Firenze + Parma

The third weekend in February (22-24), I had the pleasure of going up to Florence for a mandatory field trip for my Introduction to Renaissance Art class. We were required to be there for the afternoon on Friday and all day Saturday. Two of my roommates had to go as well, but the rest ended up coming along. Florence is my favorite city in Italy (besides Parma, but more on that) so naturally I had an amazing weekend.



Three of us went up Thursday night after class for an extra night in Florence. We stayed with my roommate Laura's friend from home who is studying there through Syracuse. She was so sweet to us and was so concerned about showing us a good time, even though she had to be on a train to Rome at 9am the next morning. That night, she took us out with her friends to their Irish pub that they go to all the time, followed by a club that was giving away free Nutella. I kid you not, this place had JUGS of Nutella on the bar with plastic spoons on the side for the bartendars to give to customers. I had two spoonfuls of course. A club in Italy giving away free Nutella? I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

The next morning, Liz, Laura, and I got up and attempted to wander the city until the rest of our friends came and Liz and I had class at 3. We walked into the center from the apartment and stopped for little pizzettas (mini pizzas) for breakfast, natrually. We walked into the center and the first thing I see is the Duomo. Even though I've seen it before, I was blown away. That church is one of the most beautiful structures I have ever seen. Immediately I was pumped to be in Florence.

That afternoon, after we found our hostel to put our bags down, Liz, Laura and I went to the Uffizi Galleria. I had been there before with a private tour that BC arranged for us on the Parma program, but this time we went through with an audio tour which makes all the difference. To someone going, I suggest arranging a private tour or taking an audio tour because there is nothing cooler than being told the story behind a painting or interesting facts about it. It makes walking through an art museum that much more interesting. Our teacher had given us a sheet of paper with some paintings on it, and it was our responsibility to find the name, artist, year, and three adjectives describing the paintings. At first I was annoyed by the assignment, but as I was doing it, I found myself thinking about the paintings even more and noticing the details on the expressions of the figures and the colors. Of course, I spent the most time in Botticelli's room. My favorite painting of all time, the Primavera, is in the same room as Botticelli's Birth of Venus, and both are absolutely breathtaking. I also fell in love with another painting, Venus of Urbino, by the late Renaissance artist Vecelli. I am not much of an art museum kinda person, but after taking this class I have a whole new appreciation and love for the Renaissance.



Liz and I left the museum just in time to meet our class in front of the Duomo. Little interesting fact for you: the Duomo had no roof for 50 years because no one could figure out how to build proper scaffolding to complete the dome. Enter: Brunelleschi who invented scaffolding and machines to lift things to the top. It is considered a masterpiece of the Renaissance.

Anyway, that afternoon our teacher took us to other sites around the city. After my onsite classes, I am the best tour guide for both Rome AND Florence! She talked about the Baptista and the Bronze doors (the artist, Ghiberti, won a competition beating Brunelleschi, and Brunelleschi, the little girl that he is, was humiliated and left the city for Rome after that). We also visited Palazzo Medici (Medici palace near the Duomo), Brunelleschi's Ospedale degli Innocenti (orphan hospital he designed and created this famous architectural element called the loggia, which is an outdoor porch created by perfect arches...my teacher's FAVORITE thing to talk about) and a few more churches.

After finishing class at 6, Katie, Liz and I met up with the rest of our roommates and headed to Tijiuana, a Mexican restaurant in Florence. I know I know, are you kidding Caitlin? A mexican restaurant in Italy? Some would say a new low, but I disagree. As amazing and incredible the food I have been eating is, there is nothing like some beans and rice, tacos, and a pitcher of margaritas to remind you of home. And we all know my love for Mexican is right up there with my love for Italian food. Anyway, at dinner I was dared with the promise of gelato from the best gelato place in Rome to eat a chili pepper, and I never back down from a chance of free gelato. So I did it. I ate half a chili pepper. It was SO painful! Nothing I did stopped the pain, and we didn't have any bread, only tortilla, to mask the taste, and that wasn't strong enough. It actually reminded me of when I got stung by a Jelly fish. The pain wasn't the worst pain I've ever felt, but it was constant and seemingly never-ending, thus more annoying than painful. Now I can say that I've eaten a chili pepper...another thing to add to my lists of accomplishments in life. We all had a really good time and enjoyed the food, but Katie Flynn had a weird allergic reaction to something in her food and started breaking out in hives and her skin was turning bright red all over her body. She and I left to find a Farmacia to buy some Benadryl, but no such luck. Finally, Laura called us telling us she had some in her purse so all was well again. The night ended up being a perfect night, as we went to bed at 11 and got an amazing night of sleep. Katie even said that she was happy she went to the mexican restaurant because it was so good. I need to find one in Rome.



