The Leaning Tower of Pisa

3/27/15

Day 71

Today was Pisa. Finally! I'd been slacking on being a good tourist since I'd been so close to Pisa for awhile now without seeing Il Torre Pendente!

 Too eager to get going, I started walking to the train station before my friends told me they were going to be over an hour late. Instead of sitting and waiting for that long, I walked to one of the city gates that I'd seen pictures of. I got there, and realized it was going to be hard to see the part of the gate I wanted to see and I was low on time. So without actually seeing what I came for (The Piazza della Libertà), I turned around and ran back and barely made it. 

On the train, we sat next to African immigrants and they asked a few questions, like if we liked Obama. It was interesting because I'd heard so much about the immigration crisis. Then at one of the stops, I watched a teenage boy greet someone, maybe his uncle, with a double kiss. Despite seeing this everywhere, I still haven't gotten used to it. 

When we arrived in Pisa, everything seemed closed and run down. We stopped at one of the open bakeries and I got tiny little cannolini's and paid in change to get rid of the sea of coins at the bottom of my bag. As we got closer to the tower, we ran into a group of Africans selling their usual goods: selfie sticks and stuff. 

The town itself was pretty underwhelming until suddenly we could see the Piazza of Miracles through the buildings.

It had been dead on our walk there but now there were so many tourists it was impossible to take a picture without little heads at the bottom. From one side, the tower didn't really look like it was leaning at all. Or at least, not in pictures.

The sun eventually came out and it was like we were in a completely different town. This Pisa, the Leaning Tower version of Pisa, was pretty and well-kept and clean. I'd heard from my friends that the tower is all there is in Pisa and I'd say I have to agree. We came, saw the tower, felt stupid posing with it, and left.

(Yes, I did the thing)

And saw the two other buildings, I think they were the Baptistry and the Cathedral.

Well, we also tried to climb the tower before we found out it cost 18€! Lol NO. 

By the end of the day, I was starting to get hungry. Luckily, there happened to be a McDonald's right by the train station, so I got a milkshake and paid in change again. I thought it was amusing but I was probably the only one. 

I always feel like I have the best days when I leave my bed. I never regret it. But yet when I wake up, I always have to try so hard to convince myself to not just stay under the covers and wait until tomorrow. 

Anyway, I broke new ground today. With my roommate's help, I gained the life skill of being able to make breaded chicken! I had never touched chicken before but it was surprisingly edible. I ate it! And I'm alive! 

Ognissanti and Pudding

3/26/15

Day 70

For the first time since I've been here, I went to TIM and had a good experience! My phone wasn't working (obviously. Why would it?) and I told the girl and she turned it off for over a minute (if only tried turning it off and then right back on but apparently it has to be at least a minute) and then it worked! Then we all lived happily ever after. The end. 

Until next time my phone doesn't work. So maybe later tonight?

There are still a bunch of places around Florence, especially churches, that are on my list but never really took priority because I haven't even done the super obvious touristy stuff like climb the Duomo. Ognissanti was one of them. It was nice out and it wasn't too late so me and my roommate decided it was time to go see it. It helped convince us that, as I was cooking dinner, something someone had spilled on the stove started burning and the whole apartment got smoky. My sweatshirt still smelled like I burnt the house down when I got inside Ognissanti but it was beautiful nonetheless.

As I closed the door, all of the din of the outside world faded away. It was silent. We wandered around and took a lot of pictures and almost accidentally got stuck in a Catholic Church service (I wouldn't have had any idea what to do) and then we left and discussed it as we walked along the river and caught the sunset. 

 

My roommate wanted something to read and had heard about the English bookstore so I sat and read a tourist guide on Florence while she shopped. It reminded me how much I've been slacking and how many places I still haven't been! I found a new gelateria and decided to take a risk and get a flavor I never get. Cannoli turned out to be a bad move. 

Then it was time to shop and I was prepared. I brought my own bag from another time so I wouldn't have to pay 10 or 15¢ for a new one. I saw a girl rushing toward the cash register with an armload of 4 pudding cups and immediately the hunt was on. I found them and- 29¢! TWENTY NINE CENTS!!! I bought 4 too!!

