The Ketchup Blog

Oh my goodness! I have been horribly neglecting my blog and I quickly came to the point where every time I thought of it a rush of ALL the things I've not said in the past two weeks came to me and so I became overwhelmed which led to more not-blogging and then after a while the cycle would repeat itself. So now I've accepted that I must simply say what I can about the time I've missed and keep the ball rolling. So here's the initial push...

My dear friend, Anna, came to visit last Friday sort of on a whim. Her new fabulous life as a pastry chef in New York City was put on hold for eight days so that she could come experience Italy with me. I think the excitement and slight disbelief I felt goes without saying and when, after a bit of confusion with connecting trains and payphone difficulties, we were finally embracing each other in the Santa Maria Novella train station I felt like I was watching a scene from a movie (this is the general feeling I have while here in Florence).
Just a few hours later we were back at the station catching a train to meet some other students in the nearby town of Lucca. Lucca is far smaller than Florence, even smaller than Siena, but it is a lively place that, for all its quaintness, has a resplendence unique from the other Italian cities I've been to (which is still only four). Anna and I found ourselves wandering into an empty courtyard that reminded me so strongly of every "Romeo calling to Juliet's balcony" scene I've ever imagined. We sat down in the center and drank in the fact that we were together in Italy, letting our conversation meander hither and thither.

Excavating the Great Walls of Lucca

Piazza Anfiteatro, Lucca

Unfortunately Italy, together with the rest of Europe, has been experiencing very unusual cold weather and winds... so many things were closed and Anna's week here in Florence turned out to be a bitter cold one. But despite the fact, we were able to see and do quite a bit within the shortened time she was here. Of course because she and I are both sweets lovers, we were on a quest to find the absolute best Pasticceria in Firenze. We asked locals, read reviews, and searched online maps to finally come to a place not a block from mi scuola, called Dolcissima Firenze. The place is a rapture for your senses, filled with the sweetest most alluring smells, beautifully decorated pastries of different colors and textures, all satisfied in one foodgasmic climax by your tastebuds. It's that good.

Futbol game- Fiorentina (2) vs. Sienna (0)

 Some of my favorite nights spent with Anna included us serving as tour guides for two Italians not from Florence, Stefano and Ricuccio, who were hopelessly attempting to see the city's best in one night; the finest gnocci I've ever had swimming in a cheesy,truffly bath of goodness, as well as my long-searched for spaghetti picante; and compleeetely losing track of time, having to walk up six flights of stairs at four in the morning.

The gnocci, though the picture doesn't do it justice

I did get locked out of my apartment her last night in Florence and wander the streets for a couple of hours trying to figure out what to do with no phone and no keys before finally being saved by another student I didn't previously know (we're now Facebook friends, so practically sisters)... but this caused me to have to hurriedly get ready the following morning... which caused me to put on my new boots without tall socks... which caused awful blisters and bleeding toes... which caused Anna and I to get a late start on her last day... which caused us to not have time to withdraw cash from the bank in order to buy tickets at the kiosk... which caused us to hurriedly buy tickets for five minutes after we arrived at the station... which caused us to miss the bus to Pisa...

I just hope she doesn't hate Florence because of her last day here. It was a cannon of unfortunate events.

The following day our school of 25 students took our second planned day trip: destination Assisi. It is one of the most well-preserved medieval cities in Europe, perched high on the side of one of the Appenine's mountains. The whole city was dusted with snow this Saturday, an icy wonderland of marble churches and stone fortresses. Our guide was this extremely friendly and entertaining older man who very evidently loved his Assisi and did all he could to keep our minds off of our numb fingers and toes throughout the tour- not an easy task. When we came upon the Church of St. Francis nearing the end of our tour, I had already been amazed and overwhelmed by the beauty of the mountains, the architecture, and the Church of Santa Chiara, but I don't think I was prepared for the greatness of what I walked into when we entered this church. It is a goldmine of invaluably precious art and history, all of which is completely unaltered from the 13th century, only beautifully and meticulously preserved. Some of the most important and widely studied works of pre-Renaissance art are painted in frescoes within this church, particularly those of masters Cimabue and Giotto. The visit to the St. Francis' Basilica was most certainly the icing on the cake at the end of the day, the small town leaving an indelible image in my mind.

