My New Boyfriend David

     Before I left for the weekend in Florence I posted on my Facebook that I was going to go meet my new boyfriend David. This caused such a frenzy. All of my family and extended family threatened to tell my parents that I have a boyfriend abroad. When I told them I was actually going to see the famed statue of David while in Florence the big "ooohhhh" and hand to face moment happened to them all. As a side note, you can actually be arrested if you take photos of this famed statue...just a random fact.
    We arrived at the museum to be pleasantly surprised to turn the first corner to be greeted by one of the world's most famous statues. I had to be the stupid American and sneak a photo of this handsome man for a free souvenir. On the other hand, it would not have been so free if I were arrested. Good thing I wasn't!  I asked Mandy to stop a moment so that I could stick my camera through her hair to snap a few shots. Natalie and I went to go sit down looking up at David's rear end. Yes, we did pinch his behind which caused a fit of laughter like we were again in elementary school. It is such an amazing piece of work. I can't believe Michelangelo would know exactly what he would carve from a single piece of marble. He believed that the statue was living within and all he had to do was unveil it. The veins of David seem to be pumping blood to sustain him under his marble exoskeleton.
      Dr. Whetstine's mom is here visiting for the week. She decided to sit down next to Natalie and I and ask us about the style of sculpture David is styled in. We were quite happy to share our knowledge because this is what we have class for every morning. We learn about art history and then see the art in person. Before we left I decided to sneak one last photo of David's Face. He is apparently looking towards Golithe. I think he is looking at so much more than just the Giant.
   So I said goodbye to my brief encounter with the world's most gorgeous man and moved on to more girlie things like shopping with Natalie, Nicole and Rachel. I took them over to the famous Porcellino Market. I found a lovely leather purse for my mother in the market but I wanted to wait until closing when you get the best deals. We then headed over to the San Lorenzo Market. Natalie wanted to try her hand at the power of bargain that Danilo was telling us about. She tried to bargain a price for a couple of cashmere scarves at the first stand we saw. They were not believing anything that was coming out of her mouth. She said no and lead the group on to the next stall. I have to laugh. She was so confident in her no response to the people at the first stand. We headed over to another stand which had a lovely display of scarves. We gave in and all bought cashmere scarves. My scarf is a lovely light purple plaid scarf. I totally love it. As we were walking around we happened upon this lovely restaurant called Ciro and Sons nestled inside an old palace of the family of Pope Clemens. http://www.ciroandsons.com/index.php It was so cute. We just were poking our noses in and a young man that was labeling the house wine with home made labels. He came out and started talking to us. Boy is he one lucky man to be that good looking. He invited us to come back tonight for dinner. We will most definitely return. We then headed over to the Ponte Vecchio bridge to buy Italian Horns. Don't shop with me because I make everyone buy more than what they want to buy. Natalie spent over 100 euros on a horn and Ali spent 90 euros on one as well. They loved their new necklaces so well that they were so mad at me for "making" them buy one.
          Later on that evening, almost everyone headed over to have dinner at  Ciro and Sons restaurant. We were yet again greeted by the handsome man from earlier today. He apologized to us that we would have to have dinner under the patio. He move plenty of the heaters near us since we were all so eager to eat at such a place. That night dinner lasted around 3 hours. It was just a table full of students, our professor and her mother. It didn't really matter how much we spent that night because the laughs that we had and the sharing of a great meal around the table was worth the entire bill. There is an art to Italian meals. The art of "tutti a tavolo a mangiare" isn't just a place to satisfy one's hunger. It is about the time that one shares with friends and family. Splitting bills is not common in Italy because having dinner together does not just consist of the meal but also the company. Everyone pitches in an even share of the bill because the bill has an invisible charge for the evening's amazing company. It is a living heritage of time shared that makes our daily lives more worth while. I don't mind paying more than my meal because I enjoy a great company of people around my table. A little secret of mine is to sit in the middle of the table so that I can be involved in everyone's conversation. That way, if I have run out of things to say on one side I can switch to another side of the table and continue talking.
      We were having great fun with our waiter Enzo and his brother Giuseppe. When he came around to ask whether we would like any dessert, Natalie got up enough courage to ask Enzo if he were on the menu. He said just wait one moment. While he was bring out our tiramisu, he handed Natalie a lovely plate painted in whipped cream the name Enzo. Yes, apparently Enzo was on the dessert menu. We just all had way too much fun. As we were leaving, we all begged, well, just us girls begged for a photo of the famed brothers for a keep sake of that wonderful dinner.

