Sculptures, Florence, Action

Crumby picture, but it's still of Eddie and me

I have two words for you. Eddie. Redmayne. This man is from my favorite TV mini series, Pillars of the Earth. It's based on the book, and he plays a sculptor named Jack from the Middle Ages. Because this was the best day of my life, I'll give you a second by second replay of the moment. I was walking across a bridge in Florence, and he was walking the other way. As we passed each other, I recognized his face immediately. Gasping, I told my friends "I just saw my favorite actor ever!" Then, I turned on the spot and began following him. He was walking with his arm around a girl (unfortunately, ha), and I was debating whether or not I should talk to him. I did. I said, "Excuse me, but are you from Pillars of the Earth?" (even though I already knew the answer). He turned around, smiled, and replied in a British accent "Yes I am." I asked, "I know you're on a date, but would you be willing to take a picture with me?" He graciously replied, "Of course." Then he asked me what my name was, and I told him it was Katie. However, in my frenzied excitement, I completely forgot his name and I said, "I'm sorry, but I only know you as Jack." I wanted to slap myself in the face because I do absolutely know his name, but I was too excited to remember. However, he politely introduced himself as Eddie. His date took our picture, he said it was a pleasure to meet me, and then we parted ways; a simple yet unforgettable moment. I'd rather not mention this part, but I may or may not have cried out of pure joy after he left. The excitement was too much for my body to contain, so a little bit of happiness had to be squeezed out of my eyes for me not to explode. Okay, I’m being dramatic, but I’d never met a movie star before. This was a cool moment for me.

View of Florence from the Duomo

Gelatooo!!!!

This morning, we got up early, so we could beat the crowds and go up the Duomo. It was an architectural masterpiece in its day, and it has a spectacular view of the city. After 500 steps up through the church, we reached the top and had a spectacular view of Florence. We all took plenty of pictures of the view as well as each other, so hopefully they show up on Facebook soon. When we got back down, we headed to the Academia and met up with the rest of the group. Inside the Academia is one of my top 3 favorite sculptures--Michelangelo's David. It's not just because David is particularly nice to look at (although that's part of it), I am just so impressed by the skill and time it took to create something like that. I could literally see the veins in his hands and arms, and it was almost as if there was actually someone in there who had been covered in plaster or something. Every time I see this statue, I think that if I could create one thing as beautiful and spectacular as Michelangelo has done, my life and legacy would be complete. We'll see if that happens, but it's a bucket list thing. Lunch was in the covered market, and I found two wonderful things there. First of all, I saw Inca Cola there, which is what we drank when we were in Peru, and I hadn't tasted it in over 4 years. I let the people I was with try it, and we decided that it tastes like cream soda mixed with bubble gum. Tastes better than it sounds, so don't knock it until you try it. Second, there was a dried fruit stand, and this guy had everything. Dried cherries, apples, pineapples, mango, coconut, passion fruit, and peaches to name a few. I bought a bag of mango and coconut, and they were phenomenal. Actually, I should say they ARE phenomenal because I'm still munching on them days later. Great, healthy, and tasty find. After lunch, we soaked up a little sun and lay down in the grass right in the center of the piazza. Tired and warm, we took a little nap before it was museum time again. At the Ufizzi are a couple really famous pieces. Botticelli's La Primavera and Birth of Venus are probably the most famous two, and they really are beautiful. There were a few paintings by Da Vinci along with other classic art history pieces. I actually felt like I was walking around my old art history textbook; pieces I'd spent weeks studying were right in front of me. A bit surreal. To finish up the night, we headed out to dinner at a great little family run place. A man and his 10-year-old sons served us bread, drinks, gnocchi, and grilled chicken all for a reasonable price--especially because it was homemade by a great little Italian family. It was one of the best meals I had all semester--I may also just be missing homemade food. Of course, we had to get gelato after (fruiti di bosco), and we ate under a bridge by the river. And when you get lots of college students and give them sugar, they might potentially start a dance party under the bridge. Sorry ACU, it wasn't sanctioned dancing, but it was incredibly fun. Hopefully, that makes up for our illegal dance party. Dancing under the bridge created nice closure to our wonderful time in Florence.

