This last weekend was relaxing. I think I had my first (and hopefully only) bout of home-sickness on Saturday. The Packers disappoint. I have completed two novels (The Stones of Florence and Brunelleschi's Dome) and I am on to two more (The Prince and The City of Falling Angels). That's pretty good for me. Charlie is haunting me, taunting me... He makes me smile :) I added my reaction paper about the Duomo. It is under Florence over to the right...

Il Duomo The stone steps materialize one after another ascending a spiraling stairwell or around a tight corner and through a small wooden door darkened with time.Although the narrow passages are lit well enough to watch one's step, the twenty first century bulbs cast ominous shadows.My mind wanders from the workers of the 1400's, to the tourists of today, to my own heaving breath.It is hard for me to visualize and comprehend the individuals who positioned each ...

Ciao! I'm finally becoming more settled in now that I have a routine for classes, and we've had a bit of down time this afternoon.We have a free weekend in Florence to do as we please this week.I think I am going to become the typical American tourists, only without being obnoxious.We are going to climb the Duomo early tomorrow morning.It is supposed to be beautiful, sunny, and the view is an amazing panoramic of the whole valley!I want to check out the Salvator...

Classes began on Monday. I can now speak about 3 words in Italian, I know a few things about the first humans entering Europe, I'm going to see my first works of art tomorrow, and I now know Mary McCarthy's somewhat extensive, monotonous, historical account of Florence. We were asked to write about our first impressions of Florence and Italy. I will post it sometime over the weekend, but here are a few small notes: The toilet paper isn't perferated, I don't kno...

The Tales of Hans Christian Andersen The Bronze Pig - Metalsvinet 1862 In the town of Florence, not far from the Piazza del Granduca, there is a little street--I believe that it is called Porta Rossa--and there across from a small market place, where vegetables are sold, stands a fountain cast in the shape of a pig. Clear, fresh water spouts from its snout, which shines as brightly as bronze can, while the rest of the body is green with age. The ...