Sam and I in Assisi

Basilica di San Francesco

That evening the girls took me out to celebrate my 21st birthday. They really were so sweet and made it truly special. I feel selfish saying that it was easily one of the most memorable nights in Florence so far (which is an especially good thing, since it was my 21st).

Before the festivities!

The day of was equally as special... I went to see my very first professional ballet! I have been dying to see the ballet since I was a little girl, and it was magical. We saw Il Lago dei Cigni- Swan Lake in Italia. In front of our row was a group of girls about six or seven years old who were completely enamored; I think I pretty much acted just as they did and felt like I should've been one of them. Having danced ballet the majority of my life it was an experience close to home for me and again, being the softy I am,  I found myself feeling humbled by the privilege that inner six-year-old-ballerina had been given to be there.  My host mom Marina is always thoughtful, and for dinner she made spinach and cheese ravioli, grilled eggplant, fresh homemade bread, and my favorite: broccoli. She also made me a little chocolate cake to make the meal special and to make it feel a little like home :) Since then I've been on a bit of high, which is good because this week consisted of a downpour of papers and projects after weeks of virtual academic freedom. We knew it was coming though... thank goodness tomorrow is Thursday! I'm ready for another weekend in Firenze.

Mr. Formaggio

Thank goodness for my friend, Signor Cheese

Classes have really begun to pick up this week. Since our semester is somewhat shortened, we have to move through the curriculum at a pretty quick pace in order to still cover all the material. It is more demanding but I am definitely learning things more thoroughly because 

a) I am fully engaged in my classes simply because I'm in Florence and they're so interesting and 

b) I'm forced to spend more hours every day investing in each subject (so basically I'm actually studying). Maybe I'll develop some better student skillz while I'm here.

I couldn't be happier with my decision to switch into the Dante class. I can't say it's my favorite class because I'm truly enjoying them all like I never have before, but it is such a stimulating work of literature; a remarkable peak into his mind, the incredibly detailed Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven of his imagination. It is most definitely worth taking time to study, and if you haven't read it... you should. Here we are lucky enough to have Alessandro Gentili as our professor, an expert on Dante and medieval Florence. Every so often he will read the original Italian text to us which gives the stanzas new life, it's really beautiful. 

Do I use the word beautiful too much? 

I just don't think I can help it

La Citta di Siena

We visited as a group the town of Siena on Saturday. It is significantly smaller than Florence both in size and grandeur, but it certainly has a charm of its own.

Unfortunately I forgot my camera because Sam and I were running late (my tendency to be tardy may be starting to rub off on her... whoopsies. Although she is doing a really good job of resisting it) SO, I don't have many pictures.

Within the Sienese walls --literal walls around some of its perimeter remain standing from its origin as a fortress-- is an abundance of history, particularly related to the Roman Catholic church. Santa Caterina, one of the six patron saints of Europe, lived and died in Siena. Her story is pretty interesting, the most striking fact being her self-deprivation: she refused any type of food for seven years before perishing of malnutrition. Legend says that she also received the Stigmata. I'm not entirely sure about that stuff, seems fishy. Maybe I'll investigate...

Siena's duomo, cathedral, is beautiful inside and out, ornately decorated in white and black marble, with astounding monuments of Catholic and medieval history throughout its interior.

In the center of the city is the Piazza del Campo, its physical and social center of activity. Within this courtyard every year is held a stupendous horse-race called the Palio. It is a tradition that dates back to 1659 and occurs twice a year, at the beginning of July and August. I'm not sure my words could do it justice the amount of importance and excitement this race has in Siena. We were told, "Imagine the passion of the World Cup and SuperBowl combined; now double that." The city is divided among 17 wards, each represented by a different animal (so as we were touring the city we were told when we were in the Goose, the Caterpillar, the Rhino, and the Giraffe for example). Ten of these wards are chosen to participate in each race, so every citizen is present the day of either to root for his own district or to root against his rival. The entire city celebrates with one gargantuous party for two months during the season of this race. I have most definitely added attending a Palio race to my bucket list. Guess I'll have to come back to Italy...

