I'll see ya in Venezia

Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone!

As for the students of the American University of Rome, our thansgiving was provided by the school. It was nothing close to home-cooking (specifically my aunt donna's artichoke dip) but it would do. AUR brought in an Italian priest to say grace for us. Which was elegantly stated as:

"God is great,
God is good,
Let us thank him,
for this food."

also hillarious.

 We had our fill of Italiano-American style potatoes, turkey, stuffing, etc. and headed towards the transtation, hopped on the 11:00 night train towards Venice and were on our way. We were afraid that there would'nt be able to get any sleep seeing as how we would be moving. BUT as it turns out you can flatten out your seats and between Joanne, Jen and myself, we all had our own seperate..we'll call them beds for a lack of a better word.

 We got into the city of water at 5:30 in the morning. I want to take this time to say that I LOVED Venice, but I do have one problem with it. No bathrooms. Seriously. The bathroom on the train was really gross and the bathroom in the trainstation did'nt open for another hour. Putting your bladder in check is a serious constraint on a weary traveler. Believing we would have better luck towards the more touristy areas, we made our way through the winding streets.

Venice dosen't really have city planning, I mean it's like the urban planners were talking and said:

"Hey Guisseppe, where should we build this building?"
"umm...where there is'nt water?"

So it took us a long time to find St. Mark's Square. We tried using the map, which eventually became more hindrancce than help and started to follow signs. Some of them looked offical, others did not. After many wrong turns we came across the most beautiful piazza.

http://members.cox.net/mkpl3/italvac/066-venice-st-marks-sq.jpg

I'm really glad I went to Venice when I did, I had been to Venice before, In fact I had my 13th birthday there. But Summer Venice and Winter Venice are very very different. Think of it as the bi-polar city.

Since the Renaissance, Venice had been praised for it's Summer lighting and artists like Da Vinci, Bellini and Titian sought to capture that specific light. It is the light that inspired chiaroscuro shading.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Leonardo_da_Vinci_025.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Bellini_mirror.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Tizian_085.jpg

However inwinter, It's a light that is moody, dark and much like the time between waking and dreaming. Disorienting but also intriguing. However at 5:30 in the morning, tired, needing to pee, it's not as romantic as it sounds. Eventually we found a cafe that had the most delicious croissants. They were like, bread, chocolate and the stuff of my dreams all inside a neat little package. There was also in this cafe, even more importantly a bathroom. It's amazing how much the little things matter when you're traveling. The world can be brand new after a cup of coffee. We then made our way to the Doge's Palace.

The Doges were essentially "Dukes" that ruled for life in Venice. Pretty much kings, they were usually considered to be the shrewdest minds in Venice. The palace was pretty reflective of that. In Rome, to show power you show as much gold , silver and fresco as possible. Because surely, more is more. But at this palace, it's not so much how much you show, it's what you choose to show.

There is a understated quality to the structure. You get the feeling that they have money, but they have so much money they don't need to flash it around. It's in the detail;  spectacular carving, materials, fine brush work. Roman grandure is meant to impress, Venician grandure is meant to intimidate.

We also went to the bell-tower in St. Marks, by the time we got there the entire Piazza was completely flooded. There were people walking around in plastic bags as shoes, also lots and lots of rubber boots. Finally an entire city that understands and appreciates the glory of Wellington Boots.
Back to the bell-tower, we were there while the bells started ringing at noon. At first we thought that maybe the bells were for show, but then we found out otherwise first hand. I should be getting my hearing back any-day now.

After that we went on a walking tour of the city and got to see the Canals, the Piazzas, The Churches and the beautiful glass they have there. Venice is maybe one of my favorite cities because it is so unique. I mean a lot of cities have canals, Amsterdam being the one that comes to mind. But in cities like Amsterdam there is at least an order, a reasoning. Venician canals seem like the kind of place where dark stories are born and bread, here the element of water is king and the city's mood depends on it. It seems like the kind of place you would have in a dream, like, "We were living in this city, but all the streets were water and I could'nt find anything, it was so wierd." There is an eerieness that is unavoidable and very very beautiful.

