one hundred and eight. the finale.

I set two alarms for 4:50 am. I got up, threw everything in my bags, drank some water and headed for the train station. I put on my backpack, threw the camera over my back, grabbed both suitcases and wrestled them down the steps.

I walked to the train station, waited 10 minutes, and then boarded for the airport. I arrived to the airport. Checked in my two bags, weighed my backpack and then grabbed a doughnut from the cafe and went through security. Once through, I waited for about 40 minutes and then boarded the plan. The plan set out on time and I was in Munich before I knew it. I had a 40 minute layover in Munich, which was pretty difficult because I was bored, tired, and had no alarm/cell phone just in case I dozed off. I read, listened to music, and wandered aimlessly around the airport until it was time to check in. We boarded the plane, in which I grabbed a window seat, even though I was truthfully stuck in the middle between the window and aisle. The woman who had the window seat came along and quickly scooted me over to my proper seat. I tried.

The flight went really well, and didn't seem as long as I assumed it would. They gave us a ton of free drinks including some alcoholic ones, which was pretty unusual I thought. I drank a German beer, some white wine, and some Bailey's. Dinner consisted of roast, veggies, and mashed potatoes. It was decent enough. I knew things were going wrong when It said we still had 40 minutes to fly before reaching Washington, and my flight was scheduled to depart in 1 hour. I arrived, went through customs and then had to wait for 30 minutes for my bags to come through so that I could take them through and recheck them. I then went through security and dealt with this woman who obviously hated her job and had no reason to be in an airport screaming when people are already stressed enough by missing their layovers. I digress. I stripped down to hardly anything because of the lady screaming at everyone. No belts, no shoes, no jackets, no scarves, no hats... no problem.

Because I missed my connecting flight (which would have had me home by 7 pm) I had to wait 3 hours and fly to Charlotte then connect again to a flight into Cincinnati. I waited, had some subway, and waited some more. I was exhausted at this point. I was finally able to board the plane and ran into Carly who I went to SACI with. She was connecting to Florida in Charlotte. I remember boarding the plane, and I fell asleep immediately. Then I remember descending to land. It was pretty awesome. Once in Charlotte, I had to wait another hour and a half to catch the Cincinnati flight. I finally did, and arrived home at around 12:30 am. (At this point, I had been traveling for nearly 26 hours straight). I made it home, walked down the long terminal hallway and met Mom and Greg. It was great seeing them again! However, my endeavor hasn't ended yet. I waited around for my bags to come through, and of course they hadn't. I talked to the lady at the desk and arranged to have it delivered to my house. We went home. They bought a bottle of Chianti and we each had a glass to toast my arrival back to the states.

I went to sleep in my oh so comfortable bed.

and so we reach 107...

I woke up turned off the alarm and laid back down. I woke up next at 8:07.. 2 hours after my alarm went off. Shit.

I jump up, panicked. I throw all the things that are laying around in my suitcase, throw on my shoes, and run out the door. My thoughts: Maybe If I can get a taxi right away then I'll be able to make it to the airport before my flight takes off. I close my apartment door and turn to carry my backpack, 2 suitcases and a video camera down 2 flights of stairs. As I turn, my red suitcase's zipper decided it'd be a perfect time to unzip itself backwards. I spent 10 minutes wrestling it to get the zipper back to normal. I went downstairs, scanned the area, and saw no taxis. I ran into the restaurant next door to ask if they could call me a taxi. They said no. I walked to Piazza Independenza where taxis normally sit. Nothing. It was at this point that I figured it'd be easier to just call the travel agency and hope that they would help me. I walked to SACI to use the phone. Closed. I asked a small cafe if I could keep my bags there long enough for me to run to Heather's without having to lug it around. They said no. Flustered, I took bags and walked towards the train station. I asked a taxi if he could take me to the airport. He said yes but didn't accept credit cards (I had no euro currency left). I walked further on, stopping at an ATM and had to pull out a minimum of 50 euro. I tried to find the bus that takes you from the train station to the Florence Airport for only 5 euro, but I couldn't. Finally I convinced a taxi driver to take me to the airport for 20 euro (It would have been almost 30 otherwise) and he did. I arrived to the airport 20 minutes after my flight was scheduled to leave. Of course there were no delays so I was stuck. The lady at the desk told me that my only option was to fly out tomorrow. I had to pay 150 euro rescheduling fee. (better than 2,000 USD one way flight, I must add). Once the rescheduled flight was situated, I was finally able to breathe. There were just so many things that went wrong it was as though I wasn't supposed to be on that flight.

While still in the airport, I weighed my bags to see if I was overweight on either. One was below and the other was quite above. I took the 5 euro bus back to the train station and took my bags to SACI which was now open. I called Heather to let her know what happened and to see if it'd be possible to sleep at her place because I had locked my keys in my apartment because it was supposed to be my last day there. I finally took everything to her place, reorganized my bags so that each were under weight and relaxed for a bit. We went to the central market so Heather and Lucio could get gifts for friends and family. I ended up getting an Italian belt and a sweater. For dinner we had a combination of various things that they had left over in the fridge. It was quite delicious.

I went to bed at 10, and set two alarms to ensure that I would be up by 5 am. I slept.

Day 106: Barcelona / Florence

I woke up at 8:30, ate breakfast, and headed down to the metro station. I rode it to Catalunya and walked around until I stumbled upon the Contemporary Museum of Art. Within it, I viewed thousands of photographs of Barcelona and Barcelona's artist's photographs. After the photo viewing, I walked through the other galleries, which included sculpture and paintings. After wandering around for a couple of hours, I felt it necessary to leave the museum and get some lunch. I got Burger King (nasty).

I walked around the main plaza and then wandered towards the bus station. On the way I got some chocolate covered raisins and an assortment of other wonderful candies at a small shop. I viewed the Arc di Triomphe and then skipped along to get my place on the bus. I had to wait about 30 minutes for the bus to depart so I walked around the (s)mall that they have by the station. I boarded the bus, listened to my ipod and cruised to the airport. I went through security and boarded the plane. The plane was late getting back and then the bus to Florence was late arriving, So I didn't get back to Florence until 9 pm. Libby called and we organized a last night celebration with the entire video team. I had a couple miscellaneous drinks and then had a new favorite: Rum'n Pear. You take a shot of rum and chase it with a shot of pear juice. After a long night, I hiked back to my apartment. It was around 3 am, and I called my grandpa to see if it was worth trying to sleep a little before getting up at 6 to go to the Florence airport for my flight back to the states. After a while, I decided a quick nap wouldn't hurt.

I drifted into slumber.

Day 105: Barcelona

I woke up at 8:45, showered, and headed to the cafeteria with Kate. We had the same breakfast as yesterday. During breakfast I checked my email to see if Pedro was able to meet today. We decided to meet at Plaça de Catalunya's metro stop and head to Park Guell at 2 pm.

Kate and I headed off and stopped first at Casa Mila. This place is extraordinary. Gaudi's mind was incredible. He came up with the most bizarre and amazing things I've seen. During the museum part of the house, an audio stated that his professor wasn't sure if he was a genius or just insane. The museum walked us through some of his inspiration, his biography, and even some of his furniture. Gaudi believe in creating even the furnishings for his architecture. The roof of the house was even more incredible. The curves and sculptural techniques were astonishing. We got to go through one of the apartments in the house as well. None of the rooms in the house are identical. The apartment was decorated with things from the early 1900's and was extravagant. After the house, we got some lunch at this cafe. I got a burger and fries which was the biggest rip off one could imagine. No bun with the burger. 10 fries. Ugh. I digress though. We headed towards the metro station to meet Pedro. He wasn't there and after a few minutes we decided to move on without him.

We took the metro to a stop near the water and walked along the pier. We saw some people doing a line dance before walking around a mall. We stopped at an ice cream shop and I got a hot chocolate. On the way back towards the metro, I stopped at a market where they were selling 45's. I found a Led Zeppelin single 'Fool in the Rain.' It cost 25 dollars, so I walked on. We went to Parc Guell. This place was originally meant to be an entire community. It was to consist of its own church, markets, homes, and schools. The project failed though, and what is left are some pretty interesting houses. They look like gingerbread houses. While there, we ran into Pedro and his brother and their girlfriends. I gave him his sunglasses that he left in Florence and talked for a bit. We went our separate ways. Kate and I walked to the metro line and took it back to Catalunya. We ate at this all you can eat buffet place and then headed back to the hostel. On the walk up the hill, there was a man in front of us. As we got closer to him he pointed out 2 wild boars literally 20 feet away from us. Kate immediately turned her back to the boars, claiming that if you avoid eye contact they won't attack. Let's just say I had my best kicking foot ready just incase they tried somethin'.

I read some more before bed. I slept.

Day 104: Barcelona

The first day out in the city began at 8:30 am. Kate and I got ready, switched rooms, and ate breakfast. Which wasn't breakfast. It was a pepperoni baguette with a muffin. We made our hike to the train station and went into town.

Our first stop was the Picasso Museum. One thing I love about Picasso is that even though he is most famous for his cubist work, he did some remarkably realistic paintings and drawings. We saw every single piece of the 4,000+ pieces before deciding it was a good time to eat. We ate at this little cafe that was near the museum. I had a ham and cheese sandwich with some bruschetta. Kate had a bowl of soup. I got a hot chocolate and she a coffee with hot milk. After lunch we walked around the streets and came upon a little market area that was selling Christmassy stuff. We saw another church by Gaudi and then headed back to Plaça de Catalunya. We walked up one of the main streets towards Casa Mila. We saw another one of Gaudi's houses (Casa Batlló) on the way before finally arriving to the one Gaudi masterpiece I had to see. It was almost 4 now, and we saw that La Sagrada Familia (Gaudi's church) closes at 6 whereas Casa Mila is open until 8, so we decided to hike about 10 more blocks to the church. It was fantastic to see in person! We bought our tickets and entered. Unfortunately 90% of the church is filled with scaffolding and we were only allowed to be in one small section of it. I took some pictures, and we headed down to the bookstore. I bought a couple things here and then we checked out the museum which is underneath the cathedral. It explained how Gaudi oversaw the entire process. For example, the sculptor had worked closely with Gaudi so as to conform to Gaudi's vision.

