(no subject)
So it's only 4 pm here and already I've done so much today. I went with my art history class to the Academia this morning. We saw Michelangelo's David and the Maplethorpe exhibition that was going on. I knew the David was going to be pretty cool, but I didn't realize that when I walked into the room it would literally take my breath away. You walk in this door, and the room is like a really long hallway kind of. At the end of it, in this little niche is the David. It's so amazing. I can't imagine trying to undertake a project like that. Sculpting something 17 feet high out of a block of marble nobody wanted to mess with because it was thought to be faulty. And out of this faulty chunk of marble comes the David. How does that even happen? The Maplethorpe pictures were really cool too. A lot of them were juxtaposed nicely with Michelangelo's sculptures.
After we finished at the Academia, I went to buy sausage for the gnocchi concoction I'm making tonight for dinner. I feel like the vendors at the Mercato Centrale appreciate it so much more when you make an effort to speak Italian to them. I'm pretty sure I asked for "five sausage" in Italian, but the man knew what I meant and even gave me a smile as he handed me my sausages. I'm looking forward to this gnocchi. I've wanted to try it since I got here, but haven't been brave enough. I looked up a recipe last night and it sounds pretty yummy: gnocchi, tomato sauce, sausage, and cheese. Should be pretty good. Maybe I'll make some green beans one the side. I still haven't worked up enough courage to buy salmon at the market, although I'm really craving it for some reason. I'm also not sure how much salmon I should buy for one person. I mean I like salmon, but I don't want to end up buying a kilo and have it be way too much for me to eat.
Anyway, after I bought my "five sausage" I decided to go out and explore. I walked down roads I haven't before. Went in stores and looked around. And then as I approached the Duomo, I thought,"what the heck, today is the day I'm going to climb to the top." And so I did. 463 steps, 8 euro, and nearly a heart attack later I was at the top. It was so breezy and high up and beautiful. I love it up there. You can even sit up there as long as you want. If it was free I think I would go at least once a week. Some really nice lady from Australia even took my picture for me up there. I could even spot my apartment in the distance! I sweated so much climbing those steps though. It's not just like a few staircases. The steps are winding, and you start to feel dizzy. Then when you think you can't climb up anymore spiral staircases, they change it up and add a regular one. Just as you're getting used to the regular staircase it's back to more spiral steps. When you get closer to the top the staircases actually become vertical almost. You might as well be walking up a ladder instead of a set of stairs. I would advise anybody with knee problems NOT to climb all those stairs. At least it was a good work out. And the view was definitely worth the 8 euro.
Last night Eileen, Ashley, Sofia and I booked our flights for our trips over fall break. I'm really excited! We're flying from Pisa to Dublin on October 24th and staying until October 28th. Then we are flying from Dublin to Glasgow and staying until October 29th. After Glasgow we are flying to London and staying until November 1st. On November 1st we fly back to Pisa from London. We debated skipping over Scotland, but we will have about a full 24 hours there, not including travel, and we decided it was worth it. Especially since the flight was only 5 euro. Also, how soon will it be before we'll be able to go to Scotland again? We'll already be there, so why not just venture over that way? I'm waiting to hear back from my friend Chelsea to see if we can stay with her while we're in London. After I find out I think we're going to book hostels. All of the hostels we found include breakfast in their prices, and most have free calling, free wifi (not that I'll be using the internet), and are close to the airport. Also, from what I've seen in the pictures, the hostels really don't look how I expected a hostel to look. They kind of just look like big dorm rooms. I'm not sure what I expected them to look like, but that wasn't it. I guess the movie managed to give me preconceived notions.
Well, after a day of walking around, I'm pretty pooped. I think so far today has been one of the best days I've had here, and I am very thankful for it.
Ciao,
Emily
After we finished at the Academia, I went to buy sausage for the gnocchi concoction I'm making tonight for dinner. I feel like the vendors at the Mercato Centrale appreciate it so much more when you make an effort to speak Italian to them. I'm pretty sure I asked for "five sausage" in Italian, but the man knew what I meant and even gave me a smile as he handed me my sausages. I'm looking forward to this gnocchi. I've wanted to try it since I got here, but haven't been brave enough. I looked up a recipe last night and it sounds pretty yummy: gnocchi, tomato sauce, sausage, and cheese. Should be pretty good. Maybe I'll make some green beans one the side. I still haven't worked up enough courage to buy salmon at the market, although I'm really craving it for some reason. I'm also not sure how much salmon I should buy for one person. I mean I like salmon, but I don't want to end up buying a kilo and have it be way too much for me to eat.
Anyway, after I bought my "five sausage" I decided to go out and explore. I walked down roads I haven't before. Went in stores and looked around. And then as I approached the Duomo, I thought,"what the heck, today is the day I'm going to climb to the top." And so I did. 463 steps, 8 euro, and nearly a heart attack later I was at the top. It was so breezy and high up and beautiful. I love it up there. You can even sit up there as long as you want. If it was free I think I would go at least once a week. Some really nice lady from Australia even took my picture for me up there. I could even spot my apartment in the distance! I sweated so much climbing those steps though. It's not just like a few staircases. The steps are winding, and you start to feel dizzy. Then when you think you can't climb up anymore spiral staircases, they change it up and add a regular one. Just as you're getting used to the regular staircase it's back to more spiral steps. When you get closer to the top the staircases actually become vertical almost. You might as well be walking up a ladder instead of a set of stairs. I would advise anybody with knee problems NOT to climb all those stairs. At least it was a good work out. And the view was definitely worth the 8 euro.
Last night Eileen, Ashley, Sofia and I booked our flights for our trips over fall break. I'm really excited! We're flying from Pisa to Dublin on October 24th and staying until October 28th. Then we are flying from Dublin to Glasgow and staying until October 29th. After Glasgow we are flying to London and staying until November 1st. On November 1st we fly back to Pisa from London. We debated skipping over Scotland, but we will have about a full 24 hours there, not including travel, and we decided it was worth it. Especially since the flight was only 5 euro. Also, how soon will it be before we'll be able to go to Scotland again? We'll already be there, so why not just venture over that way? I'm waiting to hear back from my friend Chelsea to see if we can stay with her while we're in London. After I find out I think we're going to book hostels. All of the hostels we found include breakfast in their prices, and most have free calling, free wifi (not that I'll be using the internet), and are close to the airport. Also, from what I've seen in the pictures, the hostels really don't look how I expected a hostel to look. They kind of just look like big dorm rooms. I'm not sure what I expected them to look like, but that wasn't it. I guess the movie managed to give me preconceived notions.
Well, after a day of walking around, I'm pretty pooped. I think so far today has been one of the best days I've had here, and I am very thankful for it.
Ciao,
Emily