jessiepurves

[jessiepurves]

22 Magio

Today was our last day all together. :(

We woke up, had breakfast together and headed to the train taking us to the airport for a full day's worth of travel ahead. Our long-haul flight was first this time; landing in Toronto, Canada where I had to basically physically restrain Ron from buying any more souvenirs...

After our layover we flew the few hours back to Orlando and did not get back until around 11pm. We said some quick goodbyes at the baggage carousel as we were all exhausted and finally headed home.

This trip was something I never expected for myself, it truly pushed me outside of my comfort zone in every way possible. I have way more confidence in myself, especially in terms of travel, this experience has me already planning where I want to go next summer! All of the things I was able to see and the new friends I have made has made me eternally grateful for this experience.

Ciao for now!

[jessiepurves]

21 Magio

On our last full day in Rome we had a free day to see the city. We did lots of exploring and some more bike riding, this time on the oldest road in Rome. While we were near Appian Way it started pouring down rain and a few of us rain uphill to take some cool pictures of each other while waiting for the rest of our group to meet at the bike rental. From there we had to take a bus back to the hotel soaking wet to get ready for our farewell dinner with the professors and our tour guide. During the dinner Eric gifted us each a tin of sardines to take home and try and we got some cute pictures holding those. After dinner we still had some free time left and headed back to the Trevi Fountain to take some final pictures and find last minute souvenirs. Leaving still didn't feel real, definitely had mixed emotions of home sickness and not ever wanting to leave.

[jessiepurves]

20 Magio

This morning we woke up and took a train from Venice back to Rome. That four hour train ride really did remind me that I didn't have a phone, as I begged anyone awake for an AirPod to borrow. Once back in Rome, most of the remainder of the day was free time. We visited a few more churches and had John as our stand-in tour guide in Francesco's absence.

[jessiepurves]

19 Magio

Our one full day in Venice,

Most of us woke up feeling pretty sick this day as the constant activity of this trip began to catch up to us. I felt so sick I almost stayed back at the hostel. Thankfully my roommate Ana forced me to get up and go so I didn't miss one of our only days in Venice. We had a full day of visiting Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Ducale, Basilica di San Marco, and Ponte dei Sospiri. During our free time we explored Venice some more and took the bus back to the hostel at night. This night our hostel had a ska rock band playing that we went downstairs to see. We met and danced with a bunch of people from all around the world, it was such a cool unexpected experience. I love going to see live music back home so it made me really happy to enjoy it with new friends and I even *tried* to teach Ana and Ron how to mosh.... to Hotel California by the Eagles... but hey it counts ?

[jessiepurves]

18 Magio

Today we woke up pretty early as we had to catch the train from Florence to Venice. After we arrived we took a walking tour through Venice and toured the Scuola Grande di San Rocco aka "the Sistine Chapel of Venice". The rest of the day consisted of wandering around and getting lost in the maze that is the streets of Venice.

[jessiepurves]

17 Magio

Today the group woke up to an unpleasant surprise.

We woke up to the boys banging on our door telling us we were robbed. Once we were up and looking for our things we found one Apple Watch, two sets of AirPods, and four iphone's had been stolen out of our rooms while we slept. My phone was one of the ones stolen so I was pretty upset as this was my second item stolen within the last three months. After we assessed who was robbed and what they took our professors and tour guide took us to the police to fill out a report. After the reports were finished we went back to the hotel to meet up with the rest of our group and split off to distract ourselves and try to enjoy the rest of our free day. We walked past the carousel again and me and Ana got to ride it this time which cheered me up. After this we took a bus to Fiesole, explored the museums there and bought some fruit at a grocery store. Saige and I took a bus back and hiked around Florence phone-less, eventually finding some cool Italian Nokias to use the rest of the trip.

[jessiepurves]

16 Magio

Today was our third day in Florence,

We visited the world famous Uffizi Gallery to see its ancient collection of paintings and sculptures. While we were in the Uffizi we were able to see one of the paintings I was most excited to visit "The Birth of Venus" by Sandro Botticelli. While in the gallery I also got to see "Angel playing the lute" by Rosso Fiorentino a newfound favorite because of the beautiful oranges used in the angel's wings. This piece was referred to as "musical baby" for the remainder of the trip in my group as most of us got some form of souvenir with the piece on it. During free time we continued to explore Florence finding a really cool two-story vintage store where we searched and failed to find me a cool rain jacket to replace mine that Ron had lost within the first two days. ;)

[jessiepurves]

15 Magio

Today was the second day in Florence but first full official day.

