Museum Evaluation 1: The Uffizi Gallery

(I wrote this for my art class, thought i would share it with you guys)

 I choose to visit the Uffizi gallery (for about the 8^th time this trip) and from the Uffizi I decided to write about my favorite piece with it: Filippo Lippi’s “Madonna with child and two angels”. The Uffizi each and every time is a true treat to visit, the amount of priceless art that is held within this single museum astounds me. It seems that no matter where I look I see something that could hold my attention for hours on end. Everyone has heard of the Uffizi gallery, so walking into it—especially for free—is an incredible experience. This definitely prepares my mind to reach a critical mode, yet I also try to maintain the emotional side of my mind, so that I can feel as well as critique. The entire museum is designed to  have the oldest pieces near the front, and the older ones towards the back; a progression of art from pre-renaissance to post-mannerism. Names stand out throughout the gallery, such as Cimabue, Daddi, Botticelli, Van Eyke, Michelangelo, and Da Vinci; all are names that strike a cord in any person that has even a minor appreciation or knowledge of art. There are many beautiful pieces within the museum, most specifically of all is Michelangelo’s “Holy Family”, Botticelli’s “Primavera” and also his “Birth Of Venus”. But my favorite piece, a piece often given ample amounts of credit, is Lippi’s “Madonna with child and two angels”.

            (1) Lippi’s piece is from the early renaissance period, a period that emphasizes both beauty and realism. There was a very distinct difference between the two, and at this time they had not really been combined yet; there were those like Lippi and Botticelli who wholly grasped what it meant to create a beautiful piece. They purposefully disregarded some realistic factors to create a more attractive work of art, and they succeeded in that without doubt. Others, such as Van Eyke, focused solely on realism, loosing in the process much of the beauty. Lippi’s however is the exact opposite. Painted in 1465, it is a beautiful piece far ahead of its time. It captures the serenity of the catholic church at the period, the idea of what the Madonna was suppose to look like. It is Mary done better than ever before (with the possible exception of Fra Angelica and his many annunciations). (2) Lippi was orphaned at a very young age, and soon after put into a monastery to become a monk (hence the title Fra Filippo Lippi), he left the church when he was 17 and soon later distinguished himself as a painter. It creates a funny sense of sympathy, even though he was known as sexually…rampant. He really did have an awful, semi pathetic life with the one exception of his painting. (3) When he lusted after a girl, and was unable to woo her, he would paint her into his commissions. This is seen in his “Madonna with child and two angels” where the beautiful Lucrezia Buti (a woman training to be a nun) was denied to him, yet he still was given permission to paint her into the piece. Eventually he captured her heart, and convinced her to elope with him away from Prato, never to return. (4) It most definitely reminds me of home, my mother used to have a small framed picture of this work. I grew up looking at it, always impressed by the majesty of the Madonna. It reminds me of my childhood, of the beauty of some women, of possibly the beauty of a girl I may meet and fall in love with shortly. It evokes strong, uplifting, yet humbling emotions with in me. Which is partially by design, the viewer was suppose to be at awe of the beauty of Madonna, yet also inspired that she was your personal Saint, a gateway between yourself and God. (5) Made from tempera, as oil painting had not made it this far south yet, it has a very soft and almost flat look. Most of the colors are subtle and meant not to distract from the face of Mary. The most striking aspect of the painting, however, is the intricacy of the veil of the Madonna. Barely visible, it flows and flutters down from her head past her shoulder emphasizing the curves of her face, shoulder, and neck.

