Laura and España: Alcalá Weeks 5 & 6

Peekaboo Florence!

Prepare for a longgg post, since I'm covering two weeks plus a trip to Florence, Italy!

A quick shout out to 2 tv shows that I watch weekly- Lost (Perdidos) and El Internado. The second is an extremely complicated soap opera with many characters and subplots. Most of the time I don't know what's going on (I think last week some evil organization was stealing homeless people off the street in order to test biological weapons on them??) but anyhow they're what I look forward to Mondays and Tuesdays so they deserved a mention.

I think mostly I like El Internado because of their adorable blue uniforms

The weekend of February 12th was Carnavale, which is like a cross between Mardi Gras/Halloween. On Saturday I went into Madrid to watch a movie (Valentine's Day dubbed into Spanish) and a big parade in honor of the holiday. The floats and costumes were ELABORATE and the streets were packed! The next day there was a small parade in Alcalá for adorable children in their precious costumes. It was so so so cute. Almost all of my roommates went home for the weekend so overall it was a bit boring.

I understood almost the entire movie! Granted the plot was pretty cut and dry. PS Ashton Kutcher sounds sexy in Spanish

Hopefully this video works, it is of the pirate ship float in the parade

February 17th was Ash Wednesday! I attended mass that was presided over by the Bishop Juan Antonio. I recognized all the readings thanks to many years of mandatory church attendance for school and, interesting to note, they sprinkled ash onto my head instead of drawing a cross on my forehead.

The following weekend I traveled to Florence Italy! I was only a little sad that I missed more Carnavale activities (I guess it's two weekends long?) because the costumes of my roommates were really cool and there was a huge competition hosted by the dorms.

I'm not in this photo, I just thought it was cute some of my Spanish friends went as the Duff girls from the Simpsons

I flew into Bologna and hung out there for a few hours but must admit I was not impressed with the city. Florence (or Firenze as they say in Italy) was much more impressive, I took a train into the bustling center of the city and met my friends German and David, who I met at Wisconsin last semester but who attend law school in Florence (also, they are from Spain).

On Friday I did a lot of solo exploring which was interesting since I speak about 10 words of Italian (including "non parlo italiano" and "grazie!"). However Florence is very touristy in the summer and has a lot of study abroad students during the school year so many people spoke some English, which was helpful. Or not so helpful, in the case of street vendors trying to sell me things (I guess I look American cause they spoke English to me without me even opening my mouth). The kiosks here are full of leather goods like belts (I bought 2), wallets and purses plus scarves and the typical touristy stuff.

Oops! Guess this guy knew I was photographing him

My first stop was El Duomo, the cathedral of Florence. The outside is decorated with green and pink geometrical designs plus about a million statues, it is very impressive. I decided to view the city from El Campanile (bell tower) and subsequently walked up 414 narrow, twisty, cement steps. I was short of breath by the end but it was worth the trek! The rain had JUST stopped so there was this warm misty breeze that hit my face as I took in an incredible panoramic view of Florence. The entire city is the color of rust backed by the green countryside surrounding it. My photos cannot do it justice but here they are anyhow:

The cathedral.

The bell tower next door

View from the bell tower. The Duomo is 6 meters taller but the Campanile is cheaper! You can sort of see the people standing atop the cathedral.

More views of Florence

Downtown Florence is very compact and easily walkable, so it was a quick stroll over to Piazza della Signoria. There is a huge government building there with a bunch of statues sitting out front. Flanking the entrance are statues of Hercules and a replica of Michelangelo's David. Looking to the right, there is a small gallery of statues, most of which are pretty violent. Most are life sized and my favorite was the one of Perseus holding the head of Medusa. It was created in 1554 as a warning to Cosimo I's enemies.

David on the left, Hercules with Cacus by the hair on the right

Perseus says beware!

Speaking of Cosimo I, he was the original Medici, a powerful family that ruled over Florence and were patrons of the arts. They also produced 4 Popes! I know this family probably assassinated a ton of people but they're basically gave birth to the Italian Renaissance (according to Wikipedia). German pointed out this elevated indoor walkway that runs from the Uffizi art gallery to the Pitti Palace- constructed by the Medicis so they wouldn't have to mingle with the commoners whenever they wanted to change venues. It passes right over the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest bridge in Florence- the Nazis destroyed all the other ones in a last ditch war effort. It used to be lined with meat vendors but has since converted into a spectacle of expensive jewelry stores.

On the Ponche Vecchio

Same bridge from afar. Can you see the walkway with the little shops underneath??

Saturday I spent at the Uffizi Gallery. It was originally built as an office building for the magistrates of Cosimo I ('uffizi' means office) but now houses the impressive multi-century art collection of the Medicis, bequeathed to the Florentines by the last of their clan, Anna Maria Luisa. The paintings were arranged chronologically and it was interesting to see how art styles were ever changing, particularly perspective-wise, as early painters had no sense of spatial depth! Almost 100% of the artwork featured the Virgin Mary, baby Jesus, a saint, or some combination of the three. The most famous piece is The Birth of Venus by Botticelli, featuring the serene looking goddess on a seashell being blown to Cyprus by the wind gods. Primavera, by the same painter, is also famous because it celebrates the pagan festival of spring instead of some religious figure. The Holy Family, by Leonardo DaVinci, is an art-world landmark because it features baby Jesus NOT on Mary's lap, and the Virgin is in an unusual twisted pose. Finally, Sleeping Venus by Giorgione has been called "the most beautiful nude ever painted" but was scandalous because the her seductive pose. Sorry if this paragraph was boring, I read 2 guidebooks about the Uffizi and seeing artwork gets me really excited!!

The Birth of Venus

The Holy Family

Some of German and David's friends invited them over for dinner Saturday night and that meal was the highlight of the past 6 months. Delicious homemade meatballs over couscous, homemade bread AND homemade cheesecake that I ate with mango jam. I'm full just thinking about it. Other food I've eaten here includes: artichoke pizza, gnocchi with spicy tomato sauce, pesto, these yummy italian cookies at German's house, more pizza and about a million gelatos. Words cannot accurately describe how delicious gelato is, I am obsessed.

Mmm artichoke pizza. Plus wine.

If I could transport gelato to Spain, my life would be perfect right now.

Sunday I went with German and David to Piazza Michelangelo for another stunning view of Florence. This time we were across the River Arno and saw the city through some light rain. Despite having a terrible cold and getting lost on the bus several times, Florence was absolutely fabulous and I would highly recommend it everyone. Thank you German and David!!!