Peggy's Italian Adventures

Well hell...

2009-06-05T17:31:00.002+02:00

Why, exactly am I posing a blog? I'm not sure, for myself I think. B/c I don't know who reads this or do I really think I care. Today, I post this blog for myself to make myself feel better.

Since being home my world has been turned up side down. He broke up with me, can you believe it? I certainly didn't there for a while. But I think I've come to terms with it in some ways. It'll take a lot of time to come to peace with it but its something I'm working towards.

For a while, I hated the fact that I went to Italy b/c I thought it was the reason he broke up with me. And maybe it was. But I don't regret it anymore, my time in Italy empowered me. I know I can live on my own, in a foreign country for at least 4 months. I know that I can make myself happy when thats all I have. I know that I am strong, so much stronger than I know and give myself credit for. I can't even count the amazing things I learned about myself while in Italy. Today, I am grateful for doing it, and I think I will be forever grateful for it too.

I think thats why I felt the need to post this blog. B/c I need to remind myself that I did love my time abroad, as hard as it was, I am thankful for it.

I'm a strong person for keeping with it and seeing it to the end.

Now the real question is this : what kind of man was I with that it took 4 months of me being away to realize he "wasn't happy" with me? the answer: a weak, lying, coward.

I'm stronger than him. And one day I'll prove it to the world.

If you pray, pray for me. If you don't (and thats cool b/c I don't pray either) then send strength and happy thoughts my way.

I know I can do this.

Italy has made me a better, stronger person.

Thanks,

Peggs.

Tomorrow, I go home...

2009-05-15T18:37:00.001+02:00

Things I’m going to miss about Florence:

The People

Nicole: a girl whom is quickly becoming one of my best friends, has a wonderful little shoulder to cry on, says “gotcha” all the time, enjoys a good meal, likes to pre-game early, keeps me optimistic even when I don’t feel like it, my painting and pastry buddy. I’m going to miss her.

Marsha: Oh how I’m going to miss Marsha with her 20 (or so) necklaces, two pairs of glasses, distinctive voice, take-no-crap attitude, wise advice, unflattering energy, amazing teaching abilities, stories about her amazing life journey, and the way she calls me by my last name because its fun to say. Can’t I just take her home with me?

The Contessina Faculty: what would the Contessina be without asking for an internet card nearly everyday for 2 months and the young daughter and her husband (whom speaks no english), and their two incredibly cute young kids? Or the way the mother goes out of her way to make sure that we are happy, sometimes surprising us with a home baked cake. Or Kiara, my bffl, who speaks wonderful english and fishes for compliments to make her feel like shes not old. Or her husband, who looks very different in regular clothes. And lets not forget Franceso, and his awkwardness, his passion for knowledge, the fact that he’s never wrong according to him, how he would never date me because I have tattoos, the way he first had a crush on Megan then moved to Caitlin, or the way he gets so bored and will talk your ear off for as long as you let him. Oh the Contessina, what will you do without the girls in 204?

The going-out crew: Sarah Jane and Leo, Melissa, Nicole and Leo (my drinking buddy!!) I miss the good times with them.

The Places

The Boboli Gardens: where dreams can come true and fairy tales are real. I will miss killing time just because, reading a book under a tree, taking a nap in the open grassy field at the bottom of the gardens, sitting on the benches near the lake, watching the fish in the fountain, and enjoying a sunny day away from the crowds. I’ll never forget the photoshoot with Keith in the gardens and our picnic afterwards. Oh the ways in which I will miss the Gardens?

The Museums: bored? go to a museum. Simple as that, go see some kick-a art, something different every time from all the different museums to choose from.

Via dell’Alloro 14: The LdM art building, smells of turp and oil paint, how theres always an art kid in the building somewhere, the outrageously early hours in which they close, the moody tetris guys who don’t like their jobs, J.R. the cute little guy who cleans the building and is so nice, how theres always at least two different sources of music coming from the same room, and the comforting fact that art kids converge there.

Misc. things: the cobblestone streets, the beautiful buildings, the windows and doors, gelato, the central market, the dried fruit guy, fresh food, walking EVERYWHERE, dogs in bars, drinking with an open container on the street, the wine bar on the corner, the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, the way the italians say OK, using words like Grazie and Ciao daily, H&M and Zara, the freaking amazing pastries, the carousal, street artists, San Lorenzo Market, the paninis, the AMAZING art supply stores!!!, the amazing art, the condom dispensers on the street (hilarious for a Catholic country), fresh mozzarella, pretty much everything.

Sculpture

2009-05-14T12:38:00.004+02:00

Here's a couple of pictures of my sculpture since I got yelled at for not posting earlier.

This is the front side.

Detail. The inside is not polished. It needed some texture contrast.

The other side.

The flaw which I love. :)

P.S. I solved the problem of packing stuff. I bought a BIGGER suitcase today off the street, super cheap, will probably fall apart after it gets me home, but good enough. I can breathe easy now. :)

2 days.

Peggs.

Finals and Packing Dilemmas...

2009-05-13T21:39:00.002+02:00

Well, since I last updated you I had my sculpture final. Which was no biggie b/c "we don't have time for that test crap". We just worked to finish everything up. I finished my piece. Its now sitting upstairs near my bed. I'm proud of it. Its definitely not anything amazing though. And I can't even imagine the time, patience, and work that would go into doing a LARGE marble sculpture. I have a whole new appreciation now thats for sure.

I also had my italian final, which I did survive although I was nervous about it. I find out tomorrow what I made on it and in the class. Pray for a C.

Today I had my World of Museums final, which was harder than I thought it would be but still pretty easy. I'm sure I got an A in the class, or atleast thats what I'm hoping for. Today I also started to think about packing. And had a little bit of a dilemma with the artwork. It was going to cost me about 168 euros to ship my five paintings home. No do-able. Period. So, I decided to take 3 off the frames and tube them (tube 6 euros). Then pack the two-panel painting b/c I didn't want to un-stretch them and I figure I could just pack them and the tube in my suitcase. Great idea.

Except that they will NOT fit into my suitcase. Which sucks. So, now I have to rethink everything. I think I'm going to go to the train station or market to see if I can haggle for a large suitcase. I will NOT pay over 60 euros for a suitcase because I simply don't have the money. If that doesn't work I'll have to resort to shipping the package home and praying the airlines will let me take the tube on the plane. Nothing is simple. I worked my ass off all semester, and this is the drama that is sending artwork home. I got sooo frustrated today. I am so thankful for my roommate Megan to be an optimistic and help me figure it all out. I love that girl and am so happy we got placed together as roommates. Tomorrow I will update you on how the problem-solving goes. I also have my last final tomorrow morning. Last final of my Italian semester, last final of my junior year. I'm going to lose my mind.

3 days counting.

Peggs.

Painting Final...

2009-05-11T14:46:00.005+02:00

My last painting class was today. So sad. Its by far my favorite. Every Monday morning with painting is a good way to start the week. And today we had our final critique. We had to make corrections to the paintings we did for midterm, then we had two new pieces that we hadn't critiqued yet. The first new one was a double portrait of me and a model. The second one was a two-panel painting that we had full rein over, only stipulation was that it had to be from life/photograph. I'm still not happy with the double portrait but oh well. But I'm really happy with my two-panel painting. I got a lot of positive feedback on it. That one might actually go up in the our apartment when I get home. :)

Heres some photos of my class' work:

Nicole with her naked woman and boob.

Vic with her work. (sorry its blurry)

Kendal and her work.

My two-panel painting. :) Mi piace.

All my work. See the improvement?

Note: there are two more kids in my painting class but they ditched before I could get a shot of them and their work. :(

Sculpture tomorrow.

Italian tomorrow.

Art History on Wednesday.

Jewelry on Thursday.

Party Thursday night.

Pack on Friday.

Leave early Saturday morning and arrive in KENTUCKY at 5:30 pm Saturday afternoon.

Crazy huh?

Peggs.

Eating it up.

2009-05-10T13:17:00.003+02:00

Time is growing short here in Italy. I only have about 6 days left, 4 of which are finals, 1 is going to be a recovery day/packing day, and then the sixth one is going to be going to the airport early in the morning. So, not a lot of time. Which is good and bad. I'm really going to miss the people that I've met here, the things and places I've seen, the art, the cobblestone streets and the food. But I'm going to be happy to be back home with my Keith, my dogs, my friends and fam, the american cheeseburger and mac and cheese, my car, my privacy, my art building and friends. Everything. So its very bittersweet.

Ahh Venice (lots of pictures)....

2009-05-02T15:28:00.000+02:00

Boats, not cars.

How cool would this be?

Ambulance.

My fav shot from the whole day.

view from the train.

I went to Venice this past weekend, and fell completely in love. So in love that now I wish I had considered studying for the semester in Venice. Gorgeous. You step out of the Train Station and into water. Its amazing. Then you can walk, take a water taxi, or a ferry to where ever you need to go. There are NO CARS anywhere, how different then what I'm used to. Absolutely beautiful. And whats funny about it is that I had no desire to see Venice whatsoever, but as soon as I seen it I fell in love. There was an Italian family sitting near me on the train and when I seen the vastness of the water for the first time I gasped out loud, they laughed at me (not in a "I'm making fun of you" way, but in a "Yeah, Venice does that to you" way). The ferry ride (my first) was interesting to say the least, very crowed, and they cram way too many people on the things and the ferry guy was really rude, but I guess if you have to deal with tourists all the time you would be kind of cranky. The weather was wonderful, upper 70's, clear blue skies, in other words a wonderful day to go to Venice. And there were soo many people there in the main squares, but less down the smaller streets. The buildings look so run down and old, but beautiful all at the same time. And I like how you can tell how high the water gets because of the green moldy slime on the bottom of the buildings. Something else that I got a kick out of is the fact that many streets dead-end...into water.