After the cathedral, we headed back to Casa Mila. Upon arrival, we were unfortunately informed that the house closes at 6:30 and that it would be better to do it tomorrow when we have more time. There was a temporary exhibition present though and we were given free entry. We looked around at the different work of the early 1900's. A lot of it was graphic design which interested me especially in seeing how similar some of the things that they came up with is so easily comparable to today's design. After a while, we headed back towards Plaça de Catalunya, through the center plaza, and down the opposite direction to a street called Nou de la Rambla. We met a few American students that Kate had met on her flight to Barcelona for dinner. We went to this small restaurant and had some interesting food (seafoodish stuff in rice.. it was ok). The two students were studying in London and are from Cali. They were heading back to the states on the same day as me.

After dinner, we decided to head back to the hostel. We took the train back, and hiked up the ridiculously curvy hill to our hostel (funny that they claimed the hostel was right off the train). Kate went to sleep and I read for a while. Then I followed her suit.

Day 103: Barcelona

I woke up from my restful slumber at 9 am to check emails about whether or not I was to meet Libby. Nothing, in which case I drifted back in to said slumber.

I gathered consciousness again at 11:30 and jumped in the shower. I packed my backpack with the necessities, looked at barcelona's weather on google and at noon made my way for Santa Maria Novella train station. Along the way I picked up a pack of gummy bears for my journey. Upon arrival at the station, I basically walked the Terravision bus and used the ticket that Greg and I bought on the plane a couple weeks ago. It worked. The bus ride seemed to have taken forever, which was fine because I started my new book by Nick Hornby called A Long Way Down. I got the airport, checked in, waited for 30 minutes, boarded the plane and got the same seat I always sit in with RyanAir. (Greg, that weirdo attendent guy from our flight that sold us our bagged whiskey was on this one too). The flight lasted about an hour and a half and then I landed in Girona. From there I took a bus that lasted about an hour to Barcelona.

Of all the cities I've been too with metro systems, this was the first time that I was really confused. First of all, I couldn't even find the metro in the beginning. Finally, when I had, it was confusing as to which lines actually intersected. Let's rewind a second. At the bus station in Barcelona, I booked my hostel at this place called InOut. 9 euro a night, haha, way better deal that I thought.

So I went to Plaça Catalunya and walked around, and since it was night a lot of christmas lights were on. I ate at this little pub called George and Dragon. I had a beer, cheeseburger, and fries. It was delish. While there I planned my route to get to the hostel. I arrived to InOut at about 9 pm and checked in. They took a 10 euro deposit for the key which I'll get back when I check out. I dropped my bag off in the room and met a woman named Kate who was wondering if we could sight see together. I agreed and then got online to check emails and tell my parents that I had arrived safely.

I went to bed but before falling asleep read some more of my book.

102 days

Uppity up at 6:25 am sharp. No time for even contemplating the idea of hitting that snooze button. I made a coffee and read through my notes a couple of times. I organized my thoughts for the essay that Helen read to us during the review session. I got dressed, grabbed a banana and walked briskly towards SACI. On the way, I did some memorization techniques which consists of me repeating each slide over and over until I at least think that it has sunk in.

I got to the classroom and immediately started the exam. We were given 12 slides which were either individual slides, multiple slides of one series, or compare and contrast. After 2 hours, we completed the 12 slides and were given an hour (or more if needed) to write the essay. I finished the exam precisely at 11 am. As I exited the room a huge pressure was released and I was suddenly struck with a new found energy. I went to lunch with with some friends to the central market. I then went back to my apartment, talked to mom for a second on gmail, showered, and headed to the last design class of the semester. I printed out my booklet and had it bound for SACI's records.

After class, I went home again. I packed my second suitcase and have nearly everything ready to go for when I get back from Barcelona on Monday and rearrange a few things for my main flight back to the states. I went to SACI at 6:30 and said bye to a few of my friends, went to Zecchi to buy a tube for paper stuff, and then bought a new book for spain and flights: Nick Hornby's A Long Way Down. I went back to SACI to pick up a few things and then went to the kebob place I had with Greg on the way home. I got home, devoured the kebob and began catching up on the blog entries. It has been a hectic few weeks and it feels nice to be all caught up again and have nothing at all to worry about.

I talked to Greg for a while on gmail and put some papers in the tube I bought. I drank some homemade iced tea that I made and went to bed

one, oh one [101]

This should be a pretty short post. I woke up at 7:30 in order to meet Libby to do some filming. The gloomy weather and the fact that I had an inadequate amount of sleep, led us to agreeing to do it another day. I went back to sleep and woke up at 10. I studied Art History. At 1, I went to the fuji studios to finish my books and have the final critique with Patricia. That ended at 3.

I went home and studied. Studied. Studied. And then at 3 am decided that I should probably sleep at least a little. (Of couse though, it must be noted, that intertwined within all the studying I did a lot of complaining to others in hopes of distracting myself from all that had to be learned.)

so, um 100

Wow, 100 days abroad. I feel like this calls for something special. Something epic. Like the part of literature in which the twist occurs and you're all blown away. Ok, well here it goes.

.

..

...

..

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I'm not actually in Italy. I never was. I camped out for 3 months at my home in Ohio. I made this all up. I photoshopped the photos of me and the others I stole from google.


*pause*

I woke up at 8, showered, left for SACI and met Heather at 9:15 to interview Tina (the History of Italian film instructor) as well as some classroom shots. Afterwards, we had a group meeting upstairs in which we were distributed our final tasks for the week. After the meeting, I grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed to the design center. I worked on a final booklet for the class and ended up leaving around 3:30. I went home and had another chicken cordon bleu, this time with a fried potatoes. I then went to the fuji studios to work some more on my books to prepare for the final critique tomorrow. Once they closed at 7, I headed to the main SACI building to walk through the advanced painting exhibition. There are a lot of talented artists at SACI and many of them are in this class. It was pretty phenomenal. At 7:45, the final exam review began for art history. It lasted until 11 pm. I was so drained mentally. As she went over the slides, I wrote down notes on the flashcards that I had made on Sunday.

I went directly from SACI to the Jazz Club. It was the guys' (Alonzo, Geoff and Brandon) last night of performing. It was a really nice turnout and they played extremely well. Alonzo rocked it and the other fellas did an excellent job as well. I had a Jameson on the rock (because it just feels cool) and relaxed for the first time of the day. It was so nice being in the company of so many awesome people that I've met this semester. I'm going to miss them. I had a peaceful walk home and went straight to bed.

n9nety n9ne

I had class at 11, so I woke up at 10 and showered, got dressed (its true) and grabbed my bag on the way out the door. We had a field trip to various locations and our meeting place was Palazzo Strozzi. I arrived at 11:03 and no one was there. I don't have minutes on my phone so I began wandering around Florence with the slight hope that I'd actually stumble upon them.

I gave up and cut through the central market back towards SACI. I bought 3 ties on the way for 8 euro. That's whats up. I went to SACI and used their phone to call Michelle. I got their location and walked back towards Palazzo Strozzi to Palazzo Vecchio. There, I found the class in line waiting to get in. I merged within the group but still managed to get a comment from Helen. It never fails, I'll tell ya. Here we saw Donatello's marble and bronze Davids. The competitin panels for the Baptistery between Brunelleschi and Ghiberti. I also saw some work by Verrocchio, whom was an amazing all around artist.

After class, I had to go immediately to book arts. I was late because Helen kept us until 12:55. During book arts, I worked on my books, most notably the catapillar stitch. I headed home after class and made chicken cordon bleu with peas for dinner. I wrote on the flashcards with some basic information about each slide. I then watched the rest of The Office, minus the last episode which froze on me.

I then slept, you know.

novanta-otto

I slept til noon. It felt so good.

I got up, showered, and headed to the design center to print my flashcards out in color. While there, I listened to a lot of Led Zeppelin, cut out the flashcards, had tea with Duccio and Libby, and cut out some more flash cards.

Upon leaving, I stopped at the supermarket for my last visit. I spent 17 euro and bought milk, juice, pasta, sauce, chicken, potato, tomatoes, bananas, clementines, salami and bread. I went home and had leftover spaghetti for dinner. I talked to some friends and family online and then called Papaw. He told me of his Christmas present which is for the entire family to unite as one and paint his basement. Clever is he. I then talked to my aunt on the phone for a while which was great since I hadn't talked to her on the phone my entire stay. We caught up on family, the economy, and ghosts. Don't worry about it, haha. Ok, I'll tell you. Her husband, my Uncle Rob was sleeping and when he rolled over he glanced outward and saw a figure standing right in front of the hutch. He blinked a few times and made out enough of the figures to see that he had a short sleeve shirt on. I can't wait to ask him more about this!

After I got off the phone with them, I went to bed.

noventa y siete

I woke up at 8:30 am. I showered, grabbed a clementine and headed for SACI to get the video camera. SACI is closed on Saturday's until 1. I ran to Heather's in hopes that I could borrow the large camera. I got it, and went to the train station to meet Mario and the fresco class. After a 20 minute delay for the train, we boarded and headed for Figline.

They presented the fresco they made to the hospital in a hallway that was probably too dark for good footage. The hospital didn't even install it, but rather sat it on a chair until 'tomorrow' in which case they would hang it. After this, we wandered around the hospital and were shown an old pharmacy that still contained medicine in the jars. It was especially spooky and extremely interesting. After about thirty minutes in here, we went to another section of the hospital for lunch. On the way they told us the story of a ghost that inhabits this particular section and will slap you as you walk through. I personally think they were just trying to trick us. Lunch was fun though because we kept taking pictures of the room in hopes of capturing the ghost on film. Maybe we did.

