I had planned to do some sightseeing today, but the wind is still howling and it is cold outside. So I have opted to stay inside and practice sketching. I do a an abstract semi-portrait with sunglasses that I would love to paint this week with a palette knife. I also do a flower sketch that might work for my floral class next week. Drawing is getting easier. I remember last week when I would listen, watch the demonstration and take in all the information, but then when I was faced with a live model in front of me, I would feel absolutely lost and didn’t know where to begin. At least when sketching from a picture I can figure out where to begin.
I thought I would share with you a little more history about Florence. I am not an expert, but since I am here, I am doing a lot reading about and attending various lectures and tours that fill my head with all this information…. I feel compelled to share.
Florence is really a small city. All of Florence is only about 39 surface miles. You could walk the city center easily in a day. Florence is in the region of Tuscany. Think of Italy as a country. It is divided into regions. It is similar to states in the United States. Florence is the capital of the Tuscany region.
Florence is the most populous city in Tuscany. Over 400k people live in the metropolitan area. Notable, itt is considered the birthplace of the Renaissance and the Florentine dialect became the standard Italian language throughout Italy.
87% of Florence is Italian. The largest immigrant population is Chinese. Americans make up less than 2% of the population. You wouldn’t guess that by the number of American students roaming the streets. But then, they don’t live here full-time.
I took a break mid-afternoon and cleaned the apartment. Trying to figure out how to put all the hoses together to vacuum the floor was a science project. I did some laundry. We have a washer, but no dryer. We hang our clothes out the window or on a rack inside to dry. They are not quite as soft and wrinkle-free as when they come out of the dryer, but hey when in Florence do as the Florentine do. I decided to do some grocery shopping for the week before it got too dark. I hope I learn before I leave how much I can actually carry in my bag. After reaching my apartment, I had to leave some heavy stuff downstairs and make 2 trips to get it all upstairs.
When my room mates arrived back from Rome, we all went out to dinner. I had a linguine pasta dish with bacon, garlic, onion, Italian parsley and chilies and tossed with olive oil Oh my gosh, it was so clean and so GOOD. Why do we think our pasta has be be smothered in some kind of red or white sauce.
Cindy Mochel Livermore 