I took alot of pictures and already wish I could go back. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves but in no way do they do the beautiful city justice. Ahhh........I LOVE VENICE (& you would too)!

Peggs.

They took my umbrella....

2009-04-29T16:50:00.002+02:00

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I got my purse back from Paris!

I was pleasantly surprised and a little disappointed all at the same time. They left everything except: my camera, my ipod, my flash drive, and my umbrella. They even took my umbrella. Come on! I knew the camera and ipod would be gone, but I was hoping they might have a heart and give back the flash drive. Oh well. At least I got my Id's back. Now I don't have to pay GC $50 for a new G-card.

And, I bought myself a leather jacket today. Megan and I went together, it was an interesting experience. The place that we went to, sells custom made leather jackets to most study abroaders in Florence. So we knew he was good and that we'd get a good deal. After trying on the first leather jacket, I was completely turned off. I just looked different. But eventually I found one that I liked. I fell in love with a black bomber jacket with a hood (hood is 10 euros extra). I'm not made like Italian women, I have curves (you know, hips and breasts which Italian women aren't big on here). So, the tight small, form-fitting ones weren't cutting it. He finally brought out the bomber jackets and then we started talking my kind of leather jacket. And then when I tried it on, I knew it was the one. :) Its nice. Megan says I look sexy in it (which I don't of course) but it does seem to match my attitude very well. I'm happy with my purchase, and it should last for a verrrry looong time. I wonder what Keith will think of it....

Peggs.

OH! ps... only 17 days left! ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

Its like Christmas....

2009-04-25T17:05:00.005+02:00

This past Thursday, I got a package in the mail! and it was a big one too. It was like Christmas all over again, I couldn't wait to open it up. So, I did, in the middle of class. I must say I do have the worlds best mother-in-law. She stocked me up with American foods/candies. Gobstoppers, Charleston Chews, Nerds, Oreos, beef jerky!, and Poptarts! It was amazing to open it and see all those goodies, plus a letter from her, Keish, and Court. Exciting stuff. Needless to say, everyone is jealous, but I share. And my jewelry teacher, who is German, wanted to try the Charleston Chews. He loved them! He said that I would have to mail him some more once I get back in the states. lol. I LOVE my goodies. They will definitely hold me over for the next 20 days, yes thats right, I only have 20 days left. Crazy huh? but I have sooo much work to get done in those 20 days. I have to start and finish a two-panel painting, make some corrections to an old painting, finish up a marble sculpture (which is not going too bad), start and finish a silver bracelet in jewelry class, and a project/paper for my museums class. Oh, and Italian class is going ok. My grade average is a B (in Italian), which is awesome because it gives me some leeway on that final. ;)

And this coming Tuesday afternoon is going to be like Christmas too because....there are good people in the world. Some in Paris turned my purse into the Police Station, who in turn turned it into the City Lost and Found. They sent me a letter telling me to come get myself or send someone to do it for me. And my friend, Ashley, is in Paris right now and said that she would get it for me! How amazing is that? Not only that it was turned it but that I have a friend that is willing to take time out of there time in Paris to get it for me! I feel much better about the whole "I lost my purse/life in Paris...." thing. There are good people in the world. So, this Tuesday I get my purse back. I dont care whats in it, probably not the things I want the most but thats ok. I'm just excited to have it back. Know what I mean? I love for my ipod and camera to still be in there, but I'm not counting on it. Electronics are tempting to take I suppose. But maybe my drivers license and student ids are still in there, and *fingers crossed* my flash drive. But no expectations. I just wonder what hell my purse went through to get back to me, its adventures. :)

So, in the meantime, I'll eat my Oreo Fudge Rings from the U.S.A, work my butt off on art projects, and count down the days til I'm back in Kentucky but enjoy those 20 days in the process.

Peggs.

Fun Facts about Italia...

2009-04-22T14:42:00.002+02:00

So, I'm currently procrastinating my homework. And I've been learning random and interesting facts about Italy since I've been here, and it has lead me to google some more tidbits about Italy.

Italy is the 5th most industrialized country in the world.
Its about the size of Arizona.
The average Italian eats about 55 pounds of pasta a year.
Italy has a low birth rate, because family values are changing in Italy.
98% of Italians in Italy are Roman Catholics.
The story of Pinocchio was written by Carlo Collodi, a Florentine.
The average Italian eats about 1/2 pound of bread a day.
Italy has one of the highest eating disorders rates in the world. (I've been told this, I'm not 100% sure on it though.)
Eyeglasses are an Italian invention.
The average Italian drinks about 26 gallons of wine a year.
Italy imports over 75% of its energy.
Italy has over 3,000 museums, Florence being the home of Italian Art.
The Vespa is an Italian made motor scooter.

haha. I enjoy these facts much more than my Italian homework.

I hope you do too.

Peggs.

When in Rome....

2009-04-19T19:52:00.020+02:00

Bungalow #30. Nice.

Caitlin locking it up.

Rows and Rows of Bungalows.

The rockin view from PLUS hostel. Notice the trees.

Fountain at the Spanish Steps.

Me on the Spanish Steps.

The Pine Cone Courtyard.

Modern Art. Gotta love it. This thing spins. :)

Our goofy tour guide.

The Lacoon. :)

AHHHHH!!! i love this piece.

Mikey was obsessed over this piece back in the day.

Vatican looking OUT.

Pope's Royal Guards. Dorks. Sucks to wear that everyday.

We are Romans.

Awesome seats... :)

Pathenon

Green Apple was deelish.

The Madhouse that was the Gelato Bar

Trevi Fountain

This past weekend I went to Rome with my roommate Caitlin. I had been dying to go, and wanted to wait until the weather straightened up to go. Thankfully, it didn't rain until after we were already on the train back home. Rome was really the only other Italian city that I had be dying to see. Hello, the Sistine Chapel is there. So, to Rome I went. It was an interesting adventure.

We staying at PLUS Hostel in Rome, which really did turn out to be a camping village that was 30 minutes outside of the city center. The distance kinda sucked, but we figured out the bus and metro system it was easy. Be best thing about staying there, was that there were TREES!!!! Florence has no trees (expect in the parks). We stayed in a "bunaglow" which consisted of two beds, and a tiny bathroom. Thats all. It was nice though because it was clean and super CHEAP. 36 euros for two nights (for one person). Sweet deal.

We took the fast train to Rome, and it was nice. Only took about 1.5 hours. After we checked in at PLUS, we hopped on a bus, then a metro, and went to the Spanish Steps. Very pretty, especially at sunset. It was a nice square, with a small fountain designed by Bernini and is supposed to look like a small boat that was once stranded there. There were many shops and street artists at Piazza di Spangna as well. The steps can get quite crowded, and I don't really like crowds but it was still very pretty. Afterwards, we went in search of a good place to get dinner. We picked a random trattoria and of course it was delicious. Then we headed back to the Hostel because we had to be at the Vatican first thing in the morning to meet up with our tour group.

I'd like to start off with this tidbit of information, Vatican City, is a country. Yes, it is in ROME but it is its own country as well. It's the world's smallest country, about .2 square miles and serves as the spiritual center for millions of people from all over the world. Its usually referred to as a City State and often called "the Holy See". Pretty much the only people who live there within the .2 square miles are priests, nuns, guards, high-ranking dignitaries, and the Pope.

We booked a group tour, with a hefty fee, for the Vatican Museum which includes: the Sistine Chapel, a modern art collection, countless rooms of art, and just a lot of stuff...mostly all "donated" to the Vatican. Some of the worlds most famous pieces are held here. Like the Lacoon for example. And of course the frescos within the Sistine Chapel. Overall, I'm so thankful for the experience of the visiting the Vatican, but never in my life will I probably ever do it again. Why? Simply because of the crowds. It was horrible the massive amount of people there. I would do it again, on a less busy day, but our tour guide said that the day we were there was a "slow" day. Ugh. Heck, we only spent 30 minutes in the Sistine Chapel because there were so many people and the guards were professional bad mood-ers. Yelling at people and stuff. It was overwhelming. But Mikey did one hell of a job on that ceiling. But the Last Judgement is still my favorite. I made a list a few years ago in high school, of things I wanted to see or do before I died, seeing the Sistine Chapel was on there, and can now be checked off the list. :)

After the Vatican, we walked to the Colosseum and got in for free, why I'm not sure, but the ticket lady said it was free and I was happy. The Colosseum was very cool. No wonder so many movies made after this amazing place. Back in the day it could hold about 55,000 spectators. The coolest part about the Colosseum was the sections underground, which you couldn't get to but you could see it. Thats where they held the prisoners/slaves and the wild animals. Sucks that in 847 an earthquake hit and made it into the ruins that it is today.

