Artsy and Wet

      Sigh, don't you just love rain,

 I have had  3 days of it so far.   That's not so bad for me actually, I like rain. It's fresh and sort of, uh, wet. Okay that was a bit stupid, but I truly do enjoy when rain comes.
I guess it just makes me weird.

   However, I didn't come to Italy for bad weather. Yesterday, I went to to Uffizi, one of the worlds most famous Italian art museum.  It is called the Uffizi because in older times, it was the Florence city offices (Uffizi means office in Italian).  I saw may famous paintings, some of them were whimsical, and some even touched my heart. One, called the '' Massacre of the Innocents".  I stared at it for so long, my eyes hurt.  It was a very horrid thing to behold.  The picture depicted a vivid battle somewhere in a city. Men are running amok killing mothers and children.  It was so terrible I had to turn away.
Another picture that moved me was a sketch called " Lamentation over the body of Christ".  It was so realistic with the shadowing and dappled skin.  It almost looked like pointillism with a pencil. Also, there was a person behind Christ who looked just like Leonard De Vinci! It was really cool.

Hoping that you look them both up,
Liv

Hooray for Italia!

Howdy again folks,

     I know it has been a while since my last entry.  I got to Italy on a comfortable sleeper train and have been staying in my little apartment in Florence for three days now.  I have seen the Duomo and some other sights, that were cool.  Anyway, yesterday I found a LUSH (Huzzah) and got a valentine's day package with my new allowance!!!!  Dad is giving me 5 dollars (Euro 3.55) a week and I'm thrilled!  I have to do more chores than I did, but I don't have full time school so that is small potatoes to me.

    Today , more importantly by far, I went to see the Pitti Palace and the Bobili gardens behind it.  The garden was truly stunning!  There were sooooo many trails to take.  I took the main one, but there were many others, some leading into little tree patches or just to nowhere in particular.  There were so many statues, naked of course, all around the garden.  I saw a few statues in a man-made pond.  It had a small diameter, but it was deeper than a swimming pool.  The statues portrayed Neptune (the Roman sea god) holding a spear above his head on an island, with some creeped out looking mortals cowering below.

    The Pitti Palace on the inside was full of paintings and sculptures depicting everything from Caesar Augustus to sleeping cherubim. I suppose it would have been more interesting if I wasn't sleepy and bored. Walking around the place made me drowsy and I complained a lot. However, I will return soon to see more of the palace, so I can once again roam the halls, though hopefully without describing life's mishaps to my exhausted parentage.

  Arrivederci,

  Liv

Santo Spirito at Dusk (photo: Michael Ray Wisely/Dad) 

Morning All

Morning all in Germany, and goodnight to those back home,

    I thought that I would explain what jet lag is, as it seems to have an enormous effect on me today.  Jet lag is the feeling of exhaustion after coming to another country and, most importantly, another time zone.  With me, I may wake up bright and early in Germany, but in America it's about 12:00 at night! Going to bed rested and waking up tired is a challenge, but there are many ways to fight jet lag.

Some include:
-  Coffee or black tea (always wakes me up)
-  A quick jog (if you are the exercise-y type)
-  Cold water on the face or neck (brrrrrrr)
-  A shower (the best cure by FAR in my opinion)
-  A nap (doesn't really help me but I don't know about other people)

With these weapons, a young traveler can put up a good fight against jet lag (though it may take a few tries before you win :)

Grin and Win,
Liv

Liebfrauen Cathedral and the new City Hall, Munich.

Bavarian Travels

'Lo again readers,

      Sorry I haven't written in a while.  I've been quite busy traveling, touring etc.  Here is just a quick explanation about what I did.  On January 17, I left the German friend's house to go with them to Rothenburg, a little town frozen in  the middle ages.  I went to the Criminal Museum to look at some gruesome punishments and torture methods from thumbscrews (self explanatory, yuck) to Iron Maidens (wood and iron cases for wild women).  On the 18th, I left Rothenburg to go to Munich, but we stopped for some fun "German Surprises".

     One of them was seeing Ludwig the 2nd's enormous castle that he designed himself.  Narcissistic Lud. decked it with a gold plated throne room with huge and I mean HUGE murals and a mosaic floor. He had a singing room, though he never had singers, and a bedroom  with wood carvings that resembled the steeples of German churches. He had his own PRIVATE
chapel, an artificial cave room, and (gasp) a telephone!  It was truly an amazing sight, an all the windows showed stunning views of the snowcapped Alps.  It was like being in a Lord of the Rings movie.  My hotel in Munich is ultra-modern and colorful. I have a bunk bed and a TV, but many of the shows are in German :(.  Today I am going to an Antique Market (ugh) because no regular stores are open on Sunday in Germany.  There will be more on Munich later as I am staying here for 3 more days.

Auf  Weadersehen,
 Liv

OHMYGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!

OHMYGOSH!!!!!!!!!!

I am finally in Europe! Yesterday I took a 18 hour plane to Paris and transferred to Germany. We are in Germany to see some friends of my Mom's from college. I have been at their house for a night and I baked tiramasu this morning!

Ms. Ferg: Today I did the Flush Test . I used the little I know from Hoot for the essay, but will that be enough? I also went to The German Coal-Mining Museum and I am planning a mini report all about it. I read a wee bit of Scat and this is my daily post. If you think I should do more than that each day, not counting the coal museum, than you know my e-mail. I didn't do any math because I don't know what my IXL password is.

Thanks For Reading,
Liv
  

Goodness me

Goodness me!

 I have only until the 13th to pack my things! Oh by the by, I looked into my suitcase to see what clothes I put in it, and everything I packed was either black or white! I thought that was kind of funny so I decided to put it down. Yesterday was Sofia's birthday. se got a duct tape treat pocket, a cartoon about her, and a squeeze toy that looks like Lamb Chops. Today I made everyone in class was willing to, sign a card for  her and I gave that to her after school. She liked it a lot. Also, today I found an unwrapped Dum-Dums lolly in my bag and gave it to some kid. He looked at me like I was going to eat him at any second, so I made a quick exit. Poor kid.

Smilin',
Liv

This is the beginning:

Hi, this is Liv,

I just got my brand-new, authenti-genuine google blog today. I'm very exited to go on my trip to Florence, but I am not looking forward to leaving my terrier, Sofia, at home. I leave for Italy in
9 days. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!

Ciao Bella!