Today was a great day!
Last night, my introvert was showing, so I decided to sleep in and be intentionally independent of people for a while. I woke up late and took a ridiculously long time getting ready to go.
Melissa and I went and got lunch together. I had pizza-the olives were green. I do not like green olives so I picked them off. She and I then walked to a store to get lemon scented soap. Lemons are Sorrento's "thing."
We parted ways shortly after. I went to look for face lotion. I dropped mine the first week we were here and spilt most of it. I have another couple of days left, but that's one of those things I would much rather not go without. Unfortunately, my best guess at face lotion was on the shelf next to something that was certainly foot cream. I did not want foot cream on my face, so I chose to post-pone my purchase until I could figure out what "face" is in Italian.
I am officially exhausted of the clothes I brought with me, so I went shopping to find something new. I did not bring a very good variety of shoes, so I would not be able to wear the cute dress I found until after I returned to the States. That would defeat the purpose. But, if I got that dress and a pair of shoes, I'd be set! I checked, and both places are open tomorrow, so I just might have to go get them both. After all, everyone in Europe takes great care to dress themselves well, so I ought to do the same, right? Regardless, I enjoyed my lonely, aimless wandering. It was raining horribly, so I had to dodge a plethora of umbrellas and raindrops, but I am certain that only added to my joy.
I returned to the hotel to do some homework before doing laundry with Kayla. We both brougt our books and sat and read. At one point, I was so utterly overwhelmed with admiration for Jane Austen that I had to read a passage outloud to Kayla. The Scottish man sitting across from us recognized what I was reading, so we discussed several of the characters together. I love chatting about Jane with random people I've never seen before. Especially when they have a charming accent.
Shortly after I enjoyed dinner at a kabab place. Kebabs seem to do something to satisfy my burrito craving, probably because they are wrapped in a tortilla. Honestly, I've only gotten a burrito and chipotle a few times, but for some reason I desperately want one, but cannot have it. So, the kebab is all I've got.
And now I sit once more inthe hotel lobby. I am very dedicated to you, dear reader. I had no internet connection whatsoever for nearly an hour, but I persisted to hit refresh in my internet browser until I could finally post. I only hope that-at this late hour-the words on this page feature complete thoughts and not just the tired meanderings of my mind.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Europe Day 27: Herculaneum and Gelato
Everyone has heard about Pompeii, but not as many know of it's smaller cousin, Herculaneum. The same volcanic eruption that coated the former in ash buried the latter in mud that almost perfectly preserved the city.
In short, it is very similar to Pompeii. Lots of very old houses and a variety of shops. The main difference is that in Pompeii, there is very little vegetation. It is very dry and dusty and not too comfortable looking. Herculaneum has poppies and lush green trees all over the place! I would gladly live there, except for the lead water pipes. That could put a damper on my party.
After the long train ride back to Sorrento, I enjoyed a chicken and mayonaise sandwhich for lunch with Melissa. There is a cultural thing for you-a menu in Italy will tell you exactly what you are eating. If the pizza is not described with tomato sauce and cheese, it does not have tomato sauce and cheese. If the sandwhich says it will have chicken and mayonaise, you will get bread, with chicken and mayonaise in the middle. No bells, no whistles. Just exactly what you ordered.
We returned to the hotel just in time to take our mid-term. It was a test. I think I did well. That's about all there is too it.
The rest of the afternoon was spent considering a beach venture. A group of us talked about it, changed into our swim clothes, and even made it to get lunch for on the beach. Then some how getting there became just a little too difficult. So I went back to my room, changed out of my swim clothes, and played spoons with Jeanie, Kayla and Josh.
I love playing games with Kayla. We are both ridiculously competative. We had no qualms about wrestling a bit for the plastic spoon, and we continually taunted each other the entire match. Well, since she was loosing I taunted her. But I am certain that if she had been winning she would have done the same.
My people had all either eaten dinner or made dinner plans, so I went for a walk and picked up a sandwhich. It was cheese and salami, and rather delicious. Melissa, Kayla, Jeanie and I then left to get expensive desserts. Let me put that in perspective for you. Each day we get 17 euro to buy our meals. Breakfast is complimentary at this hotel. I spent five euro on lunch, 3.50 euro on dinner, and 8.50 euro on dessert. It was three ginormous scoops of gelato, topped with whipped cream and chocolate peices. I think it was supposed to be tiramisu flavored gelato, so they poured cold coffee on top of it all as well. Once I got past that, the entire thing was delicious!
Now my stomach hurts from all that milk, so I decided against karaoke with the rest of the gang. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I haven't gotten enough sleep lately, and I want to climb Mt. Vesuvius tomorrow, so I need my rest. Besides, I've spent the past several weeks surrounded by my classmates at all time. Whether awake or asleep, the first time I had completely alone today was when everyone else was in the lobby on the computer and I was in my room cleaning up some stuff. I think tomorrow I shall climb the mountain with my group, then spend some time alone. Perhaps souvenir shopping, followed by a good amount of time with just me, and Jane Austen, and perhaps some sand between my toes. We'll have to see.
In short, it is very similar to Pompeii. Lots of very old houses and a variety of shops. The main difference is that in Pompeii, there is very little vegetation. It is very dry and dusty and not too comfortable looking. Herculaneum has poppies and lush green trees all over the place! I would gladly live there, except for the lead water pipes. That could put a damper on my party.
After the long train ride back to Sorrento, I enjoyed a chicken and mayonaise sandwhich for lunch with Melissa. There is a cultural thing for you-a menu in Italy will tell you exactly what you are eating. If the pizza is not described with tomato sauce and cheese, it does not have tomato sauce and cheese. If the sandwhich says it will have chicken and mayonaise, you will get bread, with chicken and mayonaise in the middle. No bells, no whistles. Just exactly what you ordered.
We returned to the hotel just in time to take our mid-term. It was a test. I think I did well. That's about all there is too it.
The rest of the afternoon was spent considering a beach venture. A group of us talked about it, changed into our swim clothes, and even made it to get lunch for on the beach. Then some how getting there became just a little too difficult. So I went back to my room, changed out of my swim clothes, and played spoons with Jeanie, Kayla and Josh.
I love playing games with Kayla. We are both ridiculously competative. We had no qualms about wrestling a bit for the plastic spoon, and we continually taunted each other the entire match. Well, since she was loosing I taunted her. But I am certain that if she had been winning she would have done the same.
My people had all either eaten dinner or made dinner plans, so I went for a walk and picked up a sandwhich. It was cheese and salami, and rather delicious. Melissa, Kayla, Jeanie and I then left to get expensive desserts. Let me put that in perspective for you. Each day we get 17 euro to buy our meals. Breakfast is complimentary at this hotel. I spent five euro on lunch, 3.50 euro on dinner, and 8.50 euro on dessert. It was three ginormous scoops of gelato, topped with whipped cream and chocolate peices. I think it was supposed to be tiramisu flavored gelato, so they poured cold coffee on top of it all as well. Once I got past that, the entire thing was delicious!
Now my stomach hurts from all that milk, so I decided against karaoke with the rest of the gang. It sounds like a lot of fun, but I haven't gotten enough sleep lately, and I want to climb Mt. Vesuvius tomorrow, so I need my rest. Besides, I've spent the past several weeks surrounded by my classmates at all time. Whether awake or asleep, the first time I had completely alone today was when everyone else was in the lobby on the computer and I was in my room cleaning up some stuff. I think tomorrow I shall climb the mountain with my group, then spend some time alone. Perhaps souvenir shopping, followed by a good amount of time with just me, and Jane Austen, and perhaps some sand between my toes. We'll have to see.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Europe Day 26: Pompeii and More Beach!
First thing this morning, we left the hotel at far too early (7:45am) to catch a train to Pompeii. Pompeii is a city founded in the seventh century B.C. In 79 A.D. Mt. Vesuvius began erupting. A large, black cloud floated into the sky, and four days later everyone who did not leave the city choked to death in the fall of the ash. Over time, the city was forgotten. Then, in 1748, it was rediscovered. Now, it is mostly uncovered and available for exploration.
Unlike Ostia Antica, the other ruined city we explored, we had a tour guide who took us around to some of the best places. Among these were a theater, fish market, vegetable market, the baths, and the first known fast food restaurant. Of the last we could see a counter with sunken in holes, where the terracota pots holding hot meals for hungry travelers could come and eat. Pompeii was a commerical town. It is estimated that 10,000 people lived there, though they have thus far only found 2,000 skeletons.
Although the Romans were advanced enough to have a sewage system, the volcanic rock used to build most of the city was too unpredictable and they were not able to create one. Instead, they simply allowed the roads to be rivers when it rained, and built stepping stones every once and a while, so that people could cross the street without getting their feet wet or dirty.
I stood in the ruts made from thousands of chariots driving down the road every single day. It was an epic moment for me. I sat in the theater were two thousand people enjoyed latin comedies and tragedies. I stepped into the largest villa of the city. It was only as big as a soccer field-no big deal. I pretended to hack of Kayla's head in a gladiator school. It was a pretty fantastic day.
We returned to Sorrento, tired and hungry. We soon found a restaurant that suited our tastes as well as our wallets. I got a bacon and egg sandwhich. Not proscuitto, bacon. And the egg was a little runny so it soaked into the bread vaguelly remniscent of an english muffin. It was possibly the best meal I have eaten in Italy thus far. I love bacon. It made me so happy.
We returned to the hotel for a little bit of rest before heading out to the beach. In my soccer shorts and a tank top, I did not intend to swim. After jumping in fully clothed yesterday, I needed to ration my outfits until I did laundry again. I read Pride and Prejudice until Melissa beckoned me into the water. I was only going to get wet up to my thigh, where my soccer shorts met the water. Then I realized how much I was enjoying myself, so I decided to dance in the water a bit. It was okay at first, but then I fell over. I landed in water up to my neck, and decided why not? I took my glasses to the beach before running back to the water and diving in head first. It was so freeing! Everytime I get in the water I realize just how much I love to swim.
Kayla soon followed, and we swam out to the rocks on the other side of the habor. I was a little nervous-I had never swam that far before. Fortunately I am great and floating, so I did just fine. We sat on the rocks and let the water splash us like before. Except this time I picked a rock that was mostly submerged. Waves constantly rushed at me. At one point the wave was big enough to lift me off my seat! But I clung to that rock like a barnacle and did not drift off to sea.
We returned to the beach and I read Pride and Prejudice as we dried in the sun. Buying that book was probably the best decision I have made all trip! I have read it several times before, but as I meander through the pages once more, I find myself discovering new aspects of the characters, new ways of describing and understanding what is going on that I never realized before! Not to mention it's a little bit of home I get to enjoy while so far away. Perhaps I'll make it a life goal to read Jane Austen in every country I go to. That could be fun :)
Dinner involved mushroom risotto and deep discussions of moral right and wrong in the TV show Lost. It was very involved. I finally called it quits, and Kayla and I agreed to stop discussing it. I was getting a little too passionate I think.
And now I sit, typing this blog. Soon I will watch some Lost, and eat the giant chocolate egg I bought since I didn't get to hang with my family for Easter. Since Easter was over when I bought it, it was only three euro, and that sucker is huge. I intend on waiting until half the class is in the lobby, so I can share the wealth with them.
Unlike Ostia Antica, the other ruined city we explored, we had a tour guide who took us around to some of the best places. Among these were a theater, fish market, vegetable market, the baths, and the first known fast food restaurant. Of the last we could see a counter with sunken in holes, where the terracota pots holding hot meals for hungry travelers could come and eat. Pompeii was a commerical town. It is estimated that 10,000 people lived there, though they have thus far only found 2,000 skeletons.
Although the Romans were advanced enough to have a sewage system, the volcanic rock used to build most of the city was too unpredictable and they were not able to create one. Instead, they simply allowed the roads to be rivers when it rained, and built stepping stones every once and a while, so that people could cross the street without getting their feet wet or dirty.
I stood in the ruts made from thousands of chariots driving down the road every single day. It was an epic moment for me. I sat in the theater were two thousand people enjoyed latin comedies and tragedies. I stepped into the largest villa of the city. It was only as big as a soccer field-no big deal. I pretended to hack of Kayla's head in a gladiator school. It was a pretty fantastic day.
We returned to Sorrento, tired and hungry. We soon found a restaurant that suited our tastes as well as our wallets. I got a bacon and egg sandwhich. Not proscuitto, bacon. And the egg was a little runny so it soaked into the bread vaguelly remniscent of an english muffin. It was possibly the best meal I have eaten in Italy thus far. I love bacon. It made me so happy.
We returned to the hotel for a little bit of rest before heading out to the beach. In my soccer shorts and a tank top, I did not intend to swim. After jumping in fully clothed yesterday, I needed to ration my outfits until I did laundry again. I read Pride and Prejudice until Melissa beckoned me into the water. I was only going to get wet up to my thigh, where my soccer shorts met the water. Then I realized how much I was enjoying myself, so I decided to dance in the water a bit. It was okay at first, but then I fell over. I landed in water up to my neck, and decided why not? I took my glasses to the beach before running back to the water and diving in head first. It was so freeing! Everytime I get in the water I realize just how much I love to swim.
Kayla soon followed, and we swam out to the rocks on the other side of the habor. I was a little nervous-I had never swam that far before. Fortunately I am great and floating, so I did just fine. We sat on the rocks and let the water splash us like before. Except this time I picked a rock that was mostly submerged. Waves constantly rushed at me. At one point the wave was big enough to lift me off my seat! But I clung to that rock like a barnacle and did not drift off to sea.
