Greer was opposite me and she knows all I just kept giggling all day, tres mature.

One of my students Olivia was back tonight for one night, she is so gorgeous, she honestly stopped traffic in Florence, but she is completely unaware of her own gorgeousness, a phrase i actually didn't believe till i met her. I love her.

photos!!



drinks of choice

all good nights in have ping pong




the last is olivia and antonio, so loverly, antonio is so gorgeous, he and andother guy who works here, pepe, are both from the same town and are both so cute that i need to visit their town!


greer and liv



greer,liv and tony


richard, hoenstly one of the sweetest guys ever, he is currently trying to quite smoking for about the 50th time since i met him 6 weeks ago, I amgoing to make him come to melby and do a show

and a last one of liv, cos i will miss her, well till i get back to melb in less than a week!, though it is never the same once you are home...

I found them! It was so funny i looked everywhere and eventuially i asked the bursar and she giggled and said 'oh those are your shoes!' they were out by the tennis court, outside, so apparently everyone was speculating that someone had had a crazy night and left their shoes outside, the rest of the day, everyone was saying, 'oh they were YOUR shoes' , bloody institutions. Haha. Bought a cute new top this arvo with the Greer and the Caterina. Me and Greer had such fun, going into each others change rooms and sitting on the floor trying on boots in Zara.
Went out tonight for chocolate and ended up having a drink with Stephen and chatting about all kinds of things. Just ahd tea and chocolate with Greer and now in bed. Ahh, relaxing.

My archives i was looking at, just lots of old old paper really

God last night was so ridiculously drunken, I realised i hadn't really got drunk for 2 weeks or more, gah, but fun. Met a tres cute sewdish architect and made him give me two goodbye kisses on the cheek, haha, then sat in Aisling's studio and got more drunken and talked rubbish. Me and greer just went for coffee and it made me sick and I was nearly sick in one of rome's nicest cafes, oops, but it was ok. I am rambling, maybe i am still drunk.

Back in Rome now, finally, civilisation! Haha, that is a bit mean to porr old Lucca but damn everything was always shut and I was sharing a hostel room with crazy portuguese people who kept offering me cake. Actually they weren't so bad i just hate sharing, but it was only 20 euro a night. Plus I basically spent 9 hours in teh archive each day, yes, go me. They were soooooo nice, going to a new archive always freaks me out as often they can be sooo unhelpful and I suddenyly forget all my italian and stand there like a dumb idiot going 'scusa, scusa?' But they were great, bought me anything I wanted and even looked after my luggage on Friday morning before I got the train. I think my time was successful, I basically rifled through heaps of old 17th century letters and tried to read them with varying success, found some new plans though.
I was a bit lonely though, got back to rome last night but stayed in a hostel as my room at the school wasn't available till today, I went out for a wander and decided to be a sad alco and have a drink on my own, walk into a bar and run into 5 friends! Twas loverly, chatted and drank wine and started to feel human again. Now I am back at school checking emails and catching up, god everyone is so lovely at the school at the mo, I wish I was staying longer. I spent an hour looking at one artists work, which I love, I hope he will let me take a photo of it. Then had coffee with Aisling who is so gorgeous, like a little pixie and Clara, oh I love them I want to keep them!

Had a relatively easy going day. Checked out some churches, went to a gallery, the custodian was so grumpy that i took so long, he would come into the room, see me taking notes with my nose against a picture, cough a loud hacking cough and go out for a fag. I have just been lining up some different accomodation for monday as it is too damn expensive to stay at this place, nice though it is. So going to hostel instead, then I will have money for other things, like rent, and shoes. I wasn't too sure, but now I have booked it I feel so relieved, obviously the right thing to do.

Now I think I will go for a passegiata and find somewhere to sit and drink a campari and read my book, then buy some pizza and head home for an early night.

Oh but have to relate one story, ast night I went into this bookshop and the guy was so lovely, finding me books to read and chatting to me. Told me i had lovely blue eyes and when i bought a book he gave me another one free. Then today I went past his shop and he came out and shook my hand anbd then when he heard I was going to the gallery he insisted on giving me a free pen so i could take notes. So lovely. I have to go back and buy more books.

Lucca is damned dull on a sunday, it might be an ancient town full of romanesque splendour but on sunday it is still just a sleepy country town where everything is shut.

Some photos from yesterday.



tapestries in the palazzo mansi, very unusual to see them still in place and in such good condition, very exciting for me


enormous cream filled croissants


chiesa san michele, typically romanesque facade, but probably the most beautiful, notice how every column is different.

God I am exhausted. I am in Lucca now, course is finished and I meant to be doing some research, couldn't feel less enthusastic, but well. Perhaps after a rest this weekend I will feel better. Spending far too much money, gah. Last week has been great, weather has been perfect and seen some amazing things. Been in Siena and Florence, and a trip to Ravenna, seen baroque gardens, to 5th century byzantine mosiacs. I miss my students I am here for a week, then going to Milan for a holiday, then back to Rome for sme molto rapido research and shopping then home.

today was good, tiring, but good, had the most insane hail and thunderstorm ever, no photos just yet
her are some
not today, the other day
my new shoes


borromini's oratory


gesu ceiling, imagin all that, above you so life size and seeming like it was falling into your space, this is why rome must be visited.

