going north and we needed to go south, but Megan hopped off the bus. We all needed to stick together so we all got off. I knew that we were not where we needed to be at all! Lilly suggested we go into a farmacia and ask where we were on the map. He pointed to the very top of the map (our hotel was at the very bottom). We then asked him how to get back to our hotel and he laughed. He told us that we would have to get a bus back to the train station and then hop on another bus to go to the hotel. We sat and waited at the bus stop as it started to get dark and rain. Bus after bus came by the stop, and we asked where they were going (yes, we learned our lesson). None of the buses were going to the train station or even in the direction we needed. I went to sit on some stairs and eat some crackers I had packed. Lilly suggested that maybe we could get a taxi. I had no idea how to get a taxi, and we thought maybe we could go into a bar and have the bar tender call one for us. Right then a taxi drove past us and the light turned red ,thank you God. I jumped up and ran across the two other lanes to get to his taxi and knock on the window to get a ride. He let us in and only 11 Euro later we made it back to our hotel. I truly believe that was God answering our needed prayer to get back to our Hotel!
Lilly, Kayley, Hilary, Kelsey and I decided to go out to a nice dinner, we went to Conter Ugolino. I ordered frutta del mare (seafood) pasta, salad and mela (apple) pie. I decided I would get apple pie because it reminds me of my dad and back home, but it was nothing like any apple pie I have ever had. It was a flat moist pastry with a thin layer of apple slice on the top. Once again exhausted from the day I was in bed early.
Saturday was one of the most memorable days of my life. I will never forget my feeling I had when I actually saw David for the first time. I will never forget the pain in my legs as I climbed all 463 stairs of the Duomo. I will never forget the breathtaking views from the top of the Duomo. The whole experience in Firenze was one that I will never forget, and that I would recommend everyone do in their lifetime.

February 9th
The heaters for the Palazzo are right next to the window, and I like to stand next to them for two reasons-The 1st being to get warm and 2nd being to look out and people watch. The view from the window in the classroom is into a hair salon. As I was warming up and people watching I saw a nonna (grandma) walking out with a newly done hair style. It reminded me of taking my nana to get her hair done when she is in North Carolina visiting my family. Hopefully she will be coming to North Carolina close to the time I get back.
In order to stay here for a long time I have to get a permit of stay. I took a copy of every page of my passport, my student ID card and other information to the post office. I had to pull a number and wait to be helped. When my number was called, I walked up and slid my papers under the opening in the glass/plastic wall. The post office worker diligently looked through every paper and stamped the information. (Now all I have to do is get my finger prints done in a couple of weeks, and I’ll get my permit of stay!)
Luckily for me the Pam (grocery store) is in the same indoor shopping area as the post office, so I didn’t have to walk extra in cold to go grocery shopping. I knew I wanted to buy pasta, vino, something salty and something sweet. I ended up walking down each and every isle about 3 times not knowing where everything was. I did eventually find what I was looking for and, I was very pleased to find a bag of pasta for 37 centesimi and pasta sauce for 67 centesimi. A bag of pasta is enough for 3 meals! I found some Pam brand popcorn, saltines (I made sure I bought salato) and a bottle of vino. My mom would be so proud with my bargain hunting skills—6 items for 3.70 euro!
February 10th
We had been doing so much homework and reading that we decided it would be a good idea to get out of the Palazzo and do something fun. Jess, Lilly, Kim, Megan and I went out to get some gelato. It was cold and raining, which was not the best gelato weather, but we all still wanted some. I asked for saggiare (sample) and then ordered cioccolata e nocciola(Chocolate and hazelnut).
February 12th
It snowed, and we learned the word for snow…It is neve. The snowflakes were huge. I got excited to see such large pieces of snow. As we ate lunch we could see the snow starting to stick to the roof of the buildings near us.
Like I have previously said, I spend a lot of time looking out the window keeping warm and people watching. As I was looking out the window I saw a mangy dog without a collar. I told my roommates how bad I wanted to go and rescue it and bring it into the Palazzo. We decided John Rose and Dr. Webb might not be too keen on the idea. (Maybe I’ll secretly rescue it……) After lunch we walked to the bus station to get tickets for Arezzo on Saturday. When we were leaving I saw un cane (a dog). Being the dog lover I am, I was excited to give the dog some “loving.” The dog gave me a kiss, and I said “grazie per un baci!” It made me happy because I have been missing my dogs like crazy!

