Packages from home:
I have had my first visitor (not including my parents) in Ferrara from home!!! My friend Sarah came to visit me during her easter holidays which was so lovely. I got to show off the place I've been living in for the past 7months(!?) I'm really glad she came since I'd been feeling a bit down about no one coming to stay during my year abroad. It's hard when everyone else has had friends visiting left right and centre and you don't.
But Sarah and I had a great time, I took her on her first trip to Venice, we ate enormous amounts of pizza and copious amounts of wine, and we visited the castle here in Ferrara.
I really hope that some of my other friends will try and visit before I leave in the summer, but it doesn't seem to likely to happen.
Each morning when I awake, I experience again a supreme pleasure - that of being Salvador Dali:
I've been studying Avant-garde cinema whilst in Italy and one of the films we watched was called "Chien Andalou" by Salvador Dali and Louis Bunel. So when I heard there was a Dali exhibition in Venice and I thought why not take a look. The exhibition was good, small but enough information to keep me happy. There were a lot of explanations into what his sculptures and paintings meant, for example; He put drawers, partially opened, on the sculptures of women's bodies so symbolise the hidden compartments of the mind and personality. This being said one of the things which I enjoyed the most were ll his quotes around the walls, to list a few:
At the age of six I wanted to be a cook. At seven I wanted to be Napoleon. And my ambition has been growing steadily ever since.
Take me, I am the drug; take me, I am hallucinogenic.
There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad.
Espagna!
Unlike University in Britain we only had a week of uni for Easter, but luckily for me it coincided with my parents holiday to Spain, therefore I joined them on the coast of Malaga for sun and Sangria. It was really juts nice to see my parents, although the sunbathing by the pool was an added bonus. I also spent a day in Malaga city centre as well on the way back to Italy and went on the most amazing FREE walking tour of the city. The company is called Pancho-tours and they offer free walking tours in certain cities in Spain and Portugal and I can't recommend them more highly. I learnt a lot about the city and our guide Michael was really enthusiastic and witty. After spending a week in sunny Spain, I was a little disappointed (to say the least) to arrive back in the rain of Italy.
Grazie San Giorgio!
For some strange reason the Patron saint of the city Ferrara is, like England, Saint George. However, unlike in England, here the city has a bank holiday to celebrate. Therefore, since we had no lessons, we took advantage of the day and went to Desenzano on Lake Garda. Unfortunately you can only get to the southern side of Lake Garda by train, but Desenzano was such a pretty little town it didn't matter. It has a lovely inland harbour and really quaint little cobbled streets. The only problem was that the day we went it was really windy which made it cold to sit out (although we did have a picnic to which the locals gave extremely odd looks). Hopefully I can manage a trip back there when the weather is better.
There was also a really amazing monument built in support of the resistance movement during the fascist era in Italy which I thought was so emotive. I took this photo but in reality it's much better.
Milano:
I went to Milan to see an old friend from 6th form who's doing a law internship as part of her year abroad. We had such a lovely time, sat outside and had lunch, sipped cocktails on the roof terrace overlooking the Duomo, and had aperitivo in Brera - I felt like a real lady of leisure. I thought Milan was great to visit for a couple of days but I'm not convinced that I'd like to live there. One the cost of living would be ridiculous, and two I don't think it's very Italian. It struck me as very chic and cosmopolitan and a bit unfriendly. I love the real Italy with it's little windy streets, big piazze and friendly faces. This being said it's well worth a visit. I loved the Duomo which was exquisite from the outside, although on the inside I wasn't as impressed. The Brera art gallery was AMAZING! Well worth the money, much cheaper than those in Florence and Rome but with just as impressive collection. I also spent a sunny afternoon reading a book in the park behind the Castle near the Arco della Pace which was such a nice way to escape the crowds in the city centre. I also found the most beautiful church on via Magenta which had the most incredible freschi all over. There are very few times in my life when I can honestly say my breathe was taken away, but this was definitely one of them. I loved the fact that they were so well maintained, and the emotion in the faces of the characters on the walls. I don't know who had painted them but he was definitely a skilled artist indeed.
Since I went to Milan on Liberation day (25th April) I wasn't therefore surprised to see some kind of protest in the street, but I wasn't expecting it to close down the metro stations. Ah well if you can't do a protest big, what's the point in doing it at all.
That's been about it as far as travelling is concerned. other than that I've been trying to go the gym as regularly as I can to balance out all this pizza eating. We went to Renfe last saturday which was a massive success as they played proper music that you can dance to! And I am starting to realise how little time there is left here =[ I don't want to leave just yet!!! Well hopefully I'll be back sooner than later. baccio x