The final part of Siena that left a lasting impression on me was a room within the Palazzo Publico called the Room of the Nine. It was here that the nine leaders of Medieval Siena conferred and ran the city. At this point in time Siena was one of the Italian peninsula's most important cities, playing a leading role in the arts, trade, and progress of Europe. The oldest fresco in Italy is painted on its walls: an allegorical depiction of upright vs. corrupt rule. The courts of each ruler are made up of the nine virtues and vices of humanity, and around each court are the fruits of good and bad rule: prosperity, peace, and unity, vs. scarcity, war, and disharmony. How long the practice of "good government" has been studied! I think maybe the simplicities of basic leadership ought to be reintroduced and emphasized in our modern study.

Here are a few pictures some of the other girls got of our day in Siena:

 

lunch in Piazza de Campo with the girls... our waiter brought us shots on the house at 1:30 in the afternoon. casual.

 

Alex and I cheezin in front of Palazzo Pubblico. We spent a couple of hours sitting in this Piazza people watching, enjoying the sunshine, and soaking in the whole experience

Amy, Sam, me, and Allison

Costa di Nugola, Vermentino

“Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.”

-Benjamin Franklin

 

First wine class today! Allow me, if you will, to show off some of my newly acquired skills: 

(and by newly acquired I do mean just learned this set of skills existed and could even be learned) 

This is a Tusan wine from the coast of Nugola, where the Vermentino grape is grown. Being so close to the sea it acquires a mineral-like quality,  which compliments its sweet fruity taste of pear, apple, and very subtle and delicate hint of apricot-- and yes, I actually smelt all of those things!! It's amazing what your olfactory can do when you deliberately put it to use.

This is the first wine I've tried that I've genuinely enjoyed the taste of... which may partially be because it's nice, semi-expensive wine compared to the 4 euro bottles you can easily find in supermarkets, but I think the surface of wine culture that I scratched today has already opened my eyes (and ears, and nose, as I've learned) to appreciate good wine! So excited to keep learning! 

Who knows... Maybe I'll open a fine wine and cheese shop in Virginia Beach :)

Uffizi Galleria

We visited the Uffizi Gallery today where hundreds and hundreds of Renaissance paintings and sculptures are housed. As a class we examined only the pre-Renaissance work of Cimabue, Giotto, and their contemporaries, but afterward a handful of us stayed to wander the gallery a bit.
I've never experienced art quite in that way before. It was grounding and sobering to look at art which has outlasted nation and empire, and recognized by the world in some way or another as something truly beautiful. One of my previous professors at JMU often talked about some pivotal moment when you experience art that truly moves you, and you feel like you could spend hours planted in front of that one piece. I never could relate to that on the level that he seemed to deeply and intensely feel the work, but today I must have come as close as ever.

I got lost in Botticelli's The Birth of Venus. 

The men who stood before these blank walls and canvases poured over them for hours. Imagine the care taken in rendering the images in their minds. It was important to them! These people revered the human body and considered it the most beautiful and perfect thing in creation. And to think that nowadays we cut it away and replace it with plastic counterfeits. The greats might be a little insulted.

Thoughts were bouncing around in their heads with every stroke they made... how precious his subject was--the dog running across the street--the woman he could not woo... and all of that is captured in a grand work of art that has been preserved for hundreds of years. In the case of Venus about 530 years.

Another train of thought I dawdled down---- Before the Renaissance, art was created only and strictly for la chiesa--the church. The average person could not read or write, so the monastery commissioned artists to depict the stories of Christ's life (the annunciation, the crucifixion, the resurrection, etc.) in order for the people to see and learn from them. This sounds good, but it means this thing I love, art, historically was the way the monastery maintained control over what people knew/didn't know about Jesus, the church, and really anything for which it interested them to withhold information. It gave them the ability to blindly lead the people into religiosity and doctrine that parted from the teachings of Christ. This is how the church became and remains so far separated from the church Christ soared in his heart as he offered up his life.

Inhale and exhale deeply

Took this picture from my airplane window flying over the Appenine Mountains from Paris to Florence

After days of waging an inner-battle inside of myself --which I do with pretty much every decision I make in life (mozzarella or pecorino... black boots or black flats... to be lazy or to be adventurous... you get the picture)-- I have decided to make some changes to my class schedule. There were a zillion factors swarming through my head while considering everything but after some council and drawing straws I concluded that I ought to take what I will enjoy most and what I think will be most enriching considering I am in Italy. So the new schedule will be:

English 302F, Dante's Commedia
AH 313 Masterpieces of Renaissance Art
AH 320 Architecture and Urban Planning in Florence
Italian 490F Exploration of Wine Culture in Italy
e Italiano 101/102!

