Buon Natale! Frohe Weihnachten! Happy Christmas!

15 December 2011: Thursday

This evening we had a school Christmas dinner at a nice trattoria near the Medici Chapel in Florence. We dined on antipasti, eggplant parmesan, turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and panettone. Everything was tastey and the company was great. I sat with Madel and a friend of hers that was visiting Italy from a study trip to Sweden. I knew that she also went to Cal Poly but it was not until I met her that I realized that she is roommates back at Cal Poly with one of my best friends from high school! It is so funny how small our world is!

17 December 2011: Saturday
Gelato: Crem de Grom + Tiramisu

19-22 December 2011: Mid-Terms

A week full of studying and little sleep. Not much different then finals week at Cal Poly. I had my Florentine Architecture midterm on Monday, Grammar and History of the Renaissance midterms on Thursday.

Wednesday was “d-day;” the day my final design for the Uffizi Gallery exit was due. The exit had to include a café and also fit into the historical context of ancient Florence. For this project, I was thinking a lot about what the renaissance was. The Renaissance is a re-birth of classical ideals. I studied the evolution of proportions and styles, and then added a third phase to the evolutionary tree. Following the styles of Mies van der Rohe, I developed this project: –>

23 December 2011: Friday
Gelato: panettone and mandarin (Italian Christmas combination)

She is here! My mom arrived last night to visit me in Florence! This had been the longest time I have ever been away from my mama! 4 months is too long. With the end of my last final on Thursday, I practically ran to the train station of pick up my mom.

Today, we walked around to see all of the sights and I gave my mom a thorough lecture of Florentine architecture. We visited the Palazzo Vecchio and David, the Ponte Vecchio, we bought her a pair of leather gloves.

In the evening, we hiked up the hill to the Piazalle Michelangelo. The city of Florence had set up a beautiful frosted Christmas tree in the Piazalle. For dinner, JC, Sar, and I took her to Gusta Pizza for some real Florentine Pizza!

24 December 2011: Saturday and Christmas Eve

We slept in and in the afternoon, we went to the central market to buy some food for our Christmas Eve dinner. She had so much fun looking at all of the strange cuts of meat, cheeses, and vegetables. For dinner, I made meatloaf patties and green beans. Sar joined us and made us one of her wonderful Tiramisu! I was even able to find “A Christmas Story” online to continue our tradition of watching it every Christmas.

After dinner and presents, we took an evening stroll through the streets and made our way to the Duomo for Christmas Eve mass. It lasted 2 ½ hours! More then a Sunday mass, there was an hour of singing and verse reading before mass began. Led by our favorite archbishop of Florence, we enjoyed the smell of incense and the revealing of baby Jesus (in my opinion the best part)! I had never seen the Duomo so full! It was such a fun experience!

25 December 2011: Christmas Day

Buon Natale! (meaning “good birth” or Happy Christmas in Italian).
Mom, JC, and I got on the train this morning to visit my family in Germany again! This time, we are staying with my mom’s cousin Mari and her husband Wolf (daughter of my Tante Git, sister of Barb). The train ride was so beautiful, just like the one to Vals. This time, we went through Austria, past Insbrook. We arrived in Ulm in the evening, just in time for Kasespatzle!

26 December 2011: Monday

Today is the feast of St. Stevens and a state holiday in Bavaria. We took the morning easy. JC and I explored the yard around Mari and Wolf’s house. They have five pet peacocks! We had fun looking for and collecting the tail feathers of the beautiful male peacock. They also have two geese and tons of chickens running around their yard.

For lunch, we went to my Tante Git’s house for a post-Christmas supper and then ventured through the town where my grandma was born. We enjoyed good conversation and more Christmas cookies then any one person should consume.

I tried a new type of cookie who’s recipe comes from my great grandma. Made from the Quince fruit. This fruit-roll-up type cookie has a sweet, yet bitter, taste and is so tasty!