We returned to the beach and I read Pride and Prejudice as we dried in the sun. Buying that book was probably the best decision I have made all trip! I have read it several times before, but as I meander through the pages once more, I find myself discovering new aspects of the characters, new ways of describing and understanding what is going on that I never realized before! Not to mention it's a little bit of home I get to enjoy while so far away. Perhaps I'll make it a life goal to read Jane Austen in every country I go to. That could be fun :)
Dinner involved mushroom risotto and deep discussions of moral right and wrong in the TV show Lost. It was very involved. I finally called it quits, and Kayla and I agreed to stop discussing it. I was getting a little too passionate I think.
And now I sit, typing this blog. Soon I will watch some Lost, and eat the giant chocolate egg I bought since I didn't get to hang with my family for Easter. Since Easter was over when I bought it, it was only three euro, and that sucker is huge. I intend on waiting until half the class is in the lobby, so I can share the wealth with them.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Europe Day 25: Beach and Books
Blue blue ocean clear
Splashing on the rocks
Salty as a joyful tear
Landing on the docks.
The sun was shining today! In a blur of enthusiasm I put on my new sun dress, wished for a pair of sandals, and went to get a picnic lunch with Jade, Melissa, Kayla, Josh and Casey. The six of us picked up cheap sandwhiches and headed to the beach.
To say Sorrento has lots of beaches is being pretty generous. Most of the beach features large boulders piled against a cliff next to the ocean. We had to climb down 129 steps and a long, sloping curve before we could even see the water! Another short set of stairs brought us to a spacious, concrete portico looking out over the water.
This was not good enough for Kayla, Casey and I. On the otherside of the railing was a ten foot wide stretch of boulderes. So, with a hand down from Casey, the three of us decided to make this our lunch spot. Choosing a large, flat rock by the water, we had soon taken off flip flops-or in my case formerly white sneakers and colorfully striped socks-and enjoyed our sandwhiches.
I was so happy to be by the water! After eating my meal, I clambered onto a rock that was barely submerged so I stood in water to my ankle. Waves would rush towards me, hit the rock at my backside and splash me on the rebound. I wasn't getting too wet at first, but then a ferry docked near by. As it slowed to a stop the massive waves it created shot all the way to my waist line! I was so wet! But, the salty water wasn't too cold, and the sun kept me warm enough. I stood on that rock getting wet for a very long time. I loved it.
After a while, Kayla and I left to get gelato. This was the absolute best gelato I have eaten since I have been in Italy. Rich and creamy, but not too fluffy. Plus, it was snickers and white chocolate lindt truffel. In Europe, they do not do nutty candy, they do hazelnut candy. It just is not the same. Peanuts in my gelato made my day! Even though it was a little expensive, I am definitely going back!
Yet the ocean continue called to us. As we ate the last of our cones we walked down to the beach. I did not bring my swim suit (for some crazy reason), so we went swimming in our dresses. Yep, that's right. I jumped in the Mediterranean in my new blue dress. The water tasted very salty, and I still smell like ocean. I have no regrets. Just so long as the dress is okay. I'm not sure, I haven't tried to wash it yet.
After a little bit of swimming, we returned to the hotel to shower and change. A little while later we left for dinner. We headed towards the main area of town, looking for something good to eat. Half a block up we spotted our Professor, so we followed her for nearly five minutes before I couldn't keep myself from laughing and she noticed us. We had assumed she would know of a good place to eat, so we joined her for dinner. While the restaurant we chose was truly lacking in flavor, the six of us chatted and laughed the whole time, really enjoying ourselves.
A book store caught our eye so we popped in for a minute. They had an excellent selection of English books. I finally broke down and bought Pride and Prejudice. I had meant to bring it with me, but it some how didn't make it into my luggage. All day today I dearly wished to read a good book while my toes wriggled in the sand. Now, the next time it is sunny, that wish can come true!
We returned to the hotel, but only for a moment before heading out to another beach. This time we resisted the urge and only got our feet wet. After skipping rocks for a while, Kayla and I played cards. We have decided to do a quarter long Speed tournament. We are pretty equally competative and both love to talk smack, so it makes for a good time.
And now I sit here in the hotel lobby, on the big, fantastic, comfy chairs. The internet is pretty sketchy, so I was afraid I wouldn't be able to post. But I am soon to bed. We leave early tomorrow morning for Pompeii, and after spending all day soaking up the sun and splashing in the water, I am exhausted. Forunately, the street next to our hotel is much quieter at night than in Rome, so I'll sleep much better. I definitely like Sorrento.
Splashing on the rocks
Salty as a joyful tear
Landing on the docks.
The sun was shining today! In a blur of enthusiasm I put on my new sun dress, wished for a pair of sandals, and went to get a picnic lunch with Jade, Melissa, Kayla, Josh and Casey. The six of us picked up cheap sandwhiches and headed to the beach.
To say Sorrento has lots of beaches is being pretty generous. Most of the beach features large boulders piled against a cliff next to the ocean. We had to climb down 129 steps and a long, sloping curve before we could even see the water! Another short set of stairs brought us to a spacious, concrete portico looking out over the water.
This was not good enough for Kayla, Casey and I. On the otherside of the railing was a ten foot wide stretch of boulderes. So, with a hand down from Casey, the three of us decided to make this our lunch spot. Choosing a large, flat rock by the water, we had soon taken off flip flops-or in my case formerly white sneakers and colorfully striped socks-and enjoyed our sandwhiches.
I was so happy to be by the water! After eating my meal, I clambered onto a rock that was barely submerged so I stood in water to my ankle. Waves would rush towards me, hit the rock at my backside and splash me on the rebound. I wasn't getting too wet at first, but then a ferry docked near by. As it slowed to a stop the massive waves it created shot all the way to my waist line! I was so wet! But, the salty water wasn't too cold, and the sun kept me warm enough. I stood on that rock getting wet for a very long time. I loved it.
After a while, Kayla and I left to get gelato. This was the absolute best gelato I have eaten since I have been in Italy. Rich and creamy, but not too fluffy. Plus, it was snickers and white chocolate lindt truffel. In Europe, they do not do nutty candy, they do hazelnut candy. It just is not the same. Peanuts in my gelato made my day! Even though it was a little expensive, I am definitely going back!
Yet the ocean continue called to us. As we ate the last of our cones we walked down to the beach. I did not bring my swim suit (for some crazy reason), so we went swimming in our dresses. Yep, that's right. I jumped in the Mediterranean in my new blue dress. The water tasted very salty, and I still smell like ocean. I have no regrets. Just so long as the dress is okay. I'm not sure, I haven't tried to wash it yet.
After a little bit of swimming, we returned to the hotel to shower and change. A little while later we left for dinner. We headed towards the main area of town, looking for something good to eat. Half a block up we spotted our Professor, so we followed her for nearly five minutes before I couldn't keep myself from laughing and she noticed us. We had assumed she would know of a good place to eat, so we joined her for dinner. While the restaurant we chose was truly lacking in flavor, the six of us chatted and laughed the whole time, really enjoying ourselves.
A book store caught our eye so we popped in for a minute. They had an excellent selection of English books. I finally broke down and bought Pride and Prejudice. I had meant to bring it with me, but it some how didn't make it into my luggage. All day today I dearly wished to read a good book while my toes wriggled in the sand. Now, the next time it is sunny, that wish can come true!
We returned to the hotel, but only for a moment before heading out to another beach. This time we resisted the urge and only got our feet wet. After skipping rocks for a while, Kayla and I played cards. We have decided to do a quarter long Speed tournament. We are pretty equally competative and both love to talk smack, so it makes for a good time.
And now I sit here in the hotel lobby, on the big, fantastic, comfy chairs. The internet is pretty sketchy, so I was afraid I wouldn't be able to post. But I am soon to bed. We leave early tomorrow morning for Pompeii, and after spending all day soaking up the sun and splashing in the water, I am exhausted. Forunately, the street next to our hotel is much quieter at night than in Rome, so I'll sleep much better. I definitely like Sorrento.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Europe Day 24: Sorrento
Welcome to Sorrento!
Here, we have a plethora of shopping oppurtunities, a wide variety of restaurants, and an entire coast line of beach front!
Well, the beach is actually a lot of rocks and piers, except where hotels have made sand beaches for their guests. And it is raining. Lots and lots of rain.
First thing this morning I showered and got dressed so I could have my suitcase down stairs, ready to go by 7 am. 7:40 found me ready to go, with our busy arriving early. Oddly, the bus would not fit in the piazza in front of our hotel, but since the road had two lanes in both directions, we were pretty okay.
Most of the trip I spent in a state of comatose. Earbuds in, hood sheilding my face, eyes closed, with Kayla's shoulder for a pillow. Most of the trip from Rome to Sorrento we were traveling through the lush green country side, accented with deep red and orange houses, but the last 45 minutes found us on the coast line. Our big huge bus drove along the skinny road on the edge of a shear cliff, over looking the spectacular mediterranean sea. Except for one or two beaches in Norway, I have never seen ocean water so clear that the bottom is visible for more than a few feet! The dreary weather made it perhaps more lackluster than usual, but my roommates and I could not help but admire it from several vantage points as we explored the city.
Getting out of the bus and into the hotel was a real experience! In Sorrento, all of the roads barely fit two itty bitty European cars-our huge bus took up most of the street! Before we arrived, we were instructed to get off the bus with our luggage in two minutes or less. Even I was impressed with how fast we moved! The moment the brake was set, all thirty of us leaped out of our seats, and rushed to the door. The bus driver quickly pulled the suitcases out from under the bus and all the girls drug them between the closely parked cars on to the sidewalk. Tyler climbed under the bus and was shoving out luggage as quickly as he could! Just as the horns of blocked cars started honking, the bus driver was returning to his seat, closing the door on our Professor who was trying to give him his tip. Dr. B later gave us all altoids, in honor of our spectacular effort.
Our hotel here is so great! The internet is much sketchier than I first thought, but there is so much comfortable furniture in the lobby! My personal favorite are the oversized red chairs. Kayla and I can comfortably sit side by side in one, but I prefer to lay with my legs over one arm and my head supported by the other. I am sure that by the end of the week I will end up with my feet on the back and my head dropping towards the ground in front-exactly how I like it. But I'll have to work up to that; I need to prove myself a respectable individual to the front desk first I think.
Sorrento is a delightful town. It is much smaller that Rome or Paris, and unabashedly much a touristy place. I did a little googling to find out what things I should do while I'm here. All I could find was shopping, tanning on the piers, and making trips to the island of Capri. I have already found several little shops I want to visit, and I will spend time on the "beach"-regardless of the sun. A ferry ride to Capri isn't too much, so we are hoping to make a day trip over the weekend. This is going to be a really relaxing, comfortable, delicious week.
Here, we have a plethora of shopping oppurtunities, a wide variety of restaurants, and an entire coast line of beach front!
Well, the beach is actually a lot of rocks and piers, except where hotels have made sand beaches for their guests. And it is raining. Lots and lots of rain.
First thing this morning I showered and got dressed so I could have my suitcase down stairs, ready to go by 7 am. 7:40 found me ready to go, with our busy arriving early. Oddly, the bus would not fit in the piazza in front of our hotel, but since the road had two lanes in both directions, we were pretty okay.
Most of the trip I spent in a state of comatose. Earbuds in, hood sheilding my face, eyes closed, with Kayla's shoulder for a pillow. Most of the trip from Rome to Sorrento we were traveling through the lush green country side, accented with deep red and orange houses, but the last 45 minutes found us on the coast line. Our big huge bus drove along the skinny road on the edge of a shear cliff, over looking the spectacular mediterranean sea. Except for one or two beaches in Norway, I have never seen ocean water so clear that the bottom is visible for more than a few feet! The dreary weather made it perhaps more lackluster than usual, but my roommates and I could not help but admire it from several vantage points as we explored the city.
Getting out of the bus and into the hotel was a real experience! In Sorrento, all of the roads barely fit two itty bitty European cars-our huge bus took up most of the street! Before we arrived, we were instructed to get off the bus with our luggage in two minutes or less. Even I was impressed with how fast we moved! The moment the brake was set, all thirty of us leaped out of our seats, and rushed to the door. The bus driver quickly pulled the suitcases out from under the bus and all the girls drug them between the closely parked cars on to the sidewalk. Tyler climbed under the bus and was shoving out luggage as quickly as he could! Just as the horns of blocked cars started honking, the bus driver was returning to his seat, closing the door on our Professor who was trying to give him his tip. Dr. B later gave us all altoids, in honor of our spectacular effort.
Our hotel here is so great! The internet is much sketchier than I first thought, but there is so much comfortable furniture in the lobby! My personal favorite are the oversized red chairs. Kayla and I can comfortably sit side by side in one, but I prefer to lay with my legs over one arm and my head supported by the other. I am sure that by the end of the week I will end up with my feet on the back and my head dropping towards the ground in front-exactly how I like it. But I'll have to work up to that; I need to prove myself a respectable individual to the front desk first I think.
