l'università di bologna

the university of bologna is the oldest in europe (founded in 1088). these are just a few images from the university museum with its many globes, and then also from the terrace rooftops. bologna has the prettiest red roofs and these angles really allow you to see the towers, as opposed to the bird's eye view from the towers.

bologna, first things first

when i visited bologna in february, i posted about the city here, here and here. now that i've done most of the touristy things, i'm not sure what else to say. but i think my first bologna gelato and proof of centro lame behind our apartment are good places to start.

stratford-upon-avon

a few weeks after the term started, my shakespeare class took a day trip to stratford-upon-avon to watch king lear and romeo and juliet. the weekend we went also happened to be shakespeare's birthday weekend so the streets were filled with people. while i don't recommend watching TWO PLAYS in one day, the experience of watching shakespeare's plays in his hometown was pretty amazing. we started with king lear, and had a few hours before romeo and juliet started. we had a fish & chips dinner and then got to rent a rowboat so that we were quite literally upon the avon!

the welsh national assembly

as the capital of wales,

cardiff also houses the welsh national assembly building

(at cardiff bay, pictured above)

this morning stop was more on the

... educational...

side of our program trips

but it was still cool (:

the ceiling

where they meet

they get their own little computers

this is when our guide sang the welsh national anthem for us :)

where all the commerce happened when

wales was a huge port during their coal mining days

huge water fountain...

also featured in torchwood

just another welsh sign.

i have no idea how to pronounce anything in this language.

abaty tyndyrn (tintern abbey)

during my first week in oxford, our program took a group trip to wales

tintern abbey was our first stop.

when i spent a year at santa cruz, i took a romanticism class where we read wordsworth (along with other poets) and my teacher loooooooved the poem about tintern abbey.

it... was not my favorite.

but it was pretty cool/funny that i ended up going

with jen, sanna, mike, and stephanie

teniya, sam, sanna, anna

hiyabel, laura, jen, and myself

we left oxford at 730 and got to tintern around 930

it was windy and freezing but after walking around, i got a little breakfast in a tea room

then we headed to the welsh museum of life (my favorite)!

oxford beginnings

(where j.r.r. tolkein did a lot of his writing!)

merton college and the oldest library in england

oriel college

oxford is tiny.

but it's so old and rich with history (and there are so many libraries!) that i'm beginning to love it.

Sopr'Arno

this quarter i worked for my school program here in florence
and was the editor of graphic design and photography
for our quarterly Sopr'Arno (literally "on the Arno")

it's a student written journal
about events and culture in florence

it was hard to get started at the beginning of the quarter
because i had no idea how to use InDesign
and nothing had happened yet to put into our journal

but as february ended
everything started PILING up and
soon ale (head editor) and i were SWAMPED

during the first week of march
we probably spent 20 hours in the computer lab working on this

and finally FINALLY we finished
and i'm proud.

here are some of the pages that i designed
and took most of the photos for
(unfortunately it's ALL in italian...)

our introductions page
here we asked everyone a few questions
and i'll translate mine for you

major: english literature and classics
where are you from: san francisco, ca
favorite gelato flavor: stracciatella or mango, but not together
best thing eaten here: tiramisu mascarpone that i made
with my host mom and any type of filled pasta
fosca (student advisor) was right when she said: get lost in the city
favorite italian phrases: "dimmi" (talk to me)
and "luna di miele" (moon of honey, for honeymoon (:)

events from this winter in florence including:
the opera
fiorentina v. milan soccer game
traditional donor sponsored dinner
carmen consoli concert (LOVE)

our program trip to rome (:

a page about carnevale
one of the best things about winter in italy
(other than no tourists, of course)

our last page that alessandra drew
of her and the david
it says "don't give me that look"

anyway... there ended up being 26 pages
and i guess this journal isn't a big deal
but i put a lot of work into this and am pretty proud
so i just wanted to share it with you (: