Update!

Hey Everyone!

I'm sorry that I haven't been able to keep up with the posting, but I'm in Cortona and haven't had much time since I got here on June 14.

I've been so busy every day with classes and exploring the little town of Cortona! I've signed up for two classes, bookmaking with the man John Risseeuw. He's a professor at Arizona State University and he's amazing! My second class is informational graphics with Lanny Webb, wellbabambam!, the photoshop master!

My classes don't start until 10 so I just wake up early in the morning, eat breakfast and walk around, or go jogging. The sun rises around 5:30 am here, so there's pretty much nothing I can do when the sun is shining down on me! Must get up and do something!

Cortona is beautiful! I love this town!

Priest Day/Bus Strike

Our second day was a bit of a mess. There was a scheduled bus strike that conflicted with our plans. Originally we were going to see the Roman Forum but instead we went to the Vatican and the museum. This happened to be the same day as Priest Day where priests from all over travel to the Vatican and listen to the Pope. I didn't get to hear or see the Pope though. I don't really know when he was scheduled to speak but we arrived there in the early morning. After standing around watching lines and lines of priests building up at the entrance, our group walked over to the Vatican Museum.

I need to back up for a second. I forgot to mention where we travelled to, there were nuns and priests everywhere, a lot of nuns.

So we go through the Vatican Museum which was nice. There were rooms upon rooms of artwork that were just out of this world. It was all amazing. There was a section on ancient Egyptian art which was fantastic. I'm so glad that I took ancient art history even though it was the toughest class to sit through. I felt pretty awesome that I recognized all the things in the ancient rooms. It was pretty nifty! I remember something from my art history classes! Amazin'.

But we eventually were led into the Sistine Chapel. I was thrilled and impressed. It's dimly lit inside so it was hard to see everything clearly, but I was amazed by it all. It's beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I wouldn't mind going through that museum again to see the Sistine Chapel several more times. I loved it.

After that, we were allowed to do whatever we'd like. I just took a bus back with some people and ate at this cute little cafe near our hotel. They had pretty amazing sandwiches there. Very nice.

I think that night I went out with some others to a bar to catch the last 20 minutes of soccer. It was that night or the next night. I can't really remember all too clearly but it was fun! Being in the bar with true soccer fans was great! They all were yelling at the TVs pretty much in unison. Loved it. I think it was the first French game. That was great.

Rome

Rome was busy.

There are so many tourists walking around in that city. I'm glad that our group planned museum visits in the morning than in the afternoon because that's when it got annoying with tourists standing around aimlessly or walking extremely slow.

But other than that, I enjoyed Rome. It's a nice place, but I just think I'd go back because of all the tourists in the area.

We stayed at Torre Rossa Park Hotel. It was more of a business hotel but it was a nice upgrade from the hotel in Vico. This hotel didn't have the weird sofa bunk beds. I got to sleep in a regular twin size bed. Thank you Torre!

Before we arrived at the hotel, we stopped by the Royal Palace and gardens where we got to walk around and needed to get lunch. Lea said that the gardens were modeled after the ones in Versailles and she said that they were better than Versailles. Well, I'd have to agree. These gardens had several water fountains/falls and at the very end of the line of waterfalls was a huge waterfall. It was beautiful and so worth the walk in the sun and heat.

So we got to the hotel and had dinner there. It was nice. We had delicious pasta and then served meat with vegetables.

The following day we took buses over to the inner city part of Rome and went to Sant' Agostina and San Luigi dei Francesci to see paintings by Caravaggio. They were great. I think Sant' Agostina was the church that I was extremely blown away by. There were carved reliefs everywhere and it was just so beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. After seeing those we got to see the Pantheon. Um, absolutely amazing. I wish I had pictures. It was beautiful and amazing to finally see in person. Unfortunately there was scaffolding covering up part of the building but it was still amazing to see. Afterwards, Lily, Angie, and I went to grab lunch. We ate at a restaurant where we ordered pizza. Delicious. Pizza in Italy is amazing. Everything about it is great. They know how to make pizza right.

