Germany and Belgium

I wish I could post pictures with this post, but close by internet access is hard to come by over here. Seems I was quite lucky to have such a great hostel in Berlin, cause mine here in Belgium definitely doesn't have it. In fact the internet they do have is hooked to a pc and cost 5 euro an hour.

Belgium is getting a little ahead though, I guess I should go back to my last day in Berlin and my time in Hamburg. Monday we only had a short morning in Berlin. I was planning on walking over to the piece of the Berlin Wall that is still up called the East Side Gallery, but after all of the walking from the first day there my hip was hurting pretty bad. So I ended up taking it easy instead.. had a big breakfast and packed slowly. The whole time we were in Berlin we were trying to get a hold of this girl Emma that had been in Castiglion Fiorentino while we were there but were having no luck without a phone. We finally managed to run into her in the train station on the way out, which is insane cause the Berlin train station is enormous. We chatted with her and her mom about Berlin a bit an then caught the train to Hamburg.

Hamburg was probably my favorite leg of my after trip so far. We stayed at Hadyn's cousin Stefan's house and him and his family were so accommodating. He got married not to long ago and now has a 7 week old baby, so they were definitely in the new family mood.. which I got used to. They showed us a around Hamburg a bit and on Tuesday we saw a Rothko exhibit at one of the local museums. Ironically enough Stefan's father (and Haydyns uncle) was in town also and is an apparently well known artist (although I've never heard of him). So he talked our ears off in big artist terms for a lot of the time, which was interesting but a little too much sometimes also. Oh and I also learned that Stefan and his wife got married in the Rothko chapel in Houston next to the Menil. I still haven't been to that place but they had pictures of it at the exhibit that looked very neat. So after getting fairly comfortable in Hamburg we took an overnight to Brussels, where I am now. Definitely not the best transit I've ever taken, but I survived.. only with very little sleep.

Now I am in Brussels and it is cold and rainy, so I decided to take shelter in a coffee shop and get on the net. I've only been in Brussels since this morning and as much as I'd like to figure out everything the city has to offer, I don't think it is going to happen today. With the rain and the utter exhaustion, all I really want to do is relax. My man aim for Brussels is to get some Belgium waffles and some Belgium chocolate, which can probable happen tomorrow morning before I fly out. Today is really my last day of non-travel in Europe. Tomorrow I fly to Pisa in the late afternoon and then have an overnight train to Rome. I'll have a couple of hours in Rome before I fly out.. and then I'll be home. I don't think that moment can come fast enough! Hopefully I'll be able to update again before I fly out for good.. but if not then my next post will be from the States! Ciao!

My first days out of Italy

Leaving Italy has definitely made me realize how much I love Italy. It's weird how you dont realize how at home you feel at a place until after you leave that place for somewhere else. This week has been filled with homesickness so far, and I really think that it wouldn't have it as bad if I were still in Italy. But I am not, and I should be talking about the present in this blog.. so here goes.
My first day was spent in Munich, Germany. It was a really interesting city and it was very different from any cities we went to in Italy. The first thing I noticed was that it was amazingly clean, something my dad had mentioned before but never really registered. And as far as planning goes the city was really well put together. The public transit seemed very effective, people were riding their bikes everywhere and there were parks as far as the eye could see. My favorite part of the day would have to be the time I spent in the English Gardens. It is this huge park that is right in the city and reminded me of the big park in Vancouver, sans the beautiful beach and mountains. So really it was more of a super-sized Zilker park with beer gardens in it. Nonetheless, I found a good shaded spot and read and napped for a pretty long time. The rest of the day was mostly churches and just wandering around the city. Before we caught our night train out we went to the famous beer garden Hafbrough (i think that is spelled wrong) House. Did the whole German sausage and beer thing (a small beer of course!) just cause you have to do it once while your here.
Today I spent the day in Berlin, and after writing all that I really cant think of much to write about it. It wasn't the best day, but I'll have tomorrow morning before the train for Berlin to convince me to like it. Best of luck to it. Until Hamburg, Ciao!

