THE LOST FILES—Yoko Ono's Wish Tree

June 8th 2011

After a month of non-stop activity-ing, the exhaustion is finally catching up. This morning's wakeup was particularly hard. I mean, it may have been all the wine I drank last night or the shots at the bar, but my motivation to wakeup was lacking.

Side note:

One of the shots I did last night was genuine absinthe. I watched as the bartender placed interesting looking spoons over the glasses and lit a sugar cube on fire to melt into the drink. The he transferred it into our drinking glasses and Kayla and I cheers'd and didn't look back. First and last (maybe) shot of absinthe. The alcohol felt like pure magma going down and the sugar followed behind scratching what was left of our oesophagus. The 'comical' bartender prior to taking the shot, instructed us to inhale deeply after the shot. So when Matt, Marc and Daniel saw the tears in our eyes they suggested to "BREATHE IN, BREATHE IN!". We did. This turned out to make it 5 billion times worse! Thanks you turd of a bartender. We held our composure long enough to look bad-ass then continued to run into the bathroom to drink at least a litre of water each. Seeing Kayla and I trying to get enough water down our throats to soothe them was like watching a drunk gorilla try to start a car with a french fry.

And now back to the day's events. We saw the church of San Marco and explored the Peggy Guggenheim museum. We were all mesmerized by the olive tree Yoko Ono donated as a wish tree. We all made wishes from our hearts, some sad, some happy but all touching and then moved on. As my emotions were still running high from the tree I noticed a woman touching a sculpture, noticing to her right a long stick with a white ball on the end. I stopped dead in my tracks. She was blind. It was the most impactful moment of my life. She felt every inch of the piece of work as her friend read the information to her. And then it hit me—I was envious. Not of her misfortune, but of her ability to transform it into such a beautiful thing. She appreciated the smallest details and here I am taking the big picture for granted. This woman has changed my life and it is still hard to fight off the tears.

We eventually made it back to our Venice accommodations and had a much needed nap. Three hours later I found myself out for dinner with four of us girls along with Doug and Lorraine. It was nice spending time and explaining the impact this trip has had on us.

Tomorrow Kayla and I are leading the group to an art festival that rarely happens. Exciting!...

Love & Wishes,

V.

Post Script:

The wishes:

That I could receive all the happiness this world and the next has to offer.

AND

For you to smile :) 

Victoria vs. Italia—The Final Post

So here it is, after 27 blog posts I've reached my final one.  A post to end all posts if you will. So let it be known that I, Victoria Dell'Anno, of sound mind and average writing abilities swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And what better way to share my private thoughts and feelings than to broadcast them on the internet...

Now, where to start. For those of you who don't know, or for those of you who were told but didn't really tune in (wink) let me explain what this course was about. Italianismo is a course we first heard about back in one of our lecture classes. A teacher interrupted the class to take a survey of how many students would be interested in this course. She described it as a course in May, lasting one month, worth two credits and it consists of studying and living in Italy.

My hand shot up faster than Daniel Clarke could get lost. But more on that later. I was sold.

It soon came time for the course to begin. We had our week of Italian lessons and it was the first time getting to know each other. Little did we know, what we were really in for.

The day of departure had me filled with excitement and nerves. I wasn't nervous to be away from home that long, I was nervous about spending a month with these people who on most levels were strangers to me. We boarded our plane and after a 2 hour delay we were off to Rome. I won't say much about the flight but with all flights some enjoyed it and some…well, not so much. So, if you're still with me, this brings us to our new found lives in Italia.

We called three places home during the month and our first humble abode was shared with nuns. Intimidating to say the least and we managed to break every rule they had but one. But in my defense, if I didn't blow-dry, flat iron, or do something using an electronic appliance on my hair it would look a little like a brilo pad. The no electronic devices rule was a little extreme but what were we supposed to do, we had to look good for the pope! Anyways, the places we stayed in were beautiful, once you walked up the 4 flights of stairs, and the areas they were in were amazing, once you walked down the 4 flights of stairs. We couldn't be more thankful for the locations we got to live in. 

Each day we woke up and headed out to meet the rest of the group to begin our set schedule. There was walking, and walking and more walking. By the end of the trip our feet were so dirty we made use of the bides to clean them so our feet didn't look like they belonged to one of the Flinstones'. Not only was this an educational trip but it was the best damn workout I've ever experienced. Between the amount of walking and the insane amount of hills and stairs, my backside has never looked better! But that's besides the point.

Coming into this course I had no idea what to expect. I had no idea that was this was going to be my chance to get lost and in turn find out who I am. Don't worry this blog has never been a tale about finding my identity and I don't plan on it being now but I will say this. What I learned through everything I had the opportunity to experience couldn't have left a bigger footprint on my life. But back to chronicling the events that transpired.

We were each assigned to be a Tour Guide of the Day. We were given different art pieces, buildings and areas we were responsible for researching and presenting to the rest of the group. I went from rather listening to Rebecca Black's Friday on repeat (pause for song)  than presenting to actually missing presenting to my fellow travellers everyday. There I said it , you win Doug, I actually miss presenting.

Anywho, with 10 students on the trip and each being responsible for 15-20 topics it added up to many many presentations. And many hours of homework, which we were all very responsible in doing.( clip of matt sleeping)

After about a week and a half of presenting we all settled nicely into our own presenting styles. Victoria's Blog fun fact # 23: I presented over 25 fun facts throughout the trip.

The art and history we had the fortune of learning and seeing has been mind-blowing. I have identified most of what we saw with just images in books and on T.V. for so long, I had forgotten these were real things. The wow factor you get from really seeing them from 2 feet away can't be compared with anything. The art we saw wasn't just in museums but they were also in all the churches. I think we can all say we are okay with not visiting another church for a while but they were beautiful. The one thing I won't miss is having to wear pants on very hot days because and apparently "the pope a don't like a the knees".

 

To be able to stand in historically rich venues is something I will never take for granted. You really start to comprehend just how incredible all the art is and I began to really understand the impact this history has had on my future.

Looking back, I never really understood—well I couldn't comprehend just how significant all this history was. I remember sitting in class and anytime the name Michelangelo was mentioned I would start daydreaming about a crime-fighting turtle.  This trip has given me that. Almost like a re-do of all those times I didn't take it seriously. And I am thankful. I have learned more in the last 29 days than I have in most of my visual arts career.

Okay, it's time. We have come to the point that everyone wants to know about. The food. My 29-day-nothing-but-Italian-food diet. I still crave it. Each day I would wake-up and immediately start thinking about a cappuccino. Not just because of the heavenly taste but also because it was the only thing that could help me keep up with Doug's love for stairs. I would order my cappuccino and grab a proscuitto sandwich. And the food for the day only got better from there.

When I got to Italy I was a little apprehensive about ingesting a diet consisting of mainly starch and carbs but with the help of our marathon-like walking and activities my body had no problem metabolizing the meals.

 

Up until now our trip has seemed pretty well, seamless. But, we didn't ALWAYS have it together. There was one thing that kept happening to Daniel Clarke. We would be walking as a group and when it came time to make sure we all had our 'buddies' I would say the same thing. Um, Daniel?

We were still working the kinks out for the first week but after a while we all became so comfortable being with one another we really started to relax and show our new family our true colours shall I say? We all provided entertaining moments from dancing to falling off stairs, to wearing onesies and those were only Daniel's contributions.

The ten of us students needless to say, had a lot of time to bond. And bond we did. We presented together, we studied together, ate together, shopped together, and after exploring the nightlife together, we would wake up together. No, not like that. I mean we all bunked together.  Alone time was limited but after getting to know my peers I wouldn't have had it any other way. We were required to do plenty of research and there were countless early mornings so when we had free time, we would make great use of it…

I was in Italy for 28 days. It only took 28 days to realize who I am. It took researching history, depending on myself to live everyday, being thrown out of my comfort zone and spending every waking moment with my amazing peers to understand. People often say that someone has not yet found themselves. For a long time I felt lost. But then I realized, the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates. And in this moment in time, I know who I am and have never been happier of the self I have created.

I have seen more than I can remember and I will remember more than I've seen. So here's my thank-you. 

To Doug: Your passion inspires me. I'm in no way a morning person, but it wasn't hard waking up when I knew you had such an amazing day planned for us to experience. This trip has meant much more than you probably ever intended. Thank-you for following your dreams because in turn you helped us realize dreams we never knew we had. I will be forever grateful for what you have created. The learning experience of a lifetime, passion in who I am and what I'm doing, a course worth two credits, and the most amazing family I could ever ask for.

Also a big thank-you goes out to Lorraine. You were always there for us and filled in anything we needed. It meant so much to know that we could come to you with anything. You're passionate, genuine, supportive and became our friend. I couldn't picture this trip without you. Thank-you for everything.

And to my family. Who knew how close we would all become. Living with you all I had the opportunity to see characteristics you all possessed that I respected. You are my friends, my peers, my family but also my teachers. You taught me so much about myself. We were all on a journey to learn something about ourselves and I couldn't have picked better people to share that with.

 What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us. This trip will always be a part of me. You will always be a part of me. 

When we were at the Guggenheim, I saw this woman feeling every inch of a sculpture. Then I saw someone reading to her and talking to her about what she was feeling. It didn't take long for me to realize why this was happening. She was blind. A woman came to an art museum who couldn't see. But I guarantee she saw more than we did. She appreciated every little detail of that piece, every little thing that 3 foot statue had. She appreciated the smallest things in life and there I was taking the big for granted. No matter where you are right now, contentment is possible. And if you decide to try it, it will open up your eyes to thousands of amazing things and opportunities that are hiding right under your nose.

I've gotten so much out of this trip. So much more than what I could ever fathom coming into it. I've learned so much about myself. I have seen amazing things and met amazing people that have left an impact on my life. This truly has changed my life. Mentally, emotionally, oh and physically. I'm in the best shape of my life thanks to Doug and his never ending quest to find the route with the most stairs. Having had said that you can find me on escalators and elevators for while…

I have learned about culture and history, about friendship, about love and passion, and on the journey the biggest thing I learned about was myself.

And that is something I will remember for the rest of my life.

Thank-you to all my readers, it meant the world!

Love & Words,

V.

The Lost Files — Day: 22 Round Two

It was an early call this morning. I woke myself up at 5:30am and I went to do a once-over of my presentation for the day in Sienna—I had absolutely no voice. Not even a honk! And on top of that, I felt like I was hit with the worst cold of my life. Ramifications of last night? Perhaps. But not one of my very few hang-overs have felt like this. It's time to take a sick day. I was starting to exert myself. 

On the other side of my room my roommate Kayla was experiencing similar symptoms. In an attempts to solve her hunger issue of the night before, she went into the (enter at your own risk) fridge and snacked on the sandwich meat from earlier in the week. It had spoiled and in turn spoiled her opportunity to go to Sienna as well. I sent Doug a text explaining what was happening and gave my presentation to Daniel to present for me. I DID my homework mom. And with that Kayla and I went back to sleep. We were told recently that in Natasha's attempts to round us up for class in the morning (she obviously hadn't heard of our plan yet) she spoke to Kayla first kindly letting her know we were going to be late and Kayla responded with a "I'M NOT GOING" and a very sassy blanket wrap. When she tried to gain my attention of the time, I just moaned. Kayla and I don't recollect this.

I can't tell you what happened in Sienna, obviously, because I wasn't there. I heard it was very scenic and hilly. Not a bad day to stay home—my knees thought. Kayla and I didn't just lounge around all day thought. We took advantage of the empty house and did a much needed cleaning. The kitchen, living room and our room were cleaned. Floors washed—everything. 

As we were finishing up the rest of the girls got home from the trip and continued to tell us "It was for the best you stayed home—nothing but hills". I felt better. They also entered with a look on their faces that I hadn't seen before. They explained that Doug and Lorraine had decided that we were having a final test the following day. A test on everything we had seen and learned in Florence, the artists, their art, the significance. The panic set in and my expression changed to mirror theirs.

We have a big test the next day and we all can't remember a thing. We didn't take notes—we didn't know we would be having this test in this way or the next day for that matter. We had a big night ahead of us. 

Lots of studying you may think. We thought that too, then it quickly passed to "It's our last Saturday in Florence, we're not staying in." We collectively decided if we were going to go down, we'd do it as a family. HALLELUJAH!

We grab our supplies, get ready, and headed out to a bar called Space Bar. After briefly getting lost—Italy is great for many things, maps are not one of those things—we arrived at the Club. We get in the line and then see THE sign. "MTV's Jersey Shore is currently shooting in this location, we apologize for any inconvenience". Game on.

We enter and immediately make our way to the bar, get our drinks and I led most of us to the over-looking level above out of the craziness that was the dance floor. From up there we could see everything. The drunk and falling over girls, the couples on the dance floor who should really do that stuff in a bedroom or something and to our right, the Jersey Shore cast. Awesome. After three years of watching these goofs on television, I'm finally living an episode with them. Wait, they aren't doing anything. Sammi and Ronnie aren't fighting? Vinny and Pauly D are just walking around. Deena is dancing casually beside Sammi. And I can't see J-Woww's boobs or Snooki's kooka anywhere! My imaginary world has been shatteeerrrrrrrrr....wait a minute. The Situation is making out with a girl! Imagination saved! And as we watched from way too close The Situation "woo" this girl we decide we have had enough of the cameras, the guys and the Space Bar. It was time to go back to our much loved Twice bar from the previous night. We walk the 30 minutes there, not a fun journey in heels but we made it an hour before the bar closed. But that was enough time for us! We regained control of our night and ended our nightlife in Florence the way we wanted. Foggy.

