Monday, December 04, 2006

Week 5.

Howdy, folks.
It looks like this is going to be another short one, because I'm in the midst of finals. It is also likely that I will be travelling next week, so you may not hear extensively from me again until the week of July 3rd.

Speaking of finals...I've uploaded some of the images I plan to use in my final portfolio (due tomorrow) onto my Flickr account. Please let me know what you think of them: http://www.flickr.com/photos/greatwaves

This past weekend was utterly amazing. The Cinque Terre provided a nice vaction within a vacation: plenty of fresh air, crystal clear water, dramatic cliffs, and a very relaxing atmosphere. I stayed in Riomaggiore, the first of the five coastal towns. My "dorm bed" was located in a sunny little apartment in the marina neighborhood, perched just above the steep stairs that lead down to the harbor. After I arrived, I did some low-key hiking and made some new friends in the mini-hostel where I stayed. We all went down to the rocks lining the shore to watch the sunset with two enormous pizzas and a bottle of wine, and then watched the soccer game from a TV wheeled out in front of one of the only two pubs in town. There was a creperie conveniently located next door, and we all pitched in for a Nutella crepe. It was truly one of the most enjoyable nights I've spent here.
The second day, I took the 6 hour hike through all 5 towns. It was exhausting, but it felt really good to get some exercise. I think I could get more into hiking in the future. After I cooled off with some home-made Cinque Terre gelato (white wine, pine nuts, and raisins--again, it sounds bizarre, but was quite delicious), I met up with my roommates from Florence for one of the best pasta dishes I've ever had. Sunday I took a much more leisurely walk back over to Manarola, the town just to the north of Riomaggiore, and soaked my heavily blistered feet in the water.
On the train ride home, I met a pleasant Swiss lady and her son who invited me to come and visit their house in Lucerne. (I just might.) We changed trains in Pisa, and as I was about to board, I ran into Sarena, the model that we had used in the studio shoot we did on Thursday night. She and her friend invited me to sit with them, and then to join them for a drink after we arrived in Florence. Both girls are spending a year here...Sarena is going to cooking school, and her friend Maria is doing some PR stuff for a fashion designer. We got on quite well, and they acquiesced to spend my birthday with me. Sarena also offered to give me some cooking lessons!

The weather was perfect in Cinque Terre, but back in Florence, the heat is unbearable, and air conditioning is a fairly foreign conept. Most people adhere to the Roman tradition of keeping the windows closed during the day and opening them at night, but this practice has given rise to a pesky population of mosquitos that enjoy feasting on my legs at night. I must invest in a fan and some mosquito deterrent!

Again...apologies for the brevity of this email. I would have liked to go on about the Cinque Terre, but I have to leave for class in a few minutes.

Friday I will be taking the train to Asti and meeting Simone. The other girls will join me there the next day, and then we'll begin a week or so of travel around Italy and Switzerland. If you'd like a post card, please send me your mailing address!

Much love!
Grace

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