Sorrento is a delightful town. It is much smaller that Rome or Paris, and unabashedly much a touristy place. I did a little googling to find out what things I should do while I'm here. All I could find was shopping, tanning on the piers, and making trips to the island of Capri. I have already found several little shops I want to visit, and I will spend time on the "beach"-regardless of the sun. A ferry ride to Capri isn't too much, so we are hoping to make a day trip over the weekend. This is going to be a really relaxing, comfortable, delicious week.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Europe Day 25: Bye Bye Roma
Today was my last full day in Rome. I took it easy; class in the morning, Chinese for lunch, Lost in the afternoon, and a big class dinner in the evening. On one hand, I felt like I ought to go out and do something spectacular for my last day in Rome. On the other hand, it was raining. A lot. We have to have all of our cloths packed and ready to go at 7am tomorrow morning-I really did not feel like balling up my wet clothes into my suitcase with all of my fresh, clean clothes. Kayla and I had planned to rent bikes and ride through the garden's at the Medici's house, but again-it was raining.
I also was not too sure I should eat Chinese for lunch. Then again, we've been to that place like, six times. It sort of has a dear place in my heart. The woman who seats us recognizes us now, and I have come to recognize what the young boy who can't speak English is saying when he brings us the food. I managed to try almost all of the items on the chicken menu, and I got my helping of vegetables in my fried rice. Having an "our place" felt pretty cool-especially considering we have only been in Rome for ten days.
After lunch we went to get our last gelato in Rome. We went to the Frigidarium, where they dunk the gelato in chocolate, like a dipped cone from Dairy Queen. Michael found us munching our treat on his way to a used bookstore, so we joined him. I love used bookstores! I feel like a book means so much more when I know that some one else somewhere experienced that book. I may find their notations in the pages, or smell the coffee they spilt because they were reading during breakfast. But as much as I love used book stores, I did not last long in this one. Of course, almost all of the books in the place were in Italian. I would haved loved to purchase the Harry Potter, Michael Crichton, Jane Austen, or even the Tom Clancy book I found, but it would have done me no good-I could not understand a word of what was written. It was a little disheartening, so it did not take me long to leave.
Our class dinner was pretty sweet. It was a set menu so everyone got the same thing, but it was a delicious same thing in a four course meal. First, we had "tongue teaser," more commonly translated appitizer. This was bruschetta with tomatoes and olives on top-and the olives were pitted! Anytime I've had olives on anything in Europe I have nearly cracked my teeth on the stone-like center. Then there is the awkward spit-out-the-pit-without-slobbering-all-over-the-place bit that gets me every time. This was a refreshing change.
Soon after bruschetta came a delicious salad-mostly so appetizing because it was covered in corn. I love corn, and I haven't eaten it since we've been over here. They also put some olive oil on it, though I can't say that did much for the flavor. It mostly just made my lips greasy.
The main course sailed in shortly afterwards. I was only dissapointed because it was the same noodles with pesto that I ate at that restaurant yesterday. It was still yummy, but since I had snacked on ritz crackers and nutella less than an hour before I could not finish it. Josh ate it for me instead. Apparently everyone else was ravenous.
Dessert was chocolate mousse. This I made room to finish. It was thicker than any mousse I had ever eaten before, but still really yummy! Though I'd have to say I like gelato better.
Tomorrow we leave for Sorrento. As usual, I do not know what our wifi situation will be, just to warn you that I may not post for a while. But, the hostel we are staying in is suppsed to be really nice. I am excited about that. The hotel we are in now rarely gives us clean towels, and when they do, they often do not give enough. The cleaning ladies also have a reputation of kicking people out of their room so they can clean. On top of that, it is noisy here all the time! We are on a major road, so we constantly get cars, car accidents, sirens, and late night party people all hours of the night. Ah, but thus is Rome!
I also was not too sure I should eat Chinese for lunch. Then again, we've been to that place like, six times. It sort of has a dear place in my heart. The woman who seats us recognizes us now, and I have come to recognize what the young boy who can't speak English is saying when he brings us the food. I managed to try almost all of the items on the chicken menu, and I got my helping of vegetables in my fried rice. Having an "our place" felt pretty cool-especially considering we have only been in Rome for ten days.
After lunch we went to get our last gelato in Rome. We went to the Frigidarium, where they dunk the gelato in chocolate, like a dipped cone from Dairy Queen. Michael found us munching our treat on his way to a used bookstore, so we joined him. I love used bookstores! I feel like a book means so much more when I know that some one else somewhere experienced that book. I may find their notations in the pages, or smell the coffee they spilt because they were reading during breakfast. But as much as I love used book stores, I did not last long in this one. Of course, almost all of the books in the place were in Italian. I would haved loved to purchase the Harry Potter, Michael Crichton, Jane Austen, or even the Tom Clancy book I found, but it would have done me no good-I could not understand a word of what was written. It was a little disheartening, so it did not take me long to leave.
Our class dinner was pretty sweet. It was a set menu so everyone got the same thing, but it was a delicious same thing in a four course meal. First, we had "tongue teaser," more commonly translated appitizer. This was bruschetta with tomatoes and olives on top-and the olives were pitted! Anytime I've had olives on anything in Europe I have nearly cracked my teeth on the stone-like center. Then there is the awkward spit-out-the-pit-without-slobbering-all-over-the-place bit that gets me every time. This was a refreshing change.
Soon after bruschetta came a delicious salad-mostly so appetizing because it was covered in corn. I love corn, and I haven't eaten it since we've been over here. They also put some olive oil on it, though I can't say that did much for the flavor. It mostly just made my lips greasy.
The main course sailed in shortly afterwards. I was only dissapointed because it was the same noodles with pesto that I ate at that restaurant yesterday. It was still yummy, but since I had snacked on ritz crackers and nutella less than an hour before I could not finish it. Josh ate it for me instead. Apparently everyone else was ravenous.
Dessert was chocolate mousse. This I made room to finish. It was thicker than any mousse I had ever eaten before, but still really yummy! Though I'd have to say I like gelato better.
Tomorrow we leave for Sorrento. As usual, I do not know what our wifi situation will be, just to warn you that I may not post for a while. But, the hostel we are staying in is suppsed to be really nice. I am excited about that. The hotel we are in now rarely gives us clean towels, and when they do, they often do not give enough. The cleaning ladies also have a reputation of kicking people out of their room so they can clean. On top of that, it is noisy here all the time! We are on a major road, so we constantly get cars, car accidents, sirens, and late night party people all hours of the night. Ah, but thus is Rome!
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Europe Day 24: Mosh Pit for the Pope
Happy Easter everyone!
My untraditional Easter began this morning with my alarm reminding me to wake up at 4:45am. 5:36 found me downstairs with the rest of my class, a little late but still waiting for others. 5:45 I was walking with my group to the Vatican.
We were lucky enough to arrive at the bus stop the same time as the bus. Upon arriving outside the Vatican, we joined another cluster of early birds in the long wait to get in. The line stretched out far behind us-everyone eating breakfasts and huddled in their hoods and under cheerful umbrellas to avoid the rain.
7:20 am. A group of Germans squish up to the front of the line. The people behind us get into a fight with them. "Get in the back of the line! Some of us have been waiting for hours!" The Germans didn't seem to care too much. They pointed out how the line wouldn't really matter at all in about ten minutes, so they might as well stay put. I didn't get to follow the rest of the argument as some nuns were pressing forward, trying to move up in line. Kayla and I roused our group to fill in the gaps as we continued to wait.
At 7:30, our single, solid line was dissolved into many smaller lines in front of the metal detectors and bag scanners. I appreciate this-I did not want anyone bringing a gun into St. Peter's square during Easter. But it was so crazy! Just moving the the line from one place to the next; people were pushing, jumping over things, squeezing and squashing as much as they could, jockeying for a place in front. I was utterly squished between my people in front and people I did not know behind. I could hardly even shift my weight on my feet- it was so crazy!
One hour later, they opened the next set of gates, sending us through the metal detectors. This is where things turned into a Christian Mosh Pit. Everybody went wild! Pushing and shoving! An elderly trio stood next to us in line, so Liz, Lauren, Laura, Kayla, and I braced ourselves so they could get through. They looked so frail, we did not want them to be squashed! Even after they passed us, I pushed against the person behind me with my knees locked, taking measured steps forward. Our line took especially long because some Nuns from the next line over had jumped over to our side.
As soon as I finally got through the metal detector, I took off running towards the front row seats. I couldn't help but laugh as people, clergy men, nuns, women in fancy hats, young people, old people, every body raced to get a good seat. Leaping over chairs, throwing purses and scarves around to save seats; things were going everywhere! A few girls from my class had managed to carve out two rows for us, so Kayla and I joined them in protecting our spot. I had to chase away a clergy man. Fortunately, he didn't put up too much of a fight.
When we were finally settled we had yet another long wait ahead of us. I tried very hard to nap a little, but it was too cold at that point. The sun came out a little later, and it turned into a spectacular day.
The Pope arrived in his Popemobile. I did not know there was such a thing until today. It is an all white car that looked like a cross between a hummer and a truck, with railings and cushions in the truck bed. The Pope stood in the back and waved at everyone. His adoring audience waved back and clapped as he was driven around the edge of the crowd and up the stairs to the porch near his seat. Where, at 10:20, he began the service.
I'm sure it was wonderful, heart warming, and even inspiring. But it was all in latin. I do not speak latin. I had no idea what was going on almost the entire time. The Pope did speak quite a bit, and at the end he said "Happy Easter" or loudly declared "Christ is Risen" in a plethora of langauges. That part was pretty cool! I loved that he, the head of the Catholic church, united Catholic churches across the world in a single address. I think I like this Pope guy.
During Communion, because there were thousands of people there, they sent out clergy men armed with the sacraments and a body guard. The body guard held a white and yellow striped umbrellow over the clergy man's head so that everyone could see him. Those poor priests. They scooped out bread, said their line, and stuck it in the mouths of so many people! I cannot say that I'd enjoy that job.
We walked back to the hotel after the service. A lunch of nutella and jelly sandwhiches was followed by a few episodes of Lost. Frankly, I was-and still am-exhausted. It was an especially long morning. We ate two kinds of chocolate, ritz crackers with nutella, potatoe chips, and an apple. It was a fantastic way to spend the afternoon!
6:30 we finally roused ourselves for dinner. Almost our entire class went to the same restaurant. Most places are closed on Easter, so our wonderful Professor arranged for us all to eat there. I had pesto. It was delicious.
Upon returning to the hotel, I got to skype my family! It was such a blessing to get to see them for a bit! Sadly, the internet here is horrible so we kept getting interrupted. After awhile, we couldn't really talk very much, but I so appreciated getting to see their faces! I miss my family, especially during Easter-a holiday we traditionally spend together, hunting plastic eggs and eating delicious food together. I intentionally waited until Easter to talk with them, so that I could see my Parents, three sisters, brother-in-law, Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and three little cousins. What I wouldn't give to hop back across the ocean for the day and enjoy Easter with them!
Now it is late. I have been awake for 18 hours. I am going to sleep now. I hope you have (had) a spectacular Easter!
Thank you Jesus for saving my soul!
My untraditional Easter began this morning with my alarm reminding me to wake up at 4:45am. 5:36 found me downstairs with the rest of my class, a little late but still waiting for others. 5:45 I was walking with my group to the Vatican.
We were lucky enough to arrive at the bus stop the same time as the bus. Upon arriving outside the Vatican, we joined another cluster of early birds in the long wait to get in. The line stretched out far behind us-everyone eating breakfasts and huddled in their hoods and under cheerful umbrellas to avoid the rain.
7:20 am. A group of Germans squish up to the front of the line. The people behind us get into a fight with them. "Get in the back of the line! Some of us have been waiting for hours!" The Germans didn't seem to care too much. They pointed out how the line wouldn't really matter at all in about ten minutes, so they might as well stay put. I didn't get to follow the rest of the argument as some nuns were pressing forward, trying to move up in line. Kayla and I roused our group to fill in the gaps as we continued to wait.
At 7:30, our single, solid line was dissolved into many smaller lines in front of the metal detectors and bag scanners. I appreciate this-I did not want anyone bringing a gun into St. Peter's square during Easter. But it was so crazy! Just moving the the line from one place to the next; people were pushing, jumping over things, squeezing and squashing as much as they could, jockeying for a place in front. I was utterly squished between my people in front and people I did not know behind. I could hardly even shift my weight on my feet- it was so crazy!
One hour later, they opened the next set of gates, sending us through the metal detectors. This is where things turned into a Christian Mosh Pit. Everybody went wild! Pushing and shoving! An elderly trio stood next to us in line, so Liz, Lauren, Laura, Kayla, and I braced ourselves so they could get through. They looked so frail, we did not want them to be squashed! Even after they passed us, I pushed against the person behind me with my knees locked, taking measured steps forward. Our line took especially long because some Nuns from the next line over had jumped over to our side.
As soon as I finally got through the metal detector, I took off running towards the front row seats. I couldn't help but laugh as people, clergy men, nuns, women in fancy hats, young people, old people, every body raced to get a good seat. Leaping over chairs, throwing purses and scarves around to save seats; things were going everywhere! A few girls from my class had managed to carve out two rows for us, so Kayla and I joined them in protecting our spot. I had to chase away a clergy man. Fortunately, he didn't put up too much of a fight.
When we were finally settled we had yet another long wait ahead of us. I tried very hard to nap a little, but it was too cold at that point. The sun came out a little later, and it turned into a spectacular day.