Last Night in Castiglion

So yesterday was our last day of class and a lot of people's last day here. It was a really busy day! In the morning we finished up our final projects and then had a realllyy long group critique. It was good though because we all got to spend the last day together and get each other pumped for the final show we had that night. The show was after dinner and it was really fun. A lot of people came through and it was just fun to hang out with everyone with our work up, whether we were very proud of it or not!
After the show we had a silent rave! If you don't know what a silent rave is here is the 411. It is a large group of people that all go out into an area with their headphones on and all dance to their own music. It was a crazy idea that developed earlier in the semester and finally happened last night. I know it sounds weird but it was really fun! We only planned on doing it for 10 minutes but it ended up lasting the whole night. It's kind of like going to a dance club, but you get to pick all the music. It was great. It was a kind of sad night though, since everyone is leaving so soon. I'll show the rest in pictures, so I don't get emotional! haha
So on my actual last night here we did basically the same thing, sans silent rave and with gelato! Definitely a good last couple of days. I'm finishing up packing now and I'll be leaving later today to catch my night train from Florence. This next week is going to be hectic, but I think it will go by fast and that is definitely what I need right now. Bon Voyage for now!
SO quick picture run through- 1st is our show set up in the UT hallway and surprisingly enough my work is the first one on the right, Next is just another view of the show but after everyone started arriving, then some silly ones first of Dan and my two roomates and second of Sonya and Jennifer still in silent rave mode.

The Last Weekend in Castiglion

So we just wrapped up our last weekend in Castiglion. Overall it was pretty good. Friday night we had a ping-pong tournament, which yes I know sounds nerdy, that was really fun. Nobody from UT won, but hopefully we'll be able to take the doubles tournament tonight.

Last Saturday we went to a lake called Lake Trasimeno that is about a 30 minute train ride away. We had been warned that it wasn't very glamorous but decided to go anyways since we had been talking about going for so long. It actually ended up being a really great day. Only 4 of us went which is better than the huge mob we normally have. The place we went to on the lake had a small "beach," even though the sand was more like tan dirt.. but I really didn't mind. First we ate some lunch (mine was of course leftover from lunch the day before) and just laid on the beach for a while. Then we rented a paddle boat which was a blast. We went pretty far into the lake and then jumped off the sides into water that was way deep. We also found a raft with diving boards on it, so we spent some time there and then went back in. The rest of the day was just reading and napping under trees. The only bad thing about the day was that I got really really sunburn. I was basically a walking lobster for half the day and it still hasn't gone away completely. I hate sunburns, so that was kind of a day killer for me.

Sunday was mostly work. It is very hot here now, and a sunburn definitely doesn't help, so it's difficult to find the energy to get stuff done. Imagine Texas heat with no AC and that is about what it is like here. We have some puny fans in our rooms, but they don't do much. So most of the day was me trying to convince myself to do work, and the rest was me actually doing work. We give our final presentation tomorrow and they just added even more scaffolding to the loggia (the focus of our project) today, so it should be interesting. Then we just have to turn in our final art projects by Wednesday morning and we are done! It will be a relieving day, thats for sure.

I'm at the point where I am sort of itching to come home. I guess since the day is so close now it makes me want it to get here already. Hopefully I'll be able to take my mind off it while I'm traveling through Germany, but I don't really see it happening. Hopefully I'll also be able to stop stressing about money, but that probably wont happen either. Some people are just always right, especially about these things. I really should try to take more advice next time I'm on the fence about something. Anyways, I have to go super glue my wounded bag and try to finish up some of these pieces. Ciao for now!

Oh yeah, and the piazza that is in the opening scene of the video I posted is the one I did my short presentation on. Pretty cool, huh?

