Updatepalooza: November-December 2008
So here’s what you missed…
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Yesterday morning provided me with one of those little moments that I find so enjoyable in that happy little place called the inner workings of my mind. As I walked down Borgo Pinti on my way to work my mind, or rather my stomach, was consumed with one desire: Milk. All I could think was, “I want ice cold milk in my belly.” “Give me some milk.” “Milk—now!” “Milk, milk, milk, delicious milk, MILK!!!” The past 6 months of walking down Borgo Pinti almost everyday had taught me that a small café along my route, I Cugini, had a formidable selection of milk products so my milk-focused mind concentrated on my milk-rich destination. As I turned the corner to enter the store, my eyes fixed on the milk bounty, I heard music playing over the speakers. I smiled to myself at the irony as K.D. Lang’s “Constant Craving” blared through the tiny café and knew that destiny had led my footsteps.
Of course, that was just about 15 minutes of my time yesterday and you all have missed way too much for me to linger on all the little details. So, I’ve decided to backtrack a little to catch you all up on what you missed since my last regular entry way back in November when my blood pressure was up, my heart was working over time and academic success seemed little more than a dream.
I guess I should start by telling you all that contrary to what seemed possible at the time, I somehow managed to make it through to the symposium, but not before I got there, I had some trips to go on… since my life here is so rough after all. In November, after the Maltese adventure, I went to Urbino (ridiculously beautiful), and Chris and I went to Lucca (ditto), Fiesole (nice, close-to-home destination), and lovely Paris.
Ciambella and I tagged along with the Masterpieces class to Urbino, since we were after all the understudies to the TAs, the Quiet One and the Quieter One. I couldn’t believe how beautiful it was. And it wasn’t just Urbino that we saw. We also went to Arezzo, Monterchi, San Sepolcro, and Rimini. This trip is called the “Piero Pilgrimage” in honor of 15th century artist, Piero della Francesca. Highlights for me, however, included seeing Rosso Fiorentino’s Deposition in San Sepolcro and the never-ending meal provided as a perk of the trip. The weather was gorgeous and the sites were even better. It was a wonderful trip.
Though Chris wasn’t able to tag along to Urbino, don’t feel sorry for him. He got his share of traveling. We took a day trip to Lucca, which is a town not too far from Pisa. There’s not a whole lot there except a couple medieval towers (one with trees growing from the top of it), ramparts surrounding the city where people, aka us, can rent bikes and ride around for hours, and sheer beauty.
Lucca sits right in the middle of a valley and the views are stunning. We really hit the jackpot when it came to the weather that day. It was absolutely perfect. We spent about an hour riding bikes and playing at one of the many playgrounds on the ramparts before heading off to explore the city some more.
By the time the sun was low in the sky we found ourselves on top of one of the city’s towers enjoying the view as the sun slowly dipped behind the mountains. Ahhh… Lucca will also be perfect in my mind.
On a lazy Saturday, Chris and I hopped on the bus and headed 20 minutes out of Florence to the little town of Fiesole. Fiesole is known as being the location of the original Etruscan settlement here in the area and they have a really nice archeology museum and an amphitheater to show for it. It also has a great Romanesque church. I can see the church’s bell tower when I walk down Borgo Pinti on my way to school, assuming, of course, that the weather isn’t too rainy or too hazy. Perhaps what Fiesole is best know for is the view it offers of the Florence. For an only mostly painful climb, visitors can gaze out over the city in all its glory. Chris and I enjoyed our few hours up there for yet another well-worth-it excursion.
Our major trip of November, other than Malta obviously, was to Paris. We left late on a Thursday night on the overnight train and arrived behind schedule the next morning in a whole new country. Like all of the school trips we went on, it was a whirlwind adventure. Our trip was off to a rocky start when we first arrived at our hotel to find that none of the rooms were ready. Oh, no, there weren’t people still sleeping. No, ladies and gentlemen, there were no beds. At least, not yet. The hotel had chosen that weekend to replace every bed in the hotel (nice by the time nightfall came around—I mean, when can you sleep in full confidence that your hotel bed isn’t full of gross strangers’ germs?). Keep in mind that this was not a small group of people. There were about 50 of us.
So we waited as long as we could before we all headed off to our first stop of the trip: the Louvre. The Louvre never fails to impress. I am not one of those people who says, “skip the Louvre, go to the Musee d’Orsay!” Oh, no. I say, “Do both!” On this trip, however, the Musee d’Orsay was a sacrifice that had to be made for it was the Louvre all the way. And it was incredible as always. Not the least of which because I got to lecture. That’s right, my friends, little ole’ Sarah got to lecture in the Louvre like a big girl. It was great.
