Venice was a beautiful city, to say at the least. It was so strange upon arrival, truly unlike anything I'd ever seen. There were no "roads" like we'd imagine them, many a large walkway to accommodate the huge amount of people milling around, but no cars, Instead, there were waterways everywhere, with boats zipping up and down. The bus-stops were docks, where you got on a boat that would have a certain number of stops. It was both so like an American bus station, and at the same time so different. Our first day in Venice, we visited the Peggy Gugenheim gallery. It was a refreshing break from the ancient and Renaissance art and churches we've been seeing this whole trip (though don't get me wrong, I love them too). We spent the night walking around the streets of Venice, and I spent a half an hour just staring off a bridge onto the water way, which was beautiful. The next day, we visited another modern art gallery, the Gardinia. It had a pavilion for different countries which participated, which was really neat. We then went to Murano, an island known for its glass. The next day was a free day, and I opted to go to the Arsenale, the other half of the modern art gallery we visited the day before, while the rest of the IUP group went back to Murano. I had the experience of taking the bus alone, which worked flawlessly. I arrived right as it opened, toured around for two hours, became hopelessly lost (it was gigantic, multiple buildings and everything), and then arrived at an exit. Assuming there was no more, or that if there was, I would never find it, I left, only to run into David, our tour guide and one of the program coordinators. At this point the sky was black with an approaching storm, and when I told him I was leaving, he looked up at the sky, making a sound of disapproval, then back to me questionably, mumbling something about hurrying and being careful. As we parted ways, I ran into his wife and the other program coordinator, Nadia. When I told her, she threw out a string of "no"s, and proceeded to usher me back to the gallery, speaking to the ticket taker in her native Italian to convince them to let me back in, which they did. I spent the next three hours puppy dogging behind Nadia and David, on the way discovering many works I missed my first time around. That evening, we returned to Florence.
The next day in Florence was a free day, and another IUP student and I opted to see the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace. Within 15 minutes, my shoes broke from the steep uphill climb. I held out for another three hours in discomfort before going back home. The gardens were truly beautiful though, and it was hard to imagine what it would be like to be a Medici and live in a palace such as that.
The next day, we hiked uphill to San Miniato (stopping halfway to enjoy a beautiful aerial view of Florence), where we toured a Benedictine church/monastery, as well as a beautiful cemetery. The cemetery was incredibly peaceful, the only sounds were those of the occasional shuffling of feet in the stones, and the birds singing. I decided after walking around for a while, to sit off in a shaded area and meditate. It was one of the best sittings I've had in a long time. I stopped at 5:15 to go catch the monks chant at 5:30, which was both an eerie and incredible thing to witness. This was one of my favorite trips, and by far my favorite church we've visited.
Today, we made a day trip to Sienna and San Gimignano. Sienna was interesting, but nothing truly stuck in my memory. San Gimignano however was a truly exceptional town. It was walled it, very medieval in appearance. We had gelato from a gelaterria voted best in the world two years running, and I see why. I won't get too detailed, but just know that I and several other students returned for seconds. If you go, get the raspberry. Then, I and some other students walked to a "panoramic point", an area meant to overlook the countryside, ideal for photos. It was beautiful, and I opted to stay for a while while the rest wandered off to other places. I then looked around the town until it was time to go.
Tomorrow is the Ufizzi!
Some pictures to sum it all up:
Me in Venice
Me at the Pitti Palace with a view of Florence behind me
San Miniato Monastery
The IUP group minus two in San Gimignano
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