Yay in Rome now, I can feel settled for a few months. I don't think I could cope being one of those people always on the move, but thenmaybe if I was one of those rich people always on the move it wouldn't be so bad as I could have a porter to carry my stuff, and I wouldn't have to fight Romans for taxis. I am feeling very clever at the moment because I configured my computer to work on the network here (I am staying at the British School in Rome). Here is a picture




It isn't that fancy behind the facade but it is still nice, and my room is quite big with a decent view and not overheated like the hotels I ahve been styaing in. It is a bit rainy which is annoying as I was planning a walk but nevermind, perhaps I will acquaint myself with the library etc instead. Well now I can be online more, so I will soon post some of the nice pictures I have taken so far.

Padua

It is raining here (I am in Padua) which is crap, I am only here for today (and yesterday when it was also raining), it has completely ruined my plans to visit a garden which will be closed from tomorrow for three months, humph, stoopid weather. It was so wet that just going out for breakfast and then walking to the tourist office to ask about buses got me completely soaked, my jeans were wet up to the thigh and even my beanie was wet even though I had an umbrella. No way I am visiting a garden in this weather, there was even thunder and lightening. So my imporessions of Padua are not particularly favourable. I was in Vicenza before this which was much nicer, and drier! Very pretty city and so small you can't really get lost which is a bonus as I am getting lost because I don't want to pull out my map to check because it makes me loook like a tourist how stupid am I? Well off to Rome tomorrow, hooray! And I wil be in the same place for three months so I can stop hefting my luggage all over the place.

Vicenza
The Teatro Olimpico, another art history fan girl moment 'OMG I am in Palladio's theatre!'

A dwarf on the wall of the Villa ai Nani (nani mean dwarf). Cute.

Padua

This is the only photo I took, was so rainy and I was so grumpy.
I spent most of my time in the Pinacoteca (art gallery). I went to see Giotto's Arena Chapel, which was gorgeous. I was actually worried they wouldn't let me in as it is climate controlled, anti humidity etc and I was quite wet from the rain. But they didn't seem to notice/mind. It was really beautiful, I had studied it so extensively that I remembered all the stories and the important scenes. I then went into the art gallery and was probably the only person there with about 50 staff. They followed me around (out of boredom rather than suspicion I think) kept stopping me and telling me I hadn't looked at every picture, or hadn't spent enough time looking at one their finest masterpieces. Drives you crazy. In other news I have sussed out another lovely self serve restaurant for dinner.

Torino

I have no time to update but I actually have intersting stuff to write, but I never have time to write it all.

Well I am in Turin now, it is cold, you can see the Mountains with snow on them from the centre of the city. It is a pretty city, though there is alot of work going on at the moment because the next winter olympics will be here in 2006. I got here on saturday, and wehn I changed trains at Milan I had to run most of the way across the station to change trains as mine arrived late, with my huge suitcase, and up stairs, it was so hard, but I made it. I will hopefully stop in Milan on my way back to Rome if I book a cheap hotel, then stop in Padua and then down to rome where I can feel more settled. It is kinda fun but also kinda lonely travelling alone. For instance I don't really want to go out at night on my own becaus it feels a bit dangerous. So because it gets dark around 5:30 I basically spend the whole night watching Italian t.v. or reading. Man they have some weird shows here, and all of them tend to have some women with big boobs in high heels and not much else. Well it will be better in Rome because I will know some people and hopefully meet some people so I can go out more.

I actually have interesting stuff to write, but I never have time (or internet) to write it all.

Well I am in Turin now, it is cold, you can see the Mountains with snow on them from the centre of the city. It is a pretty city, though there is a lot of work going on at the moment because the next winter Olympics will be here in 2006. I got here on Saturday, and when I changed trains at Milan I had to run most of the way across the station to change trains as mine arrived late, with my huge suitcase, and up stairs, it was so hard, but I made it.

I will hopefully stop in Milan on my way back to Rome if I book a cheap hotel, then stop in Padua and then down to Rome where I can feel more settled. It is kinda fun but also kinda lonely travelling alone. For instance I don't really want to go out at night on my own because it feels a bit dangerous so because it gets dark around 5:30 I basically spend the whole night watching Italian t.v. or reading. Man they have some weird shows here, and all of them tend to have some women with big boobs in high heels and not much else.

Well it will be better in Rome because I will know some people and hopefully meet some people so I can go out more.

I do have lovely photos though. This staircase is by Filippo Juvarra (18th century) and is tacked onto the front of the medieval castle, and I was so excited to go and see it.

