Project Runway Fashion Show Spectacular

Last night was the spectacular, never-to-be-forgotten, dramatic Florence Program Project Runway Fashion Show. Students and staff divided themselves into 10 groups and were each given a surprise bag of materials from which they had 1 hour to create an outfit. The materials included newspapers, aluminum foil, straws, plastic cups, pom poms, trash bags, rope, and tape. Each group had an announcer and a model. The models walked down the candlelit runway to specially chosen music. The outfits that the groups created were AMAZING! I guess it helps to have a group of artists!

BEHIND THE SCENES: CREATING AN OUTFIT

LINDSAY AND PATRICIA TURNING ANTONIO INTO THE ROAMING ROMAN

JULIA AND TYLER DOING HAUTE COUTURE FOR LEXI

ALICE GETTING SARAH RUNWAY-READY

THE RUNWAY

CARLYN'S TEAM: BEST OVERALL COMPLETE WITH CHOREOGRAPHED ROBOT RUNWAY WALK

SARAH'S TEAM: BEST SUMMER BEACH LOOK

JENNA'S TEAM: MOST LIKELY TO BE SEEN IN A STORE

ARIELLE'S TEAM: MOST CREATIVE

CHRIS'S TEAM: BEST EVENING WEAR (MOST LIKELY TO BE SEEN AT SPACE ELECTRONIC)

BECCA'S TEAM: BEST USE OF ITALIAN INSPIRATION (GYPSIES)

CATIE'S TEAM: BEST FALL COLLECTION OUTFIT

LEXI'S TEAM: BEST RUNWAY WALK

Viva il Cappuccino!

Arrivederci Roma!--Fun on the Bus

We said arrivederci to Roma as we headed back to Florence. Everyone loved Rome but agreed it was time to go back HOME to Florence. The 4 hour bus ride got a little crazy after stopping at AutoGrill for snacks. Candy was everywhere and the 2nd half of the drive was quite entertaining. From buddy system numbers being divisible by 2 or by a prime number to Antonio crowd surfing to our infamous "you say...I say..." to Alice and Giovannasaurus Rex, the trip flew by with a lot of laughter.



NOAH DECIDES TO GO VISIT THE BACK OF THE BUS


JESS AND NOAH 4-EVA


SANDY AND JASON POSE FOR THEIR "FAMILY PORTRAIT" AFTER STEALING NOAH BACK FROM THE BACK OF THE BUS


ALICE LENDS "GIO" HER NEW CLOTHING APPAREL IN ORDER TO MAKE HER MORE "EDGY"

Rome Day 4

This morning we went back to the Pantheon to see the Oculus from the inside. Raphael and King Vittorio Emmanuele are both buried in there. From the Pantheon we broke into groups. Antonio did the 3rd and final installation of the Caravaggio Tour along with Patricia, Lindsay, and Giovanna. The group then went to the Quadriennale which is a very important exhibition on Italian contemporary art that only happens every four years. Lillian and I took students to see another Bernini sculpture hidden in a small church in Trastevere. Afterwards we continued on to Bocca della Verita` and then meandered through the tiny streets of the Jewish Ghetto before the students stopped to eat at one of the famous Kosher Italian Jewish restaurants in the Ghetto.


CHRIS, BECCA, AND BRADY IN CAMPO DEI FIORI NEAR OUR HOTEL


ILANA, MADDY, KELSEY, LILLIAN AND RHIA HEAD TO TRASTEVERE TO EXPLORE THE STREETS AND SEE BERNINI'S "ECSTASY OF BEATA LUDOVICA"


TAGGY IN HER NEW SUPER-MEGA-GALATTICA SHOES

Rome Day 3

Villa Borghese...enough said! The absolute highlight of our Rome trip. We couldn't get enough of the Bernini sculptures and Caravaggio paintings, not to mention the fact that they were housed in a beautiful, ornate palazzo. As we stood in front of the Daphne and Apollo Sandy turned to me at one point and said "I've never been in awe of anything like this before." The way that Bernini captured the movement of Daphne's flight along with the details of her transforming into a tree were simply mesmorizing. Everyone is still talking about her fingertips turning into the leaves. WOW!

We hung out a lot in the park of Villa Borghese which was a nice relaxing break from the craziness of the city.

ONE OF THE MANY FOUNTAINS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT VILLA BORGHESE


NOAH IS SUCH THE LADIES MAN! WE PUT HIM DOWN FOR 2 SECONDS AND HE WAS IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDED.


