Photos of San Gimignano and Il Giardino di Boboli

The view from outside of San Gimignano, doesn't it make you want to buy a vineyard and stay there forever?



The girls.



Those medieval buildings in one of the piazzas.




Me with the second best gelato I've had so far in Italy.



One of San Gimignano's infamous towers.



Il giardino di Boboli! One of many many fountains. Buontalenti loved his fountains.



We felt Italian sitting up on those big grassy hills and reading our Italian books.



One of the Medici mansions, some more fountain, and a view of the city I'm sure they paid a lot for.



More garden, do you see that castle way up in the background?



We stayed at the gardens all day and I'm pretty sure only saw 1/10 of it because everywhere you turn there are little hidden paths like this one.

A Slow Transition.

Gradually I am feeling myself grow more accustomed to life here. Sunday morning I woke up late (9 a.m., but to my Signora I am the “dormita” the sleeper of the house) and sat in the kitchen drinking my coffee and eating my toast while my Signora cut up apples for a dessert she was making.

Saturday was a long day, I planned a trip to San Gimignano after being reminded of the town my mom loved so much by my History of Florence professor last week. Four friends and I ended up taking the long, winding bus ride there. San Gimignano is significant because it is a medieval village that still has 17 of its 42 towers intact. Back in the day when Italy was constantly at war with itself people built towers to protect themselves and to throw boiling oil out of at their enemies. Today they make for lovely places to see panoramic vistas of the Tuscan countryside.

San Gimignano is beautiful because of both the countryside and the village itself. The buildings have been maintained beautifully and it still retains the quiet mood of a little village while also being a popular tourist destination. We had a fabulous lunch, and gelato that rivals that of “Vivoli,” the best gelateria in Florence. Then we went to the Museo di Civico where tons of religious art, beautiful frescoes and the “Sala di Dante,” a room where Dante once mediated a village war, are all housed. The museum is also home to the only tower in San Gimignano that you are allowed to go up. Although to reach the top we had to climb hundreds of stairs, the view was worth it. We stayed at the top of the tower for almost an hour just taking in one of the most beautiful panoramas I’ve ever seen. After descending I went on a hunt for a leather bag maker where my mom had bought me a purse a few years before. After giving up hope a few hours later we finally stumbled upon it and I pulled my purse out showing the man at the shop (who makes all the bags with his son) and told him my mom had bought it from him for me two years ago. He smiled at me and asked “Buona?” ‘Is it good?’ And I told him I loved it. After falling in love with several other of his bags I finally settled on one that I could carry my books and computer in to and from school. He gave me a small discount and after asking if I was English or American he took my hands in his and said “Saluta tua madre per me.” ‘Say hi to your mother from me.’ I left the shop beaming after making my first big Italian purchase.

Needless to say I went to bed exhausted that night and Sunday morning took the day at my pace, deciding to spend some time in my own city. I took advantage of my museum pass paid for by my school and went to the Boboli Gardens, sort of the Florentine Central Park, except that it was all once owned by the Medicis and their sense of grandeur is felt in every square centimeter of the place. I read my Italian novel that I am stumbling through, wrote in my journal, and took pictures of only a few of the incredible statues and vistas the garden is home to. We are still experiencing unseasonably warm weather here, and I feel like my summer vacation has been extended indefinitely, and that’s not such a bad feeling.

Another batch of photos...

Another view of the Arno, one of my favorite places.


The next view are from San Miniato, the church at the top of the hill where I had my Art History and drawing classes.








The view of the Chianti countryside, taken through the bus window, multiply this beauty by about 1,000 and you have the real effect.





And the view from Fiesole on the outskirts of Florence.

Che bellissima fine-settimana.