Today we visited Santa Maria Novella and Santa Maria Del Carmine. After leaving the hotel on our walk to the first stop of the day we saw this carousel that reminded me of one my mom had taken my sister to as a baby visiting family in France. We now have a replica ornament that was given to her as a first Christmas ornament that is always one of the first to be put up. Seeing this reminded me a lot of home and I knew I needed a picture to remember it by. After our visit to Santa Maria Novella and Santa Maria Del Carmine we were on our own for free time. My group hiked to the top of a gorgeous lookout point for sunset and were able to get some amazing pictures. People were playing music and dancing as the sun set and we joined in on the fun with Ron, John, and Elias trying to teach the rest of us how to dance. But hey, even if we can't really dance Saige and I can do a mean limbo.

[jessiepurves]

14 Magio

Today was our first official transfer day, we took the train from Rome into Florence. We were able to see the Duomo today, and let me tell you those 463 steps were no joke. Definitely had to have an inhaler break at the top with Ron as the two asthmatics of the trip :) Those steps really did make me appreciate the view and the opportunity I had to visit while I am young and able bodied as many never have the chance. We were also able to visit Academia and see Michelangelo's David along with some other incredible sculptures. While we were there a small child ducked under the railing and started running circles around the David. You know the saying "a picture is worth a thousand words"? well... the picture of the security guards face says it all...

[jessiepurves]

13 Magio

Today was one of the most memorable of the entire trip.

The day started with visiting the Capuchin crypt during our morning free time, that was definitely worth waking up early for! We were not able to take pictures inside but the museum you walk through before entering the crypt really helped me understand more about what we would be seeing inside. Today was also the day we visited the Borghese gallery and gardens. Within the gallery I saw the sculpture my final project is on, "The Rape of Proserpina" by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Seeing these incredible works of art so close is unparalleled to anything that can be learned through a textbook or online. The up-close pictures I took will really help me when completing my presentation. During our free time we continued to explore the gardens, renting bikes to cover the most ground.

[jessiepurves]

12 Magio

Today was another great day of exploring Rome!

We had guided tour's followed by a walking tour. The guided tour consisted of the Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Basilica. Seeing the art within the Sistine chapel was breathtaking and a moment of this trip I will always remember. During the walking tour we were able to visit the Pantheon, Caravaggio's Churches, Piazza Navona, and Sant'Ignazio. The Pantheon was one of my favorite parts of the walking tour, learning about the advanced architecture as well as the history of Ancient Rome that occurred there.

[jessiepurves]

11 Magio

The second day in Italy was a success!

I took some of my favorite pictures from the entire trip today and was able to scratch touring the colosseum off my bucket list. We met with our tour guide Francesco in the morning who handed us off to another guide once we entered the coliseum. Learning more about the building and destruction of the coliseum throughout history was really surprising, how it was basically "scrapped for parts" to repurpose it's building materials. We had lots more exploring on our own later on during free time and were able to start getting a feel for the city as well as revisit places we didn't have time to explore earlier.

Until tomorrow!

P.S. please enjoy the attached picture of a doorway with origami crane garland as much as I do. thank you. :)

[jessiepurves]

10 Maggio

The first day in Rome was incredible… and incredibly busy!

To get to Rome we had a four hour flight from Orlando to Montréal, a four hour layover, and then an eight-ish hour overnight flight to Rome.

Once in Rome, we took a train to the city center, dropped our bags and started exploring! We visited the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish steps, The Basilica Papale di Santa Maria Maggiore, and more.

We ended the day with a delicious welcome dinner with all students, professors, our tour guide and his wife. Eating at what is known as the oldest pizza restaurant in the world, started in the early 19th century.

I am feeling really lucky to be here, a little drained because of the jet lag and fast pace of travel but can already tell it is more than worth it for the experiences we will have while abroad.

more tomorrow,

ciao!