27 December 2011: Tuesday
Munich

Up early today to tour Munich. We began the day at Schloss Nymphenburg. Home to King Ludwig I and birthplace of King Ludwig II (he later built Schloss Neuschwanstein). This palace is a simple version of Versailles in Paris, but the frescoes and paintings will give Versailles a run for its money. King Ludwig I began a collection of portraits called “The Gallery of Beauties.” This collection included 36 portraits of the most beautiful women the king had ever met; from a cobbler’s daughter, to some of the noblest women in Bavaria.

We continued into the center to find a very old cemetery. Everyone from my mom’s side of the family is buried here. It was such a creepy cemetery, with vines growing over the tombstones and the overgrown trees blocking the sunlight and casting strange shadows on the dirt path. We explored all of the sights in the center (rathaus, St. Peters, Frauenkirche) and had bratwurst and beer at the Victualienmarkt.

Our last stop of the day was at the Olympic park and BMW Welt! The Olympic park had three pavilions made of fabric lofted over a large open space. BMW Welt (World) is the museum and factory for the BMW cars. The museum and showroom was designed by architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au. This space was fantastic with different platforms and spaces for soaking in the beautiful automobiles. We even saw some original vintage cars, including the BMW Isetta.

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Dinner was in a traditional Munchener restaurant. We ate schnitzel and spatzle!
The drive home after was full of excitement. Wolf is not afraid of the road! On the autobahn, he pushed the car to 190 km/h. That is about 120 m/h. The fastest I have ever been in a car!

28 December 2011: Wednesday

This morning was lazy and so was the afternoon. All we did was eat today! My Uncle Mich came from Stuttgart to visit my mom and we had a wonderful brunch of meat, cheese, eggs, and pfannkuchen (German pancakes).

We kept eating at Uncle Mar’s house. Gert made some wonderful desserts and we enjoyed coffee with whipped cream! Tante Git, Barb, Tante Wilt, and another Wolf joined us! In our family, we like to count names. The same names tend to show up over and over again throughout a family tree. Names like Rupert, Martin, and Hugo are uncountable in our family!

This evening, we drove into Ulm to visit a German Medieval festival. We drank gluhwein (like mulled wine) and ate some hot snacks. It was so cold that night! To fight the cold, the festival supplied hot wooden baths that people could pay to sit in. Weird if you ask me. But people were enjoying it.

29 December 2011: Thursday

Our last day in Germany. We took the drove down to the Allgau again to play in the snow today! Wolf and Maria have several traditional wooden sleighs and we had so much fun flying down the snow-covered hills. We had a picnic lunch of liverwurst and pretzels with hot apple juice! The Alps were covered with clouds most of the day, but around 13:00 the clouds began to lift. We could see deep into the Alps as the snow began to fall. It was so beautiful and JC’s first time seeing falling snow.

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Dinner at Barb’s with Schupfnudeln (long potato noodles) and sauerkraut.

Tomorrow we head to Salzburg. I am sad that we must leave Germany so quickly! I feel so welcome here. I’m falling in love with Bavaria.

Life in Tuscany. Florence + Cinque Terre + Chianti + Bologna

10 September 2011: Saturday
Gelato: Tiramisu

My friend Meg is visiting Florence this week. She is traveling for the semester through Europe with her art class from university. She has already spent a week in London, another in Venice, and is now in Florence before going off to Rome, Vienna, and Paris!

For the weekend, Meg, JC, Sar and I decided to take a day trip to the five coastal towns of the Cinque Terre. Any visit to Italy must include the Cinque Terre! It is so beautiful and the water is calm and warm. We took an early train to Riomaggiore (the southern most town of the 5) and explored the small town that was built into the hillside. We walked past the colorful houses and to a great view looking over the Mediterranean Sea and the other four towns: Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso.

After lunch, we walked the Via dell’Amore (Walk of Love) to Manarola. Along the Via dell’Amore couples have attached locks to commemorate their love and then toss their keys into the sea. We discovered a path down the cliffs with a small ramp into the water. We swam for a few hours and soaked in the Mediterranean sun.