And then when I got home I tried them as I looked up animal sounds in Italian because I realized that "cockadoodledoo" is not a universal thing. (It's "chicchirichi" by the way)

David

3/25/15

Day 69

My recent obsession (if you can call it that) with the David was finally capped off by an art history field trip to the Accademia. My professor told us a lot about the history of Michelangelo's slaves but also a lot about the background of the David statue and about Michelangelo himself. 

First of all, he has a last name. It's Buonarroti. Before coming to Florence, I didn't know that he lived with the Medici for awhile when he was younger. And I didn't know he was a poet in addition to being a painter, sculptor, and architect or that these three became his logo, which he drew as 3 interlocking rings. I think I had heard of his philosophy before that "it's the sculptor's duty to reveal the soul of the marble, which is trapped inside" and really liked it but didn't remember whose it was. 

Anyway, the slaves were originally made for a pope's tomb that was supposed to be a huge deal. But the pope got distracted and said "can you fresco the ceiling of this chapel for my uncle who died?" and Michelangelo responded "no I don't know how to paint" before painting the Sistine Chapel. Then, the pope died and so his tomb got downgraded. But after Michelangelo died too, the extra figures he'd carved for it, the "slaves", ended up in the Grotta di Buontalenti in the Boboli Gardens. They lived there until the originals were preserved in the Accademia where we were standing now. 

As for the David, someone else originally started working on it but didn't finish. Then another guy started working but also didn't finish. It's not good quality marble and it sat outside for 50 years before Michelangelo got to it. He was only 26 and it only took him 2.5 years. Florence had always identified as David but Michelangelo's David was different. He doesn't look young or skinny at all and Goliath's head isn't visible in the sculpture. And if he was fighting in a war, would he really have been naked? So he took some artistic liberties. 

Over the years, David got a little beat up. He was cleaned with acid at some point, had a bench thrown out of Palazzo Signoria on him, had a loincloth drilled on, and got his toe hammered by a crazy man. And before he was protected by a plexiglass barrier, people could walk up and touch his toes and enough people did it so now his foot is worn away. 

It was a good food day

3/24/15

Day 68

Since it was a Tuesday, I had Teaching English with my fourth graders. My partner didn't show up so it was just me and normally this would make nervous except I think maybe me and the kids are friends now so it was actually fun. I usually approach it more like a science experiment because I think language acquisition is so cool and I also like to observe the classroom atmosphere and teaching style in Italy. But this time it was more than just that. I played tic tac toe with a few of the girls and whenever anything funny or awkward happened in class, they would look at me and laugh. And they're comfortable enough with me now to ask me questions and talk with me. I'm really glad I signed up to do this. 

The rest of my day consisted of Pino's <3 and I then I went to my friend's house and he made me pasta- also <3.

In between, my friend got a tattoo and it took awhile and we happened to be in a really touristy area so we wasted some time in a souvenir shop. I also officially booked my flight to Berlin!

Later, I had a peaceful walk by the Ponte Vecchio and the Uffizi and even looped back around to get a second look because I just couldn't help myself. 

Upstairs in Orsanmichele

3/23/15

Day 67

Ever since I went to Orsanmichele with my art history class and found out it's possible to go upstairs and walk across the bridge connecting it to the Dante Society building next door, I've been dying to go.

(The Dante Society is a really pretty building too)

Unlike the rest of Florence (all the other museums are closed on Mondays), the Orsanmichele museum is only open on Mondays! This fits my schedule perfectly because I usually have absolutely nothing to do on Mondays after about 12:30. 

The museum houses the real statues that were carved to fit in the niches on the outside of Orsanmichele. Now, the statues that I have pictures of in the niches are all copies.

Here, the original statues by masters like Donatello and Ghiberti are safe from bad weather and not as high so they are easier to see up close.

