Photos of Spring Break

currently not able to upload photos in the apartment, can get to the page but they wont upload, neither here nor on facebook, so will have them up later after i go to studio or school tomorrow and do it there.

Spring Break- Day 9- Friday March 12th

Last day of our trip, had to check out at 10 so we did that and then headed to the bus station so we could catch a bus to the airport because we didnt know how long it was going to take. Made it to the airport, and just like every other flight there was very little people in line at security and it didnt take long for us to get through and to the gate. Only real problem was that about 30 min before we were to board the plane they changed and moved a different flight to board at the gate we were at and they borded before us and then we went through the gate and boarded the plane. Flew back to Rome and then took a bus from the airport to the train station and then took a train back to florence and was finally back from spring break.

Spring Break- Day 8-Thursday March 11th

Went back down by the waterfront today, There was a pretty cool pedestrian draw bridge crossing next to a marina. There were a ton of boats there and a museum and a mall on the other side of the bridge. The museum had a really cool facade that was curved reflective glass that when you stood under you could look out and see the cafes outside and out onto the marina behind. From there we walked back across the bridge and there was a school of fish swimming under the bridge, dont know what they were. Then continued on to the Contemporary Art Museum designed by Richard Meier. It was smaller than we thought it was gonna be, only 2 temporary galleries and a small permanent gallery, each on its own floor. After that we didnt know what to really do so we got some sandwiches and just hung out back at the hostel with some of the other people, most of them were leaving friday as well as us, played some more cards and compared things between the countries.

Spring Break- Day 7-Wednesday March 10th

Today is our day where we plan to hit all of the Gaudi buildings in Barcelona. Our first stop was at Casa Battlo, which was designed based off of a story involving a dragon, i dont remember all of it. We didnt go inside, but instead continued on to Casa Mila which was down the street a few blocks. We went inside that building, which was really cool, there was a display area showing info on his other buildings. Then went to the roof where there were some nice views of the city and also some changes in levels all over the place. From there we went to Park Guell which was at the north part of the city and up the hill a little. Walked around for a little bit, had lunch up there then walked back down the hill toward the station so we could head over to the Sagrada Familia. Its still under construction but we were able to inside and walk around. It was really intricate and huge. They have 8 towers constructed but they still have plans to build it a lot higher with an observation deck on the top. It should be completed in 2015 but i dont know if that is the whole thing or just open for use. After we walked through the Sagrada Familia there was a museum/work area in the basement that was Gaudi's workshop where he built the plaster models that were used to design the building. He felt that it was easier for him to make the models than it was to draw the design, so the building is being built off of those models. There were also drawings there from parts of the church as well as the design for the front facade which depicted the stations of the cross. We then hoped back into the metro and went over to the Tore Agbar and some of the other building in that area just as the sun was setting. We also stumbled upon what appeared to be filming of a movie, a very low budget movie, no clue what they were really doing. After that we headed back to the hostel and sat there in the common room again and played some cards with some of the other people staying there.

Spring Break- Day 6-Tuesday March 9th

Barcelona. Well not quite. After sleeping in the airport we got on our flight for "Barcelona" which actually flew into Girona which was about 60 miles north of Barcelona and a bus ride a way. When we finally got to Barcelona, 2 1/2 hours later because there was a snow storm there the day before and the roads were packed with cars stopped because they didnt know what to do or how to drive in the snow. At the bus station we bought a 4 day metro pass for Barcelona, similar to the one in Berlin, but no discounts on places, we had international student ids for that. So we headed off to find our way to the hostel. The metro in Barcelona was so much easier to figure out that it was in Berlin. there were like 5 different trains at each stop in Berlin, but Barcelona had 1 rail for each station, if there were 2 trains at the same station they were on different platforms. Made it to the hostel, except the room wasnt ready so we went out and just walked around for a bit, it was nice to be in a place that wasnt constantly freezing, though it was still cold out, and the sight of palm trees everywhere helped out. Well after we wondered around for a bit we headed back to the hostel and boy was it a small room, we got spoiled in Berlin with that room. After we put our stuff in the room we headed out to the Barcelona Pavilion, one of the main reasons we went to Barcelona. Spend a good amount of time there and when we left headed a short ways away to a tv tower by Calatrava and the rest of the 1992 Olympic Complex. From there we took the subway to check out some other buildings, and ended up at one of Barcelona's beaches. It was really windy, but so cool to be at the beach even if it was getting dark, the waves were huge, but didnt get to go in, plus would have been freezing. After walking around the completely empty beach front and seeing a few other buildings we headed back to the hostel, grabbed a sandwich from a store, which had amazing cookies by the way, and hung out at the hostel for the rest of the night.

