quick little update to the sound of church bells so late at night...

hello everyone =]

just a quick little blurb about my day before i head to sleep:

i woke up this morning after little, if no, sleep. i walked down to the market, got some breakfast and then walked a few blocks to set up my phone account. if you want the number, just email me and i will gladly give it to you =]

after my adventures with the phone company, which was QUITE the ordeal at vodafone, i had some lunch here at the house and took a little nap. then at around 4 i walked next door to the school office for my class schedule and health insureance cards and things of that sort. i ended up staying there for an hour talking to kate (our resident director who is super sweet) which was nice. i then went grocery shopping at the store across the street and you know what i found there?...

...PEANUTBUTTER AND PANCAKE MIX! thats right! i think its the only place in florence that even knows what they are! i was so excited that i got a box and a jar (skippy crunchy!) and im making myself some for breakfast tomorrow!!


when i got home, i made myself dinner and then got washed up and crawled into bed. my phone then rang and i was awoken by the maintenance man Vincent, who i had called earlier regarding my busted dishwasher. he told me that my landlord, Alessandro, was going to stop by at 9 or 915 tonight to post some phone numbers and contact info in the house and set up a few things for me since i arrived a few days earlier than planned. so, naturally, i was not going to stay in my pjs and in bed. so, i had to set an alarm and wake up 2 hours later for the landlord. i got up at 9 promptly, brushed my teeth again, put my har into a pony tail to somewhat look presentable and changed into jeans. i even put shoes on so i wasnt in my bare feet.

well....9 rolls by....915....930...call from Vincent.

'Alessandra?'

'si..'

'Alessandro is a bit late, so he will be there soon, ok?'

'ok grazie, a presto, ciao'

...10:00...by this point im about to fall back into bed...10:30...as im answering emails, the downstairs bell rings. so i get up and buzz the person in...about 5 whole min later, my doorbell rings. i open the door and in steps a man of about 40, tall for an italian. he is wearing painters pants of a deep green color and a shirt that has been worn out long ago. his hair is fire red and about 6 to 8 inches long and curly. it has also not been brushed for a long while...

he says his name is Alessandra, my landlord; after intensive hard breathing and telling me over and over again how he hates those stairs and how everytime he comes here he forgets how horrible they are. i told him that i walk them everyday, and he patted me on the back with a nod of sympathy.

he then took a little walk about the apt and posted some contact numbers and a warning next to all the beds saying that nobody better put their suitcase on the beds because of bedbugs traveling with you...he said i was ok since i have stone floors in my room and my cases are neatly in my closet. (didnt understand the stone floor part though...)

anywho, he then asked me where i am from, and so forth and then looked into my bedroom from the hall and noticed that i didnt have a comforter. (or as he called it 'a great blanket') i said no, but that i had found the blankets and just layered them on top. he said that this was not excusable and that i should have comforters and that he will bring a few by this week for the other girls as well. which was nice. i have 3 pillows on my bed, which is wonderful for my back!

he then left and i returned to bed, where i am now.

its been a long long day and tomorrow will be too.

i am catching the free shuttle to IKEA! its about 20 min away by bus, and im going to get some things. ie: adapters, surge protectors and possibly a lamp. (since my room is very dark at night) the landlord said he will pay me for the lamp if i keep my receipt since he knows that it is dark and hasnt had time to get one himself.

then, i am going to a welcome dinner at 6om right across the street from me, for the new students. there are 5 new students, myself included, for the bachelors program. there is about 20 if that, in the art conservation major. kate says that its a tight knit group and that its amazing fun though. she said that our professor, Lorenzo, is one of italy's most known art restorers. he has worked on mainly everything in florence and rome, therefore we have many trips to and classes in places that he has worked. we have 'back stage passes' so to speak. i am going to take photos if i am allowed, so you all get to see things that nobody else will unless youre with this guy! pretty amazing!

well, i love you all but its time for my bedtime. i need to be on the IKEA shuttle by 11 tomorrow morning. it picks up a few blocks from here, but i need a shower and breakfast =]

ill talk to you all soon, please dont hesitate to call if you can. id LOVE to talk whenever =]

xoxox good night everyone!

important reminder:

the photos below are just a portion of the whole thing. to see the whole photo, click on it and it will bring up a new window for you.

next time i will make it so they are already the whole photo.

sorry about that!

xoxox hakunamatata

buon giorno!

