Explaining...

So, I know a bunch of people have been wondering why I have been so MIA. Remember when I posted that I was sick? I went to the doctor, got some antibiotics and got nearly completely better. Then, Friday, on the morning of my Venice trip, I came down with another horrible sore throat and fever that got progressively worse throughout the day. I went to Venice anyways, which I'll post an entry about soon, but got home and couldn't have felt more sick. The next day, I woke up and went to the doctor here in Florence again. She said I may have mono! AHHH!!! The last thing I need! I'm not supposed to go to school or basically do anything but rest for about 5 days and on Thursday I may possibly get blood tests done. I'm hoping that it is just a stupid sore throat and that I'll get better fast.

This is my mini Italian pharmacy.

The good news is that I've had time to update my blog 3 times today! Check out the past 2 posts about one of my trips and about my walk to school! Tomorrow (or technically today since it is 1:30 am my time!) while I'm home in bed, I'll create a post about my Venice trip, which despite being sick was an absolutely wonderful day!

Keep me in your thoughts.
xoxo, Mandy

My Walk To School

Here is what my walk to school every day looks like:

We begin the journey on my street!

My street again!
With the Duomo in the distance!

Part of Piazza Santissima Annunziata
During lunch hours, tons of people come sit on these steps and eat because they're in the shade at that time!

Another part of Piazza Santissima Annunziata

When you see the horses butt, you know you're going the right way! hehe

One more spot in Piazza Santissima

Keep on walking and the Duomo gets even closer!
This is the street where I buy my groceries!

The side of the Duomo!

I walk around it every day! It is a lot bigger than it looks!

Part of the front of the Duomo!
Pictures don't do it justice.

The famous golden doors across from the Duomo!
They are the Baptistery doors. In the afternoons, its impossible to pass in between the Duomo and the doors because of all the people!

One of the dozens of stores I pass each day!
That I can not and will never be able to afford. Including: Gucci and Dolce and Gabbana!

The streets are super narrow!

And the sidewalks are even more narrow!

The entrance to my Italian classroom.

It is actually an art studio that the institute uses as a classroom outside of the main building.

The main entrance of The Institute at Palazzo Ruccelai!

Go up the dizzying spiral staircase!

I use a special key to get in!

Here is the mail room, where, hopefully you will all send me letters!

The biggest hallway in the palace!
Yeah, that's right, my school is a PALACE! It is still owned by the Ruccelai family and rented to the institute to use for school. The palace is NOT open to the public!

One of the frescoes on the ceiling of my Italian Cultural Anthropology classroom!

Here is part of my Anthropology room with people's book bags!

Yes, we actually do school! The classroom is called San Giovanni!

So now you (sort-of) know what my walk is like each day to school here in Florence! Hope everyone is enjoying my blog! Leave comments and say hello!

Love, Mandy

It's been a while...

Sorry to keep you all waiting! I'll explain why it has been such a long time in a future post, but until then, I'm posting about my trip to Sienna and San Gimignano!

SIENNA

I'd been to Sienna before with Dad and my friends in High School, but back then, I didn't end up getting to see as much as I saw this time! It was just as beautiful as I remember it!

Piazza Del Campo

The very famous, absolutely HUGE plaza in Sienna is really something to see. There wasn't really any way to get the entire thing in a picture, so this is just a small piece. The clock tower and this building are the old town hall. Later in the summer, there is a gigantic horse race around the entire plaza! The people stand huddled in the center while the horses run around them. Very cool. Here is another section of the plaza:

The Duomo

Sienna's cathedral, the Duomo, has an interesting story. The main facade (pictured above) and tower (below) were finished in 1380, however, the rest of the church was not completed. As you can see, if it had been completed in the normal cross formation like all Renaissance churches, it actually would have been one of the largest cathedrals in existence. But, the Plague struck Italy, and the project had to be abandoned.



You can even see the place where they stopped building! Its just a big wall with tiny staircases and look out places that would have been windows: (Which we later got to climb!!!)


After we saw the outside, we got to go into the church. Here is a short video of the inside as well as old books filled with antiphonal sheet music:

Next we got to go into the museum which had hundreds of sculptures and paintings by Italian artists. Further up inside, there were rooms filled with "relics," essentially, body parts of Saints locked away in golden and glass cases, which are considered sacred. (Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures inside!)

The scariest, and yet, my favorite part of Sienna was climbing the unfinished wall of the Duomo. We had to go up tiny spiral staircases and through hallways that were meant for one person (since it is just a wall). But, there was traffic going both ways, so in order to go up and come back down, I had to sort of mold myself against the brick walls and hold on for dear life! Very very scary, but SO WORTH IT! At the top, we had an incredible view of Sienna and the surrounding countryside! It was breath-taking!