Spring Break- Day 5- Monday March 8th

Last day in Berlin, checked out of the hostel with our bags packed and headed out. First stop was to the Velodrome which was the building for the cycling events during the 1936 olympics in Berlin. It was located right around the corner from our hostel so we figured we had to check it out. It was closed, but had been converted into an ice rink and had an ice show there coming up. Then walked over and saw the GSW Headquarters...just an interesting building we had marked down to check out. Then took the subway and walked to the World Cultures Building which was basically a model of the TWA terminal at JFK. Walked under a tower that was just around the corner from the building then headed off again. From there we went around what we are assuming is the police headquarters for Berlin, across the river and checked out a red and green tile/scale firestation for 2 seconds then headed over to the train station to continue on the route we planned for the day. Only problem was that we were way ahead of schedule and we didnt even get to go into Frank Ghery's DZ Bank/Whale building becuase it was closed everytime we tried to go in, either too late or there was an 'event', So we made our way around the city a little then saw that we still had 4 hrs until we had planned on being at the airport and saw a movie theatre and figured we would go watch a movie. Well all of the ones in that theatre were in German only but the one back at Potsdammer Platz played movies in their original version so we headed back there and watched Men Who Stare at Goats because the choices for english movies in berlin isnt the greatest at 3 in the afternoon. After the movie we headed over to the airport, we were still a little early, but sitting there for a couple hours wouldnt be as bad as the layover we were set to have in Frankfurt-Haun that night. So we arrive in Frankfurt-Haun at arond 1130pm but our flight for Girona, Spain doesnt leave till 630...that leaves us a night in the airport. Only problem is that Frankfurt-Haun is like a shed in the middle of nowhere, and everything was closing up when we got there. So like everyone else that was staying in the airport overnight, there was about 100 people total, we slept for a few hours in the airport...just picked a corner and used our backpacks and towels as pillows and tried to get some rest. It was funny seeing people sleeping all over the place, there were people behind counters, in chairs, under the security counters...pretty much everywhere you could get a 'personal' space to lay down.

Spring Break- Day 4- Sunday March 7th

Today we got up and took another long train ride out to the Olympic Stadium from the 1936 Olympics. We also went out there because close by was a building by Corbusier, but the highlight was the stadium. It had been redone for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and a new roof was designed and built onto it. Other than some restorations the stadium is very similar design to how it was for the Olympics. Around the side was the swimming pool with what looked like an elevator for the diving platforms. Behind the stadium was an open field with a stadium that was on the site before the stadium was built for the olympics. It was cool to get to go into the stadium and pretty much walk anywhere, we went from field level on one part all the way up to the top in another section. After the stadium we made a few stops to look at some buildings we had studied before. Unite d'habitation by Le Corbusier, is not the first unite d'habitation he build(thats in Marseilles, France) but it is very similar to it. That one could be seen from the stadium, our second stop, the AEG Turbine Building, was by train and a longer walk than it should have been(happened a lot where we took a longer route than necessary). This was not that exciting, other than that we studied it before and was huge compared to how it appeared in pictures, but we couldnt go inside because I can only assume they are still using it as a factory. We then went back into Potsdammer Platz by Renzo Piano and wandered around there for a little while, had lunch at a restaurant where everything has potatoes in it...different, but not bad. Walked around a bit more found a casino that was hosting the European Poker Tour(EPT) and turns out that 4 people tried to rob the place on the 6th, ya a day before we were there, didnt realize that until i was writing all this down and saw something on CNN's website about dumb theifs. So after we walked by the casino we made our way over to what we believe was the Berlin Pavilion by Mies Van der Rhoe for like 5 min then passed back through Eisenman's memorial then headed back to the hostel to plan out our last day in Berlin.