February 13th
Saturday morning we woke up and got ready. We hoped on the bus and headed to Arezzo. Arezzo was founded by the Etruscans and conquered by the Romans in 311 BC; It is located in the Toscana and is a 45-55 minuet bus ride from Sansepolcro (Sansepolcro is located in the Provence of Arezzo.) Arezzo is on a hill and the scenery on the bus ride was amazing. As we drove through the mountain tops, I was in shock and awe. After the snow from the day before, everything was dusted in a beautiful white powder. I kept saying over and over again that the mountains and trees looked like something that could be in a calendar.

When we got off the bus Bekah (our Resident Director) told us how the train and bus station work. We stopped by the information station to get a map of Arezzo and started on our walk. Jess, Megan, Kim and I walked up the main street and went into some shops. I meet a very nice woman, who was working in an accessory shop. She was speaking to us in Italian and I tried to tell here “parlo un po’ Italiano.” I asked her how to say gloves….”come si diche” (and pointed to my glove) she responded “guanto.” She also taught us the word for purple, black, grey, and brown. (viola, nerro, grigio, marrone)
The sights were beautiful. The Pieve Di S. Maria had a lot of columns and was like nothing I have ever seen in America.

We walked up to il parto (the park) where some Italian kids and teenagers were having snowball fights. Megan and I could not resist, and started throwing snow balls at each other as well as Jess and Kim (I won the snowball war….) In the park we walked to the wall and looked down to see a spectacular view. We could see the land, the mountain and all the houses below us.

There was a beautiful piece of sculpture in the park, but unfortunately people have vandalized and covered the back side with graffiti. I have seen quite a bit of graffiti while in Italy, especially on sculptures and old buildings. I find it very sad that the people who are doing the vandalizing do not respect the artwork that they are lucky to have.

The next place we went to was the Cattedrale. Once again I was in awe. The church had such colorful and decorative stained glass windows. As I was in there I told Jess “My mom would love this.” (So I think I will have to take her to Arezzo when she comes to visit me.) The cathedral had both paintings and sculptures of all kind, I enjoyed taking all the art work in. I thought the ceiling was the coolest. It was very Sistine Chapel-ish as it was divided into sections, each with a different depiction of a bible story. I was wishing that I had more knowledge of the different stories so I could know exactly what each depiction was.
After visiting the Catterdrale we decided we needed to hurry up and eat before everything closed at 1:00. Megan, Kim, Jess and I walked around and got quite lost. For about an hour we tried to decipher the map. We ended up walking outside of the Arezzo walls, and decided we would just walk parallel to the walls so we could end up back at the bus station. Luckily, we made it back and sat to eat lunch at a café right next to the bus station. I ordered salami and smoked cheese sandwich. The salami said salami piccante, so when I ordered I said “no piccante”, and was happy that my sandwich did not burn my mouth.
Bekah took us to Arezzo and gave us information on the bus, but we had to get back to Sansepolcro on our own. Thank God, I was with the girls, because I was very confused with the bus system. The problem was that the paper posted at the bus station was old, so the times were not right. We ended up peaking our heads into every bus and saying “Sansepolcro?” until we found a bus driver that said “si, si, si!” When I got back into Sansepolcro it felt like such a sense of accomplishment for making it back!
Exhausted from our day in Arezzo, I took a 3 hour nap. The rest was much needed before I had to do homework and reading for classes. As I was doing the class work, I was looking forward to “going out on the town.” At 11:30 we left the Palazzo Alberti and went to K café (This is where we went last week, we really liked it.) As we were standing, waiting to order our drinks 3 boys walked up to me and asked us where we were from. I told him, and then asked how he knew we were not from Sansepolcro. He ended up saying that he could hear us speaking in English. I thought it was because we looked different because people here always stare at us, like they know we are Americans. I talked to the boys for a couple of minutes until one asked me for my number. As he pulled out his phone there was a picture of a girl on the background. He then proceeded to tell me that it was his sister. I guess he thought I was a stupid Americana raggaza. (So no, he did not get my number… but I thought it was funny.)
More boys came up to talk to us as we were sitting at the table. I was happy because last time no one spoke to us. (It was like we were aliens from another planet). It was fun to sit with the Italanio raggazo and speak with them. They would ask us questions to get to know us and I tried my best to use the little Italian that I know. We invited some of the boys over for lunch. (John Rose likes for lunch guests to come over.) So hopefully they come! We shall see…….

