A day in the life (or Scroll for a tuition update)

I woke up this morning to the sound of my cell phone alarm. In my new world of 'being without', I didn't find the need to purchase an alarm clock as my Motorola has a built-in alarm. It plays some absurd digital tune which is annoying. But not enough to purchase an alarm clock per se. I think I must have hit snooze a few times, as I didn't actually get up until about 8:00am. I made a caffe in the moka (stovetop coffee pot) and found two biscotti (cookies) to call breakfast. The dog is asleep at this hour.

The reason for my early start today is that today is martedi (Tuesday) which in Florentine vocabulary also means Mercato Cascine. Cascine is a large park just outside the old city walls. Every Tuesday morning there is a vibrant market with varied wares for sale. Including, but not limited to: clothing, shoes, housewares, hardware, produce, meat, plants and pets (yes, pets).

Florence has many markets, each visited for a particular type of shopping. Mercato San Lorenzo is famed for its diverse selection of leather goods, from belts to bags to jackets. Mercato Porcellino carries a wide selection of souvenirs and features a bronze boar statue where tourists must visit to rub his snout to ensure a return trip to Florence. Mercato Sant'Ambrogio is the place to go for anything edible and it's known to have the best butchers in the city. Cascine is a locals' market, a unique place in Florence as you don't hear English and the prices are a steal. Isabella and I planned to meet 'at the statue'. Surprisingly enough we both arrived at the same statue. (In a town with so many statues we really should be cautious with using nonspecific statues as meeting places.) We headed into the market together and eventually split up to do some serious shopping. I bought two cotton tank tops for 3 euro each. And found a nice imitation leather handbag for 11 euro. It's a huge market, so I found myself hungry and grabbed a slice of pizza for 80 cents that was quite simple, but so fresh and delicious.

I knew I'd be late for class after this excursion. The weather was warm so I decided to take the bus, as the walk would have been at least 30 minutes and I had already walked almost all of the park. There was a bus stop in front of the market, where I found the number 12 made a stop, so I hopped on. I heard many different languages on this bus and realized it was the bus to Piazzale Michelangelo, the sightseeing destination with a view of the city. The view was spectacular! It reminds you that you're living in a special city and you can see the architectural treasures all in one vista. The descent from the viewing location was slow, as there were so many cars coming down the hill. School would have to wait another few minutes.

The bus dropped me off near the office, so I thought I'd make a payment attempt. The segretaria (secretary) was in. And yes, I could pay today! They swiped my credit card and I signed some forms. One of the forms had a Marco di Bolla on it, which is a tax stamp that looks like a postage stamp. The amount of the tax was 1,80 euro. I paid this extra fee with coins. Ciaos were said all around and I was off to class.

Yesterday I started an etching using multiple techniques. Today I added aquatinta (aquatint which produces gray tones) and pastello (pastel which results in a pencil or crayon effect) to this plate. I also did a pastello exercise on a test piece of metal per capire (to understand) how the technique works.

For lunch I went to Zoe with a friend and had a salad with mozzarella fresca (fresh), pomodori (tomatoes) and pollo (chicken). Zoe is one of the only places here where you can get a fresh salad with a lot of lettuce and unique toppings. Most restaurants will throw some chopped rucola (arugula) in a small bowl and call it a day. I ordered the requisite caffe to follow the meal and we headed back to the studio.

Upon our return, I found a copy of an Italian newspaper in the courtyard and read about the tragedy in Virginia. So sad. It's the kind of event that is almost impossible for any human being to accept or understand, but particularly my friends from other countries were shocked, if not horrified. It sparked a multi-language discussion about guns and violence. An important conversation and I learned so much just by listening to people from diverse backgrounds as we discussed this tragic event.

Today's 5 o'clock tea was served in the courtyard. It also featured gelato and caffe, which I instinctively put together to create an affogato. Also, the bottle of limoncello (lemon liqueur) was brought out from the freezer, because one should always drink grain alcohol before working with metal and toxic chemicals. (I know, right?) Then the boys went off to the socialist bar to play biliardino (table soccer).

Jean Claude and I sat on the wall near Ponte alle Grazie while waiting for our bus home. The sun was low in the sky casting golden shadows on the buildings and all the Florentine faces of passersby. We both commented on what a beautiful day it was.

One of my etchings in progress: