Pietrasantra

Yesterday we went to this amazing place about a half hour away called Pietrasanta. I'll admit that I wasn't so excited to go at first because I didn't fully understand what was there to see… Turned out to be one of those surprise trips that was well worth it. Pietrasantra is a town known for their marble, specifically for being the seller that Michelangelo bought from for his statues from. We had to first take a bus for about 10 minutes and then get in this cheesy train car for the rest of the way. When we got there we walked to the main plaza which had several pieces of art. The whole town was exactly what most people picture (or at least I did) when they think of Italy, little stores, people walking about casually, churches/cathedrals, works of art/statues throughout, mopeds, and just a general sense of calm and friendliness with rolling hills and mountains to complete the backdrop.



We walked to these small studios and one of our coordinators arranged to go inside. We first walked through the gate and saw all these huge chunks of marble, some in the process of being shaped, others just marked for the project. Once we were in to the artist shop we saw these incredible mosaics that they were working on. In this room were about 5 people all with boxes of these little tiles, a little chisel, and glue. The way they made the mosaic was to blow up this picture until it's all pixilated, then cut it into pieces about 1 by 2 foot pieces, and match all the colors (we're talking about 20 different shades of blue for a sky), and then glue them to this paper. The artist explained that when they are installed, the place on the wall is glued, and then they place the pieces together with the paper on the outside. Then they peel the paper off after it's all glued together. This way the surface is flat. To put it simply, they make the mosaics backwards! Maybe no one else thought that was interesting, but I found it fascinating. Get used to these random little facts :) He showed us several that were in process and some complete that were about 20 feet tall and 10 feet wide. He takes these pieces and sells them for a very pretty penny all over the world.


This was one of those situations were the language barrier was an issue. I would have loved to be able to talk with the guys working to comprehend then process even better. We all got along with out communication, mainly because they could see our excitement and appreciation for their hard work. Lots of smiling and hand gestures were exchanged. I can understand a little bit due to knowing some Spanish, but it's still quite a gap. Luckily 4 hours of someone speaking straight Italian to you helps grasps in grasping some general concepts. I'm hoping by the time we get to Florence I'll be able to ask and understand enough to really question artists and others about this kind of thing.
Well, now that I've finally caught up/set up this whole blog thing I'll be able to keep it going! Tomorrow we have our first Italian Quiz and then off to Pisa for the afternoon!! Ciao!

beautiful!

they're everywhere!!!

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Lido di Camaiore

We are now on the coast of Italy, next to Pisa in the fabulous town of Lido di Camaiore in the city of Via Reggio. Our hotel is a 3 minute walk from the beach, where I'm hoping to become better acquainted with in the next week and a half here. The night we arrived the groups (we traveled in 2 since our group was too big to travel together, 88 of us total) they gathered us on the beach for some gelato, de-lici-ous. The next day (Sunday) was a big meeting day to go over lots and lots of details, register with the local police, and sign up for orientation activities.
After a day of destroying my brain with all these 'important things to know/remember', we were able to go see the opera 'Madame Butterfly' in an open air theatre. Following it was pretty interesting to say the least, luckily they had a summary printed in English for us. That night was a bit frustrating due to the lack of respect shown by some members of our group, specifically the ones right behind me. On the other hand, the location of the theatre was the prettiest thing I have ever seen. Puccini's house, which was right next to the theatre, was next to this lake in Torre del Lago, mountains in the background , a dock, and a little paddle boat right in the middle. All of this with the sun setting in the background. Perfect for a postcard, but guess who had left their camera back at the hotel, yep yours truly! Luckily 80 other people went tourist crazy on it as well.

It was a long night due to not arriving back at the hotel until 2 a.m. Not a good when school starts bright and early the next morning.
The Italian language is hard. Very. The past 3 days I have spent the first 4 hours of my day in a classroom with no air (it's been high 80's here), no drinking fountain, one break, professors who speak very little English, people have no desire to learn, and a brain that hasn't really had to function for the past 2 months. Not a gentle transition to make. Hopefully it'll get easier!!

From London to Italy

I have officially made it to Italy! Reality has finally started to hit and what a bizarre feeling it has been. I now have gotten my feet back up and under me (the first time in a while) and now don't know what to do with myself. The past week has been filled with amazing activities, experiences, and people all which I can only hope will keep improving.
I arrived in London last Thursday in early afternoon. That day we ventured around Hyde Park across from our hotel and the proceeded to have a meet and greet with our whole group and then had the night free to do whatever. For me that consisted of showering and falling asleep promptly by 9:30 pm. The jet lag was something that I was willing to submit to and have not regretted it thus far. Now I feel right on schedule with this place. The next morning we woke up early to do a 3 hour bus tour of the city. It was perfect because we were all too tired to really walk and adventure, but we were able to see it all and get off the bus at the main attractions to see them for a bit. Our tour guide was Irish and was a hoot. After the tour ended a group of us went and walked around an area called Covent Gardens, ventured over the Millennium Bridge (Harry Potter) to the Tate Modern Museum which was incredible! Then we went back to our area and I had my first ever 'Fish and Chips'. Not too shabby. That night some of us ventured on the tube (aka subway) to this pub which was a fun experience. Most of the group stayed in that night due to having to leave for Pisa at 3 in the morning. Those who were the lucky ones and did not have to depart until later enjoyed the evening. In the morning we just laid low and went to the internet café before hanging out in the airport waiting for our flight. Overall, London was pretty cool, they drove on the wrong side and their food cost way too much, but the architecture was breathtaking. Needless to say, London wasn't the place I was dying to see, but still thought it was great to see it on the way to ITALY!

ckeck out London's crazy buildings!

Favorite picture!

Millieum Bridge with Modern Tate in the background

I think i'm pretty skilled....