Friday we had a drawing lesson at San Minato, one of the most beautiful places I have been in Florence yet, we drew the architecture of the church and I decided that it was a fabulous way to learn and I will be signing up for the Studio Art course first semester—which starts in a couple weeks. I believe I will also be taking an Italian literature class, an Italian language stylistics course, and a history of Florence course, plus auditing one class at the University of Florence of my choice that I will be required to write a paper on at the end of the semester. I honestly hadn’t even really thought about the schoolwork that would be happening here, but I am very happy to have a schedule and to be back in an academic setting, learning about the environment in which I now live. Orientation will be another two weeks of classes and by the end of it my Italian should hopefully be back up close to the level it was at when I left Smith last spring.

This weekend was an excellent opportunity to see more of the Tuscan countryside and I definitely took advantage of it. Saturday I went to Chianti with three of my friends, we decided to go to a little town called Greve, where we heard there might be a wine festival going on. We decided to just hop a bus and leave the city early Saturday morning and see what Greve could offer us. It turned out no wine festival, but a little market was open until two with food and clothes and really beautiful leather bags (no Mom I didn’t buy one yet). We found out once the market was done though, that Greve is extremely tiny, with not a whole lot to do inside the town. The views on the way up and down were the highlight. I will post some pictures that I took out of the bus window and I promise you I did not edit them one bit—that is the Tuscan countryside folks. We did have an excellent lunch, some amazing dessert, and a little wine though, before getting back on the bus for some more panoramic views and hairpin turns.

That night we decided to try our luck in the city on our first real Saturday night in Italy. A friend of a friend had tipped us off to a bar that a lot of Italians go to called (of all things) Joshua Tree. Lucky for us it is very close to my and Katherine’s apartment, and there happened to be a Florentine soccer game going on so it was packed with screaming fans. If you want to learn some fun Italian words, watch soccer here. We immediately decided we will be buying our purple t-shirts and going to a game, hopefully next Sunday. It was great and the bartender made us free shots because along with her we were the only girls in the place. It was probably the nicest an Italian girl has been to us since we got here.

Sunday Katherine’s sorellina (little sister) Nora visited from Rome, where she is attending language school for a few months. We decided to get some more l’aria della campagna (country air) and headed to nearby Fiesole to have a picnic and do some reading for our classes. Fiesole is beautiful, you can just walk and walk and walk and everywhere you turn there are ancient Etruscan ruins or an amazing 360 degree view of Florence way down below the countryside. We got some sun and some reading done and had some paninos before heading back the città.

I got my first Italian cold this weekend, which might keep me in tonight but I didn’t let it stop me from traveling. I still find myself missing home sometimes and don’t know if I will ever get used to the idea that this is my home for another nine months, but as they say “Vediamo.”

Dopo Una Settimana...

So it has been one full week in Italy. It is hard to tell whether the time is passing extremely fast or slow, because I feel like I have been here a lot longer than a week, but also like there is still so much to see and do. There are a few things about the Italian lifestyle that I have had to get used to. For instance, not eating breakfast really, then eating a late light lunch and a really late really huge dinner. My Signora is proving to be an amazing cook who has realized that I eat a lot and therefore serves me bigger portions than the other girls and told me after our first dinner "I can tell you have brothers".

She also had us watch "Chi Vuol Essere un Milione?" (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) with her the other night and read every question aloud to us, she is very patient and helpful with our language skills and I think we understand each other fairly well.
We started classes this week and I feel a little swamped. None of the professors here speak any English (or it is very limited) which is both good and difficult because some things are extremely hard to describe without any translation.

The nine hour time difference has been hard for me to get used to and I find myself getting extremely tired in the late afternoon but then waking up wide awake after dinner (around 9 or 10 p.m.). This also makes it difficult to talk to people from home since our sleep-awake schedules are pretty much opposite. The lack of wireless internet further exacerbates this problem. Hardly anyone has it in their homes because it is so expensive and internet cafes are fairly expensive as well and harder to come by in residential areas like where I live. It is interesting to think that a country like Italy, which is just as modern of a society as the United States finds a way to live without things we have decided are necessities. Although that is definitely telling of their extremely laid-back culture. And the importance that Italians seem to place on actual human interaction; Italians say hello to each other on the streets, they go out at night, they eat late and always with other people. It is definitely a different way of life.