Doing as the Romans Do

At the Trevi Fountain

With our tasty oranges at the market

Italian lovers: Romeo and Juliet at the Vatican 

In the Coliseum 

Rome-ward ho! After breakfast in Assisi, we loaded up the charter bus in the direction of Rome, and a three-hour nap later, we were there. Our hotel was in another converted convent, and a flock of sweet nuns greeted us at the door. We hung outside in the beautiful garden area and pet a cat for a little while before heading out for some lunch. At a little cafe restaurant, I split a delicious spinach and mozzarella pizza with my vegetarian friend Stacy. It tasted very much like a pizza from Brick Oven, but of course it was better because it was made in Italy. Hazelnut and Nutella flavored gelato finished up the meal nicely, and it was eaten in a sunny piazza while a man played the accordion beside us. Absolute bliss. With full bellies, we decided to make the trek up to the highest point in Rome. It was actually only a short distance from our hotel, and the view was spectacular. I love seeing cities from a bird’s eye view or from high up probably because there aren't many mountain view opportunities in Texas. The next cool opportunity we had was that Janine, who used to live in Rome, offered to take us around to a couple Roman hot spots. We met first at the Pantheon, and something I didn't notice the last time I was there is that the painted Raphael is actually buried inside there. I was happy to see and appreciate that monument this time. Next on the agenda was the Trevi Fountain, and I'm pleased to tell you that making a wish in it does actually work because my last wish to come back came true. I plan on wishing there every time because I don't ever want to stop coming back to Italy. The famous gelateria right by the fountain got my business that day, and I ate frutti di bosco and coconut gelato as I people and fountain watched. The last leg of the walking tour was to the Spanish steps. I pictured Audrey Hepburn from Roman Holiday standing there eating gelato while I walked up those same stairs. For dinner we went back to Piazza Navola, and straight to sleep from there. The calculations from our pedometers that day in Rome say we walked nearly 15 miles, and I crashed hard in my bed that night. My little legs didn't have much more to give by that point, so a good night's sleep was just what I needed.

Rome: Day Two

The hotel provided breakfast in Rome was delicious. We woke up to freshly baked croissants, which were eaten with lots of Nutella, and they also served a really good piña colada juice. For coffee drinkers, there was a fully staffed coffee bar, and a nun would make cappuccinos, espressos, or anything to your hearts desire exactly the way you like it. But the absolute best drink was drunk a few minutes later at the market. We walked to a great outdoor market 15 minutes from the hotel and I bought some fresh pomegranate juice. How do I know it was fresh? Well, I watched the man cut two pomegranates in half, juice the four slices in front of me, and then he handed me the cup. That juice was the nectar of the gods, and I think that in heaven we will all drink pomegranate juice and eat gelato. At least, that's what I'd like to do. Then again, maybe it means that Italy is actually heaven because that's what they get to do. I guess we'll see when we get there, eh? At noon, our directors set up a tour of the Vatican for us. We started at St. Peter’s Basilica and headed into the museum. Unfortunately for us, every other tourist in Rome decided to go to the museum too. Feeling a little like cattle, we were herded around to see various Roman artifacts. I did get to see Raphael’s School of Athens painting, and that was worthwhile because I don’t remember seeing it last time (or I probably saw it but didn’t care about it at that time in my life). The Sistine Chapel is still impressive though; so many hours and years of Michelangelo’s life went into that project. He’s a boss. This is totally a first-world problem, but walking around museums is quite physically exhausting. We were bushed and starving when we left the museum, so we stopped at a pizzeria. A friend recommended my pizza to me, and it had artichokes, olives, ham, and egg on it. Sounds weird—tastes great! The next amazing recommendation I got was to go the 110-flavor gelato shop. Oh yes, that’s right. One. Hundred. And. Ten. Flavors. My peanut butter and dark chocolate ensemble didn’t disappoint either. Unfortunately, we took a little too long and had to be somewhere in just a few minutes. I probably looked ridiculous running down the street while licking my ice cream cone; burning calories and consuming them at the same time is a strange feeling. Anyways, we ended up just in time at a museum exhibit called the Secret Archives of the Vatican. This might sound boring, but it was actually one of the best museums I’ve been to all semester. On display were documents that had always been locked up in the Vatican, but in a gesture of openness by the pope, they’re available for view to the public. Because they don’t always portray the popes in the most favorable light, it was cool that these documents were available to see now. Some of the cooler things were letters from Martin Luthor, Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Charles V, and Francis of Assisi to the respective popes of their day. When Henry VIII petitioned for a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, his letter was up on display there. I’ve never been to a museum like this before, and it was much better than expected. After the museum, the nice people we are, we showed the rest of the group where the 110-flavor gelato place was. Of course, we had to get some more, and the two flavors I got this time were the best in all of Italy. Mango and grapefruit are officially the most amazing flavors I’ve ever had. Ever. The evening was concluded by a spinach calzone and a good night’s sleep. Thanks for a great day, Rome.

