Day #106 in Orvieto

June 9, 2013 - Saturday

On Saturday morning, I went to the market with Becky and Tyler. We bought some honey to bring home and then walked around Orvieto for a while. The streets are always packed on Saturdays so we eventually just sat on the steps in Piazza della Repubblica and waited until lunchtime at 1pm. We walked to the palazzo where the professors lived and Prof Stevick asked if I wanted to babysit that afternoon. So after lunch at Locanda, I babysat his kids for three hours in the afternoon. We played in the monastery, in the bamboo forest, and the courtyard. We went to the parade for a while but mostly played Star Wars for the majority of the afternoon. They always wanted to put on a play but I was a bad actress so they soon changed their minds about that game. After babysitting, I worked in the studio for a while and then everyone returned to the monastery to have dinner. After dinner, I went out with Sara, Laura, Jenna, Rebekah, and Becky on a "triple roommate date" and we walked around Orvieto for a while. We heard singing to we followed the street where it was coming from, only to find an acapella group singing Lion King songs. I almost fell down of excitement and I took a few videos on my iPhone. So that was the highlight of the night and I was signing Lion King songs for the next 24 hours after that. So strange... but it was great. 

These parade pictures are from a few days ago but this is exactly what the parade today looked like:

Marching by the duomo

Day #105 in Orvieto

June 7, 2013 - Friday

Today was probably the best day in Orvieto (even though we weren't really in Orvieto for most of the day). Earlier this week, Prof Doll surprised us with a trip to Lake Bolsena and Bagnoregio in addition to our vineyard tour Friday night. So on Friday morning, we all met by the funicular and got on the big bus that they rented for us. We drove to Lake Bolsena and spent the entire morning on the beach. It was so relaxing and the weather was perfect (although possibly a little too hot - I can't believe I'm saying that though). Anyways, it was a great morning to just sit on the beach and swim for a few hours. Then at 1:30, we met back at the bus and drove to Bagnoregio. Here, Prof Doll gave us a mini lesson on the town and I remembered all the facts for a few minutes but thankfully Wikipedia just refreshed my memory: It was founded by Etruscans over twenty-five hundred years ago but has seen its population dwindle to just fifteen residents over the course of the 20th century. Cività was the birthplace of Saint Bonaventure. In the 19th century, Civita's location was turning into an island and the pace of the erosion quickened as the layer of clay below the stone was reached in the area where today's bridge is located. Bagnoregio continues as a small but prosperous town, while Civita became known as il paese che muore (in Italian: "the dying town"). Civita has only recently been experiencing a tourist revival.

So that's Bagnoregio according to Wikipedia and Prof Doll. It was so cool and you had to walk up this long skinny road to get to the little town. We spent about two hours exploring and sitting in the shade (because by this point it was overwhelmingly hot). We got some gelato and then took a shuttle back to our big bus. Prof Doll bought us all pizza and then we drove to a vineyard in Orvieto! The vineyard wasn't on the top of Orvieto (where we live) because there isn't room for anything on this hilltop of Orvieto - especially not a vineyard. So we went to this vineyard in lower Orvieto, owned by friends of the Gordon-IN-Orvieto program. They were really generous and gave us a long tour of the vineyard, taking us into the caves. Some of the caves were from 600 BC (WHAT?!). It was awesome. So we spent another few hours at the vineyard before returning up to Orvieto during the sunset, which of course looked beautiful. We had pasta for dinner at Locanda which was unexpected because we only have pasta at lunch. Then we went back to the monastery to watch a movie that Prof Doll has wanted us to see for a while - Tree of Life. It was intense and crazy and confusing but a good movie. Although I did fall asleep during a few parts because I was exhausted from the day! Anyways... best day in Orvieto. 

With Laura, Sara, and Jenna

The whole group at the beach!

Me... obviously

Bagnoregio!

Walking up the road 

It felt like a long walk...

The vineyard!

Wicked old wine

In the caves!