We walked ourselves home and once again one by one, put ourselves to bed. Or in Daniel's case—he put himself to couch.

Tommorrow might be a little rough...

Love & The Situation checking me out,

V.

Post Script:

This post was originally posted by intoxicated me at 5 am. I didn't want to miss another day so I buck'd up and took it upon myself to fill you in. It was as coherent as I was. So, not really. When I woke up the next morning I re-read what I had typed and we all had a good laugh. But I couldn't leave it up. It was deleted. However, there is a screen capture of it on Daniel's iPod for giggles, but considering I am proud to own a onesie, I can't afford to lose any more respect from anyone.

The Lost Files—Day: 21 Oh those clumsy Canadians!

Honk!

Nope—that's not a duck you hear, it's what was left of my voice this morning. Great. I have to present in an hour and my voice is so bad I would prefer to listen to Macy Gray's attempt at opera.

(Take this time to "YouTube" Macy Gray)

Got it? Good.

We made our way to the Bargello as I convinced Daniel to read my presentation for me. I trusted him with my fun facts. Oddly enough we arrived in two separate groups due to the fact that the drivers in Florence are BLOODY NUTS. So I was close behind Doug and we, along with a couple other students, arrived where we needed to be. A good 15 minutes later the rest of our group joined us.

I presented the Bargello itself and what it was used for. Also, when I say I present I really mean I squeeked corrected words to Daniel when he couldn't read my "drunk three-year-old" writing. Made for an interesting and pretty comical presentation. An hour and 10 other presentations later we reached the last room in the once-a-jail-where-they-killed-people-but-now-a-museum-that-has-a-gift-shop Bargello. 

We made our way over to the Church of Santa Croce where things went to shit—fast. While being in the church for less than 5 minutes Stephanie and Laura were kicked out because they were wearing shorts. As soon as this happened we all looked to Nicole who was presenting and also wearing shorts and we made a silent vow to eachother with our eyes to do everything to protect her from God's security. As we toured the church Doug walked beside her—blocking her legs from the side view as I blocked behind while singing the theme to James Bond. It added to the situation. Just as we were walking into the museum part she was spotted by some guards and they started making their way over to her. She saw this and RAN. One of the funniest things I've ever seen. A low-speed chase in a church. Canada being represented well here.

Then we finally made it to the last room in the museum/church and it didn't get any better.

First, half the group wasn't aware we had one final presentation to do so they walked completely out leaving 4 of us (and that was including our teachers). Then an embarrassingly funny happenstance took place when Chanel forgot that her lid was not on her industrial sized water bottle that was resting under her arm. She dropped something and when she bent down to pick it up in the museum, water went everywhere! Now museums are a place where it isn't right to talk louder than the accepted volume in a library—but when something like THAT happens, what are we to do?!

So as we giggle as quietly as possible, Chanel could only find a single tissue from a travel-pack of Kleenex to slop through the lake of a puddle. Doug stood somewhat over it and made jokes like "Looks like I had an accident doesn't it?" Perfect timing Doug. The security guards are already not happy with us—now the crazy Canadians are cracking jokes about it.

And as we are attempting to do some damage-control inside, my cell phone goes off at a startling volume because I had forgotten to switch it to silent mode after my alarm went off in the morning. It was Kayla and the rest of the group outside wondering where everyone is.

Doug and Lorraine have never been prouder I'm sure.

We all had a good laugh outside and shook it off. It was lunch time and we had the afternoon to ourselves until our second cooking class at 7pm.

Shopping and Cocomero Gelato (watermelon) took place.

On tonight's menu was Pizza and Gelato. Banana Sorbet and a basic vanilla-cream gelato to be exact. But that's not all! We were also treated to being taught how to make a dessert sausage. Now, don't do what we did and look quizzical because you're trying to picture meat for dessert (mince meat?). Alessandro, our chef, laughed at our faces. We each were responsible for making an individual pizza—some did it better than others—and just for fun, after each task of making a pizza they would be dispersed to someone new to work on. So in other words by the time we were done they all looked like shit.

We basically watched Alessandro make the Gelato and Sorbet which most of the girls didn't mind doing since we had a weird crush on him. Which when it came time to prepare the sausage and we had to roll and slap the mashed cookies and chocolate got in the way of our concentration. But in our defense when he told us to slap the sausage shaped dessert and to pack it tight how could our minds NOT go into the gutter. Marc was not helping when he asked further—"...how tight?". I bit my lip and closed my eyes tight trying not to laugh. 

Dinner was finished and we all got an individual pizza. They tasted good but we all had to take turns sawing into it. The dessert was just as impressive and the dessert sausage shocked us all by it's fantastical taste!

It being a Friday we decided to make our way out for the night. We polished off a couple bottles of wine and headed to a bar. Now usually I get bored at the guys hitting on me in the bar and I start hitting on the bartender. One way I do it is to order drinks from him all night long. My choice of drink with the hunky bartender at this bar probably wasn't the best. It was tequila. Shots of tequila. 

Seven shots later he asked for my number and handed me a pen. Success! But wait, now I'm given the task of writing my italian number that I have to go through my phone to copy from? Uh oh. I grasp the pen and grip the pad of paper and as neatly as I can write my name—making sure to include my last so I could get Italian brownie points. I finish my number and go to hand the pad back when I realize I wrote my name and number on the cover of the pad. Whoops. 

I make my best "oops I'm a silly girl" face and hand it back to him. He laughes and rips the cover off the pad. Crisis averted. I say goodbye, call him a baby for not doing the shot I got for him (this made him do it instantly) and left.

Matt and I made our way back to the apartment and half-way through the short journey home my heels came off so I could walk faster since all the tequila was ready to come out now.

No, no, no I wasn't going to puke. If you have ever drank with me you would know I'm a champ when it comes to holding my alcohol. This time, I had to pee. I start making my way bare-footed back home. Not a good idea you say? Going to step on something and get hepatitis you say? Well that isn't as embarrassing as being 22 years old and peeing yourself. We ran, well I ran and Matt being 6"4 walked briskly to keep up with me. We were halted by the voice of a fellow Canadian girl living in an apartment 1minute from our place who we talked to on our way TO the bar. I told her  "I would love to talk to you but I really have to pee!" and danced in circles below her. She offered her bathroom and I gratefully accepted! Another crisis averted.

I finally got home and put myself the hell to bed.

Those shots totally won't have any ramifications in the morning...

Love & finding another way to hit on bartenders,

V.

An amount of fun only Stephen Hawking could comprehend...

Yah, yah, I know...another day missed. But I went from my bed to my class back to my bed. I'm trying to get better!
Also, the previous statement may not be completely true due to information that has been omitted. Here's the true story...
 
