the good life

another day among the milanese

2009-04-21T11:41:00.009-04:00

I was a very cool tourist today - did the hop on hop off thing. Strolled down the major shopping boulevards, popped into the Armani mall. it was a fabulous day in Milaaaaan.

Tomorrow: FURNITURE FAIR

goodbye florence. hello milan

2009-04-20T13:37:00.008-04:00

April 20th.. never thought the day would come. The day that was in the far off future when I would be leaving my roommates and new found life in Florence. Little did I know, I would be leaving such an amazing city and even more amazing friends. Well, it's a "see ya later".

But when one adventure it over another one begins! I was off for Milan by 9:30 am and in the city of fashion by noon. It is very weird traveling/sightseeing my myself but I think it will be great for me! This afternoon, I visited the Pinotecca Brera, Duomo and La Scala. I am only a few hours away from Florence, but everything seems so different here! The people, architecture, the attitude of the city.. it's much more NYC than Firenze. It has been pouring all day so here I am, relaxing in the lobby of the hotel, enjoying internet and a glass of vino.

EXCITING news!

2009-04-15T03:08:00.003-04:00

I extended my stay just a few days to go to the Salone Internazionale del Mobile more famously known as Milan's Furniture Fair!! Needless to say, I am VERY excited!!

buona pasqua!

2009-04-12T09:08:00.000-04:00

easter in florence

Cinque Terre

2009-04-12T07:10:00.003-04:00

A cluster of five ocean-side towns, all within walking distance was the perfect place for a day trip. Only two hours from Florence by train, these towns offer a day of hiking, great seafood, tanning and swimming. Sarah & I decided to take advantage of the great weather by wearing sandals and shorts. Little did we know, there was a little bit of hiking involved. We hiked through the first 3 towns (it really wasn't too bad) then took the train to the last two. The towns grow in size and culture as you travel north along the coast.

And for the finale

2009-04-10T13:10:00.007-04:00

Tada! My interior design final project is finito. The project was to design a Nanette Lepore clothing boutique specifically for Florence. My professor brought in little lights and I put them into the model. The model really began to look like the real thing after the lights were in.

We've come a long way..

2009-04-09T16:31:00.006-04:00

Dad & Julie were in town this past weekend! We had such a great time together - we got to visit some new places in Florence & they traveled to Bologna for a day to see the Ducati factory! One night we were able to go out to dinner with my three roommates and my gay boyfriend. Good vino and great company summed up the evening. For our antipasti (or pasti, I guess..) we all shared a gorgonzola pear pasta. Everyone really liked it! Jess has even been dreaming about it ever since! Sarah and I took it into our own hands to make it from scratch. We did & succeeded! I think this was the first time we didn't mess cooking up. We have come a long way from our cheese fondue days. Brava!

the new do

2009-03-27T08:53:00.003-04:00

I got my first Italian haircut! Went to the Aveda spa & was very pleased! It looks great! I'd feel like a tool taking a picture of myself, so no pic.. sorry!

Lighting Event

2009-03-25T16:27:00.004-04:00

Went to a lighting studio during my interior design class. It was very cool! So many creative, original ideas were displayed throughout the entire space. For one, was a chandelier wrapped in tight fabric. Almost spooky looking right? Not something for your everyday scene.. would be cool on a fashion shoot or at the Tower of Terror in Disney?

Baby's day out in Bologna

2009-03-24T18:18:00.000-04:00

For graphic design, we visited Bologna for the Book Fair. It was a fair for children illustration books. Actually quite cute! The fair was held in an old airport & completely filled the entire space. Who knew there was an entire industry devoted to children illustrations. Sarah & I walked around for a bit and completed our assignment given to us my our professor before we reached Bologna. We knew we had four more hours there before getting back on the SACI bus - so we decided to leave the fair, catch a bus to the center of Bologna & have lunch. We ate at a cute little place and had authentic bolognese pasta! We got back to the fair with time to spare to join our professor and class for the hour an a half bus ride back to Florence. & we didn't get caught.

The blizzard hit.. hard.