I have been getting lost every day from my house on the way to school because I think I am heading in the right direction but none of the streets here are straight so I always end up somewhere completely different. After a while I'm sure I will figure it out, but for now it is a bit frustrating. The city is getting a little stifling and I am already planning on seeing more of the countryside soon.

This morning we had our art history lesson at a church in Piazzale Michelangelo which overlooks the whole of Florence, of course it was a day I decided not to bring my camera, but I am sure I will be back soon to take photos. We hiked up about a thousand stairs to get there and were all sweating by the time we reached the top. It reminded me of the temples in Thailand that are all built up a million stairs, interesting how most religions end up with the same ideas. Although, I'm glad I at least know something about Catholocism because that is definitely helping while learning about the architecture of the churches and the history of the entire city, some of the girls are not so lucky and hearing vocabulary in a foreign language that you never learned in your own is a bit confusing.

Sorry this got a little long and probably seems disconnected I'm still trying to wrap my head around my life here.
A Presto Tutti!

Le Mie Foto

one of the billions of churches on the streets of Firenze.



Me on the Ponte Vecchio!



A group of us during one of our many explorations.



The sunset seen from my director's apartment.



One of the most amazing sights to see, you will be walking and walking and all of a sudden the duomo peeks out from around a corner, it takes your breath away.




my little loft room at my signora's house.



the view from my tuscan window of my tuscan rooftop.

Finalmente Sono Arrivata!

Finally making it to Firenze is indescribable. This place is a city that I have read and studied about for years and finally am seeing in person, because of this it feels distantly familiar but also incredibly exciting. I have spent the last three days living in a hotel in the center of Florence with the rest of the girls on my program, 23 Smithies in all. Our hotel was a two minute walk from the Sede (the Smith College Center) which is in la Piazza della Signoria, the original place of Michalangelo’s “David” and the place where it’s exact replica among many other beautiful buildings and works of art stand today. The view from the Sede is like looking at a picture book, in fact all of Florence is a picture book, but somehow when I try to capture it with my camera something is missing, it is impossible to impart the ancient grandiose significance that this place exudes.

The Sede’s central location is due to its longstanding tradition, Smith College was the first American college to open a center in Florence, and the first group of women were here in 1931. The last few days we have spent exploring Florence on our own, trying to disguise ourselves as natives instead of just one more of the hordes of American “turisti” that fill the streets daily. My language skills are a bit rusty thanks to the long summer break, but I feel surprisingly comfortable attempting to speak it with shopkeepers, waiters, and passersby. Mostly we have been trying to speak it with each other before our orientation classes begin Monday and we are given a much needed intensive refresher course. The bells of the Duomo have woken us up every morning at 7 a.m., and I have seen more art than ever in my life and I haven’t yet set foot in a museum.

Today I moved in with my host, Signora Dionisi, a single woman who lives in a beautiful home in the center of Florence. I live with one other Smith student since Signora Dionisi has a lot of room and there is also a student here from Switzerland, who seems very sweet, but does not have as much language background and so is very quiet. Signora Dionisi is amazing, hospitable, and so incredibly sweet, she started hugging us the moment we arrived and hasn’t stopped yet. My room is up above the rest of the house, kind of like a loft, and the bathroom that she has for the students is up here too. My little window looks out at a horizon of Florentine rooftops. She made us our first dinner tonight “Pasta al Ragu,” some salad, chicken, fruit and crème caramel for dessert; my director was right when she told us our host mom was the best cook in the program. Signora Dionisi also assured us her cooking would not make us fat, which after eating here for four days, is kind of a relief.

Today is the first day we don't have to do anything, so I am planning on taking some time to rest, I have a feeling it is all catching up with me. Our orientation classes begin Monday, a cooking class, language, art history and an introduction to the city with the grad student we knew last year at Smith, it should be wonderful!