DIY tourist snap.

Arcades, there are miles and miles of them. Very civilised.

party and post-party

Nice and sunny here tiday so I went sightseeing and shopping insetad of to the library But it was only open till 1pm oday and by the time I as ready to go I woud have only had an hour or two. The person I am sharing with is having a party tonight so it will hopefully be fun, though I will only know two people, and some apparently only speak Italian.

Edited to add: party ws loverly, met a count, got really drunk, Italians have this funny habit of hardly drinking anything, but they still al bring loads of alcohol to parties, I felt obliged to drink it, as you do.

Well I have been in Florence a week now and it is going o.k. I only had my first successful day of study today at one of the libraries. I tried to go yesterday but they would only join me up on Tuesdays or Thursdays (they are german so lots of rules!) But now I am in and it is a good place, lots of stuff I need. I didn't have as much luck yesterday at another library it was very confusing and I couldn't understand what they were telling me, I had thought my Italian was quite good but I am still having trouble understanding what people are saying to me. Nevermind. I am missing M so much, we haven't been able to ring each other either because I have no home phone and my telstra card isn't working here because Italian telecom switched them off.

I have been getting quite lonely and bored in the evenings too, hopefully in Rome I will have free internet access so I can come and chat on here more.

I have also been watching Italian t.v., so far I have watched 24, sex in the city and some star trek in Italian,

Luca Giordano frescoes at the Palazzo Medici Riccardi.

When you are flying somewhere, always take your goat.

Well I have been in Florence a week now and it is going o.k. I only had my first succesful day of study today at one of the libraries. I tried to go yesterday but they would only join me up on tuesdays or thursdays (they are german so lots of rules!) But now I am in and it is a good place, lots of stuff I need. I didn't have as much luck yesterday at another library it was very confusing and I couldn't understand what they were telling me, I had thought my Italian was quite good but I am still having trouble understanding what people are saying to me. Nevermind. I am missing Mark so much, we haven't been able to ring each other either because I have no home phone and my telstra card isn't working here because Italian telecom switched them off.

I have been getting quite lonely and bored in the evenings too, hopefully in Rome I will have free internet access so I can come on the internet more.

I have also been watching Italian t.v., so far I have watched 24, sex in the city and some star trek in Italian

Firenze

Well I am in Italy, Florence to be precise. It is very nice and I am adjusting o.k. I was so stressed about this trip but now I am here i feel much more relaxed. The trip was sooooo long I think about 35 hours door to door, gah! I just conked out at about 5:30 on the day I arrived. I have caught up with one of my uni firends who is here though, it is funny in Melbourne he is just somone I see around and don't really hang out with but here in italy I was really gald to see hime The apartment I am staying in is very nice and close to lots of stuff, I will try and take some pics to post in here if I can. I have been eating lots of pastries and pizza and drinking coffee, though I have also been walking everywhere so hopefully it will balance out. Anyway i will update more stuff later as I am in an internet cafe with limited time

Well I am in Italy, Florence to be precise. It is very nice and I am adjusting o.k. I was so stressed about this trip but now I am here I feel much more relaxed. The trip was sooooo long I think about 35 hours door to door, gah! I just conked out at about 5:30 on the day I arrived. Though that was after having to find a bus and catch it out into teh country side to go to Villa I Tatti to meet Joseph Connors. It is a villa turned research centre. I had lunch there, which was very nice. The walls are covered in 15th century art and the conversation veered between English and Italian and I think I sat there looking a bit shell shocked and mumbling. Joe Connors was lovely and set aside time to show me around the library.

I have caught up with one of my uni friends who is here though, it is funny in Melbourne he is just someone I see around and don't really hang out with but here in Italy I was really glad to see him.

Yup, definitely in Florence.

My room.

The apartment I am staying in is very nice and close to lots of stuff. I have been eating lots of pastries and pizza and drinking coffee, though I have also been walking everywhere so hopefully it will balance out.
Anyway I will update more stuff later as I am in an internet cafe with limited time and I want to catch up on other people's journals.

hong kong, well the airport anyway

I am in Hong Kong now, not much to do, and the coffee costs $6. Thank goodness for free internet.

I rang my Mark to let him know I was halfway through, I started crying again I am going to miss him so much. We have done this before, many times when he was trying to get a visa etc, but since we got married we have been together all the time for the last 3 1/2 years.

Travels begin

I am currently at Sydney airport waiting for a flight to Hong Kong and then on to Rome (with a seven hour stopover ).

