Final Last Day

I woke up early the morning, downed some coffee (sad to say it is getting necessary to jumpstart my day and get me moving at a fast pace… it has antioxidants though, so I’ll just go with that) and got to packing! Late last night I cleaned part of the apartment so that I could easily pack this morning.

Originally I had thought that I would go to Bologna for the day and stay in a hostel over night and then catch my plane out the following morning, but after packing I was able to focus and sort things out more and realized that there wasn’t really a great option of places to stay in Bologna. I saw online that there was an early morning train out of Florence to Bologna that I could take an then grab a taxi to the airport, so I opted for that option—less variables and no sketchy hotels/ hostels by myself.

Once I got figured some stuff out, I realized I had a whole extra day in Florence! I bought my train ticket for tomorrow morning, then met up with some friends to go to lunch (I should find out what it’s called, it was one of Rick Steve’s suggestions). I got the last thing I really wanted to try—the Florentine steak! A bit of a splurge, but it was my last day… my real last day this time and I decided it was a necessity. It was sooo good, totally worth it!

We then walked around the city, I said good by the the Arno and the overly crowded Ponte Vecchio, the Duomo and all of Florence. Well, it’s been fun here… I won’t miss the mosquitoes (and questionable bed bug), or crowds, so here’s to Austria! Let the new adventures of Kelsey and I begin!!!

Final Day!

Today I went to school early to edit photos! It’s crazy how much time it takes—it literally can take as long as you want to edit a photo, playing with all the different settings, so I guess it’s all about knowing where to draw the line. It’s definitely fun though! I love seeing how much better Photoshop can make a photo and all the cool effects that you can do with it.

After working on my projects for a few hours, I met up with my friend who invited me to lunch with her parents who are in town. It was such a nice, fun lunch, complete with delicious food, wine and people! Once I was stuffed, I headed back to class for my last day! It didn’t hit me that it was really over until I walked out. I’ll miss it! I’ve absolutely loved my photo class—it got me out into Florence and taught me how to use my camera. Granted, there is still so much for me to learn, but I’m excited that I now know how to use it decently! (Final Project at bottom of post)

Once I was out, I headed over to Aqua al 2 to meet up with some friends to try to famous blueberry steak! We had a reservation so it didn’t take long to get seated, but the wait to get our food was kind of ridiculous—an hour on a hungry stomach does not make me too happy. Once the food came though, it was worth it! My friend and I split a steak sampler, so I got to try the blueberry steak, balsamic steak and rosemary steak. In my opinion, the balsamic was far better than the famous blueberry one (other girls agreed). I think the blueberry one is just famous because it is so different.

On the way back home, I made a necessary stop at Grom—supposedly Florence’s best gelateria. So far I have been really good on this trip of avoiding dairy, but it was my last night so I figured I probably should just get whatever I want. I got dark chocolate that had tiny chocolate chunks in it and tiramisu. It was soooo good. Like I couldn’t believe how amazing it was. Good thing I had it on my last night so I wouldn’t have been tempted to get it more often!

I enjoyed my gelato all the way back to my apartment, where I changed and then went right back out to meet up with everyone at Lion’s Fountain. I had been to Lion’s Fountain before, but hadn’t liked it that much, but tonight it was really fun. The walls there are covered in writing (ie: school names, sororities, etc.), so naturally I had to write Cal Poly on the wall. I was going to write Cal Poly SLO, KAO, since I know a lot of Thetas studying abroad here in the Fall, but I got told to get off the school before I could finish… I got Cal Poly up there though, so I mean at least that’s there!

It was a great night to end my time here at Florence! It’s weird to think that I’m leaving now. I feel like I finally just got the city down, met really cool people and still have places to explore! It’s definitely been a learning experience here and a lot of ups and down, but overall, an amazing experience! Thanks Mom and Dad =]

Dad— I now can get all over Florence without a map. Mission accomplished.

My Final Portfolio (some of the pics have been up here before...)

Introduce your work about “Italians” :

My first impression of Italy was a bit overwhelming. Everything was fast paced and it seemed like no one ever stopped for a minute. After living here for a month, I have found this not to be the case once you get past the city’s facade  of tourist attractions and focus in on the actual inhabitants of the city.

Give a brief explanation of what has inspired your work :

I found the people the most interesting part of Florence and in Italy. The first four photos are of students finding serenity in the bustling city. I saw beauty in the simple tasks preformed by students taking photos, enjoying a drink on the Ponte Vecchio, painting on a bridge in Venice and having a chat while stuck in a rain shower.  The following three photos show adults working in the city. Although their jobs are connected with the tourism industry, you can tell that they are all at peace working. The third to last photo shows the contrast of a Florentine and a tourist. The Police officer stands with confidence as a tourist nervously asks for help. It is obvious that one feels out of place and is uncomfortable in his surroundings. The last two photos are of typical residents of Florence, living their daily life. A man shares his umbrella for a woman; maybe it’s a strangler or a longtime friend. The last photo shows an old woman, walking her dogs as if it is her typical morning routine. 

These photos are meant to capture the residents of Florence and Venice in a state of peace and calmness. 

View from the Dome

I woke up this morning early and got to the Duomo at 8:15 am, meeting up with my friend from wine tasting class to climb to the top of the Dome. After the 463 steep steps up to the dome, we made it! It was wasn’t too crowded since we were probably within the first twenty people up, and the view was amazing! Usually all my views have the Duomo as the main focal point, so it was cool to view the city from it, making for a totally different view point.

