January 2-3 ***warning: this day I was pretty jet lagged. This summer, I found out I was accepted to go to Italy. And now, here I am, in Italy 4 months later and it still hasn't sunk in. I am in love though, I know that much. Today was the longest day of my life - or was it two days? Three? Four? What year is it? What is this life.? Agh. Even as I type this i feel myself starting to fall asleep. That's the bummer about traveling outside of the country. Once you're actually there, youre fighting to keep your eyes open as you drive through while screaming internally “stay awake stay awake stay AWAKE you are in Italy!!” This hotel is so beautiful. I share with one other girl and we each have our own rooms and the floor is dark blue tiling and the bathroom shower is full of smaller, lighter blue tiles. And the shower door is glass and only covered half of the shower, but it wasn't as weird as I may have thought. It does sound like Italian showers are typically smaller anyways. We’ll have to see - maybe I can rank how good the showers are? January 4 This morning, I woke up in Italy. I opened the door to my hotel room and walked outside into crisp, refreshingly cool air. For breakfast, I had a croissant and really good coffee that I know I will never be able to get enough of (I am already dreading going back to the states for that reason ugh). Then we drove to Segesta, a site among the mountains. There, we saw remains of an old theatre. Amazingly, they still use it today (mostly in the summertime). And sometimes they have people read poetry as the sun rises (I think I blinked back tears when I heard that). Then we saw the Doric temple that is just across from the theatre (also in the mountains). It was amazing to see it up close and take time to look at the details. Then we walked down the mountain to a little gift/pastry/coffee shop and I bought my first coffee (an americano <3). And again, we all commented on how hard it will be to drink coffee back in the states. Later that night we reached our second hotel of the trip and after I dropped my stuff off I immediately went out exploring. We went downtown and it was just so cute (except for the fact that people in Italy literally have no respect for pedestrians and the only sidewalk downtown is a little narrow strip - so narrow that you have to walk single file and pray that a car doesn't hit you... I might be exaggerating a titch but that's how it feels). We went into a pastry shop and I got one filled with Nutella - need I say more? And for dinner I had OCTOPUS and MUSSELS and it was so GOOD!! (mom, dad and grandpa are you proud of me?). After dinner, a couple people and I went back up to town to walk around. OH and can I just add: to get to town you have to walk UP 2 0 0 stairs. Hahahaahaha. January 5 8:45 am: In town for the third time, 600 stairs later. But it is SO worth it. We also went into the basilica there which was beautiful. I wanted to go to the bank to get more euros and was frightened by entering through an enclosed tube that may or may not have had the capacity to shoot upward into the sky. Unfortunately, the line was too long but I still have plenty of euros because everything here is WAY cheaper than I thought it would be. Later that morning we took a bus to Agrigento to view more temples. One of the first themes we talked about was the imperfections of the human eye. In other words, we cannot always see imperfections. In the first temple we looked at, the Greeks did not build the columns parallel so they would eventually touch when they reached the sky. But due to the human eye, we do not notice these imperfections. Another thing I was very interested in was how in the world these temples were built. We talked about some of the techniques used which just amazes me. For example, they used ramps to transport blocks of stone up to the top. But how were these ramps sturdy enough? They also carved a u shape into a block of stone and then placed a rope in the u to lift it -- a sort of “pulley” system. (I am hoping to also post my academic journal I am writing for the actual class part of this trip -- it would go into more detail of the historical and cultural things we discuss at the sites. Hopefully I will post that sometime soon, but if not I will probably post it at the end of the trip!). We are settled into our third hotel for the night and I quite like it. We ate a very nice dinner in a separate, open room with lots of windows. Everything we ate was fresh - zucchini, bruschetta, mushroom risotto (I am LOVING all the risotto here), goat cheese, fresh plums… it truly is a dream. January 6 Well, it looks like we are snowed in at our Sicilian castle. We woke up this morning to snow and frost everywhere, and since this hotel is at the top of a mountain (basically), it was a simply breathtaking sight. Unfortunately, that also means that the bus was parked at the top of an extremely steep hill. And it hasn't snowed like this in Sicily for years, so even if we could get down this treacherous mountains, other roads would still be blocked off. We were just grateful that we stayed stuck at this wonderful hotel instead of stuck inside the bus in the middle of the