After the Colosseum, we walked around a bit. Caitlin has family in Rome, so we met up with them and walked around. We met them at the Pantheon, which we seen from the outside. The inside was reserved for those who wanted to pray. The Pantheon is located in the Piazza della Rotonda square; which was my favorite square that I seen in Rome. Caitlins family took us to this gelato bar near the Pantheon. It was like nothing I've ever seen before in my life. It was a cross between an auction and a mosh-pit. Ridiculous. You pay first, and then squeeze your way to the gelato bar, get squished, hope and pray that the gelato boys see you so that they can take your order (or atleast this is how it is for short people like me), get your ice cream, pray that it doesn't fall off the cone as you fight your way back the the back of the store to exit. Yeah, it was that busy. But it was soooo good.... I had green apple (verde mela), and it tasted just like green apple. After we left Caitlin's family we continued to walk around Rome a bit, just stopping to look at stuff in the windows or to shop. We also seen the beautiful Trevi Fountain. Gorgeous.

Overall, I enjoyed Rome, but prefer Florence. Florence is smaller, everything is within walking distance, and the people here are friendlier. Rome was huge. But for a big city, it was awesome especially with its old ruins intermingled with the modern city. I liked Rome. I would've liked to have spent more than a weekend there, to just walk around some more. But its nice to be back in Florence too.

Peggs.

More Random Places/Pictures...

2009-04-13T17:24:00.011+02:00

Well, I've been lazy, so I decided to upload some of the random photos on my camera.

This is via Porta Rossa 6, where me and Keith stayed.

Street artists' tools.

Easter Sunday, theme of course.

Hard at work, gotta make that dough. 3 people worked on this one.

Mikey's tomb. Impressive huh?

Don't you wish this was the outside of your home too?

Obsessed with this purple flowers.

Another street artist hard at work.

Later that day, I seen him after he was done for the day, with half his costume still on. He made enough to buy himself a beer. That much was certain.

Arno at night.

Look at the Ponte Vecchio shine.

I really need to get out and shoot more.

Peggs.

I've learned a lot...

2009-04-11T19:48:00.002+02:00

From my time here.

For example:

I know, without a doubt, that I belong wherever Keith is.

I have never been so proud to be an American.

I know that they miss me even though it doesn't always seem like it all the time.

I know that they mean more to me now than they did before I left.

I need a Rutherford burger more than I need pasta.

I like American ice cream just as much as gelato.

I feel like the relationship with my parents has strengthened since I've been here.

I know that I can do it, I just don't want to do it alone.

I've surprised myself and continue too.

I know Gemini misses me and won't forget me.

I hate the fact that I'm missing important moments in my loved ones lives.

I know they don't really understand what its like to live away from your entire support system.

I know they don't understand what homesickness really feels like either.

I know I am strong.

I know thats its hard on him too, that he is stronger than me, and that he keeps me together.

I know that I have learned more than just painting techniques from Marsha.

I really really really love my privacy.

I know its ok to just be me, not who they expect me to be.

I like Kentucky, even Lincoln County.

Today, in case you can't tell, I have been feeling extremely homesick. And felt the need to make a list of things that I have learned while I'm here, not a technical list, like the few phrases I've learned in Italian, but things that I've learned about myself. Things that I know I'll be proud of when I leave here. Last semester when I was debating on whether or not I was really going to study abroad or not, I was told that it was an experience I would never forget. Good or bad. And I completely agree, and its been both good and bad. And I'm glad I did it and have continued to do it. I've learned so much. About Myself. the World and My World. Italy. People. Art. Relationships. Religion. I've learned so much. And will always be grateful. Part me is writing this so that I don't forget it. Sometimes, homesickness can get me pretty down and I need a reminder. I think its been brought on by the fact that tomorrow is Easter and I have no plans. I won't be seeing my niece is her easter outfit, hunting eggs. Nor be eating dinner at home with my parents. I won't get to spend my 6th Easter with Keith, when it feels like I took 1-5 for granted. I like Italy a lot, just not today.

34 days and counting...

Peggs.

I have a phone-date tonight...

2009-04-08T21:25:00.003+02:00

A lot has happened since the last time I blogged. Not with me particularly but you probably heard about the earthquake that hit central Italy last Sunday night. I'm ok. Everyone was freaking out trying to get ahold of me when they woke up in the US and heard about it. My mom in particular. The quake caused quite the damage too. Atleast 200ish people dead, 17,000 homeless, 2,000 injured, and still some people are missing. Its scary to think of what could've happened if it had been closer to Florence, how different my life would be right now if it had been.

But onto less depressing things...

Went to Santa Croce last weekend. Lovely, the tombs are pretty amazing and elaborate. Then I went to Cappelle Medicee today. Nice.

And then I went shopping today! :) and bought a lovely new purse, italian leather. Its gorgeous. I'm pretty pumped about it. And I bought a pair of flats today too, so I can wear them with my skirts since the weather has been really nice.

Silly italians are still wearing scraves and jackets. Its like 75! And they look at the Americans in shorts and dresses and think we're crazy. haha.

And I went to the movies last night, and watched "The Reader" in English. It was good. Different kind of love story. But good. Definitely an adult movie.

Well, I'm getting off here. I've updated you and I have a phone-date in about 30 minutes.

Peggs.

Time to be a big kid...

2009-04-04T22:10:00.005+02:00

...Or atleast start thinking about it. Which means that I register for Fall '09 classes soon, this coming week!!! ahhh!!! Senior year! I am not sure I'm ready for that. That means I have to start thinking about life after college and what it means to be a big kid. ugh. But I'm also kind of excited. Its an opportunity to show what I've learned and the potential that I have to contribute to the world. So, I'm trying to look at it like that instead of freaking out.

Speaking of seniors, I'm very bummed that I will be missing senior show this year back home. Many of my friends are going to be graduating and I arrive in Lexington on May 16, day of Graduation. I'm hoping some of them will still be around later in the day so I can say goodbye to some of them atleast. I am also in search of a summer job too. Which is very difficult in this economy and considering that I have to do it all through email since I'm not there. We'll see. The weather is finally starting to act right around here. Sunny, blue skies and upper 60's sometimes lower 70's. Thank goodness. It improves the mood, but sometimes makes me want to be lazy and not do my homework. Like yesterday for example. I intended to get my painting homework done in the studio, but it was just too nice outside to be in all day. So, I took my Italian homework, bought a book, and went to the Bobilos. Finished my Italian homework, started and nearly finished a book, and took a wonderful little nap under a shade tree. It was lovely. It doing things like that, that make me realize that "Yeah I really am in Florence, ITALY." It was so nice. Then I treated myself to a slushy (yeah they have slushies here in Italy too!) on my walk home. It was overall a great day. And I'm glad I did it because today it rained, and I worked in the studio on painting stuff. A self-portrait = ugh. It turned out ok. Looks like me I think.

My friend, Ashley, got a tattoo this week. It was her first one and I went with her as support (and why would I pass up the opportunity to watch someone get tatted up?). She drew up her own design, a poppy flower, very colorful and pretty. She got it done at Dragon Tattoo on via Faenza, where they charge way too much but do a real good job. The tattoo artist was very cool too. He had pickled snakes on his desk, big snakes too, not little ones. And mounted spiders. Its also so interesting to see how his/her space is decorated, tells alot about them. He did an awesome job on Ashley, looked just like her drawing. And she did so well for her first tat, and she already wants another one! :) Its so addicting. But now I have the itch, for one. But I've had the itch for a while. Its time to get another one. I was talking to my mom about it and she says,

"Peggy you need to stop. Your body is fine the way it is." lol. I have so much more body to decorate though. ;)

Time is winding down here. I only have 41 days left, and today is almost over. Its crazy. Because the first half of the semester I dealt with a lot of homesickness and felt like I wished a lot of it away. But after Keith visited me, I looked at things differently. And he gave me the swift kick in the butt that I needed to straighten up. Now, its going to fly by. Only 6 weeks of class left, including finals. Then I have a day to pack and then I leave for home. Everyone here is starting to realize it too. They are either traveling like crazy trying to see all of Europe, or staying in Florence more b/c they traveled the first half. I need to travel more. See more of Italy. I'm such a slacker. But I like to relax on the weekends, and I always have painting homework no doubt.

I did well on all my midterms. Got a B in Italian. I was pumped I got an A in painting! I was so happy about that. Recieved an A in my museums class and a 100% on a paper for her (if Dr. D had graded it, it defiantly wouldn't have been a 100, but there's some leeway here with the language barrier too though). Got an A in jewelry, actually another 100. :) So, I've been doing pretty well. Again, no midterm in Marble Sculpture. I feel good about my classes. :)

Well thats the update.

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A Beautiful Week...

2009-03-30T19:57:00.004+02:00

So, I recently had a visitor. My darling Keith came to visit me for a week during my Spring Break. I nervously awaited his arrival, Sunday night at 10:00 pm. I had some trouble with the airport bus shuttle, well it really ended up being a communication error between me and the ticket guy. The bus station closes at 8:30 pm and I was going to catch the 9:00 bus to the airport, he said that it would be outside the BUS STATION, but it was really outside the TRAIN station. So, I was a little late getting to Keith. But it was amazing to see him finally. I almost knocked him down in the airport with my gigantic hug. :)

We stayed in Florence the entire time. He wanted to see the places that he hears me talk about on the phone and stuff. So I showed him everything. And the punk that he is didn't want to go to any museums! Dork! how can you visit the art capital of the world and not want to go to a museum? haha. But it was his vacation, so we didn't go to any. I give into to him too easily. Pretty much all Keith was interested in was the FOOD! I have never eaten out so much in my life. And he loved it. However, I was correct in guessing that the Italian food portions would NOT be enough to fill him up. He ate a lot. And fell completely in love with the olive oils and fresh mozzarella cheese. We had waffles and nutella. He drank beer with every meal, yup even breakfast, b/c thats what they do here. He was all for that too.