ANTONIO PREPARING FOR HIS DIESEL SHOOT


BRADY AND NOAH


After lunch we all met up for more activities. First we went to the Church of Santa Maria della Concezione (aka Bone Church) where students got to see the innately decorated crypt of the Capuchin monks who used bones as a macabre reminder of life and death. Antonio continued his tour of Caravaggio with an even larger group then the day before and they headed to Palazzo Barberini. Lindsay also took a group to the Street of the Artists which was once extremely famous for its contemporary art galleries.

LEXI, SYDNEY AND KIM MEETING IN FRONT OF THE FOUNTAIN OF SANTA MARIA IN TRASTEVERE


For dinner we all headed to Trastevere and had nice long traditional Italian dinners in small groups. Afterwards we met up and went to the Isola Tibertina Festival and enjoyed the outdoor nightlife of Rome.

Rome Day 2

The day started with the Vatican Museum including the Sistine Chapel. Directly after we went inside St. Peter's Basilica which never fails to impress with its grandiosity. Afterwards everyone went to lunch with their friends. The staff and a group of 8 students headed over to one of our favorite trattorias in Rome, La Matricianella on Via del Leone. The Bucatini all'Amatriciana is out of this world and the Fiori di Zucca (fried zucchini flowers stuffed with mozzarella) will drop anyone to his or her knees.

After lunch students had free time to shop and explore and then had the option to do staff lead activities in the later afternoon. Almost every single student took us up on our offers including the first installation of the Caravaggio Tour with Antonio, Vintage clothing shopping with Lindsay, Tour of the Jewish Ghetto with Lillian and the best coffee in town with me.

That night we headed to Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps) and hung out on the steps. Some students sketched, others listened to the group playing guitar behind us, and we all simply just enjoyed being out with our friends.

JESSICA, STEPHANIE AND KELSEY SKETCHING ON THE SPANISH STEPS

Rome Day 1

Our first day we headed to the ancient world of Rome. We started with the Roman Forum where students walked along the ancient stone studded pathways that still line the Forum. We saw where Julius Caesar was buried after his assasination in 44 BC, the temple of Castor and Pollux (although there were no Geminis in the group besides myself), the House of the Vestal Virgins, the arches of Septimus Severus and Titus and all the various forums within the Forum.

The group in front of the Arch of Titus

Claire, Sarah, Sydney and Chris in the Forum

Theresa, Ali M and Julie in front of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina which was later converted into a Baroque church.


After the Forum we headed into the Colosseum where we had plenty of time to explore and then go check out the Palantine before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

Devyn and Ali K at the Colosseo


After the group dinner at Trattoria Ciccia Bomba we did a walking tour of Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. All were lit up and great to see at night. We all threw our coins into the Fontana and then a big group of students took us up on our offer to take them to one of the most famous gelaterie in Rome...Giolitti which is up behind the Pantheon. It was a great way to end our first day in Rome.

Florentine Marble Paper Making

Another night of Art on the Terrace included figure drawing, painting and the special activity of marblized paper making. Patricia showed students how to follow in the Florentine tradition and they made some amazing pieces of marblized paper. Jason also brought down his 2 guitars and everyone hung out on the terrace until curfew.

Classical Music Concert in Palazzo Strozzi

Tyler, Kelsey, Dana and I enjoyed a free concert in Palazzo Strozzi last night. Palazzo Strozzi was completed in 1538 as the new larger home for the Strozzi family. They demolished 15 buildings to have enough space for their new palazzo. Nowadays the Palazzo is home to changing exhibitions and concerts.

San Miniato Walk with Rhia

Fourteen students signed up to go to San Miniato al Monte with me yesterday and we had a great time. We took our time heading up to Piazzale Michelangelo for some of the best views of the city and then continued up to the San Miniato church where we heard the Benedictine monks chant in the crypt of the church. After San Miniato we walked through a hidden cyprus tree grove and then walked back on a little street lined with countryside villas.

Cinque Terre Day Trip!

We spent the most spectacular day at Cinque Terre which is one of my favorite places in all of Italy. Cinque Terre is 5 towns that are linked together by a hiking trail. Each town is perched above the sea. We all did the walk called "Lover's Lane" from the first town to the second town. After that students chose whether to go straight to the beach at the last town (Monterosso) by train or to continue hiking between the towns. Everyone ended up being able to do what they enjoyed most and many mentioned to me how amazing the entire experience was. Brady also let us know that he had the PERFECT I-Pod Shuffle day while hiking between the towns.

MONTEROSSO BEACH



SANDY, LEXI, ARIELLE, SAM, JESSICA, AND KELSEY



RHIA AND NOAH ON THE WALK



DEVYN, ALI, AND CLAIRE



LEXI



KIM, SAM AND ALI

Art on the Terrace and Paper Making

Students joined our 3 resident artists for a night of art on the terrace. Patricia also lead paper making with some students. Jason played guitar while students worked on personal art work.