The Simple Things

This little slice of heaven is the best thing ever right now.

I met a few friends at the Uffizi today just to see a few more things (and to be in an air conditioned building), and on my way I passed what looked like fried eggs on the sidewalk.

My computer reads 99 degrees, which means that in the city it is 101, which means that my apartment is 103. Thankfully I found an electronics store on my way home from class. I went to one yesterday but they were out. People from Michigan, or anywhere in the northern part of the U.S., are not cut out for this heat. At half past midnight last night it was still 85 degrees. Florence is in a valley surrounded by mountains, so it just sits there like it's at the bottom of a bowl of humidity and cooks. Not to mention the dark black cobble stones that act as coal burning up at the bottom of a grill. And I'm the hotdog.

Have I made this weather sound miserable enough yet?

But that's about the only bad thing happening in Florence right now. Tonight my friends and I are going to see Harry Potter part TWO! And I am so excited. I was going to draw a lightening bolt on my forehead, but I'm afraid I'll just sweat it off and it'll end up looking like a weird black blob. I also have a friend coming to visit me this weekend, and I think we're going to go to Cinque Terre for a day! I can't wait to do that, I hear it's absolutely beautiful!

Also, I only have three weeks left. I think I've said that before in a different post, but that's so crazy to think that two months is almost over. Although I feel like I've been here for two years! 

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! 

xo

"England is a paradise for women and hell for horses; Italy is a paradise for horses, hell for women"

Just an update on Florence before I talk all about London: It's currently 95 degrees, no wind, and my fan is still broken. Holy crap.

Since my last post, nothing new has happened around Firenze. I started my new classes, which are Italian II and History of Medieval and Renaissance Florence. I took two semesters of Italian before coming to Florence, so I thought this class would be relatively easy... whoops!

On the first day, our professor didn't say a word in English. I guess that's a good thing though, since I do want to get a much better understanding of it, even though I only have three weeks left (oh my gosh!). I hope my Italian really does improve! That's the only thing I'm kind of bummed about, I don't think I've learned much just by being here. It's hard to really pick it up though when none of your friends speak it and half the time people in stores and on the street can automatically tell you're American.

My other class seems like it'll be a lot of fun. The professor is great and I think we'll be doing some stuff outside of the classroom as well. Probably not as much as my last class, but as long as we're out doing things sometimes I'll be happy.

And speaking of my classes, I had to miss both of them today because of some serious airline issues when I was trying to leave London. But regardless of my departure, my weekend in London was one of the best I've had this summer!

I left on Thursday without any trouble, with the exception of lots of traffic on my way into the city while I was on the bus. But let me tell you, landing somewhere where you can understand what everyone is saying and you don't have to guess whether you're reading the sign correctly or not is so unbelievably nice, it was almost a shock. I made it to the designated bus stop by about two in the afternoon and met up with my friend, Cara, with only two phone calls and one circle around Starbucks. It was off to a good start! We took the Undergroud, or Tube, everywhere. It was also nice to have public transportation... oh, and I also needed a jacket. The weather felt amazing!

On my first night, we walked around and saw a few landmarks, and headed to the West End. Some of her friends had bought tickets for a show and we were meeting them there. Cara told me it was supposed to be a scary show, but I figured a "scary" theater show would hardly be scary at all. Again... whoops! It was terrifying! The show was called Women in Black and we had front row seats, literally. Within 25 minutes I had screamed at least twice and both Cara and I were watching through the slits of our fingers. By the end I was sitting in the fetal position and looking down as soon as I knew something was going to happen. It was an amazing performance, and aside from being really scary, it was only a two-man act (well, three, if you could the woman who popped up in black from time to tim) and their acting was amazing! So even though it kept me awake for an extra 30 minutes (I was exhausted and I don't even think Paranormal Activity could have disrupted my sleep), it was a really great show.

First Big Ben sighting!