Rome Part 3

Well, the next day we had alot to do. Because we were cutting the trip a day short we had to do the Vatican, St. Peters, and the Galleria Borghese all in one day. We woke up around eight o'clock (not an easy thing to do after walking around rome until four in the morning the day before) and then ate breakfast (two croissants, a glass of orange juice, and a coffee) and then went out headed for the Vatican. Again we naviagted the metro and buses (we really were getting the hang out if by the end) and made it to the Vatican around nine thirty. Really the day can be summarized into three things: 1. we saw the Sistine chapel, it was incredible and also saw Raphael's School of Athens. 2. we saw the galleria Borghese, which holds of all Bernini's sculptures and was my favorite part of the trip, and we saw St. Peter's Cathedral. It was a really long day, considering we had to go across town form the Sistine chapel to get to the galleria Borghese (because we had to make reservations) and then go all the way back to see st peters. It was all incredible though, especially Bernini's artwork. Ive seen st peters, and the Sistine chapel before, but I'd never even heard of Bernini. He was called Michelangelo reincarnated, and truly was as incredible as the best of the world. He worked exclusively for the pope, and was able to create movement within marble that still doesn't seem perfect. Michelangelo's philosophy of sculpting was to remove the unnecessary pieces of marble to expose what God had put int the piece, Bernini's was a step further. He tried to free the marble from what was unnecessary around it and also from its physical limitations, he wanted to turn it into something other than marble. The sistine chapel was...well the sistine chapel is known for: being incredibly beautiful. And st peters is exactly what st. peteres is known for: being really really big.

it was a great day, and the amount of walking that we accomplished still amazes me. Rome really is something special

Rome Part 2

After sleeping for a couple of hours and catching up with my family on the internet, Sean and I decided to set out on the town. Before we left we talked to the people and nothing had opened up. We were kind of worried about what would happen if nothing did open and what the alternatives were, so we looked at the situation and couldn't figure out what to do. We would have to find another hostel most likely and pay more, and then also pay a cancellation fee because it is so short term. But the guy said that if he could find someone to take our room we could cancel our reservation without paying our fee. It was quite funny actually, because we said to cancel our reservation and try to find someone else, and he looked at us funny for a couple of seconds and said "i think i actually can sell you room now..." walked into our room said something to someone in there, came back and said "ok. . .i sold your room." Then we had to decide if we wanted to find another hostel, or come back a day early. Our tickets were open tickets, meaning they could work for any train of that type going to the same place, so i checked train times and there was the same train (a 7 o'clock train) heading back to Florence that we could take. So we decided to do that, leave a day early and not sleep as much that night. We then left, around 8 o'clock to go see as much as we could see at night. We took the metro all the way up to the Spanish steps and went from there do all through Rome back to the Colosseum. The Spanish Steps were exactly how i remember them: a big set of stairs. I still do not understand what is so significant about them, but none the less, Sean and I saw them. We went from there to the Trevi Fountain, which is absolutely beautiful. A photographers dream, it is easily the most beautiful fountain i've ever seen (and even calling it a fountain seems to diminish from the beauty). Yet it still didn't do it for me like many of the other important things i've seen here, in Italy, because its so modern. I believe its 19th century, which always takes away from its importance. We went from there to view the pantheon (only from the outside obviously), the roman forum in the dark, and then the Colosseum in the dark, which is easily the most magnificent thing i've ever seen. Each arch is individually lit, and it stands out from the rest of the world in an unmatched splendor that was screaming "take pictures of me!" Sean and I both have little mini pocket tripods, so we walked around setting up our cameras on the ground looking like complete idiots. It was fantastic. The whole event, starting at 8 at night, ended at four in the morning. We were exhausted, and ready for bed. I never thought we would be the one crawling into a 6 person hostel room at 4 in the morning, but we were.