Feeling a bit down this morning, leaving my husband for 3 months at least, I managed not to cry until the last minute though which was good. Turns out I stuffed up confirming my vego meal, so I don't know how much I will get to eat, but it is probably a good thing otherwise I will end up bloated and icky at the end of the flight. I have had a pretty crazy last few days getting ready, I think everything is sorted though, at least I have money, passport, tickets.

I was about to say this time tomorrow I will be in Florence but alas I will still be flying, blergh, horridness, this is such a long flight. Keep your finger crossed they have internet at Hong Kong airport though and my stopover will fly by! I feel a lot more cheerful now ( I was crying a lot on the flight from Melbourne to Sydney).

Well more stuff is sorted out today, thank goodness. After running between offices of various uni people. I finally got the most important stuff to the relevant person and she said, 'it's missing a code, I don't have time to look it up', run back and get it from them, sigh back and forth, back and forth I went. Just have to ring and confirm some details and stuff should be more or less organised.

dreams

I was at the supermarket with my husband and we were buying heaps of groceries so we had a trolley (we never use a trolley) so we went into a big checkout instead of a little one (I promise it does get weirder!) and we asked how much it would be and the guy said $400 and I was shocked and said, 'are you sure', and he said, 'hmmm just let me check your customer record' (??). Then a whole let of berries fell out of the trolley onto the floor from some little compartment, and the guy said 'oh no, why did you use one of the berry trolleys, what a mess!' and I said 'I didn't know it had berries', and then my husband said 'it is all those old people, they have been putting berries everywhere lately'. Then the checkout guy says, maybe your groceries cost alot because you are listed as a terrorist by ASIO, and I said 'ummm I don't thinks so' than he said to my husband maybe it is because your wife is in this movie and shows us a movie playing on his register screen, I said 'No, look at the hair that is an 80s movie, I wouldn't be in one of those movies'. Then he said, 'oh o.k. I guess the groceries just come to $85'. Then I found a strange pink fruit on the floor and decided to eat it, and I was sittiong on thesupermarket floor eating the fruit when someone tells me that if you eat those fruits in a shop you will get sick' so I spat it on the floor and ran away. Then I woke up

freakin

I am calmy freaking out. I have had stuff waiting to be signed by the head of school for a whole week how can he not come to his office for a whole week???? I have even emailed him to tell him to sign them, and bugged both his assistants. If they are not signed I will a) be missing $4000 for my trip and b) have no travel/health insurance. I wanted to get this stuff sorted ages ago, not 6 days before I go. And my Dad rang and was reminding me how little time I have, thanks Dad I DO know. I think he is just trying to help though hugs for Dad.

scritto italiano

Busy writing emails to various places in Italian *crosses fingers* that they make sense, and I haven't just insulted various important directors of Italian art galleries and libraries. I was writing one last night and it took me ages to phrase it properly and then when I hit send my email connection had timed out and I lost it all so now I am typing them up in word and pasting into the email which is very time consuming *sigh*

About to go to uni to return another case of library books, I might pop into office works and get my laptop bag too.

Friday lalalala Friday lalalala I think I might go and do some window shopping before I go home. I need to get a bag for my laptop but all the ones I have see so far are ugly and bulky, I would actually quite like a backpack version because my laptop is relatively heavy but they are all $100+ Damn I am hungry right now, I am absolutely craving wedges with sour cream and a beer THe weather has been so gorgeous and sunnny today.

Sigh well, time for dinner methinks, fried rice woohoo yum yum.
I am such a procrastinator things and I am also delusional about work, these are some of my problems....
1.THinking that having a messy desk means I am a busy person, it actually just means I am a messy person.
2. Having books in my study does not mean I have read them.
3. Same goes for photocopying them. *sigh*

I am so hungry right now, trying to decide whether to go out and buy some food or just stick with boring fruit *sigh* Also trying to work but that is not going so well, I am so bad at working on boring stuff. It is such a dull grey day, not very inspiring, I can see myself frittering away time on the net all day. What a boring journal entry, but then I am having a boring day, bored bored bored.

I bought some nice tops from Cotton On yesterday 2 cute polo neck tops for only $30, bargain! I got brown and black, I would have liked some colour but they only had pink or mint green, I look stoopid in pink and I am sick of mint green.

...........

at uni, bored, procrastinating, story of my life, trying to hide chickstuff from library staff, *sigh* it's 3:50 on Friday, surely the weekend should start NOW.