The whole group at the vineyard - we took so many pictures but something went wrong in each one

Day #104 in Orvieto

June 6, 2013 - Thursday

Today was our last day of class for the week! We still have one more week of class though. For the weekend assignment we got into groups of 2-4 people and then we paired up with 2-3 people from the art class. Together we chose a spot in Orvieto and we all have to either write/draw about it without talking to each other. So we aren't really sure where that assignment is going to go but we chose a spot and we'll be working on that project this weekend and into next week. So that's what happened in class. At chapter meeting, Kristine did her introduction and then Prof Doll told us a rough schedule of the next week. There is seriously so much to do. We are going to his house on Sunday for dinner, Italian exam on Monday, then learning how to make cake (the cake that his wife makes us whenever there's a birthday) on Wednesday, final Locanda meal on Thursday, final exhibition on Friday, cleaning the entire monastery on Friday also. Then our bags have to be packed and down in the lobby by midnight on Friday! It was a stressful chapter meeting and then final week schedule isn't completely set yet because there are a few other things to do in terms of classes

The rest of the day was spent preparing for Hannah's surprise bridal shower that night. We ran around buying cake and presents during the afternoon. Prof Doll told everyone at chapter meeting that we were having a movie in the sala at 9:30 (so Hannah would know to be there) and then we successfully surprised her when she walked in and there wasn't a movie... Anyways, we ate cake and heard the story of how she met Federico again, played some games, ate some more cake, danced a lot, and then soon it was 2am and we had to get up early on Friday morning for a day trip!

Okay, I know this is a super random picture but Becky just gave it to me - it's from our first trip to Rome! Throwing a coin in the Trevi Fountain:

Pretending to be Lizzie McGuire

Day #103 in Orvieto

June 5, 2013 - Wednesday

Wednesday was a pretty normal day here - we had class, chapter meeting, lunch, then a sunny afternoon to just hang out in the courtyard and do some homework. I finished making a few books today which was exciting because I started them like... a few months ago. Today we had another Italian class because we have our final exam on Monday which should be a little bit challenging... but we'll see how it goes. Anyways, Italian class went as well as it could have gone and then soon it was 5:30 and we (me, Genevieve, Ariel, Sara, and Laura) were off to the paper store, Il Papiro, because the owner of the store met us the other day and since we are art students, he said he was going to give us a free marble paper demonstration! So we were in his studio for about and hour and we learned how to make marble paper. He pretty much gave us a history lesson on paper and showed us some parchment that was a few hundred years old, a book from the 1400s, and something else really old but it was so old I don't even remember the date. Anyways, that was really fun and we went back monastery and I worked in the studio for the rest of the night (although I took a break for dinner of course). Here's a picture from our Italian class on Monday when we went to get gelato and sit at the duomo. :)

Day #102 in Orvieto

June 4, 2013 - Tuesday

Today was one of the best days in Orvieto because Sara and I went to the clock tower and it was SO COOL! When we first got here in Orvieto, we each bought a "Key to the City" and it has a bunch of stuff that you can do for "free." But not really free because you had to buy the key. Anyways, it's a good deal and I've done a few things on the key (St. Patrick's well, the necropolis, etc) but it was a beautiful day today so we decided to do the Torre del Moro, the clock tower, today! It was so hot during the day but we decided to go around 6:30pm so we would have some time up there before dinner. We climbed the stairs to the top of the tower (barely - it was a struggle) and it was seriously breathtaking. It was so interesting to see the ENTIRE town that we've been living in - that's how small Orvieto is - you can see the whole thing from the clock tower! We could see the monastery where we live, the little side streets that we use as shortcuts. The most interesting thing for me was seeing all of the rooftop patios that people have on their houses (I'm creepy, I know). It started to rain by our monastery and it was cool because we watched the rain come in and get closer to us! The coulds were pretty dark so I have some good pictures of the duomo and the clouds. It costs about $2 to go again without the key and I think I'm definitely going to go once or twice more before I leave next week! Also we totally forgot that the clock tower bell rings every fifteen minutes and we were standing right next to it when it started ringing. It was shocking, to say the least. Here are a few pictures from the top of the tower:

Inside the clock tower!

The main corso - our monastery is the little tower sticking up 

duomo! 

Sara sitting under the bell

We took way too many pictures...

