Smothered with the silence of beauty

Bagnoregio...

Bagnoregio is a small city just north of Viterbo, 20 min bus ride. Me and a couple friends decided to spend our Saturday going somewhere new. Did quick research and read about this wonderful town full of antiquity.

The original bridge to the city was destroyed in WWII and during that time the inhabitants of the city dwelled in caves under the city.... I got to walk through the town and head down some paths to discover the history a bit more. It was incredible to say the least.

I will be adding a creative narrative soon about my experience here...

Fota da Bangnoregio

Pictures from Firenze (Florence)

Firenze.

Florence. This is an excerpt from a Travel Writing exercise we did in class and I thought it might be more interesting to read then simple boring stories, its using descriptions with all 5 senses.

-Busy streets conversing by the roaring engines of cars and vespas, alleys echoing the voices of busy café and shop owners as they greet each other while still persistently hassling any poor passerby that might consider a purchase of there precious goods.

-Strolling through the streets, I’m embraced with a pungent odor of leather, consistent at every corner yet with a new individual punch, confronted with the enticing scent of rich leather my feet follow my nose while my wallet screams with anticipation of how much it may be affected in one single purchase, I decline. Wonderful excrements of the recent four-legged passerby hugs the cobblestones of the street with a warm aroma, forcing me to watch my feet rather than the beautiful antiquity I am surrounded by.

-Grasping my warm greasy pizza, followed by a careless wipe on my blue jeans, attempting to remove the evident grease on my fingertips, telling myself there clean enough now to touch the soft thick texture of the various expensive leathers surrounding me. My choice of rain boots as comfort was not well thought out this day, the continuous grip on the brick streets confronted my soles at every step, clunking as if they weighed more than jam packed back pack. Purchasing a new pair of boots brought much more then mental satisfaction, my feet have never loved me as much as they did the moment they slipped into the new, cream colored leather boots. My fingers consistently sealed to the plastic buttons on my camera as we turn down every street. One hand in my pocket trying to confirm, through the feel of the cold abundance or lack there of coins, that I have enough change for some gelato later in the day. Holding the cold stone walls of the bell tower as we trek our way up the spiral, narrow , hugging walls of the stairway, even catching a fall as I tend to trip over my own feet a bit too frequently. Minimal memory of the sensation of touch as we were confronted with the magnificent view at the top, wind was piercing every pore in my face and hands, keeping me huddled and confined, numbness overwhelmed my hands and toes.

-Clenching on to every last drop of water in my water bottle, as my mouth screams for more in exhaust from the days continuous travel. Grasping the warmth of the ceramic mug, my tongue feels loved with the sensation from the creamy white foam along with the sweetened steamed milk reducing the punch of the rich Italian espresso necessary for my day. Snug in a brick walled dwelling, complete with several tables and individuals serving home cooked meals. Softness in the sweet warm bread, complete with the array of cheeses and sharp cold bruschetta a top. At every bite I am content, finished with a sip of smooth red wine. Complete joy in every taste of my panna cotta and caffe gelato walking across the bridges watching the light play games on the midnight water, didn’t think my day could get much better.

-Overwhelmed with a flush of solemn yellows and maroon details, the glistening sun dances on the water highlighting the antiquity and individuality and the structures overlaying, each brick has a story.

ragazza.

Girl, ragazza. Boy, ragazzo.

I have been frequenting a certain cafe outside the walls, which is on my way to school. This is my new drink of choice. A cappuccino with chocolate. The barista realized I enjoyed larger quantities of coffee so she makes it in this bigger cup for me, while most italians drink very little quantities.

Silvia is the name of the barista that I visit most times when I am there. She is very sweet and lived in England for a while so her english is really good. She wants to keep in touch and have me over for dinner sometime. How wonderful! I'm really looking forward to getting connected with the community, and really putting my Italian into practice.

I start volunteering/teaching at the high school on Friday! Then I am also working with kindergartners on Wednesdays, starting next week.

di mattina.

Di mattina, morning.

I love the mornings here. The coffee shops are simple and i really can buckle down and relax.

Here is a sketch i did while sitting inside the Pantheon for a few minutes. Had no idea where to even start sketching but i just wanted to try and capture it a bit more than a photograph.

Lunedi.

At the top of the Spanish Steps..it was a beautiful day out and it looked out over city, wonderful view to say the least.

Maddie, Me and Allie soaking in the wonderful view..

The Forum.

Elly and I on our way to Rome via train!

17 January 2011. Lunedi (Monday)

First day of classes. Looking forward to getting into the schedule. Had my Travel Writing class today, it's going to be really intense but looking forward to the challenge. I will also be using my blog to do some of the writing assignments. And i will be typing some of the hand written class assignments and sharing them on here. I find that they give a great raw description of my experience here.

Roma.

Due to not having the best internet connection frequently, which inhibits me to upload pictures as much as i want to, I promise I will do my best to go to the cafe's to get some good shots on here. It's just hard sometimes sitting in a cafe when I want to be outside exploring this wonderful city.

Went exploring today and took some decent pictures. Looking forward to uploading them to share them with you.

Title of blog. I will now be titling my post with Italian words that i rind helpful, relevant or just simply something im trying to memorize for class. Writing about it will help me remember the terms, and you can learn some Italian along with me =]

Hopefully posting more pictures soon! Heading to Rome (Roma) tomorrow.

Ti Amo ( i love you)

sidenote. This is a picture of Elly, a friend from Arizona who also lives in the dorm, and I jumping in the gardens right outside the city wall.

Orientation&Such...

This is the main entrance to my school here, Universita delgi Studi della Tuscia. Campus is great, can't wait to take more pictures of it to help you grasp how beautiful it really is.Yesterday and today have just been orientation and today we met a few local students who are studying English. Tomorrow I start Italian Language courses then all my other classes start on Monday. I can't wait to really grasp the culture here as i get into the schedule of things.

Its only been a few days so I can't really make and solid statements, but here are just a few highlights to update you. I love the size of the city, its small and the walled in part of the city is incredible, every turn I find something new that I love. Getting along great with all the other study abroad students here, looking forward to getting closer to a few and becoming better friends. USAC Staff is great, super welcoming and encouraging. There is an opportunity for me to get involved with the community with kids and local schools teaching English! How awesome. Can't wait to get involved in the community. Learning Italian is going to be hard since German is my other second language, but really excited to learn Italian as well. And the fact the i would love to teach Art History some day in the future knowing the culture and language behind the art will be extremely beneficial.

Looking forward to when Viterbo feels like home in a few months.

First few steps...

Here is just a bit from my first few days....

This is one view of the amazing Medieval Wall that surrounds the oldest part of Viterbo, beautiful...I walk along the outside of this everyday to school. Inside the walls is may favorite part of the city, it's so wonderful!

Inside the walls, this is what all the streets look like

My first meal, sampling all different types of meal starters

Ciao!