Yesterday was our day trip to Assisi. I woke up feeling horrible, and it was a bit of foreshadowing for the day to come. 5:30am wakeups aren't for this kid. However, I was the first one up out of my roomate(s) Kayla and Daniel (he is staying on our floor for funsies). I always feel terrible when I have to wake someone up because I get very close to murdering whoever does it to me. Thus I invented a game. Fun for me and fun for...I WOULD say them but then this story would be false. I called it " Where is Victoria's alarm coming from?". I set the alarm to go off (loud-getting progressively louder the longer they take to find it) and then I hid it somewhere in the room. A place that either of them would have to actually relocated themselves to find.
Watching the outcome of the first annual game was as entertaining as you could imagine. The disorientation of just waking up along with the disorientation of not knowing where the horrible horrible sounds are coming from. Genius.
Daniel was the winner of that round. We got ourselves ready and we were off.
 
The train ride there wasn't all horrible because it was over 2 hours long which gave us the chance to catch up on our sleep. After studying my research on Saint Chiara (St.Claire) I was ready to get into character.
Side note: Daniel and I's special project was to act as Saint Francis and Saint Claire all day.
 
And boy did we ever! Now you should know, in history, the two were good friends. St.Francis took St.Claire in after she ran away from her family and continued to help her and her ambitions regarding women in religion (Pigs in Space comes to mind, anyone else? (http://madsilence.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/the-pigs-in-space-cast-1980.jpg) ). And St.Claire took care of him when he was ill until his death.
Daniel and I however, played the parts a little...off beat.
As St.Claire I felt under appreciated. Francis has two churches and millions of frescos-basically lots of recognition-while Claire has a church on top of a freakin' hill. What the hell?!
Daniel and I acted like an old married couple, bitter about each others accomplishments. It got pretty ridiculous at times but seemed to be very entertaining for all. Success!
 
Assisi was one GIANT hill. We walked on a steep angle for about 30 minutes...and then climbed billions of stairs. The views were incredible but I didn't enjoy being so sweaty. On top of that my knees were so stiff I felt like they were filled with hummus. I managed to survive though. It is a nice city-if you like calves the size of small children...
 
We were all looking forward to the 2+ hour ride home for another napping opportunity. Perfect...or it would have been if it wasn't for...wait for it...ANOTHER CRYING BABY.  
Us-0  :  Irritating Children-2 .
The terrible crying didn't last too long which almost felt too good to be true. And boy, I couldn't have been more right. Just as a feel-good song came on my iPod and as I started dozing off noise pollution took over my preferred audio waves. Is that...an accordion? IS THAT A GOD DAMNED ACCORDION?!
Imagine, as I was in the blissful place between awake and asleep I was abruptly interrupted by a box of air that sounded like Fran Drescher sneezing at a volumn that could make Hellen Keller to them to shut the hell up.
We all played the "just don't look up" game and they finally moved on to annoy the next car.
 
When we (finally) arrived back in Florence we all scooted home to clean ourselves up before dinner and then continued to Doug's (head teacher on the trip). His wife and family were staying in Florence as well for the week and generously fed us a couple times. Amazing food and it was SO nice to have some home cooking. Doug's wife and kids were leaving this morning so last night was the last time we would see them. As a kind gesture, we bought Mrs.Doug (Trish) a bottle of wine and a card expressing our gratitude for their hospitality. We said our thanks and gave hugs goodbye- or at least until we see them at Toronto Pearson.
 
We were handed a flyer advertising more cheap drinks and we couldn't say no. We cleaned ourselves up, started pre-drinking and at 12:30 we headed out into the night. If you're thinking that's late, well it is but nothing out here really picks up until then. We each paid ten euros and was given a 3-drink card. We had a list of drinks we could choose from and embracing my Durham College days I enjoyed three Blue Lagoons (AKA Finding Nemos). Now I'm not sure if it was the fact I only had one contact in or it was actually the free-poured drinks but one way or another I was seeing doubles. Sorry mom but I did say I was going to tell the truth.
I was given a rose and with some team work by my collegues we managed to get ourselves home before 4am. Now you can think this is late. It was late and we had to be up in 4 hours. Yikes.
 
Waking up this morning was as fun as burning your tongue and being fed spicy food for every meal. I had a headache-the only consequence from the previous evenings antics, a fever and the beginning signs of losing one's voice. But, I got my ass out and off to meet our group.
 
We took a 20 minute bus trip to Fioselli after visiting-what I like to call- a Monk's habitat. Thankfully the bus went all the way to the top of Fioselli because it was at the top of a very large hill. We took a walking tour and stoped in a market square where some people were selling some antique items. This one knowledgeable gent had a VERY large collection of antique advertisments dating all the way back to the 20's. AMAZING. Us advertising majors were in heaven. Even the fashion students found old clothing sketches. I bought this one advertisment I fell in love with by Armando Testa-a very famous Italian designer. It's so very cool and weird!
 
We were set to climb another hill but I graciously sat out, which I don't regret. After this our day was done. We made our way home and did some shopping along the way.
 
I now have no voice and can't wait to take it easy tonight. Perhaps go for a walk and get some gelato. I'll go where ever the accordion music and loud children aren't.
 
Wanting a hamburger...
 
Love & Pigs in Space,
V.
 
 
Post Script:
For those who care, Ronnie and Sammy were seen together today. Not holding hands but giving off a very couple-y vibe.
I also may be in a couple shots on Jersey Shore as I keep passing by them as they hand out flyers for their pizzaria-it's on the way to our place.

You know what Italy needs...

More stairs. Not.

Today we got to sleep in and it was a wonderful treat. We took our time getting ready, enjoyed a croissant And cappuccino and made our way to piazza vecchio. We each presented a piece in the uffizi museum. I presented Titians Venus. The last of my Venus themed presentations. There were three fun facts for the crowd to enjoy today! Exciting stuff.

We then had a break in the afternoon where I took the opportunity to do my laundry and clean my space. Luke a sigh of relief. After an amazing home cooked meal by stephanie we were off to see the famous statue of David.

It was better than I ever thought. There is NO picture that could do it justice. It's incredible. So big too- just mind blowing. We all prepared a minute speech about one aspect of it and tied it together to form one big presentation. I went last with my fun facts. Doug seems to really enjoy these. Makes it worth it.

On our way to the David actually we had to pass by the work of the jersey shore crew and was once again offered a flyer and was told to come get pizza by Ronnie and Vinny. We gracefully declined. (we actually ate there earlier in the day).

We are all home now as we have an early call tomorrow morning for our trip to Assisi. I get to role play along with Daniel as saints. Should be interesting and knowing us... Hilarious.

Time to do my homework for st.chiara...

Love & a crush on the statue of David ,
V.

Not ready for kids...

Uh oh, I missed another day's blog. Not good e-world, not good.
 
The girls and I just got in from another day of shopping. Because it is our day off, our original intention was to get pedicures but we couldn't find the place. So instead we decided to go to this makeup store and buy the stuff to do it ourselves. We each grabbed a pizza and some beer and made our way back to our apartment. It's been a nice day bonding with the girls-so happy with the friends I've made along the way.
 