Rome Part 1

What a crazy couple of days. It feels as if ive been away from home (meaning Florence) for a lifetime. The original plan was to go to rome for three days/two nights. To see the Roman Forum the first day (including the Coloseium) the Vatican the second day, and the trevi fountain/pantheon/spanish steps/galleria borghesi the third. The only problem was somehow we miss booked our rooms and only had a bed for 1 on the second night. I think that between when i looked at availability and booked the room they lost the second spot and i didnt know. We figured we would see if anything opened up for the second night (considering we had to pay a down payment allready). The train ride over wasnt bad at all, and i had expected it to be rough. We paid 16 euro for the slow train all the way down to Rome, nearly four hours long. But the view was beautiful, we brought snacks and watched movies on our ipods the entire time. It passed quickly, less than two movies and we have 34 total. Once we got in Rome things were hectic, there was no bathroom on the train so we had to find a bathroom which is never a easy thing when youve "really got to go". The whole world became clear once that was over. Sean and I walked down to our hostel through Rome, it probably took about forty five minutes, to find a really Roman man awaiting us. He took offense when we asked for "Hostel di Roma" and corrected us calling it "HOTEL di Roma". He had a hardcore chin strapy mustache beard thing (you know what im talking about) but was wonderful from the very beginning. However, he said EVERYTHING was booked for the next day but if anything opened up they would make room; he even mentioned something about throwing a mattress up on the roof if need be (i still dont know how serious he was). But he seemed very optimistic and was very friendly so we figured we would wait around and see what became available. He  followed this by showing us the entire city of rome via map. What to do, how to do it, when to do it, what buses to take, how to get  a bus pass (we bought an unlimited three day bus and subway pass for 11 euro each), where to get food ect. He had given the speech a couple of times i would guess so he ran threw it pretty quick, amazingly i was able to follow everything he said. We then set out on the town. We wandered about, took a bus towards the coliseum, got some pizza, and then found the Roman Ruins (aka the Roman Forum). It was beautiful, we were able to walk all the way around them and got some incredible pictures. The age of most of these structures is incredible, imagining what it most of been like back in full bloom is awesome. We walked all around and then headed down the main street and suddenly, directly in front of us, was the Coliseum. It was just as magnificent and beautiful as i remember it being. We went in, and spent a couple of hours just moseing around, even ate some food we had with us. The power of that building, but good and bad, is overwhelming to me. After that we headed home to take a nap. it was nearly 6 and we slept utnil about 8. a wonderful thing, naps are.

Status Update: Rome Day 1

so, me and sean couldnt get two for tomorrow night. we are going to come home tomorrow instead, so we figured might as well make it a night out here....after taking a nap we walked all from the spanish steps to the colliseum and took hundreds of pictures. after taking the right bus in kinda the right\wrong direction we are finall home at2:30 in the morning

My goodness, ive been busy

School, school, school, planning spring break, and school.
This has been my last week, which is why i havnt written much on here. There has not been alot of time or material. But material will be here very shortly.

Sean flies in tomorrow for the week, i am going to show him around florence and then we are going to go to Rome and Venice. Ive been doing my research and have figured out the train tickets, train times, prices, hostels, museums, architecture, churches, food, ect in rome, and the same for venice.

but the homework load has been insane. Probably more the last week than the entire month before, i believe the teachers fell behind their lesson plan and what not, but forced all the assingments on us early trying to get it back before spring break (because they want to have stuff to grade over break). But it is all over now.

Literally the only other thing i have been doing is watching movies with friends, because its been so cold, and on the sunny days (like today) playing frisbee/soccer with Dakota. Its odd seeing a big wide open field, but we found one today (it was only a 35 minute walk....) and had a good time. Wore shorts for the first time since coming here, they felt kinda akward...

but rome and venice info is on its way, very shortly!

Fiesole

Well, i have had a really fantastic couple of days. Sunday i got invited to go with Jeremy Ball (my philosophy teacher), his family, Ken (my art teacher) and his wife, and Marci (the english teacher) to Fieosele--a small town that overlooks all of Florence. We took the bus (1.20 for a 90 minute bus ticket, not too bad) up there. Its only about 20 minutes away, and actually a pretty nice drive. Ive always liked standing up on buses as they twist and turn. To try to keep your balance, and there was plenty of twisting and turning. Alethia and I (jeremy's 13 year old daughter) were seeing who could go the longest without holding onto anything. We both didnt make it very long and it didnt take very long to get there either. As soon as i stepped of the bus i knew i was somewhere special. The entire place is small, cute, and dominated by one bell tower that overlooks the entire town. We looked around a little, and then headed towards the central attraction of the town: a 1st centuary amphetheator that is almost perfectly perserved. Just walking up to this old hunk of stone seemed...off. I am pretty sure that we associated ruins with, well, being ruined. But this place was nearly prestine. Apparently it had been burried at one point of another, and it wasn't until recently that they discovered and unburried it. As any anthropoligist knows, burrying something is probably the best way to preserve it, so some of these ruineds seemed too nice to be as old as they are. Besides that, there really wasnt much else noteworthy, besides the breaktaking view of Florence, and the awesome food they had there...here is a link to pictures:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=206600&id=723772976&l=883052a7c4

Boboli Gardens

See them all here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5128984&l=813063b705&id=723772976

I Swear My Shower is Trying To Kill Me

First day. i got burned.