Giuseppe on the left and Enzo on the right

  

   I have been thoroughly enlightened with the many day trips Dr. Dubs has had us through and will have us through. One of the most interesting while here in Florence was a trip to a medical museum that exhibited post Renaissance wax dissection models exhibiting all sorts or ailments and diseases. Medical students thumbing through the many bibles of medicine would come and study these models for practice. These students would then be prepared to deal with the horrors of the "everyman" disorders and diseases. I found many of the these models quite frightening because they seemed so real. One of the oddest had a rendition of a pregnant mother with a breech baby.
     Studying medicine seemed to be an art for Florentines during the Renaissance. Much of Florence seems to have small moments of the Renaissance all around the city. It is like being in a museum but instead of the stark four walls surrounding you, the cobblestones and torrents of the famed Florentine city surround you. I really can't describe Florence any better than the womb of Italian art and culture. Florence was even the first capital of the unified state of Italy. I wonder what life would have been like to be apart of the history pages of Florence. It would likely be a "who's who" of Italian art and culture. We continued around the museum and came across the many animal exhibits. With Florence being one of the oldest and riches cities in Italy, we were all so interested to see the many exotic animals on display. We even came across a rare Homo Sapien called Matt. haha Many of the animals have been long since extincted. which made their viewing even more interesting.
       Florence is such a different city than Rome or even Naples. The farther one goes North of Rome, the classier everything gets. Rome is a like a pair of Levi jeans compared to Florence's high fashion label lifestyle and artistic moments. I don't really think that one can visit just one city in Italy. Italy is a completely different soul north compared to the south. I have to say that I have enjoyed Florence because it seems like the history pages seem to come to life. The words have taken a breath in front of a visitor at every waking moment. The only turn off I have from Florence is that the people get lost in all of the history, art and architecture. Maybe it would be different if I went out into the Tuscan countryside. I won't make a permanent judgement for now.
   

La Primavera

We arrived here in Florence after a long train ride. We decided to walk around the main square to find a nice restaurant. We came upon this little place that only had six tables and was about the size of the first floor in my parents house which is very small by the way. This picture<<<<<<< shows all the room that was in the place. It was so quaint. The menu was only what the kitchen was cooking for the afternoon. We all had a five layer lasagna with a glass of wine for 7 euros. It doesn't beat the group favorite of Sor Capanna but it comes so very close.

It was snowing while we we walking on the bridge

      After our amazing lunch we had a quick walking tour of the city and walked the length of the famous Ponte Vecchio. Then, we headed over to have our tour of the Uffizi museum. I am not the biggest fan but we had to use a headset for our tour. It was one of those headsets that you punch in the number of the famous painting and it tells you a story on it. I would much rather have a person tell me about certain pieces of art and the building itself. However, I stayed optimistic. I was looking forward to seeing the "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera." Both of these paintings were amazing to witness. However, I have to tell this story. I am standing back and glancing at the "Primavera." A group of Asians came by me with their crazy tour guide. She was dressed from head to toe in a baby blue suit. She painted her lips with bright red lipstick and raved in absolute craziness over the Primavera painting. She started to crouch down and then crawl around on the floor next to the wall that the painting was hung so that her tourists were able to understand something. What ever it was I feel that there is some sort of medication out there to put her excitement at ease.  This was such a strange site. She almost knocked this famous painting off the wall. I am amazed by the world and the people in it. There aren't just the black and white standardized procedures that run my Americanized life. Every spectrum of the rainbow can be reincarnated in a baby blue suit and bright red lipstick.

The palace continues to the famous bridge

      After a while I stopped listening to every room and caught up with Ali and Jenna. The Medici family had a huge complex. This whole museum used to be their palace. Ali, Jenna and I kind of did an illegal thing. We went down a handicap elevator that we had no access to and then walked into a private VIP section of the museum that we did not have access to. We received the oddest stares. Frankly, we were just trying to find our way back to the lobby. I don't mean to sound ungrateful for the experience. Museums are just exhausting. I don't prefer to be inside all day while the people pass by and life plays out.
     Later, Nicole and I decided to walk around Florence while the rest of the group went back to the hotel. We were walking towards the famous Duomo and saw the famed baptistery then we turned towards the right and saw one of the best sites. I love when these moments take my breath away. First experiences are always the best.  The church is covered in a marble that I have never seen. Nicole and I decided to walk down to the Ponte Vecchio because she was looking to buy a watch. She wanted to go into the Bulgari store because they had a lot of watches in the window. Neither of us knew of the expensive prices we were about to experience. We didn't know that Bulgari is such a high class brand. First thing is that we had to be buzzed into the store. That should have been our first sign. Nicole started looking at a 3000 euro watch. I immediately laid an egg and wanted out of the shop. They were quite upset that I left and didn't spend any money. I started calling and texting her to leave. These shops can call the police if you are not a serious buyer. They do not like browsers like in the US. She finally came bounding through the door. She told me that it took everything for the jeweler to let her go. Holy moly we almost had trouble. We ended up walking back to the shop that I bought an Italian horn at so that Nicole to look for one. Our last stop was in the Guess shop. Nicole finally settled on a 179 euro watch for her birthday. It had Swarovski crystals around the face. It was so gorgeous.