road. I am bummed to be missing our sightseeing for the day though. I also was excited to see Epiphany parades and celebrations around the city, but that is hard to do when we are isolated up high and a blanket is covering everything. It is snowing again, but I am hoping that it will stop soon. As beautiful as this hotel and view is, I am restless to get on with our trip and I hope we won’t lose another day. If all goes as planned, we will drive to Palermo tomorrow morning (And then in a couple days … Rome!). To calm my wandering mind, maybe I’ll go downstairs now and check in on the cappuccino situation… January 8 Yesterday we finally got off the mountain and made it to Palermo! Today we walked around Palermo and looked at a bunch of different churches, such as the Palestine Chapel. Upon going into the first church, I felt chills down my spine and my eyes welled up just a little -- I was taken aback by the amazing beauty of the space. And that feeling has continued with every church I have entered. Everything is just so exquisite and detailed and your mouth just drops as you realize this was built by human beings. Everything is just incredible. For lunch, we had more pizza than we could handle, but then we walked it off as we wandered through town. A couple of girls and I all went to a small makeup store and got fancy lip colors. Mine is a pink, sparkly lip gloss and I actually smiled at myself once I put it on. I am excited to wear it during my nights in Rome. For dinner, I had arencinno -- an AMAZING food here -- it is like a fried ball of risotto with different things added (the one I got last night had four types of cheeses -- I have had way to much cheese on this trip). I loved seeing the town and looking at all the Italians here -- everything and everyone here just looks so flawless. And it will only get better from here…. next stop, ROME! January 9 I am currently on a plane to ROME! And blasting “On an Evening in Roma” by Michael Bublé <3. When I listen to that song, I picture what it would be like to be in Rome. And now I am actually on my way there ahhhh!!!! ........ Okay i think i am actually in love. Rome is simply breathtaking and I still can’t believe I am here. I don’t even have much to say right now because this place has left me completely at a loss for words. It is beautiful!! Stunning! Exquisite! I am sad we’re only here for 3 nights so I am trying to soak it all in. I will definitely post more pictures later! For now, going to go enjoy my first “evening in Roma.” with love from Rome,
Bridget
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(I am sorry there is no week two -- maybe there will be someday). Saturday, January 14 We have arrived in Florence! It has been really great because this is the place we will be staying the longest (2 weeks -- the remainder of our trip) so we can actually UNPACK instead of living out of our suitcase! What a concept! Today we took time to explore and find out where the nearest supermarkets/good restaurants/banks/laundromats are (side note: my roommate and I did laundry there with minimal problems! We felt very adult). It’s really cool because we are living in an apartment-like building (which is also a social service center and used to be a convent!) and we are in a residential area which is really nice so we can experience more of the city itself and less touristy things. I know I am going to love it here. <3 ![]() Sunday, January 15 Yep, I love it here. After my first full day, I am in love. This morning, Claire and I got up to go get breakfast and then go to mass. I finally wore my dress and flats that have been sitting on the bottom of my suitcase. We found a little cafe and had donuts and coffee (<3). Then we walked across the river and wandered down a little side street to find a small Catholic Church tucked away in the city. After awing at its hidden location and cute surroundings, we headed inside -- only to gawk at everything inside and compare it to past churches we’ve seen on this trip. The priest came over and asked where we were from (this was an English speaking mass). Afterward, he made sure we headed into the upper room for coffee and cookies. We loved the community there -- lots of little kids running around and moms chatting with one another. The kids loved the priest and he was very kind and playful with them which made me feel really good inside. It seems like a very tight knit community. After more people left, the priest talked to us some more and then recommended a pizza restaurant for lunch. After thanking him and promising him we’ll be back next Sunday, we headed on our way. (An unspeakable amount of time later) we finally found the pizza place. We each ordered a margarita pizza and each was served in the shape of a heart. We were just about to dig in when a girl next to us who looked to be about our age asked where we were from. She said she is here for a month from the University of San Diego studying the chemistry of cooking (!!!!!)