Friday, March 29, 2013

Buca Mario

I have to apologize for the long wait for my next blog post. I have been busy studying for midterms and preparing for spring break.
After a wonderful weekend with dad in France I was sick for a few days. I did however, get to play soccer with a soccer club in Siena and their players from a few different teams. Gioia's daughter and son have joined her in Italy for the last half of semester and they are becoming my second family here! Giovanna, her daughter, is playing with them and hopefully playing in a few games! I played on the "vecchio" team with the other coaches and she played with the "giovanni" young players team. Soccer is huge here, as you can imagine. There is at least two games on every week and I managed to catch two games with my host brother, Lorenzo, this week. I am very excited to get tickets for the Siena vs. Roma game at the end of April. 

Friday we had an art history field trip to Florence. We had presentations in the Uffizi Gallery and it was pretty cool, because instead of giving a presentation with a PowerPoint picture we were STANDING in front of the REAL THING! My group did pieces on Botticelli and Parmigianino. The Uffizi gallery is visually overwhelming. There are so many styles and artists presented in such a large space. Room after room you become more and more inspired. 

After school my friend Sophia and I ventured to an old apothecary. It was SO cool seeing all of the old bottles and tools they used, reminded me of dad's bottles that he found with his brothers that were dug up from one of their uncles yards. The apothecary had a creepy garden in the middle of it that was eerie and gloomy. Maybe the weather added a bit of the scariness to it, the whole thing reminded me of where Juliet went to get her "sleeping" potion.





Friday night my dad arrived in Florence for his first visit to Italy, ever! I had made reservations at the same restaurant I ate at with mom! His train arrived molto in ritardo (very late). And we walked straight to dinner! 
----*if you are visiting Florence in your lifetime EAT AT BUCA MARIO! It is by far the best place in Florence. We laughed, ate toooo much and even got a little tipsy. The seafood pasta was unbelievable. And the second night we had a piece of every dessert on the dessert tray. For those of you that know me.. I like my sweets.. and so does my diabetic father. It was a good bonding moment.












Saturday we had a late start but a great morning. We had coffee at 4 different bars (bars = coffee shops) and dad is hilarious because Italians stand and drink their coffee and he wanted to sit everywhere we went-total tourist!! Florence is becoming very busy every trip I take. Lots of tourists. But what was SO cool was that as we were walking around the city I was able to give Dad an art history lecture. We managed to climb the top of the tower of the Duomo and saw magnificent views! (414 steps).
*Had to take a break at the top*


We tried seeing The David a few times during the day but the line was too long for dad so we searched for Démodé, the restaurant mom told use to go to for lunch! Kristy Schena had mentioned to me that I would find a favorite church while I was over here and I think I found it. Chiesa Orsanmichele. I visited it briefly with my class the previous field trip and I wanted Dad to see it so we walked in and there was a Palm Sunday service happening! We stayed for the service, which was all in Italian, and it made me fall more in love with Orsanmichele. 











We were also able to  climb the dome of the Duomo(490ish steps) and the stained class windows were stunning. Dad took a picture of EVERY SINGLE ONE. I think he really enjoyed it. The fresco's on the dome were actually quite shocking. Scenes from the Bible of course, but ones that included daemons and giants. 

**^For Dr. Gina Marie Conflitti/Bills ^** 

**For all our friends and family**



Sunday we saw The David and then walked on the other side of the river. We accidentally ran into Bobili Gardens and I am so glad we did!! We had so much fun!!! Walking around for about 2 hours looking at all the statues and views Bobili had to offer. The fountains at Bobili (Pictures above) are absolutely brilliant. I cannot believe how much history is in this town and in Siena too!
 It was sad to see him leave but it was nonetheless another fantastic weekend with my dad!! 

Monday was review day for most of my midterms. This week has been packed with reading and note taking.   But for some reason I am less stressed here takin' exams than I am at home.. Maybe I should just move to Italy for the rest of my degree... :) 

Today I had my oral Italian exam and my art history exam. Glad they are over!!! Just need to pack for London/Paris and ill be on my way to the BEST SPRING BREAK EVER!