Stain glass windows at the top of the church portion

View of Santa Croche from above!

City view 

San Lorenzo & Medici Chappel 

Campanile Tower

My climbing partner and I

On my way back, I realized I hadn't taken many picture of the Duomo, so here ya go

After the hike, I went back to my apartment and promptly too a long nap. It’s crazy how much energy I have when I keep moving, but once I start to relax and sit down more, the more and more tired I get!

Later I had class—it’s become crunch time! I have 10 photos due to represent some theme of Italian life (very open ended), a little write up on it, 10 photos to pick and edit to print and photos to organize so that I can burn them on a disk to keep!  I cannot believe that school is over tomorrow, where has all the time gone?!

On the way home from class, I walked to Palazzo Republica to take some more photos to add to my project. I want to do something with the people of Florence, but I need to make sure that I have enough good ones!

Venice on my 21st!

Sunday was my much-needed day of rest. My roommates were all gone for the weekend in Rome, and Megan and the girls were spending the day in Florence, so I was left to catch up on sleep, emails and editing photos. That night when Megan and the girls returned, we went out to dinner to celebrate my birthday! We went to Gatto e la Volpe, an Italian restaurant that was amazing. It was 15 euro for wine, bread, four huge starter plates and three amazing pastas, served family style. It was so fun and I was so glad to be able to celebrate with them before they left the following morning!

Food Pictures, a necessity:

Amazing grilled vegetables

Different sliced meats

Bruchetta and some delicious garlic thing

Mozzarella and Tomatoes

A sample of all three pastas-- ravioli with mushrooms and truffle sauce was by far the best!

Megan and the girls on their last night after dinner!

Midnight in front of the Duomo-- officially July 25th in Italy! 

The following day, (my 21^st birthday!!!) I went with four of my friends to Venice! We woke up early, headed to the train station and bought our tickets. We did the slow train since were poor college students, saving 60 euro round trip(!), but sacrificing some of our time in Venice. Once we got there we grabbed panini’s and headed straight to the gondolas! I played the student and birthday cards to get our gondola down to 80 euro for five people, a ‘steal’ in terms of gondola rides. The gondola guy took us down some private sections of Venice that were completely quiet at just beautiful. It was away from all the tourist attractions, water taxi’s and other gondolas so it was really nice. I spent the entire half hour snapping photos and gushing about how cool it was to be in Venice on my 21^st birthday…  I mean really, how many people can say they are that lucky! After the ride we realized that he never sang to us, but it didn’t really matter, it was still such a cool experience!

Once we were off the gondola, we didn’t have quite enough time to walk down to Saint Marks Square and back to comfortable make it back to our train departure. Instead we just walked around to different squares, stopping in little shops to peruse on the way. We found a cute little restaurant/ bar in a square with patio seating that we stopped at to chill and have drinks. Unfortunately Italians don’t appreciate 21^st birthdays in the way that Americans do, although the waiter did give me a kiss on the cheek—but no free drinks, sad. It was nice and relaxing just hanging out with the girls, drinking Bellinis and chatting. After we continued to walk around more, then grabbed bottles of Bellini (much less expensive) and sat on a wall by the water just enjoying life. All in all, it was a fun relaxing time in Venice, but I’ll have to go back to get to St. Marks Square! 

After a longg train ride back to Florence, it was time to get ready and celebrate! Most of the girls were too tired/ not feeling well, but a couple still came out with me!  Again, no bartenders really cared that it was my birthday, but all the Americans we met did (and some guys from London)! I have to admit, I always get really excited when I meet other Americans in Italy—it’s nice to just be able to communicate with them and the common background makes it feel more comfortable. After a couple bars, we went to the best after hours place (possibly ever), the secret bakery! After a freshly made, hot donut (or maybe two…) filled with nutella, we called it a successful night and made the trek home. I definitely missed celebrating with my family and friends from home, but I am so thankful for the people here made it so special and fun for me!

Enjoy only a fraction of my pictures from Venice... none are edited at all, it really is just that beautiful!

First view of Venice

The 'Road'

The clouds literally looked like a painting

One half of the boat... 

... and the other half of the boat 

Gondola Man

Love this door... Mom this is for you too

Living the life 

All the bridges are just so cute! 

End of the gondola ride

Just a few of the Venetian masks... there were way prettier ones, not sure why I didn't take photos of them lol 

Walking around the palazza

Cheers! 

Happy 21st Birthday to meee!

Landscapes!

Here are photos from my assignment on landscapes & my write up:

For this assignment, my photos are from different areas in Florence, on the coast of Cinque Terre and in the nearby town of Fiesole. My photos are taken at different times of the day, showing the difference in lighting and clouds that change throughout the passing of a day. 

My first two photos are from watching sunrise at Palazzo Michelangelo. The sky is bright from the morning sun, but still hazy since the moisture has yet to burn off. The third photo is taken when exploring the gardens at Pitti Palace. I turned a corner and the Duomo appears as if it were magically popping out of the hills. The fourth and fifth photos should be viewed together. The first shows a glimpse at the view of Cinque Terre’s coastline, while the next shows an unobstructed view of the entire coast. The sixth photo is from Fiesole, when in the late afternoon, puffy clouds began to roll in and cast shadows upon the city of Florence below. The last photo catches the last bit of sun as it sets on the Arno.