Saturday 13-7-2013

This is actually pretty funny looking back at this entry, because I kept writing new things every few hours, so you get to see what mood I was in at the time.


Florence - Saturday 13-7-2013:

Self-ie

[9 am]

Since I could only stay in the hostel for 1 night I had to make a decision:  Either I found another hostel/ hotel to stay at or do as much as I could in 1 day and go home.  (I ended up doing the second.)

Also, (not to brag), but I am a genius! I made a few sandwiches before going to Florence and I swear, it was one of the best decisions I've made during that whole week!  Those sandwiches... so good... (why am I writing about sandwiches?  I must have been really hungry.)

Actually, this was based of a photo of me eating pizza in Paris

Another thing I've observed here (in Rome as well) is how some of the creepy beggar women stand guard at the entrances of churches like ticket officers.  Then they glare at you, trying to make you feel guilty.  I know its the Christian thing to give money to the poor, but I've had enough!  I'm sick and tired to being taken advantage of and hustled on the streets by these people (who I swear are acting).

if one more hustler comes up to me again,
I'm going to punch them in the face.
(... passive aggressive much?)

In then end I gave up on going to one of the churches (where one of these beggars were) and went to a cafe for a cappuccino instead.  At least I was able to get something to drink/ eat in peace! (For those who don't know me, I get really angry when I'm hungry, so that pretty much explains why I was whinging so much just now, haha.)


[1 pm]

Just climbed up the super tall bell tower next to the Duomo cathedral (there's a Duomo in Florence too) and saw the whole city, it's pretty cool.

I think I must really be a glutton for punishment, because I keep paying money to suffer and walk up stupid stairs.

Me dying from exhaustion

 While I was there I decided to do the artist thing (since that's what I am), and draw the Duomo, which was next door, but then I experienced a déjà vu.  Where have I seen that before?  Now I remember, it was in one of the artist books that I have, where the artists sent in street drawings from around the world.

I think i'm getting closer to becoming the person that I want to be.  Spontaneously took the train from Rome to Florence just to climb a tower to draw... Sounds like a real artist.

Duomo

Then suddenly I saw something in the distance...

Look closer...

Those jerks!  Who do they think they are climbing higher than me?!  Now i'm going to have to climb up the other one too!  (Haha, just an obnoxious excuse to suffer some more.)

But before that I had to recover... with gelato! However I must have not payed enough money (snobs) because the restaurant people kicked me out of the seating area, which wasn't very nice :(
especially since my legs were shaking uncontrollably ever since climbing, kind of like this ==>


[2:34 pm]

Currently sitting in the shade on top of the Duomo.  Good thing I'm not claustrophobic, because it was like climbing a dungeon in the sky to get up here.  (A dark, sweaty dungeon made to keep tourists in.) But I though it was worth it, since I like high places.  The breeze is really nice and cool and you can see the whole city, also there aren't thousands of annoying people bugging the shit out of me, so that's a plus too.

After that I went into the (actual) dungeon/ basement and saw the church, a bunch of old ruins and a skull in a box.  It kind of reminded me of the ruins in the bottom of Notre Dame actually.

[5:13 pm]

After waiting in lines everywhere I decided to go off on my own to explore.  My friends said that the old(er) part of Florence was on the other side of the river, which had a bunch of cool stuff, but by the time I got to the actual river I though.  "Screw this! I'm not going all the way over there!" (I should remind you that it was burning hot that day too.)  So I climbed up onto one of the bridges and drew the river.

Yes, the stop sign really did have a face.

After that I tried to go window shopping, in some air-conditioned shops, but they were all really high end paces that pretty much no one could afford, like Gucci, Giorgio Armani, etc... Also going there made me feel 100 x poorer and scruffier that I actually was.  So I moved to a place which was more within my economic status and comfort level; McDonald's!

Which was where I ended up writing this entry

I really did a lot of things that day.  I actually didn't need to say in Florence for a few days like the guide book suggested, so I guess it was a good thing that I booked by train back for Rome that night.  (Besides all the tourist attractions were too expensive and were kind of pissing me off.)

Here's a tip for future travelers:  Don't ever go to tourist attractions (unless you really want to go/ or research it before hand), because everything is really crowded and over priced.  Also the locals usually hate your guts and want to rip you off as much as they can, because you look gullible. 

Which is why I love being a student, because you have more time and opportunities to learn about the culture of a country from an insider's perspective.

The only bad thing about booking my train ticket this morning is that they have set times, so I ended up waiting in McDonald's for about 4-5 hours, which can kind of make a person go crazy sometimes, but then again, at least they're not really snobby.  (I only had to pay about 2.50 E for a large ice tea, which lasted the whole time.)

Here is the product of waiting for so long:

About 50 stupid comics... Holy cow, I really drew a lot!  I swear this must be a new record or something.  It's amazing how much work a person can do due to boredom.

and these stupid sketches too

Finally on the train.  As Tatiana would say:  It looks like i've lost the will to live...