On Saturday morning, we met our class at 10 and went to the Borgello Museum to see scuptures of Donatello and Michelangelo. We saw Donatello's David which was cool to compare to Michelangelo's David. From there we went to Santa Croce, a medieval and renaissance church, where Machiavelli, Dante, and Galileo are all buried. After that, at around 1, it was lunch time. The BC students in the class, Jack, Andrew, Liz, Katie and I all grabbed lunch together and climbed to the top of the Duomo. Just like last time I was there, it was again one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Its one of those sights where no matter how many times you've seen it, it gets better and better every time. The cool thing is last time I was up there, about a year and a half ago, I asked my friends "I wonder when the next time I'll be up here is". I remembered asking that when I was up there, and it was pretty cool to think about my life then and my life now, with so much in between.






Anyway, that afternoon we went to see Michelangelo's David. Just like last time, I snuck a picture or two, but this time got caught. As I was going to take a picture, the woman saw me and I ran back to where my teacher was talking to the class, and the woman came over and yelled at me in front of the entire class and the teacher, saying things like I didn't need to be there and I could be out shopping instead of in the museum. Needless to say, it was one of the most offending and embarrassing experiences in my entire life. It might be awhile until I try and sneak pictures again.



So after we finished class, I met up with my roommates Laura and Suzy, and the three of us bought a bottle of wine and hiked up to Piazza Michelangelo, one of the best views of Rome. Its high up on a hill across the river, a semi hike to get to, but absolutely worth it. We were there just in time to see the sun set over the city "skyline", of which comprises only the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio, the palace next to the Uffizi. It was beautiful and I am so glad we got up there. Apparently I can't get enough of aerial views of Florence and its surrounding Tuscan hills.





So the story gets better. The next day, Laura and I left Florence early to go to Parma to visit our host family, Anna and Aldo Bonomi. As soon as we got to Parma, the memories came rushing back. We went to the place where we got our first pizza (I forgot how good/different pizza is in the north compared to the south...don't ask me which is my favorite), walked from the train station all the way to their house which took us along the same road we walked every single day and right by our apartment. So many things that I had forgotten about I remembered that day. Parma is and forever will be my home in Italy.

Our family had us over for lunch, and they cooked us an unbelievable meal, as per usual, and entertained us with great conversation. Laura and I were both surprised how much Italian we understood and spoke during that lunch, as we both have problems here in Rome. Aldo even played us the harmonica while Anna sang, which was one of our favorite memories! Anna had the postcard I sent her from Sydney on the fridge, and the picture book I made her on the coffee table. They are truly the most amazing family in the world, and will always have a special place in my heart. When we left, Laura and I both talked about how part of us regretted not going back to Parma, and we know that it would have been an amazing experience, maybe even better than Rome, but both of us know it would have been different than the last time we were there, and we would never want anything to ruin that month that to this day is the most amazing month of our lives.



We plan on going back sometime in late April...I can't wait.

Under the Tuscan Sun

So my roommates and I decided the weekend of the February 16th and 17th that we were going to go to Tuscany for the weekend. We looked online and found an agriturismo (bed and breakfast type place) in a small town called Cetona. It was a beautiful weekend! Unfortunately it was one of the colder weekends they have had this winter, but it was still perfect.

A group of 6 of us went up early Saturday morning where the owner, Maurellio (a little old Italian man who spoke no English), came and picked us up at the train station and took us back to the place, called Atelier Cetona. His wife is German but spoke perfect English, and the two of them welcomed us into their home right away. They even made room for us at the lunch table where they had the cook include us in his AMAZING homemade gnocchi and rosemary potatoes and chicken lunch!

The place has about 7 rooms off to the side of the main house, all double rooms. Katie Flynn and I got the matrimonial suite as we like to call it! This particular agriturismo offers weekend art classes, as well as week-long cooking classes and art classes in the spring and into the summer if anyone is interested! Even though it is winter and nothing is in bloom, it is one of the most beautiful little places I have ever seen and I can only imagine what it is like in the spring! Irma, the German lady, was telling us how beautiful and colorful the flowers are on the hillsides by their home.