We took the train back to rome around 5 in the afternoon and got back around 10. Away from the water, towards the hills. All and all It was a wonderful trip.

A Brief History on Vegetables

Dear Carlo Mentha Trattoria,

You have a plate-sized pizza for 2 euros..and it is amazing. By the logic of your menu, my food will cost as much as the drink I get to go along with it. This is an act of genius unparalleled.

Bless you Trattoria, may your Marinara continue to outshine all around it.

Sincerely,

Molly McCormick

P.S. Did you know that the Tomato was only introduced to Italy in the 16th century? It originally comes from the Americas...fancy that.

I want to be beside her, She wants to be admired.

Ok so, there is now officially less than a month left until my return to the states that happen to be united. I'm torn,  I'm in love with Rome, in all her caramel-colored golden glory but I'm also pining for the crisp starchy white of a picket fence and christmas in the Old-Line State. I wish I could have both, but I can't. At least circumstance has made the choice easier since I need to be in Philadelphia mid-way though January. This week Richard came down from England and met up with his Mom here. I showed them around some of the important sites and I know it sounds wierd but showing other people the sites of Rome re-invigorates my passion for them. It's just a nice reminder of how spectacular they are.

Being in Rome is a lot like learning how to drive, the first time you get behind the wheel you're apprehensive and regardless of how prepared you think you are, you're going to mess something up. But eventually you get to know how to move about, things that were so intimidating before are now common place. Before you know it, you're eating while you go around, listening to the radio too loud. You get into the motions of an action and it takes someone sitting in the passanger side saying "Hey, what's that?" to remind you that the Trevi Fountain is intoxicating.


Mrs. Mckey took me out to dinner a few times and it was really generous of her, to pay her back i'm going to cook them Lasagna from scratch ( they showed us how to do that on the Tuscan wine trip I went on last week, though I have yet to fly solo on that one) when we get back.

* I can't remember if I talked about that trip or not, so just to be safe I'm going to talk about it again*

That trip was the BEAST. We drove out into the countryside in the morning and got to the Vineyard around eleven. They showed us the vines, as well as the cellar with the barrels, our tour guide commented that this particular area of Tuscany is where a lot of people come to film movies.

" That hill over there is where they filmed Gladiator, I don't know why they did'nt film it on our hill, our hill is just as nice as their hill."

It was really film-worthy. The day we were there it was on the cold side but the strong winter sunlight just made the whole place look even more enchanting. I was there with Doug, Tabitha, Andy (all of us Architecture majors) and we all ackowledged our dorkdom when we had a long talk about how old the house might be, where and when the additions were added. The strangest element was the doorway located at the end of an arch, which structurally should'nt work, but did. We then got to have a huge meal, when I say huge, I mean five courses. five. five courses of food. and wine, let's not forget the wine. the wine was VERY important...also delicious. At the end of the meal we walked around and found some gardens and silliness ensued.

However, silliness is always tempered with tradgedy. Such was the case here at least. On the trip there were two busses, on one bus there was a kid who had drank and ate too much and had thown-up. I was glad I was on my bus until we pulled over and our battery died.  So here are your options : gross puke bus that goes OR clean freezing non-moving bus. I chose the non-puke bus, which was the best choice because then they bought us food (as if I needed more) while we waited for the next bus to come. I got the kids meal, it came with a really sweet pen.

* Back to Rome*

This weekend I went to the ARA PACIS MUSEUM designed by Richard Meier.

http://www.europaconcorsi.com/db/pub/images/7218/1539424218.jpg

Which stands out from (we'll call it.. ) Cannon Rome, but the scale is referencing the buildings around it, in an attempt to fit in. I liked the stairs on the exterior, I thought they were pretty interesting. Now I had read some reviews of this buildings that were not...kind. Aside from the problems with having too much glass (this is apparently bad for the marble because it has to expand and contract due to moisure) the interior is incredibly distracting from the altar itself.

