Day 71

Our Wine Collection

Man without a head in Rome

Our last dinner for two months...

Day 71- Thursday March 18th 2010

Today we gave our midterm presentation in studio. Three architects showed up- one froma firm in Florence, one from Milan, and one from Franchini’s firm in Milan. One of the architects didn’t speak or understand English, so while we were giving our presentation they had to translate what we were saying. In fact, most of the time we were giving presentations they were talking. It got kind of annoying at times- we found it disrespectful. But, regardless, it didn’t phase the jurors at all. I guess Italians don’t care about certain things. Another thing that Italian professors do is answer phone calls in the middle of class. I remember being on a tour in Rome and the tour guide got a phone call and answered it and talked for about 5 minutes before he hung up- he left about 25-30 of us waiting around for him to get off the phone. And it didn’t even phase him at all. Anyways, my presentation went pretty well. I went second and I presented about 10 slides in powerpoint. After my presentation I showed them my model and they spoke for about 5 minutes about my design and concept. They enforced the site, and they said my design needs to be more ‘radical’ which was a regular-occurring comment for some of us. We didn’t finish with presentations will around 7:00. After I left studio I went back to my apartment and dropped off my stuff. I met up with my parents at their hotel. We walked around some of the shops of Florence for a while- most of which were closed. We went to a restaurant by their hotel, which they went to the night before. I had a very good meal, and the guy who served us was really cool. He spoke fluent English and he even knew about Ohio State and Michigan State. Michigan Sucks! He would always say. Haha! After we had some wine and my dad got gelato we headed back to my place, took a couple pictures, and said goodbye before they left. I gave them a couple souvenirs to take home with them. They had to grad a cab around 5 in the morning to go to the airport and take a flight to Amsterdam. Tonight I watched ‘Wanted’ and fell asleep right after midnight. I was pretty tired, it was a long day. VENICE TOMORROW!

Day 70

St. Peter's Cupola

Walking up to the Dome

Day 70- Wednesday March 17^th 2010

Today was a catch-up day. Looking back, im still kinda behind, but its okay. I spent most of the day working on my project that is due tomorrow. We have to present our design concept in front of a jury of about 4-6 people, most of whom will be architects in Europe. Our presentation will have to be a powerpoint presentation, with at least one conceptual model and any preliminary models. I worked in the print room from 2-5, expecting to print a lot, but not that many people needed their projects printed. I did my model in sketchup and worked on diagrams in photoshop during that time. Surprisingly, I found time to work out after the print room. After I worked out I did a physical model after stopping by an art store called Lory- which is located across the river. The art store was big and very nice- and almost everything was a reasonable price. I bought materials for my model and stopped by a café along the river to eat. I finished my model by one before I headed back to my apartment to get some shut eye before Italian class in the morning.

Day 69

Our Expensive Hotel in Rome

Day 69- Tuesday March 16^th 2010

I am beginning to like Prof. Franchini more and more the more I talk to him. Even though he doesn’t speak English very well, he is still a very good practicing architect. On Thursday he gave me a crit that changed my studio project dramatically- and today I spent much of the day working on that design. My project this semester is a sloping, curvilinear ramp that runs through the internally infrastructure of my building, connecting all the programmatic functions and enclosing the arrangement with a glass façade. The space in between creates the public and semi-private spaces, and is more much more open. If you can envision this design I would be very surprised, cause not many people can. Our final project is due in two days… so I have a lot of work to do, bye!

Day 68

View of the Vatican

Views of Rome

Day 68- Monday March 15^th 2010

Today I worked in the print room from 9 to 11 and then went to class thereafter. In ‘Forces that Shaped Cities’ we discussed princes and courts in the Renaissance. After class I worked out and then later my parents came over and made burgers and salad for me, Tom, and Tommy. Tommy came back from the hospital today. He seems a lot better but I found out he will not be able to travel for a month, which means he will not be able to go on spring break with us to Barcelona and London. That sucks! Im sure he’s really disappointed about that.. I went to studio after dinner and wished my parents farewell before they went to Cinque Terre tomorrow and then Venice on Wednesday. That’s going to be awesome!!