It's day 3 of my cold and it hasn't started to get better yet. I've been taking Buckley's everynight so I can feel rested when I have to wake up at 6am but I'm still finding it hard to push through the day. The exciting things were doing DOES help however.
 
Which is a great segway into what we did yesterday. We took a day trip to Lucca and walked around the cute (and a little Tim Burton-esk) town. We then rented bicycles and rode around the city. It was a blast! One of my favourite things we had done all trip. It was an amazing day, feeling the warm breeze as I rode. It was relaxing and beautiful. Everyone enjoyed it. Our butts are sore today however as the seats weren't very padded. We enjoyed lunch in a park and made our way back to the train station.
 
The train ride home was not as enjoyable however. It was hot and everytime we would go through a tunnel all the windows would shut because of the pressure. Then it got worse. As we were all enjoying our late afternoon nap, a screaming baby and even more obnoxious girl with their parents arrived on our train. The irritation with the screaming baby is obvious, the girl on the other hand...
She began by walking the length of the seats..back and forth...back and forth. Stopping at who ever was awake. Not talking. Just stopping and staring. Like she forgot how to f*cking blink. But can we say something?! NooooOOOOooooo, kids are so innocent and cute...
So we all make eye contact with each other, agreeing this child needs to get clotheslined and continuing to do our best to ignore the spawn of satan. Apparently she felt she was god damn annoying enough because she started laughing and running back and fourth past our seats. Don't kids nap anymore?!
The little turd would run by your seat, most likely bump parts of you- which was true in my case - and run back. All the while laughing her little shitty diaper off. Where were the parents you may ask yourself, which is what we thought. Well Mom was trying(I think) to calm the baby who sounded VERY similar to the home economics baby that was set to "crack baby" my friend was given in grade 11. The father was at one end of the little monster running the aisle. Yah, that's right, buddy was ENCOURAGING the behaviour. The seemingly common census was that we all wanted to take the kid and punt her at her father. Bad week to leave my horse tranquilizers at home.
 
Anyhoo, we ended up going to a gay bar last night . We arrived and the sign for the bar read "Yag Bar". Hilarious. (read yag backwards)
It was actually an intense situation because to get into the bar, you had to enter through one pair of automatic doors but couldn't enter through the next until the automatic doors were closed, all the while another gent acted as a sheep herder with us. It was a fun place to see but we didn't stay long. We left and started to explore the city until we decided we were going to get another bottle of wine and play cards all together. It was hilairous playing cards but eventually the boys went home and the girls went to bed.
 
Tommorrow I get to present about the Venus of Urbino - the last of the Venus' I got to talk about. I actually enjoyed having a bit of a theme. Today I'm going to rest up and go back to having some girl time.
 
Shine bright...
 
Love & Kleenex,
V.
 
Post Script:
We have found (thanks to Laura and Daniel) the BEST gelato we've had. Today I had banana and watermelon and even just thinking about that watermelon gelato makes me want a tub of it. Yummmm.

Victoria gets sick in Florence...

And no, this has nothing to do with alcohol.
I came down with a bloody cold yesterday-which hit me like a wall last night. I had a sore throat, but now I feel pretty similar to what poop must feel like. But I scraped myself out of my bed, put my face on, did my hair, put on my new dress and got on the bus to go for our wine tasting evening. I was really excited for this opportunity so a stupid cold wasn't about to stop me.
 
We arrived at Castello Del Trebbio, a beautiful castle in the countryside. It was built by the Pazzi family (Pazzi translates to "crazies") in 1184 and is famous for the "Pazzi  Conspiracy- a plot organized by the Pazzi family in 1478 in order to kill their old enimies Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici. Even the Pope was involved. A very cool read.
 
We got a tour of the castle, winery and learned about their olive oil. Learned about wine tasting and how to identify good Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Really neat.
 
Our dinner wasn't bad but there is a reason they are known for their wine and olive oil and not their dinners. I also didn't have much of an appetite because of being sick and kept conscious by Buckleys.
 
I forgot to mention my first cooking class. Friday we went to Travoli kitchens and learned how to make fresh pasta. We made ravioli with ricotta, eggplant and parmesian. An amazing ragu or meat sauce and pana cotta. It was amazing. Our instructor was one crazy chef. We all simultaneously nicknamed him Chef Ramsay-THAT intense. But fun. I recieved a copy of the recipies and can't wait to make it for you all.
 
Tommorrow is an early call as we are taking a day trip to Lucca for walking tours and bike riding tours. I'm expecting to have really nice photos from this experience. I think it's very cool that we get to have a bike riding tour.
We seem to be taking a bit of a break from TGD's (tour guide of the day) projects. Which has been nice to have our nights to ourselves to explore the city. It is a beautiful city and I wouldn't mind living here one day. Florence seems to be a younger town and there is always something going on. It's a lot of fun. My kindof city.
 
I think I'm going to go grab some gelato for my throat before bed, then take Buckley's Night time medicine and get a good nights sleep. Me responsible? Who knew.
 
Until tomorrow...
 
Love & Gelato,
V.

What happened?!

I missed a day? Yikes. Sorry about that.
 
The story.
A group of us decided to go out Wednesday night because, well, no good reason but there are many reasons NOT to do something. Plus we didn't have to be in class untill 10 am. We were also handed a flyer that said 5 shots for 5 euros. Whynot!
We made our way to The Fishbowl pub (silly name) and immediately started ordering shots. There was an absurd amount being delievered to our table. I, myself, bought 10 Euros worth (10 shots) and then was continued to be given some of other peoples. I'm a tank so although I felt it-I survived this part of the night.
 
We met these two guys from Italy that work at the LCBO every now and then in Canada (oddly enough). Kayla and I were trying to figure out why one of them appeared so attractive to us. Then it hit me.. HE HAD DISNEY PRINCE HAIR! No wonder, brainwashing by Disney was the reason for this! Fair enough.
 
I thought you had to be firm with the "gentlemen" in Toronto hitting on you...until I came to Italy. DOWN BOY is the technique that seems to work the best.
 
After speaking to the bartender, he informed us where Jersey Shore was partying that night. Central-one of the best clubs in the world apparently. So off we went. we walked to the train station to get a taxi or two. On our way some found themselves too tired- as it was 2am-so they parted their ways. The guys of the group were hesitant to let the three remaining girls go but we convinced them that we would be okay. We arrived at the club and were greeted and immediately walked in and hooked up with drink tickets. On our way in we must have just missed the cast-it was 2:30am after all. So we drank our free drinks and mingled a bit.
At one point a very aggressive guy started moving in on Kayla and she needed help fast! She attempted to get Natasha's attention but the strobes threw a lot of things off. So she tried me. Unfortunately he was started to squirm his way in between us so I couldn't just pull her my way.
Time to think on my feet...
So I did the first thing that I could come up with. I body checked Kayla into Natasha breaking her out of his grip. At first she didn't know WHAT what going on until she read my lips saying " I'm sorry! It's all I could think of". We laughed and broke free.
 