Sleep can solve a multitude of sin

    I feel so much better after getting some sleep. I awoke today at around 7am because today is Father's Day. We were all going to share Zeppolis in honor of St. Joseph. Zeppolis are a puff pastry delight filled with a burst of magnificent cream. I bet Danilo bought these at the Pope's Pastry Shop Sesta in Albano. St. Joseph is the patron saint of all fathers. As a class, we ended up making a card for our Italian father Danilo. We have become this small family of sorts: Danilo is the Dad and Dr. Dubs is the mom and there are 2 boys and 7 girls in the family. We are a precocious family seemingly challenging the boundaries of communication and interaction each day. We complement each other and fill in the gaps. Some of us speak our mind more than others. Some of us are too afraid to venture out into the unknown. As a whole, we encourage each other to not be afraid and forget time to enjoy the moment.
     After class as usual, Ali and I ventured into Rome by ourselves. She needed to finish up her walking tour and I just wanted to be in the city. I knew my way around well and I thought I would share the time with her. We ended up starting at the Spanish Steps. We had a slice of pizza at a little pizza shop right outside the entrance into the subway. They make amazing pizza. We then walked down Via Condotti and Via Della Corso to the Trevi Fountain. From the fountains of all fountains, we headed to the god of Piazzas, Piazza Novana. We then headed to the Lepanto Metro Station and came back to the intersection of Via Condotti and Via Della Corso. We happened to fall upon my absolute passion: AC ROMA's team shop. I am obsessed with soccer. I played through high school and my first two years of University. My career came to a crashing halt when I broke my left tibia from excessive stress fractures. It never healed right and I haven't been able to run well since.
     It was a constructive day and I enjoyed it. I honestly wish we had more time here. I am starting to feel the end of our semester coming to an end. I feel that there is never enough time in the day to experience all that I would like to experience. I feel rushed most times much like our scavenger hunt the other day. We run by so many beautiful things that I want to cry. Well, I can't wait to go to Florence to meet my new boyfriend David. He lives in the Gallery Anticanna. I heard he just got back from a military battle and will become King. I hope he looks like Prince William from the UK.

Caccia al Tesoro

We had a scavenger hunt in and around Piazza di Novana. Matt, Brittany and I were a group. Of course Matt is a slave driver and has to win.....He actually was quite funny about everything. I have asthma that kicks up when I have not been consistent with my exercises. Chasing after Matt down the sidewalks of Rome almost made with want to vomit. By the time we finished I was drenched in sweat, Brittany was dieing and Matt was bummed that we were told the wrong answers for many of the questions.
   It started out with 10 questions asking a random of facts about Rome. It was written in Italian so that we had Italian practice. My recollection tells me that for example: one of the questions asked about a famous fountain near the famous University of Rome. It was something about a fat guy sitting on a keg barrel. One of the disappointing things about this whole treasure hunt is that a majority of the Romans know nothing about the very eternal city they live in. We asked so many people for the answers to our questions. It was not like the answers were only known to the scholars of the city. They were rather common known knowledge. At one point we begged a bus driver to drive us to our destination. Finally, we became discouraged and stopped in at a travel agency and asked to use her computer. On the positive side, we were able to answer 5 of the 10 questions within the first 5 minutes of the hunt. When we arrived back we saw one of the other groups sitting with Danilo and Dr Dubs. When our answers were checked 2 of the 10 questions were wrong. Are you kidding me? Even the internet and travel agent is wrong. We walked back to Termini Station sulking as sore losers.
   When we arrived back to campus we decided to make plans for St. Patrick's Day in Rome. Let's see what comes of this.

A Day in the Life of Gaudi

       The next morning we headed out to see the famed church of Gaudi, La Sagrada Famili or The Sacred Family. It has been in the construction phase now for over 100 years. You can see when another decade occurred just like the rings in a tree. The stone becomes lighter. The amazing thing about this church is that it is fully funded by private donation. This is why the church has taken so much time to complete. Jenna made the remark that the church looks like wet sand slowly melting into the earth. I wonder if this church will be finished within my life time. As a souvenir, I bought a tile with the church engraved into it. I have been doing this quite often. I have built up a nice collection of tiles. Maybe one day I will use them to decorate my kitchen. Afterwards, we decided to break for lunch. We found a nice little Tapas Bar. Ali protested because she didn't want to try something she knows she will not like because it is not American food. (I want to make a point here. You never know until you try.)