[jessiepurves]

otto

The adventure to Italy begins tomorrow!

wow. Time really flew by…

As I have just now finished packing I will grace you with my list here:

Carry on:

Clothes:

4 pairs of Jeans/pants (wearing one)

2 long sleeve shirts

2 tank tops (wearing one)

2 t-shirts

3 “going out” dresses/romper

Undergarments

6 pairs of socks (wearing one)

1 crewneck sweatshirt

1 cardigan (wearing)

1 foldable rain jacket (in personal item)

Swim suit (doubtful I will use it but better safe than sorry!)

Shoes:

Doc Martens (wearing)

Black sandals

High-top converse

Rubber slides (shower shoes)

Toiletries:

Shampo

Conditioner

Body wash

Razor & Shaving cream

Toothbrush & toothpaste

Sunscreen

Moisturizer

Hair goop

Face wash

Accessories/ Miscellaneous:

2 belts (wearing one)

Jewelry (that is practically attached to me at this point in time)

Hair clips

Hair ties

Asthma meds

!!!!Lactose pills!!!!

Personal Item:

PASSPORT

Wallet

Headphones

Portable charger

Phone charger

Gum

Hand Sanitizer

Lip balm

Foldable rain jacket

This past semester has been extremely busy and chaotic for me so I have not really been able to process the fact that I am going to study abroad in Italy for two weeks until this weekend… and wow…I am excited even amongst the anxiety and know this will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life, the good, the bad and the ugly. ;)

[jessiepurves]

sette

While we are in Italy we will have the opportunity to see art almost anywhere we travel to. During the spring semester I took an art appreciation class and many of the works we studied are held either at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence or the Borghese Gallery in Rome. While in Florence visiting the Uffizi Gallery we will explore their extensive sculpture and painting collection that features work from Botticelli, Titian, Giotto and many more. One of the piece’s I am most excited to see while at the gallery is The Ognissanti Madonna by Giotto. This is one of the pieces we studied extensively, comparing the facial features to other similar works while dissecting the small details that carry great meaning. Another work I am excited to see while at the Uffizi Gallery is Venus of Urbino by Titian. This piece shows examples of symbolism and contrast such as the dog at the foot of the bed representing marital fidelity and the dark background contrasting the lightness of Venus in her bed. While in Rome at the Borghese Gallery, I am very excited to see Bernini's sculpture of Apollo and Daphne. The details they posses in their facial expressions and the leaves of Daphne’s hands are breathtaking. I am also very curious to learn how they have been preserved and are not severely damaged after hundreds of years.

[jessiepurves]

sei

Being able to see so much all in one trip is the reason I chose this study abroad experience. Traveling within Italy gives us an opportunity to experience countless monuments that we may not have been able to see had we planned a trip on our own. I am very excited to see the sistine chapel while we are in Venice to learn more about the architecture and the world famous artwork. While in Florence, I am eager to visit the Duomo and climb to the top to see the view over the city. Within that same day we will also be visiting the Accademia Gallery in Florence. The Accademia Gallery is home to Michelangelo's David which is another monument I can not wait to see in person. I was not aware until recently how large Michelangelo’s David statue actually was. After seeing pictures of it being cleaned that made the workers look like little ants in comparison to its stature, Wow… I will include a picture for reference because I was floored. The Borghese Gallery in Rome is another place I cannot wait to cross off my bucket list. I love visiting museums and cannot wait to see works of art we have studied online prior to traveling such as Bernini’s The Rape of Proserpina, the piece I will be writing the final paper for the class on.

[jessiepurves]

cinque

The thing I am looking forward to most as I study abroad is the chance to see so many sight-seeing locations. While in Italy, we will see countless famous works of art and architecture such as the colosseum, the Duomo, and Michelangelo's statue of David. I am most excited to explore the colosseum and learn more about the history of ancient Rome first hand. Learning about how the colosseum was taken apart for building materials after having been such a significant part of history was very surprising to me. I hope to learn more about other aspects of ancient Rome, specifically their creation and use of aqueducts. During our free time in Florence I am excited to do some shopping at the local stores. I hope to find a nice leather shop and get a jacket or purse, something that will be a beautiful souvenir to remind me of my time in Italy. I also plan to do some early birthday shopping while I am there as my sister’s birthday is about a week after we return back home. (Act surprised Julia!!) I am also looking forward to being able to try some local food and attempt to eat my weight in gelato!