At 3:40 we called it a night and exited the club. On our way out these guys started talking to me (by scaring me) but they spoke nothing but Italian. GOOD NEWS FOLKS.. apparently.. when I'm drunk I can speak Italian. I communicated to these guys that they needed to help us call a cab. Score-success!
 
The cab dropped us off on the other side of town (thanks you weenie) so three drunk girls had to cross Florence at 4:30. We eventually tumbled in at 5:30am and put ourselves to bed. It was a good night.
 
Tonight is a trip-mates 19th birthday. So we threw her a surprise birthday and now we are pre-drinking and getting ready to go back to the Fishbowl Pub (still a silly name) and then off to the club.
 
It will be another great night with what I'm sure to be more stories.
 
Stay tuned followers...
 
Love & Masquerade masks,
V.
 
Post Script:
 Climbing up and down Florence put me out of the game for a moment. The amount of pain I felt in my knee was excrutiating. I could compare it to the same amount of pain I feel just getting out of surgery. But this time-no morphine. Yikes. Miss you all!

I'm sorry I'm climbing what now?...

Ah gOod morning readers. I'm writing this post at 5:30am here in Florence. I just for in from a club that the cast of jersey shore we at. We got in without a line. And made friends with one of the bouncers and were immediately  taken to the VIP section.

But before I get ahead of myself I have to tell you how I climbed up ( and Down) Florence to find this perch over looking the city.  It took all the strength in me to complete and I told people I didn't want their sympathy. I wanted their respect. And I got
It.

After hours of icing we went back our to drink. It has been a messy night. 5 shots for €5 is dangerous thus the blogging at 5 am.

I will explain more
Tommorrow...

Love & drunk texts,
V.

Wine, wine and more wine...

The house on the farm we enjoyed dinner at. Beautiful and rustic.
 
I don't know the temperatures are like back home but here they are gorgeous. Well, for the most part. Currently in our apartment it's quite muggy but the homeowners have lefts 5 standup fans in cupboards for our use. Sweet.
 
Today was an awesome time. It was bus tour day. Less walking? DEAL!
We joined Sheridan's students who were on an Italy trip for two weeks (more of a vacation for them). They didn't seem very friendly and one crazy cat girl wasn't a fan of my sarcasm. The conversation went as follows;
Matt Townsen-Think that was good watch this *walks up closer to the cat that was laying on the ground to take a picture*
Me- You're SO going to get your face scratched! *sarcastically*
Artsy girl who's artsy hat was obviously on too tight- Oh, I don't think she looks mean. *she says while killing my soul with her eyes*
Me- Yah....I don't think so. *continues to crap a brick*
 
We took a trip to Tuscany which was beautiful. The rolling hills and lush greenery are killer! We went to stores that had vineyards nearby and picked up amazing wine that isn't available in stores, maybe in some restaurants.
 
We drove to another location and had a picnic in a meadow where I attempted to absorb more colour from the Tuscan sun. On a related observation; I understand Bacon a little more now.
It was a nice relaxing time before getting back on the bus to visit yet another small town atop a Tuscan hill. The views these places have are indescribable. But I suggest you do yourself a favour and see them! Pictures will never do justice.
After a short 40 minutes we made our way to a farm where we were served a three course meal that contained nothing that wasn't produced on the farm. The smoked meats, the fresh ricotta, quiche, loafs of grain bread, pasta and even wine were all made on this farm. It sat on yet another hill and looked out for miles. We sat at a long table under lattuce weaved with fig vines. The sun was setting and we could hear the goats and donkeys down below. The farm has three very friend cats and one AMAZING dog. A three and a half foot while dog who was wise in years but still rolled around like a puppy. It was picture perfect. Everything we ate tasted amazing and I will never forget the experience.

A two hour bus trip took us back to our place in Florence. I just finished my homework and will be getting ready for bed very shortly. May not have been as active of a day but I am still pooped none the less.
Presenting Botticelli's Birth of Venus which I am pumped for. TWO fun facts tomorrow. What a treat!

Love & Grapevines,
V.

Post Script:
Walking home from the bus station we found Vinny and Pauly D from Jersey Shore being drawn in a piazza. Stood and watched (stared) for a few minutes...captured the moment for proof and made our way home. Seeing them 3 times in 3 days?! Have a feeling it won't end anytime soon. Mark my words...

My feet are blacker than the Flintstones'

All of our feet look like we ran barefoot across the dessert.

Last night the group of us drank more than planned and the day off today couldn't have come at a better time. We all enjoyed our sleep in and the some of us who needed advil took the suitable dosage before venturing out this afternoon.

Because of our late start it was time for us to grab some food. Yesterday while grabbing a few things from our close grocery market I noticed a restorante beside that had an extensive menu and good prices. I suggested it and we were all glad I did.
Whilst eating we received a phone call informing us that we had found the location where the cast of Jersey Shore would be working this summer. we paid our bill and continued on our trek.

We walked a little further and hit a better grocery store, grabbed what we needed and made our way back to our place which by no means was close now.

After 15 mins of the five of us walking Kayla and I spotted a gut wearing a 'shore store' shirt, then noticed he had an ear piece. We exclaimed to the rest of the group " they are near!"
We turned down the street the guy did and sure enough there was Deena and Snooki sitting outside their pizzeria on the curb. Yahtzee!
we stayed an watched for a bit but the heavy bags were taking their told on our arms.

We came home and felt like a million dollars. Which considering I dont know if I should have admitted that.
But i felt accomplished and step two has been completed.

It's only a matter of time before I get to be jersey shore famous!

Tomorrow we have a bus tour of Tuscany which I'm looking forward to. The only challenge is vehicles put me to sleep. Bring on the cappuccinos!

More
Pictures coming soon!

Love & ice packs,
V.
 

YAHTZEE!

One day in Florence and we have officially found the cast of Jersey Shore. And they live not too far away. Exciting.
 
 We had a short day today and I'm so happy about that. I presented Giotto's Campinile and then we climbed the 450+ stairs to the top... well, I didn't. I would have paralyzed myself for a week if I attempted it. It wasn't actually me who decided it wasn't the best idea for me, and if you know me that wouldn't be a shock. I think I'm invinsible! It was actually my travel family (became a family <3). And boy were they right.
 We ended our day in Florence's leather market which was perfect so I could start my shopping!Made some visits in makeup stores out here and bought some makeup from Italia. It's amazing and I can't wait to use it! I'm sure the girls are excited too. I am actually starting a makeup sign-up sheet on my door. haha. That way if someone wants help doing makeup I can still be on time.
We eventually ended up on Florence's H&M. The prices are serisouly lower than Canada's and the selection they have is mind-blowing. I found a nice dress and was confirmed it was a good fit by a girl names Rose from Toronto who once worked on Bay St. but one day got up and moved to Florence. She is now doing her masters in Fashion here. She told me what to wear with it to dress it up and down and I would never argue with her. She is perfect. I found many great things-it was a four-level H&M. They even had onesies! (No, I didn't get another-didn't have my size). A friend travelling with me, Daniel, works at H&M in Canada and has a discount card. So we wil be going back to get more at even better prices. Yahtzee!
 