the water is literally scolding hot at times.

then it got blocked.

we got aifs to come and draino our place, but that took forver. we had to take 30 second showers, because it was as if the shower wasnt draining at all.

then the hose wasnt working right, apparently it had gotten twisted, so it would spray on and off...

but tongiht beats them all. i took a good long shower (like 5 min) for the first time yet. it was a very frightening expierence, but i made it through all right. i was happy, because for the first time it seemed that i had made it through a shower without something horrible happening. then, through a complex mangeri of door bell rings, nocknig, ect, a guy ended up outside our door in a panic: "did you just take a shower?" yes......"well all the water just came into my shoe shop"...ohh....well thats not good.

so, during orientation we were told not to mess with any of the plumbing, because some girls had a couple of years before and drowned a shoe shop beneath them. well, turns out that was my apartment. and something broke, and the same thing happened.

we will see what happens; the good news is that im not responsible. the bad news is that i cant shower until we figure this out....sponge bath anyone?

Futball (NOT SOCCER!)

Italian culture is fantastic. First of all, as it turns out, Italians are really into their cities. I mean, they live by them. They don't call themselves Italian. They are from Florence, or Siena, or Tuscany, or Rome, or Naples, or Venice, and each one of these places hates every other one except for when the other city beats a city they hate more. Fiorentina (the futball team of Florence) is incredible passionate and hates all other teams around. The agreed upon most hated team in Italy is Florence, because they are so stuck up. The number two team is Venice. Watching the game was truly expressive of what it means to be Italian. The players would sulk for minutes if they missed an open shot. I mean,  the whole stadium and game would stop to watch this one guy sulk. And then one of his team mates would have to help him back up and encourage him, and then the game would go on like it never happened. It almost looks like i'm watching a corny soccer movie, where everything is over dramatized. On T.V., a couple of nights ago, Florentina played a German team, and it was like watching robots play against professional actors. The Germans won (because of a horribly miss called score that should of been off sides, the head ref was even temporarily suspended because of it) and i couldn't help but watch the Italians afterwards. It was more entertaining to watch the Italians loose than the Germans win. In football back home, the losers just put their head down and walk of the field. But the Italians were crying, and hugging each other, and kicking everything in site. It even looked like one of them was going to charge the Germans. The Germans on the other hand looked like our loosing teams back home, heads down and walked up the field. Dakota has a Juventus jacket (a futball team somewhere near by, that is probably the best team in italy right now) and at dinner one night the waiter pulled him aside and half threatned to kill him and half tried to save his life by saying "you cant wear that jacket around here, if i dont kill you someone else will. It would be like wearing a red socks jacket in New York..." (this was priceless, and i think Dakota actually enjoyed it). I mean, the rivalry here is so strong, that the Florentines actually root for other national teams when they play Italy. Because most of italy's national team is Juventus players. The romans, when they came to play here, were allready in the stadium when we showed up. They were literally walled off in their own section of the bleachers with purposefully left empty bleachers on both sides. When they scored on us (those sons of bitches) the romans through red and gold flares out of their section into near by ones. I flare literally hit the guy next to me. Now of course, every italian in the arena wanted to charge the section, for about 5 min, then they acted like it had never happened. I think they just want to get outraged. I took a picture of a "gold man" when he was first putting the stuff onto his face, and he started yelling at me. I trully dont undertand why, i guess he didnt feel he was ready for pictures yet. It would be like taking pictures of an actor when he was first getting dressed...one thing is for sure though, everything here is entertaining, or it is once you get off the main streets. All of the shops on the main tourists streets are very "american" in that they want you to come in, buy something, and get out. But the shops every where else are just the opposite. For example, i was waiting in line for my panino yesterday when the lady at the register started to help this other guy put his sandwiches into a plastic bag. It was a nice gesture, im sure he could of maniged on his own, but she was going to help him. In the mean time, the line in the place was out of the door. Everything is about the idea of something, its about making the best damn paninis in the world, or the nicest leather jackets, the money is just an after thought. My first thought was, "wow this is way better than back home, where its "in-and-out" as fast as possible" but once i thought about it i realized that in some ways its as if they are more interested in the popularity than the money. Back home people want money first, fame second. Here, people just want fame, because they know if they get it they will get the money with it. But i like it more, there is a courtisy that exists, not soo much towards me because i dont speak italian and just look akward no matter where i go, but it definitely can be seen towards others. Even my friends Andrea and Jennifer, who speak and look very spanish/mexican get treated alot differently (i think better) because they always ask if the italian speakes espanol before they ask if he speaks english (hanging out with them is a kick too, i dont understand just about everything that is going on around me in italian during the day, and then i go to their house and i dont understand just about everything that is going on around me in spanish, but im getting used to it. I just sit their and wait for them to come back to english, they almost always do). There is a political movement starting in the north that wants italy to start moving back towards states and away from a unified country. Its an intersting idea, which is really picking up speed, but essentially it is actually BACKWARDS progress in relation to most of the world. Maybe its a better movement, but its an odd one. Everyone is talking about and wanting globalization. Easier trade, easier communication, better jobs, but italy wants to move back to being independed sub states. Why? I think a big part of it is the pride Italians have in their own culture, which varies greatly every mile almost. I mean, before Italy unified as a country, the dilects from region to region were so unique that Florentines could not communicate with Venetians. Thats an incredible concept, isnt it? It would be like San franciscans not being able to communicate with people from Organ (oraganians??). But with that dialect people feel united, or maybe unique. And its more than just the language thts different. Each city has its famous invention. Its food that its famous for. And you cant find it any where else in Italy. Thats just wrong in their mind, and it would be acknowleding that its good if you started making it. So the menus even are completely different from town to town. There are really no big chains either. I mean, literally, the only big chain in florence is McDonalds. There are three, all in the most touristy/ghetto areas. AIFS said that if they ever hear about us eating at McDonalds why we are here, they will personally make us pay. And to remember that they know where we live. Thank God, becuase i feel the same way. I have not looked inside one yet, and i hope it will never accure to me to go inside to eat something. I understand that wanting something from home, but there are other places to go.