The agriturismo itself is situated right next to the Vigneti Gentili, the vineyard in the area that provides all the wine to the restaurants in the town. Before lunch, Mauriello took us into town where we went wine tasting at the cellar of the Vigneti Gentili! We tried two red and two white as well as a dessert wine, and naturallyI bought a bottle of each kind. The whole experience reminded me of when Jamie, Dad and I went wine tasting in Australia, but i guess wine tasting is a universal thing.







That afternoon after lunch, four of us had a nice long siesta in Fly and my matrimonial bed for body warmth. Even though the sun was out it was so cold!! After our wonderful nap, Maurellio drove us into the BEAUTIFUL medieval town of Cetona where we walked around for about an hour and a half up on the hillside through the residential part of town. I could live there in a heartbeat. We were on the top of the hill right at sunset and it was gorgeous. Being in the small town made me semi-regret that I did not give small town Italy a second thought, and part of me wishes that I had gone to a smaller town than Rome. It made me miss Parma. Oh well, no regrets.







That night we went out to dinner and they served us the same wine we tasted that afternoon!! In bed by 10 after taking a BATH in the bathtub...I couldn't ask for a better night.

The next morning we woke up and went horseback riding in the Tuscan hills. Even though it was colder than I would have liked, it was AMAZING!! My horse's name was Luna (Moon) and we rode in the hills for about an hour through vineyards and the countryside. I wish you all could have been with me for this experience. What is better than horseback riding through the Tuscan hills?


It was a lovely weekend and I wish you all could have been a part of it.

Pools, Popes, and Fashion Shows

Hi everyone!

Ok so a couple of weeks ago (Feb 8th and 9th) my roommate had her friend visiting who is studying at Oxford for the year. Caroline (my roommate) wanted to make sure Ally (her friend) had the best weekend, so naturally we took her to our favorite club, Art Cafe, where we proceeded to dance the night away, sneak into the VIP section where we found a POOL inside the club (yes, a pool. This place is ridiculous) and turn of the lights for bed at 6:17am. You know its a successful night when the bedtime is at 6am.

Saturday night we went out to dinner at this little restaurant called Dino e Tonys where they have no menu and serve whatever they please. We had about 7 different types of antipasto followed by two types of pasta, homemade Tiramisu, cappucinos. It was unbelievable! They kept bringing out plate after plate of heavenly food and obviously I enjoyed that. Its right by the Vatican and if it wasn't slightly more expensive than I would have liked, I would be back there every weekend. We took it easy that night on account of us having a crazy night before, and having food coma, so we decided to walk home. It turned into being one of my most favorite nights ever. There were five of us casually strolling home, stopping to see the Vatican lit up at night, and just walking and talking on a beautiful Italian night. It was a nice change of pace from the previous night.


The next day, we took Ally to the Vatican to see the pope speak. It was pretty cool, he spoke in all different languages to the people in the square. It was an awesome experience to be able to see him speak from his window, and this time actually see him not just get a glimpse of his arm.


After hearing him speak, we decided to climb St. Peter's cupola! I forget every time how hard it is to climb hundreds of stairs at once. It was a beautiful day and really cool to do it after being in Rome for a long time, as I could recognize where everything was in the city.



Sunday night, I went to a fashion show for my photography class! We had backstage passes and just walked around taking photos the entire night. The lighting was dark so I used my digital camera for a lot, thus the quality of the photos isn't quite what I would like. It honestly was one of the cooler experiences here! I felt so official with my backstage pass and my camera around my neck. I was able to bring my friends too, which was awesome. My photography teacher is big here in Rome, and I think that is really cool that he invited us to something like that to watch him work and to teach us at the same time.

MODS

Ciao everyone!

I am so sorry I haven't updated this thing in like 20 days, its been entirely too long and for that I apologize. I know how much you all love to hear about my life...lets be honest, most people do. I have three weekends to catch you all up on, and after this coming one it will be 4!! I have just been so busy with everything here, and I'm off to Switzerland this tonight to go SKIING IN THE ALPS!!! If I didn't still have to pack and prepare a 6 minute oral presentation for my Italian class this afternoon, I would take the time to do it now. I'll do my best for next week though, although it is midterm week.

