Week 4: 09/16 - 09/22
Trains, Tapas, and Trips!
At the Basilica de la Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, Spain!
It’s pretty shocking to realize that I’m starting my fourth week of living here! In general, life has been fantastic: I’ve gotten used to navigating my neighborhood with confidence, grabbing a cappuccino to-go at the piazza by my house in fluent Italian (da porta via means “to-go!”), and operating within the typical schedule of an Italian day. I’ve determined which bridge is my favorite to cross when walking home from class in the evenings (and it will never be the Ponte Vecchio), which panini shop truly has the best sandwich, and which cheap grocery-store wine is an insult to Italians everywhere. I’ve even done a couple of loads of laundry and let my sheets hang-dry on the terrace in the windy afternoon.
Pizza dinner with Brelan!
There is an unsettling sense of normalcy that you start to gain when you’re living somewhere that you know you won’t stay. It reminds me of when you’re trying to fall asleep: you start drifting off gently, and then your body suddenly jerks awake. I have grown accustomed to some of the beautiful aspects of an Italian day, and it’s easy to get lost in it, picturing a future here, but I always end up jerking back to my American-ness — my family and friends, my iced lattes and barbecues… it’s hard to shake off home.
On Monday, I spent the day getting some weekly cleaning done: I changed my sheets, did a couple of loads of laundry, and tidied up my room. With that accomplished, I headed to class.
The prettiest little Italian window.
My Florence Sketchbook intensive ends on Thursday, and I’m quite broken up about it. It’s been a privilege to take walks everyday with likeminded people, chatting and laughing with each other, only to arrive in yet another charming, beautiful place that Caterina has designated for our drawing time that day. We sit for an hour or two, trading thoughts on sketches and techniques, and then we share our days’ work in a circle and admire our personal progress. As much as I am excited to take my other classes, I know that it will be sad to miss out on the consistency and simple pleasure of this time everyday.
Today, we visited Giardino Orticultura. This public garden was maddeningly far away from the city center (quite a hike back to the apartment) but it was absolutely stunning. We spent the afternoon working on sketches that combined architecture and nature and chatting about religion.
When I finally made it back to the apartment after an hours’ walk home, my roommates and I headed out to Ristorante Antico Bottaio for another one of my friend’s birthdays. This restaurant was a dream: delicious drinks, enough bread for the whole table, and some of the best pasta that I’ve had so far. I got the Paccheri Antico Bottaio, which is a rigatoni-like pasta with delicious stewed tomatoes and some other mystery item… onion? Impossible to determine, but delicious all the same!
On Tuesday, I took my first adventure on the bus! We had taken the longest walk so far at about an hour and a half away from my apartment, and my endurance was flagging. So, a couple of girls in my class who also live on my side of the river decided to try out public transit with me! We googled and translated and downloaded apps, and eventually we figured out the basic gist: each route has a designated number like 3, 11, or 17, and you have to get on and off between them to get to your destination. We met our bus at the stop, paid the fare (1 euro) and saved our walk home!
Yet another rain day on Wednesday! Brelan and I left the apartment early to get an American breakfast (check out my crazy Nutella pancakes!) and then I went on an adventure to find some inspiration for my final drawing homework assignments. After an hour’s study of a tree in a nearby piazza, I bought a sweatshirt for the chilly day, and headed over to Mercato Sant’Ambrogio to grab some cuccolis for lunch before it closed at 2pm. 50 cents each! After I stumbled over the pronunciation, I grabbed my bag sheepishly and ate my lunch outside.
Our second-to-last-class today involved a rainy trek to Piazzale Michelangelo, a huge lookout point on the top of the hill. It was dappled with only a few tourists thanks to the weather, but we continued up the hill to the famous San Miniato church for our drawing time. The building itself was stunning, but the area is also home to a gorgeously somber cemetery filled with decadent family mausoleums and carved headstones. Landmarks like these give study abroad more depth; they remind me that this isn’t just a place to visit, but also a home to so many for centuries.
