day twenty; july 13th
Just before I give you my astoundingly interesting recollection of the day (wink wink), I want to apologise for my sudden burst of updates. I’ve had really bad trouble with getting an internet connection and although I was led to believe all was good yesterday, lo and behold, it wasn’t! Had class this morning and we developed our roll of film for the portrait assignment. Not sure how I managed it but I was able to complete a roll full of portraits (36 photos). Some were a little underdeveloped and they were photos where I had tried to be sneaky and shoot from the hip. Oh well, there are a few decent ones! I have taken photos with my phone so when I have the opportunity to access wifi internet I will upload them! Finished at 12.30pm so had a bite to eat and came home.
It wasn’t a very hot afternoon so I decided to go to the Accademia Galleria to say g’day to David. I was told this was the best time to go because everyone would be at lunch but of course that wasn’t true. The line was around the corner! But I had nothing else to do so I thought why not! Turns out they only let people who have not pre-purchased tickets in once an hour. I met two really nice families: behind me were a husband and wife from Texas and in front of me, a family from a state near there which I can’t remember. It made the wait to get in ten times better however after two and a half hours we were all getting pretty restless. Not long after however our time came! We pretended we were one big family so no one would be left out. We may have cheered a bit too much to the displacement of the casual guards! As I had read, besides David, the gallery doesn’t hold anything too special (I say that in the kindest way possible), as everything is either a copy of the original or unfinished! A number of Michelangelo’s unfinished sculptures were there which was actually really interesting to look at because one could see the process he undertook. It’s really hard to fathom how amazing sculptures, such as David, can be crafted from such large pieces of stone so perfectly. And in case you’re wondering - yes, David was worth the wait. Most definitely. He is placed in a special area so that the natural light can eliminate his features which made him look very ethereal. Michelangelo wanted to show David in an emotional sense, what he was feeling after he had killed Goliath, hence why he looks so deep in thought and the sling is not the centre of attention, rather behind him. Looked at a room full of sculptures and busts, all copies, and to get to the exit, through rooms of heavily religious scenes. I’m glad I finally got to see a statue that is synonymous with art history.
Later that evening I meet up with some girls from the Cinque Terre and we went to this bar called BeBop so we could watch a cover band sing Beatles songs. They were really, really good! Dinner jackets, bowl hair-cuts and all. Got to have one of my favourite mixed drinks, a Capriosca, which is an Italian original and walked back home with some of the girls just after midnight.
