Jet Lag Zombies

we left Florence at 3pm and got home to LA at 7pm the same day after a 14 hour plane ride

how that works i don't know; all i know is that i'm tired

Leaving Firenze at Dawn

we had to wake up at dawn to make our flight; it felt like we were sneaking out of the city

i drew this on the long plane ride home

Ciao Firenze!

our last night in Firenze

i am very sad to be leaving; it has been a wonderful adventure but i do miss my friends and family and will be happy to be home

i will be back and i know me and daisy will have many more adventures, but this past 3 months was a wonderful experience and i feel so lucky to have had the opportunity

Ciao Firenze!

the big show

the night of thanksgiving was the screening of all of daisy's students' films

it was a packed house and most of the films were very good

i was very impressed to see what they made in 3 months while learning flash at the same time

good job daisy your kids did great

fountain

this is one of the fountains in the Piazza Santissima Annunziata

it has been nice to have the time to just sit and draw for a bit

scenes from the Italian mall

we decided to go to the one mall near florence. it was a 30 min bus ride

once we got there, it was a bit surreal. it felt like a mall from anywhere in america except that everyone was speaking Italian

coming from the city center of florence (which has not changed much since the Renaissance) it was odd to be dropped into modern suburbia

life in the bubble

living in a foreign country for 3 months is hard especially when you don't speak the language and have very limited internet and tv

you start to feel like you are living in a bubble which can be nice not to have all the day to day chatter in you ear, but also can be hard and lonely too

Italians take death seriously

we went up the hill to San Miniato

it is surrounded by a large cemetery

some of the family crypts are huge- this one looked like the pantheon

Chimera

one of the strangest mythological animals in Etruscan mythology is the Chimera

it has the head and body of a lion, the tail is a snake, and it has a goat head sticking out of it's back. Oh yeah, and the goat breathes fire.

there is a famous sculpture of one that is normally in a museum in Firenze, but right now is on loan to the Getty Villa in LA. I guess i will see it when i get home

Rainy day

after 1 too many rainy cold days, no internet and bad Italian tv, we have a bad case of cabin fever

Cascini market lunch

Cascini market is a large open air market held every tuesday morning in Cascini park

it is a great place to find cheap clothes and other cool stuff

after we are done shopping we like to stop at this one lunch truck and have lunch

they have hamburgers and hotdogs, but they are Italian style, eaten on a toasted panini roll with lots of antipasta on it like mushrooms and artichoke hearts.

Also, even if you ask for a piccolo (a little), they will put lots of mayo and ketchup on as well

with a birra (beer) or a coke and some patate frites (french fries), which are also covered in mayo and ketchup, it makes for a yummy lunch

Daisy rocking the Euro Style

Another trip to the Cascine Market and Daisy's European look is almost complete!

Who flipped the "Autumn" switch on?

In one day, it turned from summer to fall here in Florence! Thankfully, I packed a leather jacket, but I quickly needed to get a pair of gloves and a scarf... next up, I'll have to find a hat!

I don't know what I'm going to do when winter finally rolls around!

Green Grocer

This is a drawing of our favorite green grocer at the Mercato Centrale. Sadly, we didn't get there in time today, as he was closing up by the time we arrived. Even though he doesn't speak a word of English, Daisy is able to describe what we need for dinner, and he's very nice and patient with us (and very flirty with Daisy!)

Shopping at the Cascine Market

One of the hard things with packing for a three month stay in Europe is packing enough clothes.

After a month of wearing the same clothes every day, it was a relief to find the Cascine Market and get a couple of new things to wear.

(also, people in Italy tend to dress nicer than our typical LA style of t-shirt and jeans)

Cosimo the First

Equestrian statue of Cosimo the first from the Piazza SS. Annunziata

The cutest Roman Centurion

Daisy and I have been having toy withdrawal, so we started collecting Playmobile toys. They have a whole Roman themed line, which are surprisingly accurate! We even learned a thing or two from their depiction of a Roman Aquilifer!

Bistecca alla Fiorentina

We had an amazing home-cooked dinner tonight of a Florentine style steak. I am too full to draw!

Wall

View from the couch in my living room

One of those Medicis (I think Cosimo II)

Went to the Vasari Corridor today- saw a bunch of portraits of the Medicis. They are very interesting looking characters- I think it would be fun to do a series of sculptures of them one day.