The Fortune Theatre - where we saw
The Woman in Black

Also on Thursday the Harry Potter premiere was going on in Trafalgar Square. It was crazy! It was seriously so packed we had a hard time getting through, but we got in as close as we could. We were able to see the red carpet and the big screen, and we came across a pathway that people were walking down, but the only people we saw were some band called The Wanted. Neither one of us had ever heard of them, but we took pictures and called it good.

So many people!

Our celebrity sighting- The Wanted

On Friday, Cara and I took our time getting up and ventured out to do some ultimate sight-seeing! It was so much fun! We saw almost everything! Then we met up with one of Cara's friends at Borough Market. They had the bed baklava and it was like Sam's Club heaven with all of the samples the vendors had.

After all of the exploring we were headed back to West End to catch a show. I was hoping to get tickets to Les Miz, but when we got there they were sold out for the next two weeks. So we decided to go with Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. My friend Taylor said she had absolutely loved it, so I was excited! And for those out there that have any interest in theater - go see it (along with many others)! It was so good and I was singing along to almost every song! It was hysterical and I loved how they used songs that most of the public would know. After the show we stalked the stage door and was able to get a few pictures of the performers!

Big Ben Picture #2

Cara and I overlooking the Eye

Parliament and Big Ben

Westminster Abbey.. so beautiful!

Cara and I with our audio tour guides!

Britain's oldest door.. who knew!

So beautiful

:)

Trafalgar Square, where HP was
 the night before - with an Olympic countdown!

King James Park

Buckingham Palace 

Tower Bridge

Borough Market

Loved it!

One of the main drag queens :)

A very successful first full-day in London. We ended it with some Pimms and passed right out as soon as we got back to Cara's apartment.

For day three we planned on going to Notting Hill to check out another market, do some shopping, and eating!

Our first stop was to Diana's Cafe, which was a favorite of Princess Diana's and it's decorated with letters from her and pictures of her at the cafe. Cara and I got a free dessert because one of the workers made Cara bring a table their coffee... haha it was so funny/weird. 

We navigated the bus system once more and made our way to Portobello Market. It was so great! All of the houses that lined the street were pastel and covered in flowers. There were street bands at every corner and fresh fruit, boutiques and handmade clothes everywhere. I think both of us did some serious spending at this market. But don't worry, not all for myself :). It's always a good feeling when you can't wait to give someone something you bought for them. My family better be excited! We also went into one of the stores from the movie Notthing Hill. It was a bookstore in the movie, but now it's a shoe store. They have a poster hanging up inside but they ask for a donation if you want to take a picture. Lame. I got one from outside though!

After Portobello, we went to Top Shop and finally onto Harrod's. I bought the best chocolate caramel cake squares, and more presents!

Once the shopping was done we were in search of some proper fish and chips... with some Pimms. It was a wonderful day, but it was not over yet! After dinner we headed out for a bar or two. More specifically, a gay bar, that just so happened to have a drag show! Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures and the video I took won't upload. Sorry. Just know that it was great, but really bad at the same time.

THE store

Fancy hats!

So unique and really cool!

The only picture I got of the night...

And so my weekend in London was over. I was supposed to leave for Florence at 11:20 Sunday morning. However, there was apparently a fatality on the train and nothing was going to be moving for hours. So I took a bus, but it wouldn't get me to the airport until after my flight at departed. I gave in and assumed I would miss my flight, but I was glad it was early so I figured there would be a later flight I could get on with no problem.

Well, there was a later flight, but there were definitely problems. The airline I was flying with was called RyanAir, and their carry-on limit was 10 kg. Nobody weight my bag or said anything about it. My suitcase was carry-on size, so I didn't see how there would be an issue. But on my way to the gate I was stopped to weigh my bag. It came to 14 kg and the only way I could board my flight was if I paid 40 pounds to check it or if I got rid of 4 kg. I ran to the ATM but my card is a little more than temperamental with the machines over here, so it didn't work. I had no more than 20 pounds on me, so I started layering up. I weighed my bag again and it was 11 kg. I thought I'd be good, but no, still no getting through. I didn't know what to do so I started throwing things out. I had 10 minutes before my gate closed and the women there were of no help. In tears, I threw out my toothbrush, deodorant, those delicious chocolate caramel squares, and was about to throw out a pair of shoes and a sweatshirt when the overhead made an announcement that my flight was closing. Still no help for the women at the gate, I really started crying. Eventually they threw my boarding pass at me and told me to run. Thanks! Needless to say, I missed my flight, again. And not only did I miss my flight, but my phone was out of credit so I could not get ahold of my mom or Cara, or anyone else. 