The Pope arrived in his Popemobile. I did not know there was such a thing until today. It is an all white car that looked like a cross between a hummer and a truck, with railings and cushions in the truck bed. The Pope stood in the back and waved at everyone. His adoring audience waved back and clapped as he was driven around the edge of the crowd and up the stairs to the porch near his seat. Where, at 10:20, he began the service.
I'm sure it was wonderful, heart warming, and even inspiring. But it was all in latin. I do not speak latin. I had no idea what was going on almost the entire time. The Pope did speak quite a bit, and at the end he said "Happy Easter" or loudly declared "Christ is Risen" in a plethora of langauges. That part was pretty cool! I loved that he, the head of the Catholic church, united Catholic churches across the world in a single address. I think I like this Pope guy.
During Communion, because there were thousands of people there, they sent out clergy men armed with the sacraments and a body guard. The body guard held a white and yellow striped umbrellow over the clergy man's head so that everyone could see him. Those poor priests. They scooped out bread, said their line, and stuck it in the mouths of so many people! I cannot say that I'd enjoy that job.
We walked back to the hotel after the service. A lunch of nutella and jelly sandwhiches was followed by a few episodes of Lost. Frankly, I was-and still am-exhausted. It was an especially long morning. We ate two kinds of chocolate, ritz crackers with nutella, potatoe chips, and an apple. It was a fantastic way to spend the afternoon!
6:30 we finally roused ourselves for dinner. Almost our entire class went to the same restaurant. Most places are closed on Easter, so our wonderful Professor arranged for us all to eat there. I had pesto. It was delicious.
Upon returning to the hotel, I got to skype my family! It was such a blessing to get to see them for a bit! Sadly, the internet here is horrible so we kept getting interrupted. After awhile, we couldn't really talk very much, but I so appreciated getting to see their faces! I miss my family, especially during Easter-a holiday we traditionally spend together, hunting plastic eggs and eating delicious food together. I intentionally waited until Easter to talk with them, so that I could see my Parents, three sisters, brother-in-law, Grandma, Grandpa, Great Grandma, Aunt, Uncle, and three little cousins. What I wouldn't give to hop back across the ocean for the day and enjoy Easter with them!
Now it is late. I have been awake for 18 hours. I am going to sleep now. I hope you have (had) a spectacular Easter!
Thank you Jesus for saving my soul!
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Europe Day 23: Football
Italians love their football! Not tackel-on-the-grid-iron-with-a-pig-skin-football, but what we American's call soccer.
I bought a jersey for ten euro. I paid very close attention to the game. I cheered at the right times. I felt like a super fan.
Sitting in the well-behaved family section of the audience, the people around me didn't get too roudy. We all sat most of the time, clapped and cheered when something good happened, and tossed our hands angrily into the air, or shouted when something bad happened. I'm assuming they were shouting at the ref, but it was all in Italian, so I'm not really sure.
On the other end of the field were the super fans. These people sported their team jerseys, and wildly waved their team flags. At half time, they set off huge "BOOMS" of some sort, as well as smoke bombs. They sang songs, they led chants, and almost never held still. It was crazy! I desperately wanted to be on the other side of the field, where the cool stuff was happening. But, I got some popcorn from one of the vendors. I was just thinking the other day how much I missed popcorn, and I enjoyed every single bit.
Laundry came after soccer. It was not a very interesting affair; it just kind of happened.
Dinner came next-chinese again. We have been there enough times that it is comfortable and familiar. It's nice to have that when in Rome and everything is so strange.
Tomorrow is Easter. We are leaving the hotel at 5:30 in the morning to wait in line to get into St. Peter's square, where we will proceed to fight the crowds for front row seats. I'll be sure to tell you all about it tomorrow, but I think I shall go to bed early tonight. 5:30 will come much faster than I want it too I am sure!
Oh, Roma won the match. I'm not sure who they were playing, but we won! Yay Roma!
I bought a jersey for ten euro. I paid very close attention to the game. I cheered at the right times. I felt like a super fan.
Sitting in the well-behaved family section of the audience, the people around me didn't get too roudy. We all sat most of the time, clapped and cheered when something good happened, and tossed our hands angrily into the air, or shouted when something bad happened. I'm assuming they were shouting at the ref, but it was all in Italian, so I'm not really sure.
On the other end of the field were the super fans. These people sported their team jerseys, and wildly waved their team flags. At half time, they set off huge "BOOMS" of some sort, as well as smoke bombs. They sang songs, they led chants, and almost never held still. It was crazy! I desperately wanted to be on the other side of the field, where the cool stuff was happening. But, I got some popcorn from one of the vendors. I was just thinking the other day how much I missed popcorn, and I enjoyed every single bit.
Laundry came after soccer. It was not a very interesting affair; it just kind of happened.
Dinner came next-chinese again. We have been there enough times that it is comfortable and familiar. It's nice to have that when in Rome and everything is so strange.
Tomorrow is Easter. We are leaving the hotel at 5:30 in the morning to wait in line to get into St. Peter's square, where we will proceed to fight the crowds for front row seats. I'll be sure to tell you all about it tomorrow, but I think I shall go to bed early tonight. 5:30 will come much faster than I want it too I am sure!
Oh, Roma won the match. I'm not sure who they were playing, but we won! Yay Roma!
Friday, April 22, 2011
Europe Day 22: Good Friday
There was no class today. I had no reason to wake up, nothing on my schedule, and no place I particularly wanted to go. In honor of that event, I decided to turn off the alarm and sleep as much as I could.
I went to bed at one in the morning.
I woke up at 8:30.
Mission: failed.
See, Kayla and I just so happened to be on the season finale of Lost last night, and apparently it is an especially long episode. And this morning, I could tell my roommates were trying very hard to be especially quiet, but the noisy ol' Roma was not nearly so considerate. I pretended to be a sleep for an hour or so after I woke up, then Kayla caught me with my eyes open, so I felt obligated to get up.
I didn't make it very far-Kayla was watching Iron Man on her computer. Despite my best efforts to get in the shower, I watched the movie and ate breakfast instead. There is nothing quite like Iron Man, cashews, ritz crackers and mixed berry jelly first thing in the morning! I promise-I generally eat a better breakfast than that. I just need to go to the store.
Around noon, Housekeeping kindly asked us to leave so they could do our job. Therefore, we set out in seach of the Spanish steps. I have no idea why they are special, if Spainards built them, or what the big deal is with the fancy church on top, but I climbed them, took pictures on them, admired the view from them, and left.
A glance at the map showed we were close to the Medici's house. I'm not entirely sure the story on the Medici Family. I think they ran the Italiain Mafia, but that's about all I know at this point. Whatever they did, they certainly made a lot of money because their backyard was absolutely ginormous! People rented segways and four person bikes to putter around in and admire the landscaping. There was also a bouncy house, restaurant, and a child's carnival ride featuring circus animals that went round in a circle.
As fun as it would have been to continue to explore, the cashews quickly burned off and my tummy demanded some food. We went back into the city and found a McDonalds. Yes, I felt a little guilty eating fast food in Italy, but I am certainly not the only one. There were so many people there! Every single table was taken. After ten minutes of searching for a place to sit, we finally stood in one place until a group finished their food, then leaped into their seats, bowling over anyone in our way. Okay, so there was no bowling over, but had some one come between us and that table, something violent may have happened.
Oh, and that was probably the best McChicken sandwhich I have ever eaten in my life! Then again, I cannot remember the last time I ate at a McDonalds in America. I rather like McDonalds, it's just not convenient for me most of the time.
When we had finished eating and given up our seats, we struck out towards a few things our tourist map considered significant. A fountain, a building, and a very old market. Again, I have no idea why they are siginificant, but they were on the map so we went to see them. I know I was just saying that I never expected to grow tired of stumbling upon cool, old buildings, but when there is no context or explination for any of them, they sort of start to look the same after a while. It makes me miss our guided tours that we were getting.
Finally, Kayla and I decided we should not continue to look at old things-despite feeling obligated to. It's tough; I mean, how many times will I get to wander around Rome? Shouldn't I take full advantage of it? But, we have walked around so much! I have completely explored the entire interior of the city more than once; this lack of direction is starting to get to me. In addition, the frequent crowds are wearing on me. My Professor said that we would need the peace of little, beachside Sorrento after crowded and bustling Rome, but I did not quite understand what she meant until now.
Upon returning to the hotel, a little group of us went to get kebabs for dinner. Lucy, a member of my class, had been eating them every night in the internet room, and I all but drooled on my computer everytime I saw them. Therefore, I decided it was time to get one for myself. Fortunately, Kayla, Casey, Melissa and Josh all agreed. We found the place without a problem, and greatly enjoyed our meal. This is not a kebab like you would think of a kebab. This was beef, lettuce, tomatoes, hummus, and sour cream put inside pita bread and wrapped in foil. The pita was coated in a little too much flour, and it could have used a little more sauce, but that meat was so delicious! It was something unlike what I have been recently eating, and the change was very welcome.
As we ate our kebabs we walked to a gelato place. This gelato was so incredibly good! I had vanilla with chocolate flakes, and some other, random flavor I picked with a little eeny-meeny-miney-mo. After she scooped them up into a bowl, she dipped it in chocolate sauce that quickly created a shell on top of my gelato. That added a particularly special touch-even if it meant my gelato melted that much quicker.
A short while later, Kayla, Josh, Casey and I left for the coliseum. Here, the Pope was hosting a Good Friday service featuring the venerations of the cross. The entire thing was done in Italian. I am not sure why that surpised me, considering that we are in Italy, but it was not nearly as moving as the previous services I had been to that were in English. Fortunately, they passed out candles, so I discreetly played with the wax the whole time. It was outside and the wind was blowing, so I had a lot of melted wax to work with.
The best part about the service was waiting in line to get through security. It was so crowded! Everyone was pushing to try and get through the open place in the gate. Our little group struggled to stay together. We chatted a bit with the British family next to us. The Mom told me to hang onto Josh so I didn't get lost in the crowd. Then she apologized and said she was "just a nervous Mother and didn't want me to get seperated from my group." I told her it was okay, that my Mother would appreciate it. She then said that if I did loose my people, I could stick with her and she would take care of me. I told her thank you, and we laughed a little bit. Being so far away from home, surrounded mostly by people who do not know me, will never see me again, and probably wouldn't be concerned if I died, it was comforting to have one person be so obviously concerned for my wellfare, despite having no connection or responsibility to me. I can only hope there are more people in the world like her, and that I am not nearly so close to being as uncared for as I think.
That is not to say my classmates do not care. It's just that most Italian people seem so aggressive and only want you to buy their things. Coming across a sweet, caring person who spoke English was really nice.
Oh Italy; I seem to have such mixed feelings about you!
I went to bed at one in the morning.
I woke up at 8:30.
Mission: failed.
See, Kayla and I just so happened to be on the season finale of Lost last night, and apparently it is an especially long episode. And this morning, I could tell my roommates were trying very hard to be especially quiet, but the noisy ol' Roma was not nearly so considerate. I pretended to be a sleep for an hour or so after I woke up, then Kayla caught me with my eyes open, so I felt obligated to get up.
I didn't make it very far-Kayla was watching Iron Man on her computer. Despite my best efforts to get in the shower, I watched the movie and ate breakfast instead. There is nothing quite like Iron Man, cashews, ritz crackers and mixed berry jelly first thing in the morning! I promise-I generally eat a better breakfast than that. I just need to go to the store.
Around noon, Housekeeping kindly asked us to leave so they could do our job. Therefore, we set out in seach of the Spanish steps. I have no idea why they are special, if Spainards built them, or what the big deal is with the fancy church on top, but I climbed them, took pictures on them, admired the view from them, and left.
A glance at the map showed we were close to the Medici's house. I'm not entirely sure the story on the Medici Family. I think they ran the Italiain Mafia, but that's about all I know at this point. Whatever they did, they certainly made a lot of money because their backyard was absolutely ginormous! People rented segways and four person bikes to putter around in and admire the landscaping. There was also a bouncy house, restaurant, and a child's carnival ride featuring circus animals that went round in a circle.
As fun as it would have been to continue to explore, the cashews quickly burned off and my tummy demanded some food. We went back into the city and found a McDonalds. Yes, I felt a little guilty eating fast food in Italy, but I am certainly not the only one. There were so many people there! Every single table was taken. After ten minutes of searching for a place to sit, we finally stood in one place until a group finished their food, then leaped into their seats, bowling over anyone in our way. Okay, so there was no bowling over, but had some one come between us and that table, something violent may have happened.
Oh, and that was probably the best McChicken sandwhich I have ever eaten in my life! Then again, I cannot remember the last time I ate at a McDonalds in America. I rather like McDonalds, it's just not convenient for me most of the time.
When we had finished eating and given up our seats, we struck out towards a few things our tourist map considered significant. A fountain, a building, and a very old market. Again, I have no idea why they are siginificant, but they were on the map so we went to see them. I know I was just saying that I never expected to grow tired of stumbling upon cool, old buildings, but when there is no context or explination for any of them, they sort of start to look the same after a while. It makes me miss our guided tours that we were getting.
Finally, Kayla and I decided we should not continue to look at old things-despite feeling obligated to. It's tough; I mean, how many times will I get to wander around Rome? Shouldn't I take full advantage of it? But, we have walked around so much! I have completely explored the entire interior of the city more than once; this lack of direction is starting to get to me. In addition, the frequent crowds are wearing on me. My Professor said that we would need the peace of little, beachside Sorrento after crowded and bustling Rome, but I did not quite understand what she meant until now.
