So another two weeks have gone by before I took the time to write another update. It's been a busy few weeks, so I'll try to remember everything that's been happening.
The aforementioned Lucca trip was quite fun. We wandered through the town (similar to Florence and such, but much less urban) and saw a few nice churches, then we wandered along the top of the wall! The city's wall, easily five or six times my height, circles the perimeter of Lucca and is wide enough for vehicles to drive across it without disturbing the rows of trees that line the road. It was a gorgeous walk! Following that we wandered back into the city (now from the far side) until we reached the National Comic Museum. It was an entertaining visit with plenty of comics from Italy and even France. Next time I get to Lucca I may rent a bicycle to ride around the wall.
The next day I went to Milan with Florence For Fun, a local tour group for students. We saw the Duomo, gorgeous and ornate and one of the biggest in the world. We spent some free time wandering around the city and then went to La Scala Opera House. It was a gorgeous theatre which we looked in on from the private boxes. After that we went to the opera museum, largely comprised of photos and trinkets from prominent opera singers. From there we headed to the fashion district to see the streets reserved for the best designers, from Gucci to Armani to Dolce & Gabbana and more. It's a very high-profile district, and it was quite nice to wander the streets. We finished with a visit to an older part of the city and the long bus ride back.
Tuesday we went to the gardens at the Stibbert villa in the northern part of town. we wandered through the garden to find a nice table to sit at and... oh yeah, celebrate my birthday! Our professor brought cookies, chocolate, wine, and bread while we discussed Dante's Divine Comedy (which makes for a wonderful afternoon) and then a break to play Calzio (real football -- ahem, soccer) in the park. It was quite a great day, followed by a nice quiet night in with everybody, enjoying my birthday.
Wednesday brought us into the Santa Croce Basilica, the one we walk past daily and of which we frequently sit at the steps to watch people. This old Franciscan church was designed for the common people of Florence, allowing everybody to attend mass despite wealth or poverty. It's a gorgeous church and the burial place of such great people as Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini. For the poor of the 16th century, this must have been an amazing opportunity. We finished of that day with some VIP treatment at a nearby dance club in honor of my birthday, so the celebration continued!
Thursday was refreshing, bringing me up to Fiesole for the third time, this time with class. We hiked to the place of Leonardo da Vinci's test flights for his flying machines and discussed Petrarch over a picnic much like Tuesday's. We watched the sunset while listening to love poems by Petrarch and came back to town.
With the weekend ahead of us, we took a trip into Venice. The city is gorgeous! the roadways are narrow and tall as there are no cars in the city. Instead, transportation occurs along the waterways in private boats, taxis, water buses, and of course the traditional gondolas. We spent the first night wandering the city, getting lost while visiting piazzas and artisan workshops and talking to a particularly kind mask maker. We visited the basilica and then went back to our hotel for the night, allowing us to wake early and take a water bus to the basilica to explore the inside and see the brilliant gold-covered ceiling. As always, it was a gorgeous church to visit.
Though I'm still a week behind, I will leave you here. My next update, describing my solo trip to Rome, should prove to be quite long and detailed.
No comments:
Post a Comment