We climbed to the top of the Duomo, conquered all 463 stairs up it. It was quite a view. And that was when I learned that I'm a touch claustrophobic. Not cool.

We also had a short photo session in the Gardens. Since, I can't get married there we had my wonderfully talented roommate, Megan, take "engagement-like" photos of us in the Gardens. And they turned out wonderful (all 225 - yup she took that many, and only stopped b/c her memory card was full). Above are a few of my favorites. :)

Enjoy.

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Halfway Over....

2009-03-19T16:02:00.003+01:00

Midterms are OVER!

Yay. A huge weight off my shoulders. I feel like I did well on all of them. I got my Italian Midterm back today. Drum roll please...................

83, B!

Yeahhhhh, which is VERY good for me! I'm so pumped. I believe it may call for a celebration tonight.

And now that I'm officially on Spring Break, I only have TWO days til I see KEITH. I may burst with excitement before he gets here.

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5 days and 3 midterms to go....

2009-03-16T16:05:00.003+01:00

I had my first midterm today. Painting critique. It went pretty well. There's only six of us in the class, we each had two paintings and it took about 4.5 with a 30 min lunch break. So, not bad. Marsha takes her critiques "very seriously". She gave a lot of constructive criticism with a few compliments to each of us. She says that this isn't a beginners course, so I'm not handing out compliments unless you deserve them. So, we all have things we need to work on. Its just amazing to me that we all paint so differently. I love seeing all of our work together. No one's is better than the other necessarily just a different painterly style. Marsha says I'm too hard on myself and that I take things too seriously. That I need to enjoy it more. I agree. And I'm working on that.

But, it was good. I took a lot of notes, things to think about later. And ways to improve on my next painting. Which will be a double portrait, including myself and a model. I'm not sure how I feel about this. But I trust Marsha to guide me through it and challenge me all at the same time. Then the painting after that, our last one, is going to be a diptych and we will have more free rein with it. I'm excited about it although I have no idea what I want to do with it yet. I still have time to think about it.

Tomorrow I have what I think will be my toughest midterm, Italian. ugh. I'm learning to not like this language as well (because I suck at it). I hated french (because I sucked at it too). But oh well. As long as I get a C I'll be good. :)

I also have Marble tomorrow too. But no midterm, because in the words of Jana (the professor) "We don't have time for that test crap." Haha. She cracks me up. I think I'm going to get brave tomorrow and use the air hammer to speed things up a bit. My stone (yeah its a stone now not a rock) is finally taking some shape. Sure, it doesn't look like anything yet, but who's does? lol. It's starting to look like my sketch a little. Which is reassuring, its just such hard work. I'm not used to such physical art. But I like it, just not for 5 hours straight.

But, after I survive this week I will be rewarded. With my dear Keith coming to visit for a week! I can NOT wait to see him. I'll probably tackle him in the airport I'm sure.

Well, I just wanted to update everyone. And let you know that I survived my first midterm/critique. Lets hope the rest of the week flies by! :)

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Ugh, midterms...

2009-03-14T15:48:00.002+01:00

Yup, midterms even suck in Italy. I just felt like whining about it publicly. But after midterms, its Spring Break, which means I get to see Keith. And thats only 7 days away.

I have things to look forward too.

In the meantime, I have midterms to study for.

Sad Day.

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The Last of Paris Pictures...

2009-03-11T21:08:00.004+01:00

A few pics of Notre Dame. We didnt go in. But it was pretty from the outside.

Museum d'Orsay....

2009-03-11T20:43:00.007+01:00

The redhead reminds me of Miles. You agree?

She was so pretty, I couldn't stop taking pictures of her!

This guy was cute, front and back.

Beautiful clock, came in handy for we had no watch on. :)

Rodin.

Yup, I got to see this piece! It was so exciting. Considering we spend about 2 weeks on it in Modern Art class last semester with Dr. D!

This place was amazing as well. Beautiful museum interior. And so many masterpieces, especially of the Impressionist period. Degas, Monet, Manet, Renoir, and MORE. It was great to roam this place. I recognized at least 3 pieces in every room. It was amazing. We spent about 2.5 hours here on our last day. And would've stayed longer but we were ready to go to the airport and be early. Which ended up not happening, b/c our bus wouldn't take us until it was 3 hours before our flight. So we killed time at a mall across the street from the bus station. It all worked out in the end. We made it home in one piece. But the Museum d'Orsay was beautiful. I loved it. And now there are so many more "famous" pieces I can add to my list that I've seen in person. It was a rewarding experience.

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Now, Mr. Eiffel Tower....

2009-03-11T20:34:00.009+01:00

Sparkly!

Its so pretty at night.

I was trying to be cute.

We wanted to go to the Ballet, but it was already sold out when we went to get our tickets. So we decided that we still wanted to get dressed up and we'd eat dinner then have a date with Mr. Eiffel. He was super-impressive. Huge. And really pretty at night. It took us a while to figure out how to get the typical tourist pictures with the Tower. But we finally figured it out. And spent about 2 hours there. And it was COLD too. In the 40's and us in our dresses. Brrrr....

It was fun though. And it really make us feel like we were in Paris.

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Let's start with the Louvre....

2009-03-11T15:22:00.012+01:00

On our way there...

HUGE.

I always forget to put it on auto focus when a stranger uses it. :(

ha.

Oh you know, the stairs to my apartment. Lol.

Fancy.

Pretty stairs.

I love this handle for some reason. Reminds me of my friend Jess, for some reason. :)

This was fun.

From the inside looking out.

Beautiful view.

Gotta Love Botticelli!

And there she is. Ms. Lisa. So small, and on a huge wall all by her lonesome.

Contemporary Art. Wicked awesome.

Exhausted.

Isn't she beautiful?

Phi Mu's in the Louvre!

The Louvre was pretty amazing. It is SO freaking huge. I knew it was big, but my mind didn't understand how big huge really was. We spent about 5 hours there and didn't see everything. Didn't even see all of the key pieces. But it was so big, and we were exhausted to say the least. I'm so glad that I got to see this museum though. It was beautiful. The layout was a little confusing, so we just roamed. And you are allowed to take photographs there, as long as you didn't use flash, which people did and it got on my nerves sooo bad. People really don't understand the damage that can come from a camera flash. Oh well. And the museum staff weren't really paying attention. So, I took it upon myself to remind some people that flash is NOT allowed. What else do you expect from me? I'm a redhead.

Also at the Louvre I met up with some fellow Gtown friends. Jami and Katie are both studying in Spain, it was wonderful to see them! Some sisters finally! It was refreshing to see familiar faces. They are both coming to Florence in early April, so I'll get to see them again, before I leave here! :)

Overall, the Louvre is my favorite museum that I've seen this time around (it doesn't beat Tate Modern in London though). I can't imagine having those masterpieces at your fingertips everyday, if you lived in Paris. But I can't imagine myself ever living there. I liked Paris, its just not a city I could picture myself in for longer a month or vacation.

But the Louvre was amazing. And an experience I will never forget. One that I am forever thankful for as well.

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Parisians are nice, but I'm stupid....

2009-03-09T18:28:00.000+01:00

When thinking about sightseeing in Paris, France one usually thinks of these sites:

The Eiffel Tower

The Louvre

Museum d'Orsay

Notre Dame

etc...

Well, not only did I get to see the sites above I also got to visit these places as well:

The Paris Police Station

The U.S. Consulate in Paris

The Paris Lost and Found Center

The Metro Lost and Found Center

Yup, that's right. I lost my purse on the first night there. Lovely huh? Needless to say it definitely put a huge damper on the entire trip. Everything important was in my purse. Passport, ID, DL, credit cards, debit cards, student ID, ipod, camera, umbrella (and yes it rained while I was in Paris without my umbrella). Everything. Lost in the metro. It was late when we got in, I was carrying too much stuff, and confused and must have set it down somewhere and forgot it. It was a horrible experience that I'm still reeling from.

So I dont have the fondest memories of Paris, and I dont like to think about it overall.

But anyways, on to more happy-sounding stuff:

The Louvre was amazing. I spent about 5 hours there and didn't see it all. I loved everything there. It was beautiful.

I spent about 2.5 hours picture taking with Mr. Eiffel Tower. He was super-impressive as well.

Notre Dame was beautiful as well.

and the Museum d'Orsay was amazing. So many masterpieces to see and learn from. I loved it there.

Sadly, the food wasn't as good there. Florence definitely has better food.

Parisians are super nice. They were so helpful and kind.

But, I'll post pictures later. And be more excited later too. I'm still adjusting to my big dumb mistake. Blah. Oh well, it happens more often than expected though.

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Carrara photos....

2009-03-04T21:02:00.006+01:00

Massive cemetery.

Above the doorway to where Michel Angelo stayed while in Carrara.

My sculpture teacher, teaching. See how tiny she is? Shes so cute.

Pretty marble.... :)

I think I kinda freaked him out a bit. haha

One of LB finished "Eye Benches" pieces.

The latest generation that works at the Laboratory since 1864.

multiple copies.

Inside the laboratory that hasn't changed since 1864. Notice the piece that was being worked on. Yup. LB's "Eye Bench".