After the hospital business, we had to walk all the way back to the train station. It's funny how they gave us a ride there when we had the fresco, but after we presented it to them, it is as if they were done with us and told us to just walk back. Ha. We got to the train station just as the train we needed was leaving. We had to wait a half hour for the next. We got back to Santa Maria Novella at 3:30. I dropped the camera off at SACI and headed home. I spent the rest of the day relaxing, watching The Office and reading.

I went to bed.

ninety six dias

I woke up at 8:30, refreshed from a very restful night's sleep. I then fell back asleep and woke up at 10. I got up, showered, and cleaned my room.

I then headed to the design center to get some things together for my books for book arts. After a couple hours of doing that, I also watched the season finale of Entourage. Such a good show. I went to the fuji center to work on my books and spent a few hours stitching my caterpillar book. It closed at seven, so I went home and had spaghetti for dinner. I talked to my parents on gmail and relaxed.

After a while, I went to sleep.

9 to 5

I woke up at 7:30, showered, and headed for SACI to print my paper. It was closed. I stood around for 20 minutes waiting for someone to show up. I heard the custodian inside cleaning and got her attention however she shrugged me away. I finally got in at 8:12, ran upstairs, and printed my paper. I ran to the Bargello to meet with the class and turn in my paper. We saw Donatello's David, the baptistery door competition panels, a pretty cool lion sculpture by Donnatello and some other fascinating work. 

After class, I went to SACI for our video meeting. At 12:30, I ventured towards the design center and began printing for the design exhibition. I printed my identity system and turned it into a book by using those giant black clip things. I then printed what I have of my book and displayed it on a table. Then Libby and Heather arrived. I helped Heather set up the video camera for the interview with Camilla. Afterwards, I headed to where the food that Libby set up was (of course). After Heather's interview, I did some shooting of the exhibition space that included illustration, graphic design, and interior design. 

I went home and relaxed for a few hours while at the same time watching about 5 episodes of The Office. After a little while longer, I finally dozed off with the computer on my bed and my watch still on. 

day ninety-four

I woke up at 8, showered, grabbed the camera and took the bus to the Fresco studio. After a few minutes there, I rode with Luigi and some other students to the hospital where they anticipated painting a quote that one of the doctors wrote on the wall of a new wing in the building. However, the wall was smaller than the stencil and so they had to rearrange the alignment of text causing a delay in them being able to get it done. 

Since I had class at 1, I had to take the bus home before everyone else. It lasted an hour. I dropped off my books at the jewelry studio for the end of the year exhibition. I then went to the SACI library to get some more sources and do some more research for my term paper. At about 3:30, I headed home to begin writing. I figured that I could knock it out in 6 hours and be done by 10 pm with no problem. I began typing and everything was flowing well. However, I do this thing when I write where I like to distract myself and complain or share with others my progress. It's weird, I know. The rest of the evening consisted of me writing and I finally finished two hours after I anticipated.

At midnight I was talking to my mom who had thought that Greg's flight got delayed or perhaps he missed a connection. I did some research online and finally a few hours later Greg arrived to the airport. During this time of waiting, I typed the bibliography for the paper.

I went to bed at 3 am. 

dia 9 3

We woke up at 8:30, later than expected. We got ready and headed to the design center to put his photos on a flash drive. We then headed to the train station to get his ticket to Pisa and try and find Terravision, to hopefully get a refund for the bus tickets we bought the other day while on the flight home from Scotland. When we found where they should have been, no one was there. We headed to the Santa Maria Novella church which contains some pretty amazing artwork. One that I found fascinating was the Hell scene by Nardo di Cione (I also will use this as part of my research paper). Next up was the Accademia. Upon entering the building, however, we realized that the cost was 14 euro a person. So we took a quick glance at a couple sculptures and left.

We then headed back to the apartment and go the bags. We grabbed some pizza on the walk home so we enjoyed that before venturing the train station. We got to the station and found the bin that he needed. I helped him find a seat that would allot him enough space for the two bags. I said goodbye and the train departed. It was a pretty amazing week and one that I'll never forget. It just goes to add to the incredible experience I've had while being here.

I walked to the design center and on the way I became very tired. I guess I was just exhausted from doing so much within the last week. I went to class and did a few things on the computer before heading home. I didn't do much the rest of the evening except for relax and finish reading The Inferno by Dante Alighieri. Then I slept

91st

We woke up and got ready for the day. I grabbed my things for class and we walked to the Duomo. We saw a sign that said that the dome was closed today and tomorrow. So we decided to climb the Campanile instead. 414 steps! We got some pretty spectacular views of the city because the sun came out for us.

We climbed down and I showed Greg a few things in the cathedral. I then had to sneak away for art history and book arts class. During lecture i spent 30 minutes sketching my hand in exact perspective. Nicely done, James. In book arts, I finished up one of my books and then headed back over to the Gates of Paradise on the Baptistery where Greg and I met back up. He told me that he walked around the Duomo, down to the Arno, near the Uffizi and around Piazza Rupublica. It was sprinkling a bit when we met back up, but I took him down to see the Ponte Vecchio. Next, we went through the Baptistery. I pointed out the things I remember about the Last Judgment mosaic on the ceilling (which will come in handy for the art history paper that is due Thursday). Afterwards, we headed to a resturant called ZaZa's for dinner. I had stuffed pasta with potatoes and greg spaghetti bolognese. We weren't super impressed but the good news is that it did in fact taste like pasta. Haha.

We went to the euro store and got a big coke and fanta and then walked through the central market shops again before heading down Nazionale towards the supermarket. We got some more beer and another bottle of wine. Why stop a good thing? We got back to the apartment and did some research on hotels for Greg when he goes back to Edinburgh. We then packed a suitcase with some of my things and then began the consumption again. We talked to mom in the dining room as we finished off our Cubans from yesterday. We opened the wine and were chillin' when I saw a mosquito across the room. I grabbed a tower and proceeded to go skeeter hunting. I would hit them with the towel with such precision that they had no time to escape. It was hilarious to do and was pretty fun. We fed a few of them to a spider that is in the dining room. He didn't like them dead.

We got ready for bed. And then we went to bed.

ninety

I woke up at noon and jumped in the shower. Greg and I got ready and then packed up the suitcase with clothes and went to the laundry mat. We threw the clothes in and headed to the design center to take the pictures off Greg's camera so that he had more room for Florence. We went back to the laundry mat, threw the clothes int he dryer, then went to il Centro to get some groceries and um refreshments. We folded the clothes and headed back to the apartment.

We dropped off the suitcase and had lunch. I made some bruschetta and we had some salami and peperoni sandwiches. After lunch we headed out for the day. We went to the Duomo in hopes of climbing to the top to see the city at night. It was closed. We walked around the downtown area and I pointed out different things that I knew about. We went through the central market area where all of the stands are set up with people selling things. We got some Cuban cigars! We continued our stroll through the area and eventually stopped at a little Kebob place and got the Piadina Kebob. It started hailing like crazy while we were eating! We then headed back to the apartment. We cracked open a couple beers and talked to mom on gmail. We then opened a bottle of wine (Greg's first real time drinking it) and I showed him various wine tasting techniques. We split the whole bottle.

I planned tomorrow's itinerary and then we went to sleep.

Day 89: St. Andrews & Edinburgh

We woke up at 8 and got ready. We paid for the hotel. We walked to the bus station and locked our bags in a locker. We went to the St. Andrews Castle.

As we went to pay, the lady informed us that because it was St. Andrews day that entry into the castle and the cathedral was free. Happy to get in for free, we skipped our way towards the castle. They were just the ruins of the castle that existed, but it still had some pretty cool things.. wells, dungeon, an unfinished mining tunnel. After the castle we headed towards the cathedral which was also ruins. We saw a part of the facade and some of the graves. We wandered around a few more streets and then went to the St. Andrews Museum. We saw some old clothing, weapons, coins, paintings, and statues. We then headed to the bus station. 

We grabbed our bags and took a taxi back to Leuchars. We then boarded the train to Waverley Station . The train was packed and we were forced to stand for most of it. I remember seeing this really sweet bridge as we crossed over a canal on the train. You'll see the pic. Upon arrival to Waverley we searched for lockers for our bags. The only option was to pay 6 pounds. Greg gave them his bag and I decided to haul mine around. Since mine was a backpack it wasn't as awkward to carry as Greg's duffle bag. We then ventured through the streets of Edinburgh. We saw that the festival was going on and for a brief moment considered going on the ferris wheel. We diverted our direction and attention though and walked the opposite way. We passed various stores and souvenir shops on the way before coming upon St. Gile's church. We entered and walked around (pass some drunk man cussing out the scottish people... every single one of them).  We walked up to the Edinburgh Castle (which was also free). We went through a museum that showed the Scottish weapons. We looked at the view on the city and then saw a prison that is connected to the complex. We also saw a jail, however the rooms didn't have cell bars so we couldn't imitate the prisoners. 

Next we walked around a bit and finally decided to go to a restaurant for lunch. We each got fish n' chips (we had to, you know... its cultural). The fish was good but the chips were sparse. After eating we walked through the crowds at the festival and saw the ferris wheel again (maybe it was a sign to see it again... perhaps we should ride it?). Nah. We headed to the station to get Greg's duffle bag and then took the bus to the airport. We got online at the airport to send out a couple emails and then checked in for our flight. We waited for about 40 minutes and then they allowed us to board. We sat in the exact same seat as the one I took to Edinburgh from Florence. Greg sat by the window and the two of us had 3 seats in total. We took off. We played some rummy and ordered a whiskey and coke. Not just any whiskey either, but rather whiskey in a pouch, similar to how some restaurants give their salad dressings in a pouch that you tear to open. It was severely strong. 

