leana’s blog

whoever is reading this blog is awesome b/c that means you haven't given up on me posting things even though it's been a month since my last one. sorry about that. it would probably take me much more time than i have to catch you up on everything since the last blog, so instead i will just tell you about our trip to venice.
when you think of venice, you probably think of canals, narrow streets, and singing gondoliers. all of the above are completely true, but something you should add to your list are pigeons. i've never seen so many in my life. in fact, i nearly got hit by one. in piazza san marco, which is the most famous area of venice, they even sell corn so that tourists can hold their arms out and be covered and surrounded by pigeons. i don't know why anyone would want to do that, but it's very entertaining when they do. another great thing about san marco is that at night it's all lit up and different orchestras take turns playing classical music.
some people say that in venice you will most likely get lost. well, they're right. the first day a few of us went out and were actually purposefully trying to get lost, taking the narrowest streets possible and not using a map, but we kept ending up in the right place. so then we decided, we must have such an amazing sense of direction that we can't get lost, so let's try to find our hotel, and maybe then we'll get lost. we set off, marching along in a confident manner, and after about 15 mins we realized we had no idea where we were. our plan worked. then we realized, the key to venice is that when you're trying to find something, you won't find it, but all the roads lead you to where you want to go. especially if that place is piazza san marco, b/c actually all the roads do lead there. it was really fun discovering the city in such a random way, because we found neat little shops and houses that aren't seen by the typical tourist. and we did find our hotel..eventually.
venice was also our first real visit to italy, so we learned about italians. i decided italians are like cats. they work when they feel like it, but most of the time just try to have a good time and don't put too much effort into anything. actually when we crossed the border, there were about 3 guards having a nice conversation, so they just casually waved us through without bothering about passports or anything. also, all shops are closed for 3 hours every day between 1 and 4, for a siesta of course. they end up working about 4 hours every day. i think americans could learn something from these people. we also learned about sneaky prices at restaurants. for one thing, they charge you to sit down, and then they bring a sneaky bread basket that's not actually free, but if it sits there you pay for it anyway, and they also bring sneaky water that costs 4 euros. so the key is, buy pizza. it's the cheapest thing ever and you can split it between like 3 people. there are also nice markets everywhere to get fruit, and delis that cut fresh met and cheese that's really cheap.
there are other islands surrounding venice, and we went to 2 of them. the first one, murano, is the main place for glassblowers and craftsmen. they had some really nice shops and little restaurants. the main reason that island is there is b/c the kilns that glassblowers used were too dangerous b/c of fire, so all the craftspeople were exiled. we also went to an island that was built as a cemetery. instead of metros or subways, venice uses water taxis. that's what we took to get to these islands, and both of us got slightly seasick on the first one, but after that we were ok. it was actually really fun b/c we rode it all the way around the island. we also wanted to take a gondola ride, obviously, but it was like 80 euros, so we just watched the gondolas instead.
venice is a wonderful place and i wish we had more time there, but i think we saw as much as we could have in those two days. my feet are telling me that anyway. every time we went anywhere i found something new. sometimes it was a door that led into the water, or a road that didn't lead anywhere in particular, but i especially loved the bridges. each of them were different, even though there were hundreds of them. 
i suppose now that i'm back in riva it's time to get back to work, but i loved venice and returned free of pigeon poop. it was definitely my favorite place so far. :)