Day #101 in Orvieto

June 3, 2013 – Monday

I arrived back at the monastery just before midnight last night, then I had a little bit of homework to do before I finally went to bed! Today in class we talked about our “duomo door” poems. We talked about my poem for a while today which was good but I have a lot of things to work on… anyways, class went by quickly and we heard Jenna’s life story today in chapter meeting. I’m sharing my life story/introduction tomorrow so I’m trying to find some pictures and figure out what I want to say during my turn.

We had pastas for lunch again, then we went to get gelato for Italian class. So we walked all the way to the duomo, took turns ordering gelato, then sat on the duomo steps while Alessandro gave us a quick Italian lesson. After gelato/Italian class, we went back to the monastery and I worked on my new poem for a while. For this poem, we had a write a rhyming poem about any sculpture or artwork that we’ve seen over the past three months here in Italy. I chose a painting that I saw in the Scottish National Gallery (which is weird because I didn’t choose one from Italy) but it’s by Rafael and I think it’s called “Madonna del Passeggio.” I think the painting is a little bit creepy but it’s interesting and I took a few pictures of it in the gallery even though the guard was not happy with me. I thought it was a cool painting!

Here are two pictures from one of the Corpus Christi events this weekend. On Saturday night, Tyler and I went to see what events were going on when we stumbled across this relay race. Pretty much you would be walking down the street, two police morocycles would come speeding up in the middle of the street and honk their horns, then everyone would make way for the four relay runners (carrying battons). So apparently the four quarters of Orvieto have a relay race through town at 10:30pm on the Saturday of Corpus Christi. The race ended in the duomo piazza where there was a makeshift stadium and everyone would cheer and yell for their quarter.

Day #100 in Orvieto (Rome day trip)

June 2, 2013 - Sunday 

This morning I woke up around eight, called Heather to see if it was still good weather to come to Rome, and then got ready for the day. It was so hot out! I was going to save money and walk down to the train station this morning instead of taking the funicular, but it raining last night so I thought I might slip and break an ankle by walking down the path through the woods that can take you to the train station. And also I didn't know if I would have enough time. And I'm lazy. Anyways, paid that extra Euro and took the funicular and then a train to Rome at 9am. I arrived in Roma Tiburtina at 10:20, then took the train to Trastevere from 10:30 to 10:50! I walked to Heather's from the train station, then we made our way to Nemi by car for the strawberry festival (me, Heather, Jon, Bri, and Kilo). I'd never been to a strawberry festival before but it met my expectations because there were a million strawberries and a million people! They had strawberry tarts, strawberry pizza, strawberry rice, and strawberries and cream cups (had two of these). After lunch, we got back in the car and went to find Castel Gandolfo, the place where the pope has a summer home. That town was really cute too so we walked around for a while there, saw the lake, and then made our way back to Rome! I liked being in the car even though cars always put me to sleep. 

We got back to Heather's, ate some strawberry cake and strawberry tart, then we eventually made our way to dinner but there weren't a lot of places open because it was too early at 7pm! At 7:30 we went to a place for dinner that had pizza/steaks/etc and it was so good! It wasn't as big as the steak I got last time with heather but it was pretty close - and it came with French fries and veggies. It was really great and I think they might try to visit me next Sunday (MY LAST SUNDAY) in Orvieto. 

Heather dropped me off at the metro and I bought my ticket and figured our where to go (even though there were only two options). So simple... But I realized that I've never taken the metro by myself before! Anyways, made it to the train station successfully so of course I felt like the world's best traveller or something, even though all I did was sit on the metro for like four stops. Whatever. 

I had a little extra time in the station so I bought a Roma t-shirt for either Michael or myself - haven't decided yet. It was a good deal so not only was I being an awesome traveller, but I was also I bargain hunter. Seriously, things were going well for me. On the train, I asked the American couple next to me if this was the train to Chiusi and they were like "Yes! Wow you have great English!" Apparently this was my night because not only could I ride the metro for four stops and buy a four Euro t-shirt, but I can also speak my own language! By this time it was 10pm and I'd say things were going well for me.

Strawberry festival in Nemi!

Strawberry decoration

Seven cats on a wall!