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/arapacis/0079.jpg

The materiality and geometric use of "coffers?" is challenging the ara pacis for visual suppremecy but at the same time trying to honor the antiquity of the object. Basically, this building is being two-faced. Making the motions as to honor the Ara, but secretly fighting it. However I found the other areas of the museum to be very interesting.

I don't know if it deserves it's terrible reputation, but it certainley dose'nt deserve a good reputation.

The Ara Pacis itself was pretty cool, the reliefs had people who were alive at the time, young and old. It's almost like an Augustan snap-shot of Roman Nobles. The floral motifs were pretty neat as well, they almost seemed to bloom.

Also this morning, I went to the Trastevere market, that place is so cool. I bought a few little things, the best find being a pair of wool gloves for a euro. They're in the washing machine right now, because...well just because. And tonight I'm heading out for chinese food, something that I have been in serious lack of....oh man... I just remembered, Chipotle in a month. snap.

things I like....

  http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/archives/bears.JPG 

I know it's dark, but I was bumbleing around on the computer today and I remembered how much I love Edward Gorey. 

Also I watched some sweet Simon Schama action the otherday online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/powerofart/ if you want to see something really awesome check it out! 

because todays the kind of day where you have to blog twice.

maybe you should just drink a lot less coffee.

Pictures + geek out today


Renzo Piano is amazing. You might now him from his imfamous Centre Georges Pompidou. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou )  Which is what it is, innovative but perhaps a little presumptious. However I went to his concert hall the other day and I was completely blown away. COLOR! He uses Color! No one ever uses color in their buildings! Finally someone who was not afraid to be snubbed by the neo-modernist crap that says "white is the only color you need".  

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-5-69713278
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-13-69714029 
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-10-69713793
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-12-69713982

Materiality here is amazing, he only uses lead, rubber, cherry wood and steel but it's perfect in the enviornment. 

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-11-69713881
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-4-69713210
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-7-69713504

While we were there, a classmate Bryan and I got into a fight about what the roof was made out of. He said metal, I said rubber.

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-3-69713148

we were both right. lead for the structure, rubber for the acoustics. but still, there was more rubber than lead so I was crazy right. This picture dosent really show it but I was soooo crazy right.

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-6-69713454

There's also this sweetness where the three "beatles" rotate around a big courtyard that doubles as a fourth stage...genius.

The cool thing about all this is that it was originally organized differently, however when they discovered the remains of a ancient roman villa Piano built it into the program. Now they have a mini-museum dedicated to the villa INSIDE the concert hall, he never touched the villa and made it really easy for archeologists to excavate.

and then for fun I took pictures of leaves and busses,
 
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-1-69712953
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-2-69713042
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-8-69713603
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-9-69713714

you may notice that they're all the same color scheme...that was not intentional but it was delightful, delicious AND delovely. 

On a sadder note,

The city of Rome is in a bit of an uproar today. It turns out that two days ago there was a fight north of Rome when two rival groups of soccer fans ran into each other at a bar. The cops came in and broke it up, but the respective fans were still fighting until both groups got back into their cars and drove off. Apparently there was an accidental shot fired and one of the fans was killed. The Roma soccer fans were so outraged at the police that they cancelled the soccer game and started vandalizing government buildings, cop cars and the former olympic buildings in the area. I thought about going to the game that night, but when it came down to it, the tickets were sold out. A lucky break I feel. 

However it's a very strange occurance because Rome dosent really ever have violent crime, petty crime all the time, but when it comes to people getting killed, it's not very common. They take killing, even accidental killing very, very seriously. It makes me wonder if there would have been the same reaction back home, or would we have just continued with the game with no more than a "how unfortunate".  We'll never know. 

On a more cheerful note, I need ideas for a drawing series. I think i'm going to do the anagram Roma e Amore and do a series of Venus statues around Rome. The Vatican Museum , Borghese Museum, the like. Because, despite it's problems, I do love Rome. 

i'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says "shenannigans"

"Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like? You know the one with all the goofy crap on the walls?"
"Shenannigans? are you talking about shenannigans?"