2009-03-22T17:05:00.002-04:00

This weekend, my art history class took the last trip of the semester - it was a two day excursion from Arezzo, Assisi, Lamoli, Urbino, Monterchi to Sansepolcro. Quite a lot packed into two days. Saturday we visited Arezzo & Assisi during the day. As we were driving through the mountains to Arezzo the snow began to fall. During our morning there, it kept snowing. & then in Assisi it got worse. I felt like I was in a shaken snow globe & it wasn't going to stop soon. We arrived at our hotel in Lamoli - further into the mountains. Black ice & layers of snow pretty much sum up my visions of this little town. Today we visited Urbino, Monterchi & Sansepolcro. No snow! Cute cities.

Capucci Project

2009-03-19T15:47:00.007-04:00

For my graphic design class, we visited the Capucci museum on the south side of Florence. The museum has an incredible view of the Florence skyline & inside are amazing dresses designed by yes, Capucci himself. The project was to incorporate an image from the skyline and a dress & create the cover of the brochure.

Escape from the city

2009-03-15T13:30:00.004-04:00

For the weekend, Jess, Sarah & I made plans to visit Sardinia. We left our apartment on Friday morning at 3:00 am and headed out for the airport. A bus, plane and rental car ride later, we arrived at Hotal Riviera in Castelsardo, Sardinia. It was gorgeous! Castelsardo was founded 900 some years ago when the Genova family built a castle on top of a hill right near the water. Now, there are many houses layering the hill below the castle along with our hotel. On Saturday, we drove through Alghero and stopped at the beaches in Bosa. We soaked up the sun for quite a few hours. Very relaxing! & then this morning we actually visited Alghero before catching our flight back to "reality". I would love to go back in the summer & stay a while!

Going green?

2009-03-12T13:21:00.006-04:00

With all of these wine bottles just sitting around everywhere, I decided to actually do something with them. I ventured into the "Tutto 99 cent" store (basically, Italy's dollar store) & bought some springy candles. How cute, right?!

Spring Break Extravaganza

2009-03-08T17:07:00.004-04:00

Mom & Dirk arrived in Rome airport on Sunday morning just minutes before I arrived at the Roma Termini train station. After quickly finding a cab and arriving at the hotel, I met up with them at the lobby. It was very exciting!! We started out the trip in Rome at a tea room, Babington's. We saw A LOT the first day. In total, we saw the spanish steps (which were very close to our hotel), the coliseum, the pantheon, Trevi fountain, Vatican/St. Peter's, and a bunch of churches. & probably some more things that I don't know the names.

We were in Rome until Thursday. During those five days in the eternal city, we became quite proficient with the metro system. We were so metropolitan. Early Thursday, we left for Assisi. Visited the St. Francis and St. Claire cathedrals. What a great little town - pretty small but full of personality. After Assisi, we headed for familiar territory.. Florence. Friday we went on a chocolate/wine/balsamic vinegar/saffron tasting extravaganza. It was pretty bangin. Throughout our stay in Florence, we visited the Duomo, San Lorenzo market, central market, the Bargello & Academia. The weather couldn't be more perfect. I think that Mom & Dirk really like Italy, so much so to move in. I'll update with more details and pictures later. For now, I gotta go to bed!

Celebration de Spring Break

2009-02-26T16:38:00.003-05:00

As you are well aware, every Thursday is our "family dinner". This week's menu was tacos & sangria. Muy bueno! I was quite proud of how well the sangria turned out. It was almost legit. We are celebrating our first night of spring break! Can you believe it? I'm leaving for Rome on Sunday morning. AHH! & I get to see Momma and Dirk. I'll be back in Florence on Thursday.

500 steps later..

2009-02-26T11:44:00.006-05:00

My Art History class climbed the dome of the Duomo this morning. Not too bad - something like 500 steps! My only complaint is that I have been running everyday/doing squats so my legs were already sore. The first 100 steps killed me, but then I was on my top game and now I am not sore! Nice. The place that you actually walk up is between the two shells of the dome. Lemme tell you, there's not a whole lot of room between the two & it's mostly spiral staircases. If your claustrophobic I don't think this is really for you.. but maybe you could try it. It was quite awesome seeing all of the major landmarks in Florence from the top. I could even spot my apartment!