! It was really fun (and somewhat refreshing) to talk to another American. We returned to the hotel to do some readings (because if you recall, this is an art CLASS -- sometimes I need to remind myself lol). Then we headed back out with other girls to a cafe that was opening at 4. ***an extremely perfect Bridget experience ahead*** This cafe was called Hemingway (as in ERNEST HEMINGWAY). In the window there was a typewriter. Inside, there were bookshelves and cozy seating areas. The menu had 5 DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOT CHOCOLATE. I ordered one and it was served with water, because it was so rich. but SO GOOD. Now, I want to go back and order coffee so I hopefully have enough room for one of the many cookies they had. <3 <3 Monday, January 16 Before leaving for this trip, I went to see the movie La La Land which I really have no words for because it was truly breathtaking. In this film, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling go to a science museum and dance around among the galaxies displayed there. I couldn't help but think of this when my professor told us we were going to visit the Galileo museum today. This made me decide to wear my floral tights and sweater dress that I had been saving. We crossed over the river, awing at the city. It’s really cool because for my class we had to read about the history of the Arno river that runs right through the city. There was construction of four main bridges that had to be built and rebuilt due to war or flooding. The bridges have been reconstructed many times, but they are still standing here today and it was really cool to walk through them and see them after reading about all of their historical significance. This is what’s so great about studying abroad I think. The Galileo Museum was so cool. It was really neat to see all of these old microscopes, telescopes, and books filled with diagrams, charts and journal entries. I love to think about how these people so many years ago were as fascinated with this universe - if not more - as we are today. Later that day we went to Santa Croce and saw the tomb of Galileo himself, as well as Michelangelo. It really reminds you that these people were real. Sometimes it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that Galileo and Michelangelo actually created these works of art. They are humans like us but what they did seems almost impossible. But they walked this Earth as human beings and created something we can still admire today. I was standing right in front of what is left of them. But in many instances they feel very much alive, especially in this amazing country. Tuesday, January 17 Went to a Palace today - the Palaza Vecchio where Cosimos lived, a member of the Medici family. Also our tour guide looked JUST like Hugh Jackman and if it wasn't for his Italian accent I would have been completely convinced. Later that afternoon we went shopping -- specifically to a stationary store which was incredibly dangerous for me. Everything there was handmade and it was all s o b e a u i t i f u l. There is something about new journals that just gets to me and makes me feel some type of way. And the fact that these were so delicately and beautifully handmade just put me over the edge. I ended up getting a hardcover journal that looks like it has peacock feathers across it with purple, turquoise, gold and light pink colors….. I’ll probably end up there one more time before we leave, let’s be honest. For dinner, fried artichoke (artichoke is a big thing here) and tomato soup with bread pieces. We went on a hunt for gelato but to our dismay, none of the nearby gelato places were open (probably because we are the crazy tourists and go to find gelato in the middle of “winter”). Our hotel is in a sketchier area of town, so there have been some uncomfortable encounters with those of the opposite gender on the street. Tonight was one of those nights, but we finally ended up just ducking into a warm cafe and laughing about our struggles over blackberry tart and chocolate cake. I really love this group of people I’m with because we can laugh about these things together and we already have some inside jokes which is always fun (Michael Scott would be jealous:)). Wednesday, January 18 Today we went to the San Miniato church and cemetery which ended up being high on top of a hill so the view from there was absolutely amazing. You could see all of this beautiful city laid out right before your eyes. After that we had the option to go visit an art school. It is a school where a lot of American students come to study, either for the semester or for the year. I am about as far from an art student as you can get, but it was still really cool to see we what these students do and where they work (and to be in ITALY of all places). It was cool because they said they usually have students working on restoring some pretty important works of art which I think is really cool. It really made me have a new appreciation for art and what these students truly are capable of. THEN later that day we went to the Accademia to see the David. Beforehand for class we read an article from the New York Times called “David’s Ankles.” The author discussed that, although not visible to the average tourist, David’s ankles are cracked. Essentially “if he were to be tilted 15 degrees, his ankles would fail.” The author talked about