Upon returning to the hotel, a little group of us went to get kebabs for dinner. Lucy, a member of my class, had been eating them every night in the internet room, and I all but drooled on my computer everytime I saw them. Therefore, I decided it was time to get one for myself. Fortunately, Kayla, Casey, Melissa and Josh all agreed. We found the place without a problem, and greatly enjoyed our meal. This is not a kebab like you would think of a kebab. This was beef, lettuce, tomatoes, hummus, and sour cream put inside pita bread and wrapped in foil. The pita was coated in a little too much flour, and it could have used a little more sauce, but that meat was so delicious! It was something unlike what I have been recently eating, and the change was very welcome.
As we ate our kebabs we walked to a gelato place. This gelato was so incredibly good! I had vanilla with chocolate flakes, and some other, random flavor I picked with a little eeny-meeny-miney-mo. After she scooped them up into a bowl, she dipped it in chocolate sauce that quickly created a shell on top of my gelato. That added a particularly special touch-even if it meant my gelato melted that much quicker.
A short while later, Kayla, Josh, Casey and I left for the coliseum. Here, the Pope was hosting a Good Friday service featuring the venerations of the cross. The entire thing was done in Italian. I am not sure why that surpised me, considering that we are in Italy, but it was not nearly as moving as the previous services I had been to that were in English. Fortunately, they passed out candles, so I discreetly played with the wax the whole time. It was outside and the wind was blowing, so I had a lot of melted wax to work with.
The best part about the service was waiting in line to get through security. It was so crowded! Everyone was pushing to try and get through the open place in the gate. Our little group struggled to stay together. We chatted a bit with the British family next to us. The Mom told me to hang onto Josh so I didn't get lost in the crowd. Then she apologized and said she was "just a nervous Mother and didn't want me to get seperated from my group." I told her it was okay, that my Mother would appreciate it. She then said that if I did loose my people, I could stick with her and she would take care of me. I told her thank you, and we laughed a little bit. Being so far away from home, surrounded mostly by people who do not know me, will never see me again, and probably wouldn't be concerned if I died, it was comforting to have one person be so obviously concerned for my wellfare, despite having no connection or responsibility to me. I can only hope there are more people in the world like her, and that I am not nearly so close to being as uncared for as I think.
That is not to say my classmates do not care. It's just that most Italian people seem so aggressive and only want you to buy their things. Coming across a sweet, caring person who spoke English was really nice.
Oh Italy; I seem to have such mixed feelings about you!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Europe Day 21: Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Roma,
Happy Birthday to you!
Today I celebrated Rome's two thousand, seven hundred and sixty-fourth birthday. Our class went to a performance of the story of Romulus and Remus, who-I think-are supposed to the founders of Rome. The play was done in what used to be a horse racing track. It was all in Italian, and we sat in the shade to the side and sort of behind the stage, so it is safe to say I had no idea what was going on for almost the entire time. Luckily, it was not too long. If I knew the story better I'm sure it would have been interesting, even with the tacky sound effects.
In the afternoon, I went shopping with Kayla. I bought a pretty blue dress. It was a little weird looking for clothes in that cramped little shop and having the lady cover me in accessories so I could see how good it looked. I can honestly say I dearly miss the spacious stores in America, where the people don't talk to you unless you say you need help. Even the street vendors here get in your face, over a five euro pair of sunglasses. Everyone wants you to buy, buy, buy! I briefly consider lashing out irrationally, punching my fists in the air and screaming like a four year old, but then I take a deep breath and everything is okay.
I organized my suitcase and did some homework before attending a Maudy Thursday service with Dr. B and Melissa. I have never attended a Maudy Thursday service. It was a reverent remembrance of the last supper, especially when Jesus washed the disciples' feet. As much as I love my church at home, getting a taste of the episopalian perspective is very interesting. Everything is very ritualistic, and the people stand up, kneel, sit down, and read aloud different parts of the service. With every service like this I attend, I feel like I go a little deeper into the text, and understand a little more clearly what is happening and how it relates to me. It is pretty cool.
The bus ride to the church was an adventure in itself. So many people were on that bus! Dr. B, Melissa and I looked at each other tentatively, before taking a deep breath and pushing our way in. I found myself pushed by the mass of people deeper into the bus. At one point my face was smashed against the ticket dispenser, as a the man behind me leaned forward to grasp the pole so he did not fall over. Taking the bus is like a hamburger from Red Robin. Many things go on it in vast quantities, so that it must be heavily smooshed down to fit in your mouth. The more ingrediants, the more smooshing is required, and yet it all still gets into your mouth some how. I think I'm like the little piece of pickle that all but disappears between the old men lettuce and beef patty nuns. Not to mention the ketchup kids, onion women, and mustard tourists. Poor pickle-it can't hardly compete!
I think I need to eat a hamburger tomorrow. Though what I really want is a chipotle burrito. Oh yum...my mouth waters at the thought!
Happy Birthday to you!
Happy Birthday dear Roma,
Happy Birthday to you!
Today I celebrated Rome's two thousand, seven hundred and sixty-fourth birthday. Our class went to a performance of the story of Romulus and Remus, who-I think-are supposed to the founders of Rome. The play was done in what used to be a horse racing track. It was all in Italian, and we sat in the shade to the side and sort of behind the stage, so it is safe to say I had no idea what was going on for almost the entire time. Luckily, it was not too long. If I knew the story better I'm sure it would have been interesting, even with the tacky sound effects.
In the afternoon, I went shopping with Kayla. I bought a pretty blue dress. It was a little weird looking for clothes in that cramped little shop and having the lady cover me in accessories so I could see how good it looked. I can honestly say I dearly miss the spacious stores in America, where the people don't talk to you unless you say you need help. Even the street vendors here get in your face, over a five euro pair of sunglasses. Everyone wants you to buy, buy, buy! I briefly consider lashing out irrationally, punching my fists in the air and screaming like a four year old, but then I take a deep breath and everything is okay.
I organized my suitcase and did some homework before attending a Maudy Thursday service with Dr. B and Melissa. I have never attended a Maudy Thursday service. It was a reverent remembrance of the last supper, especially when Jesus washed the disciples' feet. As much as I love my church at home, getting a taste of the episopalian perspective is very interesting. Everything is very ritualistic, and the people stand up, kneel, sit down, and read aloud different parts of the service. With every service like this I attend, I feel like I go a little deeper into the text, and understand a little more clearly what is happening and how it relates to me. It is pretty cool.
The bus ride to the church was an adventure in itself. So many people were on that bus! Dr. B, Melissa and I looked at each other tentatively, before taking a deep breath and pushing our way in. I found myself pushed by the mass of people deeper into the bus. At one point my face was smashed against the ticket dispenser, as a the man behind me leaned forward to grasp the pole so he did not fall over. Taking the bus is like a hamburger from Red Robin. Many things go on it in vast quantities, so that it must be heavily smooshed down to fit in your mouth. The more ingrediants, the more smooshing is required, and yet it all still gets into your mouth some how. I think I'm like the little piece of pickle that all but disappears between the old men lettuce and beef patty nuns. Not to mention the ketchup kids, onion women, and mustard tourists. Poor pickle-it can't hardly compete!
I think I need to eat a hamburger tomorrow. Though what I really want is a chipotle burrito. Oh yum...my mouth waters at the thought!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Europe Day 20: Ancient Ruins and Mother Mary
Ostia Antica-my new favorite place within a train ride from Rome. Once upon a time it was a port town on the edge of a river. When the river silted up the town became worthless and everyone moved away. Now, it stands as well preserved ruins. It was so cool!
Considering the city is many thousands of years old, it is in very good condition! All the buildings were made out of brick, and few have their origional roofs, but the walls are about as wide as most Roman sidewalks, so it was easy to climb on them and get a better view of the surrounding area. Only once did I go where my Mom might have told me to get down, but I was very careful.
The floors in most of the buildings were done in mosaic so pretty designed covered a good portion of the ground. Every thing else was covered in grass. Kayla, Josh and I wandered to the other side of the city wall. Here, the grass grew up to my thigh, and we had to tromp around to find a well trodden path where we could walk with ease once more.
There were also some underground tunnels. We found one and followed it under a few houses. Apparently, water was sent through these tunnels and heated. It helped to keep the floors warm in cold weather. I was a little nervous about going into tunnels that were thousands of years old. I had to keep the idea of a collapse at bay and simply soak up the mystery of where we were and where we were going.
It was so exciting! I have been craving adventure, and getting to climb in and one and around things, finding new paths and going so high to see the whole city; it was amazing! In the three hours we spent there, we probably only saw half of the city. I would almost go back, if it did not take a bus, a metro, and a train to get there.
Lunch was nutella and jelly sandwhiches. Peanut butter is rare here, so we make do with it's chocolate flavored cousin.
When we returned to the hotel, we dashed off to buy tickets to a football match on Saturday. Italians are crazy about their football, so it will be a real cultural experience I think! European football is the same as American soccer, by the way.
We dashed into the hotel for a brief moment before heading to see The Peita. This sculpture by Michelangelo features Mary holding the crucified Jesus on her lap. She seems very young, and he is almost falling out of her arms. All I could think about was how Mary was holding her son in her arms. He may be the saviour of the world, but I am certain he was her son first. And she was his Mother. Did he find comfort in her arms? Did she find any sense of peace, knowing he did this to save her? Would she have taken his place if she could? I cannot imagine the emotions that rolled through her body as each lash of the whip tore the skin from his back, as each swing of the hammer pushed a nail farther into his hand. Suddenly I understand a little better why she is held in such high esteem in so much religious art work.
For dinner we enjoyed the typical pizza. I had artichoke, olives, proscuitto, and mushrooms on mine. It was absolutely delicious! Oddly, only the mushrooms were on the entire pizza. The rest of the ingredients only covered a small portion. I had five olives-with seeds-a single artichoke, and two peices of proscuitto. I felt a little gyped. I like olives and artichoke, and I wanted them on my whole pizza! Oh well; it was delicious pizza none the less.
I'm off to bed I think. It has been a very long day, and I haven't been getting as much sleep lately. Four people in a room who don't go to bed at the same time always means some one is coming in late. I used to think I was a heavy sleeper, but I keep getting woken up. Oh well. Perhaps if I fall asleep long before the rest of them, I'll manage to stay that way even when they are getting ready for bed. At the very least, we are not having class on Friday or Saturday, so I'll get to sleep in then! I am incredibly excited for that!
Considering the city is many thousands of years old, it is in very good condition! All the buildings were made out of brick, and few have their origional roofs, but the walls are about as wide as most Roman sidewalks, so it was easy to climb on them and get a better view of the surrounding area. Only once did I go where my Mom might have told me to get down, but I was very careful.
The floors in most of the buildings were done in mosaic so pretty designed covered a good portion of the ground. Every thing else was covered in grass. Kayla, Josh and I wandered to the other side of the city wall. Here, the grass grew up to my thigh, and we had to tromp around to find a well trodden path where we could walk with ease once more.
There were also some underground tunnels. We found one and followed it under a few houses. Apparently, water was sent through these tunnels and heated. It helped to keep the floors warm in cold weather. I was a little nervous about going into tunnels that were thousands of years old. I had to keep the idea of a collapse at bay and simply soak up the mystery of where we were and where we were going.
It was so exciting! I have been craving adventure, and getting to climb in and one and around things, finding new paths and going so high to see the whole city; it was amazing! In the three hours we spent there, we probably only saw half of the city. I would almost go back, if it did not take a bus, a metro, and a train to get there.
Lunch was nutella and jelly sandwhiches. Peanut butter is rare here, so we make do with it's chocolate flavored cousin.
When we returned to the hotel, we dashed off to buy tickets to a football match on Saturday. Italians are crazy about their football, so it will be a real cultural experience I think! European football is the same as American soccer, by the way.
We dashed into the hotel for a brief moment before heading to see The Peita. This sculpture by Michelangelo features Mary holding the crucified Jesus on her lap. She seems very young, and he is almost falling out of her arms. All I could think about was how Mary was holding her son in her arms. He may be the saviour of the world, but I am certain he was her son first. And she was his Mother. Did he find comfort in her arms? Did she find any sense of peace, knowing he did this to save her? Would she have taken his place if she could? I cannot imagine the emotions that rolled through her body as each lash of the whip tore the skin from his back, as each swing of the hammer pushed a nail farther into his hand. Suddenly I understand a little better why she is held in such high esteem in so much religious art work.
For dinner we enjoyed the typical pizza. I had artichoke, olives, proscuitto, and mushrooms on mine. It was absolutely delicious! Oddly, only the mushrooms were on the entire pizza. The rest of the ingredients only covered a small portion. I had five olives-with seeds-a single artichoke, and two peices of proscuitto. I felt a little gyped. I like olives and artichoke, and I wanted them on my whole pizza! Oh well; it was delicious pizza none the less.