Shennanigans indeed. That's what this afternoon was. An explanation you say? So be it.

So for my Mythology class there are three required field trips for the semester, the first one was to a museum near the Pyramid (yeah that's right Rome's got one of those things too). We are on the second one now, at the Roman Forum. Now I knew that the field trip was scheduled to leave from Piazza Venezia at 12 noon so I figured why not take the morning easy. When 11 rolled around I called Brian's apartment (he's in my class, I figured we would go together) only to discover from his roomate, Doug that he had left 30 min prior to my call. Intrigued, I looked down at Joanne's computer clock only to discover that it was already 11:55 am. So...i'm supposed to be 30 min away in 5. The conversation I had with Doug at that point was:

"wait what time is...ugh...I.oh..crap...jesus....noon.. crap.crapp.CRAP..."

*click*

Turns out while the rest of the world's satalite-linked electronic devices re-set their time when the hours changed my cell phone did not. awesome. So then I jumped the hell out of my apartment and started double-timing towards the Forum, with no specific plan on how to find my class but only the vague notion that they would be somewhere in the Forum.

Who should be on stike today? Transportation. All of it. There was only one tram running, going the oppostite direction I needed. So I moved up to triple time. I arrived at Piazza Venezia at 12:35  to be greeted by an entire mob of people marching down Via del Corso. All wearing the exact same burgandy and orange jumpsuits. I think that's where the transporation workers got to.

Eventually I got to the Forum and scouted out from the Tabularium where the class might be. I saw a group of 20 kids wearing backpacks and thought my troubles were over...false. After running down the cobblestones to reach what I thought was them, it turned out to be a pack of japanese teenagers. After this I started huffing all over the Forum for my class. I discovered that my professor looks like maybe...20 different German people. pfft...blondes.

As it turns out one of my classmates Josh was at the Forum that day with his parents. We talked for a few and I told them of my troubles, they told me good luck, and I pressed on. After about 30 min of trying to get up higher to see people and getting nowhere I was beginning to become disheartened. At this point I just sat next to something that looked important (which turned out to be the Temple of Vesta) and waited.

 I learned more about the Temple of Vesta that day then I thought I could ever learn, that can happen when about 5 different tour groups come where you choose to sit.  Most of them not in english.  As a side note, I should probably start working on my conversational Cantonese.

After about 30 min of waiting, I had pretty much given up hope and decided to make my way back to my apartment to call my mom and frump. I was about to leave through the steps when who should walk by but my Professor , engrosed in a map and the rest of the class in his wake. Shocked and seizing an opportunity, I hid behind a collumn and jumped in the back. Andy noticed I had arrived late and I muttered my numerous mistakes. He laughed and shared his hand-out.

The first moral of the story:

It's not very educational to show up and hour and a half late to a 2 hour lecture.
 
The second moral:

 You'd think it was "never give up" but I only found them after I had given up...so maybe...I don't know. Keep fighting? Had I given up earlier I never would have found them. yeah. I think "Keep Fighting" works.

On the side note of "keep fighting" my brother Tim is a bad-ass.

http://philau.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30816008&id=53100493

  Because I like you guys here are all my sketches from over fall break!

 http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies1-69306772

 http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies2-69306943

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies3-69306995

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies4-69307059

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies5-69307161

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies6-69307309

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies7-69307378

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-8-69307615

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-9-69307547

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-10-69307785

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-11-69307878

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-12-69307957

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-13-69308055

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-14-69308193

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-15-69308245

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-16-69308307

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-17-69308399

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-18-69308504

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-19-69308727

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-20-69308796

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-21-69308857

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-22-69309013

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-23-69309118

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies24-69309221

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-25-69309303

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-26-69309441

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-27-69309517

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-28-69309598

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies29-69309724

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-30-69309802

Be aggressive B-E Aggressive; Just one girly at the tourney

ok, so Tabitha warned me that showing the rest of my photography class how to scan slides would just result in a broken scanner and she was right. FORTUNATELY PhilaU has a seperate library with many, many scanners so today I bring you this:

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-1-69242816
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-2-69242901
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-3-69242986
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-4-69243072
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-5-69243136
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-6-69243326
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-7-69243409
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-8-69243495
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-9-69243629
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-10-69243696

fall break photography!

also check facebook for more pictures!