Show & Tell

2009-02-24T13:38:00.011-05:00

A little something I made on Illustrator for my graphic design class.. I had to redesign the logo & monogram for WORKWEAR - the exhibit I went to earlier this month featuring Oliviero Toscano.

Beautiful, beautiful Venice

2009-02-22T16:26:00.006-05:00

Venice houses the most insane & lavish masks and costumes. And every year for the few weeks before Lent starts all of these items come out to play. This is known as Carnival!

On Friday afternoon, we left Firenze and arrived just outside of Venice to our hotel. Something like a ski lodge-bed and breakfast mix. Not long after arriving, we found out that we lucked out with the honeymoon suite. Sign #1 this was going to be a great weekend. SACI held a dinner at the hotel Friday night. It sucked. Peas, beef and bread. Gross. There was a trampoline and zip line in the "backyard" - we kept ourselves occupied.

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed into Venice. We found the perfect masks after a lot of searching! Now we were ready for Carnival to commence. After being in the city for maybe an hour, I fell in love. If you have never been, GO! We did everything under the sun on Saturday. Walked around, sat on a dock and had lunch, went on a gondola ride, went out for dinner and drinks & of course met some cute Venetian boys. We were going from 7:30 am until 2:00 am. It was an awesome day.

Then Sunday, we headed out for the city again. We kind of walked around like zombies after Saturdays excursion. But still had so much fun. You really don't need to do anything - there is a whole lot of scenery going on in Carnival. The costumes were enough of a sight. Some were freaky but some were gorgeous! & then you have all of the water surrounding you. And it's clear, blue water. Nothing like in the US. I already miss it.

My first 3D model

2009-02-15T16:06:00.004-05:00

I made my first model in interior design last week. Very simple but it turned out very well. Giovanna, my professor, was very impressed! For the midterm project, I'll be making a model of a retail space that I designed. All of this will be happening within the coming week. I'll keep you posted!

Vino Connoisseur

2009-02-14T12:36:00.006-05:00

Yesterday Sarah & I went to the Florence for Fun office to book our Sunday trip to Cinque Terre. Well, that was a bust. Apparently it's "too cold" to go there. Silly Italians. Don't they know 45 degrees is manageable? After getting incredibly disappointed, we arrived back in the apartment and did some research on how to make the most of this weekend. I found a wine tour and cooking class in Chianti. You can go for a full day or half day. After hemming and hawing if the tour would be worth the money, we booked it.

This morning we met Alexander, our British-North Carolinian tour guide. After getting into the company car, I asked him how many people would be joining us for the wine tasting. "It's just the two of you today." Uh! What?! AWESOME! We were pretty pumped. How cool is it that we have a private wine tasting. After our 30 minute scenic drive to the gorgeous hills of the Chianti region, we arrived in Rufino. I cannot even explain to you how beautiful this place is. And no clouds in the sky. I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful relationship - me & Florence, post-rain.

The wine tasting is in an old Medici villa turned Fascist headquarters turned winery. We enjoyed bread with olive oil, a white, three reds and then a desert wine. We quickly learned how to swirl, smell and taste the wine.

After a couple hours of that, we headed to another villa for the cooking class. The owners of the villa are your typical Italian nonna and nonno (grandmother and grandfather). A couple of Annapolis, MD joined us for this part. And this part is going to blow your mind. I made pasta. From scratch. Not Barilla. Flour. Eggs. Me. We made spinach & ricotta ravioli and another pasta.. something similar to fettucini.

The Italian owners of the villa made the rest of lunch for us. We dined, drank and had an awesome afternoon. It was well worth it! I don't think Sarah & I will ever forget this experience. Every time we go to wine tastings, we will think of our very first one in Tuscany.

Ole!

2009-02-12T07:55:00.007-05:00

Every Thursday night, the girls and I have a "family dinner" in the apartment. We seek out recipes that sound great or just anything we're in the mood for. This week, Mexican was the choice. Fresh guacamole, sizzling fajitas and rum cocktails completed our Mexican night. It was quite great! Oh, and for desert, we made chocolate chip cookies. I know it doesn't sound like much to you people in America, but to the Americans living in Italy, this is HUGE!

It's the beginning of Valentine's Day weekend. What's on tap? Studying for midterms, dinner out with the girls & a day trip to Cinque Terre to top it all off.