She didn't want to try something that she wasn't familiar with in her America diet??? She found a KFC to have her lunch. KFC? You can get that at home. We are only here once for all we know and will never return abroad. You need to try food before you say no. I think that the international market of American Fast Food Chains has ruined the experience of foreign food for not so adventurous Americans. On the other hand, Ali would never try anything not American. This is her nature. This nature will fail her to gain the most out of this experience. For me, I would try even the craziest of things if I had the chance over eating a "heart attack" on a bun sandwich.

copy right: Emma Coleman

    We then headed to the famed Parque Guell also designed by Gaudi. We had walk up this steep walk way.....scratch that......We had to climb this hill to enter the park. The park is located on one of the highest hills in Barcelona. It was a pure cardio work out.  Matt, Nicole and Brittany were here two weeks ago. They made this video of them struggling to get to the top of the hill. We almost felt like doing the same. I do have to say that when we did arrive to the park it was like entering a dream. Gaudi was a master of twists and turns with exotic patterns and colors. As we walked around the park we noticed that every single corner had a thoughtful design and layout. Exiting the park, we stopped to enjoy a flute concert.
      We then headed down to the beach that we were trying to find yesterday. It was one of the longest walks ever to the beach but it was one of the cleanest beaches the girls have seen. For me, this was my first time seeing a beach. I have never walked on a beach before. I have never enjoyed the sand between my toes or the peaceful nature one feel just sitting in their own make shift armchair made from sand. I have also never experienced the wide variety of nudity. bahaha Some people should never sun bathe nude. It isn't meant for us all. I was enjoying every moment. Jenna was laughing at me because I looked like a five year old visiting the beach for the very first time. We ended up sunning at the beach for about two hours. An alarming thing at first was that this was a nude beach. Every so often we would walk past a nude sun bather or topless woman taking in the sun. The girls and I had a walk through the waves. We wondered why no one was in the water. Well, we found out why no one was in the water. It was ice cold. The sun, on the other hand, was a welcoming warmth to us. We found a nice spot and parked ourselves to enjoy the view. These guys behind us were trying to roll beers down a make shift sand hill to us. I think that they were trying to invite us to play this said tennis game. They were about our age and probably were interested because of our exotic Ohio Accent. We decided to leave the beach before the sun started to set. We wanted to share pyaya, muscles and blue cheese pizza at one of the restaurants along the beach for sun set.
      Ali again chose to order a hamburger and fries. She did not even want to try a bit of our pyaya. She missed out on a quintessential meal of Spain, especially Barcelona. 

     The next morning we started our journey nice at early at the ripe old hour of 6:30AM. We had to travel to Girona airport three hours away. When we arrived we begged for the border patrol to stamp our passport. They thought that we were childish for wanting it stamped. I talked to this guy for 5 minutes in Spanish telling him about why Americans like to have their passport stamped. In the end, we had to end the conversation because Ryanair decided to change our departure time and move it up. Then they changed the gate three times. Needless to say we looked like a "Home Alone" movie running all over the airport.   

