Jennifer and Nutella

So, Nutella and I have developed an especially deep bond these first two weeks here in Florence, so that 5 Euro Nutella pizza we found around the corner from our Italian class...probably not the best idea.  Anyway, there's so much to say about Firenze!  I don't think any amount of info sessions and advice can really prepare someone for being thrown into another culture.  I still cannot quite grasp that I walk by Ghiberti's golden "Gates to Paradise" everyday, and that I can see Brunelleschi's Duomo from my window, if not from every window in Florence.  Every wall, every door, every corner is saturated with hundreds, if not thousands of years of rich history.  Wandering around, I was surprised at how small the city actually is.  Monica and I were exploring after class one day and found ourselves lost at Santa Maria Novela, but then turned one corner and surprisingly found that we were back in San Lorenzo market, which I thought was a good 20 minute walk from Santa M.N.  

The food is of course amazing!  Our host mother makes us HUGE dinners every night.  I can hardly ever finish it all, and she was appalled that she would have leftovers, because apparantly leftovers are a faux pas.  I don't really understand how she thought Monica and I could one night finish thick zucchini and potato soup, 6 hamburgers, one pizza, chopped fennel, bread, and fruit, just between the two of us, because she and her husband were having octopus and didn't think we would like it.  Dios Mio!  Despite these "cene grandi", we do find ourselves searching for cheap meals in between classes.  Vivian, Megan, and I stumbled upon some great pizzas and sandwhiches for small prices at a cute bakery called "Forno".  

I am so excited for all of my classes.  I have to admit, having our first perspective drawing being in Santa Maria Novella, with its two hundred feet tall arches and marble columns, was a bit intimidating.  But I found that Regan and Zolar are fabulous teachers who know so much about everything.  In our Theme sequence course , we talked about what has inspired us so far in Florence.  I have particularly been attracted to, as Jana put it, the "decay of the man-made".  This could be seeing the layers of paint peeling away from ancient stone underneath, cracks in the cobble stone pavements, or just the weathering and staining of statues and monuments.  I love the combination of free organic forces and the ordered forms of man-made structures.  There is a constant tension between nature, both human and earthly (although, can they really be seen as separate?), and the construction of society that is evident with every step through this city.  I am excited to see how this observation, as well as many others affects my work this semester.

   

Here are some selected photos I have accumulated both from Florence and from the Art Fair in Bologna.  

Ciao a tutti!  

Jen