Sunday, March 17, 2013

3 trains, 4 buses and 2 planes later..

3 trains, 4 buses and 2 planes later.. I arrived in France!! I am here visiting my dad for the weekend. And we are having a blast. The moment I walked off the plane and out to the public he was standing there waiting for me in his Notre Dame purple windbreaker and jeans. I was so excited that I literally ran out the gates to go give him a hug! One of the interns working for his company offered him a ride and he even dropped us off at home after! We  walked in and we had cheese, bread, and a whole bottle of wine. The Bordeaux was to die for and he said it was only 3.43 euro! After a long day of travel we just relaxed and we watched TV, in French.
On Saturday DAD MADE ME EGGS! Man I have missed his eggs. Breakfast in Europe is small and usually something like a pastry! We then walked to downtown Toulouse and explored alot! Let me tell you, it was definitely a hoppin' college town. Their chocolate eclairs aren't too shabby and neither are their men! Hubba hubba, were some of them good lookin'! Our one mission downtown was to find Dad's favorite restaurant in France, "The Coughing Donkey". We pulled out his computer in the Capitol square just so we could get a map out to find the place. We stopped for lunch, and like father like daughter, we both had Caesar salads. After a few hours of walking around the Coughing Donkey eventually opened at 7:00. We grabbed a beer in some little cute pub before heading to dinner, which was delicious!! He definitely picked a place my mother would enjoy. After hours of laughter and conversation we had a three mile walk back to the apartment. Schena Family, if you are reading this I thought of you guys because the MOON in Toulouse was glowing as bright as ever and it made me think of when you guys visited Arizona and saw the MOONA!!
It's nice to spend some time with my dad. I learn a lot from him and I enjoy his company. Spending the weekend with one of my best friends was a good choice.

The past week has been busy with preparing for midterms before spring break. I spent a few hours this week with the fifth graders watching the singing/dancing of a few the Grease songs. They are doing splendid! They will have their concert at the beginning of May and I am so excited for them! It's really been a blast helping them learn the songs and getting them to speak English!
For my Sustainability class this week we visited the Accademia Fisiocritici, which is a natural history museum that was founded in 1691. It is filled with different kingdoms, phylums  classes, orders, and species. Dr. Allred  would have LOVED this museum. The taxonomy portion was overwhelming. Surrounded by all the dead animals gave me the heebee geebees. Thursday afternoon I was walking home in the rain and I was taking pictures of drops of rain water coming off of some leaves and an old man walked up to me and starting speaking to me. I explained that I only spoke a little bit of Italian because I was in school studying there. Yet we had a full conversation. It was great. I also had another run in similar to that. A French couple stopped me on the street and asked me something in French. I had no idea what they said and asked them if they spoke English. No English. I asked if they spoke Italian and the woman replied a little bit. So there I was, in the middle of the streets of Siena with a French couple looking for St. Catherine's Sanctuary and I gave directions in Italian and she replied in Italian. What was so amazing was that for both of us Italian is not our first language! Yet I was able to get them to St. Catherine's (I hope). I was pretty amazed.

Habemus Papam! Wednesday night was crazy! Watching the announcement of the Pope was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity because I watched it in ITALY! It was amazing! I had goosebumps the entire time. I was watching it on the big screen in our family room while I was listening to CNN for an English re-cap.

I head back to Siena EARLY tomorrow morning and head right into school. Thanks mom for the early flight (not)!!

Ciao
-kali

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Tua scarpe, vieni.

Salve famiglia e i miei amici!! 

I love the Siena city bus: because in the back sit the teenagers half asleep in the mornings on their way to school, the middle section accommodates grandmothers who clutter the door with their rolling baskets for groceries from the market and gossip about things like food recipes and the weather. While a handful of handsome college students shuffle the walk way. The grandmothers glare at young people sitting in seats anxiously awaiting the 'prime realty' (the seats that are located facing forward and in the front section of the bus).

I am also beginning to really enjoy rainy days. Not only do I get to wear my favorite boots -- my Hunter Wellies-- but rainy days supply the hottest Italian men my age! Jumping into a bar for a quick cafe is the perfect way to get out of the rain AND meet these boys! 