February 2nd
I have finally arrived in the beautiful Sansepolcro! It was a long tiring journey to get here. I got to the airport at 10:00 am, got my ticket and sat quietly waiting for the first plane to take off at 1:00 pm. The girls and I flew to New York, had a short lay over, and then boarded for an 8 hour flight to Rome. After the plane we all loaded onto a mini bus for a 4 hour drive to Sansepolcro. I got off the bus very excited, yet very tired (I was not able to sleep on either plane or the bus). Once I walked into the Palazzo Alberti my first thoughts were- BURR, its cold in here, and wow this place is much nicer than I was expecting! I walked up to the 3rd floor and saw just one of our common rooms, I became amazed. We sat in a pale green common room, with comfy couches and Renaissance painting close ups. We got a quick briefing and then were able to choose our rooms. Jess, Kim, Megan and I picked a room with windows that open up to the main street Via XX Settembre. (I spend a lot of time looking out the window and people watching). Dr. Webb and John Rose insisted that we stay up till 9:30 Italian time so we went on a walk around Sansepolcro. We walked to the Porta Fiorentina and to the Porta Romana (these are the two main entrances in Sansepolcro) and took in the beautiful cobblestone streets, medieval buildings, and lively people. We saw some churches, lots of shops, and went into Pam, a grocery store. I had only brought mini shampoo bottles for when we go on our excursions, so I needed to buy some big bottles. It was so hard to figure out what type to buy. Everything was in Italian. I ended up just picking one. After a really long day I was very happy to come back to the Palazzo, eat dinner, shower and most of all go to sleep.

February 3rd
Tonight I went to Happy Bar with Megan, Jess, Lilly and Kelsey. Megan and I tried to talk to the bar tender in Italian to figure out what was good to order. It was only our second day there, and we only had one class of Italian, so we did not know how to say very much. We tried to say “que es tu favarito” to ask him what his favorite was. Que es tu favarito is Spanish and not Italian so that didn’t really work. It was fun to try to talk to him and made me excited to learn Italian so I can communicate with the local people. Both of us ended up ordering a very rich cioccolata . What I got a was pudding substance in a cup which needed to be eaten with a spoon. It was nothing like American hot chocolate, which is meant to be drunk.




February 4th
The food here has been amazing. Every day we all gather around the table for different and delicious 3 to 4 course lunches. Today we had vegetable soup, bread, a regular salad, a chicken tomato and olive salad, potatoes, pork and sausage. The food is very filling. The desserts have been very different from anything I have had in America. We have had a whole baked apple, a layered cake, and some different pastries. I know that apples, pastries, and cakes are the same thing we eat in America, but the tastes and consistencies are different here. Today after our literature class we bundled up and walked to the COOP. It is a grocery store outside the Sansepolcro walls. The walk was about half a mile and was very pleasant. Anyone who knows me knows that I get very excited over food, so I was very excited to be in an Italian grocery store with so much new and exciting food to look at. Jess and I had a lot of fun with the baskets. They are like American baskets, but with a handle and wheels so you can also drag them. I ended up buying some chocolate cookie candies, braided bread that was like a bretzle, (bread+ pretzel=yum, something I can get at home) and some earl grey tea, (like I have in the mornings with my momma). The Palazzo is very cold, and we’re constantly making tea to keep us warm!