I'm off to bed I think. It has been a very long day, and I haven't been getting as much sleep lately. Four people in a room who don't go to bed at the same time always means some one is coming in late. I used to think I was a heavy sleeper, but I keep getting woken up. Oh well. Perhaps if I fall asleep long before the rest of them, I'll manage to stay that way even when they are getting ready for bed. At the very least, we are not having class on Friday or Saturday, so I'll get to sleep in then! I am incredibly excited for that!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Europe Day 19: Wisteria
Today was another beautiful day. The sun was shining, a light breeze was blowing, all was sublime. Therefore, instead of cramming thirty people into a tiny room for class, we sat on the large steps next to an obelisque and had class there instead. Fortunately, it was not a lecture day. I'm pretty sure I would have scarcely paid attention to any discussion on church and state or have successfully internalized any Italian phrases. Instead, we had mini presentations on our research project. No note taking required, and we were easily able to admire the sunshine while listening.
A small group of us walked with our professor to see a few churches and temples before eating lunch. We found a little Italian restaurant where she ordered an appetizer for us. It was melon and proscuitto, and absolutely delicious! She was also able to give us pointers on what else to eat. I ordered pasta with eggs and bacon. Apparently, people in American do this too, but I had never heard of it before. It was...interesting. It definitely could have used more bacon, and I'm not really sure which part was the eggs, but it was a satisfying lunch nonetheless.
I returned to Compe de Fiore-the large outdoor market-and got some more nuts. Salty cashews and chocolate covered almonds. He put them in a white paper sack, and I wandered around the block, enjoying my snack.
I returned to the hotel briefly before going to the grocery store. I'm not sure what it is, but when I went up to pay, the cashier spoke to me in English! I didn't say anything, and I didn't do anything the person in front of my didn't do. Do I have "American Tourist" scrawled across my forehead? Or do Italian people not get nutella, ritz crackers, pate, and large bottles of sprite from the grocery store? I just do not understand.
I felt a little homesick, so I decided to walk around the city a little and pray. I felt led to go in a certain direction, and ended up in front of a hotel absolutely covered in wisteria. Have I explained wisteria to you yet? Fall quarter, freshman year of college I took a class called From Page to Stage where we read, acted, and viewed plays. One of these, called Enchanted April, really stuck with me. It is about a group of women who rent a castle in Italy for the month of April. The opening lines are: "To those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine. A small medieval Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April..." So, here I am, in Italy, in April, in the Sunshine, standing next to a building covered in wisteria. It is absolutely perfect.
Since I felt homesick, I stuck my bible and notebook in my purse, just in case I should happen upon a place to sit, and sit I did. Wisteria petals fell on the ground around me, and the sweet scent of those flowers filled my nose and I talked with Jesus. Despite the people walking around me, I felt invisible on my little ledge. No men selling sunglasses, purses, or bubble blowing machines broke my peace. The motorcyles did not come dangerously close to my feet, and no children tried to pickpocket me. I am definitely the kind of person who needs to be alone sometimes, but there is no place, except the bathroom, where I can be alone. And even in the bathroom I can hear my roommates waiting their turn outside the door. Feeling alone in that little space, surrounded by flowers and good smells, was a true blessing.
It seems that three weeks is about the time when other people begin to be homesick. So, Kayla, Josh and I went to the Chinese place for dinner again. Something about it just reminds us of home, though we all admit to not eating chinese that often. Maybe it is because we have been there several times, or because the waiter and waitress speak relatively good English, or simply because it is not Italian, but we all felt a little comforted for having gone there. The gelato for dessert helped too, I am sure of it.
In the future, I think I need to take the time to spend a few hours a week doing something by myself. Even if it is just walking around the block, or sitting the park outside the window, I think it will help to keep my spirits up. I love the people I am here with and am so grateful for them, but to be alone with ones thoughts for a time is a healthy thing I think.
A small group of us walked with our professor to see a few churches and temples before eating lunch. We found a little Italian restaurant where she ordered an appetizer for us. It was melon and proscuitto, and absolutely delicious! She was also able to give us pointers on what else to eat. I ordered pasta with eggs and bacon. Apparently, people in American do this too, but I had never heard of it before. It was...interesting. It definitely could have used more bacon, and I'm not really sure which part was the eggs, but it was a satisfying lunch nonetheless.
I returned to Compe de Fiore-the large outdoor market-and got some more nuts. Salty cashews and chocolate covered almonds. He put them in a white paper sack, and I wandered around the block, enjoying my snack.
I returned to the hotel briefly before going to the grocery store. I'm not sure what it is, but when I went up to pay, the cashier spoke to me in English! I didn't say anything, and I didn't do anything the person in front of my didn't do. Do I have "American Tourist" scrawled across my forehead? Or do Italian people not get nutella, ritz crackers, pate, and large bottles of sprite from the grocery store? I just do not understand.
I felt a little homesick, so I decided to walk around the city a little and pray. I felt led to go in a certain direction, and ended up in front of a hotel absolutely covered in wisteria. Have I explained wisteria to you yet? Fall quarter, freshman year of college I took a class called From Page to Stage where we read, acted, and viewed plays. One of these, called Enchanted April, really stuck with me. It is about a group of women who rent a castle in Italy for the month of April. The opening lines are: "To those who appreciate wisteria and sunshine. A small medieval Italian castle on the shores of the Mediterranean to be let furnished for the month of April..." So, here I am, in Italy, in April, in the Sunshine, standing next to a building covered in wisteria. It is absolutely perfect.
Since I felt homesick, I stuck my bible and notebook in my purse, just in case I should happen upon a place to sit, and sit I did. Wisteria petals fell on the ground around me, and the sweet scent of those flowers filled my nose and I talked with Jesus. Despite the people walking around me, I felt invisible on my little ledge. No men selling sunglasses, purses, or bubble blowing machines broke my peace. The motorcyles did not come dangerously close to my feet, and no children tried to pickpocket me. I am definitely the kind of person who needs to be alone sometimes, but there is no place, except the bathroom, where I can be alone. And even in the bathroom I can hear my roommates waiting their turn outside the door. Feeling alone in that little space, surrounded by flowers and good smells, was a true blessing.
It seems that three weeks is about the time when other people begin to be homesick. So, Kayla, Josh and I went to the Chinese place for dinner again. Something about it just reminds us of home, though we all admit to not eating chinese that often. Maybe it is because we have been there several times, or because the waiter and waitress speak relatively good English, or simply because it is not Italian, but we all felt a little comforted for having gone there. The gelato for dessert helped too, I am sure of it.
In the future, I think I need to take the time to spend a few hours a week doing something by myself. Even if it is just walking around the block, or sitting the park outside the window, I think it will help to keep my spirits up. I love the people I am here with and am so grateful for them, but to be alone with ones thoughts for a time is a healthy thing I think.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Europe Day 18: Vatican and Wishing
The Vatican is its own country. It has its own post office, police force, gas station, currency, and flag. You cannot be born a citizen of Vatican City, you must apply for citizenship later in life.
Today, I went there. Check that off my bucket list.
We stayed primarily in the museum. I'm sure that it is a fantastic museum well worth the time. Unfortunately, there are so many people there! I could not take my time and admire the artwork, contemplating what the artist may have been trying to portray and what makes that particular peice important. Instead, I was pushed from gallery to gallery along an river of people that never stopped moving. I had to snap my photos quickly and leave the contemplating for later. It was sort of dissapointing actually. As usual we used the whisper system. This consists of our group wearing one way radios with ear buds, and listening to the tour guide who speaks in some sort of microphone. Generally speaking, it is an excellent system. Our group is allowed to meander at their own pace, and we can all hear everything that is said. Today, unless you were within a ten foot radius, the voice of our tour guide cut in and out and came through very fuzzy. I'm sure she was a wonderful tour guide, I simply did not catch the information.
Despite this, I still found the visit enjoyable. Despite the rush and fuss, we had an entire half our to admire the Sistine Chapel. After going to Chartres and other Cathedrals here in Europe, I expected something much larger. Then again, had it been larger I would have felt completely overwhelemed! The ceiling and walls are absolutely covered with people of all sizes. The walls depict stories from the life of Moses on the left, and Jesus on the right. In front of the room is the final judgement, with people in purgatory, waiting to ascend or fall into hell. The ceiling features nine sections of art, including the famous picture of God reaching towards Adam's hand. I would like to point out that God is stretching his fingers, while Adam's hand is languidly reaching, fingers limp. It gives the impression that God is desperately trying to be with us, while we give a half hearted attempt to connect with him.
The Pieta is in the church in Vatican City. Unfortunately, it was not accessible because they were preparing for the Good Friday service. But, in the very near future we are going to return to see it. And I'm going to mail postcards from the Vatican post office.
Upon leaving the Vatican we found it was lunch time. Yesterday, we stumbled upon a Mexican Art shop, so we stopped in and Kayla used her spanish speaking skills to find out if there were any mexican restaurants in the area. As luck would have it, she pointed out two-both in the neighborhood of the Vatican. Kayla, Josh, Alli, Ethan and I searched around and found both, only to find that they were closed today. The sandwiches we had instead were not the best trade off, but there are worse things in the world than sandwiches.
Alli and Ethan walked back to the hotel in a hurry, but Kayla, Josh and I wandered a little more slowly. We found a used book booth that stretched half a block. There was also a castle, and something else that looked fancy, and white with lots of statues, but we still don't know quite what it was. I took pictures anyway; it must be important to some one, right?
We continued our wandering until we returned to the hotel. Tired from the heat and long walk, Kayla and I watched a few episodes of Lost, before I left to find more cashews. Sadly, the market had already closed, but that meant I made it back to the hotel in time for dinner.
Kayla, Josh, Jade, Melissa, and our TA Casey-who arrived around breakfast-decided to visit the Trevie fountain and get dinner. The fountain is fantastically sculpted, and the water so clear. It seemed magical, and I was in no way ashamed to toss my coin into the water and make a wish. I hope the great granter of wishes will still give me what I requested, despite that I only used a one cent coin.
I am fairly certain we committed a cultural error at dinner. We went to a bar for a sit down dinner. A bar in Europe is not a saloon, but an eating place with a bar to sit at. I really do not know what we did wrong, but the waiter seemed very confused and said a lot of things in Italian very quickly that none of us understood. Oh well. My spaghetti was still delicious!
With gelato to finish it off, it was another grand day. I am so grateful to be on this trip!
Today, I went there. Check that off my bucket list.
We stayed primarily in the museum. I'm sure that it is a fantastic museum well worth the time. Unfortunately, there are so many people there! I could not take my time and admire the artwork, contemplating what the artist may have been trying to portray and what makes that particular peice important. Instead, I was pushed from gallery to gallery along an river of people that never stopped moving. I had to snap my photos quickly and leave the contemplating for later. It was sort of dissapointing actually. As usual we used the whisper system. This consists of our group wearing one way radios with ear buds, and listening to the tour guide who speaks in some sort of microphone. Generally speaking, it is an excellent system. Our group is allowed to meander at their own pace, and we can all hear everything that is said. Today, unless you were within a ten foot radius, the voice of our tour guide cut in and out and came through very fuzzy. I'm sure she was a wonderful tour guide, I simply did not catch the information.
Despite this, I still found the visit enjoyable. Despite the rush and fuss, we had an entire half our to admire the Sistine Chapel. After going to Chartres and other Cathedrals here in Europe, I expected something much larger. Then again, had it been larger I would have felt completely overwhelemed! The ceiling and walls are absolutely covered with people of all sizes. The walls depict stories from the life of Moses on the left, and Jesus on the right. In front of the room is the final judgement, with people in purgatory, waiting to ascend or fall into hell. The ceiling features nine sections of art, including the famous picture of God reaching towards Adam's hand. I would like to point out that God is stretching his fingers, while Adam's hand is languidly reaching, fingers limp. It gives the impression that God is desperately trying to be with us, while we give a half hearted attempt to connect with him.
The Pieta is in the church in Vatican City. Unfortunately, it was not accessible because they were preparing for the Good Friday service. But, in the very near future we are going to return to see it. And I'm going to mail postcards from the Vatican post office.
Upon leaving the Vatican we found it was lunch time. Yesterday, we stumbled upon a Mexican Art shop, so we stopped in and Kayla used her spanish speaking skills to find out if there were any mexican restaurants in the area. As luck would have it, she pointed out two-both in the neighborhood of the Vatican. Kayla, Josh, Alli, Ethan and I searched around and found both, only to find that they were closed today. The sandwiches we had instead were not the best trade off, but there are worse things in the world than sandwiches.
Alli and Ethan walked back to the hotel in a hurry, but Kayla, Josh and I wandered a little more slowly. We found a used book booth that stretched half a block. There was also a castle, and something else that looked fancy, and white with lots of statues, but we still don't know quite what it was. I took pictures anyway; it must be important to some one, right?
We continued our wandering until we returned to the hotel. Tired from the heat and long walk, Kayla and I watched a few episodes of Lost, before I left to find more cashews. Sadly, the market had already closed, but that meant I made it back to the hotel in time for dinner.
Kayla, Josh, Jade, Melissa, and our TA Casey-who arrived around breakfast-decided to visit the Trevie fountain and get dinner. The fountain is fantastically sculpted, and the water so clear. It seemed magical, and I was in no way ashamed to toss my coin into the water and make a wish. I hope the great granter of wishes will still give me what I requested, despite that I only used a one cent coin.
I am fairly certain we committed a cultural error at dinner. We went to a bar for a sit down dinner. A bar in Europe is not a saloon, but an eating place with a bar to sit at. I really do not know what we did wrong, but the waiter seemed very confused and said a lot of things in Italian very quickly that none of us understood. Oh well. My spaghetti was still delicious!