how the David is not perfect, and he has been misunderstood by tourists for years and years. At the end of the article, they talked about how they are intrigued by the idea of David collapsing. Because humans tend to have an urge toward failure and collapse, and because perfection is not possible. I thought this was a very unique take on this sculpture and gave me a lot to think about as I beheld the David for the first time. I was also fascinated by the detail and anatomy of the body, which Michelangelo pays close attention to. After the museum, we made a gelato stop and purchased some colorful blanket scarves. “Please don’t let me buy anymore clothes,” I demanded to my friends as we headed back to the hotel. Spoiler alert: it didn’t work. Thursday, January 19 Today we went to the Duomo, one of the biggest churches in Europe (can you see why?) That dome is even MORE spectacular in person if you can believe it. Our group had a specific time where we had the opportunity to climb to the top of the dome. I was unsure at first because I am not the most physically fit person in the world and i didn’t want to the experience to be too difficult and stressful for me. But I also thought -- when will I ever to be able to climb to the top of one of the tallest domes ever built? And that left no other questions in my mind. So at 11 am we met our group there and began climbing the stairs. I was pleasantly surprised at the lack of difficulty. When we were about halfway up, we were up close to the dome and could see the detail of the frescoes. (Side note: people PAINTED THIS. HUMAN BEINGS did this. They HUNG FROM THE EXTREMELY TALL DOME TO PAINT THIS. WITH BAD LIGHTING. AND PROBABLY DANGEROUS SCAFFOLDING. AND DESPITE ALL THAT IT LOOKS AMAZING. ISN’T THAT JUST INCREDIBLE?!) It got a little scarier after that because the stairs wound round and round and round and round and it was a very tight spiral. But eventually, after climbing some very steep, very narrow stairs, I emerged to the top. I don’t really have words to describe the view, so here is a picture: Also, as some girls and I were admiring the view, our prof’s husband came over to us and said “not to raise your expectations, but someone over there just proposed.” And we all gasped simultaneously and our hands flew to our hearts. We caught a glimpse of this couple leaving and they were both beaming and I think a little piece of my heart melted. Lol one more thing to add to my (long) list of relationship goals. Later that day, we went to the Ai Wei Wei exhibit. Ai Wei Wei is an artist from China who has had very controversial works because he challenges the Chinese government and their power and effect on society. His exhibit was really interesting and gave you a different perspective. For example, some of the rooms had wall paper that was decorated with the Twitter icon surrounded by guns and security cameras to highlight how censored we are in society today. I think it also highlights how much the world is changing and how many ideas and thoughts are now being exchanged through the Internet. Another interesting exhibit was a picture of Ai Wei Wei dropping an antique Chinese vase. He also had historical vases that were painted over with car paint. This depicts how society so easily rebuilds/disregards valuable things; especially those of historical significance. Friday, January 20
This morning I woke up and we all tried not to think about the inauguration that was happening back home today…. so we painted frescoes instead! In the morning, we got a tour of a church in Florence called the Santa Maria Novella. Our tour guide is originally from New York but he has lived in Italy for the past 15 years. And he paints frescoes. It was really cool because as he was guiding us through the city he would modestly point to a fresco on the side of a building and say “oh I painted that.” I thought this was really interesting because all the frescoes we have been looking at closely were painted centuries ago by someone like Michelangelo. It just added a whole new perspective to see a fresco painted by someone today -- and an American, no less! Unfortunately, our tour guide did say that frescoes are a dying, if not dead, art today. BUT they were very much alive for us that afternoon when we went to go to his studio for a fresco lesson! It was really cool because as you can tell this whole time I have been in awe of how these frescoes are painted, partly because I actually have NO idea how they’re painted. But today we learned! And let me tell you, the stress level in that tiny studio was through the roof. We each got a small canvas to make our masterpiece. What we were painting was one of two figures from a fresco we had seen earlier that day -- either the side profile of a man or woman (I picked the woman only because it looked easier). (Side note: I am really really bad at art). I won’t go into too much detail, but basically the materials/paint we were using were very specific and it dried pretty quickly. As the tour guide put it: “you don't tell your fresco when you’re done, your fresco tells YOU when you’re done.” Which maybe sounds great in theory so you don’t have to keep perfecting