And then I thought about it some more. I have been in Europe for over 4 months now. While I feel like I saw a lot, it is really important to understand that I saw nothing. There is so much to learn from a society and culture that has existed much longer than the familiarity and comfort  in the United States.

“We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.”

This quote, once stated by arguably one of the most important english language writers of the 20th century, T.S. Eliot, sums up almost completely what I am feeling now. This can only really be the beginning for me, not really an end of my experience here. My education from this semester will continue on throughout my life. 

Tomorrow I will kiss the ground of United States soil at 2:45pm. I will see you guys soon.

Ironically though, it is only that way if you work for it. The five cities are connected by a hiking trail, which takes you through some of the most rigourous hikes possible. I was absolutly exhausted by the end. But like I said, completly worth it. Following are some pictures from the hike.Warning: Lots of photos.

A view of Riomaggiore from the break water outcropping. This is where I ripped a hole in my jeans, just for this photo. And to lay in the sun for awhile.

Oh no. Landslides.

Actually, before we even made it to Cinque Terre, on Friday, it was raining. So we decided to head to Portovenere. This town ended up being my favorite of the towns that we visited that weekend. (La Spezia, Portovenere, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso)

Still left to come (somehow) before I leave Italy:Tivoli, and Civitas.

Two week ago, we went to Bromarzo and Villa Lante. And because I just want to quickly post on my blog here are the photos from that Wednesday field trip.

Following are photos from Villa Lante.

And here are some photos from Bromarzo. The garden of the monsters?

Soon to come posts about: Cinque Terre, Tivoli, and Civatas.

During the morning the fog was extremely dense. Dense enough that the trip to Montepulciano was a reduced to the church of Madonna di San Biagio designed by Antonio da Sangallo in 1518. We stayed there for about an hour enjoying the renaissance style church and the opportunity to sketch. Oh and the fog.

After leaving Montepulciano, the fog began to lift. And the view of the valley was breathtaking. The Val d’Orcia is a world heritage site. Which basically means that it cannot be changed from the state that it is currently in to preserve its charm. Arriving in Pienza, a small village, we walked from our bus, along a promenade overlooking the stunning view of the valley. Then we had lunch. Three types of bread. Two slabs of  lasagna made of pecorino cheese. Salad. Two sausages. Roast beef. Chicken. French Fries. Tiramisu. And six glasses of Vino.

Lunch made for a good day. Afterwards I went and found some gelato and a place on the ledge overlooking the valley.

As I have said earlier, Printmaking has become one of my new favorite hobbies and I am really happy for that. This makes me sounds big-headed, but I feel that I am doing some surprisingly remarkable work in that studio. And so is Tim and Ian. We all have talents in our own doing, but it is always nice to discover a new ability. Following are some photos Tim took today displaying the studio and my new cut.

A picture of me at the ink library, just playing around with a monotype.

Admiring my recent work. Like the new cut? My spikes can kill.

The work on the plate. I just finished this today. It is ready to be etched. Then printed.

Here is the view out the window where I regularly sit and do my thing. I hope someday to have a studio with a view like this. Stunning.

Soon(probably tomorrow) I will upload and post about my recent trip to Montepulciano and Pienza.

Last Wednesday I went to Perugia. And I know that me saying “It may be one of my favorite cities in Italy” is getting kind of cliché, but it is really true. Perugia is somewhat like Siena in that it is about the same size. However, it is minus the tourists. But plus the chocolate. Perugia is home to the world-famous Perugina chocolate. Perugia also seems to be the one of the largest but most authentic italian cities that we have visited. I would highly recommend a visit there if you have the opportunity.

A view of the hillside and the sprawling city of Perugia.

The Mini Metro. Designed by Jean Nouvel. This was a really neat project. It was scaled perfectly to the city. It was really nice to see a local rail system that was not over designed or overly scaled. There was big enough to be comfortable, and small enough to not overly compensate for their population.

Aldo Rossi. Possible one of the ugliest most disgustingly bare buildings I have ever been to.

Overall, The semester is really starting to wind up, and the last few projects are starting to creep up. And as a consequence,posts may come farther between. Although for the rest of the semester I still have a trips remaining to Tivoli, Montepulciano, Villa Lante, and Cinque Terre. That is all before the semester ends.

Last Wednesday, we took a trip to Orvieto. And I was  thoroughly impressed. Orvieto is a hill town as well. However, it is located in the Umbria region, instead of Tuscany like Castiglion Fiorentino. Orvieto sits on, what appears to be a hill with its top cut off, which makes it a unique ”fortress” type of city. But, instead of it being hilly, the town is rather flat. We rode the funicular up the cliff, and rode a bus that dropped us off in the center of town. And I should mention that Orvieto is the home to one of the other study abroad program that is affiliated with my school. So we were able to meet up with some friends. They showed us around town. We had piadinos. Ate gelato. And all things you do to get to know a town and yet kill some time before the next train departs.

The edge of the walls provide for some great views. Ones that are just as breathtaking as the ones here in Castiglion.

And as you know, past week was Holy Week. Holy week in Castiglion is one that is laced with tradition that dates back to the 1500′s. There are three processions(one was rained out this year)led by men and women in hooded cloaks that carry statues, representing a moment of the passion of Jesus, through the main streets of the city. Every two years there is a there is a re-enactment of the Passion of Christ(which has been rained out twice already), a play in which nearly one hundred locals interpret and reenact the last days of Jesus. Following are some of the pictures taken from the processions. Please excuse the blurry photos, as it is difficult to photograph moving subjects at night. I’m not making excusing. Just stating facts.

