Tonight we had our group meeting at 6:00 to make plans for our flight home tomorrow. Think about us, we are scheduled to arrive in Cedar Rapids at 5:35, see you all then! Ciao!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
5/23/10. An epic trip.
We can hardly believe that this day is already here! Our last night in Italy. For now. Many of us gave the bronze pig a pet while in Florence, and it is said that those who do, will return. We also visited the Trevi Fountain while in Rome, and tossed a coin over our left shoulder-we will return here too, so the legend says! So, we can only hope! Today was a free day so we went in and out of a few shops and soaked up the intense sun outside of our convent. There is a fountain just out the door that many of us have spent a few hours sitting at taking in the last bit of the Italian atmosphere! It's fun to sit and people watch all of the different things that are happening and listen to the ocean of languages surrounding you!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
5/22/10
This morning Kathleen and Barbara took a small group early to Santa Maria Maggorie, which was just right up the street from our apartment. We met everyone else in the lobby to move our things to our new hotel, about fifteen minutes away. We all settled in and then toured a few smaller churches. The first stop was Sant' Andrea al Quirinale, designed by Bernini. His rival, Borromini, designed San Carlino Alle Quattro Fontane which we visited next. Both were very similar in their integration of sculpture and painting. Santa Maria Della Vittoria was our last stop. It houses the famous "St. Theresa in Ecstasy", which was gorgeous! The paintings in the church were also cool because the overflowed over onto the sculptures in a way. The churches were all a little less overwhelming and a good finish to our class tours in Rome. The rest of the day we had time to finish our sketches for our last turn in and then we went our to dinner together at a restaurant near the Colosseum. We had a very rambunctious waiter who kept the evening interesting. We are all enjoying a little time to relax before we leave on Monday!
Friday, May 21, 2010
5/21/10
Our morning off was very relaxing and gave us time to prepare for the catacombs! They were so different from anything we could ever see in Iowa. We had a tour guide who led us through the labyrinth while filling us in on some of the history. It was amazing how many tombs were actually in the walls and how deep the levels went! There were even sarcophagi to see and frescoes decorating the walls of family tombs. After our underground tour, we stopped at the church St. John of Latrine, which was very beautiful! The inside was not as overdone as most of the other churches here and it really helped for us to appreciate the displayed pieces. We had some free time to enjoy the sun before supper at the hotel. The cooking was done by our hosts and it was excellent! We had meat, salad, potato sticks, lasagna, spaghetti, fruit, bread, and baked cucumbers. Between our pizza last night and our buffet today, I think we should be set on food for the rest of the trip!
Here finally are some brie descriptions of the days we missed!
5/17
We travelled from Assisi to Rome, and checked into our new hotel, which is kept by nuns. After a little time to settle in, we took off in the pouring rain for the Colosseum. It is just one of those things you see in movies all the time and never think you will in person; it was incredible! We had fun exploring all the different aisles and levels of it. We decided not to begin our walking tour because of the rain and had the rest of the night to find supper ad of course visit the supermarket across the street.
5/18
We started the day at St. Peter in Chains. Michelangelo's "Moses" was the ghighlight of the artwork there and it was neat to see the chains in their intricate case as well. We next explored the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Each one of us could have spent a full day looking around and sketching the ruin easily! We visite Piazza Navona and the "Fountain of Four Rivers", the Pantheon (breathtaking!), Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the St. Louis Church of the Frech to see Caravaggio's work, and last paused at the Trevi Fountain to throw coins over our shoulders. Barbara and Kathleen took a smaller group of us to Santa Maria del Popolo to see a few more Caravaggios, and by that time we were spent. out of all the wonderful things saw, the best part of the day was definitely the sunshine!
5/19
We toured the Borghese Museum first. It holds quite a few Berninis, Titians, and a couple of Raphael's paintings. The muserum used to be a palace, and the frescoes on the ceilings were almost just as interesting as the pieces being displayed! We stopped quick for some lunch, and then made our way to the Vatican. Most of us students were not expecting such large crowds, but we made it into thethe museum, an dispersed to look around at our own paces. Every Gallery was amazing on the long walk to the Sistine Chapel. The rooms were covered ceiling to floor in art! One particular highlight was Raphael's "School of Athens". Finally, we made it to the Sistine Chapel. It was awesom to se such a highly reveered piece in person! We were all bummed it was the only room that did not allow photos. After pulling ourselves out of the Chapel, we left Vatican City t go around and enter on another side at St. Peter's basilica. Once inside, it was almost impossible to decide where to look first between the many chapels and domes! Paintings, mosaics, and sculptures adorned every nook and cranny of the huge interior. Bernini's baldachino captured themost attention, expertly designed with unique twisting coloumns. We tried to look at as much as we could whil still appreciating the church as a whole. After such a big day, we were all ready for some rest and supper! Maggie has been wearing a pedometer during the day, and on that day we walked a record of over 14 miles!