I Am Sorry: Lo Siento...non mi dispiace

    After what took like for ever to get cleaned up, we met back at the Travel Bar for a Tapas tour and Flamenco dancing. We met out tour guide Max for drinks. I think he fancied Jenna. Since this was his first week in Barcelona and our first time in Barcelona he wanted to join us. He was a cool guy besides having a wee bit of a creeper side. Oh the people you meet when you travel. He probably thought the same of us.
   I have to share this story. We were walking with an escort to the restaurant to enjoy 20 plates of different tapas and Sangria. We were walking down this rather narrow street just like any other narrow street in Europe. The cobblestones were rather rough as well. Our group was scattered from edge to edge of the of the tiny street. Out of no where a woman comes racing past me on her bike and wipes out so bad in front of us. She flew into some parked Vespas. We were all shocked that we witnessed such a huge wipe out. I swear that even the cobblestones were screaming from the impact of her body against their random texture. Then, out of no where life must have taken its breath because this woman came running over to me so fast that I couldn't even comprehend what was about to happen to me. She starts screaming at me in Spanish that she rang her bell and I should have heard it. She started saying that this was "all of my fault and that I am a fat ass for taking up the whole road." Now I am on the larger side but when did a size 10 mean taking up the whole road. Then, she started digging her index finger into my chest and started screaming louder. I was so shocked that all I could remember is how to say I am sorry in Italian. I have been living in Italy now for 3 weeks. My ten years of Spanish education and communication was not top priority at the time. I just ended up saying nothing. Our escort came over and she decided to pop back on her bicycle and ride away. At this point I started to shake a little. This woman was barely 5 foot tall. I towered over her at my conservative height of 5 foot 8 inches and according to her, my fat ass size 10 butt. Her Spanish character overwhelmed me so much. I can't believe I was intimidated by a short woman for something that wasn't even my fault.
     Five minutes later out of no where I get this shove. She returned this time to attack me. My worst fears, I will beaten up by someone that I would out match. This time she starts verbally attacking me in English. I still couldn't get anything out of my mouth. I just started saying I am sorry over and over again. She wouldn't leave. This time, instead of her index finger, her fist started digging into me. The escort came running over towards us to talk her down. She wouldn't let it be. She wanted a piece of my fat ass size 10 self. It took the escort 10 minutes to talk her down. She became so loud at one point that everyone in the neighborhood started looking at me and her. Finally she dispersed. Through the silence came the funniest comment from an older English couple in our group. The wife said, "She must have been on dope or something." (It sounds so much better when someone English says it.)
    When we finally sat down at the restaurant everyone came rushing over to me. The scene looked like a meeting at the UN. There was probably 30 different nationalities asking whether I was alright. Wow, what a story eh? After a few glasses of the best Sangria and 20 different Tapas, the image of having a near beating by a Spanish lady passed over me. We then headed over to the Flamenco club to watch such an amazing show. My Spanish teachers through the years told me about how in person, this dance can be mesmerizing. The movements are made with such amazing emotion. I couldn't help but to be moved when she finished up her first dance. Even the music that accompanied her was amazing. I was loving every moment of it. Finally, a language and culture that I have studied for years is finally coming to life in front of me.

Gothic Barcelona

Gaudi church: Copyright-Emma Coleman

Santa Eulalia statue

Last night, Marty told us about a free tour of Gothic Barcelona. We had our breakfast and headed out to meet at a travel bar to meet our guide in Central Barcelona. Our tour guide was named Max and he had just arrived from Australia. We walked the way of the great Spanish artists Picasso and Gaudi. Max took us to some ancient Roman Ruins of ancient Catalucia. We almost had to laugh. We see these types of ruins everyday. We were almost not phased by them at all. We have seen more interesting ones in our backyard. One of the most interesting stops was in the area that Santa Eulalia was martyred. She was subjected to 13 tortures. One that sticks with me the most is that she was thrown in a barrel with knives stuck in it. She was then rolled down a steep part of the street over and over again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eulalia_of_Barcelona This website is a nice summary of her history. When she was crucified in the piazza it snowed. It never snows in Barcelona.  She is such an interesting person to read about. I would give in after 1 torture let alone 13 tortures.
    We then headed over to the school that Pablo Picasso's father taught at. This is where he received much of his early art education. The odd thing about this area is that it is considered throughout history to be the "red light" district of Barcelona. One of Picasso's famous paintings of the many naked ladies is said to be of the whores that inhabited that street during his early years. Interesting enough, we walked through Plaza Real and Plaza Tripe. These areas are known for their architecture and for the known drug dealings of Gothic Barcelona. Hmmm, at least this tour was free. One of the more interesting stops was the church that Gaudi frequented. The focus was on the bomb damage on the outside of the church. King Ferdinad ordered Mussolini to drop a bomb in the Plaza as to make known the Spanish regime meant business. The bomb damage can still be seen to this day.
   Our tour was then ended back at the travel bar. We decided to stay at the bar to have lunch and shared a beer with Max. He told us of a man that walks the Olympic beach that is called Elephant Man. His butt is tattooed to look like a speedo and the front like an elephant. I will let you use your imagination. Needless to say, we headed to the beach after lunch only to fail at finding the said Elephant Man. We ended up walking across the Millennium bridge to see all of the illegals selling every knock off brand imaginable. All of these illegals seem to be of Northern African decent. They all have the same look and they all sell the same off brand merchandise that the same group of people sell in Italy. We headed back to our Hostel and came upon the famed street Las Ramblas. To best describe this famous street it is a twist of Las Vegas and Bohemian art. The street performers are amazing. There was this one that was pretending to look like a statue. He was the Devil and when you dropped a coin in the can he would come to life. The weird part of it all is that this puppet he had would turn around and freak everyone out. Everyone seemed to have a marketable skill from statue art to volleying a soccer ball head to toe. My thought is that these soccer people should actually put their skill to work and play for a team not pan handle on the street. I have played soccer both on a university level and semi-pro. My volley skills sucked compared to these men.