Looking out from inside.

Ancient chunks of marble from the time of the Romans.

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Trains, Marble, and Cemeteries...

2009-03-03T20:54:00.005+01:00

Today, I went to Carrara, Italy with my marble class. It was interesting. It was also the first time I used the train. I have to say, I'm glad my first time was with the class, b/c I'm pretty sure it would be overwhelming by myself. But it was ok. You have to pay attention b/c they don't always announce which stop is next. And sometimes it smells, which is to be expected when people are coming and going all the time. But it wasn't bad, its presence was just known. It was also kinda rainy on and off. But it was ok, I was prepared with rainboots and an umbrella. We had to switch trains at Pisa, then to Carrara, where we met up with our professor, Jena (b/c she doesn't live in Florence). Carrara is a very different city than Florence. A lot quieter and more of a working city with real people opposed to the Florentines who are used to dealing with tourists. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm in Italy when I'm here in Florence, b/c it even seems very touristy to me. Anyways, back to Carrara. We started our day with going to The Marble Museum. It was a neat place. A little boring though. They had all the different kinds of marble and granites out on show. And it also told the story of the people who used to work in the quarries in Carrara. One section was videotaped interviews of the people and what they seen, did, and how it affected them. Death was a very common thing in the quarries. When someone was injured they would rush down to the city and be doctored up. Many times losing a foot, or other body part. However, when someone died they would blow the horn 3 times and everyone would know that someone passed away. Its sad to think that the many amazing works of art like the David and Duomo most likely cost someone their life up in those quarries. Back, way back in the day, they used oxen to pull the marble down from the mtn to the city. To make the ox pull harder or faster they used to beat them with a piece of wood with a nail sticking out of it. Talk about animal rights. And thank goodness for the intention of automobiles and such. Its amazing to think of all the work they did to get that marble out. Carrara alone has over 30 different types of marble in there mountains. Some very beautiful. My favorite was a black marble with yellow veins running through it. It was neat to see and I learned a lot (can't you tell?). Next we had lunch. By far the most disappointing lunch I've had. Blah. The first not-good meal I've had so far. Oh well, Carrara made it up to me with a wonderful apple pastry from pastry shop down around the corner from the crappy sandwich place. :) It was dee-lish and only a euro. :) Cheap and wonderful. Can't go wrong. Next we were off to the first of two laboratories aka studios. Huge studio. It began in 1864 and hasn't changed at all since then, with the current owners being the 7th generation to work there. Pretty amazing. Amazing work. I took some pictures which I will try to post if the internet is my friend tonight. What was very surprising to me was that I seen a Louise Bourgeouis piece there. She designed these two benches "Eye Benches" and they made them. I know that she doesn't make her own pieces but its disappointing b/c they made it for her. And her name gets the credit. I think they should be credited too. But oh well. The art world is a complicated place sometimes. Regardless, they were nice pieces. Just hanging out. Both the molds and the finished pieces. Next, we were off to the Academy of Fine Arts. What an awesome place to go to school at. Or how annoying to have tourists walking through your school. Whichever way you want to look at it. Beautiful place though. Then we walked by Michealangelo's home while he was there in Carrara. Then onto another studio space. And finally a cemetery. To see the marble there. A little strange but makes sense. Only in Carrara do the Italians have headstones that represent your career or hobbies. For example, if you were a miner, you had an image of a man mining on your headstone. Or if you liked to boat, you got a boat on your headstone. Which is different. I'm not sure I would want to be remembered by my career. But then again just burn me and let my ashes go. lol. The cemetery was HUGE. I felt weird taking pictures there. Don't get me wrong I love cemeteries. I like to just hang out and have a picnic there (I'm strange no need to tell me this). But the Italians take death sooo seriously. Your life seems to take on more importance after your dead. Which is different than the way the US sees death. It felt a little disrespectful taking pictures. So I only took vague ones, not any headstone/grave in particular. Then home after the two hour train ride. And here I am. :) Blogging about it so I don't forget anything and editing my pics.

Paris = 2 days away.

Spring Break = Keith = 18 days away.

I have wonderful things to look forward to.

Peggs.

ps I'll put the pics up later. Internet = not my friend. :(

Thats just the way I see the world...

2009-03-02T15:26:00.003+01:00

Painting class is by far my favorite. I feel very comfortable in there. I'm not afraid to experiment with the paint and I'm ACTUALLY learning things. Things I probably should already know by now (simple things like how to set up your palette). But at least I'm learning right? Better late than never. This week is going to be uber-busy. And will not stop until Spring break. Which is a wonderful welcome. Tomorrow I'm going on a field trip to Carrara, Italy with my Marble class. I'm looking forward to it. More things to see! :) I have a paper I should currently be working on. Its due at midterm for my Museums class. It shouldn't be hard but I'm finding very little motivation to work on it. I'm working on a pair of kick-ass earrings in Jewelry and have to have them finished at midterm too. Then this weekend I'm going to be in Paris, which is wonderful but I worry about losing the weekend and not getting to work on painting stuff. Means next week and weekend is going to be ALL homework. Blah. Oh well. Oh good news, Jamie and Katie (who are both in Spain) are going to be in Paris this weekend too. So hopefully I'll get to see a familiar face. :)

I just wanted to update you in case I don't get time to in a while.

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More Garden Pictures....

2009-03-02T15:06:00.005+01:00

Self-explanatory. Enjoy.

My new boyfriend. Cute huh?

Oranges!

I started at the top, where the trees come to a point. And had to hike back up it too.

This guy makes me smile.

Strangely enough he reminds me of Keith. Haha.

All three of them together.

I like.

Outdoor wedding dreams? Heck yeah.

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A weekend alone...

2009-03-01T16:55:00.006+01:00

Probably the coolest water fountain I've ever seen!

Well, this weekend I was all by my lonesome in the apartment. Both of my roommates are off traveling. Surprisingly, I've enjoyed my time alone. I was afraid that I'd get lonely then homesick, but so far so good. I've finally had some privacy. Our apartment is so small and open that its impossible to have a private conversation on the phone or skype. Not that I have secrets to discuss or anything, but its just different when you know that people can hear your conversations. So its been nice. I'll be ready for them to come home tonight too though. To hear other people in the apartment again. The TV has been on non-stop for background noise. Back home, I'm used to Gem and Thor running around the house like crazy, keeping me company while Keith is away.

I've stayed pretty busy this weekend too. Did I mention that I don't have classes on Friday? So its like having two Saturdays. :) Yeah, you should be jealous. Anyways, all day Friday I was in the studio, doing painting homework. Marsha, loves homework. I do believe I'll have painting homework every weekend. Then Saturday, I slept in late, and went to the Boboli Gardens and feel in LOVE. The gardens are amazing. The weather was that day too. A lovely 61 degrees. I spent about 3 hours in the gardens and believe I only seen about half of it. So gorgeous. There were groups of young people hanging out and having picnics. Couples making out in the more secluded areas. And lots of tourists like myself with their cameras out. More pictures to come, when my connection is better (of course it wants to be a pain in the butt when I want to upload pics). I also went to H&M yesterday and proceeded to purchase a few clothing items. I love H&M. It makes me happy.

And today, its raining. So I proclaim a lazy day. I did go to the laundromat and accomplished the act of getting clean clothes. Well, I'm off here. I'm going to work on some homework and start putting ideas for my next tat down on paper. Which I'm highly considering maybe getting done while in Paris, seeing as I'm having a hard time finding a place here. We shall see. Until then....

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Killing time, exploring, and taking pics...

2009-02-27T13:13:00.000+01:00

I wanted to post some more pictures while I have a wonderful internet connection at the School's Library. Enjoy.

LOVE the horses.

This guy was my favorite.

Pastel drawing of the nude I did in class.

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Friends of the Uffizi....

2009-02-25T16:53:00.000+01:00

Well, I want to start off by saying that homesickness sucks. I've experienced alot of it this past week. Not good. I was surprised that it decided to hit me so hard and so soon. I'm on week number 5 here. But, after some self-pity, whining about wanting to go home, and having Keith being a wonderful supporter to talk me down, I sucked it up and go over it. So I think I'm good for now. I helps to understand homesickness to help get over it. So google was my friend in understanding homesickness and "cures" for it.

Anyways, classes are going well. Painting continues to be my favorite. The past week I had to do a pastel drawing of a nude model (I took a picture of it for your viewing pleasure) and then I had to do a 'bezztio" (this may be spelled wrong-its an italian word) which is a small pre-painting of what you're bigger, more detailed one will look like, and it was done in acrylic. So, next Monday I'll start the oil painting. We have the nudes scheduled to come to all of our painting classes until midterm. I simply love painting, drawing from nudes. I thought I would hate it, that it would be too hard for me, and that I wouldn't rise to the challenge. But its great. I'm learning so much. And Marsha is open to experimenting with our painting techniques and is very patient. I know I would never get this at GC, and it was one of the reasons I decided I wanted to study here. I'll never forget the things I'm learning in that class. And I think once I get back home, I'll probably go to the nude drawing/painting sessions that UK offers on the weekends. Its opened many doors.