Spring Break- Day 3- Saturday March 6th

While on the free tour the day before our guide told us about how there was a concentration camp just to the noth of Berlin and that they had a tour going there on saturday. Well we planned on going with that, but decided that it was easier for us to just go on our own instead of meeting up and going and going earlier and at our own pace. Well we left at 10 and got to the camp an hour later after a train ride and a 15 min walk, the tour was meeting in the same place as the day before at 11, so we were already ahead of them but never saw them when we were there. The place was huge, was called Sachsenhausen, it was one of the first to be started and the 'model' for other camps. Once it was liberated the Soviets took it over and put their political prisoners in there including many former nazis. After the trip there we returned to Berlin and went to the Reichstag and waited in line for almost 2 hrs in order to go inside and walk around the glass dome on the top with views out across the city. By the time we got out of there it was dark and we walked back to the hostel, bought some food from the store close by and made some dinner in the kitchen in the hostel.

Spring Break- Day 2- Friday March 5th

Lady at the front desk of the hostel told us about a free tour they had leaving from next to the Brandenburg Gate so we got up and went to that. Thing was it was freeezing out, average temperature while we were in berlin was like -6 degrees C which is in the 20s...so here we are on Spring Break all bundled up w/ gloves and winter hats getting a tour of Berlin. There was a starbucks next to the starting point and we went inside and got some hot chocolate before we went outside to get in line. The tour was pretty cool, our guide was from Maine and had been giving tours for a few years, he brought us around the city and gave us history as well as info on things to do/see. Along the way we passed a woman doing Nordic Walking...which is apparently a German thing where they basically walk fast with poles...or nordic ski without the skis...not sure which lol. We started at the Brandenburg Tor and the Pariser Platz that is right there, surrounded by the US and French Embassies and some banks and the Hotel Adlon(where Michael Jackson dangled his baby from the balcony). We then walked past the Reichstag(government building) Peter Eisenman's Murdered Jews Memorial, made our way past Checkpoint Charlie, saw part of the Berlin wall, Location of Hitler's Bunker, Museum Island and a few other places. After the tour was over we headed back to the hostel, had some lunch and then went to the Jewish Museum, addition designed by Daniel Libeskind, a couple blocks away from the hostel. Was an interesting building, we had to leave cause it was closing, and one of the levels was closed off for construction so we didnt get to see that part.

Spring Break-- Day 1- Thurs. March 4

Today is the first day of our spring break, but it also the last day of our mid-term exams...have italian scheduled for 930 in the morning and our flight is scheduled for 1...only problem is the train that gets to the airport in pisa at 1210 leaves florence at 1030....so we were able to start the test early and made it onto the train at about 1015 or so. Now we are on spring break and can relax...well not really, still need to get to our flight to frankfurt, luckily the train station is right at the front door of the airport and we hurry in, get our passports checked, through security and make it to the gate...only to see that there is no plane there yet. So we made our flight and were now off to frankfurt-haun airport, 2 hrs outside frankfurt, germany so we could then continue on to berlin. Took RyanAir for all of our flights, very cheep, and they fly to a lot of places in europe, only problem is that with some of them it is a little ways outside the city. On our way to frankfurt I noticed some planes outside the window with black smoke trails behind them, and it appeared to be fighter jets from how quickly they were going and turning.
Landed in frankfurt-haun, very boring airport, had a slight layover then took off for Berlin. Landed in Berlin just outside the city and bought a 'Berlin Card' which was a 5 day pass for the U-Bahn S-Bahn and all the other public transportation in Berlin. We also got discounts at some of the museums we went to with it. After landing, walking through 'customs'(there was noone there) and buying our pass we headed off to try to reach our hostel. Well we made it to the main station in Berlin and almost ended up on a train headed to Potsdam(outside the city) rather than Potsdammer Platz. That would have been interesting. Made it to potsdammer platz after figureing out the trains just enough. Ended up getting out of the subway at the Sony Center right under the huge canopy which was cool. Took some pictures and then headed on our walk to the hostel. We stayed at The Three Little Pigs which was very nice, located fairly close to all of the things we wanted to see. Since we got in relatively late we didnt do much that night other than walk and grab some food and figre out what we were gonna do the next day.

