Journal Italy and Greece

6/3/10

I thought it would finally hit me that I was leaving for my trip this morning, but everything still hadn’t sunk in. I drove to the airport with my parents to meet with Thomas and the other students who I would soon be able to call close friends of mine. My dad started a heated rant on the Turks to Thomas so I knew it was time to say goodbye. I hugged them and went to discover my new smoker friends for the trip Jon and James. I ended up sitting next to Jon and JP for the flight which wasn’t as bad as I expected. (Not the part about having to sit next to them…the flight itself). I discovered that a piece of artwork which used to hang in the Art Department was Jon’s as I could see the similarities from his sketches. Germany was interesting to stop in, but I was too anxious to finally arrive at the hotel. When we did everyone was exhausted, but it was still early and we had much to do! I went to my room with Jolie and Kristen (awesome roommates!) and we were on our way! I loved the set up of Rome. The piazzas and cobblestone streets were much more attractive than the dirty streets of Albany I was used to. I also enjoyed the way the apartment buildings were painted in an almost aged look with warm multi-tonal values. We first visited the Pantheon where I found the inside to be much more incredible than the outside. Maybe this was because it was the only day we didn’t have beautiful weather and the scaffolding made it difficult to see it for what it really was. But entering the enormous bronze doors my breath was taken away. There was so much to take in I found myself snapping pictures not wanting to forget anything while trying to imagine what it would be like without all the tourists and instead filled with Gods. The huge dome with what looked like light shining in from heaven made it seem only fit for Gods, and I sort of wanted everyone to leave, a feeling I’d have throughout the trip. This dome was said to be a vault to the heavens which seems very fitting. We then went to see the Trevi Fountain, which got its name because of the three roads that led to it. This fountain started off as a water source for the Romans and was completed by Nicola Salvi in the Baroque period although many other sculptors were part of the completion. For instance Pietro Bracci’s sculpture of Oceanus or the God of all waters is placed at the center. You can tell much of the fountain was completed during the Baroque period because of the highly dramatic action within the statue, from the rearing horses with wings to the pulling of the human statues, all surrounded by an intricate formation of rocks with water spilling in all directions. I absolutely loved the Fountain of Four Rivers created by Bernini, who I am a huge fan of. I enjoy the craggily yet compositionally considered rocks with the symbolic statues and animals placed round. I took pictures from all angels and have no specific favorite part but will say I love the empty spot in the center. Getting to know all my new friends is also fun; everyone seems so down to earth. We hung out a little before going to bed.

6.4.2010

Today we went to Vatican City, and I have to say it is one of the most amazing places I have ever been. You could spend years learning all the history and taking in everything the museum has to offer. I didn’t get information on my favorite pieces so I will try to describe them. A statue of a boy holding a sword in one hand and a severed head in the other. A Baroque statue of three men in agony being wrapped by two serpents. A man with a flowing cape on top of a beast stabbing him while his dogs help with the hunt. A statue of what I believe to be Augustus. A dome which reminded me of the one from the Pantheon. All the intricate paintings and decorations on the ceilings were breathtaking, encrusted in gold leaf. The architecture was marvelous and I found it amazing they could incorporate the arches, domes, and columns with the artwork surrounding fitting in their places perfectly. I couldn’t even imagine how the rugs were created as well as all the intricate and compositionally beautiful engravings which included everything from geometric etchings to miniature human figures, leaves, spirals, and vibrant colors. Everything seemed to be golden and fit for a king. I never was particularly amazed by the School of Athens, but seeing it in full form gave me a new appreciation for it and for the significance behind it, during a time where art and learning art was important. As a person inspired by complex design and color, Vatican City was overwhelmingly powerful. The Sistine Chapel blew my mind, I wish I could be in there without the noise, and I wish I could have taken many pictures. I also loved the square. The day was beautiful and the sun and clouds hung over the beautiful buildings. I took many pictures of the sphere and loved how there was a second smaller sphere enclosed by the opening larger one. I really enjoyed the place we met at after the museum. Surrounded by the huge columns I noticed my brother’s name, Alex surrounded me, so I took pictures in his memory. I am also obsessed with water and fountains so of course I was snapping many pictures. The Collosseum was our next stop and I couldn’t believe my eyes. It made me a little angry at the stone robbers for not enabling me to see it how it looked in its prime. I tried so hard but couldn’t picture the marble seats filled with 50,000 people. I also couldn’t believe or picture all its uses like gladiator fighting, animal hunting, theatric presentations, and executions, and all the history and events which occurred after it ceased to be used for these reasons. After we went to the Roman Forum and I found the ruins to be cool but almost sad, as they are somewhat lost history. I particularly would have liked to see the Temple of Castor and Pollux in its original form, but the landscape was beautiful.