Thursday was quite bittersweet. I made my way over to Caffe Ricchi, grabbed my daily cornetto and cappuccino (he prepared them as soon as he saw me!) and headed over to the city center for my habit of exploring before class. We walked to a renovated apartment complex today; according to Caterina, the building was originally a central part of the city home to shops and inns. Following that, it was briefly turned into a prison (yikes!) and then finally into an apartment complex as it stands today. We sat in clumps, chatting about the past three weeks and drawing idly while locals gathered around us on benches and stoops. I’m terribly sad to see the end of Florence Sketchbook, but I’m so thankful for what it’s given me!
My Florence Sketchbook class!
With break officially beginning on Friday, I settled into bed on Thursday, prepped for a lazy morning and a complete lack of plans… boy, was I wrong! At about 8am, my roommate Brelan woke me up to announce that her parent’s plane to Venice had been canceled, and she had the day free. Did I want to book a train ticket and run with her to the station in the next 7 minutes to spend the night in Venice?
Yes. Of course I did! We booked it to the station and settled in for an easy 2-hour ride to Venice. The city was startlingly different from Florence! The streets were tight and at times claustrophobic, but the canals between each one were stunning. With my bare-minimum packing made at 8am that morning, I happened to wear a black and white striped sweatshirt and match with just about every gondolier out there. We had an indulgent lunch of clam linguine and salmon cream pasta respectively, and then spent the afternoon exploring the city and discovering just how many glass animals the Murano artisans are capable of making.
The next morning, I woke up at about 5am and walked back to the Venice train station to get back home. It was really charming to watch the sunrise over the Italian countryside all morning.
I booked it back to the apartment in record time, grabbed a cappuccino, and packed up for my weekend trip to Barcelona that we would be leaving for in 45 minutes. The taxi to the airport was a bit of a dent in the wallet, but we were thrilled to find out that it has one of the easiest security processes that we’ve been through. They were kind, fast, and efficient! After grabbing some snacks, we got ready to board the flight.
I didn’t realize how discombobulating it would feel to hear both Italian and Spanish until I got onto the plane. Flight attendants and passengers alike were switching between them fluidly. Should I say gracias? Grazie? The similiarity of the words and the three languages hanging in the air made my head hurt. Aside from my culture shock, the flight went just fine, and soon we were in Barcelona!
The BCN airport is huge! We spotted a Starbucks on our way out and stopped for a classic American coffee (I’m starting to experience cappuccino burnout) and then hailed a taxi to get to our hotel about 30 minutes away. Our place was just fine — nice enough to feel safe and clean, but not so nice that we wanted to stay there for long. A Spanish Hampton Inn, if you will. We grabbed some tapas to snack on, a little drink, and then headed to bed early to prepare for our big sightseeing day in Barcelona.
On Sunday, we woke up craving American food, so we had a classic pancake and bacon breakfast at a Spanish cafe a few blocks away. Once we were full of American carbs, we walked over to the famous Basilica de la Sagrada Familia. This is a church designed by Antoni Gaudi, and shockingly, it has been under construction since 1882. As you can see from my photos, there are still unfinished spires that are being worked on. It was absolutely stunning in person; I love Gaudi’s architectural style. After that, we walked a couple of blocks to see another one of his projects: Casa Battlo. He renovated this property in 1904 and transformed it into an instantly recognizable example of his work. Soft, curved edges, shimmering mosaics, and a sense of whimsy that I haven’t seen anywhere else. I loved getting a closer look at this building, and I wish more architects would experiment like this.
We checked out a couple more spots — El Mon Neix en Casa Beseda, the Gothic quarter, and the Arc De Triomf — before grabbing some burritos for lunch and heading back to the hotel for a little siesta before dinner. The tapas and sangria were perfect! If I ever get a chance to spend more time here, I’d love to explore their unique (and more expensive) options like octopus or cuttlefish.
That’s just about it for now! I’ve got the tail end of my Barcelona trip for you next week, and then I’ll hopefully be heading on another adventure this weekend before my classes start back up again. I’ll keep you updated!
Bye for now!!
Charlotte