Friday morning, I headed to the docks early to catch the bus. A few of the students had already arrived and were animatedly discussing the octopus catch they had just witnessed. I always miss the good stuff – an octopus catch is a real process, involving turning the animal inside out and “sudsing” it on Read more >>

Already the days blend together as they do at the beginning of seasons – I crave hot drinks and yet spend my days in bright, chilly sun wearing sandals. Today I had a figure drawing class, then ate hot oatmeal and coffee for lunch while I read fairy tales. Today John showed us his photographs, Read more >>

I slept in this morning, luxuriating in the fact that my network was stable and that I had no classes scheduled. But as soon as I fully opened my eyes I leapt out of bed for a good hot shower and a nice breakfast of oatmeal with honey and a Nescafe fake-uccino, fuel for the Read more >>

I have been cheating a little bit with updates, sending brief ones to my mailing list instead of posting them here. I arrived in Paros last Thursday, still a little drunk from a pub crawl four hours before, and the ferry unfolded us all into the most brilliant light. Everything is white marble and whitewashed Read more >>

.flickr-photo { border: solid 1px #000000; } .flickr-frame { float: right; text-align: center; margin-left: 15px; margin-bottom: 15px; } .flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Another canal shot Arrived on Paros. So bright. So wonderful. Am uploading photos. Click this one to see more, including shots of London, the villa in Pistoia, etc.

I arrive in Paros tomorrow – updates SHOULD be more frequent, emails will be responded to, and pictures will be posted! Athens is unlike any place I have been before, as it should be. The high city on the hill is suffused with a pale golden light that seems to come from within the marble Read more >>

I know it has been awhile – we spent three glorious pink-tinged days in Venice, then to Firenze again, then Siena, and Lucca yesterday – and one more trip to Firenze this week before leaving for Rome on Friday. This time next week I will be in Athens and that much closer to my Greek Read more >>

We finished La Vita Nuova last night after dinner – I skipped Thursday’s reading because I noticed I was getting a little melancholy after the nightly Dante. The unrequited love, the death of Beatrice – something about it was too much for me. I kept wanting to ask useless questions, and I had the most Read more >>

The night of my arrival, we sat down to dinner at eight o’clock. The teachers each introduced themselves and gave us a brief description of the following day’s activities – the market in Pistoia in the morning, then classes in the afternoon followed by an art history lecture and slideshow, then dinner and a reading Read more >>

So the semester begins. I arrived in Pisa on Friday afternoon from London, to a landscape that was rather familiar and sepia-toned – the area near Pisa airport looks very much like Southern California. I took the train to Pistoia and left the station to find the cabs, where I proceeded to raise an eyebrow Read more >>