One our way back was when the boys from Jersey Shore were seen. It just keeps getting better. And speaking of which that is a fantastic segway into they fact that tommorrow we have a day off. There are many talks of a beach which would be nice. I was out in the 30 degree weather today and didn't tan...or burn. Still white. So maybe the beach will help me look alive. What ever we do I'm sure it will be fun!
 
Each night there are performers everywhere around us, so tonight Kayla and I have decided to get 'jazzed' up and go for a walk to enjoy the nightlife here. Can't wait to show you all pictures of this beautiful city.
 
You stay classy Canada...
 
Love & European designers,
V.
 
Post Script:
Every presentation I do I have at least one "Fun Fact" for the group. It's going over well and they are starting to depend/look forward to the Fun Fact of the day. I also let one of my fellow travellers pick the number I used. For example, Giotto's Campinile Fun Fact #67; The top three levels of the tower were built so that each level is bigger in height than the lower one. Thus revoking the effect on perspective. When you look up the tower the top three layers look exactly the same size. NEAT!

Post Post Script:
The pictures are of our kitchen and living/dining room. It's cute.

Jersey Shore vs Lakeshore

Readers!
 
I love hearing all the comments from you reading my blog! Means I'm not just talking to myself. And makes me feel happy :)
 
It's the end of day 8 and I am now settled in Florence. All the girls are sharing one apartment. There are 4 rooms of two and a single room. Kayla and I have a fireplace in ours, the family who owns this 4 bedroom, two bath place left us a welcome note and wrote "Welcome Home Girls" on the chalkboard in the kitchen. We have a dining room and living room, full large kitchen, laundry room with irons, hair dryers, straighteners and everything else. one bathroom has a large  tub with a removable shower head. It sits at eye view with a window (there are shutters) and the bathroom is large. The bathroom beside it also has a shower and is more like a powder room. We were all left bags of clean towels that actually seemingly partner with the respectful rooms colour palette. every room has a wall cabinet with tonnes of hangers and drawers, every one has their own desk and bulletin board. and everyone's rooms have many many books on Italy and the culture. Wait 'till you see pictures. 
 
We took a walk around town tonight to become familliar with our surroung areas. ( Haven't found the cast of Jersey Shore yet, I'll follow the  greasy orange trails) This town is amazing. I don't ever want to leave. I would love to live here for a while-two weeks won't be nearly enough. It is a seemingly young person town and the shopping is to die for! After having dinner with the group we all walked to get the best gelato in town and it surpassed my expectations. Melon gelato? Deal.
 
Tomorrow I am presenting Giotto's Capanile ( if I can ever finish my work-too distracted by Florence ,amazing buskers all the time and the beautiful people). We finish at 12:30 after our lunch at Piazza Santa Croce ( Santa's home in the off season I believe). Then we will hit the streets and shop... hard. The leather here is beautiful and cheap and there are designer stores  on every corner.
 
Tuesday we have a day to ourselves and we are planning on traveling an hour and a half to an amazing beach. Speaking of which I have had the fact that my skin is turning olive commented on more than once. It makes me smile every time. Looking alive is a feat for my pale skin. I'm like a chameleon! The water here is so soft my hair loves it. And I don't know what it is about the sun but it's a better sun. I have no wit left for a sun analogy.
 
I used a bag of peas and ham (Italians for you) as an ice pack for my knees but a very nice fellow roomate of mine upgraded me to a hot/cold compress. It waits in the freezer for me. Now we use the (mushy) peas in the bag to squish. I may have started this mushing trend, but it's fun to pop the peas!... don't judge me...
There is also a running prank  that we hide the squishy peas in eachothers things to find.
 
I'm exhausted from lugging our luggage (light bulb just went of regarding the relation of "lugging" and "luggage") up 4 flights of stairs.
 
Until next time friends...
 
Love & Fist pumps,
V.

Itsa Me, the Pope!

Helllooooo Canada,

Today was our last day in Rome. We made our way to the Vatican, Basillica, and St.Peter's  Square. I was SO close to the pope. Casa di Pope-a is breathtaking. And for all the times I've seen it in Hollywood it was surreal to actually be there. Lots of people and not enough air-conditioning in the Vatican. I'm gettting some sun (I actually look alive now) and today for the first time in my life I was told I have an olive complextion. I grinned from tiny ear to tiny ear.

Today my roomates and I slept in so late that we had 10 minutes to get downstairs. After quickly getting dressed up in nice dresses we made it downstairs. THEN we were told no exposed knees (the Pope HATES knees). So up we went again to change. For most of us the soltuion was to throw on jeans under our dresses, some had more trouble solving the issue.

Tonight we are all going out and exploring the nightlife. We all picked up our wine and some are having naps to gain energy they will need for tonight. My roomate Kayla and I went the "let's just drink more Cappuccinos" route. I am sitting on the communal computer with a bag of peas taped to my knee using a tensor bandage. Me being responsible.

I'm very excited for Florence tomorrow and am looking forward to shopping there. Kayla and I's third roomate is currently sleeping and could get up anytime, in which then she will realize she cannot get out because we locked the door behind us and she will need the key to unlock it. So perhaps I should go make sure she hasn't scaled out the window.

Until I find internet in Florence...

Love and Pope hats,
V.

Last two days in Rome...

Ciao!

I didn't plan on blogging today but I found the computer free so thought I might as well.
We're down to our last two days in Roma before making our way to Florence which I am super excited about.
Today was amazing, good sleep last night, easy day today. Went to the Borgiese Museum and fell in love with some of Bernini's work. We had lunch in Rome's second largest park in the sunny warm weather. We were all in heaven and essentially had to be dragged away from it.
Tomorrow we go to Vatican City where I get to talk about St. Peter's Square and by some of the information I've been reading and studying I am getting really excited to talk about it.
I finally uploaded some of the pictures, a very small amount from all the pictures. But you get the idea.
It's early to bed for me tonight 'cause tommorrow is a 6 am wakeup. yuck.

I'll say Hi to the pope for you!

Love and the Pope's hat...
V.

Post Script:
Always think of this funny Family Guy clip
http://phunymovies.com/video/Embarrass

Finally!

Whore house...

Helloooooo Canada!

