Venezia

Ciao tutti!
I have just returned (well, last night) from a weekend stay in Venice! I've uploaded all my pictures to Facebook, and for some reason I'm having a difficult time uploading them here. But let me just say, it was extremely beautiful! I think it was my favorite few days in Italy, for a lot of reasons.

First of all, I got to be away from the loud hustle and bustle of Florence, which does get old after a while. Because there are no cars in Venice, it's much quieter than Florence ever is. That was extremely nice. I also found it a very, very beautiful picturesque city. There was so much to do and see, and everywhere you went it was clear YOUR IN ITALY! It was just as stereotypically scenic as you'd imagine it to be. I couldn't believe that I was really there, really in Venice, and really got to be surrounded by a place I'd dreamed of going to since I was a little girl. We went on a gondolier ride on the very first day, which was a wonderful experience. One of my professors was kind enough to give us her morning and take us all on a walking tour so we could see the main sights of Venice. It's an incredibly difficult city to navigate, so it was wonderful to have our professors show us around. We also got a semi-private tour of the Basillica...just a breathtaking place in general. The next day we went to Padua (the namesake for my former neighborhood from senior year) and tour a chapel there which Giotto painted the interior of. Sunday, we went to the Peggy Guggenheim museum and got to see much more contemporary art. Wonderful to be surrounded by beauty in so many forms...

The other awesome part was that we were all in a hotel together. It's been kind of hard for us all to coordinate hanging out, since a lot of us live pretty far away. But with everyone staying in one place, it was really easy to hang out with new people and just have a good time. That was some much needed relaxation and breaking of those first groups you tend to get immeshed in when you're in this kind of situation. New friends, fun times, and lots and lots of bonding :)

This week is our second week of the full course schedule. My favorite class so far is my drawing class. On the first day, when the instructors explained to us what we would be doing I about left I was so intimidated. I kept thinking "I've never done this before! I'm going to be terrible at it!". But I took a deep breath and did it anyway, all the while thinking of my dear Grandma Helen who started drawing later than I in life and is now a wonderfully accomplished and experienced artist. She definitely inspires me when that class gets difficult or I get overwhelmed. Thank you Grandma for setting such a wonderful example of how to be a courageous, adventurous woman!

Also helpful is my new friend Alyse who draws next to me. She is taking the opportunity to become a teacher to me. Where she could be insulting or ignore me, she gently corrects me and teaches me new ways to learn and grow. How wonderful to be surrounded by friends like these :)

I am also continuing my Italian course and taking two courses genearally geared towards art history. Drawing, however, is my favorite. I find it extremely relaxing and enjoyable to try something completely new in life.

I'm loving the emails you are all sending me and will try to respond slowly as the internet is available. It feels so nice to be contacted by all my wonderful family and friends! Love to all

Amy