6.5.2010

Today was the optional excursion to Florence! I wish we could have spent more time there it was so beautiful. We started in the Piazza della Signoria and viewed all the statues and architecture. I thought the copy of David was the actual statue for a minute, but it was still impressive. Then we got to see the Florence Cathedral and even go inside. The cathedral was so large I couldn’t get a full picture of the Dome, the Façade, and Giotto’s Bell Tower all in one picture, or even two of the three. The Façade was most impressive to me because of the original shape. I loved the incorporation of forest green and peach, which helped to enhance all the windows, statues, arches, paintings, and overall shape of the Façade. Inside I was overwhelmed by the immense size, the ceilings and columns towered above me. The beautiful paintings, candles and stained glass made the cathedral an amazing sight to see. I saw a drawing from the 18^th century during a procession and the line of people went out the door and wrapped around the Piazza and I tried to imagine going there with actual religious purposes. We then walked to another Cathedral with the same beautiful stained glass. The exit led to a beautiful square outside with beautiful arches and a dome with what looked like beautiful mosaic work. I had to pull my shorts down to get let in. I got to take amazing pictures from the Ponte Vecchio or the Old Bridge, and of it as well. I loved the orange hues and tiled roofs as well as all the beautiful artwork up for sale. I wanted to buy all of the pieces! I got a great picture of the bridge and all the other bridges in the distance. I loved all the little shops which looked like houses jetting off the bridge. We ate as a group which was nice but we had to eat in a rush. The brushetta yet again was amazing as well as the pasta with pesto. We made it to the Uffizi which I was so excited for. Yet again, a museum with too much to see and not enough time. I was mostly with Jon, James, and Caitlin and we tried to get to everything. James had never taken art history so we were explaining some of the paintings and time periods to him which was so cool! I really can’t wait to be a teacher. I particularly enjoyed pieces from Mannerism, which really surprised me because I never was so crazy about any of the pieces I had learned about. We saved Caravaggio and the artists from the Baroque period for last. The subject matter was absolutely insane. There were so many paintings of death and killing I wondered where all these were hung. I think someone should write books with each painting serving as the dramatic climax. We left to go meet with the group and got to see the protests, I even got a video! Then we ate McDonalds, disgusting I know, and I came to find out that double cheeseburgers only exist in America. Funny! We all went out to eat together, taking a bus downtown. I had amazing pizza and wine, and then we all took a shot of absinthe. The rest of the night was spent getting to know my new friends with very inappropriate jokes walking around the amazing nightlife of Rome. I could not ask for a better trip!

6.6.2010

Today we left Rome for good and rode the bus to Mt. Vesuvius. I enjoy bus rides so I didn’t mind the ride. I love watching the scenery and listening to my iPod. I got some cool pictures riding up the mountain which was cool. We fell in love with all the kittens. I wanted to adopt them! We all ate together and I got a mixed plate with fresh mozzarella, brushetta, and other deliciousness. I’d like to start out by quoting Lee Pfeil. He said his first impression of me was that I could climb mountains. I was very touched because I’ve always wanted to climb a mountain, so I was extremely excited! We were sad not to have Thomas but we pretty much split up climbing the mountain anyway. The view was beautiful and it was cool to see the city one way and the inside of the volcano the other, which had steam rising from it. If that volcano explodes again, which it will, I can’t imagine what the city will do! Our tour guide was absolutely hysterical, Raphael I think. He said his wife was dangerous and called her a crocodile vampire. I was sad to leave I wanted to keep going, though I couldn’t believe how high we were. I walked down to a classical music song by March of the Toys which seemed appropriate. People were taking quads up the volcano which seemed rather dangerous, and we sent a paper airplane down. Then we got on the bus and went to our hotel in Sorrento. Sorrento was a beautiful city with many shops and nightlife so we took advantage and went out. We looked around the shops then went back to the hotel to hang out on the balcony for a bit. Then we went to a bar down the street which immediately started playing Kesha when we arrived. We then went to this outdoor club which had crazy green and purple lights. I had fun dancing and taking pictures with all my new friends.

6.7.2010

Today we got to see the extent of the damage when Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. We visited the ruins of Pompeii, which to me looked as if an earthquake had hit instead of a volcano. The unexpected eruption left us with much evidence of Roman life at the time. It was hard to believe that the preserved humans weren’t just ancient statues before the human figure was so important. They are very expressive showing humans in their last moments. The first human I saw was surrounded by many artifacts and at first I really thought he just was a statue. He was sitting with his knees pulled in and his head bent down into his praying hands. I read that the citizens died from the high temperature of the cloud from the eruption. It’s also incredible to believe that the city was covered with 12 layers of ash and soil before being rediscovered. The city of Pompeii is very original with its graphic sexual art. It seemed that women weren’t oppressed which I thought was pretty cool. Walking down the cobblestone streets I tried to picture the little nooks filled with people cooking food, exchanging goods, even having sex before the Mt. Vesuvius erupted. This well planned city is a place where I probably would have enjoyed living in. I took on my gypsy role and said permiso for Euros inside a jail like room. A Texan even gave me a euro! But then she took it back. At least she found something I did funny! We hung around for a bit and got lunch (I ate pizza again) before we got on the bus to go to the ferry. It was a beautiful sunset leaving Italy, but being claustrophobic with 3 roommates was difficult. I’m lucky I liked them so much! I remained with Kristen and then Caitlin and Liesl were our new roommates. I did miss Jolie though! We ate some awful ferry food which I think led me to be sick. Once I showered, went to the bathroom and went to bed I felt better, plus James gave me some Tums. I felt bad Thomas was worried about me, it was nothing to worry about plus I hate to have added stress to his trip.

