Liz and her mother accessorize, Venice-style. Photo courtesy of Liz Evans

It’s Family Weekend here on the Syracuse campus, and Liz Evans is enjoying time with her parents in Florence. Last weekend, Liz and her parents, Joe and Lynn, visited Padova, along with the rest of SU Florence. Then they explored Venice on their own after the class trip.

The most notable site we saw was the Scrovegni Chapel. This was the private chapel of the Scrovegnis and the inside was completely decorated in frescoes by one of the most famous Florentine painters ever, Giotto. This chapel is considered one of his masterpiece works and was amazing to see in person and have it explained by Rocky [Ruggiero, field study instructor for SU Florence].

Read Liz’s full post and see her incredible photos here.

Stonehenge. Photo courtesy of Chelsea Orcutt

When she’s not busy with her full load of classes, Chelsea is getting out and becoming more familiar with London. Someone even asked her for directions recently — a sign that she’s becoming a local!

Her classes are helping her transition to life as a Londoner, too:

My classes are helping me to get further acclimated into the culture, as I’m learning about everything from British politics to media. My Race, Gender and the Media professor encourages us to read a British newspaper every day. Some of the most popular papers here are red tops (tabloids, like The Sun or The Mirror), and the absurdity of their headlines actually makes me laugh sometimes, as does the liberal use of the word “snogging.”

Check out Chelsea’s blog to read about Love London Weekend (including a West End production of Billy Elliot and a visit to Emirates Stadium, the home of Arsenal Football Club) and a weekend trip to Stonehenge and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre.

Ceiling mosaics in the Duomo's Baptistry. Photo courtesy of Liz Evans

Liz Evans has been in Florence for just a few weeks, but she’s made the most of them by traveling throughout Italy. Check out her newest posts on admiring mosaic art in the Duomo’s Baptistry, a trip to Assisi and Ravenna, and learning new Italian phrases.

On experiencing art in Florence:
I do, however, love seeing the artwork that I’m learning about in my art history class.  I think in the US we get used to seeing these great works in books and on the computer, but here, you walk around the block and oh, there’s the Duomo.

I definitely understand more than I can speak, but even though I’ve been here a week I’ve learned more than my friends who have been here two weeks, living in an apartment.  I sit down most nights and ask how to say the food and things on the table, and I always learn new words during our ‘conversations’.  Keep in mind there’s usually an Italian-English dictionary present at the dinner table.

Learn more about Felicetta, Carlo, Mia, and Milou here.

Photo courtesy of Chelsea Orcutt

Classes have begun at SU London, and Chelsea shares her thoughts on them:

My classes have been very interesting so far, and the professors are obviously passionate about their respective fields. I’m particularly excited about COM 346: Race, Gender and the Media and PSC 409: The European Union. All of my classes emphasize the importance of following the news in the U.K. and reading British newspapers. I’m interested to see the coverage that the tenth anniversary of 9/11 receives in London, and compare it with U.S. coverage.

Click here to read Chelsea’s full post and see her new photos.