things, but that means you have to make sure everything is completed before it’s too late. I am going to refrain from posting a picture of my fresco on here because it is actually freakishly bad. (If you really want to see it, you can contact me and I will take you through the WHOLE process of how we painted it and then show you so you know how hard it was for a non artist such as myself. And just clumsy person in general). We were all pretty stressed during the process, but looking back I am very happy I can say I painted a fresco. :) Saturday, January 21 Today was truly a dream. Like out a movie/novel/Pinterest dream. This weekend is a free weekend for everyone, and it was suggested that you take this time to travel somewhere in Italy. So, a few girls (Claire, Lexi and Hannah) and I decided to head to Verona for a night. This morning, the four of us quietly tiptoed out of the hotel into the still dark streets. The night before we left, Hannah thankfully realized that we had purchased our tickets from one of two train stations in Florence (we were unaware there was a second station), and we just so happened to pick the station that is over an hour walk from our hotel. But we found the taxi stand and the receptionist in the hotel right there ended up calling a cab for us. It just all seemed too easy because I feel like things like that never go that smoothly for me. I had never been on a train before, so it was quite exciting. I listened to music as I watched the country roll by and I felt like I was in a movie. ![]() We got to Verona by about 10 am and, even though we had gone to a cafe before boarding the train, we were all hungry again. So we found a little cafe that faced the main plaza. We sat outside in the bright morning sun and ate fresh fruit, yogurt, coffee and toast with marmalade as we admired the view of this incredible city. Which happened to be this: After breakfast, we wandered through the streets. Before hitting our hotel, we found a little shop that had really cute window displays. So of course, we all went inside. ...and we all exited with a sweater/sweater dress. But look at how cute we are (Hannah was absent from this pic but she also looked really cute)! Then, we found our hotel, which happened to be right next to a castle!! I am sad right now because I just realized I did not take pictures of our hotel room! It wasn’t even a room - it was like an apartment! An open living room type space, a kitchen, a bathroom and a separate bedroom - all for us! After gawking at our room(s), we freshened up and headed back out to explore. We decided to check out the castle next door (casual). It had a museum with old paintings and sculptures. And really great views. Following that we went to another cafe (because we hadn’t eaten in like 3 hours, oh no!) I got an almond hot chocolate which was basically heaven. From there, we set out to do what we were most excited for: to visit Juliet’s house. Also, if any of you have seen the movie Letters to Juliet… we may or may not have watched that movie the night before coming to Verona… We knew that this place is a big tourist attraction, but we were not too worried because it’s the middle of January and Italy has been pretty lacking in tourists. But we were very wrong. We rounded the corner and the place was PACKED. We squeezed tiny things onto the wall and got a couple pictures in spots where there were less people, but even that was hard. Since this was such a big deal for us, we decided to come back the next day RIGHT when it opens (8:30 am on a Sunday). Next, we decided to climb up the bell tower in the middle of the plaza to get a better look at the city. I was instantly unnerved because in the elevator there was a sign warning people that the bell goes off every half hour. Those that know me well know that I am TERRIFIED of loud noises. And we were RIGHT NEXT TO THE BELL!!!! It was 4:33 so it could go off any moment!!!! It went off a few minutes later and I almost crumpled to the ground. But then at least I could enjoy the view without living in fear: By then it was about 5:00, and in Italy most restaurants don’t open until 7 pm (and even THAT is considered early). So we wandered around some more. Since we had 2 hours til dinner we decided to treat ourselves to some macaroons. After shopping, we walked into a restaurant shortly after it opened, trying to make it look like we had just stumbled upon it rather than actually having waited outside it for the past few minutes. We drank prosecco and laughed about the day’s events (mostly the part where I almost cried in the bell tower). As we walked back to our hotel room, we counted how many couples we saw holding hands (it was A LOT). That is a big difference I have realized between cultures. Here many people are very affectionate and open about their love, and I feel like that is very different/nonexistent in the United States. Once in our hotel room, we blasted “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and sang at the top of our lungs. Sunday, January 22 We all set our alarms so we could be prepared and prompt for Juliet’s house at 8:30 am. After having breakfast in the hotel, we headed out. Here is something