(The front of Christ and St. Thomas)

(The back)

I got to see the rusting (maybe rusting isn't the right word?) backs of some of the statues and it added to the experience. It made my friend and I think about how the art in front of us was at one point in front of Brunelleschi or Nanni di Banco (I always feel like I have to say his full name- not really sure why) or, in this case, Verrocchio, and we tried to imagine him creating it. I still don't understand how bronze statues happen. It seems like it would be impossible to make metal look so lifelike. Apparently the bronze signified the richer guilds because it was more expensive than stone. 

Surprisingly, there weren't that many people in the museum with us so we had it mostly to ourselves. Besides the statues, there were big windows to look out of on every side that we could see all of Florence from.

(The distinctive spire of Palazzo Vecchio) 

(The Badia Fiorentina and Santa Croce on the right) 

(And most importantly- Duomo :) ) 

The building itself was part of the overall aesthetic- it had a high arched brick ceiling and a staircase that spiraled up to the aforementioned bridge I was so excited about. I think actually the building might have even overshadowed the statues themselves.

And then, it was time. I got to climb the stairs and go on the bridge.

The view from the stairs was great and the view from the bridge was even better! I'd only seen the decorations around the outside from the ground looking up but from the bridge looking down, they were closer and I could see them much more clearly! 

More of Florence

3/22/15

Day 66

My friends Brett and Sophia wanted to get lunch but I was being cheap so I told them I'd just meet up with them after.

We ended up exploring the parts of Florence I haven't been to before and some I have seen a lot and getting gelato from the gelato shop at the end of the Ponte Carraia (the bridge 2 down from the Ponte Vecchio). Enjoy my spam of Florence:

^You can see the old city gate. You could tell we were far from the historical center because it was suddenly really quiet in this part of town. 

^My new favorite street in all of Florence. 

I also got an EstaTHE  and the weather was nice so it was a relaxing way to spend the day. I discovered a lot of churches that I want to check out in the Oltrarno area (across the river). One in particular looks like it would be fun to climb to the top but I need to figure out how to go about that. 

Having been to a few different cities now, I'm starting to figure out what exactly I like about traveling. Three of my favorite things are unique architecture, a high place with a good view of the city, and street markets. Florence has all of the above. Near the church with the Brancacci chapel (which I need to come back to soon) there was a market set up in the piazza. It wasn't as big as the leather market or Cascine, but it was cool to stumble upon. 

All the walking took a toll on my new boots that I got for 10€- but then again I did get them for 10€. I'm still holding out hope that I might be able to revive them with some superglue when I get home but they're out of action for the rest of Italy. :( 

After the boots tragedy, I returned to my bed to work on scheduling my classes for next year and also to plan out last minute trips to all the places I want to see before I leave. It's crunch time! As I worked, I got creative with my dinner because I'm sick of tortellini every day. I had a frozen pizza and I put pesto on it (pesto pizza is the GREATEST btw) with spearmint tea and Greek yogurt in honey and bicolor Nutkao (like nutella, but half of it is cream) with Frollini cookies. I feasted. 

Palazzo Medici Riccardi

3/21/15

Day 65

I've been dying to go to Palazzo Medici Riccardi, especially since we watched a video in art history that highlighted the Medici Chapel.

Sadly, it's not included on our free museum pass but I decided it was worth it. The chapel lived up to expectations because every single wall was covered in unusually bright colors but the rest of it wasn't really what I was picturing.

We came at a weird time because it seemed like there was a political meeting going on and part of it was just an art exhibit.

Other parts were a historical bedroom and a display of ancient marble sculptures. 

I got lunch near Dante's church and the hole in the wall (they sell lampredotto out of it I think) and it was these delicious little salted balls of dough with a surprise in the middle. My surprise was salami and it was amazing, even if it wasn't very filling. 

I went out for drinks again and I found out that I do not like gin & tonic. Then we relocated to a different place (the Irish bar) and they had left over green beer!!! It was so exciting! 

Art History

3/20/15

Day 64

For some strange reason, our semester was only 13 weeks long but the professors are required to teach 14 week curriculums, so instead of letting us stay an extra week, we had to give up part of our weekend for each class. WHY. Anyway, today was the day of my weekend Art History class. Only 6 people showed up and attendance matters so I guess a lot of people got screwed. But we went to both San Marco Convent and the Medici Chapel and they were on my list! It only sucked because I kind of felt sick so I couldn't enjoy them as much as I wanted to. (Which explains the lack of pictures)

Sorry that this is all I have to show for visiting San Marco. I want to go back to properly photograph them!