Notice how the people carrying the cross are barefoot. They do this to share the pain of Jesus as he carryed his cross.

This week, I will be in Perugia on Wednesday. And possibly somewhere else this weekend. Until then. Happy Easter!

Part 3- Madrid and Valencia

This is where my trip started to get interesting. Somehow I got an infection in my eye, which made it really difficult to do anything. And when I mean anything, I mean everything. So more than a few of the pictures are from Josh or Tim.

We rode a “night” train to Madrid. The train was actually a normal train but was really 9 hours long. So we booked the preferete class. We rode in style, like Harry Potter. We had our own cabin and it was great.

Madrid was pretty cool. Never in my life did I ever think that I would go to Madrid. Or even really have the desire to go there. But it turned out to be pretty neat. The architecture was pretty random, in that it was spread out all over the city. So our trip ended up being kind of random in that way.

And now for Valencia. Valencia was a good wrap up for the trip. Unfortunately, My eye had gotten worse enough that there was no point in me taking photographs of our stay in Valencia. All of these photos are from Tim or Josh.We stayed in an awesome house in Bunol. Bunol is the city where they have the Tomato Festival. But the real reason we wanted to go to Valencia was because of Santiago Calatrava and Las Fallas.

Here is a photo of the living room. The house had 4 rooms, all with full baths, a kitchen, and a decent size yard. I felt as if I was staying in a mansion compared to the previous living conditions of the trip.

Valencia is home to Calatrava’s Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències. It is a huge complex, with mind blowing architecture. The buildings are just gorgeous, which really fits in with an arts and science complex.

Notice the very large “leaf” cantilever over the building.

A view of a third of the complex.

We also made it to the Grandstand for the America’s Cup. This building was designed by David Chipperfield. This is one of the nicest, most clean building that I have ever visited.

And now to Las Fallas. Las Fallas, is a huge celebration of St. Joseph. The whole country of Spain participates, but the center of the party is in Valencia.

Here is a photo of a Fallas prior to being lit. It really surprised me how much detail they put into these things, only to light them on fire later. But, I suppose they have nothing else to do with them after the celebration.It is easier to clean up the ashes than to completely disassemble and move these massive structures.

A small Fallas on fire.

A view of a large fallas, with fireworks. The amount of people present was ridiculous.

Remains.

Valencia offered a once in a lifetime type of event. Probably never again will I experience Las Fallas, so I was fortunate to see it then. But after a long two weeks of being away from Castiglion, broken down, beaten, and exhausted, I was ready to get back. To my hard bed. To my 30″x30″ shower. To the view of the valley. And most of all, back to the Italian food.

Lately, I’ve been reflecting on my time spent here and have begun to realize how fast this trip has flown by. Especially since the second project was due this morning and I enrolled for classes for this summer and next fall. Some of us are starting to think about our journeys after the program, what to see, places to stay, and trains to take. And soon I will be on my way back home, missing the food at Santa Chiara.

Spring Break Part 2–Barcelona

The next day of our break was spent seeing as much of Milan as possible before we needed to board the plane to Barcelona. We were able to squeeze in the interior of the Duomo and the Fiera Milano. The interior of the Duomo is just as impressive, if not more, than the exterior. The Fiera Milano is a gigantic mile long exhibition hall. There is a large glass canopy that weaves its way over, up, down, and through the exterior space connecting the separate halls. Apparently I was not supposed to take photos, but I did anyway, right in front of security guard. I promptly received the usual, “No Foto!”

Just to put some scale to the doors to the Cathedral.

It was kind of a shame to leave Milan so quick. There is so much to see in that city and we only started to scratch the surface, but we had Spain to look forward to. Our flight over to Spain was great. Quite, smooth, and a great view of the Swiss Alps. A big contrast to our party plane on the way back.

After landing in Barcelona, we took a bus into the city center. Annoying. But it seems like a lot of european cities are that way, regardless of their public transportation system. In Milan, the airport was an hour outside the city. Reminds me of home.

Our Hostel was great. Located right on the Ramblas. The Ramblas is the happening place to be in Barcelona. Restaurants line the street. There are street performers. And it overall just a great place to people watch(one of my favorite activities). We only paid 31 euro for two nights. Free breakfast, kitchen, and our room had a balcony that overlooked the Ramblas.  Great place to stay.

This is the view from our balcony. The following photos are from the first night in Barcelona.

Barcelona quickly became on of favorite cities that I have ever visited. The people there are beautiful-in regards to their culture, not necessarily their looks. It is a great city for a student of architecture. So many places to see, and a lot of the projects by architects that we study in school. It is so nice to set foot in these projects and see first hand what makes them so famous in architecture circles.

Here are some photos of Parc Guell, designed by Antonio Gaudi. This was easily my favorite space in Barcelona.

The Barcelona Pavillion, designed by Mies Van Der Rohe

The Botanical gardens. The next few are at the Diagonal Mar.

The Forum building – Herzog and de Meuron

MACBA- Richard Meier

Santa Catarina Market.

Next Stop is Madrid.