I was escorted out of security and right back to the same waiting area I had been sitting in all day long waiting for the second flight at 6. I tried a payphone to call my mom, but as soon as she picked up it needed more coins, and when I didn't get them in quick enough it disconnected. But as soon as I put the phone down it rang, so I picked up and it was my mom! I felt like I was a hit man or something waiting by the payphone, but it was a lifesaver. So she was able to connect with Cara and I headed back to London, completely exhausted.

This morning I woke up and headed to a different airport for a flight my parents booked for my last minute. Everything went as planned, and I arrived in Pisa with no problems. I had also checked my bags. My train got into Florence around 4 this afternoon, and since then I went to get groceries, put credit on my phone, and laid in bed. I think I deserve to be lazy right now.

Thanks for reading that entire mess, if you did. I really try not to just write about my daily schedule, so I hope this wasn't too boring. London is definitely a place I need to revisit for more than just a weekend. I'm thinking maybe a year or two... if I can come close to affording it :).

It was seriously one of the best places I've ever been to and I enjoyed it so much. Cara was such a great hostess, and I hope she uses her gifts wisely! I'm so thankful that she was there and willing to take me around to see everything, and pick me up, drop me off, and pick me up again at the train station. This was definitely a weekend I will always remember.

And as for the title, I thought it was funny. Mostly because it's true!

Cheers!

Batik'n Love

When I first signed up for classes with SRISA, I originally wanted Jewelry Making. For some reason I didn't get in and I got placed in Batik Making instead. And now, I am so happy jewelry didn't work out! Not only was the lab fee less expensive, but who ever gets the opportunity to take a batik class?! A little hesitant still, I went into the class, which ended up being only me. There was another school taking classes at the same studio at the same time as us, but they were there every other day from morning to night, so I wasn't all alone, there just weren't any other batik students from SRISA.

While learning about all the different possibilities for batik, it dawned on me that I had been batiking my whole life! And I was already a natural :). Tie dye is just a really generic form of batik, that doesn't take all that much skill or equipment. And if you ask just about anyone who knows me pretty well, they know that I have at least two drawers full of tie dye shirts, shorts, scarves, underwear, and even a dress.

Yes, that is the underwear! And yes, I was blonde once.

So after this ah-ha moment, I was good to go.

I've posted pictures of my sunflower and first batik before, but here's a refresher, and also a little bit about the process:

First, you traced the image you wanted onto the piece of silk, and traced over your pencil lines with a little wax-filled pen-like object. Once you're done tracing everything, you start painting. It was a little like watercolors since you would paint onto the fabric and it would spread, but since there were wax outlines, it would stay in the area you wanted. It was cool because with the spreading you could give it a really neat effect.

Done! It takes a few layers to build up the color. Unlike the dyes, once the paints are dry they're very light, so you have to keep going over them until it's the color you want.

I was super excited about how it came out! It looks really nice, but after staring at it for so long all you begin to notice are the imperfections. Oh well. I think I might turn it into a pillow? I don't know yet. You can wear it as a little scarf, but I don't wear scarves that way very often... or ever. So we'll see what happens with it.

The next scarf was the one that took up the most time and it nearly drove me crazy! I wanted to do a paisley design on either end of a long scarf, but I think I bit off more than I could chew. This scarf was going to be done by dipping it into different baths of dye. Again, the color builds up, but after each dip, you wax over the areas that you want to stay that color. And with all of the intricate little parts of the paisley, it was so hard and took so long.