we just got back tonight from a weekend in lucerne, switzerland. this is the city where our professor grew up. we left friday morning and drove to a city on the way where the famous historian, professor oechslin, showed us his extensive and astonishing library collection of architecture, architectural history, and philosophy books. some of them dated back to the 1490's. once in awhile he casually referenced a newton or vitruvius.  the drawing quality and preservation was amazing. so much time went in to making one of those books. across the street from this library was a baroque monastery dating back to something like the 15th century. the outside was impressive, but the inside was incredible. everything from the ceiling to the floor was carefully hand crafted with a level of detail that was almost overwhelming. this monastery was also home to the black madonna, which was made out of a special type of wood that turned black over time. after lunch we drove closer in to lucerne and stopped for a few hours at the k&n house, which is another one of olgiati's works. the most incredible thing about this house is that it was made completely out of one pour of concrete, so there were no joints. it also has very impressive views, with windows attached on the outside wall so there is no frame, just an opening to the outside. when we were finished sketching and taking pictures, we headed into lucerne where we checked into our hostel and then went to markus' (my professor's) mother's house for a lovely dinner she had prepared. it wasn't the house he grew up in, but it was apparently close by. later on we headed into the actual city, which at night as absolutely beautiful. it's right on a lake that is inhabited by beautiful swans, and surrounded by the alps on all sides.

saturday we were able to get a better look at the city with a tour by markus of old town lucerne, which dates back to medieval times. basically we just spent the day walking around and going in some shops. that night we got to experience the modern part of the city by visiting jean nouvel's concert hall, which is an amazing building that is host to world famous orchestras. we were privileged to have tickets to see the st. petersburg philharmonic, which played a czaikovsky concerto. it was the most beautiful thing i've ever heard. even though we were high up in the balcony, the sound quality in the hall was so perfect we could hear every single note. we then had a nice dinner nearby.

sunday we spent most of the day walking around lucerne a bit more. it's such a beautiful city we just couldn't get enough of it. i loved how even on sunday when all the shops were closed there were still lots of people just walking around and enjoying the day. on our drive home we took the route that goes over the mountains. we stopped at an ancient gorge for awhile on the way. it was huge! and really cold. but the bridges that went across it were amazing, especially the ones that were centuries old. i have no idea how they built those. afterwards we finished our drive home. it was another wonderful weekend, and i can't believe that wednesday we leave for our 18 day trip to the north!! it's going to be a great trip, and very tiring i'm sure. but we'll be seeing so much i can't wait. well, in the meantime i'm going to go finish up a painting. arrivederci!  

last friday began our first weekend excursion to the beautiful grisons region in the mountains of switzerland. the drive there was absolutely breathtaking, i've never seen anything like it. there are these spectacular waterfalls that just come shooting out of the mountains. after about 2 hours we arrived in the town of paspels to meet valerio olgiati, a famous architect, and get a tour of the school he designed there. it was fun because school was in session so all the kids were going about their day, as if going to a school like that was completely normal. the classrooms were so cozy, with spectacular views and high-tech window systems. the contrast between the outer concrete shell and the warm wood classrooms was really interesting. afterwards we went to a place close by for lunch, and then went with olgiati to see his house for a musician. it had only been fully completed two weeks beforehand. from pictures it's really hard to tell how great this building is, because it's very atmospheric. it was a space that couldn't really be defined as interior or exterior. we all felt as if we could have spent the whole day there just because of how relaxing it was. but there was one more building we were to see, and that was olgiati's yellow house in the town of flems. the building is completely white, but it's called the yellow house because it's a renovation of a house that was previously yellow. olgiati designed this building in memory of his father, who was also a well known architect. that night we checked in at our hotel in flems, which was actually a ski lodge, and got ready to end the night with a nice dinner at a restaurant designed by olgiati's father. beforehand we actually got to see olgiati's house, which was right within walking distance of our hotel. he's currently building his office conveniently right next door. dinner was really nice, and we found out that europeans really enjoy taking their time at dinner. i think we were there for 3 hours, and we were so tired by the end we went to bed immediately. it was a great day.
saturday we woke up fairly early and drove further into the mountains to see the willomann-lotscher house and the chapel by peter zumthor. both buildings were really neat to see in real life, especially the chapel because it was literally on top of a mountain. we sketched and took pictures at both, and drove down a ways to a tiny sausage stand. it was my first taste of swiss sausage, and it was delicious. i also got this weird swiss soda called riverra  that looks like ginger ale but is made with milk. i'm not sure if i'll be getting that again. that afternoon we drove back into town and then to a nearby lake. this lake was literally turquoise because it was fed by mountains streams. yes, it was cold, but really fun.
sunday morning we packed up and drove to the town of vals. this is where the famous thermal bath by peter zumthor is located, and we spent the day relaxing there. vals is apparently famous for it's water, and this same water is what was used in the thermal bath. there were about 8 or 9 different types of baths, ranging in temperature from freezing to hot. one room was filled with jasmine flowers, and smelled wonderful. i think that was my favorite. after we were finished trying out all the baths we went up to the roof to warm up and all of us fell asleep. it was wonderful.
we then returned to riva, and we realized how wonderful it is to have a home to go back to. it's amazing how tiring even a 3 day weekend filled with relaxation was. but it was a wonderful experience i'm sure none of us will forget.