Rome Day Two

Getting Holy Water from St. Peters

The Pantheon

In front of St. Peters

Mass at St. Peters

Rome Day Two- Day 67 Sunday, March 14^th 2010

Today we woke up pretty early- around 8:00, and tooks showers and ate breakfast. The typical European breakfast: croissants, toast and jam, cereal, coffee or juice, bread, and gross snack foods to start off your day. We checked out and took the metro to the Vatican museum. We got to St. Peters shortly before mass started at 10:30. We sat in the back right next to the portico in the crossing of the church. Mass was quite an experience- even though it was in Italian and we couldn’t understand it, it was really cool to go up for communion and see all the priests and servers in attendance. After mass we walked around St. Peters some more and went outside where we saw the Pope from his apartment window! He gave some blessings and prayers- he even spoke in English for a little! I got a video of the entire thing- which lasted jst short of 20 minutes. After the pope talked we went back in the long security line for St. Peters and went up the dome. The wait to go up the dome was probably longer than it needed to be, but it was worth it by far. It cost 5 euros to walk up the entire way- some 580 steps to the top of St. Peters. This is the one thing I wanted to make sure I did on this time around to Rome, because I wasn’t able to do it when I went with the school about a month ago. The view was awesome- you could literally see all of Rome. We were up there for a good 20-30 minutes before we ventured back down to the nave below. On the roof of St. Peters there are shops and a place to eat, even bathrooms which was a surprise for me. The shop was closed however. When we finally got down to the ground level we found a small souvenir shop by the sacristy and my mom bought a couple of rosaries and I bought a jar to fill with holy water from St. Peters.

After St. Peters and the Vatican we walked to the Pantheon- which is probably all we had time for before the train left for Florence at 4:30. We got lunch at a small store on the way- some paninis and pop, and stopped at Piazza Nuova to eat lunch. My mom loved the piazza- mostly for its public atmosphere. Artists and musicians filled the piazza with their talent- paintings and drawings we on sale everywhere you went. After lunch we walked to the Pantheon- which is yet another architectural monument I had to explain. I showed my parents Raphaels tomb and the oculus of the dome. We watched a musician (who wasn’t very good). In fact, we saw a lot of talent this weekend. Walking back from the Roman Forum yesterday I encountered a Michael Jackson imitator- who was very good. I got a video of him and got a picture with him. We saw a couple street dancers- hip hop and even a ballet dancer outside of a church we went into for a little while. Their my mom talked to a priest who blessed her rosary and told her he would dedicate a mass to Brittany- what an awesome encounter!! We walked past some big design clothing stores and went to the Spanish steps- which were packed!! Then we grabbed some Gelato and bought a pair of shoes from a store called ‘Da Vinci’. We got on a metro to the train station and boarded the train to Florence in the nick of time- the train literally left 5 minutes after we got on it! My parents were wondering why I was walking so fast and that is why- we would’ve missed the train if we didn’t- and I know how bad that sucks if that happens. Fore it happened with Amalfi Cost- and I didn’t get back to Florence until the next day at 11… good thing that didn’t happen again.

On the train ride home my mom met a group of American students studying in Florence whom she planned a trip to Cinque Terre with. She got their numbers and info, and insisted that I talk to them- which I did when she almost forced me to talk to them! The one girl lived in Florence for almost a year, but everyone else would only be their for a week or so. Perhaps that is more interesting than the fact that I finally finished ‘The Lost Symbol’- which I have been reading since last semester. But no, that’s too ‘nerdy’ for my mom. Haha! We got back to Florence around 8:45 and took my parents back to their room.