After lunch, Angie and I went to meet up with our bookmaking and graphic design classes to visit a book museum. We were told to meet at the steps of a museum at 1:45. Angie and I were about 10 minutes late and by the time we got there, we couldn't find anyone. So, we went into the museum bought tickets and walked around in search of our group. We went up and down the floors, but we couldn't find them. So what else is there to do other than to panic. Well not really. But it crossed our minds that maybe we were in the wrong museum. I tried so hard to push that thought out of my mind because our tickets were 10 Euro each and I was not about to waste my money and just leave the museum. Fortunately we found some other people in our group coming up the stairs. I ran out and told them that we were late too and that we couldn't find the group and had already bought the tickets and everything. And their reply made my feel dumb. We were just meeting at the steps at 2:15 (not 1:45) and then walking together as a group to another location. hah! That was hilarious. I don't regret buying that ticket though. We went through the museum one more time and looked at a photo exhibit which we had to pretty much run through to join up with the group at 2:15.

The book museum was pretty small. It was about papermaking, bookbinding, and ways that books deteriorate: natural disasters, war, mold, insects, etc. It was pretty interesting.

The rest of the day was somewhat uneventful. We went to the local art store where I bought a sketch book and another Micron pen and then headed back to the hotel.

That night we went to bars in Rome. It was nice. I ended just being at one bar and then heading back only because we were traveling in a large group, half of them had more than enough to drink, and then half the time we were walking around trying to find bar number 2 and I was getting pretty annoyed and some others were as well. So the 5 or 6 of us just walked back together to catch the bus before the night buses started to run. But Rome at night is pretty. I just wish I had had more time to enjoy it.

Vico Equense Day 3

This was the last day of our stay in Vico. It was kind of sad. We had a ton of options of how to spend our afternoon. All options were great but unfortunately each person pretty much only had time to settle on one option.

On this day we went to Pompeii. It's a beautiful place and I can't believe that I was able to go. All the structures that have survived from natural disasters (volcanic eruption from Mt. Vesuvius) were stunning. I can't believe people actually lived there. The roads and sidewalks were all made of cobblestone. I think the indoor flooring was even cobblestone. We were able to venture and find the wealthy homes which were amazing. The wealthy homes had so many rooms. They were great.

We also got to tour the small brothel. It was interesting. Lea (the art history professor) told us that prostitution was well-accepted during that time. So we got to go inside. It's very tiny with about 5 rooms. Each room had a bed but each was made out of stone. I can't imagine anyone being comfy on those stone beds so I'm just going to assume that they had straw or some type of bed cover. Also what we saw in the brothel were tiles lining the ceiling that showed paintings of different options to choose from. That was interesting. After that we followed Lea who took the group on a tour throughout Pompeii. While we were tagging along with her, we got to see someone's back yard and a fast food restaurant.

After the tour Lily, Angie, and I went off to the Isle of Capri. We took a ferry to Capri and it was stunningly beautiful and unreal. I can't believe what I saw, and I'm pretty bummed that I couldn't take any pictures. Capri is just so beautiful! We grabbed lunch there and I bought an amazing hot pink scarf from there. We wanted to go to the Laguna, I don't know what it's called but it's cave and beautiful but we missed the boat that would take us there. So instead of going on that even though I really wanted to, we took a bus up to the top of the mountain. It was a great and scary ride. The roads here are extremely narrow. Our bus driver was driving so close to the edge of the mountain which was great. It was as if we were about to fall over. Those rides are typically awesome. I'm just glad that we didn't actually tip over. haha

We got to the top to Ana Capri and it was beautiful. We got some gelato and walked around for a few minutes and then got back down to have some time to get to the beach before having to catch the ferry back to Sorrento and then to Vico. We ended up taking a taxi cab down the mountain. Before leaving for Europe, I swore that I would never take a taxi knowing that the driver would overcharge me, but this was urgent and the driver flat out told us that it would be 20 Euro to get down to the bottom. It's a lot but this lady from Australia offered to pitch in on the ride so it ended up being 5 Euro each (We also met another Australian on the ferry to Capri. She had just graduated college which she called uni and had been couch surfing and sleeping at hostels).

So we got to the beach and ran into Lanny and his family. And he took pictures of us stumbling into the cold cold but so clear water. It was great. That was my very first photo shoot. Nice. But the water was really clear and beautiful. I wish it had been warmer but it was slightly chilly with a breeze that day. I'm not a fan of beaches but I'd definitely go back to that one.

Vico Equense Day 2

I need to mention the hotel we stayed at. It's called Aequa Hotel. It's a nice place located next to the coast and had a nice pool. The town was a great place itself. Hilly and beautiful. My experience there was unlike any other city I've been to. I don't know if this is just typical of the town to be this way but there were many young boys everywhere who were confrontational and would holler at all and any female walking by. On the first day, I was honked at and I heard several similar stories.