As we approached Pisa we started to experience some pretty intense turbulence. It started to storm and the lightning was pretty frequent. It seemed like a scene from a movie. Because it was so intense we had to bypass Pisa and land in Bologna. From there they kicked us off the plane so they could refuel. By the time we landed in Bologna we were already an hour behind schedule. Once we re-boarded and flew back towards Pisa (I fell asleep on this portion), we were 2 hours behind schedule. Before landing in Bologna I requested that we get a refund for the bus tickets that we had purchased. We were told to wait and have patience. They assured that the bus would wait for us and everything would be ok. When we went to board the bus, we quickly realized that the bus wasn't there. I tried asking someone for help but the language barrier restricted us from getting a clear answer. After about 30 minutes we realized that we had to find another mode of transportation. We found 3 other people and got a taxi. The cost for the ride was a ridiculous 175 euro. After trying to bargain and realizing that it wasn't going to work, we all gave in and realized that we had to do it. 

An hour later we arrived to Florence. We told him to take us to Santa Maria Novella train station. He ended up going the wrong way and then just stopped and pointed us in the direction of the station. So not only did we get ripped off, we had to go out of our way to walk around the construction that is going on, in the pouring rain, and then walk back to my apartment. We, at last, made it to my place at 4 am. We got online and told our people that we were back and safe. 

We slept. 

Day 88: St. Andrews

I woke up at 3 am. Not on purpose. Greg's snoring was out of control. I laid in bed contemplating whether or not I should just get up and get ready because I thought that I'd never be able to fall back asleep. Just kidding.

I woke up 15 minutes after the alarm began at 8 am. The alarm was actually playing music which my mind must have ignored due to it being..music..and not so annoying sound that every creature in the world must hate.

I jumped in the shower and got dressed. Greg and I then made our triumphant stroll to the course. We were taking pictures on the way and were surprised and how mild the weather was. It was cold under normal circumstances, yes, but this was Golf-at-st-andrews-day and nothing could have stopped us. We arrived to the course and inquired about playing at the Old Course which was our main goal anyway. We were told that due to frost, the course wasn't open and we'd have to wait until 9:30 for George (the starter) to give the okay. We waited and were told to check back at 10:30. We walked around to the different golf shops and got to see some clubs from the 1800's. One costs 2,750 pounds. No big deal, I guess. We went back to the course and checked the status. It was still closed. We waited around and George told us to go ahead and check out the clubs and he'd try to put us in as soon as he could. We checked out the clubs and went down to the locker room. It was sweet to be able to sit where all the greats have sat.

We went back upstairs and back to the first hole of the Old Course, which is about 400 yards away (and we walked back and forth between about 3 times by now). Finally at about 11:30, George let us begin.

At last, what we've been waiting for! We tee'd up and swung away. Greg's went straight as an arrow and mine... not so much. What made things so much better was the fact that the sun came out and it was truly a perfect day for playing. We battle through the first few holes until we both became loose. Greg shot 4 pars in a row and I had a few pars myself. We had a great time and both shot pretty well considering it was the Old Course. So much history and intimidation comes with it, yet the course didn't seem to be so terribly difficult.

After golfing it was nearly dark. We turned the clubs in and headed back to the hotel. We stopped there for a while because they had provided us with the password for the internet. We talked to both of our Mom's and filled them in on what we've been up to. We headed back to the hotel briefly and then made our journey through some less familiar streets. We found the castle and heard the sea water hitting the coast. He could only see part of the castle walls because of how dark it was but both agreed to come back the next day to see more. We also saw the ruins to the Cathedral. We continued on walking and came across a haunted building. We can't say much about why it was haunted, because it would scare you guys, but just know that it was, indeed, very scary. We headed out for lunch to a place called Little Johns. We both got cheeseburgers and fries again and they were unbelievably delicious. Probably so kind of weird Scottish Cow or something. It was at this point that we decided it would be a perfect opportunity for a pub crawl. We would go to the pubs that we passed and try some beers that we would normally drink. We ended up having 3 different kinds: Amstel, Fosters, and Tennents. We then headed back to the hotel because we were ridiculously stuffed.

We hung out at the hotel and wound down for the evening. Greg got in the shower and within minutes I was sleeping.

Day 87: St. Andrews

I woke up at 7:30 and showered for art history class. We met in front of the Palazzo Strozzi to see the palace. Next we saw the Palazzo Rucellai by Alberti. And then we were off to S. Trinita to look at Girlandaio's Sassetti Chapel frescoes. We ended the class by visiting the basilica of S. Spirito by Brunelleschi.

And then I ran home. On the way, I stopped at SACI to print out my intinery and then went through the central market and got a couple scarves (you know, its cold up north). I got to the apartment and finished packing some things and rearranging the room so that it'd be ready for when Greg and I returned on Saturday night.

I left the apartment at 1 and headed to the train station. I got on the train to Pisa Centrale and listened to the iPod on the way. I got off the train there and transferred to one that led to the airport. I got to the airport and wandered around for a bit until they opened the check in line. I checked in, went through security, got my passport inspected, and waited by the gate to board. I was there for about an hour and read while waiting. I finally boarded and sat in the exact same seat as the one I took to London (because Ryanair has an open seating, so its first come first served for seats). We took off and I finally finished How To Be Good. I talked to a few girls heading to Scotland and then before I realized it, we were landing.

I exited into the terminal and went upstairs to look for Borders. It was non-existent. I wandered around for a while longer and then walked back downstairs and finally found Greg. He was carrying this heavy duffle bag that had become his enemy during his travels. We took a bus to the Waverly train station.

From here we bought the train tickets and boarded the train. We were on the train for a little over an hour and were discussing some very philisophical topics such as how heavy the duffle bag was, how thanksgiving was going back home, and how tight it will be to golf the Old Course. We finally arrived to Leuchars station and from there split a taxi with a couple. Our driver dropped us off at 38 Market Street at the Hoppity House. We rang the bell, knocked, rang the bell twice, knocked, shouted, rang the bell and held it in, and then made exasaperated screams. We wandered through the streets and I finally walked into a restaurant to ask if we could use their phone book to call the owner of the hotel. Once we got through, he was at another place of his and had thought we weren't coming so he had headed there. We met up with him and checked in to our room. Finally.

Then it was time to have our Thanksgiving feast. We looked around Market Street, going back and forth and finally deciding on (believe it or not) a chinese place in which we could get chicken and rice. We had a couple budweisers and ordered a sampler platter. The lady brought the plate out and expected us to each pay 5.40 pounds for that single plate. We politely explained to her that she was nuts for trying to charge us such amount and we sent the plate back. Hah. Next try: The grocery store.

We walked aimlessly through the store and finally picked up a loaf of bread, salami, peperoni, cheese, and pringles. We paid and headed back to the room to eat. On the way we passed a place that smelled so delicious that we both agreed that it would be best to eat there. We dropped off our lunch meat and headed back to the restaurant. We ordered cheeseburgers and fries. Happy Thanksgiving. And Thank You. It was delicious.

We ate this in the room and then went to sleep. Goodnight Chaps.

dia ate sicks

I woke up at 7:59 and headed for the shower. I got dressed, grabbed the camera and tripod and took the bust to the fresco bottega. I filmed the students mixing color and preparing the cartoon. I got some footage of them transferring the cartoon for the sinopia, and of them applying more plaster. I went to lunch with the students and had some amazing pasta and meatballs from a small bar nearby. I got some footage of them actually painting on the fresco. And then it became 1 pm and I was late for book arts.

I finally got to book arts at 2 and told Patricia of the reason I was late. And then, I ventured out again to my apartment to get some money and then to some art supply stores in search for decorative paper and book cloth. All the stores seemed to be closed when I needed them most and was forced to ride around on the bike until they opened. At last, at 3:30 they did and I bought some decorative paper as well as some paper for my signatures for the next book we're doing on Monday. I got back to the Fuji center right at 4 and nearly everyone had already left. I did some more work on the stamp book and then headed to SACI.

I went upstairs to the library where I spent the next 4 hours doing research for my term paper. I found some images and articles online as well as some sources in the library. At nine, the library closed so I grabbed the bike and headed out. On the walk through the gallery I realized the back tire was extremely flat. Luckily, Alessia helped me grab a bike pump (how amazing that someone had a bike pumped) and I was on my way.

I made it home and talked to Greg online for a while before his flight. He leaves at 7:45 Cincinnati time for Edinburgh, Scotland. He should arrive a couple hours before me tomorrow (We're going to go golfing at St. Andrews!). For dinner, I made spaghetti and sauce with some garlic bread. After dinner, I did some research for the trip this weekend.

Now, it's time to sleep. Goodnight!

e i g h t y - f i v e

I woke up at 9 and showered. I went to SACI at 10:30 am and then headed to the design center at around 11:30. I worked on my design stuff for a while. I took a break at 2:30 and ran back to my apartment for lunch. I had some of the leftover pasta that I made last night. Still delicious. I went back to the design center and continued working. I had my iPod hooked up to iTunes so when the class left at 4, I was rocking out. I ended up staying at the design center until 7 because I was so focused and in the zone. I loved it.

I ran over to SACI to grab the video equipment in order to tape the 2D exhibition in the SACI gallery. I helped Libby with setting up the food and then got some pretty good shots of people checking out the art within the gallery. However, It seemed that when the food ran out about 20 minutes after the gallery opened, people seemed to vanish through the cracks. I was surprised at how quickly the gallery emptied.

I hung around for a while talks to some friends. I then grabbed my backpack, camera, tripod, and bike and made yet another adventurous ride home with all 4 items (luckily it wasn't raining this time). I got home and tried to make some rice for dinner. Needless to say, my first time attempting such a feat failed miserable. After recuperaing from such a letdown, I got ready for the Jazz Club.