I am so relaxed this evening, needed a day off. Twas all very nice. Plus have been sms-ing with friend from London, which is all very good one way and another, we shall see what happens there I suppose, had good time just wandering around today on my own, ate pizza and ice-cream, watched people, took photos, all fun. I feel so spaced even now, but all smiling and content like some gah gah idiot, but a happy idiot.

Teaching is going well, tomorrow we do the counter-reformation, yes the whole damn thing in one morning! Haha.

all my love to my blog readers, well all two of you, no one else gets love unless they leave a message.

Had a great evening. Good times, relaxed, one of my students is fast becoming a v good friend. We both needed a good long chat about thing, so we drank red wine and smoked cigarettes on a roman street and chilled out. Just made myself toast, now sleepy. here are some pics from the other day. hadrian's villa Caterina makes friends... Our spirit guide, haha. Villa d'Este Ok not so flattering but just to show how damn warm it was.
	Posted: Sun Jan 21, 2007 8:34 pm That last pic was to show how bloody warm it was! Short sleeves, in winter?! I just had a sleep in, first since I arrived, ahhhhhh. Nice. Today belongs to me. I am going to wander down and get some breakky in a mo then go out to this great pastry shop in Prati. Then I will probs come back and work for a bit, then maybe go out again later.

Gah so tired, I have a cold and it is wrecking me. I need to rest. I need to have not tstayed up till lateish last night drinking and being silly. I am having one of those 'shit I was drunken and saying stupid stuff moments' I don't usually care, but because I am meant to be older and more responsible I worry, plus Mark had annoyed me about some travel things etc etc so I passed that on to everyone and now I feel bad, I shouldn't put all my relationship stuff out there damn alcohol. Gah.

I actually bought a different pair of shoes, still debating the boots, will wait and see my finances. The other shoes are gorgeous round toe heels, the heel is thickish but very elegant, gah so nice and reduced 75% I am planning to wear them tonight.
I am so tired now, just been traipsing around Rome in the rain. Day went well though, saw some Caravaggio, and we decided to stop for a proper sit down lunch at a pizzeria, I had pizza with zucchini flowers and anchivies and mozarella, soooo good
Now I am wating for the bell to ring so I can have some tea, plus I have to read up on the Palazzo Madama for tomorrow.

Ahh what a day, was feeling quite down this morning for one reason and another. There has been a funny vibe between me and this artist here, I don't really know, but anyway I thought we were friends and now he is more-or-less avoiding me completely. Makes me sad I clearly become too attached to new friends too quickly. But on the upper hand I clearly have something going for me as the most amazing Italian man tried to pick me up today!!! OMG, words cannot describe it. I didn't take him up on it obviously, but damn, something like that is good for the soul! He had the best Italian voice, like a bubbling stream or something, oh my I just die thinking about him. He isn't even my type, plus the whole married thing, but nevertheless, phwoar *fans self* Then tonight this Irish artist asked me out to dinner but I am so confused as to whether it is a friends thing or not.... Goddam, he is great and we are both working on different aspects of the same tiny town in Tuscany but I just get a vibe it isn't a friend thing, but I would like to be friends. What to do, I hate the feeling that you might reject someone's friendship because you are worried they actually want more, it seems a sad way to go through life. Maybe I should just go, I am a big girl, hardly going to be preyed upon Anyways today was great really, mainly because I went shopping (ok that's the real reason I wasn't interested in Rome's most beautiful man because he was between me and Zara!). I bought a gorgeous 1960s esque tweed cape, black cords with the most flattering cut, I swear they cut pants better here, they accomodate curvy legs much better, also a very mod houndstooth b&w print dress, mini with long sleeves and also an amazing kimono style top from this beautiful shop I love, with the world's most charming gay Italian man who serves you. Then I fell in love with some boots at miss sixty... they are on sale for $200 opinions? Did a mini lecture today which went well, I actually didn;t even write it, just talked to the images but it flowed well and I didn't get all nervous and stuff up like I often do. Then had to help a student charge her italian vodafone, honestly they talk so goddam much, only italians... Then dinner and had the loevliest chat with ths Irish guy, what a sweetheart, he is getting flown to Lisbon on Friday for a gallery opening, I want that job!

God the last two days have been so busy, we went out at 8:30am yesterday and didn't get back till about 4pm, gah. It was well exhausting, but good. Some of the artist's tagged along and I think we wore them out, but is was great. Photos Today was Vatican museum, so Raphael, Michelangelo and all that jazz. It is great but also the world's crappiest museum experience, just packed with people and there is never enough time for the picture gallery. But I still got to see the TRansfiguration by Raphael, I love it so much. Standing in front of it actually makes my heart beat faster like I am in love. cute roman dogs Home now and just chilling out, feeling pensive and listening to Leonard Cohen, and pondering boys and love and all such things. I have a friend coming for dinner tonight, with her boyfriend who drives me slightly nuts, but i think it will be fine.