I have noticed about Italians: no one gets up before 9 am. And even that is early. Here we are on the streets of Verona this morning: And guess what this meant for Juliet’s house?! We were the only ones there! It was amazing. I think we all had very hopeful hearts that morning. Later that morning, we went to the Picasso museum! It was so interesting. And really refreshing to look at a different style of art. I also had fond memories because one time in my art class in first grade, we painted cubist pictures, which Picasso is known for. My mom loved mine so much that she put it on stationary and we used that as thank yous for years to come. I couldn’t help but think of this throughout the museum, so I bought my mom a tiny journal with one of these cubist paintings on them. Then, we did some more shopping. I let the tourist get the best of me and bought a “I <3 Verona” shirt… but I really do think it seemed appropriate. Then we just so happened to end up near that macaroon store again… and accidentally bought a box of macaroons for the train ride home. :)
I apologize, I fell behind on blogging and I do not have the strength to recount everything (at least not right now -- maybe sometime soon). For now, I just want to write about my last full day in Italy. After our last class meeting, a small group of us headed back to the Duomo to take it all in one last time. As we stood there, we marveled once more at how in the world those frescoes were painted. We concluded that's why people eat dinner so late in Italy: it has been that way since these painters came home late from fresco painting all day. For my last lunch: handmade noodles with duck sauce (duck sauce is rlly good). Then, we may or may not have been monitoring a gelato place near the Duomo that just so happened to conveniently open on our last day. I got cinnamon and chocolate and I don't think I have ever tasted anything more fantastic. Then we did some final shopping for gifts for friends and family back home. I also finally walked (actual, more like ran) into the Disney store I had been passing thousands of times but never entered. I entered to hear "I See the Light" in Italian and my heart melted just a little. I got my Disney fix and I was very happy. We ended up wandering through Piazza Vecchio (the one with the palace) one last time. We were all drawn to a flutist playing beautiful music on the edge of the plaza. After he finished the song, we started walking away. Suddenly, we heard the first few notes of "Beauty and the Beast." We all stopped short and gasped in unison and, without saying a word, walked back toward the flutist. It was a beautiful moment and time to reflect on this past month. We returned to our favorite bridge, the Ponte Vecchio, for one last photo shoot along the Arno River. It is here on this bridge that I met one of my favorite people in this world, my cousin and best friend, Cathryn. She is studying art history for the semester in Rome. Over Christmas break, we eagerly compared itineraries and frantically searched for a loophole to be able to meet up amidst our busy schedules. But nothing looked like it would work. It wasn't until a few days ago that Cathryn messaged me that her and a few friends were coming to Florence for the weekend. We excitedly made a plan to meet at the third lamppost at the Ponte Vecchio at 5:30 pm. So there I stood with my friend Claire, anxiously craning my neck to see Cathryn's dark curly hair emerge from the crowd. 15 minutes went by and I still didn't see her. Suddenly, Claire said, "I think I see someone running!" And sure enough, there was Cathryn. I immediately took off running toward her and we embraced in the middle of the street in Florence, Italy. We were both crying because we were both living our dreams and somehow they managed to intertwine. We only had an hour together, and we spent it at the Hemingway Café, the cafe I had come across and loved so much my first day in Florence. I had vowed I would come back there, and there I was again with my best friend. We discussed our adventures over cappuccinos and hot chocolate. Before we knew it, we were embracing again before parting ways. Cathryn, I am so incredibly excited for you and I cannot wait to hear about all of your adventures. I love you very much. Then Claire and I rushed off to our last group dinner where we drank our last glass of wine, sprinkled our last (extreme) amount of parmesan cheese over every dish, and applauded our last too-good-to-be-true pasta dish. Back in the hotel room, we spent the night laughing at photos from the trip, helping each other with Instagram captions, and vowing to stay positive when we woke up in a few hours for our trip home. Because you can't ever be unhappy in a country as beautiful as this one.
“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” ― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky “What is that feeling when you're driving away from people and they recede on the plain till you see their specks dispersing? - it's the too-huge world vaulting us, and it's good-bye. But we lean forward to the next crazy venture beneath the skies.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road |