With gelato to finish it off, it was another grand day. I am so grateful to be on this trip!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Europe Day 17: Ruins and a Pillow Fight
This morning I participated in the most moving Palm Sunday service I have ever experienced. My voice called out with the rest of the congregation, demanding Jesus be crucified. I nearly cried.
A bishop with a British-English accent ran the service. That particular parish had three congregations-African, English speaking, and Spanish speaking. For the Palm Sunday service all three came together to present this holy experience.
After church, Kayla, Josh, and I wandered around for a place to eat. It took a while to find a place, but we discovered a pizza place that sold pizza by "l'etto"-which is one hundreth of a kilogram. It was really inexpensive, but much better than expected and very filling! We were all pleasently suprised!
A little more wandering brought us to the Colosseum. Oddly enough, it was not nearly as large or grand as I had anticipated. Even so, it is an impressive structure! To think it was built so very long ago, without the modern machines we have now-it blows my mind.
With our Palm Sunday Olive Branches as weapons we pretended to be gladiators and took many pictures. I felt a little sacrilegious, but it was only for a few minutes, and I don't know that there are actually any rules against such actions.
After making a completely circuit around the colosseum, we declared the monument "visisted" and left for the Palatine. This, the best we could tell, was once the home to Ceasar Augustus, and possible others with the same title. Now it is merely a collection of ruins and a beautiful garden. It was so much fun! You may recall how I previously wanted to forgo all safety signs and walk along the ruins. Well, at the Palatine I could do just that, without breaking any rules! We took pictures pretending to be statues on shelves on the wall, sat on a fallen column, and wandered through the home of Livi. I'm afraid I have no idea who she was, but she had an impressive house! This was exactly the experience I had hoped for everytime I imagined going to Rome. It almost makes me want to be an archaeologist, so I can do stuff like that all the time! Then I remember how much I enjoy writing, and showers. Neither of which I would expect to do very often while on a dig.
We meandered around the Palatine for several hours, but hungry stomachs and tired feet forced us to leave. We struck off towards the river, past what we think was a reenactment of something or other and a temple to who-knows-who. Out of nowhere, some dude walking down the sidewalk hits Kayla in the head with a pillow! We were all taken aback, but carried on nonetheless. Little did we realize then that a massive pillow fight was taking place just around the corner! We spotted the excitement and rushed to join in. Kayla and Josh picked up pillows off the ground, gleefully joining the melee. I could not find one for myself, so I just took pictures. It was crazy! Limbs were flailing, fluffy stuffing and feathers floated through the air and scurried across the ground in the breeze. Kayla offered her pillow to me to use, but it was pretty small and I am an intense pillow warrior, so I chose to stand out. But, if ever possible, I intend to organize such an event some place in Seattle where I can pummel strangers with gentle smacks to my heart's delight.
At long last we left the pillows to walk along the river. The sun was sinking in the sky, hitting the water, bridge, and buildings at just the right angle to make the scene magical. Kayla and I gasped and giggled for several minutes, soaking up the glorious scene we had manged to stumble upon.
Surprisingly, the river is excellent for fishing and we walked past many people who were doing just that. They were a variety of ages, which I did not expect, and they all seemed just as pleased to enjoy the lovely day as we were.
We finished our adventure with dinner at the Chinese place, again. What can I say? It is just so delicious! We did stop in a Mexican Art Museum and Kayla, using her Spanish language skills, managed to find the location of two mexican restaurants in the city. The are both near the Vatican and, since we are going there tomorrow, we'll probably be eating lunch at one of them. I figure so long as I eat one traditional Italian meal a day, I'm doing pretty good.
A bishop with a British-English accent ran the service. That particular parish had three congregations-African, English speaking, and Spanish speaking. For the Palm Sunday service all three came together to present this holy experience.
After church, Kayla, Josh, and I wandered around for a place to eat. It took a while to find a place, but we discovered a pizza place that sold pizza by "l'etto"-which is one hundreth of a kilogram. It was really inexpensive, but much better than expected and very filling! We were all pleasently suprised!
A little more wandering brought us to the Colosseum. Oddly enough, it was not nearly as large or grand as I had anticipated. Even so, it is an impressive structure! To think it was built so very long ago, without the modern machines we have now-it blows my mind.
With our Palm Sunday Olive Branches as weapons we pretended to be gladiators and took many pictures. I felt a little sacrilegious, but it was only for a few minutes, and I don't know that there are actually any rules against such actions.
After making a completely circuit around the colosseum, we declared the monument "visisted" and left for the Palatine. This, the best we could tell, was once the home to Ceasar Augustus, and possible others with the same title. Now it is merely a collection of ruins and a beautiful garden. It was so much fun! You may recall how I previously wanted to forgo all safety signs and walk along the ruins. Well, at the Palatine I could do just that, without breaking any rules! We took pictures pretending to be statues on shelves on the wall, sat on a fallen column, and wandered through the home of Livi. I'm afraid I have no idea who she was, but she had an impressive house! This was exactly the experience I had hoped for everytime I imagined going to Rome. It almost makes me want to be an archaeologist, so I can do stuff like that all the time! Then I remember how much I enjoy writing, and showers. Neither of which I would expect to do very often while on a dig.
We meandered around the Palatine for several hours, but hungry stomachs and tired feet forced us to leave. We struck off towards the river, past what we think was a reenactment of something or other and a temple to who-knows-who. Out of nowhere, some dude walking down the sidewalk hits Kayla in the head with a pillow! We were all taken aback, but carried on nonetheless. Little did we realize then that a massive pillow fight was taking place just around the corner! We spotted the excitement and rushed to join in. Kayla and Josh picked up pillows off the ground, gleefully joining the melee. I could not find one for myself, so I just took pictures. It was crazy! Limbs were flailing, fluffy stuffing and feathers floated through the air and scurried across the ground in the breeze. Kayla offered her pillow to me to use, but it was pretty small and I am an intense pillow warrior, so I chose to stand out. But, if ever possible, I intend to organize such an event some place in Seattle where I can pummel strangers with gentle smacks to my heart's delight.
At long last we left the pillows to walk along the river. The sun was sinking in the sky, hitting the water, bridge, and buildings at just the right angle to make the scene magical. Kayla and I gasped and giggled for several minutes, soaking up the glorious scene we had manged to stumble upon.
Surprisingly, the river is excellent for fishing and we walked past many people who were doing just that. They were a variety of ages, which I did not expect, and they all seemed just as pleased to enjoy the lovely day as we were.
We finished our adventure with dinner at the Chinese place, again. What can I say? It is just so delicious! We did stop in a Mexican Art Museum and Kayla, using her Spanish language skills, managed to find the location of two mexican restaurants in the city. The are both near the Vatican and, since we are going there tomorrow, we'll probably be eating lunch at one of them. I figure so long as I eat one traditional Italian meal a day, I'm doing pretty good.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Europe Day 16: Longevity, Almonds and Cashews
The King Dome lasted for twenty-eight years. The Pantheon has been around for one thousand, eight hundred, and ninety-one years.
It is still standing.
People are still using it.
The Romans planned for longevity.
Origionally, it was a temple for several Roman gods. It now functions as a Christian church. This circular building has a domed roof with a hole it in. Rumor is that when it rains, the water does not come into the buildling. Apparently it has something to do with air pressure, the rain evaporating in the air before it hits the ground, or something like that. I'm not really sure, but if it rains while we are here, I am going there to see if it is true.
We also went to the Roman Forum. Once upon a time, it was a bustling city center, where all of the political things happened. Unfortunately, barbarians tore it apart. Had they not intentionally destroyed it, all of those fantastic buldings would still be standing for us to enjoy today. Instead, we are forced to imagine what once was. I wanted to wander through the remains of the buildings and pretend to live life thousands of years ago, but everything was fenced off. Safety reasons I suppose. Pft. Who cares about safety? I wanted to imagine!
Since the rules cannot be changed for only my sake, I returned to the hotel with everyone else. We went back to the Chinese place for dinner, but lunch was a little restaurant that was very Italian. One thing they do here is have a pre-planned, three or four course dinner called a "menu," usually at a discounted price. So, you pick which of the three or for menus you like, and enjoy those pre-selected dishes. I had noodles wrapped around cheese and spinach. It looked sort of like a burrito with red sauce on top, but a very Italian buritto. Second course was chicken, french fries, and salad. It felt much less authentic than the Italian burritos, but I still enjoyed it. Dessert was tiramisu. I don't recall ever eating a full peice before; I'm not a big fan of coffee so I always assumed I would like something else better. But this was really delicious! The cake was so moist, the topping so creamy, and it was altogether a wonderful thing!
I'm still not feeling very well, but the cold medicine my Mommy sent me with has really been helping! I have the night time version, so I managed to sleep for a good eight hours without waking up to cough. I felt more rested than I have in a while!
In our hotel here in Rome we do not get a free breakfast. So, this morning Kayla, Josh, Alli and I set out to find some food. The grocery store was no where to be found, but we managed to make our way to Campo de Fiore, where there was the most beautiful fruit I had ever seen! I have never eaten an uncooked artichoke before, but they were so beautiful! Soft greens and lovely purples-it was so tempting to get one, if only to look at it! But, I didn't. I chose some fiji apples instead. There was also a nut and dried fruit seller, so I picked up unsalted (or "natural" as the man who helped me called them) almonds and cashews. They are so yummy! I LOVE almonds and cashews!
I'll be here for about nine more days. I think I'm really going to enjoy it! I intend to eat lunch in the colloseum some time, and toss several wishes worth of coins into the trevy fountain. It's going to be fun!
It is still standing.
People are still using it.
The Romans planned for longevity.
Origionally, it was a temple for several Roman gods. It now functions as a Christian church. This circular building has a domed roof with a hole it in. Rumor is that when it rains, the water does not come into the buildling. Apparently it has something to do with air pressure, the rain evaporating in the air before it hits the ground, or something like that. I'm not really sure, but if it rains while we are here, I am going there to see if it is true.
We also went to the Roman Forum. Once upon a time, it was a bustling city center, where all of the political things happened. Unfortunately, barbarians tore it apart. Had they not intentionally destroyed it, all of those fantastic buldings would still be standing for us to enjoy today. Instead, we are forced to imagine what once was. I wanted to wander through the remains of the buildings and pretend to live life thousands of years ago, but everything was fenced off. Safety reasons I suppose. Pft. Who cares about safety? I wanted to imagine!
Since the rules cannot be changed for only my sake, I returned to the hotel with everyone else. We went back to the Chinese place for dinner, but lunch was a little restaurant that was very Italian. One thing they do here is have a pre-planned, three or four course dinner called a "menu," usually at a discounted price. So, you pick which of the three or for menus you like, and enjoy those pre-selected dishes. I had noodles wrapped around cheese and spinach. It looked sort of like a burrito with red sauce on top, but a very Italian buritto. Second course was chicken, french fries, and salad. It felt much less authentic than the Italian burritos, but I still enjoyed it. Dessert was tiramisu. I don't recall ever eating a full peice before; I'm not a big fan of coffee so I always assumed I would like something else better. But this was really delicious! The cake was so moist, the topping so creamy, and it was altogether a wonderful thing!
I'm still not feeling very well, but the cold medicine my Mommy sent me with has really been helping! I have the night time version, so I managed to sleep for a good eight hours without waking up to cough. I felt more rested than I have in a while!
In our hotel here in Rome we do not get a free breakfast. So, this morning Kayla, Josh, Alli and I set out to find some food. The grocery store was no where to be found, but we managed to make our way to Campo de Fiore, where there was the most beautiful fruit I had ever seen! I have never eaten an uncooked artichoke before, but they were so beautiful! Soft greens and lovely purples-it was so tempting to get one, if only to look at it! But, I didn't. I chose some fiji apples instead. There was also a nut and dried fruit seller, so I picked up unsalted (or "natural" as the man who helped me called them) almonds and cashews. They are so yummy! I LOVE almonds and cashews!
I'll be here for about nine more days. I think I'm really going to enjoy it! I intend to eat lunch in the colloseum some time, and toss several wishes worth of coins into the trevy fountain. It's going to be fun!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Europe Day 15: Saint Francis and Chinese Food
Assisi is a truly beautiful place. Despite the fact that our bus driver was 1 1/5 hours late (that's an hour and twenty minutes that I could have been sleeping), we did not eat lunch until 4, and it was absolutely almost the entire time; I am so glad we went! It is a very old town with many of the buildings still standing from a very long time ago. This includes a temple built by the Romans in honor of Minerva, thousands of years ago. THOUSANDS of years ago! Not to mention the country side was stunning. Lovely old houses, lots of rich green grass, and ancient buildings built of stone. I would have been very content to stay much longer than four hours!
I really was not feeling well when we left, so I curled up in my charter bus seat. With Kayla's jacket as a pillow, managed to sleep for about an hour and a half. I felt much better afterwards. I'm still sick, but at least managed to perk up for the first few hours of Rome.
Everyone is pretty tired of pizza and spaghetti, so we went to a chinese restaurant for dinner. Even thought it was a little salty, they had chicken and rice and vegetables, where most of what we ate in Florence was ham, spaghetti and bread. Considering it is only a few blocks from our hotel, I'm going to try and be a pretty regular customer for the duration of our stay.
I really was not feeling well when we left, so I curled up in my charter bus seat. With Kayla's jacket as a pillow, managed to sleep for about an hour and a half. I felt much better afterwards. I'm still sick, but at least managed to perk up for the first few hours of Rome.
