February 13, 2009
spent most of the day doing work. Nadia's grandma and aunt came to visit and brought us each a jar of peanut butter which made me extremely happy :-)
went to evening mass at Santa Maria Novella. Since I was planning on being away on Sunday, I felt a little bad that I wouldn't get to go to a new Florentine church, so I decided to go to Santa Maria Novella. Weekday mass is just in a little side chapel, so I didn't get to see the main inside, but it was still cool. Every time I go to mass, I feel so proud of how much I understand.
had a mini family dinner with Alex, Margaret, Nadia, Katie, Christine, and Nikul. We made a bunch of pizzas and then attempted to make a cake slash cookie thing. We totally just made it up but it was really good.
February 12, 2009
visited San Lorenzo church with my Architecture in Italy class. I've explored the area around the church a lot because I was originally going to do a project in the piazza it faces, but I'd never been inside before. Three different tourist companies control the church, so you would have to pay for three different tickets to see everything. We only did one section, but we got to see the basement under the dome where a bunch of works of art are kept, the dome itself, and the new sacristy which was designed by Michelangelo. The sacristy was really cool, because it wasn't as gaudy as most churches, chapels, etc. and one little section was never finished so we could still see where Michelangelo sketched out the design on the wall.
went to Italian and studio..... the usual.
had family dinner over at the other boys' place and then went out to a couple different pubs. We found this one called Rex that's really cool inside. On the back wall it has a giant map of the world. It's a little inaccurate but it's all textured and three-dimensional with little lights shining around the borders of land masses.
visited San Lorenzo church with my Architecture in Italy class. I've explored the area around the church a lot because I was originally going to do a project in the piazza it faces, but I'd never been inside before. Three different tourist companies control the church, so you would have to pay for three different tickets to see everything. We only did one section, but we got to see the basement under the dome where a bunch of works of art are kept, the dome itself, and the new sacristy which was designed by Michelangelo. The sacristy was really cool, because it wasn't as gaudy as most churches, chapels, etc. and one little section was never finished so we could still see where Michelangelo sketched out the design on the wall.
went to Italian and studio..... the usual.
had family dinner over at the other boys' place and then went out to a couple different pubs. We found this one called Rex that's really cool inside. On the back wall it has a giant map of the world. It's a little inaccurate but it's all textured and three-dimensional with little lights shining around the borders of land masses.
February 11, 2009
climbed the Duomo with Pat and Nikul. They let you (if you pay of course) climb all the way to the top of the dome. There were 462 stairs, but I was less tired climbing those than climbing the 72 to our apartment. The view from the top was spectacular. We could see all of Florence except our house because the bell tower was blocking it. After climbing pretty much inside the walls for about 283 steps, you come out onto the little walkway around the inside of the dome. From the there, the fresco is huuuuge. You're right underneath the gruesome devils and the people in hell. On the other side of the dome, you climb another 179 stairs around the dome to come out on top of it. The second half of the climb is really weird because you're between the inner dome and the outer dome so the walls are both curving in, making you feel like you half to walk slanted. The very last part of the climb is straight up the dome, so it's really steep. So not only was the view really cool, but just seeing the hidden spaces in the walls and the dome was really neat.
had my first test in Italian. I finished half an hour early, so Nikul and I went to get some gelato and go back to our site for studio for some measuring and picture taking before studio. Working in metric is pretty convenient, because we can approximate distances just by taking a long stride and calling it a meter. The people milling about the piazza gave us some pretty odd looks.
climbed the Duomo with Pat and Nikul. They let you (if you pay of course) climb all the way to the top of the dome. There were 462 stairs, but I was less tired climbing those than climbing the 72 to our apartment. The view from the top was spectacular. We could see all of Florence except our house because the bell tower was blocking it. After climbing pretty much inside the walls for about 283 steps, you come out onto the little walkway around the inside of the dome. From the there, the fresco is huuuuge. You're right underneath the gruesome devils and the people in hell. On the other side of the dome, you climb another 179 stairs around the dome to come out on top of it. The second half of the climb is really weird because you're between the inner dome and the outer dome so the walls are both curving in, making you feel like you half to walk slanted. The very last part of the climb is straight up the dome, so it's really steep. So not only was the view really cool, but just seeing the hidden spaces in the walls and the dome was really neat.
had my first test in Italian. I finished half an hour early, so Nikul and I went to get some gelato and go back to our site for studio for some measuring and picture taking before studio. Working in metric is pretty convenient, because we can approximate distances just by taking a long stride and calling it a meter. The people milling about the piazza gave us some pretty odd looks.