Rome for the second time was definitely worth it. I got to go to the top of St. Peters, have mass at St. Peters, see the pope, and buy shoes for my birthday gift. It was definitely cool being the tour guide in Rome. I was surprised by how much I knew and how much I didn’t know. It made me wished I paid just a little more attention in class.. cause sometimes it means a little more than just showing up on an exam. I felt a lot more rushed than I did the first go-around, but im glad my parents got to see most of the famous monuments in Rome. No, we didn’t get to go inside the Coliseum and we didn’t see any modern architecture, but we did stay in a sweet hotel and have some great food. Im sure this is an experience they’ll never forget!

Rome Day One

Me and Michael Jackson

Rome Day One- Day 66 Saturday, March 13^th 2010

My alarm clock never went off this morning so I wasn’t able to wake up in time to make the 6:15 train to Rome, so we ended up getting on the 9:15 train. I grabbed a bite to eat at the train station before we got on the train around 9:00. We found second class seats in a small glass room that seated 6- so we were pretty cozy with just the three of us. Most of the train ride I slept. Because it was the slow train it stopped at every stop-which is why it took four hours to get there. We got to Rome at 1:47 and immediately bought bus tickets. We bought a map and got on a bus to the center of Rome- which was kind of a challenge itself. We got off at the Tomb of the Lost Soldier, which is right next to the Roman Forum. We walked around inside the museum for a half hour or so- the museum was dedicated to World War one- it was pretty cool. Most of the places I planned on taking them I already went to before when I went with the school, but ive never been inside this museum, so im glad I got to go inside.

After the museum we walked through the Roman Forum- I tried to remember as much as I could from the tour that I had when I went to Rome, but it was hard trying to recall everything the guy said. I know a lot about ancient Rome, but its hard to retell everything in the exact order for the exact location of the forum. Anyways, we walked through most of the forum, which was amazing even the second time through. I could tell my parents weren’t as interested as maybe an art historian would be- I mean if you see one shattered column, you pretty much see them all… but I could tell they found it interesting regardless. After the forum we walked to the Coliseum- which was of course, closed. We did walk around the whole thing and take some good pictures, which im sure is better than a lot of people could ask for. We plan on going inside it tomorrow if we have time. My parents wanted to find a hotel at this point but that wasn’t what was on my mind- I knew they had to see the Trevi fountain today or they would never be able to see it. So we walked all the way to the Trevi fountain- which was packed with tourists and vendors. Ohh well, at least we got to see my favorite fountain!

After we went to the Trevi fountain we began searching for a good hotel to stay at. After going to a couple hotels, we ended up staying at a pretty high-end hotel: 150 euros for the night. It was pretty nice though. Very nice. A full queen size bed and a single bed for me were in the main room, a walk-out patio with a couple tables and plants, a full bathroom with a tub and two sinks, a flat-screen TV, and 4 reading tables. Lets just say the hotel was fully equipped. After we got settled into the hotel we went to a restaurant about two blocks away, right down the street from a restaurant that the staff at the hotel recommended. The bottle of Chianti ended up being 28 euros! No wonder our bill came out to be over 70 euros!! Talk about harshing our evening mellow.. we spent way more than we anticipated.. and instead of going out tonight.. we stayed in. Ohh well, the food and servers were great, so we cant really complain can we?