Here finally are some brie descriptions of the days we missed!
5/17
We travelled from Assisi to Rome, and checked into our new hotel, which is kept by nuns. After a little time to settle in, we took off in the pouring rain for the Colosseum. It is just one of those things you see in movies all the time and never think you will in person; it was incredible! We had fun exploring all the different aisles and levels of it. We decided not to begin our walking tour because of the rain and had the rest of the night to find supper ad of course visit the supermarket across the street.
5/18
We started the day at St. Peter in Chains. Michelangelo's "Moses" was the ghighlight of the artwork there and it was neat to see the chains in their intricate case as well. We next explored the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Each one of us could have spent a full day looking around and sketching the ruin easily! We visite Piazza Navona and the "Fountain of Four Rivers", the Pantheon (breathtaking!), Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, the St. Louis Church of the Frech to see Caravaggio's work, and last paused at the Trevi Fountain to throw coins over our shoulders. Barbara and Kathleen took a smaller group of us to Santa Maria del Popolo to see a few more Caravaggios, and by that time we were spent. out of all the wonderful things saw, the best part of the day was definitely the sunshine!
5/19
We toured the Borghese Museum first. It holds quite a few Berninis, Titians, and a couple of Raphael's paintings. The muserum used to be a palace, and the frescoes on the ceilings were almost just as interesting as the pieces being displayed! We stopped quick for some lunch, and then made our way to the Vatican. Most of us students were not expecting such large crowds, but we made it into thethe museum, an dispersed to look around at our own paces. Every Gallery was amazing on the long walk to the Sistine Chapel. The rooms were covered ceiling to floor in art! One particular highlight was Raphael's "School of Athens". Finally, we made it to the Sistine Chapel. It was awesom to se such a highly reveered piece in person! We were all bummed it was the only room that did not allow photos. After pulling ourselves out of the Chapel, we left Vatican City t go around and enter on another side at St. Peter's basilica. Once inside, it was almost impossible to decide where to look first between the many chapels and domes! Paintings, mosaics, and sculptures adorned every nook and cranny of the huge interior. Bernini's baldachino captured themost attention, expertly designed with unique twisting coloumns. We tried to look at as much as we could whil still appreciating the church as a whole. After such a big day, we were all ready for some rest and supper! Maggie has been wearing a pedometer during the day, and on that day we walked a record of over 14 miles!
Thursday, May 20, 2010
5/21
We have Internet issues again, so sorry for not putting up more posts! We will type one out with all the days we missed asap!
Yesterday was a long day, but definitely worth it! We are in Rome now and we took a day trip to Pompey and Naples. Barbara and Kathleen had never visited there either, so we were all in for a treat! It was a lot bigger than most of us expected, and we took a good five hours to explore the ruins and sketch. Everywhere you went there was something to look at or climb through! It was amazin to see the leftover frescoes, pottery, and store fronts. There was even still an ampitheatre and a stadium still standing! The thermal baths were highlights as well. There were a few bodies to see with bones and teeth still intact; it was amazing how well they had been preserved.
We finally made our way back down to the train station and stopped at Naples to wait for the final train back to Rome. We walked through just a few blocks of the city, but that was more than enought for most of us Iowans! We had to of course go to a pizzeria, wince the original pizza was created there. We were not sure how big our pizzas were going to be, so everyone ordered their own, and some of the guys ordered two! They ended up being a lot larger than expected, but the pizza was so good most of us made sure to clean our plates. We were a little uncomfortable without knowing the city and only having a few maps, so we went straight back to the train station until it was time to leave. We made it bak to Rome a little after 11 and were ready for bed.
Today we have a free morning to recover from the night and this afternoon we plan to visit the catacombs!
Yesterday was a long day, but definitely worth it! We are in Rome now and we took a day trip to Pompey and Naples. Barbara and Kathleen had never visited there either, so we were all in for a treat! It was a lot bigger than most of us expected, and we took a good five hours to explore the ruins and sketch. Everywhere you went there was something to look at or climb through! It was amazin to see the leftover frescoes, pottery, and store fronts. There was even still an ampitheatre and a stadium still standing! The thermal baths were highlights as well. There were a few bodies to see with bones and teeth still intact; it was amazing how well they had been preserved.