Friday 12-7-2013

Holy cow!  It's crazy how far behind I've gotten with my blog.  It's a good thing that I've been keeping notes and (as I call it) blogging the manual way.

I believe that the technical term is called
'keeping a journal'

So I'll start from last Friday and how my trip to Florence went...

Friday 12-7-2013

I was intending to go out this morning to see the city, but I was so exhausted for the week, that I ended up staying at home for the whole day, but then I got a huge scare.  About 2 hours before my train to Florence I received an email saying that my hotel reservation was canceled.  (I eventually found out that the website rejected my card and didn't receive my deposit).  So I had to re-book my room at the last minute, but they only allowed me to stay 1 night instead of 2 like I wanted, but I was so desperate that I took what I could get.

Then I arrived in Florence a few hours later at 10 pm.  The hostel was supposed to be very close to the station, but I ended up getting lost (like usual).  I'm getting so good at getting lost now, that it's practically a skill now.  The worst part is that I had a map, meaning that, imagine which part of the country I would have ended up in without it!  (It was a good thing that I only brought 1 bag.)

On the way, (2 hours of walking/ even though it was 5 minutes away from the station.)  I was starting to consider staying in a different hotel so that I wouldn't be homeless, but then I found it.  Yay!!

P.S I managed to get hit on in the street again.  I swear, boys never pay attention to me back home, but for some reason they keep asking me out here.  (Especially when I'm tired and sweaty from traveling all the time.)  Yeah... it's weird.

I think this picture explains itself.

Smelly tourist tip:  Wearing your clothes while sleeping (including keeping phones and cameras in your pockets), helps both to protect your stuff from being forgotten or stolen and you can head out early too.

Super catch up - Tuesday

I swear this blog is attached to my memory.  It's like, if I didn't write it down, it didn't happen...

Tuesday 9-7-2013

On Tuesday we went to an awesome building which Barbara called the 'Fairy House', which was made by the Italian architect Gino Coppede.  This is one of the buildings we are going to construct next week for the model making part of this course.

Fairy House

Buildings across the road

Pencil and watercolour

Then we went to MACRO, which is another museum of contemporary art in Rome.  The architecture of the building was really nice and innovative, but the actual art inside the building... Hmmmm.... yeah there's no avoiding it, they were pretty crappy.  I may have learned how to analyse artworks in class back at home, but no matter how much you analyse things, crap is still crap.

 

 

Although this red thing was pretty cool (literally).  There's a cavern underneath it with video screens and yoga mats where you can lie down.  I really wanted to sleep in there since it was so comfy.

Sculpture stuff

Metal arty thing

Drawing of the metal arty thing, done in ink,
markers and coloured pencils

There were a lot of crappy paintings and drawings upstairs, but they weren't worth taking photos of.  Just try to imagine a room full of drawings of drugs and boobs done by a 5 year old.  (The joys of contemporary art...)

After a while everyone got bored (even the teacher thought the works sucked) and decided to go home.  Then Lucy, Erin and Tahni came over and cooked dinner for us, since I cooked the night before, which was awesome!  (I love having friends who know how to cook.)  Then I went out with them (as well as Tom and Lex) to a trendy street, which is close to our school and had drinks.  It was a really nice atmosphere and spending more time with the each other was nice too.

P.S. I take it back.  There's no way this blog could survive without my sarcastic remarks.

super catch up - Monday

Oh man, I've been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to update.  So for this entry I'm just going to submit some super condensed entries (which is pretty much minus the sarcasm) of this week so that I can continue on wards like normal.  Enjoy.

Monday 8-7-2013

On Monday we meet up at Piazza del Popolo and walked down to an auditorium, which looked like a giant whale, and drew.  

Markers, coloured pencils and pen

This week we emphasis on drawing modern buildings and urban development in contrast to to the ancient ruins, however pretty much everyone preferred the ancient buildings and got bored pretty quickly.  So our teachers allowed us to go inside and draw the musicians/ roadies set up for a concert.

Photo of inside

markers and watercolours

 

After that we headed off to the MAXI contemporary art museum, but it was closed (the administration people didn't research that very well) so we had to figure out something else to do.  So we walked on for a bit, went to an art shop and to modern building, which was built over an ancient alter (to protect it), but by that time I had lost all interest due to an extreme heat and hunger, so there's no pictures of that.

After that Megan, Sharron and I went off to have lunch together, which was actually harder than it seemed, because Megan is gluten and lactose intolerant, meaning that we had to find a restaurant that served special pasta for her, but in the end we were lucky and managed to find one that wasn't too expensive.

Had my favorite spaghetti as usual ;D

Then we got gelato and headed back right before the rain started, which was awesome.  (I got melon and strawberry.  SO GOOD!)

