Pre-session Summer 2018
(May 16-May 30) 
I took over 750 pictures in Italy, so it was hard to pick just 10!
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Author: carlyrhanna
I didn’t think I could love another city in Italy as much as I loved Florence, but I definitely loved Milan. It was so different from the other cities we visited, perhaps because a majority of the city is more contemporary and new as compared to the buildings that have been around since ancient and Renaissance times. The cathedral was so different from the others we had seen. Its architecture definitely stood out: instead of columns and domes, it utilized several spires. The stained glass windows on the inside are what stood out to me though. /they were so beautiful, colorful, and different from anything we had seen at the other churches. Milan also had the most attractive people of all the cities we visited, of course it is the fashion capital of the world and it’s flooded with supermodels. I actually saw a male model and a photographer taking pictures in the street on our last day there before Miranda broke her shoe and we had to go back to the hotel. We ventured out later (after Miranda had changed shoes) to find a tattoo parlor so I could get a tattoo. Eventually we found on that was still open. None of us could speak Italian enough to communicate what I wanted and only one of the artists spoke English. Fortunately, we were able to figure everything out and within a half an hour, I had a tattoo on my foot that reads, “La dolce vita.” Getting a tattoo in Milan was kind of a fun experience because it happened pretty spontaneously and now I have a lasting reminder of this trip.
...Visiting Poppi was a unique experience I’m so glad I got to have. We stayed in a convent, which much of the class was not pleased about but I actually found quite refreshing. Everything was so simple. Our rooms just contained beds. There was no internet. It was a beautiful reflection on the town itself. Poppi was quiet. There were rarely more than two or three people out on the street at any given time. There were no tourists (except for us). There were only a couple restaurants and a few shops, which weren’t even open on the Sunday we arrived. A castle sat in the center of town, and across from our convent. Looking over any wall of the castle, in any direction, you could see the greenery of the Tuscan countryside going on for miles with rolling mountains in the background. The Poppi Castle was also so beautiful itself, rich with history and untold stories. Since there wasn’t a whole lot to do (with the town not being urban and rarely having internet) spending time in Poppi gave me the opportunity to enjoy every little thing I looked at: the silent alleyways, the tiny church in the center of town, the stray cats that roamed the street at night, the nuns singing hymns when we entered the convent. Poppi is the kind of town you see in movies but never think you’ll get to see in real life. Lucky for me, I did get to see it.
...Our second to last night in Florence, Angelina and I decided to do a little exploring. We were planning on meeting the other group of our classmates who were staying in the apartments across the bridge. Not exactly sure how to get there, we wandered. Eventually, after following the completely wrong path, we made our way to the other apartment. Unfortunately, our friends didn’t wait for us and ended up not being there by the time we finally found their home. We rang the bell and texted, but no answer. With this, we decided to wander more. It was around 9-10pm and we were starving. We thought we would walk around Florence and if anything seemed interesting, we would stop. A lot of places in Italy, however, close at 9pm (or close the kitchen and only serve alcohol). We kept walking trying to find somewhere and stumbled on this small plaza. There were a few restaurants around, but what drew us in initially was the live band that was playing. They were playing some new-age Italian pop that sounded great at first, but got weirder and weirder as the night went on. We sat in a restaurant opposite the band only to learn they were closed. Still starving, we decided to venture out again. After another hour or so of walking around, we found a small pizza place we had eaten at a few nights ago. The sign on the door read, “Kitchen open 24 hour” Hurray! We sat down and tried to order food, but the extremely nice waitress told us the kitchen was closed. We must have looked pretty sad because she offered us some focaccia they had sitting in the back. We instantly accepted and ordered drinks as well since we had just been lost for close to three hours. Getting lost in Florence was actually pretty amazing because Angelina and I saw some things we would not have seen otherwise. So my advice is this: Get lost in Florence, but make sure you eat first.
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I never would have believed anyone if they told me I would get to go to Italy and see some of the greatest art ever created. At the Uffizi in Florence, I had the privilege of viewing several works by Botticelli. While every single Botticelli painting was incredibly beautiful, I had an intimate experience with one of them. As you come around the corner of the Botticelli room, a second room flooded with people comes into view and there, in the center of the far wall, hangs The Birth of Venus. I was awestruck. I had only seen this painting before in books and on the internet; I never thought I would stand five feet from the real thing. For someone who had been documenting the entire trip so far on my expensive camera, I could not muster the ability to take a picture right away. I stared at the painting for a good five minutes and was so overcome by the beauty of it I began to cry. Eventually I did work up the strength to take a photo because I never wanted to forget standing in front of this original masterpiece, although I don’t think I ever will. I walked away from the painting after several minutes but found myself coming back again. This time I stood completely still and just took in the beauty of the piece. Again, I cried because I just couldn’t believe I was standing in front of what I was standing in front of. It may be cliché, but the Birth of Venus is the most beautiful painting I’ve ever seen. Things I saw in Florence:
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While the Renaissance has obvious important contributions to history of Italy, our tour guide at the Vatican Museums mentioned a unique reason it is still impactful today. The Renaissance taught the people of Italy to create and appreciate beauty and Italians will go above and beyond to make life more beautiful for those around them. I experienced this first-hand in Rome. On our last night, Kristin, Angelina, and I went to a restaurant called La Dispensa just a few blocks from our hotel. We were immediately greeted with a friendly smile and seated inside. After an exchange between a few waiters, however, we gathered we were pretty much blocking the space for the servers to walk through and were asked if we would like to be seated outside instead. We moved to the outside table and as soon as we sat down we were each given a glass of champagne for our inconvenience of moving tables. Moving outside really was no inconvenience for us, but we gladly accepted the complimentary champagne. Our waiter pointed out I looked cold and asked if I was okay. Even though I told him I was fine, he took off the suit jacket he was wearing and placed it around my shoulders. Since I was a bit chilly, I appreciated the gesture and left his jacket on through our entire meal. All waitresses ourselves, the three of us kept noticing differences between the workers at La Dispensa and those back in the States. It was the little things that impressed us the most like opening each individual wet nap package after we finished our plate of mussels. Angelina remembered what our tour guide had said that morning and attributed the exceptional treatment of us to the Italians trying to make our lives more beautiful. Things I saw in Rome: T
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