The tracing... which took about three days

After the first dip into a light yellow,
then wax over the areas I wanted to stay that color

2nd dip into a gold color

After gold had been waxed, it went into a red
which turned it orange. After the orange it
went into another red so there was a darker
red, as you can see in this picture.

After all of the dips are done and it's finished, you have to iron out all of the wax then take it to the dry cleaners.

Ta-Da! A few missing steps in there, but finally finished!

Lots of little details

The third one was my favorite, maybe because of the colors I used, and because it wasn't as detailed as the last.

I didn't take any pictures of the process, but at first, you dye it in like colors, whether they're cool or warm. I started with the cool colors, whiting out the parts for the warm colors, dipping it in a light turquoise first, then a darker turquoise, and finally a cobalt blue.

Since I wanted green, I did different shades of blue then after all of the blues were done and it had been sent to the dry cleaners, I waxed out what I wanted to stay blue and dipped it in yellow, letting the blue spots that were uncovered turn to green (above picture). After the yellow, I dipped it in a red, giving it some orange spots.

The final result!

I love how this one turned out. And it was finished just in time for our school art show!

All three of my pieces

I have another one started but wasn't able to finish it before the show. My teacher said I could come in and keep doing batiks for an hourly fee. I have a few more ideas in mind and I'm excited about! And I really want to find all of the tools and dye when I get back home and continue to make scarves. Some people did amazing art work on theirs, with shading and landscapes. I thought about trying that, but figured I'd make things that I'd like to wear instead!

As for life, Tara left this morning and Alicia moved in last night. Change is always weird, but I'm excited for the next month and to get to know Alicia. I know it will be a lot of fun! 

We have a little time off from class now, but the first day is on Wednesday. I then go to London on Thursday. I'm very excited for that trip since I will be seeing three friends from home and school! It's also much cooler there, so I'm definitely looking forward to a break from the heat!

And lastly, I just wanted to say Hi to my dad and brother. While I've been here I have missed both Father's Day and my dad's birthday. My mom got to come visit, and it was so good to see her! But I really wish that the rest of my family could have come as well. It's weird to see everyone packing up and hear them talking about going home, but I'm still here for another month. I'm not at all sad about staying, but it makes me a little homesick. Plus, when you have one of the best families ever, they're kind of hard not to miss! I love it here so much and I know it will be hard to leave, but I can't wait to see them!

Ciao!

But for Now We are Young, Let Us Lay in the Sun and Count Every Beautiful Thing We Can See

I know, I know... this blog is long overdue. But in my defense, today was my last day of June classes so I've been pretty busy and it's been blazing hot so all of the energy I have left is just sucked out and into pools of sweat (serious).

All right, so for those that don't know, my mom and aunt came to visit last week! It was such an amazing time! I really wish they could have stayed for more than a week, and I'm sure they were wishing the same thing. We had so many great laughs and they were such great company. While I was in class they were able to go off and explore Florence, shop, take a few day trips, shop some more, and even dared to rent a car for a day. I even got them into see The David without waiting in line :).

On Thursday I got really sick and missed class... so we went to Venice! It was quite the adventure getting there. Booked trains, long lines, not being able to find anywhere to sit, and waiting around in Bologna, and then we finally got there.

First view of Venezia

My aunt has a cousin who lives right outside of Venice on Lido so we were able to meet up with her for a very late dinner (due to our train fiasco we missed the dinner that had been planned, but a panini and prosciutto is always close by when you're in Italy!).

My mom and I got to our hotel, and we were so happy to be in an air conditioned building, we slept so soundly. We woke up the next morning with the promise of an American breakfast, which ended up being the best cheese I've ever had with yogurt, croissants, biscuit cookies, orange juice and a cappuccino. Not all that American, but not bad at all!

Now that you know exactly what I ate, I'll tell you about our day in Venice...

The Amazing Race: Venezia

So fancy!

Awkward picture of myself, but loving it!

Piazza San Marco

Happy in Venice with my new hat!

We wished we could have stayed for more than just one night. Everyone has their own mixed feeling about Venice, but when you just stop, slow down, enjoy your surroundings and stay away from anything you need a ticket to see, it's wonderful!

