Street art

Florence has amazing street art. Blub is the artist above and Clet the stickers on street signs. We snapped a lot of shots on our walk around town today. 

 

A boy's best friend

Posted by Elizabeth. One of the hardest parts of traveling for six months is being away from our pets. We know they are well loved by Betsy, Loree and Duke but we miss them. This week we get some pet time at our lovely Italian villa. Leo likes to run and throw the ball with Xara in the olive trees. She's just a puppy and she and Leo are well matched in energy.

Today we head to the Academy in Florence for a look at David. Leo has been studying street art so we'll go from there to the studio of Clet who is the Florentine street artist of the moment. He creates stickers that he puts on street signs with humorous and political statements. It's illegal and they're removed but people love to try to spot them around the city. 

We have a few more days here then we are headed to Venice. Italy feels so different than Spain. Spain was incredibly vibrant and alive. Florence feels historical--the powerful things that happened here hundreds of years ago still seep into every day life. It's a more subdued feeling  than passionate Spain but just as beautiful. 

The Uffizi

Posted by Griffin. This week we went to the Uffizi. The Uffizi is largely considered to be the most important collection of Italian Renaissance art in Europe, so this was very exciting. It's an architecturally stunning building, construction began in 1560 under Giorgio Vasari and was completed under Alfonso Parigi and Bernardo Bountalenti in 1581. While the exterior design is in the style of 16th Italian palaces, most notably displayed in the Piti Palace in Florence, the interior design is largely that of 19th century European museum architecture. As you enter, you are greeted by hushed voices that reverberate in the colossal entrance hall. The collection of paintings that greet you in the first few rooms are amazing, they range from the international Gothic style to the quintessential early Italian Renaissance works of Botticelli. The Botticelli room was one of the definite highlights of the Uffizi. This room featured his "Birth of Venus" as well as "Primavera", these works go beyond what words could ever accomplish and whisk you away from the crowds in the Uffizi to a different world. As you gaze at the "Birth of Venus" you can no longer see the crowds of people clamoring to get a look, and instead all that is visible is the vulnerability of the young goddess, and the strength of the zephyrs. Needless to see I loved this museum.

In 1993, in an act of terrorism, the Sicilian mafia detonated a car bomb in front of the Uffizi. This killed five people and damaged the extensive collection. Now 22 years later the museum has not yet recovered from this horrific act. A large collection of classical marbles in the Niobe room were damaged, as well as this room's Neoclassical interior. Finally after a long struggle, the Uffizi was able to completely restore these figures, however the frescos on the walls were irreversibly damaged. The Uffizi is one of the greatest art museums in Europe, and not only stands for the beauty that humans can create but also for the resiliency and strength shown by the art community in Florence.

Niobe Room Uffizi

 

Museums make me mad and scared for my life

Leo at the Uffizi

 Posted by Leo. This week we went to the Uffizi and we saw a bunch of art there. Personally I do not care for art and it ticked me off (like many things that tick me off). While my family was enjoying the art and stopping at each piece for two minutes I was rushing towards the exit. It was dull there and there were so many statues that looked alike. They were all of gods that were buff with no clothes. The paintings mostly had the same picture as Jesus was crucified on a cross with two other people to either side. The paintings went on and on. Finally when my mom said I could leave I had to walk through the entire museum to get down to street level. It was a pain. Everything thing there just reminded me that museums aren’t meant for me and all they do is make me mad and scared for my life.

Hedgehogs and WiFi

Posted by Leo. The Wi-Fi everywhere we go isn’t very good, our computers either have a problem or can’t connect and so on. Today I am typing this days before it will get out and I apologize I cannot post every day.

Where we are staying is very nice and the family we are renting from is also nice. It’s their family villa and this house and the other 3-4 houses have been passed down by generations. They also own a full 11 acres of land and I love walking in the olive groves. It’s nice with a cool breeze and with the smell of fresh air. They have a dog named Xarra who is a German Shepard who is still a puppy but she is pretty big. She is really playful and follows me around whenever I go walking in the groves. When I find her and she starts following me is when we are walking past the chicken coop. She is standing there watching them. I have really been wanting to see a hedgehog. The people we are renting from say that they are 3 feet big! It would very much please me to be able to see one.