Now the Louvre I’d seen, but the trip was full of plenty of new things for me. We went to Sainte-Chapelle (OH MY GOSH! SO BEAUTIFUL!) where we were blown away by stain glass windows at their finest and greeted by fresh snowfall as we exited. We went to Notre Dame—okay, I’d been there before, but when we went there was a mass going on so it was new in a way. The second day of our trip was spent out at Chartres Cathedral where we all froze as we marveled at the beauty before hopping back on the train and making our way to the Palace of Versailles. While at Versailles we were treated to a Jeff Koons exhibit featuring the more famous Michael Jackson and Bubbles sculpture, but the more inventive and delightful Giant Balloon Dog sculpture.
While others dawdled at the Palace, Chris and I, being familiar of the fate of the palaces’ last residents, high-tailed it out of there as the sun began to fall. We weren’t running away from a crown of angry peasants with pikes, we had a date with Jim Tressel and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
For the big OSU-stupid Michigan showdown, Chris and I made our way to The Great Canadian for some beer and football (after a frantic call to my mom in the States to look up the address for us). Upon our arrival we found a table for two right in front of a beautiful flat screen TV and surrounded by a bunch of sorry looking turds wearing maize and blue. (Hold on… Ok. I’m back. I just got sick for a moment at the thought of it.) You all doubtless remember the glorious outcome: OSU 42, Michigan 7.
Chris and I celebrated by taking a stroll through lovely, though cold, Paris and I got to do something I’d always wanted to do: see Christmas lights on the Champs Elysees. The Paris revelry couldn’t last forever and by Sunday evening we were back on the overnight train zipping across the countryside to Florence and reality.
Needless to say, November was a bit hectic for me.
Symposium
The fun wasn’t all I did at the end of the year. You all may remember that I had that pesky thing called a thesis hanging over my head and making me crazy. In fact, my train ride back from Paris was not a good time, but who wants to hear about me having an emotional breakdown in the midst of motion sickness in the dining car of a dirty train at 1am? Let me just say that despite what I thought was going to happen, I made it through and on December 12 I presented my paper, “The Gesture of Silence: A Transformation in Form and Meaning in Late Medieval Italian Art.”
It was the culmination of a year’s worth of research, translation, thinking, writing, and stress. Admittedly it wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for in the end, but none of that really mattered by the time 2:45pm rolled around on the 12th of December. The elation of finishing overshadowed any reservations I had about my research itself, if only for the day. The symposium went well, without any major drama. Our “class photo” shows off not only our gestures, but also our personalities perfectly.
Aside from being able to check three things off my “Things to do before I die” list (live in Italy, learn a foreign language, earn a Masters degree) the symposium was made extra special by the presence of my parents, who had flown over for the event.
Chris and I had been showing them around town since they had arrived, but the end of the symposium meant the end of my obligations to school and my freedom to travel. I continued my Italy boot camp with my parents with a trip to Rome, stopping in Orvieto on the way down and Assisi on the way back. It was so wonderful being able to share this amazing place that I’ve been greedily enjoying for the past year with people so special to me.
We had hoped for a quick trip up to Venice, but the acqua alta, the high water, had flooded the city. It was just as well, I think. We were all completely drained by the end of it all. By the time we got back to Florence there were just a few days left before my parents said goodbye and Chris and I finished packing up La Scala for our big move.
The big move…
Ok. So maybe “the big move” is a little melodramatic. We really just moved a few blocks away, but you have to remember that it was down 14 miles from the dizzying heights of La Scala to street level and then a couple blocks over. We moved to the house formerly know in this blog as Casa di Festa, now affectionately named Casa di Carciofi, or House of Artichokes (there’s an artichoke consumption problem in the house). And that is how Ciambella, Chris and I came to live with Vanessa Avery.
Our new digs were a big change from our old ones. For starters, there’s only one level, about half the steps to reach the door, there are two bathrooms, we can hear the river from our room, and the rooms are more spacious, except—and this is a big except—the kitchen. Our refrigerator, which serves 4 people, is approximately 3 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide. We are absolutely unable to make ice in our “freezer” and stuffing our groceries in has really proven to be one of life’s mysteries. In fact, fitting more than 2 people in the kitchen is one of life’s mysteries.
Anyway, we didn’t have much time to settle in. After all our bags were lugged over there, Chris and I enjoyed our last meal at La Scala of one chocolate covered pretzel, about one glass of orange juice, one piece of jam with toast, a little bit of milk, and about half a bag of weird potato chips. Not my most impressive culinary creation, but it worked out just fine.
Before we knew it, the time had come to say goodbye to La Scala. Goodbye to the rooftops, our cat friends, the brilliant sunrises in the kitchen, the sweet smells of pastries wafting into the windows, the Sunday afternoon Mexican fiestas, the bongo drums, the slippery stairs, and all those other little things that made La Scala La Scala. We hopped in our cab and headed off to the airport, never to climb the dreaded steps again.
What we were leaving was a year full of memories, good and bad. What we were headed to was home, comfort, friends, family, real American food, and Christmas.
To be continued…