Currency Converter: 1 USD = really bad

I just have to vent about this; the dollar is pretty bad. The swiss franc is doing very well and the general cost of living is higher in Switzerland so that in combination with the dollar is not so fun. In the past it looks like the swiss franc has been worth about 80-85 cents and now it is about 91 cents. There was even a period in 2008 when it was worth more than the dollar! Buying things with the Euro seems better at least because you get a bunch of Euros at a bad rate and then when you buy stuff the prices look like dollar prices. With the franc in switzerland, however, stuff has a higher price when you buy it. So you assume that the franc is a lot less than the dollar, but not really. SO, it basically appears as if everything is just expensive.

That's all, still having a wonderful time and eating lots of rice and pasta and splurging on a cappuccino once in a while that ends up being something around 5$ when you figure out the conversion!

Solothurn for a night, Luzern for an hour

Last night I spent the night in the little historic town of Solothurn in the German speaking part of Switzerland. I was there because the project/competition I'm working on for my internship is located on a site in Solothurn near the river. It was interesting to see how it compared to little historic Italian towns. There is more and darker wood used in buildings, the roofs have larger overhangs and different and darker shingles, some of the baroque forms on the churches are slightly stylized in different ways, the piazzas seemed smaller and of course it was a lot colder. Some similarities were that there were fountains in each piazza, the church was located prominantly and was the tallest, and there was an outdoor market being set up in the morning.
On the way home, Ira, the woman in charge of the firm, reccommended that I stop in Luzern for an hour because I had to switch trains somewhere to get back to Lugano. Luzern had a similar historic feel but was much larger and had what seemed to be more modern areas outside the old town center. There was also a historic covered bridge which had burned down in 1993 and been rebuilt and a starbucks. Yes, a starbucks. There isn't one in Lugano but Luzern was far north enough. I did not stop, however. If I had more than an hour perhaps, but every minute I was walking really fast to see as much as I could. I also stumbled across a quartet, I think it was two violins, a viola and a cello, and they were playing some nice classical tunes in a piazza. That was my longest stop in one place.
Then I boarded the train for Lugano.

Florence

For those of you who have asked, here is a link about the architecture thing in Florence Im helping with.  Risd is one of the schools participating and I head down to Florence Wednesday July 1st.

http://www.archdaily.com/25143/beyond-media-2009-visions/

Lugano Day 3

I am getting to know Lugano slowly but surly. I was surprised at how little touristy stuff and even stores (I had trouble finding food when I first got here) there are. I'm realizing that I think I am in a quieter neighborhood and as you can see from the photos the architecture is... what it is. It is kind of growing on me. Last night I went for a run and ended up down by the lake where there were many hotels, a fountain and a Louis Vuitton. I think that is the main part of town and I'm going to take a walk there later to see what else there is. I think Lugano is, however, still smaller than I thought which isn't bad. If I am able to keep tagging onto to whoever else's internet this is, it just means I'll have more time to update this blog.

PS. Mom, I found a charger that works in my suitcase. I don't remember putting it in but it fits the wall and only made a spark the first time I plugged it in (In Rome it made a spark everytime).

Lugano

Arrived safety to lugano on saturday and am now on my lunch break at my first day at the internship in lugano.  The guy Im renting from, Sandro was nice enough to pick me up at the station and drive me to the apartment.  Lugano is very different from Rome.  Very little old stuff and no ruins.  The coffee Ive had so far seems still possibly better than the states but not better than rome.  Ira one of the people in charge of the firm Im interning at, joked that the farther north you go from italy the worse the coffee is.  The lake is beautiful although there arent really any good places to go swimming in it really close by.

At the internship they gave me a project to help with that is a competition in the german speaking part of Switzerland.  As if the Italian wasnt enough for me, the whole project description is in German!  As I mentioned to mia madre, by now being in a place where i dont fully understand the language is far from being scary like it was in January, now it is just frustrating because I cant learn fast enough!

have to get back to work. 

if anyone has noticed I havent found out where the apostraphe is on the keyboard yet.

Cinque Terre

A few weeks ago I went to Bologna for a day and a night and then Cinque Terre for 2 nights. Bologna was a fun city with many young people and many colonnades covering the sidewalks similar to in Napoli. Cinque Terre was a nice break from the larger cities and is an area on the coast composed of 5 little towns with a long hike connecting them. My friend Erin and I hiked to the last town for the first half of the day and then sat on the beach and explored before taking the train back to the first town, Riomaggiore, where we were staying. At night there was hardly anyone out and you could walk to the beach.



ok well, the macs in the computer lab never work for uploading photos so I'll have to add them later...

Getting a little too real

This week we have been beginning to hang up and prepare our final show and started today to do an initial studio clean-up. I never do well leaving places but I just have to think about how they are never as far as they seem. I've gotten so comfortable this semester traveling that I could easy come back (money permitting, of course).

A huge part of me really, really wants to just return to the states next weekend when we were initially scheduled to but I'm sure when I get to Lugano it will be amazing. There is also the risd architecture exhibition in Florence in July that I will be helping with that I'm am looking forward to. I rescheduled my flight for August 2nd yesterday, so whatever happens I'll be coming home then!
Just under 2 more months...

here are some pictures of my studio before cleaning.

Sperlonga

Mom, Dad, Linda and Leon left yesterday. It was great to have them here. I was able to use all the knowledge I've learned about the city to be their tour guide. They stayed at a hotel about 5 minutes from me so we met in the mornings for breakfast and decided what we wanted to do.
One of my favorite places we saw (one of the only places I took them that I hadn't seen already) was the Church of Sant' Ivo. A small church by Borromini with a concave facade and triangular based floor plan. At a glance it looks like another "Italian Baroque Church" but Borromini's work I'm discovering was pretty revolutionary.
We also went to the small seaside town of Sperlonga for a day. It is only about an 1:15 minute train ride from Rome and another 15 minute bus ride. There are the remains of a seaside villa and pools where the Romans had their own fish cultivation.