February 9, 2009
woke up to the landlady ringing the bell saying that our shower was leaking through the floor into the apartment below us and the one below them. The shower has always drained pretty slowly, but apparently if you unscrew the drain, it'll drain fast but it'll leak into all the apartments below. None of us had done that, but somehow the drain came unscrewed anyway. The plumbers came and are doing all this work, but that bathroom is out of commission for a couple of days. Plumbing seems to be really fickle here and the floors are so thin that water leaks through super easily.
went running. I ran around almost all of Florence. I ran from my apartment down to the river, out to the city walls and all the way around the walls back to the river. So I guess I ran the half of Florence on my side of the river, but that most of Florence. It really didn't take me all that long to run it either, so Florence is pretty small. There are some really cool things along the edge, though. I definitely want to go back and walk the whole thing so I can stop and look at everything. I passed the Fortessa de Basso which looks pretty interesting. It's one of the old fortresses from when the city actually had walls. I also ran past this big raised cemetery. It was just lifted up on a mound of earth with tons of trees and stuff. And of course I passed a couple of the gates that used to be part of the walls.
woke up to the landlady ringing the bell saying that our shower was leaking through the floor into the apartment below us and the one below them. The shower has always drained pretty slowly, but apparently if you unscrew the drain, it'll drain fast but it'll leak into all the apartments below. None of us had done that, but somehow the drain came unscrewed anyway. The plumbers came and are doing all this work, but that bathroom is out of commission for a couple of days. Plumbing seems to be really fickle here and the floors are so thin that water leaks through super easily.
went running. I ran around almost all of Florence. I ran from my apartment down to the river, out to the city walls and all the way around the walls back to the river. So I guess I ran the half of Florence on my side of the river, but that most of Florence. It really didn't take me all that long to run it either, so Florence is pretty small. There are some really cool things along the edge, though. I definitely want to go back and walk the whole thing so I can stop and look at everything. I passed the Fortessa de Basso which looks pretty interesting. It's one of the old fortresses from when the city actually had walls. I also ran past this big raised cemetery. It was just lifted up on a mound of earth with tons of trees and stuff. And of course I passed a couple of the gates that used to be part of the walls.
February 8, 2009
went to mass at Santissima Annunziata. I was running a little late, though, so I rode Nadia's bike up there. I think I'm starting to get the hang of biking around Florence. It wasn't nearly as scary this time. I think Santissima Annunziata has the most community feel of all the churches I've gone to so far. There was an altar boy which I haven't seen at any other mass, and I didn't see a schedule of tourist hours anywhere. There were pews reserved for children and babies, too, which was different, and a bunch of little kids got to bring up the gifts. Churches seem to attract the shortest people in Florence, though. Out on the street I never feel that tall, but every time I go to church, I feel like I'm towering over all the other women. The two girls sitting next to me today barely came up to my shoulder, and I saw one nun who couldn't have been more than four and a half feet tall. The Italian women must shrink a lot as they grow older, because these little old ladies don't look like midgets; they just look like gravity got the better of them.
went to mass at Santissima Annunziata. I was running a little late, though, so I rode Nadia's bike up there. I think I'm starting to get the hang of biking around Florence. It wasn't nearly as scary this time. I think Santissima Annunziata has the most community feel of all the churches I've gone to so far. There was an altar boy which I haven't seen at any other mass, and I didn't see a schedule of tourist hours anywhere. There were pews reserved for children and babies, too, which was different, and a bunch of little kids got to bring up the gifts. Churches seem to attract the shortest people in Florence, though. Out on the street I never feel that tall, but every time I go to church, I feel like I'm towering over all the other women. The two girls sitting next to me today barely came up to my shoulder, and I saw one nun who couldn't have been more than four and a half feet tall. The Italian women must shrink a lot as they grow older, because these little old ladies don't look like midgets; they just look like gravity got the better of them.
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