Venezia, Italy

Posted October 30, 2017 by Girl With Chalk

When you get off the train in Venezia, the first thing you see is the Grand Canal. We finally made it to Venice, but couldn’t hang out because we had to get to the cruise ship for the next part of the vacation, (which is a cruise through Greece!). The cruise port is walking distance from the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station.

The Grand Canal, outside the Venezia Santa Lucia railway station.

This was my cabin, I had to share this cabin with two of my cousins.

Hanging out on our cabin’s balcony, as the cruise ship departs from Venezia, Italy.

View of the outer part of the Piazza San Marco, known as “St Mark’s Square”. It’s the main public square in Venezia.

Goodbye Venezia! See you when we get back!

The last part of Venezia that you can see as your cruise ship departs.

Padova, Italy

Posted October 27, 2017 by Girl With Chalk

Today I spent the whole day in Padova, Italy. It was nice to walk around the Airbnb apartment and explore the town. While in Padova, I knew I had to visit the Cappella degli Scrovegni.

The Cappella degli Scrovegni, is a church in Padova, Italy. It contains a fresco cycle by Giotto, completed about 1305 and considered to be an important masterpiece of Western art.

The chapel is medievil chapel covered with frescoes which narrate events in the lives of the Virgin Mary and Christ. On the wall opposite the altar is the grandiose Universal Judgement, which concludes the story of human salvation. The chapel was originally attached to the Scrovegni family palace, built after 1300, following the elliptical outline of the remains of the Roman arena.

I was super-excited about visiting this chapel. On the left side of me, is Giotto’s “Cruxifixion” and on the right is the infamous “Lamentation of Christ”. Prior to this visit, I had only seen these panels in art history books.

I was so happy and inspired to be here, that I made another postcard to send to a friend back home.

Giotto’s Cappella degli Scrovegni is on the grounds of the Eremitani Museum, a Roman & pre-Roman artifact museum which also houses artwork from the 14th-18th century.

The Death of the Virgin Mary is a common subject in Western Christian art, the equivalent of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Eastern Orthodox art. This depiction became less common as the doctrine of the Assumption gained support in the Roman Catholic Church from the late Middle Ages onward. Although that doctrine avoids stating whether Mary was alive or dead when she was bodily taken up to Heaven, she is normally shown in art as alive. Nothing is said in the Bible about the end of Mary’s life, but a tradition dating back to at least the 5th century says the twelve Apostles were miraculously assembled from their far-flung missionary activity to be present at the death, and that is the scene normally depicted, with the apostles gathered around the bed.

After a day of looking at beautiful art, I walked to the local Farmer’s Market in the Piazza dei Frutt and bought some fruit.

At the end of the day, I met up with my cousins and we had dinner at Caffè Patavino in the Piazza dei Frutt. I have to say that this was the BEST PIZZA I EVER ATE IN MY WHOLE LIFE!!! It was so good, that I ordered another one to go.

Florence, Italy

Posted October 24, 2017 by Girl With Chalk

From Rome, we got on the train to Padova, Italy. We arrived in the evening and spent the following day in Florence.

We arrived in the evening to Padova, Italy, where we spent the following three days in the cutest Aribnb apartment. This is the front entrance, on the left is the arched door that leads to the courtyard of the property.

This is the inside hallway of our apartment in Padova.

Took the train to spend the whole day in Florence. In the middle of the town square and only a few blocks from the train station is the Florence cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. It stands tall over the city with its magnificent Renaissance dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. The cathedral is a Gothic structure built on the site of the 7th-century church of Santa Reparata, the remains of which can be seen in the crypt. Florence is one of my all-time favorite places to visit.

My next stop was the Galleria dell’Accademia di Firenze, or “Gallery of the Academy of Florence”, it’s an art museum which is best known as the home of Michelangelo’s sculpture of David.

Afterwards, I walked over to the Uffizi Gallery, which is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany. This is one of the most important Italian museums, and one of the largest and best known in the world. It holds a collection of priceless works, particularly from the period of the Italian Renaissance. This is the “Fortitude”, a painting by Italian Renaissance master Sandro Botticelli, finished in 1470. Fortitude is the first recorded work by Botticelli. (the panel on the right) This work originally belonged to a set of seven panels representing Virtues, intended to decorate the Tribunal Hall of Piazza della Signoria in Florence. The other six panels are painted by Pietro Pollaiolo’s workshop.