Buenos noches! Is this right? All of the Italian is screwing with my Spanish..

Tile Heaven

2009-02-10T08:22:00.003-05:00

For my interior design class, we visited two tile showroom/offices - only open to the trade. I can't remember the name of the companies.. but they were pretty awesome. Scratch that, they were pretty baller. I think the pictures say everything.

Le Art Bar

2009-02-06T04:03:00.008-05:00

"You HAVE to go to Art Bar!" Something I have been hearing since I got here! We finally checked it out last night. It is a little space, very cute! The thing they are famously known for are the fruit drink concoctions. I got a strawberry banana daiquiri. It was topped with pieces of banana, strawberries, passion fruit, lemon, and grapes. Needless to say, it was pretty great! They were having a happy hour until 9 pm last night, so the drinks only cost 5 euro (they usually cost 8.50). It is a great place & we are definitely going to make it back there!

Fashion Photographer: Oliviero Toscani

2009-02-03T15:48:00.005-05:00

My graphic design class took a trip to the Workwear exhibit. The gallery is in an old train station on the far west side of the city. The building was very cool! High ceilings, concrete floors - generally, very contract. The exhibit "Clothes make the man" portrayed Oliviero Toscani's work. He is a famous Italian fashion photographer, best known for his controversial ads for United Colors of Benetton.

Images of people at work - farmers, hair stylists, astronauts, doctors, firemen - were projected on screens up above. While there were aisles of outfits that "make the man". These outfits are ones you can see on the job - space suits, nurse dresses, you name it. Throughout the space, there were playing "Working Class Hero" by Green Day and you could hear faint sounds of machinery, cows mooing - any sounds you could hear at certain jobs. On one side of the exhibit was an area devoted to literature pieces and on the walls were quotes that read

More than 200 million children in the world today are involved in child labor, doing work that is damaging to his or her mental, physical and emotional health.

Each year more than 2 million die from work-related accidents and diseases.

It was kind of a strange exhibit - but nonetheless, very cool! I'll add pictures tomorrow!

Saturday Afternoon in the Park

2009-02-01T17:51:00.000-05:00

On Saturday afternoon, the girls & I took a bus to Settignano, Italy. This little town, right outside of Florence, is filled with gorgeous villas and olive trees. We heard that the town would be perfect for a picnic. So of course, that's what we did! The weather was great - no rain, no wind and about 60 degrees. We found a little park - played around & laid in the sun. It was a fun Saturday afternoon!

On Sunday, Sarah & I went to an american brunch hosted by Angels, a total swank restaurant attached to the Grand Hotel Cavour. I enjoyed a spinach omelette while Sarah enjoyed her eggs benedict. The only complaint I had was the matter of ice in my OJ. Italy doesn't believe in ice in any kind of drink - not in water or even soda. But sure, in the OJ, they throw it in there.

I'm off to bed! Buona notte!

PS. Happy Groundhog Day!

I have BIG news!

2009-01-31T19:57:00.003-05:00

I am studying at Parsons this summer! I will go through an intensive five week program for architecture. What a giant step in the right direction! Just thought you all would like to know!

Miss & love you all

PS. Happy February!!

Ferragamo Hotel: Lungarno

2009-01-28T13:21:00.008-05:00

Just call me Rachael Ray

2009-01-27T16:03:00.005-05:00

Sarah & I went to a cooking class tonight at In Tavola. It was so much fun! We learned how to make crespelle fiorentina, cannelloni al forno and crespelle con mele caramellate (aka spinach and ricotta crepes, baked cannelloni and crepes with glazed apples). When I come home, I will impress you all with my crepe making expertise!

In Tavola is on the south side of the Arno - a great little place with large working spaces and a long dining table. There were about 12 other American students there with us, none of whom we knew - but it was nice meeting other people.

Tomorrow morning I am going to work on my interior design and graphic design projects. And in the afternoon, I am visiting Hotel Lungarno, a hotel designed by Ferragamo, with my interior design class. Really excited to check the place out!

Hope everyone is well! Miss & love you all!

My tourist Pisa picture

2009-01-26T18:18:00.001-05:00

Guess where I'm going..