The Jeannie Tate Show

So this is a hilarious video that illustrates what I hate about most of the other American tourists that are here abroad. If it wont play on the blog, click the frame and it will go to the website where you can also watch it. Enjoy!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

Vineyard/Florence

Tuesday was probably one of the best days I've had here in Castiglion so far this trip. In the morning we had studio class and we finished and turned in the project we were working on. That is always a relief, even if I'm not completely happy with it. Now were moving on to our last project which isnt near as many pieces and is a little more open style wise. I would normally be excited about it, but we have so much to do this last week that I am not really. So after studio class and lunch we went over to a local organic vineyard here in Castiglion. It was such a beautiful property, and the castle was so close to it! We got a tour of the olive fields, grape fields, and cellar.. all of which were very interesting. Our tour guide was this cute little italian guy named Ricardo that told us some interesting stuff about the process and the politics of olive oil and wine production. Then the best part, wine tasting! We had 2 types of White, one 100% Chardonnay and one 50% Chardonnay and 50% Sauvignon Blanc. Then we had one red that was 80% Merlot and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon. All were amazing, but none compared to Vinsanto, the dessert wine we had. After the wine tasting and food we got to go swimming in the pool! That was exciting for me because I had yet to use my swimsuit since I'd been here. After the pool we came back for dinner and then spent the rest of the night relaxing.

Wednesday we took our last trip to Florence. It was a very HOT and busy day and by the end of it I was happy to get back to Castiglion. In the morning we went to Santa Corca bascillica which was pretty neat except for the fact that the alter was under scaffolding from floor to ceiling. It was cool to see the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and especially Dante.. since I'm reading the Inferno right now. After that I met up with Holly for the last time and we had lunch and caught up. She leaves this Saturday for the States, so she will be back almost two weeks before me. Then was the Uffitzi. It is definitely one of those museums that has so much stuff in it that it can be really overwhelming. And some of the lighting and positioning of the pieces seemed a little off. I think if I wasn't so hot and tired I could have gotten more out of it. But despite all those things it was really enjoyable. Once again I got to see all these works that I have seen in pictures all my life in person. I even found some new paintings that I really liked, which to me is a lot more fun. :)

The rest of the trip is going to be pretty busy. We have group projects due Tuesday and our final show on Wednesday. In other words, I gotta get back to work! Ciao! Oh yes, pictures.. the first is the grape fields with the castle in the background, next is our cute wine glass setting at the tasting, the last our not so glamorous but still fun pool.

Weekend Update

So this weekend was the first that I spent entirely in Castiglion Fiorentino. It was definitely a good time. Saturday was a very relaxing day. I spent the morning working on projects for my art class ad reading. One of my favorite spots in town is the loggia in the center of the city, so I got a cappuccino and sat out there and and read and drew for a while which was very relaxing. For lunch a few of us got to-go pizza from the amazing Roggis and took it up to the tower and ate outside. It was a really beautiful day, not too hot at all. During the afternoon we walked down to the co-op grocery store and got some food for the hike we took today. I'm obsessed with these Italian cookies called GranCereale and its getting a little scary how much I crave them. They are healthy cookies though, so I don't feel as bad. Those are one thing I'm definitely bringing with me back to the States in bulk. So then we just had dinner at the school and watched the soccer game. Last night was Russia vs. the Netherlands, and Russia surprisingly won 3-1. It was a fun game to watch. I've realized that it is kind of hard to describe some of the places I talk about in this blog, like the loggia and the tower for example. They are both beautiful areas, but not even a picture could show just how great they are. So sorry if it's not descriptive enough, you'll just have to come to Italy if you want an accurate portrayal!

So today I did the unthinkable. Me and a group of 6 more people basically hiked a marathon. And when I say a marathon I mean the ones that are 26 miles. We left at 715 this morning and hiked to Cortona. This time we got there a lot quicker. We got to Cortona at about 1130 and after a lunch break.. we walked back! We did the walk back and 3 hours, definitely a record. I know how crazy that all sounds, but it was a beautiful walk, a great work out, and also really accomplishing in a way. In theory I though I would never be able to do it, but now I'm back and still breathing (but very hot and very sore), so I proved myself wrong. I've definitely had my long distance hiking fix and wont be doing anymore of those, except maybe at Cinque Terre. The day was good, but then the night was very disappointing. Italy lost their soccer game to Spain in a shootout. So no more Italian soccer games to watch. There was a betr made however prior to the game and after Italy lost one of the guys in our group had to shave his head into a mohawk. That was very entertaining. It looks pretty decent given that a bunch of people with no experience did it.. I'll try to get a picture though, it looks crazy. So this picture is from our studio early in the morning before we left for the walk. Pretty beautiful huh? Ciao!