we will see if i can live without it....the only thing i really miss is chips and salsa...funny huh?

Quick Update 2/24/10

i bought some purple sweaters, 15 euro each, i got two. one is dressy, and warm. really nice. and the other has a little bit of elastic in it, so its more sporty/every day. its a really nice dark purple, almost like a navy blue, which is fiorentina's colors. (its a good excuse to wear purple).

dakota has been cooking dinner (mostly pasta) and ive been eating whatever is left. i pay him a couple of euro, and clean up. and sometimes we will put a movie on afterwards and do homework. didnt really expect to get along with my room mate this well.

in philosophy, i finally kinda learned something today. we talked about media, and all the "filters" news has to go through in order to get to the public, and how it would probably make more sense to make media a public organization (kinda like the CA university system). it was a really fantastic discussion. people in class really got into it.

ive now been to the uffizi 5 times, to the bargello, acadamia, santa maria novella, santa maria fiora (duomo), santa spirito, big toy store, plazzo vecchio, ponte vecchio, 5 other people's apartments, 6 diferent restraunts, the oil shoppe (where they know me by name now), kadeer's kababs, 4 different internet trains, countless leather stores, and pisa, lucca, and vereggio.

so, where should i go next?

Shoes

Everything here is on sale. So much of everything that i assume its just a marketing scheme that is always in effect. Americans love their sales, and if they walk into florence and see the unbelievable prices of some of the most amazing leather in the world AND its on sale, whats going to stop them from buying it? There is even one store here that says, in english "real sales! Up to 50% off". Which is, ironically, acknowledging the fact that most of the sales here are not real, and then trying to hook you into buying from THEIR not real sale. Its laughable to me, especially since a couple of days ago i would not of even picked up on it. However, there are a couple of real sales around. In fact, quite a few of them. Once i got a feel for the prices of jackets, gloves, shoes, scarfs, ect. the real sales immidietly became visible, and there are some incredible sales here. I was talking to the guy from the place i bought my jacket (its called Poesia, and his name is German (with a H, said the same as Herman)) and he says that the economy is so bad right now that there are just no tourist compared to normal, that their prices are down because of it, and because winter is passing right now, into spring, all the stores are trying to sell their winter clothing to make room for the "new collection" (which is what stores call the summer/spring collection). This is why i got my jacket so cheap, and also why i have found beautiful sweaters, scarfs, and gloves for unusually cheap as well. The prices show it, things like jeans, shoes, hats, and other clothing are not marked down. They are somewhat "universal", meaning that it does not matter how hot it is, Italians always where pants, nice shoes, and fancy hats. The fashion here is both different than i was expecting and less than what i was expecting. Everyone has heard of or seen that one italian man or woman who is so beautiful, and so well dressed, that your draw literally drops. Coming here i had thought i would see more, and i have seen some. The money that these people spend on their clothes is incredible. But tons of people here dont dress like that, really most don't. There are two main differences between here and America, and they are pretty obvious differences. 1: All Italians were nothing but dark clothing. When they were something light or white, its PERFECTLY white, and it is definitely a fashion statement. This is only seen in Italian guys wearing white jeans, or white shoes, or an Italian girl wearing a white white dress, but this is rare to see. 2: All italians wear leather shoes. Ive been looking, trying to figure out what's "in style" and frankly, everything leather is. It is so...individual. Its like every person has a very distinct different look, but at the same time looks exactly the same. Ill be in a restaurant looking around at the shoes of the people sitting near me and will see that every person their has very different leather shoes. Except they are all the same exact basic shape and the exact same color. So, when i finally bought my shoes (i bought two pairs now, because they were