Day 65

Day 65- Friday March 12^th 2010

Today I woke up around 10 and headed over to my parents hotel to spend the day in Florence with them. We’ve decided that we are going to go to Rome tomorrow instead of today and spend one night in Rome. First we headed over to the train station to check the prices for departing for Rome tomorrow. It was around 40 euros for a one way ticket second class. Then we walked through San Lorenzo and bought dad a brown hat for 4 euors. I showed them inside the San Lorenzo market- which was actually open (most of the time I try to go there it is closed). The market is full of produce and meat mostly, but it also has an extensive collection of wine, sweets, and restaurants. After we visited the outdoor market I took them to the Duomo- or the Santa Maria del Fiore- by far the most spectacular monument in the city. We went inside the Cathedral and spent a good 20 minutes looking at the splendid architecture by Arnolfo di Cambio and Brunnelleschis dome. After the duomo we went to Palazzo Signoria- which is the old town hall of Florence, and to Museo Accademia where we saw the original Statue of David- the most famous statue in the world! The statue stood some 11 feet tall and is the masterpiece of Michelangelo himself- it is truly a brilliant work of art. And one can see it for only 6 euros. We walked around the museum for almost 2 hours looking at all the artwork- it was a rather small museum. Really, the only thing I found interesting about it was the statue of David. After we grabbed a bite to eat at a rather expensive sit-down restaurante- 20 euros for tea and a fruit dish for my mom!- we went to Ponte Vecchio. Meaning “Old Bridge,” Ponte Vecchio is a very popular tourist location. The bridge is packed with over-priced jewelry lit up in small shops packed next to each other. The view from the bridge out over the river is amazing though! I took them to Palazzo Pitti- but we didn’t go inside because it was 7 euros. We tried to get into the gardens behind the Palace but found out that they closed at 4:30 and so we couldn’t get in. We found a park that we were able to walk through- but soon got kicked out of when we found out that that was closing as well. C’mon its only 5:00!! I really wanted to show my parents Piazza Michelangelo- it has an amazing view of the city and plus, ive never been there before. I really wasn’t sure how to get there as a matter of fact… so we spent a good 2 hours walking uphill hoping we were going the right way. I figured as long as we were going uphill we had to be going the right way right?! Haha well after stopping once to grab a pizza to eat and confronting a lady for directions, we managed to get to Piazza Michelangelo right when it got dark out- and wow was it an amazing view!! The duomo and Palazzo Signoria were lit up- and the bronze statue of David was awesome as well. So today we were able to see the 3 most famous statues of David in Florence: The Statue of David in the Museo Accademia, The Statue of David at Piazza Signoria, and the Statue of David at Piazza Michelangelo. Not a bad way to spend a day if you ask me. On our way back to my parents hotel we stopped at the yellow bar for dinner. We had some red wine and I got spaghetti with meat sauce. My dad got pizza- which he didn’t like too much. He likes the pizza from home with the thicker crust and all the toppings. Most of the Italian pizza served here has thin crust and chunks of mozzarella (rather than it sprinkled evenly on the entire pizza). I took them back to their room after dinner and went back to my apartment around 10 to relax before I went to sleep. Rome Tomorrow bright and early!!!

Parents Arrive!

Me and My Madre

our great meal we made..

Amalfi Coast

Parents Arrive- Day 64- Thursday March 11^th 2010

So today my parents are coming over! I planned a huge dinner for them.. I invited my roommates of course, Collin, Melanie, Jackie, Ashleigh, Cassie, and Jen. I went to the market today after Sketching and Drawing and got 4 chicken breasts for 11 euros. I also got vino and bread as well. I left studio early with Bryce to go to SWAN to work out and then to Coop to get a whole basket full of groceries for our feast tonight. We are going to have chicken parmesan, garlic bread, pasta, and snacks. I got Peroni for my dad and red wine for my mom. I bought my parents a bottle of Chianti as well. After we walked all the way back from Coop (its pretty far) and my shoulders were killing me- I took a shower and did some cleaning before I headed over to my parents hotel by the train station to pick them up. They showed me their room and gave me a bag of goodies from the U.S.A.!!! I got 2 boxes of cinnamon toast crunch, black dress shoes, girl scout cookies, the newspaper in English, Bryce got cliff bars, peanut butter, a red shirt from home, and Melanie got an ace bandage for her ankle. After we talked a little we headed over to my place where we surprised them with a feast and a welcoming in Florence from all my friends! They were really happy that we made dinner for them! They stayed over for a couple hours before they headed back to their apartment. A couple of us stayed over and drank vino before heading to sleep. It was a good moment in the semester so far- I don’t think I went so long without seeing my parents in my life! I really am starting to miss home… but there are certain things about Italy I love.. I cant quite pinpoint exactly what it is.. im sure ill realize it when I go back home.