But I should let you all know that I GOT A MOD!!! I know you don't really know what that is, but its the BEST housing you could ask for Senior Year! For those of you who have been to BC, its the little community of the ugliest looking buildings that were set up in the 1970s for temporary housing. Mod is short for modular housing, so that should give you an idea of what they look like. They are tiny, cramped, but INCREDIBLE! It is where all the partying is, and all the tailgating for the football games. Ask my mama, she knows. They have little backyards with them and a BBQ, so good times will be had. Only a little more than a third of seniors get Mods, and they are the most coveted place to live, so for that I am very fortunate. Also, ALL OF MY FRIENDS got Mods! Senior year, here we come!! I'm on cloud 16B (our mod number).

Ok, I'm so sorry to be writing about BC while I'm supposed to be writing about Europe, but bear with me. I am so excited right now I can't even contain myself.

I guess while I'm on here I'll tell you about my dinner last night. I met a priest who works at the Vatican named Father Angelo, who has been going to Corpus Christi since 1993 and is a good friend of Carol Sanborn, my good friend Jessica's mother. She put me in touch with him and he took me out to a wonderful little restaurant where I ate fantastic fish and had great conversation. He introduced me to a friend of his, a young woman named Marianna, who is an international law student looking to improver her English. We talked the entire time in English to help her improve, but hopefully I'll be able to get some Italian practice out of this. They are both very nice and wonderful people. I'm so glad to have this contact now.

Ok time to pack, I'll do my homework later. This time tomorrow I'll be skiing on the Alps!!!

Baci Baci

Address

By the way, my address is

Caitlin Martz
John Cabot University
Via della Lungara 233
00165 Rome
Italy

in case you love me or anything.

Visit www.futuraforwarders.it for info on sending a package. You must REALLY love me if you are going to do that! I'll take notice...

Carnevale!

Ok so this past weekend was spent in Venice celebrating Carnevale!! Carne-vale, literally translated to "good bye meat" is the celebration before lent similar to Mardi Gras but a hell of a lot classier. Katie and I took a 6am flight Thursday morning (BAD BAD IDEA, since we had to leave at 4am and were out until 1 celebrating our friends birthday, thus I did not sleep a wink until we got to the airport). We got into Venice after a 2 hour plane ride and one hour bus ride (all a blur), then had to find our way to our hostel which was NOT easy going off of barely any sleep and in a city with no street signs, or streets for that matter. My good sense of direction that I have been blessed with (thanks Dad) led us straight to the hostel where we proceeded to pass out until 4pm. The entire weekend the weather was foggy and cold, but that added to the ambiance. There is something very mysterious about wandering around in a city with canals as streets and people dressed in costumes and masks in a cloud.

So finally Fly and I get up and wander aimlessly around the city, looking at masks making sure we get the perfect one, which I definitely did. My mask is perfect! Its gold and blue, and Fly's is green and silver. I LOVE my mask! So anyway, we go to this bar in a piazza that is setting up a stage for a band that night, and get a glass of wine. After we sit there talking for a little bit, we decide to walk outside and wander around until Jac and Brison call us to let us know they are in. We walk right outside of the bar and hear "What the Crap!", a catcall if you will from Brison who we randomly ran into. Both girls had forgotten their pin number, necessary to turn the phone back on, and could not find the hostel. It was a miracle they found us! Venice is a magical city.

That night, dressed in our masks, we wandered the city from piazza to piazza. There was music in the streets and people dressed up as everything under the sun. My favorite was a man dressed in a lollipop. I was very surprised at how early everything shut down though. We got to Piazza San Marco, the traditional center of Carnevale, at 11 to find people clearing out. This happened both nights too. Regardless, it was still amazing just walking around people watching. Both Thursday and Friday we managed to stumble upon hippie Italy. Both nights while lost, we found reggae shows where dreads were mandatory. On Thursday night, the show we found played classic American rock and we were loving it!


During the day on Friday, we wandered aimlessly which is all you can do in Venice. Obviously we went to Piazza San Marco, where the famous pigeons are, and saw the costumes and masks. I managed to find 2 pairs of really cute Italian boots, BOTH on sale, so all in all it was a successful trip for me! We decided to hop on a gondola, the second one I've been on, which was of course magical and everything you think it would be. Theres not much more I could ask for than riding a gondola with 3 of my best friends in Venice, Italy. Friday night, we treated ourselves to a nice meal along the Grand Canal at night which was perfect. Obviously we had good wine, great food, and good conversation.