6.8.2010

Today was an amazing day. I was more than excited to get off the ferry. I started to get used to the Greek language, very different than Italian. We were all so excited to swim! The bus ride to Patras was amazing. Such a beautiful landscape, my pictures turned out pretty good even through the glass. Lots of mountains, greenery, and ocean lay all around. We arrived at a restaurant which overlooked the water. I was ecstatic. I tried octopus for the first time. I’m not so sure about the texture but it was still good. We had fresh Greek salad and I got Mousaka, which was lacking eggplant but still delicious. Then I practically ran down to the water. We spent the day hanging out, joking around, and laughing together. I actually jumped in the water, which surprisingly freaks me out. I wish I had swum more! I drew a little and listened to my iPod while lying in the sun then walked around the beach a little. What an amazing day! I was so angry to leave. But then there was an even more amazingly scenic bus ride to an even more amazing place, Delphi. A small town basically one street long on a mountain, overlooking a valley and then many more mountains, Delphi was one of the most amazing places I’ve ever seen. We took pictures on our balcony and then went to eat at a restaurant overlooking the mountains where we FINALY ate tzaziki! We also had Greek salad, wine, and mousaka, which I was already an expert on. Then we walked around the shops where everyone was pleasant, and went out to a club two doors down from our hotel which was so much fun!

6.9.2010

Today we took the bus to the ancient paths of Delphi. First we went to the Delphi museum which was pretty cool. My favorite piece was one of a woman standing even though her head was lost. It looked to be from the Classical time period. I really like drapery and hers was pretty intricate. She seemed to be somebody important. I don’t think it was Hellenistic because there still wasn’t much to her form, I only knew she was a woman because she had one shapely breast. I also enjoyed the Omphalos because I always think it’s cool to see how they pictured the unknown. And for all we know, the center of the Earth does have those patterns. Walking the Delphi ruins was extremely cool because I love Greek God and Goddess history, and all the stories. I learned that Apollo killed the python-dragon guarding the hill claiming it to be his. It is funny how a place so unpopulated was once considered the center of the world as it included a temple to Apollo (the lives of Greeks were surrounded by worshipping the Gods), and the Pythian Games, which were similar to the Olympian Games. The Pythian Games were different because they included music and the winner received a laurel crown cut from a tree by a boy who reenacted the slaying of the Python. I thought it was cool hearing about the people who were breathing the ethylene gas and having these vivid dreams about the Gods, but I don’t necessarily discredit them because of that. People see very holy things when they are close to death. When people visited this site, they believed the oracle of Delphi was giving prophecies from Apollo, and people would wait for hours to hear theirs. They were given by the Sybil, and elderly peasant who would be chosen for Apollo to possess. The gas is thought to have made the Sybil fall into these trances and rant while a priest would translate into a beautiful song. The temple is not interesting to look at but very difficult to picture in its finished state, but you can tell the columns are very ancient as they are simple cylinders placed onto one another. One treasury still in pretty good shape was the Athenian Treasury which I very much enjoyed. I took it to be an extremely mini, simple Parthenon. The color of the stone was very beautiful. I found it awesome to view the theatre of Delphi from above which overlooked the Temple of Apollo. It must have been even more magnificent back in ancient times. Unfortunately we did not go to see the Tholos I was nervous I would not be back on time. I was loving the mountains, what great pictures! I fed the cats chips while waiting for the bus, and then we went to eat an amazing meal. It reminded me so much of Armenian food it wasn’t even funny. The cheese bread, stuffed grape leaves (dolma), and baked spinach and feta (barek) was cooked very similarly to my YaYa and Aunt’s. Their chicken and tzaziki was also seasoned similarly. I was very very sad to leave Delphi. We traveled to Athens which was too much city for me. We went shopping but I was ready for bed and passed out at the hotel with my glasses on.