I feel very excited and easy about having made this decision which is a good initial sign!
I start my new schedule tomorrow :) Let the wining begin!

Ciao Amici!

At about three in the afternoon one week ago, I stepped out of a cab onto Via Sant Agostino for the first time. The driver unloaded my bags and pulled away, and in that moment it finally hit me that this was it: For the next three and a half months this would be my new home in Florence, Italy.

It took a minute or two for me to grasp that and move onto the next task of figuring out how to get through the giant (crane-your-neck-to-look-at giant) wooden doors that now stood before me. But soon enough I was swept up by my new Italian host-mom, Marina, and roommate/fellow study-abroader, Sam.
That first night we were served lasagna with seasoned potatoes and carrots, salad, bread (of course! there's always bread), and apple cake... which was more of an apple frittata really. Molto bene.


                   This is my host-mom, Marina!                                             and my roomate, Sammi :) 

Wednesday we began orientation for the program and classes. Looks like I'll be taking:

Florentine Architecture and Urban Planning
Masterpieces of Renaissance Art
Italy and the Anglo-Amrican Imagination (an English credit)
Painting at the Santa Reparata International School of Art
and Italiano at the British Institute

One of our program advisors Dr. Scherpereel took us on our first walking tour of Florence. It is absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous. I keep saying that one of the best parts is that there aren't just a few sights to see and the rest of the city is "blah" but the entire city is utterly magnificent! The duomo and ponte vecchio and the churches and piazzas and palaces are all simply part of daily activity. I will interact with these timeless icons every day while living here; which is still, a week later, blowing my mind.

The weekend was filled with fun nights exploring Italian night-life, shopping, and of course great eating. There are markets everywhere! Piazza di San Lorenzo has an incredible market that lines the streets for blocks upon blocks filled with leather goods, pashmina scarves, shoes, ceramics, anything you can think of. Leather goods of course are especially abundant. Most shops are run by family members where the leather is sold and in the back is where the leather is actually made (usually by an older man from the family)... so cool. We stopped along the way later in the afternoon at a place called Coronas Cafe where some of us had our first Italian gelato. White chocolate was my flavor of choice. So now my list of favorite foods must go 1. cheese (still, of course) 2. gelato (hellooo!) 3. broccoli (sorry dude, but I do still love you)

After discovering that we had arrived in Italy during fashion week and expressing my interest to Marina, she invited Sam and me to come with her to a FW event, celebrating her friend the architect's accomplishments. The studio was so posh, as was the event. There were hor d'oeurves of colored marshmallow kebabs, cashews, green olives, fizzy blue, green, and orange drinks, live performers singing down to us from a loft, Italian murmuring, laughing, and mingling, and of course art and fashion everywhere. I felt very privileged to have been a guest.

Domenica I had been planning to attend church, but overslept. Instead I took my time waking up and getting the day started. I love how much time there seems to be in a day here, because of the abandon of worry and scheduling and obligation. I took this day to myself and set out with my camera for the first time to capture Florence. Five hours I spent exploring the city and only wandered through a very small portion of it... mostly on one winding street up a hill. Florence is actually a small place, nearly everything in walking distance, but it is so full of life and history everywhere that well... I could spend five hours exploring one street!


 I followed this winding street for about three hours... So many beautiful surprises along the way

One of my favorite things about Florence so far is honestly the people. Maybe it's the beautiful language or their olive skin, but I think I'm in love with them all. There's something of a kindness and real joy that exudes from them as a people that just makes me smile. They always seem to be happy! Even when they're angry they're happy! It makes sense to me because their lives are so much simpler than our lives in America. Our on-sight professor has traveled all around the world and visited and revisited many places; this is his 7th time to Florence and says it is the only place in the world he's seen that has not changed a bit. It is truly a special place.

  Gotcha! ...Am I creepy?

Amazed. Blessed. Inspired. These words describe this past week for me in an extremely undersized nutshell. I can see already that I've begun the experience of a lifetime.

   The street I live on! I know- so picturesque

 Ponte Vecchio- my view to the right on the way to the British Institute where we take Italiano

 The view to the left

Ponte Vecchio and the Arno at night