La Pausa

I just got back from break and it was a wonderful week spent with Mom and Dad. I met them in Florence and about 90% of my time there was spent lounging. We had a couple of great dinners and enjoyed beautiful weather!

Mom and Dad outside the linen shop

Entombment by Pontormo- one of the many pieces I have studied so far

View of the Ponte Vecchio from the Ponte Carraia

Santa Maria Novella

Last Sunday we flew to Amsterdam. Amsterdam is one of the most gorgeous cities I have ever seen. The canals are reminiscent of Venice, but the bike traffic is a little intense. Although from living in Isla Vista I'm pretty used to bicyclists flying by, I am not accustomed to that with the addition of mopeds and scooters (in the bike lane mind you) combined with car traffic. One really needs to watch out when walking the streets. The tram system was fairly easy to navigate and we made all the usual tourist stops, the first being the Anne Frank house. This was my favorite sight in Amsterdam, I have always wanted to go there. The annex is unfurnished but there remains pictures and writings on the walls, such as a segment of wallpaper that has the ages and heights of the children marked.

We also toured the Amsterdam City History Museum and, of course, the Rijksmuseum. Dad was in heaven at this point, "Man, those guys could paint!" Apart from the beautiful scenery and artwork, the food was a little expensive and not quite up to par (compared to Italy). We ended up going to the same Uruguian steak house twice, which was delicious. However, all was not lost in the food department since we made a couple of trips to Leonidas! Chocolates galore.

I definitely hope to return to this beautiful city sometime this summer!

Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson"

BIKES

Inside the Nieuwe Kerk

After our return to Florence we made a day trip to Piacenza for lunch with Valentina and her family. We drove about twenty minutes outside of the city to a small town where many city-dwellers have summer homes. The

The restaurant where we ate lunch

View of the town and river from the giant hill we climbed

Il fiume

The Paderni and Gibb clans

Valentina opening her gift from the office ladies!

Beautiful park

Bella

All in all the break was great, restful and fun, and seeing my parents definitely curbed some of my latent homesickness. I was able to shed some of my winter clothes for Mom and Dad to take home as the weather is much warmer now. I plan on enjoying this time where the weather is nice, because before long it will be unbearably hot and I'll be missing the winter...

Fino alla prossima volta, ciao ciao!