11 September 2011: Sunday

architecture students enjoying their wine

This afternoon we took the bus to the small town of Grieve in Chianti. Grieve in Chianti hosts a wine festival to showcase the local red wine: Chianti. Traveling with a bunch of fellow architecture students, we had a blast sampling all of the different, local, wines including the red Chianti, Vin Santo (a sweet dessert wine; translates to “holy wine”), and Grappa (the moonshine of the Italian wine world).

12-16 September 2011: Monday-Friday
Gelato: Tiramisu + Crem de Grom (vanilla cream with gram cracker bits)
This is officially the best gelato I have had to date! The gelato is so creamy and they even mix chunks of lady-finger into the tiramisu! So so so so so good!

This week was very easy going with lots of studying and cooking. I did some laundry and hung it out the window to dry, I bought some fresh pasta from the Sant’Ambrogio Market and Sar made home-made Tiramisu in honor of JC’s 21st Birthday!

17-18 September 2011: Saturday + Sunday

It’s the weekend! A group of us took a morning train to the city of Bologna. It was an interesting weekend that taught me to anticipate the

Sar, JC, Jes, Fran, Gabe, & Al

unexpected. I had planned a trip to the Ferrari car factory, but our plans were interrupted by an unplanned train strike. Strikes have become frequent across the TrainItalia system in order to reject the cuts in wages. With that said, I will now plan my trips much more carefully and be open to a change in schedule. We will have to return to Bologna again!

Other then the previously stated disappointment, I had a very nice time in Bologna. Bologna is the food capital of Italy and is the birthplace of Pasta Bolognese and the modern university. I enjoyed walking along the arcades that line the streets and visiting the Basilica, leaning tower of Bologona, and an ancient university of science and medicine. Inside of the university are the many crests of the professors and students that worked at and attended the university. We also were able to peak inside an ancient operating theater. The archaic style of teaching was made known by the wood-carvings of the skinned human body and an giant marble slab (for operating). Class was only taught here during the winter months, to keep the operating room cool.

I enjoyed the good food, good company, and the rain!

19 September 2011: Monday
Gelato: Tiramisu + Crem de Grom… again.

School. Eating. Loving Life!

21 September 2011: Wednesday

This evening, after our Wednesday art class, JC, Sar, and I attended a short lecture on student travels in Europe. I was super excited because the lecture was given by the son of one of my favorite travel writers… any guesses?

Andy Steves, son of Rick Steves, gave us tips on how to best take advantage of our time abroad in Europe. It kind of turned into an advertisement for this new student travel business, but I got free food and a drink, and now I’m one degree closer to a famous travel writer!

22 September 2011: Thursday

I visited the Palazzo Vecchio today, not to take a tour, but to attend student welcome day. American students become a large part of central Florence’s population during the fall. The meeting was held in the Salone dei Cinquecento (Hall of the 500) which used to hold the meetings of the 500 person council under the rule of Duke Cosimo Medici I. At the end, we were greeted with an appearance by Matteo Renzi, the Mayor of Florence. He gave a very nice and inviting speech. Matteo Renzi is very popular among the Florentines because he is young and has ideas for modernizing Florence.

24 September 2011: Saturday
Gelato: Chocolate with Sicilian Orange

Happy European Heritage Day! I was able to visit the Laurentian Library for free today! The Laurentian Library is located within Basilica San Lorenzo. Commissioned by the Medici Family, the library was designed by Michelangelo to house the Medici’s large literary collection and to show off their interest in the arts. The library is a long reading hall with high windows that give off a very soft light quality. The benches use to have chains that locked the rare books to their shelf.

In the afternoon, a wine parade, called Bacco Artigiano, took place. The Tuscan town of Rufina travels the 20km to Florence with their “Carro Matto” (crazy cart). The parade walkers all wear medieval Florentine outfits and are followed by the cart, stacked high with 1500 bottles of Chianti Classico and pulled by two oxen. This symbolic parade blesses the new wine at the Duomo (Santa Maria de Fiore) and then presents it to the government at the Palazzo Vecchio.