We finally made our way back down to the train station and stopped at Naples to wait for the final train back to Rome. We walked through just a few blocks of the city, but that was more than enought for most of us Iowans! We had to of course go to a pizzeria, wince the original pizza was created there. We were not sure how big our pizzas were going to be, so everyone ordered their own, and some of the guys ordered two! They ended up being a lot larger than expected, but the pizza was so good most of us made sure to clean our plates. We were a little uncomfortable without knowing the city and only having a few maps, so we went straight back to the train station until it was time to leave. We made it bak to Rome a little after 11 and were ready for bed.
Today we have a free morning to recover from the night and this afternoon we plan to visit the catacombs!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
5/16/10
It has been way too long since our last post! We'll just give you a quick run-down of the past few days; we've been very busy!
5/12
We toured San Apollinare and San Marco with our excellent guide Elizabeth. There were many frescoes, not just in the library and cafeteria, but every cell even had its own painting to inspire those living there. We met back up at 3:45 and Barbara took us to the Strozzi Palace, which has been turned into a museum. She gave us all dark textured paper and white conte to try, and then we had time to sketch before a short critique at the end.
5/13
We had the morning off and took advantage of the time to sleep in! We needed the rest before heading to the famous Uffizi Gallery in the afternoon. With works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Tintoretto, Botticelli, and many others, we took our time looking at the different pieces! It was definitely an awing experience for us all!
5/14
Friday we met at Santa Croce which had many neat frescoes, but some construction was taking place so we didn't get to see it all. We did get to see the 260 tombs, including Galileo's and Michelangelo's in the floors in the floors and on the walls. In the afternoon we had the choice to visit Piti Palace with works by Raphael, or the Boboli Gardens, which sat on a mere 110 acres of land. Many of us enjoyed the sunshine outside in the garden and did some sketching there as well.
5/15
Yesterday morning we pulled all our luggage back to the train station and headed for Assisi. We took the train up to our hotel and unloaded everything in our new rooms. They are quite small, but the place has a fun character about it, and the hosts are great! On top of that we have a great view of the valley below us. After getting settled in we toured the Basilica of St. Francis with a guide who is a Franciscan lay person. He really helped us to understand the religious connotations of the artwork we saw in the catacombs, lower, and upper church. We all also tried Kathleen's favorite sandwiches at the nearby square, she definitely knows her food! Unfortunately it was rainy and cold all day, so we were all happy to head back to our rooms for the night.
5/16
Today we had time to just relax and look around before we head to Rome tomorrow. There was talk of a hike this afternoon, but the rain left it too muddy. Most of us took the time to explore Assisi and take pictures since it was too wet yesterday. There was a peace march that ended at the basilica we toured, which brought crowds of people with flags and scarves. It was really neat to experience!
We leave bright and early tomorrow for our last city before we come home!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
5/11/10
The Bargello Museum was our only tour today, but it was more than enough! The three story building was packed with sculptures, reliefs, paintings, ivory carvings, coins, dishes, and anything else you could imagine! This caused our first glimpse of Stendahl’s syndrome. We all made sure we got a good look at Donatello’s “David” and Michelangelo’s pieces, and then did our best to navigate the rest of the art pieces. Some had time to do a few quick sketches before leaving for lunch. We met back up at 3 to sketch a garden, but it was raining so instead we had small group meetings with Barbara to talk about our progress and the trip in general. We had the rest of the afternoon off to sketch indoors and to work on our journal entries.
5/10/10
We had a big day today, travelling to the small town of Siena. We all met at the school and took the bus from there to Siena. The views along the way were pretty; lots of green vineyards, but it was a little difficult to appreciate them on our bumpy bus ride. The layout of the town was more like Venice, with the streets moving along the landscape, unlike the grid pattern we’ve gotten used to in Florence. It was very small and without vendors, which was very nice! We first walked to a small church to see the head and finger of Saint Catherine that were on display. From there we walked to Il Campo, the piazza known for horse racing. We were given free time to eat, shop, and sketch. Many of us chose to sit in Il Campo to sketch because it was sunny and open there. Many other groups sat there as well and kept things pretty lively. Barbara got our class back together to go to Il Duomo later in the afternoon and it was gorgeous! Finally we were able to take some pictures of the interior of a church, and it happened to be one of the most interesting churches we have visited. The walls and pillars inside were all striped black and white, the ceiling was dark blue, and the floors were covered with carvings. When we finally finished there, we walked to the outskirts of the town to get a few pictures of the country. Barbara gave us instructions for the bus, and we were allowed to do our own thing for the rest of the day.