Day 63

Day 63- Wednesday March 10^th 2010

Today I was rushed trying to get things done before my parents came over. I worked in the print room from 2-5 today. I felt bad because I missed working in the print room on Monday because I was still on the train from Rome. Ohh well.. Anyways, today I worked out after the print room and then studied for my Italian test tomorrow. I went to studio for a little before I went to Space with Danielle and Kaitlin. We had fun at Space, but there wasn’t as many people as im used to- I guess it is a Wednesday night. Steve didn’t go out with us tonight like he did last night. But I felt obligated to show them a good night since Tommy wasn’t able to.. and no one else was willing to go out with them!!

Day 62

Day 62- Tuesday March 9^th 2010

Today was another long day. Mostly everything I did today was school related.. but I did get to work out. My parents come over in two days! So im very excited for that! I told my mom to bring cinnamon toast crunch, my black dress shoes, a red shirt, peanut butter, cliff bars for Bryce, girl scout cookies, and an ace bandage for Melanie. We are going to go to Rome on either Friday or Saturday and stay a night in Rome. I also want them to go to Cinque Terre, which I know they will love. My mom wants to go to Chianti and do some wine tasting. Im sure they’ll go somewhere else like Venice or something.

This evening Tommys friends from home, Danielle and Kaitlin, came over. They showed up in the late afternoon and they were going to be in Florence for three days before they were going to go to Rome. Tommy was in the kitchen when he got a phone call from the doctor that said his spleen could rupture due and would need to go to the hospital right away. A minute later Carla from the school called and told him she would be at our apartment in 4 minutes.. it was then Tommy got really mad and sad.. he called his mom on skype and I could tell he was really stressed about it. I tried to calm him down but there wasn’t much I could do… the taxi to take him to the hospital was going to be there soon. When Carla (and then eventually Laura) from the school arrived to our apartment, the taxi driver refused to take him to the hospital because he was infected with mono. So they had to call an ambulance to take him to the hospital. Tommy grabbed his laptop and a couple things before he stormed out of the apartment in furry. I felt so bad for him…

During this whole time Danielle and Katie were at the apartment… dumbfounded by what just happened. They did get a video of Tommy walking into the ambulance completely capable of walking with Laura putting her arm around his back! It was so funny because just 10 minutes ago Tommy was talking to us about going to Il Gato and getting a couple drinks and then possibly going out later. So after Tommy left I was stuck with Danielle and Katie. They ended up going over to Jackie and Jens apartment for a couple hours before I went out with them to Bebop where we watched a classic rock band. After Bebop we headed over to TWICE to dance for a little and then to the secret bakery and then the secret Kebab store. What a night! The secret bakery was open AND the kebab store!! I didn’t end up going to bed until 5 in the morning but its okay… I guess.

Day 61

Day 61- Monday March 8^th 2010

So we arrived to Florence around 10:47 and I rushed from the train station straight to class.. I was about 4 minutes late and tired as could be. I wasn’t worried though.. Frantoni doesn’t seem like the type of person who would get mad if someone were to show up a couple minutes late. Class seemed to be way too long.. but the lecture was great regardless. After class I worked out and then took a nap before I did some studio. Amalfi Coast was awesome.. besides the fact that I got stranded in Rome and had to wait around for almost every train or bus I got on.. it was fun! I should’ve done a little more planning I guess, and next time I want to go to the island of Capri, just off the coast of Amalfi. We were going to get a ferry to take us to Capri, or possibly Naples where our train departed from.. but the ferries weren’t running this time of the year.. unfortunately L I found out that Tommy has mono and will not be able to go to class for a couple weeks, or at least until he gets better.. which is really upsetting.