Saturday during the day it was raining and cold, and ridiculously crowded. The streets are so small, and people walking with umbrellas, it was almost miserable. We left that afternoon and Fly and I were back in our wonderful apartment by 10pm. As incredible as traveling is, there is no place like home.

Oh another thing...Older Italian men LOVE me! It must be the blonde hair, but no matter what I am always picked out of the crowd I am walking with and escorted by the men working at restaurants along the street or given phone numbers or something. I know I'm beautiful, but come on! All these men are 35+.

I'm spending the next two weekends in Rome which will be nice, but we are hoping to do something called an Agritruismo in Tuscany where we spend the weekend at a B&B, have meals cooked for us, wine tasting and ride horses.

Its OK that you are all jealous of me. But I think that people should start talking about visiting? (Cough Cough Mom, Dad, Aunt Carla...)

Baci Baci

Barthelona!

Hola familia! Como estas? So last weekend was spent in the awesome city of Barcelona, Spain. Katie and I decided last minute to surprise our best friend Caitlin Brison, with the help of another friend Jac. We bought the tickets Tuesday night and by Thursday at 10pm we were there. Brison had no idea we were coming, although everyone else did. We met Jac after she and some friends went out to dinner, quickly went back to her place to change, and strolled into the bar Brison was at. She started crying, obviously, because who wouldn't after seeing my beautiful face for the first time in 2 months! It was awesome and I'm so glad she had no idea.

We spent the weekend hanging out and having a blast. Friday, we walked around the city, checking out the famous areas such as The Gothic district, the Ancient Rome district, Las Ramblas and Plaza Catalunya. Las Ramblas was awesome! Its this long street which has different sections of vendors. For example, the first section of vendors sells nothing but birds and other pets. The second sells flowers, etc.

Plaza Catalunya is kind of known as the center of the city, with beautiful fountains. That night, we had tapas and sangria for dinner and drink! Such a typical Spanish dinner, and sooooooooo good!!! After dinner we hung out at our friend Maegan's apartment. Maegan went to LVHS with us and now goes to UCSB, so it was really fun seeing her after so long. We somehow found ourselves at a typical Barcelona night club called Pacha, and since it was so far away from Jac and Brison's place, we danced the night away until circa 5 am to catch the first metro home. We ended the night with some Patatas Bravas from a street vendor right outside their rooms. Obviously I would love Patatas Bravas, as it is nothing but a cup of french fries with ketchup and mayo on top. HEAVEN is what I like to call it.

Saturday we spent the day doing touristy stuff. We went to La Sagrada Familia, which is the Gaudi cathedral 120+ years in the making. It is BREATHTAKING. Honestly one of the most amazing churches I've ever seen. We explored Las Ramblas and the open air market near there a little more.




That night, we made Mexican food and had 2 of our friends from BC, Pat and Alex, over for dinner. It was really fun to see them and hang out for a little. I haven't had Mexican food in entirely too long so it was delicious.



Sunday, we woke up and went back to La Sagrada Familia because we never got the chance to go up in the towers. We paid the 5 euro entrance fee and then the additional 2 euro elevator fee to see one of the most beautiful architectural structures in the world. A small price, if you ask me. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done and I'm really glad I was able to have that experience. After La Sagrada Familia, we went to Parc Guell, the park designed by Gaudi with all the mosaics. We were there right around sunset and had the best view of the city. The mosaics were incredible. We ended the weekend with some nice pasta bolognese and gelato. Obviously I began to miss Italian food after only 3 days!

All in all, the weekend was incredible and I had such a great time. It was awesome to see Brison and Jac again and see a new city which is like nothing I've ever known! I really want to go back when the weather is warmer and spend a couple days lying out on the Mediterranean which is a mere 5 blocks from their dorms.

I love Europe. Vivo la dolce vita (I live the good life).




These pictures are from La Sagrada Familia. The first is the inside architecture and the second is Jac and I in one of the towers overlooking the city of Barcelona. The third is of the other towers. La Sagrada Familia was started in 1882. Gaudi died in front of it in the 1970s when he was hit by a tram when crossing the street.

The ones below are from Parc Guell. It was a park originally built by Gaudi for the Spanish elite to relax and enjoy the outdoors. There is a little house that looks like a gingerbread house that Gaudi lived in that is right behind my head in the picture below.