Are you going to space?

This weekend was beautiful, lazy, and fun.

It started at around 1 pm on Saturday morning–a late start indeed, but finally, the headache was gone! Alex and I met for a late lunch in Piazza della Repubblica, where we decided to try the cafe on the roof of Rinascente, a fancy department store in the center of the city. I had never been to this cafe before, and I tend to avoid places with a coperto (a charge, normally around 2 or 3 €, for eating at a sit-down restaurant), but my host mom had suggested it as a good option for a day with good weather and plenty of time to kill. Alex and I trekked to the 6th floor of Rinascente, and then up one more flight of stairs, to find ourselves in one of the most beautiful locations in the center of the city. From the roof of Rinascente you can see an amazing (and close) view of the Duomo, Piazza della Repubblica, and la campagna for days! The weather was perfect, just warm enough, and Alex and I stayed for a few hours–planning weekend trips, discussing purchases we want to (but shouldn’t) make before we leave, praising the restaurant for serving water with lemon slices (a rarity in Florence).

The view from Rinascente.

Street art on the way to Piazza della Signoria. There are always different pictures being recreated with chalk in this area. This is one of my favorites so far. Reminded me of you, Mom!

After lunch, Alex and I decided that we wanted to work on our 10 sketches for Rossi’s “Becoming an Artist in Florence” class, so we headed to Palazzo Vecchio in Piazza della Signoria, where there many famous statues. Alex and I drew for a few hours, quickly learning that statues, immobile as they are, make much better subjects than tourists sitting on the steps near us. I drew four sketches that afternoon, and one of my favorites so far was my sketch of the famous “David.” Admittedly, I worked on it for more than the 3-5 minutes Rossi suggested, but I felt like this was the first time I was really getting the proportions down so I had to run with it.

The Fountain of Neptune, situated beside Palazzo Vecchio, by Bartolomeo Ammannati.
Palazzo Vecchio.
Replica of Michelangelo’s “David.”
This is what artists look like, right?
The final product.

For dinner, eight or so of us met up at Trattoria al Trebbio, near Piazza Santa Maria Novella. I got a delicious ravioli plate, but because of a bus mishap and then getting lost, I had to eat after everyone had finished their meals. Very good, but a bit rushed. After dinner, we hung out in Piazza Santa Maria Novella until 11, when we headed to Space. If anything, I wanted to go to Space, a discoteca catering to American students and aggressive Italian men, simply because I found it so amusing every time someone asked, “When are we going to Space?” or “How do we get to Space?” Simple pleasures. Space, like many other discotecas in Florence, is structured in such a way that allows them to make the majority of their money off stupid American students. You get a ticket when you enter that gives you entrance and a drink for 10 €. You don’t pay, however, until the end of the night. Throughout the night, you can add other drinks to the ticket, which they punch each time you purchase a drink, and at the end of the night, before leaving, you turn in the ticket and pay the total on the ticket. The catch: you can’t get out without a receipt verifying that you’ve paid your ticket and if you lose your ticket, it costs 50 €. Judging by the mess of blacked-out girls I saw in the bathroom alone, I’d guess they had at least 100 or so tickets go missing that night alone. And just like that, 500 €.

If you can get past the hoards of aggressive Italian men and sloppy drunk American girls, Space is actually pretty fun. There are two floors, one with karaoke and a more relaxed atmosphere and another with the club vibe. We spent the first hour or so on the karaoke floor, where we completely owned the karaoke system (there was no one else around). It was utterly delightful to see my new friends’ diva come out as we sang everything from Mariah Carey’s, “Always Be My Baby” (obviously my choice) to “Lady Marmalade” (I was Lil’ Kim) to “Daydream Believer.” After karaoke, around 1, we headed upstairs to dance. (Everything is later here–lunch, dinner, going out, etc.) The DJ was apparently from New Jersey (?), and boy was I glad. He played all the right songs, including (and you’ll love this, Ali) Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” and Blackstreet’s “No Diggity.” By 3, I barely had enough energy to get a taxi and go home, but my peers were amazing, still lively as ever at 3. They have made a habit of staying up until the buses start running again at 6:30, but I’m certain I could never never do that. Overall, Space was great. I suggest taking a trip to Space sometime.

Taking over the karaoke in Space.

I woke up Sunday morning to a text from Alex reading, “OMG our first concert is tonight.” A lot happened at Space the night before, but I did not remember agreeing to anything that had to do with a performance. When I replied that I was absolutely clueless, Alex called and explained that his host family was having a Karaoke party at their house (I know, twice in one weekend!) and wanted us to perform something for them and their friends. I had no idea what to expect, but I loved the idea of karaoke and seeing how another Italian family lives, so I headed over to the other side of Florence. I walked into Alex’s house, located in the cutest area over by Piazza San Marco, and was greeted by his host parents, much older than my host parents, who were so excited to meet me and have us perform for them. Alex and I headed downstairs and practiced a few songs with Alex’s guitar, and we finally decided to sing an acoustic version of “Born This Way” for them. When we came upstairs, we saw a giant image of youtube projected on the wall, a hefty sound system that appeared to belong in a recording studio, and two microphones, all in the dining room of Alex’s host family. When they had invited me for karaoke, I had no idea it would be so intricate and professional. I was thrilled! The rest of the afternoon was too wonderful to try to summarize fully. We sang for them (they were so delighted), projected a few Everyday People videos for them on the wall, did a few karaoke duets, and listened to many versions of Italian rock and pop songs. Alex’s family was completely wonderful. I hope to head back there very soon. It was so amazing to see the dynamic and lifestyle of another Italian family and they couldn’t have been more welcoming. Definitely up there with my favorite memories so far.

Today I experienced first hand one of Florence’s famous bus strikes. I’m exhausted, so I’ll spare you the details, but let’s just say my day started at 7am and ended at 6pm. I was on my feet for the vast majority of those 11 hours, and must have walked for 5 miles total, definitely a record for me. In other news, today I visited the Dali/Picasso/Miro exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi in place of my art class (my professor stayed home with is brand new baby–Giuseppe!) which was amazing. The exhibit was about the artists’ earlier works so it was refreshing to see many of their less celebrated but equally striking works. Unfortunately for me, we had to complete ten, 10-minute sketches while at the exhibit, which turned out to be a painful task for us. First of all, most of us are awful and have had no technical training at all. So, where sketching should be fun, at this moment, it’s a task most of us are anxious to complete. Second, the assignment was sketch 10 depictions of the human body in these works, but the works of Picasso, and Dali, and Miro don’t exactly lend themselves to amateur artists like us, especially when it comes to depictions of bodies. The sketching was exhausting and a bit of a disaster, but I was really glad to make it to the exhibit.

Andrew left for his most recent adventure yesterday, and thankfully, it will eventually bring him to Florence! He and four friends are embarking on a month-long, 475-mile pilgrimage throughout northern Spain called Camino de Santiago. They will start the trek on April 6 and finish up on May 3, after which Andrew will fly to Florence–to me! Words can’t describe how thrilled I am to see him here and to share our favorite Florence experiences with one another. (He studied in Florence with Stanford in the spring of 2008.) We haven’t decided what exactly we’ll do in the two weeks that he’s visiting, but it will definitely include a trip to the Dolomites, a stunning mountain range in north-eastern Italy. In the meantime, I’ll be sure to update you all on his status.

Andrew’s route throughout northern Spain, Camino de Santiago.

The Dolomites.

I think that’s it for now, but I will update soon!
Love,
Tessa