I finished my ring in jewelry making. Ada has requested that I post a picture of it. I'll get right on that. :)

Today, I finally got my lazy butt over to the Uffizi. I bought the 'Friends of the Uffizi' card. Its a museum card that, for 40 euros (if you are under 26 years old), you can get into any state museum for free and without having to wait in lines. So, I can go to the Uffizi any time I want and skip the line. Which is awesome b/c I had to wait for an hour in line today just to buy the card. The Uffizi is huge. I didn't take my time today, I just wanted to get an overview of the entire place. Its huge. I'm going to back this weekend I think and do some sketching. I got to see Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" and "Primavera". They were impressive, huge. I personally like "Primavera" over the "Birth of Venus". But the one painting that I seen today, that I totally forgetten was in the Uffizi and it was amazing, was Artemisa Gentileschi's "Judith Slaying Holofernes". Awesome. I loved it. I also liked the Caravaggio pieces they had. There was a lot to see and I'm sure I didnt see it all. Thats why I'll go back. :) The more often the better.

I took some pictures while I was out and about today. Mostly of the Palazzo Vecchio, where the original David used to be, and they are working on the replica right now. :( (But I seen the real thing by the way, last week at the Accademia, David is my new BFF.)

Anyways, I'm going to Paris next week. I'm so excited about it too. My friend, Nicole, from painting class, is going with me. We leave Thursday and get back late Sunday night. We plan to spend all day Friday in the Louvre, and we are going to the ballet too. :) I can't wait.

Spring break isn't far away....Thank goodness. Keith will be here, about damn time too. :) I miss that boy so much. I have so much to show him, and the food....he will love the food. I'll try to post some pictures later, when I have a better internet connection. Until then...

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Carnival in Florence...

2009-02-22T17:54:00.000+01:00

Cool costumes.

This guy was alot of fun.

Gemini is cuter.

This past Sunday there was a Carnival Parade in the streets of Florence, along the Arno River. It was fun. There were lots of people out and about. Kids were dressed up in costumes, lots of batmans, and winnie the poohs. :) It also gave me a very good point of view of how many foreigners (non-Italians) live in Florence. People from everywhere were represented in the parade. The Colombians brought it the best though. Amazing costumes and fun dancing. It lasted for about an hour, and it was a wonderful day for the parade too. Towards the end, it started cooling off a bit and I was forced to put my gloves back on. But it was fun nonetheless.

Just a little Salt and Pepper...

2009-02-21T19:59:00.000+01:00

So, this weekend I went on an adventure. I went hiking, wine and olive oil tasting in Chianti. The day started really early, we had to meet the tour group at 7:30 at the train station, where we took an hour bus ride to Chianti. I finally got to see the Italian countryside. I never realized how much of a country girl I am until I hadn't been around 'real trees' for a while. The Italian countryside is beautiful. It doesn't scream beautiful at you, its a quite beautiful that you appreciate and take in. The hike about about 2.5 hours long. And boy was it a work out. Worth it though. I got some nice shots out of it and memories of a lifetime. At the end of the hike we went to the Sassolini Family Villa where we had lunch and wine and oil tasting. The home is beautiful. The food was amazing. We had olive oil and bread. An amazing red wine, and we learned how to really taste the wine. Then we had pesto pasta, red sauce pasta, salami, and then dessert wines. The dessert wines are strong stuff. The red wine was my favorite. I bought a bottle of it for six euros. I plan on drinking it with Keith when he gets here. The Sassolini family was so generous to open their home to us and serve us lunch. Heres some pictures.

The view from the Sassolini back yard. Some view huh?

Grappa, a dessert wine. This stuff will put hair on your chest. Smells like rubbing alcohol.

Dessert wine with a biscotti. You let the bread soak up the wine and eat it. Then sip the rest.

Delicious Red Sassolini Wine.

Isnt this house cute? I want to live in it.

The Italian countryside.

For you Keith.

Roommates.

This machine is what they used to use to squeeze the oil out of olive oil leaves...until they made a machine that can do it for them now.

All in all, I had a very good time. Definitely well worth the 40 euros.

Update on classes: All is well. Had my first Italian quiz, I think I did ok. Nothing much to report.

I booked a flight for Paris. A friend of mine in my painting class and I are going in March. I'm very excited. We're going to spend an entire day in the Louvre. And then go to the ballet at night. We are very excited. And I think this might be my only 'out of Italy' trip so I'm going to make it worthwhile. And we're going in two weeks! I'm going to Paris in TWO WEEKS! I'm so excited.

Later, today I'll post some pictures of the carnival here in Florence. Until then...

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Pictures Finally

2009-02-15T20:16:00.001+01:00

A reward for the past few blogs not having in pictures. Sometimes my internet connection really sucks. Today - not so much. Enjoy.

Street Artists working in chalk and pastels.

Street performers...they were kinda creepy but way awesome!

I eat this stuff like crazy!

The rows of dried fruits!

Yes! Tomatoes are my favorite!

Lots of EVOO....

Dee-lish

Amazing fruits....

Yummm...cheese....

Fresh Ribs.

Fresh Chicken

Fresh Pasta from the market.

Heck Yeah! Gelato!

The Ponte Vecchio at night.

Me at the Duomo, spotting a quatrefoil, and in my new coat from H&M.

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Hercules will help me....

2009-02-15T12:56:00.000+01:00

So,

Since the last time I posted I've been to my first museum here. The Pitti Palace. Its a Renaissance Palace from way back in the day. The Medici family bought it and lived there for some time, decorating the inside of it with marvelous frescos and art. They later sold it to another family and it continued to be the home of royalty in Italy until Italy became united. Then it belonged to the state and was open to the public as an art gallery. From the outside it doesn't look like much, but thats one of the pleasures of being rich. On the inside its a whole other story. Beautiful gardens that stretch farther than the eye can see, beautiful fountains, and a rich interior with fabric walls, high ceilings, and amazing art. The place is simply jammed full of art. Its very overwhelming b/c your mind just can't make since of all of it. Its one of those museums where you appreciate the beauty of it, but its going to take many trips back to appreciate all the artworks. So, nevertheless, I will be returning there. It still has an old Roman bathroom in the palace, which they have open so you can see. Thats real cool. A beautiful bathroom. I want one. lol. But I plan to take Keith, when he comes, to the gardens for a picnic. The look gorgeous from what I could tell and I only got a small view of them from the upstairs window. Just beautiful. (And yes, my camera will accompany me when I return.)

Speaking of pictures, I took some of that wonderful little market that I fell in love with. Everything is so fresh and healthy. We don't do things like this back in the states, everything has to be FDA approved. I wish I could take my mom to the market. She would love it! I was telling her about it on the phone but I really wanted to just make her come over here so I could take her to see the real thing. So fresh. I also bought about 400 kg of dried fruit that day - and ate almost the entire bag of it too b/c its such a healthy tasty snack!

On Valentines Day, I was really homesick. I hate Valentines Day too. But I just wanted to be with Keith. So, Saturday was a not so good day. Now that its Sunday, I'm ok. The weather was really nice today. Sunny, high 40's. Me and Caitlin walked around the city today. Then later we went to the supermarket and bought food and stuff - then made dinner at home. It was italian sausage with pasta and tomatoes, and wine of course. It was pretty damn good if I do say so myself, especially since we weren't 100% sure how to cook the sausage. We boiled in water and then put it in the oven until it was "golden". It was good.

Me and a friend of mine thats in my painting and marble class are in the process of planning a trip to Paris. We both want to spend (pretty much) all of our time in the Louvre and her friends/and my friends don't want to do that. So we said we'd go together. So hopefully this week we'll have a plan for that trip. I'm very excited about it. Nicole is a cool kid. I'm glad I've met her on this journey so far.

I'm trying to think of things to update you on. I'm addicted to Nutella by the way. Its a hazelnut chocolate spread that you can eat on bread, or crackers or anything really. Its amazing. Megan bought a huge jar of it and I've been eating on it like crazy, so I got more of it today.

OH! I remember something funny. On Thursday night Caitlin and I went out to a bar with Nicole and her Florentine boyfriend Leo. The bar was real cool, low key with really good (and cheap) drinks. They also played good music. But Leo thinks my accent is so funny. He started to intimate it. Let me tell you, its hilarious hearing an Italian say "ya'll" and "reckon". I about peed in my pants it was so funny. And Leo took us to the secret bakery. Its rumored (and I assume its true) that they are a couple bakeries that bake all the bread that the panini shops and restaurants use here in Florence. And the "secret bakeries" are only open on certain nights between the hours of 12-3:00 am. They speak no English but you can get a chocolate croissant for only one euro -- and they are delicious! Its a little hole in the way place that doesn't look like anything from the outside, except the smell....the smell is the tell tell sign that you are getting close. I felt so cool getting my chocolate croissant from the secret bakery.

Anyways, thats all I have to update you on right now. This blog entry is so unorganized that its killing me. I almost can't stand to re-read through it. Thats what I get for waiting longer between posts. Anyways the next post is going to be straight up pictures. A reward for reading through all this. lol.

Peggs.

Ha! Freshness....

2009-02-11T21:42:00.000+01:00

Well today, I found the fresh food market and fell in love. Its amazing. No wonder everything tastes so delicious and fresh here - b/c it is! Meats, cheeses, olive oils, fruits, vegetables, dried fruits, everything you could want. And I keep wondering where all the groceries at the 'supermarkets' were. Duh! Everyone goes to the market. And now I will too. I bought a HUGE bag of dried bananas, strawberries, and kiwis today....and ate the entire bag! But it was good though.