Rome: Day Three

Beautiful flowers at the market

I hate my bank. They’ve frozen my account at least 5 times over the semester even though we repeatedly tell them that I’m overseas. It was hard not to have any access to money all day, but thankfully, my friends came through and let me borrow from them again. And I ended up spending said money at the flea market that Janine took us to in the morning. I got lots of gifts for people there, and I like spending my money in locally supported places like that rather than at chain stores. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of the Bernini sculpture, The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, but it’s awesome. I fell in love with it in history class when we studied it, and turns out, it’s in Rome. Nobody else had ever heard about it or wanted to go see it—except for Ron, my professor. He and I agreed to meet at 2:30 in the Piazza Colona, which was a couple miles from where the flea market was. So after the market with my friends, I ventured across Rome all by myself. It was broad daylight, so I wasn’t scared; instead, I felt super independent maneuvering around the Italian streets: just me and my map. Ron and I had some nice professor-student bonding time while we waited for the church to open up. I really love Ron and Janine over here, and maybe because they remind me so much of my own parents. Both couples are movie lovers, professors, have two daughters, etc. There are lots of similarities. Anyways, the statue was absolutely worth the walk over. Bernini deserves a prize for this one; St. Theresa’s clothes look incredibly realistic, and her expression is timeless. I could have stared at it for hours. Next, Ron and I met the rest of the group at the Coliseum. We had a short devo inside before we explored and took pictures. A blessing in disguise happened next; it started pouring rain and soaking us. Sounds crumby, right? Well, it was for about 10 minutes, but we stuck it out, and when it stopped raining a few minutes later ALL the tourists were gone! Everyone fled in the rain, so we had the Coliseum and the Roman Forum almost completely to ourselves. No shuffling past people to get a picture or see something. Great timing. We also went through with Ron, Janine, their daughter, and her boyfriend, and they told us about some of the things we were seeing in the forum like the Temple of the Vestal Virgins. For dinner after, I tried these pasta/potato balls called gnocchi. They were baked in a creamy zucchini and cheese sauce, and they were some of the best things ever. I mean, it’s a combo of three of my favorite foods—pasta, potatoes, and cheese. Doesn’t get much better than that. I also ate an entire pizza with that meal, but I justified it by not getting gelato afterward. Oh man, my body isn’t going to like me after this trip, but I’m still young. I’ll enjoy my high metabolism while I still can!