SAN GIMIGNANO

San Gimignano is a tiny preserved (much like Lucca, completely fortressed by a wall) medieval town. As I walked through the city gate, I could see that no cars were allowed inside and there were many shops with leather and ceramic products made by local artisans.



The town is especially known for its towers:

Piazza del Cisterna

This is one of the main plazas in the city. It is the plaza of the well, where the townspeople used to retrieve their drinking water.

Gelateria Pluripremiata

The tiny old city is famous for this little gelato shop, where they have won multiple Gelato World Championships! They have some of the fastest scoopers, as well as some of the yummiest Gelato in the world! It was so crowded that we literally had to push our way to the counter and yell out our order!

At the end of the day, our tour guide Stefano took us through a little alleyway and up a hill to a pretty spot with an amazing view of the hills:

What a GREAT day! Are you jealous yet!?!?

Pisa and Lucca

Hello!

Well, it is almost bedtime, but I figured I should post about Pisa and Lucca like I promised! Today, I was feeling a little bit better, just super congested. It was a tiring but wonderful day!

PISA

I'm holding it up!

We entered under the arches and into the Piazza dei Miracoli (Plaza of Miracles). While the Leaning Tower is of course the most famous sight of Pisa, I was enlightened that there really is more to this city. Let me explain a bit about what we saw:

The Baptistery of Saint John

This of course is the incredible structure in which those who were not members of the church could become baptized. In fact, Galileo himself was baptized there. It was huge; I think our tour guide said almost 60 meters tall and 108 meters in circumference. I also learned that the Baptistery was acoustically perfect. Every fifteen minutes, the employees would close the big doors and then one of them would walk up to the altar and sing. It was INSANE. I took a video and I hope you'll at least sort-of get the idea of how amazing the sound was.

The Monumental Cemetery

This cemetery is not typical of what we're used to in the States. It is more like a big building with statues and monuments as well as sarcophagi next to the walls and underneath the floors.

It was awe inspiring and quite peaceful, with a pretty garden courtyard in the middle and arches making up the center walls. The Cemetery walls were also once covered in Frescoes. A Fresco is a painting done on plaster walls or ceilings. Obviously, Italy is famous for them. Many of the cemetery's Frescoes had been destroyed in wars, however, there were some removed from the walls being restored and some partially still intact. Something that was super interesting was that in some places where Frescoes had been destroyed, the original artist's first drafted drawings could be seen underneath!

The Duomo

Our next stop was a fantastic, beautifully adorned medieval cathedral. It was stunning, inside and out. The lighting inside was quite dim, so my camera was not taking the best pictures. But, instead I took a video, which I think does the cathedral more justice.

Birth, Life, and Death

Our tour guide mentioned something that I thought was quite moving, although I don't consider myself to be extremely religious. In the 14th century, having the Baptistery, Cathedral, and Cemetery all in one plaza was significant: birth into the world and into the church was a miracle. The cemetery served as a reminder of this and the fact that we all will perish eventually, but if you do good with your life, you may go to Heaven. Some might find this a bit ominous and strange, but I thought it made perfect sense.

LUCCA

Another one hour bus ride brought us to the arches of a small city surrounded completely by walls. It was so cool-- like its own little village stuck in time, with the exception of the modernized shops that looked a bit funny stuck into the old buildings. Every year in July and August there is a Puccini festival there with recitals and operas every night: looks like I'll just miss it.

The Plaza of the Amphitheatre

It is difficult to do this plaza justice in a picture unless it is a bird's eye view. Originally, it was an amphitheatre; that's right guys, friggen real-life gladiators! But, atop the amphitheatre, people gradually began building shops and homes-- keeping the original and very unique circular shape!

Basilica di San Frediano

The church itself was beautiful, but there was something else there that completely blew my mind. The body of Saint Zita, the patron saint of maids and domestic servants is on display (a sign of great respect and awe) and nearly totally preserved. She died after performing countless miracles for those in need. Oh, and by the way, she passed away in 1272! You can decide if her preservation is an act of God or of science.

San Michele in Foro

This is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the archangel Michael who protected the world from the devil with his mighty sword. We did not get a chance to go inside, but the exterior was seriously incredible.



Our next stop was at the bike rental shop! We got to ride bikes around the top of the entire wall that surrounds Lucca. I didn't get very many pictures, because the wind in my hair felt nice and the ride was spectacular, but here's a couple:




Tomorrow holds another all day trip! This time, to Sienna and San Gimignano! I've got to get some rest because it is going to prove to be another very tiring day! I'm looking forward to being completely healthy at some point! :)

Feel free to leave comments! And send me a letter ANYTIME to the address in my first post!!!

CIAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love, Mandy