OK so after I left Paris the internet decided to cost a pound for 20 min, and I'm like...no. So this livejounal is going to be especially long.

Versailles:

wow, so I guess one noble said to the other
"Hey you know what baroque needs?"
"I don't know Louis, what?"
"More cherubs, also flowers...you know what, let's just throw money on it and see what sticks."

so to sum up: Oppulence

 it was really extravagant, I can see why peasants revolted. This is not to say it wasnt beautiful, it was very, very beautiful. However unlike the gothic extravaganzas that were in Paris this style is'nt "for the people" this is just royalty being royalty. Also seeing Versailles allows me to understand Adolph Loos, ( a famous french-based german architect from the 1900s) who said that decoration was the tool of oppressors. Not that I agree, but at least now I get it.
The Palace itself had some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. A lot of them were very Italian colors (oranges, yellows, golds) but done in a very french style so it's like seeing the place i left behind through a different lens. But while the Palace had top-billing, the gardens stole the show. The go on for miles and can boast a hedge maze, a farm, an orangery, several canals, a restaurant, three cafes and that's right..sheep.

At the entrance to the Queen's hamlet there was a stand for Orange Juice and I was particularly thirtsy, so I indulged on what was a 3 euro dixie cup of fresh-squeezed oj. Now, I'm not an expert in orange juice, I did'nt go to agricultural school, nor have I kept up to date the fruit-related-current events but I'm going to put a bold statement out there and say that this orange juice was the best orange juice on the planet. It was amazing, I would kill for that juice, that's how good it was.

For those of you who don't know, this was not my first time at Versailles, I had been there only once before. It was many, many years ago when I was a little girl. I'm not going to tell the whole story but let's just say it involved myself, food poisoning, the anti-chamber of the queen and my father's jacket.

*spoilers*
I did'nt puke this time, so that was a huuuuuuuuuuuge plus.

When I got back from Versailles I drank with the people at the hostel, a french-canadian, a parisian (moving into a new apartment), an australian and a guy from northern california. The next morning I got up early, checked out and started the journey towards Glasgow.

Here's what's awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
Taboleh at the Cafe

Here's what's not awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
A snotty girl from Loyola who got all fussy when I asked her what the line she was in was for

pfftt...Loyola girl, you can't ruin my fall break with your crappiness.

Glasgow Prestwick is about an hour outside of the city-center, but it was really easy to take a train there, so once that was achieved, I checked into my hostel and pa-a-a-a-assed out.
The next day I took a day-trip to Edinburgh, which is my dad's favorite city and I can see why. On the trainride there a lovely scottish woman named "Norma" and I got to talking and she drew me a map of where I should go and what I should do as well as pointed me in the right direction after I got off the train. (Scottish people in general are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, plus it was nice to talk to some one who understood english for a change.) I  walked up to the castle first because It was the highest hill, which I didn't want to climb later in the day.

Edinburgh Castle:
* Scottish Crown Jewels
* Beautiful
*Cannons (that they fire at noon)
*Charming Chapel
*Cafe with a delicious hot chocolate
*Awesome exhibit about POW's at the castle during the Revolutionary War. This was complete with Scottish people trying really hard to do American accents. They went from a boston to a new york, oil and water people, oil and water.

Then I went into Thistle Church.
      *Elegantly understated
      *GREAT progression of arches, interesting arranged. They almost make the shadows dance.
      *Really interesting wood-cuts

I spent a couple of hours in the Edinburgh National Galleries and was really impressed with their collection. Edinburgh not being particularly famous for their collection but they had one of my favorite paintings of all time:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/4940?initial=G&artistId=3374&artistName=Paul%20Gauguin&submit=1

they also had some great pieces by scottish painters including:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/5327?initial=R&artistId=4399&artistName=Sir%20Henry%20Raeburn&submit=1

...nice garders.

