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What to leave home- phrase book.  Before the trip I knew that I would usually be accompanied by an Italian speaker and was lazy about learning the language.  My husband purchased a pocket sized phrase book before we left.  I am not sure who organized the chapters but when we wanted to ask about a train schedule or where the bathroom was the information was not easily found.  While staying at a (phenomenal) farmhouse B &B outside of Sienna our host picked up our book and randomly opened pages to read out loud to us:

“I am here on business”   “Io sono qui per business”                                   

“Can I give you a hug?”  “Posso darti un abbraccio?”

“I do not eat Dogfish”   “ Non ho mangiato palombo”

 “Do you have any sexually transmitted diseases?”   “Avete delle malattie sessualmente trasmissibili?”

The phrase book was used mostly to amuse Italians, and not very helpful for day to day interaction.  It would be best to learn some common useful phrases before you go.

Bring good walking shoes and a scarf- Good quality comfortable walking shoes are a must. Italian women manage to traverse the cobblestones in high heels but for me a pair of Skecher shoes did the job.  They are like slippers and allowed my feet to grab the cobblestones, after a day of walking in the city my feet were surprisingly not sore.  A scarf is must have accessory and can be purchased all over the city.  Italians know how to dress and scarves are used to fancy up any outfit.  For females, they can be used to cover bare shoulder or any hint of cleavage when touring the cathedrals.

Bring a good appetite- Italy is about food, the presentation of food, the taste of food, the sharing of food.  Meals are not to be rushed and take out is unknown except for tourist areas.  Italians are warm generous people and food is a great source of conversation.  I had some of the best meals of my life while I was in Italy.  I think it is a mixture of fresh ingredients, and cooks who care deeply about tradition and season with a big dash of Italian pride.

Bring a really good camera- I hauled my Nikon D3200 around everywhere and while it is heavy and bulky the 26 megapixels made it worth the effort.  I can zoom in to the shots and create dozens of compositions from a single photo reference. I also purchased 32 GB sd card before I left and never had to worry about running out of space for the 2000 plus digital images. The downside is resizing the photos to post on this blog and Facebook.

Pack your palette with lots of yellow and blue green pastels- I packed about thirty pastels for plein air painting in Italy.  The greens I brought with me were too gray to capture the light.  Light in Italy is bright,  clear and very, very yellow.  The shadows on trees are intense blue green; the Midwestern gray greens in my palette did not do justice to the landscape.  Next time I will be bringing a full range of yellows, from the lightest yellow/ green to a saturated yellow/red.  For foliage I will bring a variety of blues including the most saturated blue greens, also some violets for general shadow colors.  If you are taking oils, viridian, or a phthalo blue green, cadmium yellow medium, and permanent rose are a must for your palette.

Yes, you did read words, “next time,” in this blog.  We are currently making plans with Artensity to return to Italy for another portrait/ figure painting workshop in 2015, it will be similar to this year’s adventure but with some very exciting changes.  If you would like to join us, please let me know and I will add your name to a list of people who will be contacted first when all the plans are set.

Ciao,

Vianna