I love the Jazz Club. The fact that so many SACI students come together as well as the fact that we had 4 SACI students, who otherwise would be in different parts of the U.S. if it weren't for this school, all unite and play some incredible music, is riveting. They played two songs and were asked to play another. They weren't sure what to play so they decided to freestyle the entire thing. The music they created was so good. Alonzo freestyled some lyrics and Carl had a really nice solo on the drums. Brandon and Jeff both rocked their bass and guitar respectively.

At about 1:30 am, I felt it necessary to head home and get some rest. And I did.

ochenta y cuatro

I woke up at 8 am wide awake and wondering why my light was still on. I got up and showered, had some frosted flakes and headed to the design center to plan out my life for the next three weeks. After accomplishing this, I went to SACI for art history. During class, I began outlining my term paper and doing some reading on the subject (I paid some attention to the lecture too).

After class, I had to go directly to book arts. During class I finished my book and continued working on the stamp book. From class, I went home and read some more of the Inferno. I then went to the supermarket and got some groceries that will hopefully last me a while because my funds are running severely low. I made some pasta with egg plant, yellow pepper, chicken, and spices for dinner. It was delicious, of course. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and talking to friends.

I went to bed at 12.

Day 83: Rome & Tivoli

I woke up at 7 again, showered, and felt energized for the day that lay ahead.

We left for the bus at 8:15 and took it to Villa Vorghese. We got to see a ton of amazing artwork by some pretty incredible artists. Two of which being Caravaggio and Bernini. One a painter. One a sculptor. Both awesome. My favorite from Bernini was the Apollo and Daphne that does a remarkable job and conveying a freeze frame in the history of mythology as well as time itself. The way that the figures are portrayed allows the viewer to visualize the moments leading up to Apollo having Daphne just within grasp. (Oh, and let's not forget to mention Raphael. We saw his School of Athens in the Vatican yesterday which I left out of the post for some reason).

And then it was time to get back on the bus for an hour ride to Tivoli. Our destination: Villa d'Este. Here we viewed some of the most beautiful fountains I've ever seen. The garden is filled with them which makes it a very serene space indeed. The villa is pretty nice too, I must add. We then headed to Villa Adriana, which is the largest of the Roman Villas. We walked around for a bit and then Brad, Nathan, Jeff, Alonzo and I ventured off on our own. I met a dog I named Adrian (clever, huh?) and then the 5 of us explored the sites of the Villa. We talked, laughed, meditated and made the most of the afternoon. After a couple of hours we all met back at the bus for the long 3 hour ride home. I slept for a while of it. I then drew and listened to music. I slept again and then we were in Florence.

I walked to the train station to get the bike and rode home. I talked to my parents online, had some tuna salad for dinner, and fell asleep at around 11 with the the lights on and still clothed.

Day 82: Rome

I woke up at 7 am a bit delirious. It was a mixture of a new environment and a lack of sleep that left me slightly out of character. I showered and headed down for breakfast. After breakfast everyone seemed to have gone back to sleep but I wanted to see some of the early things on the itinerary so I sucked it up and grabbed my things.

The first stop was a museum that included a perspective trick. As you look at the architecture it seems to go back in space for quite a distance revealing a seemingly tall statue at the end. However, the lady working there walked back and she appeared to grow taller as she descended down the hallway. When she reached the statue it only came to her waist. It was brilliant. After this I began to drastically fade and the tiredness grew immensely.

I fought through and made it to the coffee break where I devoured a cappuccino and an espresso and felt revived and rejuvenated. Next we stopped at Bramante's Tempietto built over the spot where St. Peter is supposed to have been crucified. We got to see some delightful views of the city before heading to the Farnesina, a villa modeled after ancient Roman villas.

And then came the time in which we traveled to another country (yes, its true): the Vatican. We viewed various museums throughout and so more artwork than can be written here. We broke for lunch and then walked through some more galleries on our way to the Sistine Chapel. Once there, I was amazing. The fact that it only took Michelangelo 4 years to paint the entire ceiling is remarkable. The Last Judgement fresco was brilliant as well. It's tough to put in to words how compelling art like that is, but trust me, its magnificent to say the least. After the Vatican we headed to St. Peter's Basilica. After a while here, a group of us ventured off to see another church. However, we got turned around somehow and ended up near our hotel. At the sight of this, my lack of energy that consumed me in the morning returned and I decided to stay behind.

I took a bath and finished A Kiss Before Dying (which I give 2 thumbs up) and then napped for a while. I met up with kathryn, Melissa, and Heather and we went to a pizza joint for dinner. It was there that I discovered that all four of us are only children. What are the odds? After hanging out with them for a while, I went back to my room and relaxed. I read some more of The Inferno and went to sleep by midnight.

Day 81: Rome

My alarm didn't go off. I woke up at 6:19 am. I panicked. Brushed teeth while dressing, grabbed bag and bike and ran out the door. I arrived to the station at 6:28 am. I called Alonzo to see what train they were on and ran to catch up. I made it.

On the train I read some more of my book and then took a little bit of a nap before arriving to Rome. We took a crowded bus to our hotel. Once we checked in, I took a quick shower to wake up and fix the outrageous hair that I was sporting from the morning rush.

We met in the lobby and ventured towards the former University of Rome. Next, we went to the S. Luigi dei Francesi church and viewed some work by Caravaggio. We saw his famous Calling of Saint Matthew. After this, and finally, we stumbled upon the pantheon. It was massive and incredible. Words can hardly even begin to describe how amazing it was to see this in person. The dome of the pantheon is the top of a perfect circle of which the pantheon was built upon. The next few stops include: S. Maria sopra Minverva church (which includes a statue by Michelangelo and frescoes by Filippino Lippi), Palazzo Venezia, and the church of S. Pietro in Vincoli.

Next, THE collosseum. We got to walk around inside and it was spectacular as well. Knowing the history and the age of this architectural masterpiece made it almost surreal. I walked around and envision what it must have looked like when it was brand new. The people in the crowd cheering and applauding the brutalism that transpired within. We all split up and group of us walked around for a while longer before getting some lunch. I had some pasta with cheese and a cappuccino. We then met at the Forum to see some incredible ruins of the city that was once so prosperous.

We attemped a few more churches throughout the day including: the church of Ss. Martina e Luca, the Gesu, Sant'Agostino, Sant'Agnese, the Piazza Navona, San'tIgnazio (which had a fake dome painted on a canvas on the ceiling), and atlast the Trevi Fountain. The fountain was magnificent in scale and beauty. It was built by Niccolo Salvi and later continued by Guiseppe Pannini.

I made a wish and threw a coin over my left shoulder as I faced opposite the fountain. We were then given free time. I wandered back to the hotel and met up with Alonzo and Brad. We rested for a while and then met up with some others at a restaurant near our hotel. We each got salads (which is what the restaurant is known for). After eating we all got some wine and headed back to the hotel. We played some chess, listened to music, played some cards, and then once the wine had been consumed, we wandered the streets. We came upon a piazza which a lot of other people came upon too. We spent a while there talking and having a good time. At last, at about 2 am we decided to go back.

I was exhausted from the extremely busy day and fell asleep almost immediately after laying down.

day eighty.

I woke up this morning at 9 am, was in the shower when the most peculiar thing hit me. I had totally slept through my 8:30 am art history class. This is what I was talking about in yesterday's post. I've become to overloaded with things that they have distracted me from the things they shouldn't distract me from. I rushed through the shower and took the bike to class. I snuck in the class quietly and just as I was sitting down, Helen made a comment that went something like:

'and here is a work by donatello, kind of late aren't we, this is a statue he did when was young, over an hour right, and he used the lost wax method...'

My entire life I've hated being late to class and being the center of attention at that moment where everyone looks at you and you know they are all wondering why you're late and then when Helen makes it known verbally it increases that awkwardness by 100%.

After class Helen drove her point even more by directly stating the obvious about my tardiness. I just said I had no excuse and that was the end of that. Had I tried to explain my severe case of being overcome with too many things, she wouldn't have understood.

I met with the video team and we headed to a couple of SACI apartments to shoot the interior of it. It was fun and we had some good times. I was pushed around on a rolly chair to get some nice motion shots of the space. After we were done taping, I grabbed my backpack and bike from SACI and headed to design. I spent 3.5 hours designing some more of my book and sent some comps to Matt, my advisor, to get his opinion about it. After class, I went to SACI to meet with Katerina, the director of the school of art, and Julie Barnes who is a dean at BGSU. We had some gelato and talked about my experience and the good and bad that has come with it. It was nice talking to them and it was relaxing to sit down and reflect a little bit. After this I went directly home, grabbed my clothes and ran to the laundry mat. I did the laundry, read some of my book grabbed some cereal and milk for the breakfast potluck at Melissa, Kathryn and Liz's apartment. A lot of people showed up and it was a great time, as all of the times with SACI students seem to be. It's said to think that there is only 3 weeks left with these people. After some talking, eating, drinking, talking, and 2 and a half hours I decided to venture home.

I caught up on all the blog entries and now hope to get everything packed up and ready to go for my weekend trip to Rome. Goodnight!

[79]

I was supposed to film the fresco class this morning but it was canceled so I got to sleep in until about 11 am. It was delightful to finally catch up on sleep. I woke up and showered and did the usual routine. I headed to book arts at 1 and worked on a new book. I had a terrible headache though and ended up going home at about 3:30. I sat on the bed and seemed to have drifted off into a deep sleep. I woke up at 4:30 and it was pitch black in my room. I looked at the clock and saw the 4:30 and honestly thought it was 4:30 am and that I had slept all evening. I then realized that I was supposed to be at SACI at 4 so I panicked and rushed off towards school.