2009-01-26T17:03:00.010-05:00

...to the Venice Carnival! The carnival is famous for entertainment, costumes and masks. I am so excited! Jess, Sarah and I are going together. We're going on February 20-22nd. Should be so much fun!

And tomorrow night Sarah & I are going to a REAL cooking class! We're going to learn how to make crepes. We just found out about it online at florenceforfun.com and signed up. They have gelato and pizza making classes as well, maybe we can get into one of those classes too. Look at me - making things happen!

It's raining. It's pouring.

2009-01-25T07:19:00.006-05:00

Trip to Pisa & Lucca was.. fun? Scratch that, it was funny. Woke up at 5:30, left Florence at 7 and got into Pisa around 8 to find that it was pouring and the forecast was calling for a few inches of rain. We stopped for a coffee break then went on our way to the Leaning Tower, Dumom and Baptistery. It was awesome seeing the tower! Engineers are giving it another 300 years without falling.

At lunch, the girls and I got a bottle of wine to warm up. Brilliant! It helped the cold, wet feeling. And, for good measure, bought another bottle of wine. After a forty minute drive, we arrive in Lucca. What a great little city! Awesome shopping, small city feeling, cute cafes and beautiful landmarks. It kind of reminds me of Old Town Alexandria, Italian style. I would recommend anyone to go in the late spring and early summer months. It would be gorgeous then.

We got back into Florence around 8 and decided to go out! We went to a club, 21. It was really Italian - techno music blaring, it was really very silly. Then we headed over to Space, a pseudo-American club where we could recognize the music playing and the language spoken amongst the crowd. Quite a number of creepy Italian men. After enjoying our time at Space, we headed home around 3 am. Almost 24 hours after waking up, I got into bed and slept soundly.

Today is your typical lazy Sunday - woke up at noon, had some cereal and now back in bed filling you in about adventures.

To all of my Zetas: I hope rush week went well & good luck today, seeing that it is bid day!! I cannot believe I am going to have 50 something new sisters in just a few short hours.

Miss you all,

Success at Zara

2009-01-23T13:29:00.003-05:00

Had a successful trip to Zara, a Spanish clothing store. We have a bunch in the states, but shopping in Italy just seems so much better! I got a black trench coat & skinny jeans! You'll probably see these bad boys in the pics from Pisa and Lucca. We're leaving tomorrow morning around 7 am & won't be back to Florence until 8 pm or so.

Making dinner - penne alla vodka - and drinking vino. When in Italy, do as the Italians do.

Ciao!

Chocolate Fair

2009-01-23T02:50:00.016-05:00

Florence's Annual Chocolate Fair is January 22- 26. Of course we went last night! The fair is outside on the Piazza Santa Croce. Seeing twenty something white tents filled with different vendors selling hundreds of pounds of chocolate was quite unbelievable. I couldn't make any decisions - there were so many different types, colors, shapes, you get the picture. I forgot to bring my camera with me, so I will go back and take pictures!

Today, some of my roommates and I are going to indulge with some retail therapy. I feel like I have been trying to catch up with the world of communication & have been busy with the first couple weeks of class that I haven't been able to do anything for myself. And since January is the huge sale month in Italy - why not? Hope I find some great things! I do need some seriously comfortable walking shoes. Apperantly J. Crew flats aren't made for walking miles and miles a day - more for style. At least I look good, yeah?

Will add pictures from the fair later today! Miss & love you all!

Ciao Italia!

2009-01-21T04:02:00.006-05:00

My first post in Florence! I'm thinking that this will become my journal - one of many. Just an update:

Yesterday was the inauguration of Obama - how exciting!! I went to The House of Sizzle, an American bar in Florence, Italy. The bar is famous for beer pong tournaments & great burgers. There were probably 150 American students cheering on Obama while sipping Heineken and enjoying a burger or a taco. Very American!

Today I have no class until 4:30. So I am going to be super productive! Grocery shopping, meeting with the school's dean & working on a drafting project are all on the to do list. If I really want to get all of that done by 4, I have to bounce.

Ciao!

paris

2008-03-27T02:41:00.000-04:00

london

2008-03-27T02:34:00.000-04:00