Monday, May 10, 2010
5/8/10 and 5/9/10
5/8/10
We stayed very busy this weekend! On Saturday we toured the Medici Chapel first in the morning. It was good that Elizabeth gave us our tour the day before because the history she told us about the family was great information to help us understand more of what we saw. The chapel was filled with dark greens, black, and white, complete with statues of some of the important family members with large crowns. Michelangelo had designed much of the room containing the tombs of other Medicis. There were marble sculptures inside the room along with an altar. The monuments were very beautiful, and we all wanted to stay and sketch, but we weren’t allowed to. Next we toured San Lorenzo, which had some more modern paintings than the other places we have visited. Along with that, the walls were a more plain color. It was a nice change of pace and easier on our eyes! There were We had some free time to get lunch, shop, and sketch. Many of us liked using the garden next to San Lorenzo for our subject. When we met back up that afternoon a few of our group were sporting new leather jackets. We got in line and climbed up the tiny, winding staircases to the top of the Duomo. It was amazing to see the fresco of the dome up close on our way. After squeezing a path through the groups coming down, we made it! The view was definitely worth the trip! We could see for miles and took lots of pictures. Once we made our way back down, it was almost time for our potluck. Barbara and Maggie worked together to make us a feast of pesto, spaghetti, spinach ravioli, pumpkin ravioli, bread, and salad. We even had gelato for dessert! After we finished we had our first sketchbook turn in.
5/9/10
Today was our first free day of the trip. We can’t believe we’ve only been gone a week after all that we have seen in that short time! We all braved the train on without Barbara and made it to Pisa to see the leaning tower and take the corny picture of us holding it up. We took another train from there to the beach town of Viareggio. Everyone loved relaxing for awhile on our first day without rain since we got here. The water was cold, but that didn’t stop us! We all left together on another train and came back to Florence for a night of recouping after our tiring day of travel.
We stayed very busy this weekend! On Saturday we toured the Medici Chapel first in the morning. It was good that Elizabeth gave us our tour the day before because the history she told us about the family was great information to help us understand more of what we saw. The chapel was filled with dark greens, black, and white, complete with statues of some of the important family members with large crowns. Michelangelo had designed much of the room containing the tombs of other Medicis. There were marble sculptures inside the room along with an altar. The monuments were very beautiful, and we all wanted to stay and sketch, but we weren’t allowed to. Next we toured San Lorenzo, which had some more modern paintings than the other places we have visited. Along with that, the walls were a more plain color. It was a nice change of pace and easier on our eyes! There were We had some free time to get lunch, shop, and sketch. Many of us liked using the garden next to San Lorenzo for our subject. When we met back up that afternoon a few of our group were sporting new leather jackets. We got in line and climbed up the tiny, winding staircases to the top of the Duomo. It was amazing to see the fresco of the dome up close on our way. After squeezing a path through the groups coming down, we made it! The view was definitely worth the trip! We could see for miles and took lots of pictures. Once we made our way back down, it was almost time for our potluck. Barbara and Maggie worked together to make us a feast of pesto, spaghetti, spinach ravioli, pumpkin ravioli, bread, and salad. We even had gelato for dessert! After we finished we had our first sketchbook turn in.
5/9/10
Today was our first free day of the trip. We can’t believe we’ve only been gone a week after all that we have seen in that short time! We all braved the train on without Barbara and made it to Pisa to see the leaning tower and take the corny picture of us holding it up. We took another train from there to the beach town of Viareggio. Everyone loved relaxing for awhile on our first day without rain since we got here. The water was cold, but that didn’t stop us! We all left together on another train and came back to Florence for a night of recouping after our tiring day of travel.
5/7/10
5/7/10
Our first full day in Florence, and we mean FULL! We arrived yesterday afternoon by train and saw some amazing scenery on the way. SACI art school was our destination and from there we were all excited to find out which apartment we were assigned to! Our apartments are just GREAT! We have 2 bedrooms and baths, a kitchen and a T.V. in our living room and get this, A BALCONY! I guess we were the lucky ones, because some don’t We all got settled into our new places we bought some groceries at the supermarket, guess were going to try the whole cooking thing. Maggie is excited we hear she’s quite the cook! Glad she’s one our roommates.
