1.  The Grand Canal in Venezia under the last rays of sunshine.

2.  The market in Venezia looking out toward the Grand Canal.

3. Brion Cemetery

4.  Castelvecchio

I Love Markets

Veneto Here We Come

This weekend was filled with work and play:  Friday we went to our friend's concert on a little boat party on the river.  We got to see a lot of friends we hadn't seen in awhile because we've been so busy, and the group of Cal Poly kids that are studying in Florence were also in town for class.  We met up with them also on Saturday night to show them the sights.  On Saturday I went on my own adventure to Trajan's markets, and ancient Roman shopping complex.  It is a true palimpsest: it has been built upon and around, partially excavated, partially demolished, and finally recently more fully excavated.  It is one of my favorite things I've seen in Rome...I can almost imagine buying olive oil and fresh produce from slightly impatient but amiable vendors....not too different from what I do at Campo dei Fiore everyday, except with a different backdrop.  See pics above.

Tomorrow we are leaving for a trip to the Veneto region, most of which we will be spending in Venezia (Venice), so don't worry of you don't hear from me until Sunday.  Today I bought rain boots and lots of warm socks to go in them, so I'm ready to jump in some puddles!  

Two Weeks of Unrest

The first week after we got back from Paris, we had a lot of studio work to do, so I barely slept, but I've been having a lot of fun developing my project, which is an urban farming center.  The picture below is my model...it's so cute... it looks bigger than it is, those trees are about half the size of a marble.  We had our presentations on Monday, and for the rest of the quarter we will be developing a smaller portion of our project in detail.  Our friend Mike who studies in Paris, also came to visit.

Since we've been back there have also been protests in Rome.  There is a new prime minister (Berlusconi) and there have been budget cuts for the education system.  Today we went with our friend who works at the French embassy to the protest.  We walked in rows arm in arm with a huge group of students from La Sapienza, the Italian University that our program is affiliated with.  Apparently there were around 300,000 students protesting.  The march started at the main train station and ended at the ministry in the center.  There were groups of students from around Italy all arriving to the station and self-organizing into groups.  There was a general aura of excitement, with everyone sporadically breaking out in song from time to time.  This kind of occurrence is rare in Rome, and we got to observe and interact with the youth of Italy in a meaningful way.  Soon I will post a picture from the protest, as well as a picture of Karen's cappuccino the day after election day: it says Obama '09 in foam!

Tuscan Autumn

We spent the past two days driving across the Tuscan landscape....we started in Firenze where we rented a car.  We spent a few hours exploring there...one of the most interesting things was the Ponte Vecchi (Old Bridge).  It is the oldest surviving bridge and has shops that have organically sprouted off of it, like colorful little barnacles clinging to it's sides.  The entire length of it is occupied with jewelry stores, as it has been since 1593!  I also followed my senses to find the local market, which had the most fantastic displays of meat I have ever seen.  I bought mzarella di bufala and grapes.

We left Firenze for Spannocchia, an argritourism farm, where they grow as much of their own food as possible, and stay afloat by a tourism based on education of sustainable agriculture.  Their particular approach is to protect several of the local endangered species, including a pig called cinta senese, as well as a species of cow and sheep.  I got to ask the director a million questions about the farm on our tour that evening.  That night we had a family style dinner with other guests and the interns, many of which were coincidentally from California.  Later that night we went to the Halloween party put on the internships.  In the spirit of supporting their efforts (and yes, because I love food), I bought some of their proscuitto, red wine, farro, and honey, as well as a recipe book.

The next morning, after going on a beautiful foggy hike around the farm, we headed for Siena.  On the way we stopped at an old monastery called    .  The roof is completely gone, so it was interesting to experience the church prototype in this new way.  In Siena we spent most of our limited time in the Piazza del Campo, hands down the most monumental public space I've ever been to.  Siena is such a fun town to explore- it is a perfect example of medieval organic development.  (SEE PICTURE)  All of the streets curve and wind, but with the Piazza as their anchor, it is surprising difficult to get lost.  Here I bought panforte, a sweet bread which is a local specialty.

On the drive back to Rome, we stopped by Pienza, a small little medieval town with gorgeous panoramic views of the rolling hills of Tuscany.  We also stopped by Montepulciano, renowned for it's wine, which we sampled in a cheese and wine shop.  Right around this time the sun was setting, staining the sky orange and shading the clouds purple.  When we got home, the 5 of us had dinner together, sampling the proscuitto and pecorino purchases of the day.  Today, it is back to work!