Day THREE of the Accademia Exam

DAY 3: Create a mural for a wall in the foyer of a theatre. Paint one to scale, and paint a detailed section of the piece.

OK. So I know alot of you may be thinking "wait, didn't she already do this painting??" And the answer is yes. I painted this subject matter a few weeks ago when practicing for the exam, so when I got the prompt, my friend Brittani suggested that I do this painting since it seemed fitting. So I did. 

However, it is actually very different than the original painting I did a few weeks ago. My painting style is much looser in these ones, and I am pretty amazed at how well I remembered this scene ( I painted it completely from memory). 

When I got home today I was very curious to see how they compared, and I actually like these ones better than the old ones!

Mural in scale, 10in x  20in.

Detail, 50cm x 70cm

So after the exam today, I went home, ate an apple, and met up with some friends to play some pickup basketball against a bunch of Italian guys. We played 3 games (I have no idea where the energy came from to play because these exams are REALLY taking it out of me) and now I am practically falling asleep at my computer. 

Short story: walking home last night I had to apologize to Caroline because I was so delirious that I would just say everything I was thinking. It went something like this: "wow something just smelled really good I wonder what's in that store look its sprinkling WOAH thats a big crowd" etc.

I NEED SLEEP.

Tomorrow is the LAST day of the exam and we are doing a free expression painting, which means what ever we want. 

Day TWO of the Accademia Exam

DAY 2: 6 Hour Nude Figure study

70 cm x 100 cm, Charcoal

Day ONE of the Accademia exam

So today was the first day of our entrance exam at the Accademia. Incase you were unaware (which I was until I arrived here), the The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze is one of Europe’s oldest and best known schools for instruction in the fine arts. It was founded by  Lorenzo de’ Medici The Magnificent, and get this--its first Direttore was Michelangelo. Wait, did you catch that? You know, the dude who carved the statue of David when he was 25 and also painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling? Ya, that's where I'm applying to go to school here. NO biggie. 

Another bit of really cool info: our CSU program is the ONLY program in all of America that is linked with the Accademia, so we are the ONLY Americans that get to study there! 

Man am I blessed to have such an opportunity.

DAY 1: Still life painting

6 hour study

the still life, in Real life

My painting, 50cm x 70cm, acrylic

Good news: day one is over, and I am still alive, and I am pretty happy with my painting. However, I am pretty exhausted both mentally and physically.

Twice baked potatoes in Italy? YES.

So Maleesa, Caroline and I decided that it was about time for us to cook some American food for Ilaria and Valentina. We decided to invite some friends over as well, so our group ended up being 10 people! The menu consisted of: 

1. Twice baked potatoes with cheese, sour cream, chives and Pancetta 
2. Salad with red onions, garbanzo beans, corn and mixed greens with homemade basalmic lemon dressing
3. Homemade Tiramisu by Ilaria and Valentina (Ilaria didn't even need to use a recipe because she knew it by heart!)
4. Lemon Ricotta cookies made by Brita-- click here for the recipe!

Roommates! From Left to right: Caroline, me, Maleesa, Ilaria, and Valentina

Ilaria and Vale made us homemade Tiramisu! 

Twice baked potatoes and a salad

We used Pancetta, which is the italian version of "bacon"

Friends, food, wine= great time!

Corri la vita!

This past Sunday September 26th was Corri La Vita- a walk for Breast Cancer here in Firenze! While normally in America, walks such as these are sponsored by companies like Yoplait, Subway, Nike, and Bank of America. In Italy, the sponsors are Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Prada...high end fashion designers. Only in Italy. 

Shout out to Shaun: that heart on my shirt is for you--I ran for you today!

The race started at 9:30am and there were thousands of people participating--it was really cool to see all of that support. They opened up a bunch of museums as well as the Boboli Garden, which we spend a bit of time in! Since there were so many people it was impossible to run the race, so we walked it.

gettin' our stretch on

A whole lotta people in purple

View from the Boboli Garden. Bellissimo!

After the race, Kayla and I were on the search for free food (there's always some kind of freebee at big events, and lets face it- everyone who knows me knows that I enjoy my free samples). So what sounds like a good thing to drink after a "race"? Chocolate milk apparently! Alas, we got some free chocolate milk. And it was delicious :)

So I like food...

Just so you all stop thinking I only eat gelato here, I decided to fill you in on my REAL food adventures.





Real food #1: Homemade ravioli at Dylan's house.

-Homemade noodles: eggs, flour, water.

-Filling: garlic, crushed red pepper, mini hot dog sausages, and rosemary all sauteed in olive oil and white wine. Then it was mixed into ricotta cheese and another type of white cheese (looked like swiss).

-Sauce: was made with beer and apples.

Outcome: Wonderful! It was one of Dylan's original recipes, inspired by Northern Italian cuisine. (very german influenced, hence the beer and the mini hot dogs in the recipe)

Lauren and I

 Real food #2: Pasta 

-Fusilli noodles and whole wheat penne pasta

-fresh cherry tomatoes from San Ambrosio market

-Fresh basil

-Arribiatta sauce

-and of course, crushed red pepper

Real Food #3: Baked Apple

-fuji apple from San Ambrosio market
-Honey
-Cinnamon
-Cereal and granola

 

Real Food # 4: Trip to Bologna to see what this "worlds best food" reputation is all about

Affetato Misto: On the platter of sliced meats we have: Proscuitto crudo di Parma, Salame felino, Salame piccante, and Mortadella. Served with a Bologna specialty--Crescentine Vuote- fried bread which is AMAZING

Crostini "Orgasmico"(yes that was the name): Taleggio cheese, honey, and walnuts

eating the "Orgasmico" crostini. The name suits it.

Tagliatelle Bolognese

The feast of champions

I'm not gonna lie, there was a cold dessert like substance consumed post dinner that may or may not have had nutella and cookies in it served inside an edible holder....

You Lucca pretty

Piazza Anfiteatro

So this past Saturday, Caroline and I decided to peace out of Firenze for a day to explore a little town called Lucca.  Surrounded by massively thick 16th-century walls, Lucca is home to some really awesome Medieval and Renaissance architecture, delicious food (where is there NOT delicious food in Italy), and when we were there-- an antique market.

 Our first priority was to pay a visit to Taddeucci, a pasticceria that is famous for its "buccellato"(a sweet bread with raisins and anise seeds). We walked in to the shop only to find it completely packed full of italians trying to get a loaf or two. I took it as a good sign, so when it was my turn, I just followed the Italian's lead and got a loaf.

When in Lucca...

Caroline and I got some cappucinos, and sat inside a bar (that's what they call coffee shops here) and ate our Buccellato.

Lucca was definitely a nice break from the tourist-ridden Firenze. We spent our day leisurely cruising around, with no set agenda which was nice. Catedrale San Martino was
STUNNING.

Caroline and I sitting on the wall on the outskirts of Lucca

Side note: We may or may not have eaten the entire loaf of Buccellato by the end of the day.