sud italia fieldtrip

well, this is waaay long over due, but it's getting posted nonetheless. On our final fieldtrip with school we headed down to Southern Italy to visit Napoli, the beautiful Amalfi Coast, the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, and the greek temples in Paestum.

(I'm not going to lie, we also were prepared to get our eat on since Napoli is where pizza was invented and hence is the BEST pizza in the world).

The crazy thing about Herculaneum was that back in 79 AD, the volcano Mt. Vesuvius erupted and completely buried the entire town in 60 ft of ash and mud. Over time they built overtop of the city, completely forgetting about what was underneath. It wasn't until some rich dude was digging a well when they discovered the ancient city underneath their own.

Herculaneum 

a street in Herculaneum

Pompeii was also buried in ash and mud in the same eruption, and apparently they had a freaky-deaky side to their culture. All over the town there are fallaic symbols on the sides of buildings, on altars, carved into the cobblestones... fun fact: they have the first recorded brothel in history there, with ultra-luxurious beds made out of stone.

Pompeii

Pompeii

laynie and I

Then we went to Paestum and saw Greek temples STILL STANDING from around 550 BC.  NUTS.

pretty excited.

And of course, I had to post a picture of the pizza that rocked my world, and a photo of the coast of Sorrento. 

sunday funday

My Sunday line-up:

1. wake up early.
2. eat banana while walking over to the Soccer stadium with friends to by ticket for Fiorentina vs. Milan game tonight.
3. Trip on curb while throwing away banana peel, get laughed at by German tour group. Proceed to tell them that "I'm okay!" and curtsying.
4. Buy ticket, a sandwich, and a Fiorentina jersey.
5. Watch a guy crash into a curb while riding a Segway and eat it hard. Second time I've witnessed this in two days.
6. Go outside, sit in piazzas and draw the beautiful city I live in.
7. CALCIO PARTITA!!! (soccer game)

now I will leave you with this delightful video.

new artwork!

So I started a new series of paintings-- Le Portone Fiorentine--The Florentine Doors! 

Here are the first three.

Here are some pictures of my studio---it has been absolutely wonderful lately because I have been able to leave the windows open! 

sunshine makes me HAPPY

iced coffee while sitting on the steps of the Duomo...

relaxing on the shore of the Arno river...

and of course, blowing bubbles! 

Glad you finally showed up!

SPRING has sprung, ladies and gentlemen. Which means off with the PUFFY JACKETS SCARVES AND BOOTS (Italian people, I am talking to you!!) For some reason, they are still dressing like its snowing outside, and looking at us like we are crazy. 

Here's a question for the masses: what is it about the sun that makes it okay to eat excessive amounts of gelato?

I just started Mid-term week--I have one down and two more to go! We spent the weekend studying...on Kelsey's rooftop terrace...in our bathing suits...it's a rough life.

And in two weeks, MAMA PAPA PJ and Kelly are coming to Italy!!

non vedo l'ora.

(I can't wait!)

a day in the life...

I was writing an email to my friend this past Friday telling her how my day was, and then I realized: WOW, I am ridiculously blessed.

My day went a little like this:
In the morning I went to the Accademia to take photos of all the artwork for our art show in May. After the photoshoot was over, Brittani and I went to get a panino--to be more specific--the best panino in Firenze.  (turkey, bell peppers, spinach, eggplant, smoked cheese all on focaccia bread and TOASTED).We ended up getting it for free! Don't worry family, I am taking you there when you come to visit!
Then, I grabbed a small cone of gelato on my way over to Piazza Signoria to meet up with Lauren and her boyfriend who were sitting in the sunshine eating some pizza. We then hopped on a bus that took us out into Chianti, a town in the Tuscan countryside to do some wine tasting and tour at one of the oldest vineyards in the area. Our tour guide's name was Gino, "Gino come vino!" (Gino, like wine!) I'm pretty sure he was a little tipsy to begin with, so we got some good life lessons: never drink alone, wine is your friend.. you get the point. haha.
Then we came home and I made some dessert to bring to a dinner party at Danny's house. His mom is in town, and she is Mexican which means she cooks AMAZING and LEGIT Mexican food.

yep, just a typical friday in Italy.

New painting!

Finally, some artwork!! Here is my most recent painting that I have been working on for quite some time (more time that it should have taken me)! 

It is from a photo that I took during the Festa della Rificolona (festival of the Lantern) back in September. The scene is of a very typical street vendor who sells candy, nuts, and sodas at a festival/street faire.

Oil on canvas, 100 cm x 150 cm (really huge!!)