Well hello everyone!! I am posting this when I get into my apt, but I am writing this while I am in the new york airport waiting for my flight to rome. I left my mom, dad and Patrick at the SFO airport this morning, which was very hard. Everyone was smiling though, which made me feel better. I cried it all out and then slept pretty good on the plane to new york. The flight went well. I watched Wall-E and arrested development most of the way, but slept the rest. Now, after waiting for so long to be allowed to check in at the Alitalia counter, I am patiently sitting at Gate number 6 waiting to board my fight. A million things are going through my head right now about missing everyone back home, having nerves about flying, thinking about all the things that I need to get when I land; like toothpaste, a towel, groceries and plenty more. The director of my program is meeting me at the main office for the school with my apt key, which is perfect because my apt happens to be 2 doors down from the school’s office. I cant wait to see it in person and decorate it to be my own. When I get there I will take photos and upload them onto here so that you can all see my little nests. =]

There are so many people in airports that are interesting to watch. I am sitting next to a large Italian family who are all yelling about something or other and eating more food than I think is allowed on the plane. To my left is a couple from japan that offered me some seaweed (which I love) but I kindly said no, that I was not hungry. (if I didn’t like it they would be insulted) there are a bunch of American college freshman here too that are going to study abroad in Florence and they are taking my flight to rome. Then they have a flight to Florence, but I have to say that I really love the train. There is something so romantic about it I think. Taking the train to a place lets you look out all along the way and see what that countryside looks like. You can see all the little villages that you pass through and all of the farms along the way. On the way from rome to Florence, at a certain time of year, there are fields and fields of sunflowers growing. They are all that you can see for miles and miles. They make me so happy, and they sort of welcome me back =] smiling at me.

Hearing all of this Italian around me already (from the Italian family, who is still yelling at everyone haha) really makes me excited! I cant wait to see if mine still actually works! Ive lost a lot, but I know that when I get back into the country, it all some how miraculously comes back to me. Kinda funny. I am missing everyone so much already though. Its tough. Im glad that I have such wonderful friends and family around me and I know I will not be alone while I am away because everyone has promised to keep in tough. (which I hope you all do!!!)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
later the same day
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well, I am in my apartment. Its beautiful!!! I am on the 7th floor though. Truth be told, I really don’t know what exactly the floor number is because there are so many landings in the stairway. I got on the train ok, and met a police officer who helped me get my bags on and off, which was very kind. He gave me a lot of tips for things around Florence and safety as a foreigner, which was great!

My apartment is 3 bedrooms (one is in a tower kind of with a balcony) a beautiful kitchen that looks over the dome and the rooftop gardens in Florence, a bathroom, a huge entry hall, living room and laundry room =]

I don’t have any photos of the tower room or the laundry room yet, but ill get everyone started with this:



view from the kitchen









view from kitchen again



front door




my room:












my bedroom doors =]

the entrance hall where you walk straight to my room:






well, that is all for now, but there will be many many more on their way. tomorrow i will take photos around town and outside the building too =]

shirene is coming on thursday which i can NOT wait for! and we are going to see michele and mattia and ast (my friends from up north that i met while in the youth exchange program in high school) for a weekend out. =]

love you all so much


xoxo

buona notte!

update at this odd, late hour...

i have been sitting here in my room searching the walls, table tops and closet contents carefully to see what i should pack tightly into the two black suitcases that lay sprawled open on the floor at the foot of my bed. they seem so full to me, but i know that not everything is inside them. i have all the clothes i could possibly need, and some that i can not part with for so long that need to make the journey; just in case i find myself in a situation where i prefer to wear a pretty vintage tea dress for instance. =] i have also packed my beloved picture frames of my loved ones, (of course) my jewelery, unpractical yet simply beautiful shoes, quite a lot of books on art (and catcher in the rye and alice's adventures in wonderland MUST make the trip). i have chosen a select few handbags , which is amazing for me since anyone who knows me can say this is impossible to do, but ive done it! i have weeded out the ones that ill use all the time, the ones that ill use to go out with, and the ones that i cant possibly leave behind. im rather proud of myself, really.
i have candles and pictures and favorite letters from loved ones to keep close to me, too. i have everything i need. but i feel like im missing something still. i cant put my finger on it...i think its people. im actually pretty sure of that...i have gotten all my documents in order. plane ticket, visa and all. =] i leave on the 25th of this month at 9am. its bittersweet. i dont think i can even think about it tonight. leaving my family and patrick at the security check and walking ahead into the gate to start my adventure once again. its going to be tough. but i know that i will be back soon, and have visitors come my way over the summer months. i really cant wait to get off the plane in rome and jump on a train to florence and see what i have longed to see again for so long. i just wish that everyone was with me. seeing it all the way i do.

school will be wonderful! i am going to be taking a College Writing III, Drawing for Conservators,Italian Language, Principles of Drawing, and Intro to Philosophy and Theory of Conservation. 16 units will be a lot to carry, but im going to do it =] i really do love school, and im excited about learning something that i am so passionate about.

today my parents, sister, patrick and i went to north beach to see the replica chapel of St. Francis' chapel in Assisi, Nuova Porzuincola. it was truly amazing. i prayed there for a bit and lit a candle.




this is what i want to be part of: preserving the past for the future. making sure that art and history is not lost and restoring the masters work for everyones eyes, to see it as they intended. i know it sounds odd to have that as a passion at 20 years old ; researching why different strengths of acetone react differently to what surfaces for example. i never really envisioned myself thinking this way. but i wouldnt change it at all. =] im excited.

well, it is getting late and i need to get to sleep. so much is on my mind and i need a good nights rest. i hope that all of you keep in touch with me. =] you can always leave comments directly on this page, by clicking 'add comment' under the posts, and you can contact me through Skype. my name for the search is alexandraclare

love you all, have a wonderful night

xo a.


music : The Shins