Room with a view

Ponte Vecchio

Posted by Elizabeth. We love Tuscany. We have found our favorite place so far. Our home here is a peaceful villa high above Florence with an invigorating bus ride down windy narrow streets into Piazza San Marco. We love the food -- fresh mozzarella, rich green pesto, bread right from the baker -- and the feeling of being part of a rich, layered civilization. 

We are staying with an extraordinary family of three generations, a dog who barks at hedgehogs and takes clothes hanging to dry, and an assortment of chickens with one very happy rooster. They have an olive tree grove which didn't bear fruit this year due to an overactive mosquito population. Good news for California maybe. 

Lots of art and culture while we're here and Leo is reading Pinocchio who came to life in this town. We're slowly learning a few words in Itallian although Griffin is already ordering food and asking questions like a native. He and my mom went to the Florence opera last night in a stunning modern cube. 



Griffin and Grandma

Outside the Uffizi

Window shopping

Posted by Elizabeth. Fashion in Italy truly is like nowhere else. And we haven't yet been to Milan and Rome. While known for leather and gold, Florence has a lovely, quieter sense of fashion. The spring wear is patterned, pastel and gorgeous.

We're in Florence

Our home in Florence

Posted by Leo. Everything in Florence is the same as Barcelona, just smaller. The thing I love most about Florence is our house. It's big and there are trails all around that lead to olive groves. I have not seen the groves yet but I am planning to spend an evening there watching the sunset.

Yesterday we saw the Duomo. It felt odd and strange. It was weird. It was not the biggest church I have seen but it was pretty big. My brother and mom kept scaring me about the statues moving. They got a laugh out of that one.

Well that's all I have to say.

The Florence Duomo

Recamper

 

Posted by Elizabeth. Those of you who are Camper shoe fans will understand this story. We discovered that the only Recamper store in the world is just outside of Barcelona. It's an outlet store for the greatest shoes ever. Sort of a cult trip and, as you can imagine, we had to go.

I found a dedicated "shopping bus" that leaves from downtown Barcelona every hour and goes to the outlet mall about a half hour away. Griffin and I got up early and hoofed it down to the stop (getting lost on the way and running up to the stop just as the bus was about to leave). Along with dozens of Japanese tourists we got off the bus at the Spanish outlet mall and headed right to Recamper. 

Wow! We had made it to Mecca. Discount Camper shoes from this season and last. We spent a couple hours trying on every pair in the store and came home very happy.

City bikes

City bikes in Barcelona



City bikes in Seville



City bikes in Seville

Posted by Elizabeth. There's a lot I love in Europe but one of my favorite things (after the bakery on every block) is the city provided bike service that exists in every city. All kinds of people from businessmen to students to elderly use them to get around. We used them in Seville and look forward to riding around other cities on the continent. 

It really makes sense in these packed cities with so many people. The traffic is crazy and parking even worse. I know we have city bikes in Seattle and I hope they become as well used as they are here. 

Comunication

Posted by Leo. It's hard being here without my friends and without a daily routine. I miss seeing my friends every day and I miss my class and even the most annoying people that brought laughter and humor to the class. The hardiest thing is the time difference. Whenever I want to text my friend it's always late at night or early in the morning. Every now and then I stay up untill 1:00-1:30 waiting until school is done to text my friends. Those are the best times and they make my day. The weekends are easy because I can text them around 3-4pm here. Also so far once I have Skyped with my class and hope to continue this and Skype in every now and then. I really enjoy seeing you guy :D.

Parc Guell

Posted by Beth. We had a fun day at Parc Guell. It is home to several Gaudi masterpieces. The house he lived in for 20 years is located in the park. It was very magical, ginger bread houses and fairy tales. Gaudi befriended Guell and Guell funded many of Gaudi's projects. They were friends in politics, religion and art. Originally the park was intended as homes for wealthy people. When that didn't work out Gaudi moved in and the rest became a park.