España con mi hermana!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! DRUMS! SINGING! BOOM BOOM!

These are the graceful sounds of Las Fallas. People from all over Spain travel to the small city of Valencia for this single weekend to celebrate the largest Spanish festival of the year. I could have never asked for a more surprising coincidence. There isn't a single street where you don't hear fireworks going off (even during the day), see children playing, or witness a parade where everyone is elegantly dressed. Also on every street are "ninots" or dolls built out of wood or plaster that can be a few stories high. The ninots remain in place until La Crema (the burning) when they are stuffed with fireworks. Crowds begin to form and children start to sing as these ninots BURN TO THE GROUND. 

El Principito Cafe! <3

La Crema

Just some bushes... wait....

Took a 4 hour walk to the other side of Valencia and ended up in the future.

Eating a plate of jamon at the Ham museum!

Spain has the most artistic graffiti artists :)

 When we got to Madrid, the sun went to bed and the rain came out, but that wasn't about to ruin our day. We did loads of shopping and visited three modern art museums including the Prado museum. Everything was gorgeous! I felt right at home since it's such a large city with lots of tourists. In a way, that was a turn off for me. I'm not ready to be back in a huge city yet. I've had twenty years of the hustling and bustling. Nevertheless, spending Spring break with my sister made this trip the best ever. Even though we were traveling in a new place, a foreign language, and a completely different culture, I felt comfortable. But spring break doesn't last forever. Back home to Firenze :)

Spring Break is here!

Amidst the midterm chaos, I regrettably neglected to update my blog. Despite having four midterms in one week, I must say that this was the best midterm week. I have never felt less stressed during exams; it's nice.
Last week, we got to experience two very different situations in my photography class. Our professor Lorenzo took us out to take some "street" photography. During our next class, we went to the studio for the first time to take a few portraits. We also got to be models if we wanted! Made for some awkward situations...

Her outfit, her hair, the sunglasses, flower, cigarette... everything just fell into place perfectly.

Lorenzo

Throughout the week, even more interesting things occurred. Although I'm certain I'm used to strange events living in NYC...

Found a dead clown in front of my apartment 

Florence at night 

Travel buddy drank a little too much wine...

 I took a long walk today through small streets I have never been on before, and just absorbed the subtle chatter and soft music from the street musicians. It was a nice and quiet day, despite the hectic errands I ran all morning. Funny how even though I am not in Baruch, they manage to make my life complicated. But I wasn't about to let that ruin my day. I wandered to Piazzale degli Uffizi to check out what my favorite street artist was painting today. I've passed him several times, and while all the other vendors are trying to get your attention, he sits there quietly with his dog, painting without a care in the world. Today, I saw him start and finish this beautiful painting of Tuscania. I gave in. No regrets.

Ciao Firenze, hola España!!! :)