A side note/thought: I've become so overwhelmed with everything lately. There has been so much that I've had to deal with. It's tough to balance it all and it has caused me to overlook some of the things on my schedule (as you will see with tomorrow's post..nice foreshadowing, right?). I have my studio classes and final projects that I've been working on, a lot of taping recently at times that I'm not used to which has seemed to have distracted me from the things that I should be used to. Not to mention art history taking over my life with the final exam and ten page research paper that I'm sure no matter how amazing I feel it is, will never impress Helen who is quick to point out mistakes. I'm traveling a lot too and only have a few weeks left before I leave the people I've come to grow pretty close to. It's tough and I'm trying to balance it all. I've never been so scattered before. I need to just take a deep breath.

The rest of the crew was finishing up an interview when I arrived. Soon after, Heather had to leave so I did the last interview with a post-bac student named Nicole. I went upstairs afterwards and got the bibliography ideas for my research paper topic. I re-printed the slides for the final exam and then headed back downstairs. I went to tape the film night but only 3 students showed up. I talked to Tina (the teacher who shows the films) and she recommended that I come to her class and tape that. It's just so very tough to have to go to and spend entire class periods for classes I'm not enrolled in. It's fascinating, don't get me wrong, but it's as if I need more time than is allotted for my days to actually flow properly. I watched the film though. It was called the Ignorant Fairies. It was actually a pretty decent movie.

After the film, I rode the bike home and called Papaw. I told him about Venice and what I've been up to, how I've been overwhelmed, and what my future plans are. It was nice to talk to him. I also got to talk to mom and Greg online for a bit which was good. I also rearranged my room and inflated a blow up couch that Pedro had left behind. I was excited about that. I then went to sleep.

seventy eight

I woke up at 8 am, showered, ate cereal and headed to SACI. We had a video meeting that began at 9:15 and afterward we did some student interviews. I left the school at 12:40 and grabbed a quick sandwich before heading to design class.

I spent a lot of time on designing my book in class. I was there from 1 - 7 pm. I did a lot of brainstorming and narrowed down my conceptual ideas. I worked on the cover and some initial spread ideas. I listened to my ipod as I was working and was really in the zone. It felt nice to devote so much time to it. I'm really focused on the book and am excited to watch it all come together.

I went home and made dinner which consisted of tuna, mayo, spices, tomatoes, onions, and pasta. My specialty it seems. I had a few glasses of wine and then met up with Pedro and his girlfriend to head to the Jazz Club. We had a nice discussion on the way about various topics. It was Pedro's last night so we had to go out and celebrate. When we arrived to the Jazz Club I ran into a lot of fellow students from SACI which I loved. It was nice seeing them outside of the studio and us all enjoying ourselves. After a little while Alonzo, Brandon and Jeff got up on stage and performed 3 songs. Alonzo sang while Brandon played bass and Jeff guitar. It was incredible and all of SACI was pumped.

We walked home, continuing our talk and then we said our goodbyes. I slept.

seven d seven

I woke up at ten am, showered and had some cereal.

I grabbed my things and went off to art history class. I was sitting there when I realized that I had totally forgotten to tape the High Renaissance class that began at 8:30. The fact that I got home so late on Sunday night, It totally slipped my mind. So then I grabbed the camera and recorded some of the Early Renaissance class which didn't go well because every single thing seemed to be going wrong. I couldn't find a proper place for the camera and was being a distraction to the class and to Helen, which I hate doing.

After class I went home for a little while before my one o'clock class. I went to book arts and we exchanged our stamps for our group book. I then began working on the book and getting everything together for that. I ran out to the paper store to buy some paper and ended up leaving class right at 4. I went home for a little while and then headed to the Paperback Exchange which is an English language bookstore located near the Duomo. I wanted to buy the Divine Tragedy but it was too expensive. So then I went to the library at school and check out their version of the Inferno which is torn apart and quite frankly beginning its deterioration process.

After this, I went home and spent the evening talking to friends and reading some more of my book before finally drifting to sleep.

A dream: I was laying in my bed and had opened my eyes and before me was the Virgin Mary with angels surrounding her. I began to feel a tightening in my chest, a tingling sensation and began to lift out of my bed and rising up. I had a shrinking feeling and then it ended. (I didn't wake up though, I just ceased the dream. I actually remembered the dream on Tuesday. The bed I was laying in was the exact bed that I sleep in here. It felt so real).

Day 76: Venice

I woke up at 7:45 am. I showered, packed my bags and headed to the hotel for breakfast. I had the same as yesterday but made a little ham sandwich for lunch.

First stop: The accademia gallery. We spent a while here and saw quite a few frescoes. One that I really enjoyed was the last Supper in the House of Levi because it was orginally painted as a Last Supper but was later changed to a supper in the house of Levis because the artist was challenged that his Last Supper had inappropriate figures.

Second stop: Peggy Guggenheim Collection of Modern Art. At last, modern art! It was so nice seeing all of the cubist and surrealist work that was housed here, including my boy Dali.

Third stop: Museo del Settecento Veneziano. There were a lot of famous ceiling frescoes here as well as some paintings that depict that carnivale that takes place in Venice each year.

[Lunch - Slice of Pizza and a hot dog that was baked into dough, haha]

Fourth stop: Scuola Grande di S. Rocco and Frari Church. The Scuola had Some really nice frescoes were also here and have been compared to Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. The church included some of the coolest wood carvings I've ever seen.

Heather, Jane, Kathryn, Melissa, Michelle and I all rode a Gondola! The gondolier sang and whistled throughout and pointed out some buildings of interest. We went just as the sun was setting and it was a beautiful thing. The way the sun sets on the water in Venice is simply awe-inspiring.

We headed to the hotel, picked up our bags and took a long crowded boat back towards the train station. There train departed at 6:30 so I waved goodbye and waited a bit for my train. At 6:57 I departed Venice for Bologna. During the train ride I read more of A Kiss Before Dying and then had an hour layover in Bologna. While there I had a hot chocolate. I finally made it back to florence at about 11 pm. I waited for 40 minutes for a bus to come to Campo di Marte so that I could get to Santa Maria Novella. I finally made it home by 12:15 am.

Sleep.

Day 75: Venice

7:45 am: wake up and shower.

8:15: breakfast at the main hotel. We were given: cereal, ham and cheese, biscuits, bread, fruit, yogurt, orange juice, coffee, tea.

8:50: visited monuments at Piazza San Marco including: the Piazza itself, the Piazzetta, Doge's Palace and the Basilica of S. Marco. Within each we viewed frescoes and other works of art. My favorite part was walking over the Bridge of Sighs which connected the palace to the jail. It is called such because as prisoner's would cross and get a glimpse of the light and water of the Canal they would sigh knowing that they were about to be placed in jail.

We took a break and then checked out the basilica of S. Marco. Inside was filled with mosaics. It was so beautiful. Be broke for lunch. I had a cheeseburger and Irish Coffee (cappuccino with Baileys). Next we took a boat to Murano which is known for its glass. We got a demonstration of someone blowing glass. He made a vase and a horse. After going through the shop we headed to the boat and went to Torcello which was a favorite spot of Hemingway. Then we went to Burano which is known for its lace. After a while there, we took the boat back towards Venice.

An hour and a half later we arrived. Kathryn, Melissa, Heather, Jane and I all wandered around the city and went to various shops along the way. After a bit we ran into some other students and formed a giant group. We set a game plan to meet for dinner and ended up going to a Chinese Restaurant. I ate baked duck, fried rice, and split dumplings with pork. There was a big fiasco with paying the bill that basically went like this: We were handed a check with just prices, no words to accompany them, then we tried to add up our meals and then hope that it matched the price on the check (it didn't), so then we had to finally just each pay individually. It was a very complicated situation.

We went back to the hotel for a bit then we walked around as a large group. We finally settled on a place in the S. Marco piazza and listened to someone playing the piano inside one of the restaurants. We spent a few hours here with the large group and it was this moment that I probably enjoyed the most. Getting to know the other students and have an all around great time. After everyone left, Alonzo, Jeremy and I were left. We sat around talking and were approached by the police. They asked for our passports (which I didn't have with me) and then after about 10 minutes of us all standing in an awkward circle as they filled out some form, they said 'thanks' and walked away. Very weird.

I went to bed.

Day 74: Venice

[notes from the moleskine sketchbook]

5 am: wake up, shower.

5:40: leave for train station.

5:50: arrive to station, realize I forgot my pass. Ride bike back to apartment.

6:05: arrive at station (part 2)

6:24: depart from Firenze SMN to Firenze Campo di Marte train station.

6:38: depart for Bologna for another train.

10:08: arrive to Venice. I walked around as soon as I got there and marveled at the beauty that lay before me. I saw the Grand Canal and had a mini panini on one of the bridges. I read some of the new book I picked up entited, A Kiss Before Dying.

11:25: met up with the rest of the class. I took a separate train than them so as to use my Eurail pass and save money on the overall cost of the trip. Once they arrived we checked in to the hotel. Alonzo, Allie, Jeremy and I shared a room that was actually separate from the hotel and the rest of the class. We then went to the church of St. Giorgio. We looked at the various artwork and then went up to the top of the campanile and got to see a very beautiful view of Venice.

3:30: free time. Alonzo, Eve, Jeremy, John and I walked around the streets. We found a small convenient store and bought some wine. I went to a bench right next to the canal opened the wine and watched the sunset create the most beautiful color I may have ever seen. It was remarkable. We headed back to the hotel. We met up for dinner with a good portion of the class. I had Baked Fish lasagna that was delightfully delicious. I tried tiramasu and flan for the first time. We then had a few people come back to our hotel room since we weren't connected to the main hotel. We opened more wine and spent the evening conversing, laughing, and enjoying ourselves.

2:30 am: sleep.

dia seventy three

I woke up at 8am and felt the worst I've felt since the sickness began. I had an awful cough; the type of cough that makes you not want to cough because its so bad. I showered, got dressed and reluctantly walked to the Medici Palace for art history. I got my headsets, stood around for a few minutes while Helen talked about the exterior, and then turned in the headset and walked home. I drank some tea and went back to sleep.

