Jess 2-17-08

Hello Everyone!

Everyone has arrived safely. Bill was in Rome until later at night but I went to pick up Mom, Ellie, Mr. and Mrs. Farley at the train station. Mom had tears in her eyes when I finally managed to find their arrival platform and we gave great big hugs all around. After that, we went to their hotels and I showed Mom and Ellie the coffee shop where the ridiculously attractive why-are-you-working-in-a-bar man works and they tasted their first Italian coffee! They both liked it but were wired for several hours from the caffeine. The Farleys have a really beautiful room that overlooks Piazza Michelangelo and the Arno almost on the outskirts of the city. Mom and Ellie's room is right in the center of town with an overview of the street and a church. They are really nice hotels, except for the miniscule bathroom, and the (as Mr. Farley calls it) "grotesque" chandelier in the Farley's hotel. We went to Piazza Michelangelo, which had some really fantastic views of the city, and across the Ponte Vecchio. Already I have started to point out to them the thousands of emblems across the city, most of them the Medici crest, who appear to be obsessed with making themselves known everywhere. We had some delicious green Tuscan soup and chatted in Mom's hotel to stay warm while we waited for Bill to get back from Rome. It was a warm welcome home, and we all went out for some dinner and crashed after that, returning to our beds with a very good night's sleep waiting for us.


Today we tried to go to the Uffizi but that didn't work out since the lines were painfully long. So instead we visited Bill's apartment to see pictures of his trip to Rome and some of my paintings in progress, and saw some weird processional parade with people all dressed up in bright Renaissance garb in Piazza Signoria. We saw some of the statues and after stopping in Bill's apartment for the grand tour we went to the Academia where Mom and Ellie saw the David for the first time! Mr. and Mrs. Farley had seen him before but not for a while, and he doesn't get any less exciting. We also stopped by an instrument museum that housed multiple Stadivarius-made instruments, including a cello and many violins. Of course the instruments had the Medici family symbol on them, since many of them were made specifically for the family's private quartet. Bill and I shared all of our combined knowledge on the artwork and the history of the paintings and sculptures in the museum. Although the Academia does a pretty good job of giving descriptions and explanations, I still think ours were better.


Currently I'm working on my painting, which is still incomplete, so that I can get it up to par by Tuesday. Unfortunately I have fallen somewhat ill at exactly the wrong time so I will try to get good rest tonight to keep up with my schoolwork. Anyway, best to all!

Always,

Jessica