6.10.2010

The tour through Athens was nothing compared to visiting the Acropolis. I am not an expert on architecture but I found the site to be amazing. At the very beginning you see and amazing theatre where concerts are still played. When entering the archeological site you pass through the Propylaeum, which I found to be magnificent on its own. The columns led to the Parthenon going through, and looking back you see the whole city of Athens. I loved the Temple to Athena Nike, not just for its architecture, but for the fact that ancient Greek culture worshiped amazing women. Of course the Turks would destroy something so beautiful, but too bad for them it was restored. I really enjoyed the peculiar architecture of the Erechtheion, which looked uneven yet balanced if that makes any sense, but I read that this was to work with the uneven terrain. On the left you see tall Doric columns and on the right you see the 6 women who replace the columns called Caryatids. I thought that was so cool! I got some great pictures of this building because I loved how different was and I got some great detailed pictures of the columns and the beautifully uneven colored stone walls. The Parthenon was overwhelming for me, both in size and history. It was very difficult to photograph because of the scaffolding and massive amounts of people. But watching a video on it in the Athens museum gave me a better understanding of the temple. I really do love the ancient look, but how incredible must those statues to the gods have looked? It’s a shame how much has been taken from it, but amazing how great it’s withstood and looks after all it’s been through. I loved the Museum of Athens where I enjoyed Neolithic pottery, Mycenaean figures, Late Cycladic pottery, a golden rhyton, beautiful Mycenaean golden, glass, and amethyst jewelry, various arrowheads, swords, and daggers, and the almost mosaic painting done by the Tiryns from the Mycenaean period. It was great to see the switch from stiff Archaic statues to lively Classical statues like we learned in class. A picture doesn’t do justice for these towering statues. I also loved seeing the copy of the Antikythera mechanism! I really do need to read up on that. I also loved the wall painting which survived the volcano in Akrotiri, and the scary theatre masks. The remainder of the day was left to take the subway to the shops and restaurants. The only bad gyro I ate was in Athens! I fed it to a dogJ Then I bought presents for my family…and myselfJ

6.11.2010

Today we boarded the cruise ship! When we finally settled in we lay in pool chairs getting drinks. Yay! Then we went to one of my all time favorite islands, Mykonos. I really almost didn’t leave. Walking through the town right along the beach, the waves crashed and I took pictures. The shops were amazing I could have spent all my money there. Then I was lucky enough to see the sunset, something I will never forget. I took so many pictures of the water and the windmills. I was so hungry I ate two gyros! I loved the churches there. We went in a couple, and I got some great pictures of the church next to the water. I will miss those white houses! And hanging out on a cruise ship with my new friends.

6.12.2010

Why we even landed in Turkey I don’t know. Oh yeah because of Ephesus and House of the Virgin Mary. Other than that it sucked. But the rest of the day was a fun tan fest! We ate at the bistro for breakfast and lunch. Can’t complain about the food it was good. Then we went to Patmos and can you guess I went straight to the beach! We swam to the buoy and then saw Thomas on a motorbike. Then we ate gelato and walked around town. We couldn’t leave without eating a gyro of course. Patmos was gorgeous I had many good pictures from there! Then we had a very great dinner all together! I ate salad and fish. And then we had a very very fun night at the club!

6.13.2010

Where we landed in Crete was sad for me because of the poverty. But I did enjoy the museum. The golden jewelry was very intricate and they had beaded jewelry made from amethyst, sard, lapis lazull, and rock crystal. I loved the representations of men dancing, funeral scenes, and offerings, the gold cutouts. Of course I loved the statue of Athena, especially because she was holding a helmet and spear. There was also a really cool clay model of a circular building with a goddess enclosed being watched by men and a dog from the Protogeometric B period. But I could not have been happier to have seen figures of the Snake Goddess! I wish the world still worshipped women like this I would convince everyone that I was a goddess. I also loved the various jugs and the wall paintings were awesome. I loved the colors and compositions, and focus on nature. I was in a bad mood when we went back, because I hate my birthday and we were leaving so soon and all I wanted to do was lay in the sun and there was too much to do. But either way I couldn’t be upset for long because we got to go to Santorini! We took a boat from the cruise and I couldn’t believe how the island was basically a platform, a huge mountain, and then the city above. It was incredible. We rode the donkeys up the mountain which was so much fun! But I felt bad because I don’t think the donkeys liked it as much. Either way, after the donkeys we went in all the little shops taking pictures along the way. There was this shop full of jewelry and handmade glass plates and I thought it was the most amazing place I’ve ever been! We met up with Thomas and John and had a drink which was a great ending to the day. Then we took the cable cars down while singing queen and took the boat back to the cruise. We had our farewell dinner which was delicious and sad and happy all the same. We gave Thomas his postcard thank yous and toasted to him as well. What a great trip. I hope Thomas knows how much we really appreciated all the work he put into it and how much of an amazing time we had and how much we learned. I could not have asked for a better teacher or group of kids they were all so amazing and I can’t wait to see them in Oneonta!

6.14.2010

I’m not writing about this day because I hate this day.