(The best I got of the Medici Chapel was just the ceiling) 

I was starving by the end of class, so I went to Mercato Centrale and got the same puffy bread/pizza as my third day in Florence. You can appreciate the tomatoes and oregano of my last bite in detail: 

My phone didn't work, despite the fact that I just recharged my plan. I went in to TIM to ask why I'm paying for a service I never get to use and they took more of my money. And lots of time. At least while I twiddled my thumbs, I also had a prime location to people watch as people came in, took their ticket, and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited and got pissed. I was surprised to see that most customers were American, Canadian, or only spoke English as a second language, like most Asians. I also recognized the same French people from two days ago, which means that either they had to wait so long that they left or, like me, something didn't work. Surprise surprise. The waiting got so out of hand that the Asian lady next to me groaned. Asians never express displeasure!! And the really sad part was that she was not the first people I'd seen almost have a coronary in that store. 

Luckily, I got the chance to calm down with a walk through Boboli Gardens with my friends Brett and Elena. We were trying to see the inside of the Buontalenti Grotto but when we got to the ticket window, there was a sign saying the grotto was closed today. It turned out to be ok because I got to see a cooler part of the gardens than I'd seen before, but I still was feeling sick so I didn't stay too long. And I'm still disappointed with how pictures of Boboli turn out!

Over the edge of this garden, we could see what looked like countryside. A boy was riding his four wheeler up and down the hills around his dad who was working on something and it looked like so much fun. Especially because the weather was so nice. 

When we left, we sat out front on the area in front of Palazzo Pitti for awhile. A wedding photoshoot was happening on the ledge on one side. At one point, we heard cheering and turned to see that everyone around us (lots of people hang out there) wanted the bride and groom to kiss. It was cool because before that, everyone had seemed to be involved in their own personal lives and then suddenly their private photoshoot became a very public moment that we were all a part of. 

An Average Day

3/19/15

Day 63

I had a quiz in psych this morning. And not a clue of what it was on. I met my friend at an ungodly hour to study... And then there was no quiz. Typical. I'm starting to see what people mean when they complain about the bureaucracy in Italy. We won't have any more quizzes because we haven't covered enough material to be tested. I sound like I'm whining, but I'm actually really excited about this new development!

I had tortellini for lunch, like I do for pretty much every meal here. It's embarrassing. I got to hear secondhand Ring of Fire by Johnny Cash and an especially loud phone call from our courtyard as I ate and it was surprisingly nice. I might be getting used to hearing every little thing my neighbors do. 

Before my next class, my friend told me to check my mailbox for a letter. And I found one from my friend Alyse! It was really cute and even included pictures to remind me that I should come home soon. 

Then, we took a walk with our class with a free guided tour by our professor. We learned that the things between buildings that look like this are supposed to hold buildings apart so they don't fall in on each other. If you stand at the right angle, you can see the buildings leaning and it's slightly unnerving.

I think this particular alley is off of Piazza Signoria. Next we wandered into a tiny piazza in front of Santo Stefano Church. 

Apparently, when the Ponte Vecchio was first built, it was named Ponte Santo Stefano, after this church. But when the newer bridges went up, this became the "Old Bridge" or "Ponte Vecchio." I googled this to see if I could find any evidence that I heard the story right, but nothing came up so I'm just gonna hope I'm not lying to you. 

Later, I sat by the Duomo for a little just to bask in its greatness and SAW SWEATPANTS. It rocked my world and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little jealous. To be fair, I do get to sleep in my comfy sweat groutfit every night but I've never been brave enough to wear the pants past the threshold of my apartment. 

Dinner was heart-shaped Gusta pizza and Gelateria Santa Trinita so it was a good night! 

The walk home wound past the Uffizi, Piazza della Signoria, and the Badia Fiorentina. I realized how lucky I am to be here but also how hard it's going to be to leave. I wish I was here for longer than just one semester.