View from the back of the funicular (the beginning of my day)

Day #99 in Orvieto

June 1, 2013 – Saturday

This morning after waking up late, I grabbed an apple for breakfast and then went to the market! I was worried that this might be my last Saturday market trip because we might not be around next Saturday morning (might go on a hike) and the Saturday after that, I’ll be on the plane! So this morning I bought some dried strawberries and a little milk frother thing to go with my espresso maker. It was raining off and on all morning but Laura and I slowly made our way through the market twice, went into a few other stores, and then made our way back to the monastery. There weren’t very many people at lunch today because everyone went farming for the day – it’s always nice to have less people at lunch because it’s hard to talk to everyone when there’s twenty of us at a long table.

After lunch, it was kind of cold and rainy so we went back to the monastery to hang out, do some work, etc. It was a quiet afternoon in the monastery. Everyone got back from farming and then almost everyone (except for me and three other people) went to Bolsena to hike from Bolsena to Orvieto from midnight to the wee hours of the morning. I thought about going but I think I’m getting up early to go to Rome tomorrow morning.

There were a few events going on today in town for Corpus Christi, the huge event that seems to last for a while month here. So Orvieto is all decorated and each “quarter” of Orvieto has their special quarter flag colors and decorations and flowers up. Tomorrow is day #100 in Orvieto and the kick-off of Corpus Christi with the big parade! I’ll be in Rome though with Heather (depending on the weather), but still – day #100! When did that happen??? I feel like a just typed “Day #50 in Orvieto” and it felt like a big deal, but that was… 50 days ago now. 

View from my run today

Corpus Christi parade!

Right by our monastery

Also found a cat during my run

Day #98 in Orvieto

May 31, 2013 - Friday

On Friday morning I woke up to the sound of doors slamming in the hallway. Our hallway is super echo-y and even if someone is trying to whisper in the hallway, you can usually hear what they’re saying if you’re in the room with your door shut. So I woke up to the doors slamming and I was pretty grumpy about it – it reminded me of when Michael likes to practice the piano at home and the piano is pretty much right over my head because my bedroom is in the basement. So I was angry that loud noises were waking me up so early… but then I looked at my clock and it was 11:30am. Probably time to get up.

I went to lunch, had some pasta, and then came back to babysit Prof Stevick’s kids at the monastery for a few hours. Once again, it was kind of strange (but good) to babysit and play with the kids without any toys. They kept asking me to “read” them a story so I had to make up Piglet stories on the spot for most of the afternoon. We spent a lot of time in the bamboo forest in the backyard of the monastery which was pretty fun until Prof Stevick’s son wanted to use bamboo sticks as light sabers and then things were too dangerous. But still, it was really fun and way better than my normal Friday routine (sleep late, go to lunch, nap).

After babysitting, I went to Montanucci’s with a few people and we each order a “shakerato” which is pretty much just frozen coffee with a little bit of chocolate in it. So of course those were delicious! Then we sat on the steps in Piazza della Repubblica for a while in the sun. Soon it was time to go back to the monastery and then dinner. We had pasta again for dinner, which was good but slightly overwhelming because we already had pasta at lunch. I usually enjoy pasta (except for angel hair pasta – ew) but I don’t think I’m going to have it for a very long time once I return home!

Chillin on the steps

Day #97 in Orvieto

May 30, 2013 - Thursday

I can’t believe I’m halfway through my second class! In class we talked about our duomo door poems and then did a scaffolding poem (when you read a poem and then for each line of that poem, you write down the first thing you think of, and then those random thoughts that you wrote down make up your new poem). Once again, it’s pretty random and the poem doesn’t make much sense but it’s fun to do.

Thursday afternoon was pretty relaxing and we wandered around Orvieto for a while, I got gelato with Naomi by the duomo, did some work, went for a run, played with Prof Stevick’s kids in the courtyard for a while. I also worked on the books/journals that I'm making but pretty much I'm just cutting stacks of paper but I haven't actually assembled the journals yet. So I'm sure in the last few days here I'm going to have to quickly put together all my books! Or I could just bring them home and work on them... although I'd rather just do them here before I got home and forget about them. 

Anyways, today was an average day in Orvieto. Mostly because we ate pasta, gelato, and sat outside in the courtyard.