Today was our day trip to Pompeii. But before I start please note that for the most part I'm typing on an iPhone and auto correct is the devil.
So we made our way to the train station and successfully managed to board the right train. To be honest with you I was expecting the train to look like the one in Euro trip minus the "mi scuzi" guy. I was wrong but they are nicer than our local GO train.
After a train and something that I compare to a subway plus the 5 hours it took to get there we finally reached the base of Pompeii .
High five on the choice of shoes today because did I ever need a good pair. We hiked up and down and back and forth that city for 5 hours. I'm sitting on my little orphan Annie bed with ice packs on my knees. They were sore from yesterday this morning so today nearly pushed me to tears but never will they stop me!

I talked about the Stabian baths, the most famous old bath house. We also heard about  Pompeii's brothel. all very interesting stuff.

There were stray dogs everywhere!!! I was tempted to keep one as my Pompeii souvenir. ( don't worry mom I didn't end up doing it-they were very happy where they were)

After an exhausting day we made the trip back to Rome and enjoyed a fantastic dinner as a group. I chose risotto and didn't regret it for a second.

We got back to the hostel around eleven and we are all excited for our sleep in tomorrow of 9 am as opposed to our normal 7am. I have taken some pretty kickass photos that I can't wait to share with you all.

Until next time scallywags,
V.

Post script; the first couple times I was called Bella I felt warm and fuzzy inside. Now I feel like they just want me to buy their gelato and knock-off purses.

Post post script; had a lighting fast romance today with the guy who made me my cappuccino. I was the only one he gave a spoon to. Just saying. I think he may be the one. I miss him and his cappuccino skills. He also told his co worker to make mine double time. Which is just awesome.

Half now half later...

Ciao!

It's been barely three days and already we are all so comfortable here. People are so friendly and most speak enough English to meet my ability to speak Italian half way. In the morning everyday I have a cappuccino and a pizza- which would be a sandwich to us in north America . Prosciutto and fresh mozzarella in the freshest bread I've ever tasted. Breakfast in Rome is my favorite meal hands down.

Today was a very long day it's just passed 5 pm now and we are all exhausted. 7am wakeups and treks that last till 4pm. We started at a church or chiesta in which we had to walk up and down many hills ( we kept making wrong turns) and kept passing this one VERY intimidating set or stairs. I think all of us knew in the back of our minds it was inevidable that we would have to walk up those. Sure enough they needed to be climbed to reach the church. We made the stair climb that made the CN tower stair climb look fun and continued to enter the church that housed michelangelo's statue of Moses. Seeing the marble statues in person is so surreal especially after seeing them in books all through school. It seems like in my mind I think of the statues as pictures and not as a tangible piece. Probably makes it hit harder when I see these incredible pieces 2 feet away from me.

One of the most awesome things that is seen most place is the worm done on the ceilings. The paintings and carvings it just blows your mind to think someone did these by hand. Things I can't even fathom. We moved onto the Capitine museum to look at more statues.

Fun fact # 87: the statues and busts of saints and people of importance were done by pouring wax over their heads to created a mild and then bronze was poured into it. This was done after they were deseased and their eye sockets were filled with molded substance( totally don't remember this part) but this is so the bronze caster would be able to manipulate their expressions- with dead people vein expressionless and all.

I spoke about The Dying Gaul and the importance in history the dipiction of emotion had. Soon after it was lunchtime and then on to the Pantheon. More impressive than you could ever imagine.

Right outside the Pantheon was a gelato bar a fellow Canadian directed us too. BEST cappuccino I've had thus far!!!!!
I chose the black cherry gelato which tasted even better than the black cherry ice-cream I used to ask my parents to go to Swiss Chalet for. Trust me, a HUGE feat and I never thought I would see the day.

I made a wish in the Trevi fountain an we were off to our last chiesta of the day. By this time my camera had died and I will have to rely on my fellow travellers for pictures.

We made the 30 minute walk back and stopped to buy lunch stuff for our trip to pompeii tommorrow. This was the first time I mustered up the confidence to speak in Italian to the grocery store employees. I ordered about 600 grams of prosciutto and enough mozzarella for 8 ( Otto) sandwiches. All for about $10 Canadian. We stopped at a bakery for our bread and 6 very large bottles of water which continues to be needed.

By the way I feel right now and felt this morning tonight is an early to bed kind of night. Not before making 8 sandwiches , showering and homework.

Until I get my hands on Daniels phone again Buenaventura sera.

Love and €13.40 Jose Cuervo,
V.

Via Urbano

It's almost 11:30 and I'm feeling the amount of activity we did today. Walking non stop for 7 hours is a great way to burn off the calorie intake of the amazing food but it does take a toll on your body. The wine is a decent medication for that and with a 6 pack of Corona and Leffe being €1.90, very easy to come by. I'm sitting in the hostel/nunary in our kitchen at a table while some of my peers prepare their presentations for tomorrow. I finished most of mine on our plane ride due to not being able to sleep. So no homework for this kid. I realized I told you guys I would upload a photo to see but nuns aren't very technically inclined. Soon I promise. But for now it is bedtime , I have another big day of exploring this mind blowing city.

Goodnight friends.
V.

Its Day Two!

Hello Sportsfans!
It is now day two of this adventure and Im already in love. But im getting ahead of myself. ALSO this keyboard is Italian and I cant figure it out so i appologize-o for the no punctuation...o. So it took us about 14 hours to arrive at our hostel (run by nuns) And with the help of my friend Kayla punctuation is back in the game! (sortof).
Anyways we have now settled in our mustard coloured rooms complete with pictures of the Virgin Mary on the walls as well as jesus chillin' on his cross above our heads. One thing I'm getting used to is the 3 floor hike we do to get in and out. After the long trek to get to our current location the exhaustiong made it a little difficult to take in all of my surroundings. After a decent sleep last night on what felt like one of the beds from the musical Annie, I was able to start embracing this experience. Today I presented the Colosseum and we saw Palentine Hill. Both much more amazing in person than any book or picture could illustrate. I just got back from our journey and thought I should let you all know I'm still alive. On our way back from Palentine Hill we stopped off at a grocery store for food and drinks. Instead we each walked out with a bottle of wine. When in Rome....

Needless to say the espressos (?) espressoes(?) espressi (?) are incredible, the mozzarella is like nothing I've ever had before and the meat would turn any vegan. (Exaggeration but I'm a story-topper) Roma is a little expensive so there won't be many souvineers from here. Between 7 of us our lunch was 92 euros. I mean it tasted fantastic but it isn't something we can do each day.


My 20 minutes on the nuns' computer is almost up (she has to check her facebook) so I must conclude my first post. Tomorrow we are going to Capetiline Hill and Museum where I will be presenting about The Dying Gaul. (naked dude statue)
I have to go upstair (4 flights now) to get my camera cord to upload some pictures for you all to see. Thus I will do it later because when I go up...I don't come down unless something really important happens. So untill my next post followers,

Ciao,  Buena sera,
V.

Daily Fun fact:
Gents who serenade you with their guitars and voices comparible to angels won't for free. Even if they surprise you by coming out of the bushes. Startling.

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Follow this blog as I chronicle my journey in Italy!