Everywhere you look in Florence, women are wearing pashmina shawls sold all over the city. They sort of seem to dress up anything and I decided I was in need of at least one. So I decreed this day devoted to shopping and headed over to the San Lorenzo market where many accessories and clothing items are sold in open-air stalls on the street. You can also haggle for lower prices. After going up and down the rows, I found a shawl I liked and purchased it. However, in the process I also found a nice leather purse the price for which, after bargaining quite a while, I got lowered by 50 euros. I justified it to myself because I figured I’ll have it forever!
I also stopped at a bakery to try a seasonal pastry I had heard mentioned called “schiacciata con l’uva” which is a sort of thin, sweetened bread sliced open and stuffed with a red grape mixture and then baked. This bakery’s had grapes placed nicely on top as well. Also, grapes in Italy are all seeded and these were no exception! As it was a very messy confection, I had to wait until I was home and in the possession of a knife and fork to try it. It was very good, very sweet and the grape seeds were very crunchy!
On the subject of food, I should also mention that I bought and tried some prosciutto crudo, salt-cured ham, the other day and found it to be good tasting but of a rather slimy texture. I don’t normally touch ham with a ten-foot pole but I decided that while I am here, I need to be gastronomically adventurous. So I am a bit proud of myself for even putting it in my mouth.
Today:
I printed my first lithograph today! Uggg—it was a very tiring process! Because our press is so old, etc, we have to print in pairs, one person acting as the other’s assistant. I assisted a classmate, Jamie, in printing her lithograph first and then printed mine with her help. To do both series we worked for 3 1/2 hours non-stop. I also discovered that “rolling up the ink” is a process requiring about as much finesse as centering clay, meaning my body will be lucky to have approached anything like understanding the requisite movements by the end of this semester. However, with the combination of my instructor’s help and the fact that I made so many impressions, I think I got about 8 good prints. Melania (the instructor), was very complimentary on my composition but not so much on my printing technique!
At 2 I met Allison and Lesley at one of the satellite SACI buildings where we all got on computers and booked tickets to and hostel beds in…Paris!!!! For well under $200 we will be flying from Rome on Thursday, November 22 and spending 3 nights a Parigi, making it back on the morning of Sunday. We will take the train down to Rome and then, I suppose, take a taxi to the airport. On the itinerary: Louvre, d’Orsay, and Notre Dame! I think the others also want to go to Versailles (which I could skip) and Monet’s house at Giverny (sounds cool but I’m sure everything will be dead by then). I also need to book my flight to visit my uncle in Frankfurt at the end of this month. I was contemplating flying elsewhere after that visit on my own but may just come back to Florence since I have committed to the Paris excursion. I will have to make up my mind soon!
In a sort of celebration we had cappuccinos after printing out all of our confirmations (I know, I know—you’re not supposed to order a cappuccino after 11 in Italy but they are used to barbaric Americans by now). The man who made them poured the frothy milk into the espresso in such a way that it resembled a heart! It was so cute (don’t gag, you would have liked it, too). Allison took a picture and we completed the crazy tourist routine.
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