Thursday was a great day. Not only do I love my classes, I get to spend all day with my professor Roberto. He teaches both my Italian and Art History class. He is absolutely brilliant. He speaks roughly 5 languages and knows more about Siena than anyone I have yet to meet. 
A few of us that share both classes call our Thursdays "Robertodì" instead of "giovedì"!

Thursday afternoon I spent time teaching English to my 5th grade class. And they are so wonderful! They are learning Grease so fast. I couldn't be more proud. We play a game during 'Summer Nights' to see if the boys or girls can sing louder. I am really excited to see them perform it for the community at the beginning of May. 
After that I walked. And walked. About 4 or 5 miles to Morticano Agriturismo (which is the cutest little bed and breakfast). Nadia, the owner, was a wonderful lady. She showed me around all of the rooms and a little bit of the property. Between my poor Italian and her little knowledge of English we were able to communicate and share information about ourselves. Her agriturismo farm is a family tradition, the house (so old and HUGE!) with 20 ish acres of land, lots of small gardens, and a beautiful kitchen. They are a completely organic farm and serve their own food in the mornings for the guests that stay there. She invited me back to have coffee with her the next time I go on my run/walk route up and over a few big hills. Needless to say, I'll be having coffee hour with Nadia very soon.


Friday was probably my favorite field trip of my entire life. We were given a roll of black and white film, thrown in a van, and driven 20 minutes outside the city. (It wasn't as bad as it sounds [chuckle to myself].) Jackie, our professor, picked us up outside the train station and we headed out towards her town market. We spent the rainy morning in Casole D'Elsa photographing the daily life of the market. Even as the rain poured down locals still swarmed the market looking for the best prices and bargaining for the ultimate deals on everything from fresh produce to winter jackets. After shooting abut 20 exposures Jackie took us to her studio. Her work was amazing. After a glass of wine with her and the other students we took a drive to where her home is. The purpose was to show us a forest fire that had destroyed 3/4 of the hillside right be her house. We got out of the van and had about 6-7 minutes to shoot. 

From there we went to her friends studio where he is working on a fence. I had never really seen metal smithing before, and while we were visiting(and taking pictures) he was working. Part of the property also had an old water mill. IF YOU DON'T WANT TO READ MY WHOLE BLOG AT LEAST READ THIS NEXT PART:

I was in utter amazement. As our group split up looking for different places to capture the perfect picture I stayed in the old mill room. As I was setting up my tripod to take pictures, that needed longer exposures, the old man that was working on the property came in asking me if I wanted the lights on. I said no thank you. He then proceeded to speak to me entirely in Italian about the mill. I could slowly piece together what he was saying. As he pulled up on the chain lifting the wood board and allowing the water to rush into the wheel to turn it back on. I watched the water under rush through, turning the wheel, creating a fine fine grain. My Papou would have loved this entire place. So when I was just about to go back to taking pictures the old man asked me a question I didn't understand, all he said was "tua scarpe, vieni."[your shoes, come with me] I was wearing my Hunters again because of the rain and I AM SO GLAD I DID. I followed him down a few slippery stairs that lead to a series of old wooden boards that eventually routed us to the water below.  My feet were completely covered by the shallow waters below, trying to gracefully stand on a piece of wood that looked like it hadn't been replaced since I was born. He showed me the first room where the NEW wheel had been created.. let me remind you, this NEW wheel is about 400 or 500 years old. We continued down the wooden floorboards and in the second chamber the wheel from the 1300's rested above the water level. It was amazing. I was in shock! I was so lucky!! I apologize my pictures are not the greatest as I feared for my iPhone in the water, but I managed to get a few good ones! 



 The wheel that was still on!
The old wheel that no longer works. 

He told me that there were only two originals left in Italy that are still working and producing today. 

After that I walked around a bit trying to decide what to capture with the last few pictures left on my role. I eventually walked around to where the old man was chopping some fire wood. He saw me taking pictures of the horses and he stopped his work and walked over to the fence. I slowly walked toward him and as soon as he reached the fence all three horses trotted over to him. 