I woke up at noon, got dressed, ate some spaghetti for lunch and headed to the design center. I spent the entire class working on the cover and a map idea that I have for the book. I left the design center at 4:30 and headed to the supermarket to get a can of soup. I devoured the soup once I got home then went to lay down again. I didn't sleep though, I read a new book I picked up yesterday called 'A kiss before dying.' I talked to mom for a bit online and then drank some more tea. I cleaned my room so that when I get back Sunday it won't be a disaster. The floor was full of tissues and clothes.

I just took some more medicine and am listening to music, getting ready to go to bed and get about 6 hours of sleep before heading to the train station.

'Night

7 2

I set the alarm for 8 am. Hit snooze 6 times and finally crawled out of bed. I showered, got dressed and headed to Heather's to pick up the camera and tripod. I then took bus 33 to the Fresco studio. I got some nice process shots there, as well as some more classroom shots with different students. I only shot for about an hour before taking bus 23 back to Santa Maria Novella. I grabbed a tea from the cafe and headed to SACI for a video meeting. We discussed future plans for shooting and shot some ideas at each other.

Next up: book arts. I finished my coptic stitch and got my paper for the group book we've been working on in which we will all exchange editions of our stamps with each other so that in the end we each have a copy of the book.

I went back to my apartment after class and relaxed for about an hour and talked to my mom online. I then went back to SACI to do some research for my art history paper. I began reading The Inferno by Dante and it is extremely interesting so far. We follow the pilgram on his journey through Hell and Dante breaks down the various levels of it. A lot of artists based their hell scenes on the descriptions that were given by Dante in part one of his Divine Comedy. I printed out the review slides for the final art history exam and then headed downstairs to tape Film Night. However, Tina wasn't there tonight so instead I watched the film without getting the equipment out. We watched Stealing Beauty and it wasn't the most exciting film I've ever seen. The acting was mediocre, except for Jeremy Irons who is a gifted actor. It dragged on forever too, but maybe my agitation was due to my cold more so than the actual movie itself.

After the movie, I rode my bike (oh, I must mention that Pedro let me have his bike since he is leaving in a few days to go to Barcelona) back to the apartment. I made some crepes (awesome) and then got ready to head to the Jazz Club.

The Jazz Club was amazing. There was someone playing guitar, bass, drums, and eventually a flute and piano. A woman, who had an amazing voice, sang a few songs too. I left there around quarter after 1 am and headed back on bike, in the rain, to my apartment. I was pretty hungry so I made a little spaghetti, drank some Vitamin C tea, and am now laying in bed with my eyes beginning to get extremely heavy!

Goodnight!!

seventy one

As I tossed and turned throughout the night, my throat progressively worsened. I woke up with the most awful soreness in my throat that made it difficult to swallow. I hit the snooze about 15 times in a row before finally getting out of bed.

I shaved off my beard today. Back to the basics. I showered, ate some cereal, drank some delicious tea to help to soothe my throat and headed to SACI for the video meeting. We went through the tapes and numbered them chronologically by date shot and viewed some of our shots. I was impressed with them and am excited to get back to BG to begin the editing process! I went to the design center, stopping for some food on the way. We had a guest lecture by Patricia (my book arts teacher) to all of the students who are interested in making booklets for the last design project. During this time, I worked on my stamp for the group book we're doing in book arts.

After class, I made a depressing walk home in the cold rain with my nose running faster than my stride. I went to the supermarket to hopefully buy some cold medicine but without luck. I bought a few groceries and headed back to the apartment to mope around in my sick state. I gargled salt water, made a couple posts in the blog to catch up, and took a nap.

Two hours later, I woke up. I went to the bathroom and tried to use the power of persuasion against my mind to feel better. It didn't work. I made some soup and then talked to Greg online. My throat worsened and so I made some tea which helped. Now, I will spend the evening laying around trying to stop my nose from running and watching Over the Hedge.

Goodnight!

Seventy [already?]

I woke up at 9:30 am, got a shower, ate some corn flakes (when will I get tired of them?) and headed to art history. I doodled during the lecture because I'm afraid that if I don't I will fall asleep unexpectedly. It's not that the lectures are boring or that the information within them is boring, its that there is so much information given that it can be mentally overwhelming. I do find, though, that I retain a lot of the information even though I am sketching.

I headed to book arts, on the way stopping for a panini for lunch. We were given a demo for the next book and then Jenn and I walked to il Plastico for some material to make our covers out of. I finished up one book and began a new one before calling it a day and heading back to my apartment. I talked to my mom for a bit on gmail and then headed to the design center to work on my stamp for book arts as well as to export my identity to a .pdf so that I could send it to Camilla.

After the design center, I went to SACI to film the Open Drawing. From there, I ventured back home and had dinner. I called Papaw to fill him in on what has been going on the past week. A few minutes before I called him, I noticed that I was getting a runny nose. I figured it was ok because my throat felt fine, but then a few minutes after that thought, my throat started to hurt.

I took some Tylenol and then talked to Greg for a bit. I went to bed.

69: Urbino, Sansepolcro & Monterchi

I woke up at 7:15, had the coldest shower imaginable and then headed down to breakfast. They served us fruit, yogurt, and some cake.

We got on the bus and headed to Urbino. There we saw the birthplace of Bramante and Raphael as well as some other monuments. We saw the Ducal Palace which was built for Federico da Montefeltro. We broke for coffee and then saw the House of Raphael, which is where he was born. It included work from his father, also an artist, including a little well in which his father would ground his pigments. We saw 2 oratories, which are small chapels belonging to religious societies.

We broke for lunch. I had a ham and cheese panini and a water. I was scrapin' low for money at this point because I had taken less than I actually needed. We met back at the bus and embarked on our two hour journey towards Monterchi. We only saw one thing there which was the Madanna del Parto which reveals a pregnant madonna. A half hour later we boarded the bus again to make our last stop in Sansepolcro. Here we saw various things including the Civic Museum and the Cathedral. Within both included wonderful frescoes including the Resurrection by Piero della Francesca.

We finally boarded the bus for the last time and made another two hour journey back to Florence. I got home and made some pasta for dinner and got my things organized for the week to start.

I slept.

68: Arezzo & Assisi

I woke up at 6 am and showered. Got some last minute things together and headed towards Piazza Independenza. I boarded the bus, got comfortable and began my nap as we made way for Arezzo.

Upon arrival, we headed to the church of S. Francesco to view some frescoes by Piero della Francesca that illustrated the Legend of the True Cross. We saw some various other things including a fake dome that was painted on canvas and then applied to the ceiling of a church. The dome only looks realistic from one vantage point and is interesting to view it from other angles. We also saw: an alterpiece by Lorenzetti, Piazza Grande, Gothic Cathedral and the House of Vasari.

At noon we returned to the bus for a while before stopping at a rest stop for lunch. I had a chicken sandwich and some chips. It was ridiculous expensive there. We then continued on to Assisi. There we saw the church of S. Francesco that includes the Life of St. Francis which are some amazing frescoes by Pietro Lorenzetti. Helen wasn't able to talk to us about the frescoes, though, because students from Rome had reserved the upper church for a prayer.

Other things we saw in Assisi: church of S. Chiara, the central square, church of S. Maria sopra Minerva, and the S. Rufino Cathedral. We then headed back to the bus for a 40 minute ride to the Counter-Reformation church of S. Maria degli Angeli. This area also includes the site in which St. Francis had died. Back to the bus for another 2 hour ride to our hotel.

We checked in, threw our things in our respective rooms and then went downstairs for dinner. We had 2 long tables for the 50 of us. Our first course was pasta with tomato sauce, in which they topped our plates 2 - 3 times. It was marvelous. Helen had mentioned that they served meat too but I figured that since we were getting so much pasta because they weren't going to serve us meat. I was wrong. Next, they served us salad and lentils. Then, they served us 2 pieces of pork and one peace of veal. And then, to top it all off they served us little pieces of pie for dessert. All the while, the group of us (Alonzo, Jeremy, and Brad) all split 4 bottles of wine between us. Needless to say, we each felt great and the atmosphere of the room and the others around us made the evening even better. We stayed up til about 12:30 am and finally had a push up (yes, push ups) competition before bed. Prior to sleeping, I deemed it appropriate (and thankfully so) to drink 6 cups of water.

I fell into slumber.

the sixty seventh

I woke up at 7:30 am. I heard someone shuffling around so I had to jump up and claim the shower before them! I got ready, grabbed the video camera and tripod and headed for the bus stop. I took bus number 8 to the Orsini stop (about ten minutes) and walked through some streets until I came upon 23-r (the address of the fresco shop). I met with Mario the instructor and then spent three hours learning about the fresco technique and filming the students at various stages in the process.

I left at 12:30 and took a random bus that I found that took me to Santa Maria Novella (the train station). I walked to SACI and returned the tripod. I then walked home and had lunch. I did laundry and then headed back towards SACI. I spent a few hours logging some tapes. I left SACI at 7 and headed back home again. I made pasta (go figure) for dinner. I then retreated to my room where I put away the clean laundry and straighted up my room. I packed my backpack with an extra outfit because I'm leaving tomorrow morning at 6 am to travel to 5 towns around Italy before returning Sunday at 9 pm.

After those tasks were completed, I spent about an hour researching things to do and see in Barcelona (this is a foreshadowing).

Now, It's 11:30 pm already and I must try and get some sleep before the busy 2 days ahead of me. Goodnight!

66

I woke up this morning at 7:30. I showered, ate some corn flakes, a banana, and drank some OJ. I got ready, hit play on the iPod and headed to San Marco. I met up with the class and Helen showed us around the Fra Angelico Museum where we got to see work by, you guessed it, Fra Angelico.