When we got back to Florence we were just in time for the fireworks! Every year they have a big soccer tournament between the different neighborhoods of Florence. Afterwards they have fireworks over the Ponte Vecchio, so the three of us along with the rest of the city squeezed ourselves onto the bridge to watch (what we could actually see) the show.

Happy happy!

It was my mom and my aunt's last night in Florence. We sat outside next to a piazza, listening to music, eating gelato, and contemplating leather coats. I was sad to see them go, but it was such an amazing week I couldn't help but to be happy... And there are already talks of a reunion tour!

On Sunday Tara, two other girls from SRISA and I finally made it to the beach! Plus a few stops in between...

First, we stopped by Pisa. Pisa was never a city I had actually wanted to visit. I just wanted to snap the picture of me pushing/holding the tower and be done with it. But to my surprise, it was kind of a charming little down. We even found a big mural by Keith Haring close to the train station.

You may not know the name, but you know
you've seen his stuff before!

 And here it is..!

Everybody do the Leaning Tower!

Good arm positioning.

YES!

After we were happy with our results, we headed back to the train station, where the real fun of the day began.

Travelers Tip: When you see a sign that says something along the lines of "Train strike, warning that trains may be delayed or cancelled" do not think nothing of it! These train people mean business.

We made it to the train station only to find that every train to Viareggio was cancelled. With purchased tickets in hand, we frantically found a help desk and was directed onto another train with a few stops and a larger cost, but there was nothing stopping us from getting to the beach. We purchased the new tickets four minutes before the train to Genova was scheduled to leave, somehow managed to find seats, and we were on our way! And let me tell you, thank God we didn't just give up at Pisa, because the time we were able to spend in Viareggio totally made up for the mess we were about to endure on the way home.

WE MADE IT!

Heaven

It was such a wonderful day, regardless of the stress of the trains. But on the way back things got pretty crazy. The strike was supposed to end at nine that night, so we made sure not to leave until then. However, when we got back to Pisa and onto the platform, there was no train (or anyone else for that matter) around us. So we waited for the next one that was scheduled, and thankfully more people showed up. But the train, on the other hand, did not. No more trains were running to Florence. We were stuck. In Pisa.

There was a bus that was going to come to take everyone around one in the morning, but we really didn't feel like waiting for two and a half more hours for that. So the four of us happened to find two other girls that needed to get back, and we split a taxi. Finding a taxi for six people was difficult, finding a taxi for six people that would drive us all the way to Florence was even harder. But we eventually got one and paid 30 euro each and returned to our apartments safe and sound, and a little bit burnt.

Not the best experience, but it was a great day. Tara and I are planning on going back on Friday, since it will be her last day here. And this time we'll be skipping Pisa.

As for school, all of my June classes are done! I got a 99% on my art history final (ha) and I'll be finishing my last batik tomorrow. Although, my batik teacher said I could come in during July if I just paid by the hour, so there will hopefully be more batiks to come! I'll also have pictures of all of my final pieces soon... maybe tomorrow. Who knows.

Our fan is also broken, and July is the hottest month next to August for Italy. I wake up sweating, I fall asleep sweating, I am always sweating. I'm getting a new fan tomorrow.

Everyone is going home this weekend. Even our neighbors that I finally met yesterday are gone now. I only know of three other girls that are staying. It kind of makes me wish I were going home too. And then thinking about not going home like everyone else makes me a little homesick. But on Thursday I'll be heading to London to visit a few friends, so it'll be nice to see people I know! I am very excited, and actually, I'm just about to book my flight!

So, even a little homesick, I'm still loving this city. Having new and comfortable shoes makes me love it even more, since I swear the roads are even more beat up than when I first got here. And I've finally made the connection to the beach! Which always makes me happy. Especially when a beach looks like this one! I found a sun hat right in time!

Lastly - there has been an odd amount of yelling/shouting from the people who live right across the street from me. I don't think it's Italian, but it's super intense. I think the heat is getting to them, too.

A presto!