I also did laundry today, which was horribly bittersweet. I've been "recycling" my clothes, wearing them in different ways to put off washing them for a while. But I had to today, I was running out of clean socks. It was really expensive. 3.50 euro a load to wash (and I had two loads to do) then 3.5o euro to dry. So total 10 euros to wash and dry all my clothes. Not cool. So, I think next time I might go to the less fancy laundry mat to do my washing, its a little cheaper (and less attractive looking) there. But hey I'm a college kid, even in this country you've gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Anyways, I'm tired and want to go to bed. I just wanted to post about my new found love for the food market. :) Its so cool. I'm going to go shoot there very soon and post pics. Until then...

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Its a go, a VanGogh....

2009-02-10T21:49:00.000+01:00

Lets see, what to update you on. Ok, lets start with painting class. Can I just tell exactly how different Marsha is from Boris?! Total 180. She knows Slash from Guns 'n Roses. She encourages me to experiment with the paint, to feel out the different ways in which it moves, loves the Red Hot Chili Peppers, has taught at LdM for 16 years, and before that she worked as an art therapist to autistic children here in Florence, however, shes originally from California. She is intense. Oils are her passion. She believes that you just have to live life and not worry about precautions. "I was your age in the 70's. In the 70's you did whatever you wanted. So I laid on the ground and looked up at the Sistine Chapel. I still do whatever I want." Shes goofy. She wears ATLEAST two sets of glasses around her neck. Her critiquing style is GREAT, constructive criticism at its best and always to point out at least one positive about everyones work. Very low-key but serious all at the same time.

Needles to say, she is AMAZING and I love having her as my painting professor. I'm going to learn great things from her.

We are currently working on 3 acrylic studies on paper from still lives of our choosing. Then one combination oil painting that is due at midterm, however, we have to finish them outside of class (aka homework). And this coming Monday we'll be working with nudes (in oils) again and continuing to until midterm. I'm very excited b/c I know I'll never get this opportunity at GC.

Italian is going well. The homework is easier than I thought it would be. I have my first quiz next Thursday (not this thursday). Although my teacher doesn't speak very good english she is a very good actress.

Today, I had marble carving again. And the rock isn't speaking to me. Jena (the teacher) says its just marble when there isn't any inspiration coming from it. Heck its not even marble to me, its a rock right now. So, I'm sketching, trying to get it to talk to me.

Tomorrow I have World of Museums and we are going to our first museum! I'm sooo ready for it too. I feel like a slacker art-kid b/c I haven't been to one yet. I'm waiting until this weekend. I will for sure then. Megan is going on a trip this weekend to the French Rivera. I decided against going b/c its too soon for me. I might travel a little later in the semester. So this weekend its going to be museums and working on painting homework.

Oh and the italian oranges here at to die for! They are soo good. My friends that are in Valencia say Valencia oranges are great. I want to try both to compare and contrast. I know though that the Italian ones are so much better than what we get back home. Yum...

Yesterday one of my roommates, Caitlin fixed us dinner. Truffle cheese pasta...it was very good, different but good. Its a thicker pasta with light truffle evoo, and shredded truffle cheese on top. And tonight Megan fixed dinner, a capriese salad. All it is, is a fresh tomato slice with a chuck of mozzarella cheese on top, salt, dark truffle evoo, and balsamic vinegar. Dee-lish and simple. I have no idea where I'm going to get these ingredients once I'm back home but I'll find them somewhere. So, tomorrow night is my night. Guess what I'm fixing? Yup either a burger or a grilled cheese sandwich...b/c I want something semi-familiar. :)

Speaking of which, I received WONDERFUL news last night...Keith is coming to visit during spring break, for-sure for-sure! I am sooo excited! I can not wait to see him, show him around the city, watch his face when he eats this delicious food, and take him to get gelato. Its going to be the best spring break EVER...and only 37 days away. :)

I had my first real bout of homesickness this past weekend. Sunday. I kept myself busy and it eventually went away. But it was rough while it was there. I'm ok now. It just comes in small waves (sometimes big ones) every now and then. I'm good though. Its normal to feel that way sometimes.

Well I need to take a shower and hop into bed. I've been staying up way too late, like 2:30ish. So tonight I'm going to get in bed before 1:30, hopefully 12.

I'm still having trouble uploading pictures. So if you've managed to stay with me this long (I know I write a lot) without pictures you must truly love me. Thanks. I'll have to go to the school library where I'll get a better connection to upload pics. Until then....

Peggs.

"I'm American too...I'm from Uruguay..."

2009-02-06T21:11:00.000+01:00

Alloro (well...)....

Since the last time I've posted I had Jewelry Making class. We started making a simple ring. Its very interesting to learn how to do. I got to use the torch. Yeah :). It was fun. I have a male teacher for that class. Apparently the ratio of women to men in this city is close to 5 to 1. And not many guys are studying abroad here. My largest class is my Museum class with 21 people, all girls! Its just different. I like the different kinds of people here though. Back home (especially at GC) its all the same: mostly white, middle to upper class people. Here you've got everybody. Whites, blacks, Asians, Koreans, Italians (of course), homeless, rich, poor, middle class, snotty, humble, pink hair, mohawks, trendy clothes...just everyone seems to be represented here. And you don't smile or look at people as you walk down the streets here. Heck, I'm used to smiling to everyone back home. Here thats a no no. My roommates are a little more used to that then me b/c they are used to visiting NYC. Its still an adjustment for me.

The streets are tiny here, which is why they drive such small cars here. The streets were made for horses not SUVs. And the way they drive...oh my. Crazy, fast, and experienced. When crossing the streets here its required by law that the cars (and mopeds) stop for people, unless there is a crosswalk but thats only at two lane roads. So you just walk out in the street and the cars are supposed to stop. Ha ha...I still look both ways.

No classes on Fridays are working out for me. I went to the painting studio to work for a while today. Didn't get a lot done unfortunately. I still have a lot of homework to do for that class. I'll probably try to knock some of it out of the way tonight.

Time is weird. I feel like I've been here for a really long time already but the days are flying by. Its so strange. We only have 13 weeks left and we know this b/c most of our classes only meet once a week and we counted how many classes of each we have left...13. I've already been here for a week. I really enjoy it. Every time mom or dad call they ask me if I like it and want to stay...as if I'm going to come home early. lol. Some times I can't believe I'm really here and doing it. I worried so much before I left that I wouldn't be able to adjust. But I'm doing fine really. It just surprised me how well I've adjusted. Don't get me wrong some things are really strange to me but I just like to think of it as different.

Thursday night the roomies and I went out for the first time. We went to a little bar called JJ's Cathedral, which was right next door to the Duomo. We each drank a "Snakebite" (a pint for 5 euros) which consists of Fosters beer, cider, and some fruity stuff. It was dee-lish! I'm slurped it down and later felt some slight side affects of doing so.

The three of us.

Megan sporting her "Snakebite".

And later Timmy joined us and showed us around more of Florence.

He's been here for about a month. So he was a little more familiar with some parts of Florence. And Saturday night, Timmy had us over at his apartment (which is on the other side of the Arno) and fixed us dinner. Sausage and pasta. We brought the wine. It was fun hanging out. Makes me wish my BF was here, fingers are still crossed for Spring Break.

Today, I worked on some homework, spent about an hour updating my iCalendar, and then went out and took some pictures. It gets dark here around 6:00. So mostly, I just walked around and enjoyed the scenery.

Well I've been trying to upload more photos on here for the past 24 hours and its not working...therefore I give up! Maybe later in the week you'll get more photos. Until then....

Peggs

Just step between the rain drops...

2009-02-04T21:55:00.000+01:00

Yup, its still raining here in Florence. But I have an umbrella and rain boots now! 10 euros at the street market. Well, I've had more classes since the last time I posted. On Tuesday I had Marble carving and Italian Language. Let me tell you, marble carving is a work out. We started that day too. Picked out a piece of marble to practice on and practiced for 2.5 hours. Dang, its hard work too. My arm was sore the next day. And the funny thing is that my professor for that class is shorter and thinner than me and packs a powerful hammer swing. She's really small and very impressive. At first I couldn't picture myself doing well in that class. However, she showed us examples of past student's work (including Mary Carlton's piece - I recognized it!) and insisted that everyone of those students were beginners as well. So, that made me feel a little better. I'm still not sure that I'm going to be successful with marble carving but...I'm going to stick with it and be proud of whatever my outcome is.

Italian language is going to be hard for me. My teacher is very young and doesn't speak good english. But every language class is a challenge for me. So I've already done my Italian homework in hopes that I'll be better prepared for class tomorrow.

Today I only had one class, The World of Museums. I couldn't decided if this class was going to be a favorite of mine or not until I went to it. Its going to be awesome. For one thing, I feel like I'm ahead of everyone b/c of how well I was prepared by all of Dr. D's classes. Secondly, we are going to a museum during class every other meeting time. :) Which I'm pumped about. The textbook for the class is easy reading too. Overall, I think this class may be one of my favorites.

Tomorrow I have Jewelry Making and language (again). I'm excited about jewelry making, I hope I take a lot from that class.

I made myself spaghetti for dinner tonight at the apartment (- the hamburger meat). It was good. Although, I have been eating the Italian equivalent of Ramen Noodles a lot for snacks and lunches b/c its cheap, quick, and easy. And its good too.

One more day of classes and then its the weekend. In case I forget to mention it before, studio classes here are 5.5 hours long, counting a 30 min lunch break. That is taking some adjustment to (esp. in marble carving -- its hard to keep going). But give it another week and I'll be used to it.