25 September 2011: Sunday

Corri La Vita – The Life Race

Today was Corri La Vita, a city wide race/walk-a-thon to raise money for breast cancer. All of CSU Firenze was encouraged to join the entire city of Florence to walk for the cause! We started early, sporting our bright green shirts, Sta and Han chose to run the race while the rest of us walked. JC, Sar, and I wanted to take advantage off all of the free museums we could visit with our participation in the walk.

The race began at the Piazza della Signoria (where the Palazzo Vecchio is) and headed to the Duomo. We visited the Bargello, the old prison turned sculpture gallery, to see Donatello’s bronze sculpture of David (he is not as buff as Michaelangelo’s). We then headed across the garden to Palazzo Pitti and the Giardini di Boboli (Gardens of Boboli). After a water break, we explored the gardens and enjoyed the many paths and hidden sculptures. The gardens use a Renaissance style of forced perspective, making them look longer then they really are.

We ended the afternoon at the Museo Ferragamo. Salvatore Ferragamo was a famous shoe designer who’s company sponsors the race. The Florence based designer crafted shoes for celebrities like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. His shoes are quite extravagant and use many different materials including fish scales! For each of his clients he created a wooden foot model to design the shoes around. The celebrities had such tiny feet!

Tonight we visited Palazzo Strozzi for a very cool exhibit on Money and Beauty. It reviewed the evolution of Florentine trade, and the rise of industry, guilds, the Medici family, and the arts. Did you know that most countries used silver for their coins while Florence used 24kt gold for their Florins?

26 September 2011: Monday

We hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo this afternoon to work on our landscape drawings for figure drawing.
But this evening was exciting because it was the grand opening of the new Gucci Museum in Piazza della Signoria. This was a very high profile event and Jennifer Lopez and Madonna were invited! Many people (including me) waited around to see if they would show up, There were many famous Italians there, including the grandson of the founder of FIAT and Franca Sozzani ,the editor and chief of Vogue Italia (who I recognized from “America’s Next Top Model”).

27 September 2011: Tuesday

It’s the last Tuesday of the month so it is free state museum evening! We went to visit the Uffizi Gallery and the Medici Chapel.
The Uffizi is best known for holding the art collection of the Medici family and for Botticelli’s masterpiece “The Birth of Venus.” I really enjoyed a temporary exhibition on the architect of the Uffizi, Georgio Vassari. The exhibit contained many of his original sketches and plans of the Uffizi (offices to the Dukes of Florence). It is so cool that these scribbles were created 500 years ago!
The Medici Chapel is located in Basilica San Lorenzo and was designed by Michelangelo to house remains of the grand dukes of Tuscany – mainly the Medici. The chapel was covered with dark stone and contained many sculptures by Michelangelo.

Florence is so old! I am actually seeing the buildings I learned about in my Arch history class and that my professors worship! I just can’t get over it!

Exploring Firenze and Toscana

02 Sep 2011: Friday
Gelato: Wine (and it is amazing!)

It is finally Friday! My first Italian test is finished and we get to meet up with my CP Architecture friend Miche. Miche just finished a summer study class in Switzerland and is now traveling through Europe. Miche will be crashing with us for the next few days. Our first houseguest! We did some sight seeing: Palazzo Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio and the south side of the Arno River. We hiked outside of the city center and up to Piazzale Michelangelo for the most amazing views of central Firenze! A must see!

On the way home, we stumbled upon a great pizzaria! Gusta Pizza (via Maggio 46R) had great pizza, a great atmosphere, and a good price. We got to share one of the large tables with two police officers.

04 Sep 2011: Sunday
Gelato: Matcha (green tea) + Cuor di Pardula (orange, lemon, + saffron) in one cone!

Today was the day of double mass! and it was so great! We went to high mass at Duomo! This was so cool! The average tourist must stand behind a fence half way down the nave. But since we were going for mass (Sar calls it the “Catholic Special”) we got to sit directly under Brunelleschi’s amazing dome, listen to mass in Italian, and smell the incense.