Megan, me and Sharron

Then we went back to our apartment where I cooked dinner (and didn't burn it this time!) and had a mini drawing session.

EVIDENCE OF A NOT BURNT MEAL! 

Sketch of Sharron Megan and I at the table

 

P.S.  Our teacher Barbara wrote and illustrated her own book, which we bought from her (a new reason to learn Italian). 

P.P.S.  This really wasn't a short post was it, haha

Saturday, 6 July 2013

On Friday, pretty much nothing happened (had no class and slept the whole day).  Then end.

---

Ok, now for something interesting,  SATURDAY!

First of all I decided to start the day off right, with food!

I was getting really tired of going to fancy restaurants, where they added extra charges to the bill, so I did it a different way.  Instead I went back to Termini train station and ate in the food court there, which was one of the best ideas I had that day (cheap and convenient, just the way I like it).

That pie was so good!

 
After being refueled I was ready to take on the (half-day, since I slept in).  First thing I did was go to the Capuchin Crypt at Barbarini station.  

live monks live here too

First there was a museum with collections of some of the items used by the Capuchin monks including their clothes, paintings, books and items used during mass such as chalices.

It was pretty interesting looking at the stuff and I even tried to draw some of the objects, however I was trying to be time conscious and not spend my whole day there, so they were fairly quick sketches.

quick sketch of wax seals

drawing of dead monk

stopped drawing, because I stopped caring

Then at the end there was a room full of bones, but unlike the catacombs in Paris, whose bones were just stacked in piles, these ones were decoratively placed.  They wouldn't let me take pictures inside (again) so I got a post card to show you what it looked like.

Postcard of the skulls

You guys probably think I'm really morbid since I'm always going (paying) to see dead people... Kind of like the drawing above.

So that was pretty cool and all, but I was only there for about 1 1/2 hours so I thought about something else I could do.  Then I realized that the Trevi Fountain was near by so I headed towards it, only to realized that I was doing that thing I do... head in the complete opposite direction of where I'm supposed to go, (even though I was walking in a straight line.)

After a while I finally found it.  It was like an oasis for all the sun baked tourists in Rome to hang out at.  My guide book said that its good luck if you throw 2 coins into the fountain (proceeds go to the Red Cross I think).  You get to make a wish for the first coin, and the second coin is to wish to come back to rome again, so I chose the most useless coins in my bag, (1 and 2 cents) and chucked them in.  A true tourist! 

My wish is a pretty obvious (for those who know me), but for those who don't, it's a secret ;D

Trevi Fountain

This picture exists to show that I was
actually there as opposed to using
another google stock photo :p

Then within 30 minutes of arriving, the sky turned dark and thunder started to rumble.  A whole bunch of people were screaming because of it, which I thought was hilarious (who's scared of thunder?)

Then within a few seconds the rain came down really heavily, so much that I had to take shelter in the Pinoccio store, which was playing a song that kept saying “je t’aime” over and over again, which means "I love you" in French, but after a while I figured it was better if I took my chances with the rain than to put up with that (there were no other lyrics in the song), so I headed out with my umbrella (the same one that I forgot in Japan 2 years ago and got back recently).

 Then I went back to the station early, which was a good idea, because the metro was having problems due to the storm and took ages to re-start the system.  By the time I got back home, there was hardly anytime to rest, because I had to head out again to the fashion show later that night.  (The design school that I'm going to was having a fashion show for the fashion student's graduation).

So I meet Begonia, Kathy and Lex who are students from the same course outside and we headed off back into the city (luckily enough, the metro was working again).

First we walked around for a bit, but decided to go and get drinks before the show, since we still had time.  I got a cappuccino, which was really nice (I love it when they draw the leaf on my coffee.)

Cappuccino

Then we arrived at the IED city campus.  All of the works were amazing.  Each of the students had really professional portfolios, which put everything we've done so far at uni to shame... which I guess can be a good thing, because it gives us something to aim for.  (Nothing like a challenge!)

The student's jewelry

Then we went outside into the open courtyard, where the fashion show took places.  In the center were a bunch of giant balloons, which they used as a screen to project a video of rolling clouds.

Then in the middle was a catwalk, which encircled the audience.  Even though the styles were strange, I thought that the students' clothes were really well made.  You could really see the effort that they put into their creations.

Also, our teachers told us that industry professionals were invited to the show, meaning that everything was set up so that the students could meet future employers, which is pretty cool. 

The end of the show

One of the models had the weirdest walk
like the one in the drawing

After everything was finished we went back towards the station and even saw the Colosseum by night.  I think I mention this before, but the city really looks different at night.  It's a completely different experience!

Another tourist photo, haha

 The only bad part about that was that we missed the last tram and thought that we would have to catch an expensive cab with some shady guy, but then at the last second I spotted another tram and flew into it, holding the door for the others. (Whew!  Just in time!)

Finally!  All my training of running after trains in high school has finally payed off.