Anyways, look up the hotel if you'd like. It's a beautiful place.

Day 2 in Vico was nice. We went to the Capodimonte Museum. It was a nice and very long museum. There were walls upon walls of paintings to look at. I eventually got burned out from looking at so many paintings. There were several that were copies of one painting. I guess they found it necessary to show the different painting techniques but they just ended up being wasted wall space. After the museum, we all ate outside in the gardens with our sacked lunches. They lunch had 3 small sandwiches, one with only ham, one with only cheese, and the third one with ham and cheese. Cute.

After lunch we rode the bus over to the Archeological Museum. The bus ride over wasn't that great. We were stuck in traffic for about 20 minutes at a left turn. People in that town drive like crazy, especially the people on the vespas. They zoomed in and out of traffic going to where ever they wanted. The museum was really nice though. It was equally as long but it held my attention longer. There was work by Michelangelo. They had huge sculptures that he carved but I liked the most about this area of the museum was his handwriting. That was the best part. He had beautiful handwriting. I couldn't stop admiring how legible, clean, and beautiful it was.

I think this was the museum that has a penis room. Apparently during the time period of the statues, men didn't think it appropriate for women to see the penises on the Greek like statues so they went around and chopped them all off and the museum has a room that stores all of them. Unfortunately the penis room wasn't opened that day.

Afterwards we went straight back to the hotel where we had dinner.

Last Day in Milan/ First Day in Vico

Hello all!

So I've been falling behind on my blog posts. Milan was great. We stayed there for 4 days and 3 nights. I'll be honest, I can't really remember all that we did but our last day we spent walking around the fashion houses! It was great. There was this huge block of high end fashion stores that we overlooked. We walked down to where they're located and seriously, there's one block that belongs to Dolce & Gabbana. It's awesome. Each store had amazing window displays. They almost make me want to do that for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures throughout our stay in Milan. I wish I had especially around the fashion houses. The people walking down the streets looked like people you see in fashion magazines and such. They all dress so fresh. The men with their light colored dress pants and light blue button up with a pair of oxfords and hot sunglasses, and the women in casual, trendy, and sassy outfits. That was great to see. I enjoyed it a lot.

Then for the evening if I remember correctly, I was in charge of picking the restaurant and I ended up taking us to this place near our hotel that was about a 15 minute walk. I'm really glad that I was being indecisive. We were able to walk on through the side of town that we hadn't seen before where there was a lot of shopping to do. In the area we found this nice little restaurant that from the outside looked tiny but when you walked in, it was huge. The food was great. Lily and I split a pizza that have arugula, mozzarella, and tomatoes. Patrick got this amazing seafood pasta that tasted great. We also ordered red wine for the table. It was a great last night in Milan.

The next day we grabbed a train in the early morning to take us to Naples to meet up with the Cortona program. The ride was a nice 5 hour ride. We stopped at several stations along the way where people got on and off. Eventually we finally got into Naples, got off the train and guess who we find? Lanny Webb, his wife, and son Patrick! We decided to follow them to get on to the next train that would take us to Vico Equense where we were meeting. We rode the train with them and met a grad student who's in the Cortona program as well.

We arrived in Vico and checked into the hotel. It was a little confusing at first. We were placed in rooms in alphabetical order. So I get my key and learn that I have 3 roommates. I go up to my room and walk through the door to find this nice quaint room. The first thing I see to my left are 2 beds that have suitcases on them already. I go in a little more to see the other 2 beds around the corner to the right and instead of 2 twin sized beds, I find this odd sofa bunk bed that looked shifty and unstable. I dropped my bags and just thought wtf, are you kidding me? Really. I have never seen a sofa bed like that before. I wish I had taken pictures but I forgot my battery charger in the States and both my batteries were already dead. This sofa bed that turns into a bunk bed was interesting though. I didn't really know which bed to take, but I decided on the lower bunk even though I was fearing that the contraption would collapse on me completely. Whatever.

I'm making this way too long. Our first night as a group was nice though. I got gelato, met up with the group at our first meeting, ate dinner at the hotel and then went to bed.

Milano Day 2

Today was great. Hopped on the bus and grabbed breakfast in the inner city. It was pretty expensive and ok. I got a shot of espresso with a croissant that was filled with marmalade. On top of that I got a bowl of mixed fruit. I'm liking the filled croissants. It's a nice surprise.