I was truly blessed to have such a beautiful day. 
And just when you think you are done reading my fairy tale adventure there is more!
I woke up early this morning to catch a morning bus into town and met Gioia in Piazza Gramsci before hopping on another bus out toward the country side of Chianti. We hiked through the country side for two and a half hours and covered about 7 miles. We walked through the town of Radi.. which was so fascinating because NOBODY lived there, yet it is a major stop for bikers and walkers alike to grab a quick sip or snack on something before continuing journeys. Gioia and I did not see a soul as we walked through the eerie town until we saw one biker and ask him if we were traveling in the right direction! As he clipped back in I thought how much Ann and Mari would have LOVED this bike route. And I hope to one day take a bike trip through Tuscany like they did!  We continued walking and eventually made it to Cuna which seemed like a dead town. I saw a total of four people while we were there. We thought we were going to be able to have a coffee.. joke. 


Eventually we headed to the bus stop and back to the city center and after a nice long day of story telling and conversation while enjoying the country side, I realized how fortunate I am to have this experience. And I thank my parents, from the bottom of my heart, for inspiring me everyday, challenging me physically and academically, and most of all believing in me. 

cin cin per una bella vita

-kali 

Monday, March 4, 2013

Film Photography

I am in love and I do not care who knows it. Film photography and the dark room have captured my heart. I was so pleased with my first roll of colored film! My exposures came out a bit dark because of the gray and snowy weather. However, I went the next morning to finish my role and I am SO glad I did! My pictures from the morning sunlight came out beautifully. Not being able to see my images right after I take the photo scares me! I actually had a dream that my role of Black and White would come out completely blank. But today we got to actually develop our negatives in the dark room and I am happy with what came out! It was amazing!! Monday and Tuesday mornings are my favorite time because of photo class!

I have had such a good first few weeks of REAL classes. Every day I begin with an hour and forty-five minutes of Italian. Wednesdays we have conversation class (abbiamo parlato tutto Italiano). Monday's and Wednesdays I have Literature, Landscape and Sustainability with Gioia Woods and she is absolutely fantastic.

Art History, where do I start? Thursday we ventured to the Duomo!


ANDDDDDD --> We went to Florence for class Friday! Here are a few pictures.
We started the day early and headed straight to the famous Duomo. Studying architecture and artists, Roberto our professor, gave extreme detail. It is like we had our own private tour guide.
 After the Duomo we visited the Uffizi Gallery. I could stay there for a whole week and not be able to see everything!! Learning about the iconography, sculptures, and paintings are utterly amazing. There is so much history and significant meaning behind pieces of art. We are learning a lot about the Medici family and their impact on Italian art and conservation/restoration through out centuries.

Friday night was my first stay ever in a hostel! I stayed with my friend Ally who is a great travel pal! We had a blast!! Florence gelato was SO different than gelato in Siena. I loved walking from out hostel back into town.. and the Leather market was SOO tempting! Uncle Lou said I have to get leather from Florence so I will definitely be back there soon!



Saturday Ally, myself, and a few others hopped on the a train Pisa for a day trip to the Leaning Tower! I'll just add a few pictures!! The weather was perfect and Pisa was great for a few hours. Saturday night we headed back to Siena for dinner with our host families (traveling was exhausting!)

Love this one!

(This is a picture of my journal that says "Wish You Were Here")

I was trying to push it over!
I am running out of weekends for adventures. I have quite the travel arrangements planned for the next month. This weekend will be in Siena going on an adventure for Photography Friday, Saturday hiking in Chianti, and Sunday the chocolate festival in Piazza Del Campo in Siena (could potentially be dangerous!) 
The following weekend I get to go to France to see Dad in Toulouse! And then the following weekend our art history class is headed back to Florence where my dad will be meeting me! And the following weekend my mother will join us in Europe for a spring break trip! SO MUCH TO DO! I AM LOVING EVERY MOMENT!

-also i got to play soccer with a few local boys in Florence and it was hilarious. 
ciao, a dopo
-kali