I also bought some post cards today. Next on my list is to find a tobacco store that sells stamps. Maybe I'll send one to you. Until then...

Peggs.

"Are they in the right place, Ms. Coots?"

2009-02-02T16:48:00.000+01:00

So, today is Monday, Feb 2. Groundhog day back home, nothing special here except for the fact that classes started today! I was soo nervous. What if classes are more advanced here and I can't make the par? or What if my teacher doesn't speak good english? or What if I can't find the building my class is in? Lol. I had so many "what if's" running through my head this morning while I was getting ready. And yes, I did get lost on my way to class, of course. I passed the building 3 times before I realized it was right in right of me. I was 10 minutes late, and you know how I am about being late. My hands were shaking like I was an addict or something. But I calmed myself down and found the right building, and classroom (and I wasn't the last one in either). My first (and only class) for Mondays is...Intermediate Painting with Marsha Steinberg. Painting! What if I'm not advanced enough for 'intermediate'?! This was my main concern. However, first thing off we had an entrance exam. Which usually would've made me crazy with worry, however, was a very calming idea b/c I knew that if I didn't need to be in that class then the teacher would be able to tell from my test. It was a reassuring thought. And....I passed! But listen to what the exam was...a nude painting: on paper with black and white oil paint only. There were two nude models, a male and a female; and we were to focus on one only. The test lasted about 1.5 hours. I was really pleased with my work too considering it was my first nude painting with oils. My entire class passed, all 8 of us. Afterwards, we gessoed some paper and headed to the art supply store where I spent 196 euros for that one class. Crazy huh? Not much I can do, I needed the supplies. Then we had a lunch break. I ate at a wonderful little sandwich shop that gives a student discount. Then it was back to class where we looked over the syllabus, claimed our lockers and cubby holes, and put the room back in order. Marsha (my teacher) is very nice and she loves my last name (haha). She seems patient enough but I feel like shes going to like challenging us, which is a great thing. The class is going to be a heavy load. A painting every week just about. Finally I'm on a regular painting schedule! And homework! I already have a lot of homework for this class. Before next Monday I have to: paint a color chart in my sketchbook, do six mini paintings using primary colors and their complements, gesso some more paper, and bring in some FOUND OBJECTS for our next project. So, I'll be spending some time in open studio. But I'm excited about this class. And I'm making friends already. Some of them have noticed my southern "twang" and thinks its cute. Many of the students I've meet so far are from the north eastern part of the US or from England.

Well, thats all for today. Oh and it rained again today. Straightened my hair for nothing. Supposed to rain all week too. Oh well. I like the rain.

Until later...

Peggs

Un piovoso domenica pomeriggio…

2009-02-01T17:53:00.000+01:00

Or in other words: a rainy Sunday afternoon. After I woke up I really didn't do much, and it started getting to me, so I went for a walk (with my camera along with me). In my opinion it was the best kind of rain. Not too hard but not too misty either = use your jacket hood and not the umbrella. I started off by heading towards the Arno River. I took some pictures there.

Then, I circled up to the Duomo; which is my permanent landmark. If I can make it to the Dumomo, I can make it home. And you can see if from just about anywhere in Florence. This one of the doors ( I don't know which one -- its either the south or north door). Its pretty amazing to see something in real life that I've only seen in Dr. Decker's class.

It's not my city....yet

2009-01-31T17:58:00.000+01:00

Let me start off by saying that my body doesn't like this time zone. I can't fall asleep until 4:30 am and I want to sleep in until 12 or 1pm. So I didn't get up until 12 today, which makes me feel so lazy, like I'm not taking advantage of what the city has to offer me. Therefore, I forced myself to get up at 12pm.

And I went picture-taking/exploring on my own. The weather was wonderful: sunny, mid 50's, perfect with a light jacket and scarf. I felt a little silly taking photos sometimes. B/c back home no one cares and you're not considered a tourist. I'm not saying I got any weird looks or anything (ok maybe a couple) but I felt strange. Like I was imposing. I took about 60 pics today and I'm sharing a few of the ones I've already edited.

This is on the right side of the bridge over the Arno River (looking at what I think is north-but I'm not sure). The sky really was that blue today ( I didn't do anything to this pic). It was very pretty.

This beautiful mask is 29 euros. It is located inside a mask store that is across the street a little ways from my apartment. Every time I walked by it I wanted to go in a take a look, so today I finally did. Beautiful masks.

And tons of them. This is halfway into the place. It's jammed pack full of different masks.
Its me! Yay standing on the sidewalk of the bridge over the Arno River. A self-portrait.
And here finally is (half) of the main entrance of LdM. Italy has sooo many beautiful doorways. Huge, old fashioned doors. I've been taking flat shots of all the different doors. I'll post more of them later.

OH! and I bought myself 2 scarves today! We walk by this little place that is covered in scarves everyday...and I've been eyeing this blue one since the first time I seen it! And today I got it! I love it. It is the perfect length and has just the right weight and softness around your neck. So far, the best 5 euros I've spent.

This is what is looked like as I walked by....

And I bought that blue one, 3rd row down, the one on the right. Gorgeous right? I know! I will be back there to buy more. For myself and as gifts for others. Well, its dinner time and I'm hungry. Until later...

Peggs

"Home" Away From Home...

2009-01-30T19:24:00.001+01:00

Well, I'm finally settled in my new "home". The apartment is very nice and safe. It has a high ceiling and an upstairs. The downstairs consists of a bathroom, living/dining area and a small little kitchen area. It also has very tall windows that let in the morning light. Then, there are stairs to the left that led upstairs to the loft which is where our beds are. However, with 3 girls in this small apartment we've had to get creative with storing our stuff. My clothes are everywhere! My pants are downstairs in the in the armoire thats near the front door. My tops are still in my suitcase that is just sitting by my bed. Our clothes are just everywhere. It kinda irks me, b/c I like to have my stuff in order, but I'll deal with it. All in all, the apartment is very nice. And the staff that works at the front desk are very friendly and helpful, and speak good English. My roommates and I are different from one another but we get along well. They have a little more in common with each other than with me, b/c they're both from NY. However, they explained 'the City' to me, and I explained to them what a dry county was (that was a funny conversation).

But anyways, today I got to explore the city some. Megan and I walked around just talking and tried to find a supermarket (supermercato). We finally found one and got a few things. And I had lunch at a small caffe on the same street as our apartment. It was fun just taking it all in and trying to get to familiar with the city. Which is beautiful by the way. Its going to be a close call which I like more, Florence or London. Probably Florence b/c I'll get to know it better. Then for dinner we had our first dinner together. We ate a nice restaurant. I had the "italian classic meal" vegetable soup...but it definitely wasn't like mommas. It was good though. Then after we finished our meal the waiter brought us a shot to finish the night off with. It was called Limoncello (lemon flavor can't you tell?). Boy was it strong. I tried sipping it, that wasn't going to work. So Megan and I downed ours and Caitlin took a picture of it (on her camera) and we took a pic of her downing hers. It made me feel all warm inside. It was definitely better than sipping it. Then we walked home. But on our way home we stopped at the Gelato bar! Oh yes! I had my first gelato (oreo flavored of course) and it was AMAZING. Now I know what the big deal is all about italian ice cream (Caitlin got a picture of this too).

But anyways, I'm having a wonderful time so far. And its only day 2 for me! During some down time here at the apartment I took some "artsy" photos of our apartment key; which is this heavy duty old school key. I had to take a picture of it b/c I love the way it looks.

But this is the only photo I've really taken since I've got here. I think I'm going to go shoot some this weekend before classes start (which is Monday); which I'm excited and nervous about all at the same time. Until then....

Peggs.

A little something to hold you over...

2009-01-30T03:52:00.000+01:00

Ok, so on the flight from Germany to Florence I about had a heart attack. Beautiful, breathtaking snow-capped mountains surrounded us. I have never seen anything like it in my life! So gorgeous. I'm pretty sure they are the Swiss Alps but don't quote me on that. I'm going to try to find out so I can visit them. But before I seen these mtns I wasn't feeling so hot. I was a bundle of nerves b/c I was so close to really being in Florence. But when I set eyes on these mtns those nerves were replaced by....I'm not even sure. It was just beautiful. The pictures don't do it justice. I literally had to hold back tears. Anyways heres the pictures from my seat. :) Enjoy. And be jealous. hehe...

Well, hell Kentucky

2009-01-29T11:28:00.000+01:00

Hi guys.

All in all Kentucky didn't want me to leave. But by god I did. Keith drove like crazy to get me Cinn. Airport. Barely made that flight. Had to go through extra security, and was the last person to board the plane. Whoop whoop for me. Anyways, I'm one flight away from Florence. I'm doing good. I haven't had a panic-freak out moment yet. I don't really think I will. I've got this. Anyways, I just wanted to update the masses. I don't know when I'll be back on until I figure out the internet situation over there. Until then...fingers crossed.

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5 days and counting....

2009-01-22T17:29:00.000+01:00

Well, I just started this blog. We'll see how it goes. I'm hoping to be able to stay up to date with it, so everyone can know how I'm doing while in Florence. I only have 5 days left. I'm really excited to leave, and a little scared all at the same time. I'm going to miss my family and friends. But I'm going to have the adventure of a lifetime. Until then....

Peggs.