Afterwards we went to hunt down exhibits that we saw the day before. The first one was a photography exhibit with photos taken by Stanley Kubrick. The exhibit was great. His photo series were stunning. Great images in black and white, high contrast. He did a series of photos on a boy in Brooklyn, age 9 I believe, who worked as a shoe shiner to help raise his siblings, maybe 9 of them. He also had done another series on a family of 9 kids and widowed wife and followed them throughout the course of their lives living at some type of an orphanage. The series were strong and great to see.

Afterwards we went to find the Egon Schiele exhibit. He's from the Bauhaus and was influenced and helped by Klimt. I'm in love with his art. I like the way he draws his people. They're thin, gaunt, elongated, and fantastically drawn and colored. His lines are rough, curved, and loose. They aren't fussy, like how Murawski would say. His color palette is equally great. They're mellow, cool, and express the sufferings that he had cooped up inside.

Milano Day 1

After a not-so-great ride on the night train, we got into Milano some 30 minutes late around 10:40AM.

The night train was great compared to the uncomfortable and awkward sit down train ride from before, but the company was, interesting.

Anyways, what I really need to mention is the ballin' train attendant working the night ride. What caught my attention were his amazing thick bright red plastics. They were AMAZING and made him look so chic. I can't stop thinking about them still. He's for sure Italian straight up, no doubt about that. I wish I could've taken a picture of him but that would've been awkward. I spotted him when we got off the train. He was walking out of the station wearing these amazing oval shaped sunglasses. Man. He was awesome. Just so awesome. I wish we were friends. Lily and I got to talk to him but only at the restaurant when he took our order. No actual conversations.

At the beginning of our Milano journey, we had to figure out the metro. It differs a little from the Paris and Spanish ones. Just a little but we eventually figured it out. Got on at Milano Centrale and then off at the Dateo station and started walking the streets in search of our hotel. Thank goodness it was a straight direct walk with just one turn. Otherwise I think I would've fainted. We didn't make any stops between getting off the train and arriving at our hotel. So we find the hotel, buzzed the door, got through and find that Brasil Hotel is on the 4th floor. I brought a medium sized suitcase and I'm kind of disliking my decision. SO, haha, all three of us are hungry and tired and slightly cranky. We walked up all 5 of those damn floors. I say 5 because the main floor is considered a 0 or T here. Midway I had to take a break because I couldn't take it (but I'm prepping for the Cortona hill) but we finally reached the floor, walked into the office very out of breath, and the lady behind the desk said,"You didn't use the elevator?"

What.

haha. It was a great though. I just remember after each time I reached the next floor, I kept looking at this door with 2 buttons but I never bothered to stop and see what it really was. But it's ok. I'm workin' on some awesome looking kick-ass legs right now.




Well, we arrived in Milano on a holiday where they celebrate the country becoming a republic. Our hotel is located outside of the inner city and most of the restaurants and stores were closed. The lady at the desk said that if we go into the inner city at the Babila train station, there should be more stores opened and we could take the metro or (get this) the bus. And we took the bus. It was great. Our first experience on a European bus line and it was great. I like it better than having to run down into the metro station and then down some more stairs only to ride train with nothing to look at except the pitch black tunnel.

Anyways, this area off the Babila train station is awesome. I'm so glad the lady told us to go there. High-end fashion stores galore! Everything there is great. And what's even better, there's an H&M on every single street pretty much. I thought Paris was getting carried away the two that they had on one block, but good God H&M. You're trying so hard to dominate Milano. It's ridiculous because each store has the exact same merchandise. I thought they would try to switch it up, but I guess that's not all too necessary. I think they're a waste of space. I can't really find anything in there that I like. But if you're a fan and you like the one at the Mall of Georgia, then you need to get your ass over to Europe because it's 10 times better.

So our first day here consists of walking around the shopping center. The mini Duomo is here along with all these posters for amazing photo and graphic design exhibits. Well, just one of each but it was great. We eventually did grab some food around 4PM at this great outside sit-down restaurant. I got this spicy penne dish. It was great. We ordered water but our waiter gave us small glasses of champagne which tasted amazing. For dessert, they gave us amazing truffles. Would've taken pictures, but it felt like a place that would look down upon that. So...





We walked around some more and then got back to our hotel. Rested and then went out for dinner which was equally as amazing as that truffle from lunch. The restaurant we ate at was what seemed like a small family owned restaurant with amazing food. Lily and I split this great pizza. Mmmm so good. It had sauce, cheese, ham, and some type of fresh greens. So good. And we also had great white wine with it. Great stuff.