On the Road to Assisi

View of Assisi from the bottom of the mountain

The courtyard inside San Damiano

View from the top of the mountain

Panna Cotta

First day in Italy! A little background before I tell you about our adventures. In Core, we read The Road To Assisi about Francis of Assisi's conversion and life. Saint Francis lived in and traveled all over Assisi and Italy, and now I am here in Assisi walking the streets he walked on, praying in the churches he prayed in, and seeing the same landscapes he saw. Random fun fact: there are apparently a huge number of Franciscans who settled California, and they named their cities after cities in Assisi (for instance, here we waked on Los Angeles and Sacramento street, and San Francisco is Italian for Saint Francis)! Our first stop here was to the basilica Santa Maria di Algeli constructed in honor of Francis. Beautiful frescos covered the walls and ceilings, and statues of St. Francis' life were scattered around both inside and in the gardens. He's known for his preaching to the birds and flowers, and there was actually a live dove on the statue of Francis today. Maybe there's something to that. After the basilica, we went to San Damiano church. This is the church where Francis saw Jesus speak to him from the cross, and it's also the convent where the female Franciscans lived. We walked around the cloisters for about half an hour, and then at 5, we participated in the evening vespers. Monks and priests led the service with prayers, songs, and scriptures--all in Italian, of course. I didn't understand a word of it, but it was still beautiful. And speaking of beautiful, the town of Assisi is located on the side of a mountain, so by the time we hiked up to San Damiano, we were on top of the world as far as I’m concerned. Our view was incredible from there; the countryside is so green, and the land is scattered with olive trees and vineyards in between the few houses. The clay roofs on all the houses are a great burnt umber color (turns out that the color umber is the color of the dirt in the Umbria region, which is where we are)! The next beautiful thing we did was stop at a gelateria. A hallelujah chorus sang when I bit into that caffe gelato. Why is gelato so much better than ice cream? I don't know, but study abroad gave us 80 euros for food this week, and I have a feeling that it may all go to gelato (possibly some pizza and pasta as well). They're paying for some of our meals this week too. For lunch, we went to a restaurant and had a 4 course meal of lasagna, grilled chicken breasts, salad, and raspberry panna cotta. The panna cotta was our dessert, and it's sort of like a crème brûlée but without the brûlée part. Delicious. Dinner at our hotel tonight was possibly even better, however. We are staying in a convent with nuns, and they're the ones who prepared and served us dinner tonight. Another multiple course meal presented itself, but this time we had shell pasta, a pork roast, salad, roasted potatoes, and fruit. My goodness, it was delicious. Now, I'm very full, very happy, and very sleepy, so it's time for bed. Another fun filled day to prepare for in the morning!

Assisi: Day 2
This morning we went on a three hour tour, not to Gilligan's Island, but around Assisi. Our tour guide Daniella was awesome because she had the best combination of valuable information mixed in with a great sense of humor. First, she took us to Santa Chiara, which is named after the first woman follower of St. Francis. The crucifix that spoke to St. Francis when he was in San Damiano now hangs in this church, but we got kicked out because we didn’t know to cross ourselves before we passes by the communtion table. Apparently, in the Catholic church, that’s a big thing, so the nun ushered us out. Opps, bad tourist move. The tour was not to be stopped however; we still had more places to go to. We left and went to San Francesco church after. It’s a totally cool building that has been decorated by painters like Giotto and Chimabue. These two talented artists painted or oversaw hundreds of frescos all over the church, and some of the pieces we studied in Art History were actually here. This basilica is dedicated to Francis because his tomb is downstairs along with the tombs of his closest followers. I actually got to stand next to the body of Saint Francis! I thought it was really cool. After Daniella took us a few places more, the tour was over. Goodbyes were said, and then it was lunchtime. Cheap pizza greeted us right around the corner, and we were eager to say hello. My pizza had roasted peppers and olives on it and cost as much as a gelato. Winning! However, I still broke even because I got gelato after lunch anyways. Oops. Hey, when in Assisi, right? The coolest thing we got to do today was probably climb a mountain. Yes, that’s right. We heard about some caves up in the mountains, and we decided that we should go check them out. The view was absolutely spectacular from where we were—I could probably see Abilene from up there. I hiked even further up the mountain with a friend, but it was all off trail. On hands and knees, we climbed up that mountain, and it actually took a decent amount of both strategy and strength to get up there. Very worthwhile. After coming down the mountain, we felt like we deserved another helping of gelato. I really do think we burned over a thousand calories on that hike. Back in town, we did a little shopping for gifts for people while we waited for dinnertime. Yet again, the nuns wowed us with another wonderful meal. This time we had rice, meat and veggie kebabs, potatoes, salad, and cake. Those nuns really know how work it. Post dinner was our weekly 9@9 service, and this week was my week to lead. Our focus was on peace—both within us and in the world. I thought it went really well with the teachings of St. Francis whose hometown we were in. After the devo, we all went out to get gelato (Okay, I get that makes three times in one day. Don’t judge me.) with Janine and Ron. First part of the great night was my great gelato--the flavor: fiorre di latte. This translates roughly to "the best of the cream," and it's basically lots of creamy milk and sugar. And what could be wrong with that, right? The next best part of the night was sharing all our hilarious travel stories with Janine and Ron. I laughed harder than I had in weeks that night! I really love our professors, and it's great to get to know them better in Assisi over a cone of gelato and stories of far away places. This is only the first of 5 Italian cities I'll be visiting over the next two weeks, but it may already be my favorite. Then again, it's probable that I say every city is my favorite at the end of each post, but I'll take that as a good sign.