Day 4- 16/1/10

Today was not much for orientation, but we had to be there at some point between 9am and 1pm to get our books and if we wanted to add/drop classes or sign up for any of the trips on the weekends. Me and Nate, signed up for a trip to Pisa on the 23rd and Siena on the 30th. We already know a few other people going to Pisa the first day and I also signed up to go to a calcio (soccer) game for feb 21. Once we had gotten our books and signed up for what we wanted we left and went back to the apartment.
There wasnt anything planned for us after that so me Nate and emily decided to 'get lost' in florence. Our apartment is pretty much between two bridges so we decided to take the one farther east(up river) than the one we had used before. We made our way past one of the city gates to the south of the river and followed the city walls up the hill which never seemed to end. We passed the fort up on the hill and then continued to follow the winding, 8' high stone walled, street through the hills of the edge of florence. There were amazing views of parts of the city as we were going and eventually had to stop and try to figure out where we were to head back. We ended up outside the city and at the entrance to an observatory and the Galileo Galilei Institute of Physics or something along those lines. After figuring out where we were it was a simple solution to get back. We continued a little bit farther and then took a right down a main road which lead us straight down the hill to another one of the city gates. This one was far bigger than the other though as it was the gate facing Rome and was located at the intersection of 5 or so roads. We followed the road back into the city and passed by the Palazzo Pitti and reached the Ponte Vecchio where we took a right and followed the river to the next bridge and then found our way home. Along the way back we stopped at the same little shop/pizzarea where we seem to stop daily to get bread as it is on the way back from the store as well as being about 2 blocks from our apartment.
In a bit we will be going out to the store to to get dinner for tonight and then head back and cool while we all sit around the table and probably start up another movie. Our days have seemed to involve atleast one stop at the place down the street from us to get bread, stoping at the grocery store for dinner, watching a movie during dinner, and having a rotating schedule for cooking/dishes. Only being 3 days its a pretty good routine, but well see how it holds up after classes start. Tomorrow it looks like a few of us will be taking the bus up to Fiesole, which is a small town in the hills(i say hills cause you can see snowcap mountains in the distance, but they are like the 'mountains' at home) that overlooks Florence and has some of the houses from the rich and powerful people that used to live in the city.
OK, so for dinner joe made chicken breaded with mustard and bread crumbs. Weve also got some pasta and bread to go with it. Tonights movie: Inglorious Bastards

Day 3- 15/1/10

Friday, today we had another orientation meeting at 9am, this time at the palazzo rucellai, which is where the majority of the classes are held(not studio). We went an extra street over on our way there, but other than that no problems. Then met some of the institute staff outside and they directed us to a small door around the side and up a spiral stair to the third floor. The institute is through a small, probably 3' wide double door, but the rooms inside are huge. We were a little late but got in and sat down.
They gave us a quick tour of the classrooms on the 3rd floor, theres a small passage from the computer room to one of the classrooms, or something like that. They then took us outside and around to the front of the building and in another door and up to the 2nd floor(still like 40 steps up though) where there were 3 more classrooms and the library/small book collection. After the tour we were brought back into the main room (we were told that the last formal public gathering there was for Princess Diana). In there we were split up again and filled out the Permisso (permission to stay) form which took a little while. When the entire group was done they split us back into the groups we took the tours in and brought us into the classrooms and were given a very brief 'class' on italian and phrases.
After the brief class we went outside and were told about a few places around the palazzo rucellai where we would be able to get things. Went and got a sandwich(didnt know what i was getting, but it looked good) and it was like an egg and ham on panini/roll thing. Walked around a little bit because we had to be back at the school later to meet with one of our arch professors. Got out of that, hung around the school talking with people then visited where we thought studio would be...well on the right street that is and visited people who lived on the other side of the river.
Later made a, what appears like it will be daily, trip to the supermarket a few blocks away from us to pick us some more food and dinner. Nate was cooking and made steak tips and onion and peppers. Then sat around watching a movie and talking around the kitchen table, which is our only real surface for us to do things on, and we get limited internet there.

