September 12, 2011

September 12, 2011

Buona Sera! I apologize in advance that this will not be the most interesting blog but I figure they have been probably too in depth every other day so I made up for it in advance :) Also, I didn’t take any photos today (what?!) so, I’m sorry to say, there will not be any photos this evening. This morning I got up, showered, had breakfast, got ready, went to Italian and then had my bag lunch. After I had eaten lunch, I went out exploring with Willi and got some pants of a certain style that I had been looking for! I had looked all over the place and hadn’t found them (they’re very popular in Europe) so it was exciting to find a place that had them and for pretty cheap. We wandered around for a while, window shopping, and then headed to Orsanmichele where we were meeting our group. On the bottom floor, Orsanmichele is a sort of chapel with a very intricate altar dedicated to Mary. It has high, vaulted ceilings and is really lovely. When you go to the next level, it is a very bright open room, the walls covered in huge picture windows. The room is filled with statues by Donatello and the like who sculpted them to be placed in the little alcoves around Orsanmichele. It’s really incredible to see the changes in style over time and with all of these different, very famous artists. After about an hour and a half of studying the sculptures, we were free for the afternoon. Because we were so hot and exhausted from the heat, most of us returned home. On our way home, Franzi and I stopped at the supermarket to get our lunch items for the week and then walked home. When we got home, we put away our groceries and did our laundry. Then I finished my Italian homework and read for a bit on the balcony.

Dinner was delicious, of course! Daniella was out this afternoon and evening so Andrea cooked one of his favorite pasta dishes. It consisted of penne pasta, oil, tomatoes, parsley and lots of garlic. It was fairly spicy and very delicious. Dad, you would have loved it! I will definitely have to learn how to make that dish. Next we had peppers cooked in oil, which were delicious, along with bread, cheese, and meat. For dessert, we had more delicious fruit salad or, as Daniella calls it, “salad fruit.” :) She keeps trying to get it in the right order but always says salad fruit instead. I love it. Our “salad fruit” this evening had strawberries, plums, bananas, and peaches. We had wonderful conversation, as usual, and taught Andrea and Daniella some new “American phrases.” For some reason, we tried to translate “along” into Italian and were having a difficult time. We kept using it with the phrase “come along.” When they finally kind of understood what it meant, Daniella kept telling Andrea to “come along” and clean the table, do the dishes, etc. It was quite comical.

Now it’s time to post this blog, read for a bit and then go to bed. I get so exhausted from our full days in this heat. Hopefully, after this week, the heat will go away and it will cool down! We’ll see what happens :)

All my love,

Kari