Personal Introduction and Italy Imagined
My name is Blake Hakimian and I am a student in Purdue's engineering program. I love to travel and travel every year with my family over the summer. There are still pictures of me when I was just a baby, going up the side of a mountain with my family. As I grew older my family could afford larger trips to places outside of the country, and I was able to travel by myself. I planned a trip to New York (my brother and sister live there, but I would still be exploring by myself most of the time due to their work), and used guide books to find small niche places to visit. The most memorable part of the trip was doing something that I never planned, as I was too focused on an outdated book and forgot that Freedom Tower opened to the public only a few weeks earlier. I had been following construction prior to that point and was ecstatic when my brother mentioned that the viewing deck had just opened. I later would visit Chicago and New York again by myself, and several other times with family. The part I always enjoyed the most was just walking around and noticing important monuments and getting lost in the city. I love traveling, but there sometimes is a point where I tire of travel. As de Botton notes in his work "On Anticipation," the power of one sulk [can] destroy the beneficial effects of an entire hotel." Me and my brother went to the waterfront one of the days of my third trip to New York, for which I found myself simply wishing to go back to the hotel the entire time, as I was tired from exploring the Lower East Side the day prior. As such, I was unable to enjoy the waterfront as much as I could have. Many similar instances have occurred over family and especially school trips. My love of travel is one of main reasons for going on this trip.
The other reason is that Italy is the country I want to visit the most, Florence the top city, in the entire world. I have a huge love for history, and Italian history is some of my favorite. I especially love the Renaissance period (when there were many republics, not when it was split between Austria, Spain, or France) and the unification of Italy. I want to see the places where Dante, da Vinci, the Medicis, Michelangelo, Enrico Dandolo, Vivaldi, and many others lived and worked. I love the architecture and art seen in Italy, from the iconic red roofs of Florence and Il Duomo itself to the historical bridges of Venice such as the Rialto Bridge. Venice also displays many early, Byzantium style basilicas that are less common across Western Europe, where Baroque and Gothic style cathedrals dominate. St. Mark's Basilica in particular is paramount in its design as being unique to most of the other Christian buildings in Europe, with Islamic and Byzantine designs mixed in a way that is unique. Florence, besides Il Duomo, has the Uffizi, which besides having a large variety of medieval and renaissance art including the Birth of Venus and Madonna among others also has really cool architecture. My second favorite composer (after Saint Saens) is Vivaldi, and seeing a Vivaldi concert where he would have lived would be incredible. I imagine Italy to be very cultured with lots of little expensive shops (especially in touristy areas) and good food. I imagine that Italians themselves will be fashionable and that they will talk with their hands and be very loud and passionate people. When I think of Italy, the first thing that I think of is Il Duomo, then the food, then The Colosseum, then Venice and St. Mark's Square, and finally the parliament building. I also think of the geography of Italy as well. I am very exited about this trip and I look forward to the many things we will do in Italy. My only wish is that we would spend more than one day in Florence.
The inside of Il Duomo.
My name is Blake Hakimian and I am a student in Purdue's engineering program. I love to travel and travel every year with my family over the summer. There are still pictures of me when I was just a baby, going up the side of a mountain with my family. As I grew older my family could afford larger trips to places outside of the country, and I was able to travel by myself. I planned a trip to New York (my brother and sister live there, but I would still be exploring by myself most of the time due to their work), and used guide books to find small niche places to visit. The most memorable part of the trip was doing something that I never planned, as I was too focused on an outdated book and forgot that Freedom Tower opened to the public only a few weeks earlier. I had been following construction prior to that point and was ecstatic when my brother mentioned that the viewing deck had just opened. I later would visit Chicago and New York again by myself, and several other times with family. The part I always enjoyed the most was just walking around and noticing important monuments and getting lost in the city. I love traveling, but there sometimes is a point where I tire of travel. As de Botton notes in his work "On Anticipation," the power of one sulk [can] destroy the beneficial effects of an entire hotel." Me and my brother went to the waterfront one of the days of my third trip to New York, for which I found myself simply wishing to go back to the hotel the entire time, as I was tired from exploring the Lower East Side the day prior. As such, I was unable to enjoy the waterfront as much as I could have. Many similar instances have occurred over family and especially school trips. My love of travel is one of main reasons for going on this trip.
The other reason is that Italy is the country I want to visit the most, Florence the top city, in the entire world. I have a huge love for history, and Italian history is some of my favorite. I especially love the Renaissance period (when there were many republics, not when it was split between Austria, Spain, or France) and the unification of Italy. I want to see the places where Dante, da Vinci, the Medicis, Michelangelo, Enrico Dandolo, Vivaldi, and many others lived and worked. I love the architecture and art seen in Italy, from the iconic red roofs of Florence and Il Duomo itself to the historical bridges of Venice such as the Rialto Bridge. Venice also displays many early, Byzantium style basilicas that are less common across Western Europe, where Baroque and Gothic style cathedrals dominate. St. Mark's Basilica in particular is paramount in its design as being unique to most of the other Christian buildings in Europe, with Islamic and Byzantine designs mixed in a way that is unique. Florence, besides Il Duomo, has the Uffizi, which besides having a large variety of medieval and renaissance art including the Birth of Venus and Madonna among others also has really cool architecture. My second favorite composer (after Saint Saens) is Vivaldi, and seeing a Vivaldi concert where he would have lived would be incredible. I imagine Italy to be very cultured with lots of little expensive shops (especially in touristy areas) and good food. I imagine that Italians themselves will be fashionable and that they will talk with their hands and be very loud and passionate people. When I think of Italy, the first thing that I think of is Il Duomo, then the food, then The Colosseum, then Venice and St. Mark's Square, and finally the parliament building. I also think of the geography of Italy as well. I am very exited about this trip and I look forward to the many things we will do in Italy. My only wish is that we would spend more than one day in Florence.
The inside of Il Duomo.
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