After class, I went home and had some leftover pasta for lunch. I received an email from Heather to shoot the Fresco class tomorrow, so I spent a while trying to figure out which bus I should take to get there. Bus 8.

I left a little before design class began to take some photographs for the last portion of my identity system. During class, I put some final touches on the Identity and began exploring ideas for the book. I went to SACI after class to film the advanced painting class. The batteries were dead on the camera and there was a big fiasco about finding the battery charger. I plugged the camera into the wall and then filmed Alonzo painting for an hour. I started it when he had blank tiles in front of him and let it tape through to show the final piece. It should be cool to time lapse it and show the painting seemingly appear on the tiles.

I packed up the camera and tripod and my backpack and hopped on a bike with all three. Let's just say that trying to ride a bike at night with 3 things and slight rain wasn't the most fun I've had this week. I got home and made chicken cordon bleu and french fries for dinner. I then began my self portrait sketch. Intertwined between sketching, I talked to my parents on gmail and some friends on AIM.

Now it's bedtime!

dia sixty five

I set my alarm for 5:50 am so that I could see the election results. Obama won!

I went back to sleep until about 11 am. I woke up, showered and had breakfast. I read some articles about election night and viewed McCain and Obama's speeches. I went to class.

In book arts we learned how to do a new type of book. We use screws to bind it all together which is perfect because it allows me to still be able to show the progress of my final book while still being able to add to it once I get home. Since the book is converting this blog into a physical form, I want to include the journey home as well. The book will be submitted to the teachers 2 weeks before my journey has actually concluded so this is the perfect solution. 

After class, I went to il Plastico, a plastic store (believe it or not), to pick up some screws for the book then went home to make dinner. I had pasta with tuna, onion, tomatoes, spices, and mayonnaise. I spent the rest of the day flipping between sketching ideas for the book and emails. I relaxed for a bit and then attempted to sketch a self portrait. It didn't go as well as I wanted it to, so now I have to master the sketch to prove to myself that I still got the knack for drawing. 

I went to bed at 12:30 am. 

eight squared

I woke up at 10 am. I thought it was early in the morning still. I looked at the clock and realized I had overslept. I jumped out of bed and got dressed. I made a quick sandwich for lunch and ran out the door.

I got to SACI for the video meeting at 10:30. I discussed my degree audit with Heather for a bit and then we started the meeting. We were given our tasks for the week. I left the meeting and headed to the design center for class. The only problem was that I forgot to set my watch back and hour so I ended up arriving an hour early.

In class, I made some pretty good progress on the Identity. I'm going to finish it all on Thursday and then move on to laying out my book. I can't wait. I have so many ideas for the book. After class, I went home and showered. I kept it simple for dinner and made spaghetti. I then decided to spend the evening reading articles, reading my book, and talking to family. I stayed up until 2 am attentively watching the polls come through until I finally fell asleep.

il giorno sessanta tre

I woke up to my own accord this morning at 8:40 am. I ate, you guessed it, cereal. I showered. I gathered my things, grabbed a hoodie, and went to SACI.

I dropped off the travel books on Paris and London that I checked out and then headed to Art History class. At the end of class Helen distributed our midterm exam results. I got a B. Yes. I'm so excited that I did well enough to pull it up with the paper and final exam. Now that I know what to expect for the final, I think I'll be more prepared mentally for it.

After art history I headed to book arts. I ate a sandwich that I had made this morning for lunch. I'm on a strict budget at the moment, which means no more spending 3 euro on paninis. I went into the classroom and Cathy, the serigraphy teacher informed us that Patricia is out sick. We each signed a piece of paper declaring our presence and then I left for the design center. I worked on some cover ideas for the book I'm making.

I went home around 3 pm and began finishing up the blog entries for the past week. I'm finally caught up now! I watched three episodes of Entourage and talked to some friends and family online. I had some spaghetti that Antonio made for dinner. I've spent the rest of the evening browsing the net, reading articles, checking out Facebook, and listening to iTunes.

I'm going to read some of my book and get some sleep. Goodnight guys!

Sixty 2

I woke up at 8:30 wide awake. The fact that I had actually stuck to the schedule and had been used to waking up so early, it was refreshing to know that I had to full day to do absolutely nothing. I had cereal for breakfast and got a shower. I posted a couple of entries and read some articles about the election.

I then got dressed and headed to the Ikea Shuttle. I went to Ikea for one reason. To get a blanket because the thin one that was provided to me isn't really a blanket at all and is, in fact, quite useless. I walked through the store and ended up buying more, of course. I ended up getting: A blanket, a pillow, a candle, a pan (the one's here are so scratched up) and a bamboo plant. I took the shuttle home.

Once I got back to my room I hooked my iPod up to my computer and listened to some music as I straightened it up. I wanted to clean it so that I could have a fresh start to the second half of the semester. After getting it done, I made dinner: Fried potato cubes and bean soup that I found at the store.

I spent the rest of evening doing some pointless web browsing for apartments in London if I were to ever get a job there, haha. I also started some planning on what I should take to my apartment back in Bowling Green for next semester. I talked to my parents for a bit and then went to bed at around midnight.

sixty first day

I woke up at 7:15 and was shocked to see that everyone was still sleeping (our train was schedule to arrive to Florence at 7:30). The French father told me that the train had been delayed two hours. I went back to sleep and then woke up at around 8:45. I got my shoes on and put my book back in my backpack. I spent the next 30 minutes or so with a real sense of happiness as we approached Florence. The sun shining through the window and the wind was hitting my face (warm wind too, not the cold air that I had been used to the past 8 days). We arrived to the Campo di Marte station and I had to wait a few minutes to catch a train to the Santa Maria Novella station. I remember walked through the train station and was just overcome at how amazing the past 8 days had been. I had actually experienced something that seemed so far fetched a year ago.

I got back to my apartment, showered, and wrote a couple of the entries for the blog that I wasn't able to post during my week of travels. I went to the supermarket and bought some groceries for the next couple weeks. I made some spaghetti for dinner.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing. I talked to friends and family and told them a little bit about my trip. I called Papaw to let him know that I had made it home safely and filled him in on all of the cool things that I did and saw. I went to bed at around 11:30 and had a truly relaxing night's sleep.

Day 60: Paris

The 4th and final day of Paris started promptly at 8:30 on Halloween. I had some cereal, showered, packed my thigns up, deflated the air mattress, and then headed out.

I first went to the Musee d'Orsay and saw some of the great artists that I remember studying, and that you probably undoubtedly have heard of. Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet, and Cezanne pretty much controlled the top floor of the museum. I saw the famous Bedroom by Van Gogh, and some of the figure studies by Monet. I walked around the rest of the museum and saw some realist painting that I really liked. I love realisim in painting and the way that the artist can create an environment that seems so real. It has always fascinated me.



I met up with zach at 12:30 and headed to the Pantheon. We ate at a small cafe before going inside. The pantheon is a massive structure that seems to suck you in. The floorplan is open, no pews or alters, with just frescoes and some sculptures. We saw the pendulum which miraculously gives the exact time. It is something that has to be seen in person to full appreciate the science behind it. We went down to the crypt and saw the various tombs of our history as well as the amazing architecture that was present even under the church.



Zach and I separated and I headed to the O'chateau Wine Tasting. They taught us varous techniques for how to properly drink and taste wine. There three ways to handle wine: through sight, through smell, and through taste. The guide taught us a way in which we can get more flavor out of the wine by doing a sort of gargling procedure which allows the wine to diffuse throughout one's mouth. We tried three wines: 1 white and 2 red which all tasted so much better than the wine I've been drinking thus far (perhaps the amount I spend on the wine has something to do with it?).

I went back to the apartment afterward, picked up my things, said my goodbyes and thank yous, and headed to the Metro for my last journey of the 4 day expedition towards Bercy station. As I arrived I was shocked to see so many people waiting in such a small lobby for the train. It has been delayed 15 minutes, but since I arrived 45 minutes early, I had to wait an hour to board. I finally did and shared the cabin with a French man and his two daughters. We chatted a bit and then I read before falling into a relaxing slumber.

Day 59: Paris

I woke up at 8:30 and did the usual routine. I left the apartment and stopped first at the Arc de Triomphe. I climbed the stairs to the top and took some pretty nice cityscape photographs. It was cold but the weather was clear enough to see pretty well. As I descended to leave, I was told that I had to wait for the procession that was taking place to end before I could head down to the Metro. The cop told me 10 minutes, which actually took about 30 minutes. It was so windy at the procession and the cold decided it did not want to let up.



Finally, I took the Metro to the RER train and headed to see Corbu's Villa Savoye. I just took a Modern Architecture course last semester so it was exciting to see a house that we studied up close and to actually walk through it. The house was located in zone 5, however, so I had to buy separate bus passes and a different train ticket back (which doesn't really make sense considering you pay so much for the Paris Pass which is supposed to include the travelcard, but it only covers zones 1-3).



Before boarding the train back, I stopped at a cafe and had a chicken club on a panini sub with a hot chocolate. I took the RER back and then transfered back to the Metro and headed to the Grevin Museum (which is a wax museum). I saw all the celebrity wax models but was also interested to see some important historical figures such as Da Vinci, Dali, Hitchcock, and Hemingway.



I met zach at 4:30 at the Eiffel Tower. It was raining and freezing but she still bought tickets to go to the top. The view was amazing and it was well worth it. I remember back in the summer telling my parents that I was going to go up on top even though I am (or maybe I just was) afraid of heights. We went in the evening so it was pretty cool to see the transition from daylight to night and witnessing all of the lights turning on. We met a few kids from Canada up there who were traveling through Europe and also got to witness a proposal.

We headed back to Zach's apartment and then the unthinkable happened. I ate McDonald's. It was the only option, truly, and as long as I don't have McDonald's in Italy (which would be ridiculous to do with such lovely food to make) then I'll be okay.

I watched American Psycho with Christian Bale for the first time ever and then went to bed.