May 21: Venice, day 1... Woke at 6:30. Left Orvieto at 7:45, arriving in Mestre station (on the land) at 12:20, and switched trains to arrive at Santa Lucia (Venice proper) at 1ish. Found the hostel we sort'a reserved. Got denied, then wandered around with Jessica, Audra, and Tara (and Gwen of course). We got snack/bathroom break while they went to the Guggenheim museum. Arrived at the convent where they were staying, and got a place to stay. Went out for dinner, and actually managed to find the Osteria ai Assassini. Great hole-in-the-wall place. I feel so international knowing that I can recommend a restaurant in Venice. Returned to the convent at 10. Got very little sleep.
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May 22: Venice, day 2... Woke up early, were out of our room by 8:30. Ate a quick breakfast a piede (on foot) and took a water bus to Murano, the glass-making island of Venice. Spent until 5 pm being amazed. Got a letter-opener and a nice set of wine glasses. (6 for 35 euros! Real crystal, hand worked, 24K gold plated.) It rained. Oh well. Drank 1/4 liter of a fizzyish house red wine at a little pizza place. Good. Felt a little happy. Returned to convent at 6. Got dinner later in the pouring rain, then went to bed.
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May 23: Venice, day 3... Got up early again. Hauled luggage with us to station. ATM out of order. Tried another. Rejected my card. So did another. Hope I'm not out of money. Got tickets, walked around window shopping. Long train ride back. Shared compartment with strangers. Counted flags. 30. Doors opened at Orvieto, which is good. Got home. Changed, washed self. Helped Peter get pizza. Had a pizza party dinner with the Laude in Urbis actors. Been eating a lot of pizza lately. Tired. Eventually went to bed.
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May 24:... More class. Finished assembling box. After, pranzo. Spicy. All the actors are here. Poor dish driers, twice as many people to clean up after. At 4, went with Gwen and Skillen to get my permesso. No problem. Have it. Hope I can keep it. After, I drew, had dinner, etc. Went to bed. Must figure out what to paint on my box.
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May 25:Began painting test tiles today. Still sunny. I should wash my clothes. Tested my bank account after lunch. I have money now! Must make it last. Shared cookies 'n Nutella with other sculpture students to celebrate. Tomorrow, beginning at 2ish, we all go on an excursion. I hope I get to go to the beach. Started drawing again. Still need internet time. Grrr. Darn Peter.
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May 26:... No class this morning because, after pranzo, we went on a class excursion. Before departure, I showed a few people (sheepishly) my sketchbook.
The excursion -- Marino driving the van full of students across lots of Italian farmland -- was to a sculpture garden called "Il Giardino di Tarocchi" or the Tarot Garden. It was filled with these enormous, abstract, ceramic-and-glass-covered sculptures of Tarot figures. Can't say I really enjoyed the theme, but the work was impressive for its bizarre, multicolored Alice-in-Wonderland, macabre outlandishness.
After that, we all took a short jaunt to the (nearby) beach. I only waded, despite the fact that I wore my swimsuit. We left soon and returned home. I waited for a phone call from Mom, and by 9:15, had not received one, so Gwen and I made a (hurried) trip to Pizzeria Charlie's. We got home in time, I helped Gwen with a paper, and went to bed.
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May 27:...Last day of class for the week. After lunch, I colored, cleaned, and napped. At 4, bought some internet time and caught up on email, chatted with Jessica, and looked up Larry's favorite rune. (Thiwaz) Later, I went out with Gwen. Came back, had phone call, colored some more, had dinner, drew Anharath for Gwen, and went to bed.
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May 28:...Spent most of the day not even pretending to be productive. Grey day. Rained. I drew a bit. Napped. Twice. Had lunch. At 7 pm, Gwen and I went out for dinner at Trattoria La Palomba (the pigeon), as the thunderstorm that had been going since 6 (or earlier?) seemed to have stopped. Boy, were we wrong. At about 8ish, toward the end of our meal, it returned, full force. When we scurried back to the convent -- eyes on the sky all the way back -- we videoed/watched the spectacular storm until 9:40. I later went to bed.
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May 29:... Spent most of the day (until 4ish) as a slug. Did my laundry. Intended to shower, but there was no hot water. At 4:10, went out with Gwen. Found a small market. Got a pair of earrings and keychains for Katrina and Andrew. Gwen got nifty sandals. Saw people in medieval garb, plus some really cool flag tosser/twirlers. Did a quick shopping run, grooved in convent courtyard for a while (desserts and live karaoke for some scuola materna event) before dashing back out again for pizza and seats at the Palio dell'Oca (horse race). After some trouble finding seats -- we ended up crouching down front on the bleachers-- and an hour's worth of warm-ups and pomp and circumstance, the race began-- riders grabbing flags and dropping them in buckets mid-gallop to win. Our side (blue, Pistrella) won 7 to 3. After scurrying home, I went to bed.
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May 30:... Breakfasted as usual, and after, checked on my ceramic piece. As it was still intact, I took a much-needed (if somewhat lukewarm) shower, then basked in the sun on my bed, drying my hair. At 12ish, Gwen and I watched the 'descent of the holy spirit' at the Duomo, which involved a bird in a can being rocketed down a guide wire by a wreath belching blue smoke, accompanied by fire crackers. Quite a percentage of our students felt sorry for the poor thing. After, I worked on my comic (outside, as my roomie was sleeping), giving myself a neckache. I used my internet time at 5 (rediscovering Emode...) and later went out to see some (anticlimatic) archery, and bring back pizza for dinner. The pizza dinner was good-- I had four slices of Margherita and listened to one of the resident actors play his accordian. At 10, up on the covered terraza, we all saw what was, by all of our definitions, the most amazing, blinding, deafening, and CLOSE fireworks show any of us had ever seen. Seriously. Fireworks will never be the same again. After, Gwen and I joined in when Pamela opened her box of Jelly Bellys and I did a little late night art before crashing at 12:30.
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May 31:... Had breakfast and after, class. Painted a big test tile. I can hardly wait to see how it turns out. Pranzo was uninspiring -- possibly unedible. After, I tipped the hat of my creativity, and drew the touchstone figure that gave rise to Scarlet and started my whole writing career: Carmen Sandiego. She was elusive to draw, no surprise.
Later, Peter and I watched Gwen play Jedi-Knight 2. Party way, we handed it over to Peter when Gwen had a phone call, then she wrangled me into sneaking down into the dark sculpture area to help her cover her clay. We ate a small dinner, then returned to video games. I did a little coloring right before bed.