This evening we hiked back up to Piazzale Michelangelo to visit the church of San Miniato al Monte (St. Minias on the Mountain). This church has an adjoining monastery and every evening at 5:30 the monks hold mass. The best part though, is that the monks sing their mass. Their singing radiates through the crypt, below the alter, as the monks sing their prayers. But before entering into the church for mass, we got to witness the end of an Italian wedding. It was very cool to see all of the stylish Italians dressed in their Giorgio Armani suits.

05 Sep 2011: Monday

After class today, Sar, JC, Miche and I visited the Ospedale degli Innocenti, another great building designed by the great Brunelleschi. The Ospedale degli Innocenti, or the Hospital of the Innocent, was an orphanage and a nunnery. Mothers could place their babies on a rotating door and give their child to the nuns to care for. The nuns would teach the child a trade so that when they grow up, they could have an occupation. I first learned about this building in my architecture history class and it was great to see it first hand!

07 Sep 2011: Wednesday

We started our figure drawing class today. All of the architecture students are required to take this class. Now, when I heard figure drawing, I knew we would be drawing people. But guess what they were wearing… nothing! I was slightly shocked when we first started, but I have taken it upon myself to be mature in this situation. I am very happy with how my first pencil sketch turned out and my drawing teacher is very enthusiastic and supportive!

Today was the Festa della Rificolona (festival of the paper lanterns). Tomorrow is the birthday of the Virgin Mary and this festival is thrown to celebrate the eve of her birth and to remember the farmers who would travel out of the hills by lantern light to sell their goods. There was live Tuscan dancing and folk music and each of the young children were holding colorful lanterns (store bought and home made). I noticed one of the first differences between the US and Italy. Let me set the picture: the small children are carrying paper lanterns that had candles on the inside. The kids that are 8-12 years old walk around with pea-shooters and have one intention this night, to shoot down the lanterns and make them catch fire! This would not happen in America! But the combination of the glittering lights and the fun music made for a great atmosphere.

08 Sep 2011: Thursday

Happy Birthday to the Virgin Mary! The terrace of the Duomo (Santa Maria del Fiore) was open to the public once a year to honor this day. JC, Sar, Alex and I got to climb up to the base of the dome, have panoramic view of Florence, and even walk inside the church along the balcony next to the rose window. It was very cool! From this position on the dome, you can really see how the Duomo is the center of Florence. All of the major streets radiate off of the plaza.

09 Sep 2011: Friday

Our first class field trip was today. We visited the small hill town of Monteriggioni, Siena, and ended the day with dinner at Machiavelli’s house.

Monteriggioni is a walled hill town one hour outside of Florence. This medieval town was build by the city of Siena to be a fort against the attacking Florentines. Monteriggioni is preserved very well. Except for the modern shops and cars, you would think you had just traveled back into the dark ages.

Still within Toscana, Siena was the opposing super power to Firenze. It has a beautiful town hall, duomo, and is home to Il Palio (a horse
race around the sea shell shaped plaza). Even though Il Palio is during the summer, you can still see the rivalries of each district (17 in total) because each area of Siena is decorated differently and sport their colors and flags. My friend Arl and I tasted a traditional Sienanise desert. Ricciarelli are soft almond cookies are they are so good!

To end the day, we went to the house of Niccolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli was born in Florence and became a rival of the ruling Medici family. Machiavelli eventually took over the political scene of Florence for many years before being exiled by the Medici family. Machiavelli was exiled to this house just outside of Florence where he wrote his political masterpiece The Prince. His house has now been turned into an upscale restaurant and produces wine from the same grapes as when Machiavelli lived here 500 years ago. We got to eat some great traditional Tuscan foods including Crostini (toasted bread with yummy toppings), Ribollita alla Toscana (a thick bread and vegetable stew – so good), Tiramisu and the house wine!

JC sampeling the Machiavelli wine!

Bella Toscana!