Of course then I walked down the Royal mile to Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament building. A lot of the scots don't like this building, I like it however I'm not going to say it "fits in" with Edinburgh. The design is based off of Macintosh flowers and of course the Scottish symbol of the thistle. Which I guess gives it's architectural "rough edges", like the leaking roof. I can't believe I just wrote that.

The next day Charles R. Mackintosh and I had a date in Glasgow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh

I know it's touristy but I got on one of those busses with the open top that goes around the city and you get on and off and can take pictures from the bus. I usually think it's a little bit on the wussy side, but after walking everyday in paris and then in Edinburgh, I was ready for a break. On a side note, I'm never knocking on those busses again, they are a great invention they take you everywhere you want to go.
I got to see the Mackintosh House, The Glasgow School of Art , The lighthouse, The willow tea rooms and still a lot more great architecture in Glasgow. I was blown away with the variety, it was strange to see so much *NEW* after Rome, which has a tendency to hate anything after Baroque and Paris which holds the constant pressure of it "being in Paris".

The architecture in Glasgow has something that few European cities have, experimentation. Maybe not everything will work, but it's new and it's unique. It dosent have to be done by someone you've heard of in "Architectural Digest" it can be someone looking to prove themselves and I like it. Glasgow was one of those cities that expanded too fast during the industrial revolution and it left a few strech-marks that leads the city to try and reinvent itself now. The town hall in Glasgow, it should be noted, was too amazing for words on the inside.

My last stop was foggy London Town, which was an fast-paced and interesting way to end the trip. It was gray most of the week and a half I was on break, but finally when I got to London it cleared up into a beautiful day. So I guess, not-so-foggy London Town. I was really late comming into the city. The airport ran a bus into Victoria Station but the driver was Italian and about an hour into the supposedly "45 min" trip I heard her pick up her cell phone and ask "Dove e la stazione della Victoria?" (Where is Victoria Station?) which was most forboding.
Eventually I met up with Richard and we went out for dinner and drinks.

London was very, very cool. There's a dance that happens between old granduer and new granduer and the Sir Norman Foster building looks like it blast off at any second. I'm pretty sure it's the secret space ship for the queen in case of nuclear fallout.

http://www.uk-photo-library.co.uk/london/images/4741.jpg

Richard was kind enough to show me around the next day, we got fish and chips, walked along london bridge, went to the Globe theatre, found a sweets and cheese market and then spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern. My favorite thing about the Tate was that for several of the exhibits there was music that accompanied it. So while you're looking at a piece of art, you're hearing the art as well. There was another great series of videos that showed the same scene from differenent points of view. A dog accidentally trips a man, which I didn't know could be any funnier, but  seen from the Dog's point of view changed that thinking.

There was also an interactive section where you answer questions about artists, If you won you got to pick the next artist to ask questions about Richard and I won with our powers combined. We also licked the crack, I would'nt recommend, it tastes like oppression...and pinesol.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/10/08/ntate2.jpg

Finally I returned to Rome to a perfectly shining day. I was starting to get a little Rome-sick, and that was only for less than two weeks. I don't know what's going to become of me when I leave for good. All and all a great break. I'd never traveled by myself before which was an interesting expierence. It gets a little lonely at times, but you have the freedom to do whatever you want, so the give and take are pretty much in balance.

Now it's time to do the homework I should have been doing over break. Goodnight and Goodluck.

Sketchbook Fun

Sketchbook Fun #1:

The scanner I used is kinda crappy so sometimes there are colors when there should not be.

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/National-Museum-68992640

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Tiber-Island-68992529

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Trees-by-the-Colloseum-68992402

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/full-self-portrait-68992304

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/selfportrait-close-up-68992202

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/SABINES-68992062

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Villa-Borghese-68991840

Stay Tuned for Fall Break Update tonight!