Last Saurday (October 9th) we went to Siena and San Gimingnano. These towns were about 2 hours away from Florence, so of course we were up early to meet at the now infamous Farmacia inside the Train Station. From there, we were split up between 2 buses, handed our headsets for the day and allowed to rest. Now, unfortunately I do not have my own pictures from these towns, I had to steal some from Cat (who is my personal photographer now that I don't have a camera, and she told me that I could take her pictures so that I could show all of my family where I went!) but I do have a few of me in front of some gorgeous landscapes...so don't forget to go and look at my Picasa for those! But these towns are just amazing. It's so hard to compare cities here in Italy because each is different and unique in their own ways.
Siena is split into 17 different neighborhoods, who have rich rivalaries amongst each other. The boundaries between these neighborhoods are clearly defined by the ceramic tiles on the corners of buildings with that neighborhoods specific animal/mascot on it. You will have to Google some of the mascots; some were animals and some were mythological characters--I don't remember all of them! Also, Siena is known for the infamous horse race: The Palio. This horse race is run twice every summer-once in July and once in August. The race consists of 10 horses randonly chosen from the 17 neighborhoods. It's about 30 seconds faster than the Derby and probably more dangerous! (Seeing as even if the jockey falls off the horse, the horse can continue to race and even potentially win!) After some more touring, we all loaded back on the bus for another hour's trip to San Gimignano.
San Gimignano is considered a Medieval town, nestled high on a hill in Tuscany. It was different, but not too different. Everything definately seemed much older and close together (I guess that's why it's medieval!) There are 2 main churches to see and 14 remaining towers. IT was such an interesting town...I fall in love with every city that we visit this semester!
Then that Sunday (October 10th) we headed out, once again, to Assisi. The main sight to see in Assisi is the Basilica of St. Francis. It. Was. Amazing. to say the least. And there was also the Church of St. Clare. Both St. Francis and St. Clare are the patron saints of Assisi.
Needless to say, that was 2 weekends ago and I can't remember all the specifics of the trip. If you Wikipedia each place, it will give you background and history on the places better than I probably could! And here is the link to my pictures on the web...it was just hard to put them up on the blog today for some reason (silly technology!)
http://picasaweb.google.com/113048706261520001448?authkey=Gv1sRgCMzIkMfhnvfy1gE
The week following that weekend, it was prepare-for-midterm week, so nothing too exciting happened. A whole lot of reading and making study sheets, and typing up a paper. I did do some really neat drawings for my sketchbook class. I think that once we get all of our big sheets turned back into us, I am going to take pictures and put them on the internet, so keep checking the Picasa link for those! This past weekend was about the same--sleep, eat, study, tv break, study, eat...fun stuff. Olivia and I did go to Ganzo quite a bit, and even had brunch on Saturday then studied in a little piazza just right across the river.
Oh! And the exciting news! My mom (and Dr. Baeker) were on the local LEX18 news 12.30 edition to talk about breast cancer, early detection, clinincal trials (which is what she works with!) and then Race for the Cure, which they are a big sponsor for. I was so excited that I was able to watch the live streaming feed! I took a ton of screen shots of the big interview! haha Take a look!
(Not quite sure why they came in all weird and out of order, but it will do!)
I took my Italian Renaissance Architecture midterm this morning-I think it went okay. In Sketchbook, we had 2.5 hours to do a landscape in any medium, and I am pretty satisfied with how it came out. My teacher also told me that she wanted to submit my 2 other large drawings to possibly be chosen for a student exhibition at Ganzo later in the semester. Wednesday, I take my Renaissance Art midterm (which will be interesting) and then my Italian midterm. I'm not too worried about Italian-he seems to make things really simple for us!
Fall Break will officially start after my Italian test, but I will have a busy rest of the week. I am going to get ahead on my last 2 papers and then I have to finish procedures for my stay permit. THEN.......MOM GETS HERE A WEEK FROM TODAY! It's so crazy to think about the fact that she is going to be here for a week, experiencing this wonderful city with me! I CAN'T WAITT!!!
So until then...
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