Florence: the beginning.

25 August 2011
Gelato: Pistachio

The flight from Stuttgart to Florence was very nice! I sat looking out the window the entire time! The green plains of Germany suddenly turned into the Alps and then into the golden hills of Italy. The Alps were just amazing! The rough peaks held lakes and little villages on its slopes.

After a quick one-hour flight, we landed in Florence! Instead of taking a taxi, I decided to be adventurous and navigate the bus! CSU had booked a hotel for all 120 students and I found it easily. I was assigned two great roommates (just for the week in the hotel); Carl is from SD State University and will be studying art at Florence’s Accademia. Madel is form SF State University and is studying History and Classics.

Madel and Me

It was great to meet two new people right away. Madel and I have continued to do things together because we both enjoy discussing history and movies (like King Henry XIII and “The Tudors”).

Our hotel is very cozy but we do not spend much time here! We are too busy exploring!

26 August 2011: Friday
Gelato: Melon

Friday was the first day of orientation! We met many of the advisers and staff at our school and were sent on the hunt to find our apartment! My two friends from CP Architecture, Sar and JC, and I are going to be roommates. After exploring many apartments, we have not found the perfect place yet.

Activities involve exploring this beautiful city and getting accustomed to the crooked streets that will spit us out at Santa Maria Novella Train Station when we are trying to go to the Ponte Vecchio!

27 August 2011: Saturday
Gelato: Coconut and Banana

It’s Saturday and we found an apartment!It is the cutest place! We will live only three blocks from the Duomo and just on the edge of the ancient, Roman center. The apartment is on the 4th floor (3rd in America) and we have 88 steps to climb to our large and brightly lit apartment. There are seven of us total, including JC, Sar, Kat, Ale, Han, Sta, and me! Our place is very large, with five bedrooms, allowing us to have our own spaces. We move in on 01 September!

28 August 2011: Sunday
Gelato: After 8 (Chocolate cookies in Mint Gelato!)

Today, Sunday, we went on a walking and history tour of Florence. Our school director walked us around the historical points and also explained some of the interesting cultural habits of modern Italians and Florentines, like hand gestures, gypsies, and political parties. Florence is a unique city with a very old past. The Arno River flows east to west with the city radiating out. The old center, including the Palazzo Vecchio (town hall), Ponte Vecchio (old bridge with the gold shops) and the Duomo (Santa Maria de Fiore) sit just above the river. I live and go to school on the east side, towards the church Santa Croce.

30 August 2011: Tuesday

Tuesday was the first day of Italian class! I found out that Sar, my apartment roommate, and Madel, my roommate form the hotel will be in my class. My professor is very cute and is very good at explaining all of Italian’s complicated grammar. I’m a little worried because I don’t really have a background in any of the Latin languages. Sar has taken six years of Spanish and is picking up Italian like nothing! I’ll get it eventually. I still have 9 months to learn it!

Tonight, we went to the Accademia. The last Tuesday of every month, Italy’s state museums are open to the public from 7-11pm. The first thing we had to see was Michelangelo’s David. It was absolutely amazing! Originally sitting outside of the Palazzo Vecchio, David’s marble statue was moved into the Accademia to preserve it’s beauty. Jacy and I sat staring at it for about half and hour. Brilliant!

01 September: Thrusday
Gelato: Pera (pear)

Han, Sar, and JC in the kitchen.

my bedroom

a room with a view!

Move in Day! It’s Thursday and after class, we finally got to move out of the hotel and into our spacious apartment! It is so nice to unpack and relax. We have a great view of two courtyards where we can hang our laundry and watch our neighbors. I feel like I’m in the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Rear Window” with James Stewart and Grace Kelly. I get to sit in the kitchen and eat my breakfast with a live “show” going on just outside of my window as I watch my neighbors get ready to start their days. It’s better then TV! JC and I are sharing a great room. It has a very rustic feel, with white plaster walls and exposed wood beams that support the exposed brick floor from above. I just love it!

Ciao for now!