the past few days have actually been quite adventurous. i feel like i've been here for a few weeks already but it's only been 4 days! on saturday morning i went for my first run through riva. the weather was the absolute perfect temperature and there was a slight breeze. i explored some of the town and when i go tomorrow i hope to find a nearby mountain trail. that afternoon we drove to lugano which is only about 15 minutes down the road. it's a much bigger city and very beautiful b/c it's right on the lake. we got some necessities like shampoo and toothpaste, and then drove back for dinner. that evening we went back to lugano and enjoyed the evening walking on the road by the lake, which they close off on the weekends to become a pedestrian walkway. we also got our first taste of gelato (mine was nutella flavored) and i've decided i'm going to try each kind before i leave.

i must say though that today has been the highlight of our trip so far. this morning a few of us went to the church next door for morning mass. obviously it was all in italian and i couldn't understand a thing but the music was very pretty and it was nice just to see a service much different than what i'm used to. after brunch we walked around and i sketched a bit, and then we left and headed for monte tamaro to see the famous mario botta chapel. monte tamaro is actually also a popular family place, b/c at the top there are some cool rides. we rode a gondola all the way to the top ( i never thought it would end)! the view was amazing, but unfortunately it began raining. it was still great though, and when we reached to the top we immediately ran over to see the chapel. it's so much better seeing these things in person, b/c it's impossible for pictures to capture it. we explored there for a couple hours, taking pictures and sketching. after a few minutes i noticed the sound of bells, and looked, and on top of the mountain there were goats wearing bells!! it was so incredibly swiss i couldn't believe it. eventually the rain and cold got to us though, so we went to the nearby restaurant and enjoyed some swiss hot chocolate (swiss miss will never compare). then we rode the gondola back down and came back for dinner and now here i am writing this message. tomorrow we start our first day of studio, so we're going to mendrisio (the town next to ours) to get supplies and such. bona note!

emily and i arrived in riva yesterday after about a day of travel and a couple hours of sleep. the trip was good and went smoothly, although our luggage didn't quite make it as quickly as we did. this ended up actually being a great thing b/c it would have been almost impossible to carry it all on the train with us. the train ride from zurich to lugano was absolutely GORGEOUS but unfortunately i couldn't stay awake for the entire thing or muster up enough energy to take pictures from the window. we were in a train cabin with 3 italians who were very friendly and i could sort of understand what they were talking about. i think at one point they were hoping for a bottle of alcohol to make the trip less "male." they were headed all the way to milano.
when we got to lugano we thought about walking around but were far too tired so we took the train to riva, where we then walked to the casa (thanks leah for directions, they were perfect)! we were actually the last two to arrive, but we settled in and then went exploring for a bit and took touristy pictures. riva is SO cute and so are the people, especially the little swiss kids.  everyone here is really active and into biking and soccer.
after we finally found how to get to the lake we headed back for dinner (which was SO good) and went out for a little more exploring. the evenings here are beautiful. actually pretty much everything here is beautiful. i was really excited to find a piano and a keyboard in the casa, as well as the pottery wheel. hopefully i'll have time to use them! i think markus will be keeping us pretty busy in studio. we just finished setting up all of our desks and things, which was a bit of an escapade, but now we're all in here just relaxing with our computers. i think on sunday we're going on a short excursion somewhere close by, so i'll tell you about it later. ciao!