such good deals that i could afford two different kinds...one lace up fancy, and the other that leather slipper kind. you know, with no laces.) I figured i had to get what looked good for my style, and more importantly looked good to my wallet. So this place, Poesia, has cut prices dramatically on their winter wear, and is trying to get lighter jackets in for the spring. German is a truly unique character. I'm about 80% sure hes gay at this point, but it doesn't really matter. He is from Sicily, and moved up here for the work. hes probably 40-45 years old, bald, kinda pudgy, and wears all colored leather stuff. Hes a crack up, but very intelligent at the same time. I guess i dont feel like i can describe him very well, you just really have to meet him. He was telling me about all the things i should do, and we talked about Obama, and we talked about how closed minded people are, especially the Italians here in Florence ("they are living in the past" German says, and i said "yeah, thats exactly why i wanted to come here, to see the old italy") and then we talked about leather, and Opera, and school, and art. Hes great to talk to, and he said that he has never met an American like me. I was asking him where all the good food spots are around town, and he was describing places i didn't know off, so he said "give me your number, i will call you after work, and i can sit down and write them down on a map for you". So as i wright this, i'm sitting here waiting to see if he is going to call, which does seem a little weird, like, i'm going to go get a drink with this guy, but thats a good thing...right? Im in florence, ive got to meet the locals. Turns out that he did the same thing i am doing right now when he was 20, but in reverse. He lived in Marin for two years when he was 20 (random). But i'm hoping that he can tell me where all the good joints are around town, and where i need to travel. Maybe he will even give me some connections in Sicily, places i could stay for cheap. Meet some real italians, or Sicilians, or whatever. We will see what happens. Either way i had a fantastic day shoping. Ohh, and i also got this beautiful dark blue sweater for 20 euro, half cashmiere. Marked down from 50 euro. Ive got to stop spending money...

Pictures! The sky really was blue and pink!

See the rest here:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=203584&id=723772976&l=b284a3763f

Leather, leather, and more leather.

i finally found a jacket. i have been looking and i found this little hole in the wall leather place that was  really nice. Normally i avoid these kinda places because they put alot of pressure on you to buy, they push hard. Italians can be incredibly aggressive, almost like if you dont buy something from them your personally insulting them. But this place wasn't like that. It was totally genuine, in the most random location of the main street, close enough to be nice, but not so close that it stays in business just because of where it is. But the jackets here were incredible, 300-600 euro jackets, all handmade in italy. But the staff there was incredible as well, the main salesman is this little balding guy who im pretty sure is gay. this made for a really fun accent. i dont know how to describe it, just really fun. he is the nicest guy too. he helped me out, and showed me some of the jackets they had in the back. They were all a combination of jackets with minor damages, last sizes, too big of a sizes, ect. but i found one that right when i put it on it felt perfect! It is gorgeous, a dark dark brown with a fair amount of...whats the word he used? not damaged, but like, textured...in other words its not shiny. but not too "bikerish" either. almost like it had gold specs in it. He even liked it on me so much he kept on wanting me to try it on. 95 euro, and i love it. but obviously i couldnt buy it right then. it had been marked down that day, so he didnt really think it would stick around too long, he was going to try to hide it on one of the racks. so i stood around, wearing this jacket, talking to this gay italian. he was really interesting, born and raised in florence. Never wants to leave, he loves it here so much, we even talked to his parakeets that he has in the store, he did recommend i come back soon if i wanted it because it wouldnt last long, and he said he would try to save it for me. he also said that if i paid cash he would sell it for 90, so i walked out all excited about maybe buying this jacket in the next couple of days....


