A Time to Travel and a Time to Relax

The Arno River in Pisa!

The Baptistry in Pisa

Just five days since my last post and I have gone to Pisa, hung out with some of my program buddies, bonded with my host mom's cat, and have started learning how to read statues and the architecture of buildings. 

"I blame Galileo."

And I thought I was going to have a restful weekend.

Starting with Pisa: it was a planned trip by the program, all of it paid for except for lunch. We went to the Piazza Dei Miracoli where the Leaning Tower of Pisa stands as well as the cathedral and baptistry of Pisa. It was a beautiful area with fields of green grass (and you don't see much of that in the cities) which just added to the dream-like feel to it. Not to mention that there's a leaning tower nearby that looks like it's going to crash down at any moment. Not to scare anyone.

The beautiful bronze doors to the Duomo, or
the medieval cathedral, by Bonanno Pisano.

I learned a lot about Pisan architecture and the art adorning the walls, some of which have been moved and restored or are in the process of it. Jodie Mariotti and Professor Solberg were our tour guides and Professor Solberg especially was very knowledgable about everything. And I mean everything. As an English literature major, learning about all this history is fascinating. It almost makes me want to add an art history minor just to learn more about these beautiful pieces of art when I go back to school. Pictures can explain better than my words can, but it was all very beautiful.

The inside of the Pisan Duomo.

After Pisa, we had an opportunity to go to Lucca but most of us passed it because it turned into a really wet and terrible day for traveling. I want to plan a trip there on one of our free weekends because Lucca is supposed to be really beautiful as well. Later that night, a few people from the program and I went to a pub called Kikuya near my host mom's apartment. We had a few drinks while we talked and got to know each other. It was a really great bonding moment for all of us as we hung out with both locals and other international students. Kikuya is a small bar with two rooms, one which consists more of the bar and informal area while the other seemed to be made for bigger dining groups. It was a really nice place, cozy and intimate (like everything else in Italy).



The next day was a quiet day to relax and bond with Caprizzia (the cat) while my host mom was out. After six days of walking around, studying Italian, and traveling everywhere, it was a much needed day of rest.

Otherwise, having only one class for three weeks (two now) has given me a lot of time to focus on practicing my Italian outside of the classroom. I also have time to spend time indoors and get to know my host mom too before the other two electives get added on.

I'll be taking Florence Through the Eyes of the Victorians and Collaboration in Early Florentine Renaissance Art, both which sound a little intimidating, but I don't think it'll be too horrible. If the program is still planning field trips during that time, we'll have to have at least some time for that. So far, though, I'm impressed with how ACM has been keeping this schedule going and I'm definitely in love with Italy. I still can't believe I'm here, but it's really starting to feel more like home. How am I ever going to leave?!

Currently, budgeting has become really important for me because so many things are on sale right now. Apparently the month of January is the best time to go shopping (that I know of) because the sales are really great. Imagine getting Italian leather jackets and boots for 40 to 50% off. It's amazing. I'm going to have to budget carefully though and make sure I don't overspend even if it's so tempting!

Fino a più tardi!