Enough babbling? maybe. ok Spain pictures next…. well maybe I’ll save that for procrastination tomorrow when I can’t sleep.

PDF Files

http://www.laurawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/DTboard01.pdf

http://www.laurawesome.com/wp-content/uploads/DTboard02.pdf

To save you from the 8 million pictures of the past 2 weeks of traveling I have courteously split up these posts and a lovely pickpocket thoughtfully stole my camera on my way home from Spain so you didn’t have to go through the tediousness of pictures of Seville, Granada, Cordoba or Madrid. However, I’m getting ahead of myself. Southern Italy first!

Pompeii , Paestum, Padula , Castel del Monte, Trani

Is it bad that they’re all starting to blend into each other? With the bus ride scenery inbetween that rather reminded me of the  windows xp background. Pompeii was amazing and creepy, it really is a ghost town, well now with tourists. But the plaster casts of the people at their moments of death was really creepy. Some peaceful, some flailing out, mouth open screaming.

That night the hotel we were staying at provided us dinner at which vegetarian translated into an omelet of just eggs on a bed of iceberg lettuce. But the night didn’t end there, it was a beach resort hotel… in February…Didn’t stop us from going down to the beach and going swimming. With much screaming (on my part) as I realized that it was cold enough to see my breath and the water was a good bit colder.

The next morning we went to the nearby ruins of an ancient Greek town, the temples still largely intact. Their perfect geometry made them oddly hard to draw, the portions of everything had to be just right. That was kind of the theme for the day as next we went to a monastery that was at the most amazing scale, it made you feel quite small but at the same time it wasn’t intimidating, it was peaceful in its seclusion looking up at the town on the hill above it.

The next day we packed up and headed to the next town visiting Castel del Monte on the way which was quite the opposite to a military defense castle, it was apparently an ancient think tank basically, the gathering place of the great minds of the time. Also a great view, you know the important part of any visit. After that we made it to the town we were staying and found ourselves in a rather luxurious renovated convent, wishing we were staying there longer, we found a great little pizza place and spent our time exploring the dead little town. The towns people seemed disturbed by our presence or  rather we were the entertainment as everyone stopped what they were doing to watch the Only tourists in the town.

The fun only continues… in the next blog entry that is.

I have a full memory card of pictures (so at least 5 decent pictures hopefully) for the last week spent travelling around Southern Italy and am currently travelling around Spain. One day I will find the transfer thing for it so I can upload them. I will have to be in the same city for more than a day maybe.

In other words, I apologize for the hiatus, but expect stories and many pictures when I return.

In the mean time Iwas searching for some classy 90s clip art. Also learned the hard way not to image search the term spring break on google…thank goodness for the “clip art” filter. I settled on some good ol’ Calvin and Hobbs to tide you over. Who doesn’t love them?

Hello procrastination, we seem to be getting pretty close these days.

I’ve been meaning to update but  you know life, class oh and ROME.

Took a weekend trip to Florence (and the Vatican Museums this week). Saw all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! Or work by the artists they were named after. Same thing right?

Lots of religious art, I wish I knew a bit more of the stories behind them but they are so elaborate and beautiful you can almost forget that oh, these is depicting some pretty violent gory scenes. I yearn for a plain empty white room after the overload or some modern art color fields.

This upcoming week is our trip across southern italy (the search for an internship continues) .

The night before lots of people went out, I was planning on spending a quiet night at home, then my roommates decided to make me less of a hermit, picked me up under my arms and legs and carried me out the door, locked it and gave me my shoes and coat. I took revenge with my camera, which happened to be in my pocket, taking tons of ridiculous pictures. We went over to the other apartments with everyone else and toasted to the birthday boy and headed to some club that was apparently in the area. We walk up and were like umm… these kids are really young… like really young. We call a complete bomb on the outing, and as we all stroll out laughing hysterically realized that there are parents waiting outside and we find a flyer with the words “High School Carnival” to the horror of all involved.

I should probably pay attention but I’ve only had one cup of coffee so I am functioning at 20% capacity, warp drive offline.

Falling further behind in schoolwork but I think this means I am becoming a great visitor of Rome, spending all my freetime wandering around (or sitting in my kitchen trying to figure out which line of code I just messed up this time to break my website). I found out that one of our professors is basically the tour guide to the rich and famous, they take him around various parts of Italy (and the world maybe?) to have him tell them all about it. Pretty sweet deal, though I can understand it, I keep thinking if only I had Jeffrey Blanchard in my pocket to tell me what this is and just settle for “Old building in rome, built by someone important -probably”

I suppose I should get to class since I don’t think “But I have this blog…” is a good way to explain being late.

I have been wandering the streets of Rome, every day a new direction, a different side street. I don’t know the names of anything and could probably never find the same things again. If the cars weren’t here I feel as though I could slip in time.

It’s a bit further away from studio but there is a cute little restaurant to the right of it that makes the most amazing bruschetta and a pizza place down the block that has potato pizza and the guy who works there was one of the first people who didn’t switch to english and he even taught me the names of the different kinds of pizza.

Classes are just starting up, there is a class devoted to sketching, another that walks around Rome focusing on ancient history, a class on modern (after the 17th century) Roman history, one on urban studies, and of course Design and Italian. Lots of hand drawing, my computer will miss me.

After a great night of rest I made my way to the school. Some quick directions from the hotel concierge who told me to take bus H saw me treking through the train station again with my absurdly heavy suitcase to a bus stop that was “Just around the corner.” Following the signs that said bus and a quick stop at an information center who pointed directly behind him to a bus stop clearly labeled H, sheepishly I walked over and got a ticket at a near by stand and got on.
As the bus drove off, I realized I didn’t know how to recognize where I was going or if I was really on the right line. I furtively got out my little guide book trying to locate any of the streets that were flying by on the map. Until I saw the street Garabaldi, that I recognized as the street I was supposed to live on, I quickly got off the bus (or as quickly as one can be with a huge suitcase and a travel backpack) and found, yes, another information plaza. With a tiny little ramp and little doors, I force my way awkwardly through to ask (in italian) where S. Appollonia was. The woman behind the desk gave me a confused appraising look and responded in English that if I walk down the street and take a right at some point before the Piazza Santa Maria I would find it.
My suitcase screamingly loud on the cobbled streets I made my way until one of the signs said S. Appollonia, and after walking back and forth around trying to figure out where 3 was I found hidden on of the buzzers right in front of me,  the name Pratt. Finally. After sorting out saying hi to Pratt Italia people none of whose names I remember anymore the woman in charge walked me to the apartment where I will be staying. Arm in arm (she insisted) we walked, me hauling my suitcase in my free hand trying not to show the pain as she strode along lightly holding the umbrella. Feeling the blister forming as we walked I was grateful to finally stop in front, a woman coming out who I was terribly impolite to probably catching my breath and trying not to show it, hair disheveled, I manage a Buongiorno, maybe, at least I hope it came across. Just past the door, oh thank goodness a lift. I feared trying to carry that suitcase up the stairs. She unlocks the door for me and says that my neighbors are a lovely (and in a hushed voice gay) couple. Settled in, ie nothing unpacked just computer out playing some music. I need to get the wireless password it is there taunting me and then maybe some groceries.

I should probably also note that I have no idea what floor I am on. I will have to figure that out when I leave.

Up next: getting lost!