well i went into the shop next to it, and the people there were just so typical. boring. not nice. and the jackets werent as nice either. They kept on pushing me to pick one out, like their time was so valuable that i was just taking advantage of them. it was right then that i thought "why wouldnt i buy that jacket next door, its perfect, cheap enough, high quality, and the place is so amazing." i looked in my wallet and i had exactly 90 euro in cash, and that was it. the final sign that said "your stupid if you dont buy it" so i did. i went back, and he was surprised and delighted to see me, and i gave him the money and he gave me the jacket. he didnt even count the money, just put it in the register. Is this some kinda trick to make me think he trusts me? i kept on thinking i must be getting ripped off, but you could tell this jacket was nicer than the other ones. So i bought it, and i love it. ive been wearing it non stop for the past week, because its been sooo cold here. (i miss the sun).


Ohh, and the next day dakota (my roomate) wanted to go look at them, so i took him and he found another really nice one. a darker brown with more of a grey\silver undertone rather than gold. it looks better on him than mine would, but wouldnt look as good on me as mine does. Ive been stopping by there every now and then, and they have been giving me the heads up on when the sales come. the first day the shoes went on sale i bought so really fancy, very italian, leather dress shoes with leather soul. 40 euro. and then i also bought a belt there, that they measured for me and everything for 10 euro. i love this place, now when ever i walk by i wave, they wave, and its trully fantastic. ive never had that at home...


my shoes are going on sale tomorrow, should i buy some more casual dress shoes???

Oh heaven, i dont know where to start...

Well, i have finally fully excepted the idea of living in florence. Ive been finding the little places that give the good deals, the "local" places that is. I have my favorite lunch spot, called the "Oil Shoppe" which makes probably the best Paninis in the world (a Panino is a sandwhich basically) for only three euro. They are so big that i usually can barely get through half of one, which means that im almost eating lunch and dinner for three euro. Each bite makes me feel like the world is going to end, and it doesnt even matter what kind you get. My favorite is the salami with peppers, a little spicy, which is really nice considering nothing else is spicy here. I swear, if the italians went to India, they wouldnt be able to eat anything but rice. They usually warn be about the peppers at this place, which seems so ironic considering it is less spicy than the hot sauce at taco bell. But each bite is incredible, which is plain wrong considering how little i spent on it. I would of discovered this place earlier, except its closed like every other day for no reason, and when it is open the line is out the door. I have finally figured out how to negiote the place: arrive early, really early, and wait, wait really long. But its soo worth it. The only other thing i can find here that is spicy is the Kebab. Now, when i first heard about this things i was picture a sish kabab (im sure i butchered that spelling), so i was picturing a long wooden toothpick with meat on it. But i was wrong, it is basically the Italian/Greek version of a burrito. Chicken or beef thrown into a tortilla with some of the strangest spices ive seen in it. Now, again, the guy warned be the first time that it was spicy, and it was a little more spicy than the Panini, but barely. The next time i went i asked him to make it really spicy, and he defintiely did so. I probably drank two liters of pepsi just to get the thing down, which was really incredible. I dont know how to describe the over all taste of the thing, its something you have to try. All the rest of the food here is incredible, i go to this place called Billa. Its the largest chain around, and has the cheapest stuff. My normal checkout usually includes nutella, bread (30 cents for about a three foot long bagget), milk, salami, bree cheese, coke, water, and other random stuff. basically everything cheap i can find that still tastes great.

The issue here is that no matter how much you eat you still want more, not because your hungry but because it just tastes so unbelievably great!