Amalfi Coast Day Two

Amalfi Day Two- Sunday March 7^th 2010

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGAN!! In the morning we got a free continental breakfast: croissants, toast, cereal, and juice like every other hotel in Europe. After Breakfast we packed up, showered, and got on a bus to Ravello where we hiked through Positano. Positano was amazing- it was situated high on the mountaintop overlooking the city of Amalfi down below. We took a lot of pictures and hiked for a couple hours before we took a bus back to Amalfi Coast. It seemed like we waited for the bus for forever, and it was so cold, so we were getting annoyed with wainting around. We missed our bus at 4:00 to Salerno, which might have ruined our evening, but we tried to stay positive. The next bus didn’t arrive until 6:00, so we ended up getting gelato and chocolate in Amalfi and walking around shopping. One of the most depressing parts of the evening was an abandon dog we found that was limping and seemed blind.. one of its eyes looked fogged. It was weazing real bad and I was getting really sad when it was limping down the street. The worst part is… no one did anything about it. It didn’t seem to phase anyone that a sick dog was walking the street. At 6:00 we boarded a bus to Salerno.. which took about an hour to get to. From Salerno we took a train to Rome, which departed about an hour after we arrived. On the train to Rome we didn’t have the right ticket.. our ticket was a one way ticket from Florence to Salerno and we needed to buy a ticket from Salerno to Rome.. which we then had to pay 34 euros to get. Ohh well.. we were able to sit in first class! We arrived in Rome around 10 or 11 only to realize that the next train for Florence didn’t depart until 6:15 the next morning and wouldn’t arrive in Florence until 10:47.. 13 minutes before my class at 11:00. So we found a hotel, after looking around for nearly an hour, for 50 euros a night, located pretty close to the train station. The hotel was nice.. but it smelled aweful. I don’t know if it was the cleaning solution they used or what.. but we left the windows open all night. Another burden to the night was my debit card wasn’t working… so Cassie paid for my train ticket on the train, as long as I paid her back. We got to the hotel just before midnight.. and we were going to check out around 5:30.. lets just say tomorrows gonna be a good day. AHH I love being stuck in Rome!!

Amalfi Coast Day One

The Duomo in Amalfi

Amalfi Day One- Saturday March 6^th 2010

Today I woke up early and of course packed everything at the last minute.. but that’s okay. I went to the train station where I boarded a train to Salerno, which took about 4 hours. I slept most of the way on the train, like always, and read my book ‘The Lost Symbol’ which im almost done with. At Salerno we took a bus, which lasted just over an hour, to Amalfi Coast, which was where our hotel was. The bus ride to Amalfi Coast was amazing. We winded around the edge of the mountain, around curves and up and down the mountain, nearly hitting the edge of the mountain or passing cars at times. The views out to the sea were stunning. We were on the bus with a group of Italian students, probably in 5^th-6^th grade, thinking… is this what they see everyday?! When we arrived to Amalfi we found our hotel, which was just past the Duomo. It was located literally in the center of town, and we had to climb 84 steps to get up to our hotel, Residenza del Duca, which was the best hotel ive ever been in in my life. Well, it’s up there at least. The staff was very friendly and the room was so clean! I think the best part about the room (besides the super comfortable double bed) was the hydro-shower. The shower had 8 jets lined along the wall and 2 overhead faucets (one which was on a line) for washing your body. There was even a faucet below for washing your feet- totally unnecessary for a shower! The bathroom was fully equipped with everything you could need (even 2 sets of slippers and shoe polish haha) and a walk out terrace that looked out into a great view below (hence the many stairs we had to climb). There was even a TV, 2 closets, and a mini-fridge in the room! After we checked-in, we walked around the coast and took pictures and hiked up the mountain side. We found a hotel up in the mountain that was still being constructed.. and it looked really cool. The way that it was situated on the mountain and built to accommodate for the topography had to be a challenge for the architect and engineer.. either way though.. it worked out perfectly. We found lemon trees everywhere.. just like in Cinque Terre. But here we were walking through the trees.. and they were much easier to get. We also found orange trees on the terraces as well. We watched the sunset from the mountain side.. and it was perfect.

For lunch we went to a pizzeria by our hotel called Guiseppes. I ordered a salad and spaghetti with meat sauce and some red wine. It was very good! After dinner we bought local wine from a small shop in the center of town and went went to the beach to drink it. We watched the waves hit the shore and sat in a small cave next to the beach. After we finished drinking we went back to the room and passed out.