squirt guns and sbanebio

The weather has been HOT hence the need for squirt guns. Not only do the cool you down, but if an italian man gets too fresh or thinks his "do you like your face" (yes, someone ACTUALLY said this to me) will work, you just shoot him with some water! harmless, and really funny. 

Nery, locked and loaded.

 So many things have been going on these past few weeks, and as of now, I have 3 days left in Italy!!!

can you believe how beautiful the Arno looks?????

 We went and saw a band called Sbanebio, who dress up in costume and play a type of music they call "tropical glam rock" haha but its like a ska mixed with really funny lyrics in italian. Our italian friend Alice is friends with the band, so this is actually the third time we saw them.

sweet caroline (ba ba baaa)

My second american roommate, Caroline, left last week so now it's just three girls remaining in Via Dei Servi! My love for Caroline goes way deeper than heart-shaped pizzas (see photo below)--she became one of my closest friends here. Such a genuine sweetheart, Caroline was always there for me whenever I needed someone to talk to, someone to eat popcorn and watch movies with, and she always knew when I needed a hug. I am so happy that we were able to get to know each other this year, and I miss her so much already. But thankfully, I will see my little ballerina in San Francisco next year because she lives nearby!  

yep, this actually happened.

on her last day we went and got gelato and sat down on the river!

beautiful day with a beautiful girl :)

I love you boo!

i miei amici mi danno un grande sorriso!

the sun setting on the Arno 

il tramonto, vino, e buone amiche.

my courtyard, with a planter box full of pink flowers from an admirer!

friends are fun

whenever I get sad I stop being sad and start being awesome.

Aperitivo con Carolina, Ilaria, e Valentina 

Tristan and I, enjoying our scarves.

l'ultima cena per CSU! che belle ragazze!!

la casa di Valentina

-We finally made it to Valentina's house for a weekend! Her family lives a little over an hour outside of Florence in the beautiful "compagna" (countryside) of Castiglion Fiorentino. When we pulled up to her house, her adorable grandma was standing on the porch awaiting our arrival. She had been making homemade lasagne noodles for our lunch!! So italian :)

We went inside, ate a little bit of food, and then Vale took us in her tiny little red Fiat "cinquecento" car and we toured her hometown, Cortona, and up to Chiesa Santa Margherita at the top of a hill. Vale's family has a tiny little one bedroom apartment in the historical center of Castiglion Fiorentino, where her dad's family lived when he was growing up-which is where we got to stay :) 

For lunch that day, we had:

-Homemade lasagne

-Chicken and sausage

-spinach, roasted potatoes

-and (if that wasn't enough) gelato with fresh strawberries!!!

 

Italy is COVERED in these beautiful red pop

The next day, we went to a HUGE lake and relaxed in the sun. It was beautiful!! I am so glad that we were able to spend some time getting to know Valentina better, and be able to see her home and her family--things that are so important to her! She is the sweetest girl, and I am so glad that I got to live with her this year. She has helped me improve my Italian so much, and she always is interested in talking and getting to know me. I'm really going to miss her! You can bet that I will come and stay with her when I come back to Italy!!

Valentina and I- such a wonderful girl!!

see you soon

I realized that this year isn't really going to go out with a bang, but with a slow fizzle.
My roommate, Maleesa, just left this morning, and shortly after her people will be parting their separate ways to return back home. So one by one, Florence is di-Californiating and soon enough it's gonna be a couple of us sitting and staring at each other, making the most of our time left.

Anyways, the reason I'm writing this post is because I LOVE Maleesa, and I'm going to miss her so much!! She was my very first friend here in Italy--we shared the same hotel room when we arrived! I have been so blessed to live with such a wonderful person, and it has been such a joy to get to know her.

our first week in Florence, trying to find our way around :)

like children. 

I'm gonna miss you Maleesa!

art show! "qua e là"

So the time finally came that we art students have been preparing for the whooollllllee year: our Art Show!! It was called "Qua e Là" which means "here and there", I suppose to represent the Italian students from "here" and us silly California students from "there". 

There were about 50 pieces in the whole show, and it was absolutely wonderful! We had a huge turn out (pretty sure the free food and champagne might have had something to do with that...at least with getting all the American students there).

I was able to have 6 paintings in the show, which was quite the honor! 

La Bancarella, oil on canvas, 100cmx150cm

Napoli, oil on canvas, 80cmx100cm

Amsterdam, oil on canvas, 80cmx100cm                                 Portone, oil on canvas, 30cmx40cm

my beautiful friends!

don't look too excited to be surrounded by 8 girls Rudy (haha)

new idea for an art show: YOU are the art.