St. Patrick's Day in London

Kilts and Bagpipes

Me with a very expensive purse in Soho

The music festival

Well it's the day after St. Patrick's Day, and I spent today in London. We left this morning from Oxford, and got to Trafalgar Square by noon. A huge stage was set up where a band was playing, and we made our way out to the street right as the parade was about to begin. Various Irish clubs, centers, and groups marched in the parade with other cultural groups from across the globes. There was much bagpipe playing and river dancing, which was super cool! We found a windowsill to sit on that was above the crowds, so we had an awesome view of the parade. Unfortunately, I guess it's only an American thing to throw candy and stuff off of floats because they didn't do any of that there. The festival, however, was as rowdy as ACL back home complete with loud music, scattered beer cans, and lots and lots of people!

The next musical act that we wanted to see after the parade wasn't until 4, so for two hours we went to the Soho district in London. The Soho district is the 5th avenue of England, and we went in shops like Armani and Top Shop where we couldn't even afford a keychain. Still, it was totally fun looking at all the high fashion and expensive clothes. We felt very posh! Gemma Hayes played next at the festival, so we made our way back to hear her set. I'd never heard her stuff before, but she was very talented.

The tickets we bought this morning included an all day underground pass, so we were able to pop out to east London for a bit at no charge. Most everything was closed though since it was a Sunday night, so we headed back to Paddington Station where the train to Oxford leaves. It's so cool that for like 30 bucks, we can go have a wonderful day in London. Remind me why I have to leave England again?

Saints, Meadows, and Meats

Meat at the market

Christ Church meadow

My saint icon

Meal of steak, swordfish, and chips

The entrance to one of the St. Patrick's day pubs

Thursday in class we did something exceptionally cool. Francesca Shakespeare, an artist, came to our class to teach us how to paint Byzantine icons. We started out from scratch with wooden boards, and then we covered them with wet plaster. While we waited for them to dry, we made paint out of mineral powders, vinegar, and egg yoke. I painted Frideswide--patron saint of Oxford. Francesca even gave us gold leaf to put on the halos of our saints. Since we do so much work with our brains here, it was totally fun to be able to use my hands and some creativity.

Friday was a day off. To relax, I went out to Christ Church meadow where we had an assigned walk to do for our Walking for Fitness class. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful walk down the Thames next to all the houseboats and ducks. We actually saw a  very strange bird out there that had the body of a pigeon, the legs of a duck, and the walk of a chicken, but it was blue, red, and yellow. I've never seen anything quite like it before. Strange bird. After our walk, we went to the covered market where they were selling octopus legs, lambs liver, duck kidneys, and other seemingly inedible foods. It was kind of creepy to be honest. Thankfully, we went to the grocery store afterwards to get some Katie foods, and for dinner we made swordfish steak, beef steaks, and chips. It was yummy! Our after dinner entertainment consisted of a game of Oxford Edition Monopoly, and then we watched the movie, The Oxford Murders. I fell asleep in the movie, so I'll have to finish it later, but it was cool to see places around town where the movie was filmed.

Saturday was St. Patrick's day! Even though we are in England, this holiday is still celebrated to its full potential. An Irish pub, O'Neil's, was packed to the brim when we walked by it. People walked around in green costumes with flags on their backs and Guiness hats on their heads. The pubs even advertised various green drink specials, and they played Irish music some places. Randomly, the huge St. Patrick's day parade in London is celebrated the day after, so we are headed to London for parades and festivals in the morning. I'll let you know how it goes!