Today we had a tour guide named Elizabeth Butler who gave us some historical knowledge about the city! Our tour was about three hours and we learned a ton! We saw a restored private home from the 15th CE, called the BIglietto D’Ingresso. We learned about the guilds of the city and climbed lots of stairs to see an amazing view of Firenze’s landscape. We took lots of pictures for all of you at home! Some of us went to a 5:30 sung mass by the monks at San Miniato. Very interesting! We felt like we were going back in time. Tonight we are looking forward to some Florentine pastries that we bought down the street at a bakery. Yumm!
Time to relax!
Hope the sun comes out tomorrow!
Ciao for now!
p.s.- we’ll call when we can, we don’t have phones in our apartments!
Our first full day in Florence, and we mean FULL! We arrived yesterday afternoon by train and saw some amazing scenery on the way. SACI art school was our destination and from there we were all excited to find out which apartment we were assigned to! Our apartments are just GREAT! We have 2 bedrooms and baths, a kitchen and a T.V. in our living room and get this, A BALCONY! I guess we were the lucky ones, because some don’t We all got settled into our new places we bought some groceries at the supermarket, guess were going to try the whole cooking thing. Maggie is excited we hear she’s quite the cook! Glad she’s one our roommates.
Today we had a tour guide named Elizabeth Butler who gave us some historical knowledge about the city! Our tour was about three hours and we learned a ton! We saw a restored private home from the 15th CE, called the BIglietto D’Ingresso. We learned about the guilds of the city and climbed lots of stairs to see an amazing view of Firenze’s landscape. We took lots of pictures for all of you at home! Some of us went to a 5:30 sung mass by the monks at San Miniato. Very interesting! We felt like we were going back in time. Tonight we are looking forward to some Florentine pastries that we bought down the street at a bakery. Yumm!
Time to relax!
Hope the sun comes out tomorrow!
Ciao for now!
p.s.- we’ll call when we can, we don’t have phones in our apartments!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Pioggia, pioggia smettere – rain, rain go away! We got up early this morning to visit the Basilica Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. The church was full of many famous paintings, including The Assumption of Mary. There were also many great sculptures and tombs. We were allowed to see a lot more of the interior than we were in San Marco and got to sit and sketch inside. After touring the basilica we had more free time to sketch, get lunch, and do some shopping. We all enjoyed the supermercado that offered food and beverages for much less than the other shops we had seen! We met up again in the afternoon and headed to Murano, the island known for glass blowing. We were supposed to go yesterday, but had to change our plan due to the rain. Today we rode a boat over trekked to the museum, only to find that it isn’t open on Wednesdays (drat!). We looked for a demonstration outside, but they all were over at 16:00, and it was 16:15. Instead we looked through the shops around the area in groups. We all had to find our way back to hotel in the rain without our trusty guide Barbara. Tonight is our last night in Venezia and tomorrow we will take a train in the morning to Firenze.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
We're Here!!
Buon giorno from Venezia! We’ve already been here for two days, and woke up to the sound of the markets today. We have finally recovered from our long trip bringing us from New York to Milan. Our plane was filled with more Italians that Americans, and they all seemed to know each other. They were extremely conversational and walked around the plane talking to one another for the whole eight hour flight. When we landed a vicious pillow fight broke out in the back of the plane and one hit Barbara in the head; yikes! We had a long bus ride, train trip, and went across the canal on a boat and finally arrived at our first hotel. Adding to the number of long trips was the hike up the five flights of stairs with all of our luggage. The many hours of travel were worth it when we stepped out of the train station and saw the beautiful city of Venice. This place is picture-perfect and full of energy. Streets are filled with shops and lively customers. The first day we stayed mainly in a group to help us get more comfortable on the curvy, skinny streets and we ate together at a cute little restaurant that had outdoor seating covered in vines. Today we appreciated a little more freedom after we visited the beautiful San Marco basilica. We had to wait in a long line full of colorful umbrellas outside, before being admitted. The mosaics were breath taking and much more intricate than any of us imagined. Afterwards, we went our own ways to sketch and eat lunch out of the rain. We all met again in the afternoon to tour the Galleria dell’Accademia, which had many works from artists we have studied. We took off in groups after leaving and had time to explore on our own, and of course, make a few purchases. The rain hasn’t slowed us down too much, but many of went back to our rooms early dry off, work on sketches, hang out, and look through pictures.
Arrivederci!
PS- Gelato is delicious!
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