February 5th
In our Italy Today class we learned about Carnevale, which literally means no means no meat, It is an Italian tradition 2 weeks before Lent where Italians wear masks and dress up in different costumes. We also went on a walk around Sansepolcro today. We went into the original and first chapel, where Piero della de Francesca, (a famous painter who lived in Sansepolcro) is buried. The class also went and saw the outside of what was his house hundreds of years ago.
We have a special surprise on Sunday, which we know nothing about. All we have been told is that we need to dress warm and wear boots that can get wet. So I went out to get some rain boots. I had to tell the sales woman in Italian that I wanted a size “trenta otto” I bought some Baci-Baci cream colored rain boots for 34 euro. I was very excited. All of us girls went and strolled around the town. We went up a couple different streets and looked in some shops. I was looking at an umbrella in one shop and said “come se dice umbrella in Italian,” she responded “ombrello” It was fun to window shop and just be out with the some of the people. We were all getting hungry and wanted pizza so we thought we could try the pizza shop underneath us. We went into the shop just as a big party was going in. The hostess was speaking to us in Italian but we did not understand. Apparently she was asking us if we had reservations. Much to our surprise we needed to get reservations for this pizza place. We tried to ask if we could take our pizza to go, and she opened the door and started to point out as if she was directing us to another pizza place. Luckily Kayley was there (who speaks more Italian than the rest of us) and spoke to the hostess telling her we wanted to order our food to go. So we were given menus. The menus were in Italian. Many other girls and I just ordered, not really knowing what we were getting. Kelsey and I ordered a Napoli pizza. When we got upstairs into the Palazzo and sat to eat down we realized that we had ordered an anchovy and caper pizza.
As a group we watched Notting Hill after our pizza dinner. As we were watching the movie we heard the streets getting loud and busy. After the movie Megan, Jess, Kayley, Kelsey and I decided we would venture out into the streets. We walked down and went into one café/bar. It was busy and we just stood in the back, not knowing what to do or say, so we decided to leave and go somewhere less crowded. We went to K Café, the store menu says its fashion disco. As we sat and drank our drinks we could hear some nice Madonna disco music. It was fun to get out and be with other Italians, even if we they did not talk to us.



February 7th
SURPRISE DAY! After getting 4 hours of sleep the alarm went off at 4:20 to wake us up for the journey to our surprise! Loaded up in the bus, I was looking at road signs to see where we might be going. After a while I saw some signs to Venezia. We were going to Carnevale in Venezia. The tradition is being kept alive today. We saw crazy, elaborate, and wild costumes; Jess was describing the Carnevale as Disney land, without the rides. There were parades, food venders, crazy people, and beautiful water and building sights. Jess, Meghan, Kim, Bekah and I went into Osteria de Carla for lunch. We were impressed because we found an authentic and not touristy restaurant. It was different than any restaurant I have ever been to in America. They had 4 options: pasta of the day, fish of the day, soup and then ravioli. I ordered the pasta of the day which was lasagna. The waitress set bread on our table, but here you have to pay for the bread, so we decided not to get it, but I was so tempted. After lunch we went to get gelato. The gelato here really puts ice cream in the States to shame. I got cioccolata and a creamy yet tart fruity gelato. After our gelato we went and explored the streets of Venice. It was incredible to look and see all the buildings and shops. Since many people dress up and wear masks at Carnevale I had to buy one at one of the little shops. I bought a nice blue one with feathers. I loved all the waterways and bridges. In awe of everything I took over 300 pictures. It was such an awesome experience and l loved the entire thing!