Another of my favorite Sandro Botticelli’s great work, done for the Medici family, is the Birth of Venus. Actually, I love all of the Botticelli artworks here. Unfortunately, we do not know for sure which Medici it was painted for, or which location it was originally hung in.

Another favorite work of art here, among many, is the “Madonna with the Long Neck” by Parmigianino. This is typical of his later work, which was defined by unusual spatial compositions and elongated figures. The painting is also known as “Madonna and Child with Angels and St Jerome” but earned the name Madonna with the Long Neck because of the curious length of the Madonna’s swan-like neck. The subject of this piece is derived from medieval hymns which compared the Virgin’s neck to a great ivory tower or column. Therefore the exaggerated length of the Virgin’s limbs and those of her son and the presence of columns in the background of the painting, are symbolic of the painting’s religious value. I can’t stress how amazing it was to see every work of art here. I can’t wait to go back.

After a long day of enjoying renaissance art, I had a spaghetti dinner at Ristorante Orcagna in the Piazza della Signoria. Dinner with a view of the plaza.

And last but not least, before heading back to meet my family at the train station to head back to Padova, I had a gelato. No trip to Florence is complete without having gelato. I tried the cantaloupe this time.

Rome, Italy

Posted October 24, 2017 by Girl With Chalk

Flew into Rome, Italy for one night. Doesn’t seem like it would be enough time, but it was.

The first place I visited in Rome was the Colosseum, which is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome. It’s built of concrete and sand and is the largest amphitheatre ever built.

From the Colosseum, we walked to Il Vittoriano, built in the early twentieth century and honours Italy’s first king.

Afterwards, we made our way to the Piazza di Spagna, at the bottom of the Spanish Steps. It’s one of the most famous squares in Rome and owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, seat of the Embassy of Spain among the Holy Sea. This is where I fell in love with these shoes and purse in the Valentino Store.

No trip to Rome is complete without a visit to the Fontana di Trevi in the Quirinale district. The Trevi Fountain is known as one of the most stunning fountains in the world. Throwing a coin from the right hand over the left shoulder will ensure that you will return to Rome in the future. This is my coin, hoping to return to Rome a third time.

I spent half of the next day at the Vatican City. The Cappella Sistina (Sistine Chapel) serves as the pope’s private chapel. The pope who commissioned Michelangelo’s frescoes in 1508 was Julius II, the nephew of Sixtus IV. Contrary to myth, Michelangelo did not paint on his back, but on a platform of his own devising that extended over half the area of the chapel and allowed him to stand upright. It was moved midway through the project. At no point could Michelangelo look at the work in progress from below, but he was still able to paint images on a vast scale from a distance of a few inches.

After leaving the Vatican, I saw these shoes and they were on sale so I bought them! I put them on and wore them for the rest of the day. They’re not Valentino, but they got bling and I got them in Rome!

Before leaving Rome there was one more artwork I had to see. “The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa” is the central sculptural group in white marble set in the Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria. On my last visit to Rome, I did not get a chance to see her so I came today. It was designed and completed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the leading sculptor of his day, who also designed the setting of the Chapel in marble. The church is beautiful and I am glad that I got to visit.

Helsinki, Finland

Posted October 17, 2017 by Girl With Chalk

Two days later, we boarded the ferry out of Sweden to Helsinki, Finland.

On the ferry and off to Finland! You can see our hotel to the right side of the photo, it wasn’t too far from the ferry.

On the ferry, there was a lovely mural of the Vasa Ship in one of the stairwell hallways. I love this wall!

Woke up the next morning at sea to a delicious chocolate pastry and a cappuccino.

When we arrived, the first thing we saw was the Helsinki Cathedral. It’s a Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the neighborhood of Kruununhaka in a plaza that is in the center of Helsinki, Finland.

A postcard that I watercolored for one of my friends back home.

In case anyone was wondering where the “Dinner in the Sky” attraction that is seen all over facebook was located, right here! In Helsinki, Finland. This was a block away from our hotel, and no I did not attempt to dine in the sky, it looked kind of scary to me.

Stockholm, Sweden

Posted October 13, 2017 by Girl With Chalk

On Saturday, August 5th, we took the train to Stockholm, Sweden. By the time we got off and hopped in a taxi, we arrived at our hotel at dusk so off we went to dinner after checking in. It was kind of drizzly and rainy over the couple of days that we spent there and the sun came out on the day we left. It was still fun.