Turtle Soup

My new tortoise friend

I have a new plan for life in case grad school doesn't work out--culinary school. I've been a top chef all day, and it's been so fun! This morning I baked mushroom marinara, and it was supreme. I baked a giant batch of cinnamon cookies this afternoon that I shared with everyone, and then tonight for dinner I sautéed spices, onions, and mushrooms and poured them over homemade fries. I topped the whole thing off with freshly grated cheese. I realize that these aren't particularly high-class dishes, but they are delicious. Basically, I just want to cook and eat in Europe for the rest of my life. Tonight we went to the evening service at Christ Church where another boys' choir sang. I'm kind of obsessed with boys' choirs now by the way. Right now we are waiting to go camping, and by camping I mean walking around until we find a forest to sleep in. We'll see how this goes, eh?

Now we are back from the “camping trip.” Yeah, that didn’t quite go as planned. We walked out to Port Meadow, but when we got there the fog was so thick that we couldn’t even see 10 feet in front of us. The boys kept talking about serial killers, and it totally freaked me out, so in the end we all went back home and attempted to sleep in the back yard. Significantly less triumphant and cool that we wanted it to be. I guess we will try again later in the semester—I brought my hammock!

School is really stressful right now because we are trying to get a bunch of assignments turned in before our trip to Italy, so that’s why the blog posting has become less frequent. I did have a completely awesome day today, however. I volunteered at Christ Church again, and after our shift was over, the ladies invited me down to the Priory Room where they snack, drink tea, and talk. We had just finished making tea and were sitting down when Sally walked into the church room with her little wiener dog and tortoise. I drank tea and ate biscuits for an hour while a large 60-year-old tortoise sat on my lap. I can’t say that I woke up thinking I’d hold and pet a tortoise today, but it was so nice. We don’t get much animal interaction here, and I miss my pets back home, so it was great to be able to get some animal lovin’. Yet another wonderful day in Oxford!

Thank you, Honors College

da Vinci drawing

Studio set for The Archers

Katie at the BBC

Teleprompter on the news set

Today honors paid for me, 8 of my friends, and Tracy to go to Birmingham. As a part of our honors colloquia about pirate radio stations, we went out to research how radio stations work and are run. And where better to learn about radio and media 

production than in at the BBC studio in England. We had a personal tour of the station set up for noon, but by the time we got to Birmingham, we had an hour or so to kill first. We killed that hour at a free art museum where we saw art by Sir. Francis Bacon and Leonardo da Vinci. The special exhibit was filled with sketches by da Vinci, and they were epic. He's such a renaissance man because he really could master anything from drawing to science to painting, and that's so impressive to me. After the museum, we headed to the BBC and began the tour. Our two tour guides took us onto the real sets and studios that are used every day. We got to sit in the chair where radio announcers sit, and they told us how all the equipment and systems work. My favorite thing was when they took us in the studio where a radio show called The Archers is recorded. Our tour guides described to us how all of the sound effects are recorded, and the funny thing was that so many of the sounds came from random things. For example, they recorded the sound of a sheep being born in the studio with a cup of yogurt and a bag of flour, and it sounded so realistic. What they use for the sound of ice in a glass are Lego blocks, the gate sound is an ironing board opening and closing, etc.--everything was so innovative. The technology they have there is just incredible, and their creative ideas make for some great shows to be produced. They even let us in the control room where all the cameras, lights, and sounds are tweaked before the news is broadcasted live. I really loved seeing what all happens behind the scenes because it's so much more complicated than first meets the eye. At the end of the tour, they gave us scripts to read from and stuff for sound effects, and we recorded our own little radio show. They're going to send the recording to us, and you'll get to hear it when we get it. This was easily one of the best tours I've ever gotten ever because the BBC is just so cool. They told us that BBC World reaches 300 million people and is the biggest news network over CNN or anything. Basically, I'm a big fan now. After the tour, honors decided to be lovely and pay for our lunches too. We went to the cheapest place ever though; I got a huge spicy chicken banquette sandwich, a baked potato with chili and cheese on it, and a tropical fruity drink for just over 3 pounds. That's unreal! But what Birmingham is really famous for is it's shopping. It has this thing called the Bullring, and it's a GIANT shopping center with lots of covered markets and shopping stalls. The best thing I got was a hippo sweater that I bought at a second hand store for a pound. It's funny. Birmingham was an awesome day trip, and it's even cooler that I was actually required to go have a fun day and spend no money on it. Yes, I think that's a good deal.