Day 2- 1/14/10

We all got up for orientation which we had at 9 in the morning. We were given directions and a packet of information at the apartment and had to find our way to the Auditorium al Duomo. Which happens to be down the street from the Duomo. We did walk by it(picture) but didnt get long to stay there because we were running behind. The auditorium al duomo was below a Best Western hotel and behind a little cafe. We were inside for most of the day, getting introduced to teachers, staff and then described what the general things would be for the semester and orientation. Then had a talk from one of the Italian State police officers who told us about safety in the city and what to watch out for in the city. Had lunch downstairs and had some free time inbetween some of the talks. Walked around the area and saw Santa Maria Nouvela(picture). Most of the day was spent there listening to people and occasional breaks outside. Afterwards we went out and found the phone store and bought phones that work for us here in italy. After getting back to the apartment we found where the grocery store was(on another map they gave us) and went there to buy some food for dinner. Had some of the pasta and sause they had bought for the apartment before we got there and bought some sausage and some other stuff from the grocery store. Then stopped and bought some bread from the place we had gotten some pizza. Then Walker(one of my roomates) cooked up the pasta and sausage(we have a rotating schedule of dishes to cooking to someone else between the five of us). Then sat and watched a movie and also went to bed fairly early.

Day 1- 1/13/10

image from the plane getting into italy

Got into Firenze at around 2pm here(8am est...6hr difference) Our plane was so small and tight packed. Was really foggy around Frankfurt airport when we got there but when we left it was pretty clear. Our plane was parked out on the tarmac a ways from the main terminal, so we got to take a bus out there and it was situated between two of the runways. We took off from one of the back runways too seemed like it was miles from the terminal at that point lol. Was able to take a few pictures as we were taking off, but best part was when we started our decent in Italy. We came down and there was a bunch of low clouds but as we kept going I started to see snow and figured it was the ground. Well I took a few pictures when I realized what it was. Mountains...snow capped mountain, we think it was a chain of the alps. I have a few more pictures I will try to upload somewhere later, our internet isnt the greatest in the apartment. Took a bunch of pictures of the mountains, villages, countryside as we flew over them. Once landed we took another bus to the baggage claim in the Florence airport(small, 1 runway airport) both my bags made it to florence. We then passed through 'customs' which was a joke...we just walked under a sign saying 'customs' and past a police officer. Then met up with the people from Palazzo Rucellai outside and all 40 or so of us gathered on the sidewalk outside. They checked us in then we found out where we were living in the city and who. They then packed us into cabs 2 at a time and sent us on our way to our apartment. We were supposed to be met by someone outside, but when I got there 2 other students were standing out there because we didnt know who to buzz inside and the door was locked. We eventually got in after there were 6 of us there waiting.
Our building (via Ghibellina 7) has a courtyard within it which the majority of the apartments are off of. Our apratment is 2 floors and starts on the 2nd floor. There are 5 of us in the apartment, living with nate on the 2nd floor of the apartment. We have a door that opens up to the courtyard and a window with a ledge we can sit in. The kitchen/living room has a small terrace/deck off of it that we can use as well and it overlooks another small courtyard. We have three bathrooms and two showers in the place. We thought it was pretty sick when we got here, and it still is, but after seeing some of the other places people are in it doesnt seem as cool. We also dont have an oven which is weird, and there is a washing maching downstairs.
For dinner we decided to walk around for a bit up our street because we had to stop at our landlords office to pay for internet for the semester. Then stopped at a small little place and got pizza and water for dinner(water comes in 1.5 Liter bottles for 1 euro). We tried watching tv while we ate, but there is nothing on really. Went to bed pretty early not only because we had orientation starting at 9 the next day, but because we had all been up for a while on the planes over.

Day 1- 1/13/10

So first ill share the stuff from the plane: food, views...thats about it...
Each seat had a screen in the headrest infront of it which movies and music etc. was only 10 movies so i ended up watching UP and G-Force.



For dinner they were out of pasta when they got to us, so our only option was salmon, spinach, roll...well what you see in the picture lol...then later while we were over england they gave us a small container with a 'breakfast' in it.

In Firenze

In the apartment, and it is amazing, will upload pictures later...or tomorrow...just got internet, working a little slow, little busy, little tired. Tomorrow is orientation so will be at that all day, so might not get to upload anything till after that. going out to get food now and try to find things around our apartment.

Boarding Check-In

The two planes I will be flying on tomorrow. The larger one(Airbus 300-330) will be the one I am on from Boston to Frankfurt, then the small one (RJ 85) is the little puddle jumper Ill be on from Frankfurt to Florence. Got a window seat on both of them so hopefully there will be some pictures from that later. The one to Germany will be the nighttime pictures(depart 430pm arrive 530am) then the hour and 1/2 flight to Florence will be mid-day so who knows what ill get to see, hopefully some good pictures.