Everyone is pretty tired of pizza and spaghetti, so we went to a chinese restaurant for dinner. Even thought it was a little salty, they had chicken and rice and vegetables, where most of what we ate in Florence was ham, spaghetti and bread. Considering it is only a few blocks from our hotel, I'm going to try and be a pretty regular customer for the duration of our stay.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Europe Day 14: Familiarity
I committed a cardinal sin for European travelers today.
I ate lunch at McDonalds. I know, I know. But we really wanted a hamburger, and I really enjoy french fries, and it is pretty inexpensive and we are poor college students.
To make up for it, Kayla, Josh, Ashley and I went to a very legitimate Italian pizzeria. So legitimate, in fact, that it is several blocks away from the central tourist area. See, the area around the hotel we are staying absolutely everyone who owns any sort of shop speaks English. Kayla and I ducked into a few places, and she had to use her Spanish skills to communicate with the shop keeper.
It was called Gusta Pizza, and ten minutes after it opened for the evening it was cram packed with people. All the tables are big barrels with stools around, and we squeeze around one with two other people who could not find a table of their own. Loads of students filled the place. The atmosphere was remniscent of Beth's Cafe in Seattle, where college kids go for a late night omelet. I feel obligated to tell you; most of the students were American, so they all were speaking English, but that did not change the 'local' feel of the place. As a matter of fact, I felt even more like I belonged; a solid part of a community of Americans squeezed into that itty bitty place. We chatted with a few; they were from Oregon, California, and even Gonzaga University over in Washington. One had even been to my school a few times.
The food was cheap and utterly delicious-definitely the best I have had in Florence so far. It was a wonderful feeling of belonging, and I desperately wish we were going to be around for a while longer so we could go back a few more times; it was definitely worth the walk!
Tonight is our last night in Florence. Tomorrow we go to Rome. I am excited, but I am certain I will be incredibly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who will have made the pilgrimage for Easter Sunday. I must simply adjust my perspective and keep in mind that everyone else has just as much right to be there as me.
Again, I do not know the wifi situation, but I'll do my best to continue to post on a regular basis.
I ate lunch at McDonalds. I know, I know. But we really wanted a hamburger, and I really enjoy french fries, and it is pretty inexpensive and we are poor college students.
To make up for it, Kayla, Josh, Ashley and I went to a very legitimate Italian pizzeria. So legitimate, in fact, that it is several blocks away from the central tourist area. See, the area around the hotel we are staying absolutely everyone who owns any sort of shop speaks English. Kayla and I ducked into a few places, and she had to use her Spanish skills to communicate with the shop keeper.
It was called Gusta Pizza, and ten minutes after it opened for the evening it was cram packed with people. All the tables are big barrels with stools around, and we squeeze around one with two other people who could not find a table of their own. Loads of students filled the place. The atmosphere was remniscent of Beth's Cafe in Seattle, where college kids go for a late night omelet. I feel obligated to tell you; most of the students were American, so they all were speaking English, but that did not change the 'local' feel of the place. As a matter of fact, I felt even more like I belonged; a solid part of a community of Americans squeezed into that itty bitty place. We chatted with a few; they were from Oregon, California, and even Gonzaga University over in Washington. One had even been to my school a few times.
The food was cheap and utterly delicious-definitely the best I have had in Florence so far. It was a wonderful feeling of belonging, and I desperately wish we were going to be around for a while longer so we could go back a few more times; it was definitely worth the walk!
Tonight is our last night in Florence. Tomorrow we go to Rome. I am excited, but I am certain I will be incredibly overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who will have made the pilgrimage for Easter Sunday. I must simply adjust my perspective and keep in mind that everyone else has just as much right to be there as me.
Again, I do not know the wifi situation, but I'll do my best to continue to post on a regular basis.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Europe Day 13: Half Sculptures and Gelato Knees
I am absolutely to determined to write a post every single day. I may not post them everyday, depending on the wifi situation, but I will write one everyday.
It is currently 11:28pm, and I still have much to do before tomorrow, so this will have to be very brief.
Today we went to Academia. Again, I happily spent three hours in the museum. My favorite part were the unfinished prisoners Michelangeo was sculpting for the tomb of a pope-though I have forgotten which one. Each figure was half pull from the rock. Of the six, all had their chest and legs formed, though many only had the rough outline of a head. Given the expression on their faces, it almost seemed as the the humans were being absorbed by the rock, rather than rising out of it. Fingers and toes were rarely formed, and only a few faces. A finished sculpture is smooth as glace, but these were scarred from the chisel. I am sure there is an metaphor for life, but I haven't the time to come up with it yet.
Most people know the Academia for Michelangelo's statue of David. Standing fifteen feet tall, built of left over marble from a cathedral, and with a furrowed brow, I was again, driven to distraction looking at him. Scholars still argue if he has just killed Goliath, and is contemplating his victory, or if he is preparing to go to the battle field. Personally, even after staring at him for a good long while, I am still torn between the two camps. On one hand, I agree that David appears concerned, as if suddenly the idea of fighting Goliath has frightened him. On the other hand, when I imagine David in that space of time before the battle, I see a hot headed boy, fired up with passion and without a thought for his own safety. This is not the David Michelangelo depicted, I am certain of that. I would have liked to continue to sit on a bench in that room for a long time, considering the emotion on his face, but there was a lot of people who wanted that seat, and I wanted to allow others the experience I had, of sitting and contemplating.
The second floor of the museum was all religous art. I am protestant, and the idea of looking at painting and upon painting of Virgin Mary was origionally incredibly monotonous. But, the more I look at the paintings, the more interesting I find them. Every painting has something unique about it. Many of these have symbolic meaning, and I am slowly learning to pick up on. Others feature various Saints, who I am learning to identify. Every time I think I have a handle on who is who, another one pops up and I need to determine who he or she is. Each is always painted with something to designate who they are. For most, it is the symbol of what they are the patron saint of, or the object of their martyrdom. For example, St. Sebastian is usually depicted fill of arrows-for he was shot to death-or carrying a bow and arrow because he is the patron saint of archers.
Saints and relics are all fairly unfamaliar to me, but being so constantly surrounded by them, I am quickly picking up an interest. Even so, I do not intend to convert anytime soon.
When I finally visited every peice of art in the museum-including a collection of historic instruments, such as the first known upright piano-I wandered to find some lunch. I underestimated the amount of time I had until class, so I went to a grocery store to get bread, cheese, and an apple. Tall, dark and handsome picked up a banana while I was choosing my apple. He set it on a scale, and a little sticker popped out, which he promptly stuck on his banana and walked away. I assumed I would have to do the same with my apple, so I set it on the scale, and nothing happened. I pressed what I thought was a button-nothing happened. I looked for instructions-there were none. I looked for some one to ask for help-nobody was around. Finally, I put the single apple back and picked up four apples already packaged together with a price tag. I was determined to get an apple, and I like golden delicious better than gala anyway.
After lunch, I had class and worked on homework until dinner, when Kayla and I returned to "Il David" and I had a delicious pizza, followed by my usual gelato. Today I had chocolate, mint, and chocolate vanilla cookie wafer, or something long and complicated like that. Every night that Kayla and I get gelato, she wolfs hers down so that my bowl is still three quarters full when she is looking for a trash can. She would tell you that I eat far too slowly and it gets all melted, but I think I kinda like the melted part. Except it has a habit of dripping on my knees. I have yet to stain a shirt with gelato, by all of my pants have gelato spots on them.
And now I am in my room, where I have been sitting for five or so hours, sort of working on homework. I have really enjoyed living with four other girls, but it really makes it more difficult to focus, especially when the book puts me to sleep! Oh well, I am here in Europe, and this is what I have to do so I don't fail my classes while I am here in Europe. Therefore, I shall stop sharing minute and unimportant details about how messy my gelato gets, and finish my homework. Farewell!
It is currently 11:28pm, and I still have much to do before tomorrow, so this will have to be very brief.
Today we went to Academia. Again, I happily spent three hours in the museum. My favorite part were the unfinished prisoners Michelangeo was sculpting for the tomb of a pope-though I have forgotten which one. Each figure was half pull from the rock. Of the six, all had their chest and legs formed, though many only had the rough outline of a head. Given the expression on their faces, it almost seemed as the the humans were being absorbed by the rock, rather than rising out of it. Fingers and toes were rarely formed, and only a few faces. A finished sculpture is smooth as glace, but these were scarred from the chisel. I am sure there is an metaphor for life, but I haven't the time to come up with it yet.
Most people know the Academia for Michelangelo's statue of David. Standing fifteen feet tall, built of left over marble from a cathedral, and with a furrowed brow, I was again, driven to distraction looking at him. Scholars still argue if he has just killed Goliath, and is contemplating his victory, or if he is preparing to go to the battle field. Personally, even after staring at him for a good long while, I am still torn between the two camps. On one hand, I agree that David appears concerned, as if suddenly the idea of fighting Goliath has frightened him. On the other hand, when I imagine David in that space of time before the battle, I see a hot headed boy, fired up with passion and without a thought for his own safety. This is not the David Michelangelo depicted, I am certain of that. I would have liked to continue to sit on a bench in that room for a long time, considering the emotion on his face, but there was a lot of people who wanted that seat, and I wanted to allow others the experience I had, of sitting and contemplating.
The second floor of the museum was all religous art. I am protestant, and the idea of looking at painting and upon painting of Virgin Mary was origionally incredibly monotonous. But, the more I look at the paintings, the more interesting I find them. Every painting has something unique about it. Many of these have symbolic meaning, and I am slowly learning to pick up on. Others feature various Saints, who I am learning to identify. Every time I think I have a handle on who is who, another one pops up and I need to determine who he or she is. Each is always painted with something to designate who they are. For most, it is the symbol of what they are the patron saint of, or the object of their martyrdom. For example, St. Sebastian is usually depicted fill of arrows-for he was shot to death-or carrying a bow and arrow because he is the patron saint of archers.
Saints and relics are all fairly unfamaliar to me, but being so constantly surrounded by them, I am quickly picking up an interest. Even so, I do not intend to convert anytime soon.
When I finally visited every peice of art in the museum-including a collection of historic instruments, such as the first known upright piano-I wandered to find some lunch. I underestimated the amount of time I had until class, so I went to a grocery store to get bread, cheese, and an apple. Tall, dark and handsome picked up a banana while I was choosing my apple. He set it on a scale, and a little sticker popped out, which he promptly stuck on his banana and walked away. I assumed I would have to do the same with my apple, so I set it on the scale, and nothing happened. I pressed what I thought was a button-nothing happened. I looked for instructions-there were none. I looked for some one to ask for help-nobody was around. Finally, I put the single apple back and picked up four apples already packaged together with a price tag. I was determined to get an apple, and I like golden delicious better than gala anyway.
After lunch, I had class and worked on homework until dinner, when Kayla and I returned to "Il David" and I had a delicious pizza, followed by my usual gelato. Today I had chocolate, mint, and chocolate vanilla cookie wafer, or something long and complicated like that. Every night that Kayla and I get gelato, she wolfs hers down so that my bowl is still three quarters full when she is looking for a trash can. She would tell you that I eat far too slowly and it gets all melted, but I think I kinda like the melted part. Except it has a habit of dripping on my knees. I have yet to stain a shirt with gelato, by all of my pants have gelato spots on them.
And now I am in my room, where I have been sitting for five or so hours, sort of working on homework. I have really enjoyed living with four other girls, but it really makes it more difficult to focus, especially when the book puts me to sleep! Oh well, I am here in Europe, and this is what I have to do so I don't fail my classes while I am here in Europe. Therefore, I shall stop sharing minute and unimportant details about how messy my gelato gets, and finish my homework. Farewell!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Europe Day 12: Art and Laundry
I spent two and a half hours in a museum today, and I only saw half of it.
Uffizi is it's name; it is a very large museum in Florence, and apparently particularly important. I wont lie; I had never heard of it until we arrived here. But it was amazing! Hundreds of pictures adorned the walls. Most of them were either of very rich Italians, or the Virgin Mary. A precious few were of the Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses. They were my absolute favorite. Though it was a little strange to see Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, then turn around and see The Birth of Venus in all her glory.
I found myself in the museum completely seperated from the rest of my class. I hadn't been through the entire building, but it was lunch time, and I had class in an hour, so I needed to get out of there. It was a maze to find the exit, and half a mile more the bathroom, but I managed to find a delicious pizza for lunch before class.
Kayla and I went on a laundry excursion this afternoon. We packed all the clothes we brought into a backpack and garbage bag, wearing the left over odds and ends four blocks to the laundry mat. We watched Lost while the laundry was in the washer, and put it in the dryer most of the way through the episode. That is where we made our mistake; apparently all of the laundry is supposed to go into a pressure cooker looking machine, where it sits for three minutes with the red light on and something happens, but I'm not sure what. After that it can go into the dryer. We did not know this until afterwards, when the nice Italian laundry mat owner explained why our clothes were so wet. So, we packed it all back into the garbage bag and back pack, carried it the four blocks back to our hotel, and hung it all on the balcony in Kayla's room.
We went out for a nice dinner; where I had a delicious calzone, before some gelato. I have had gelato every day since I have been in Italy, and I am not ashamed of it. I figure I'll either gain a whole bunch of weight from eating so much good stuff, or loose a few pounds after walking around everywhere. Or, it wouldn't be to bad to simply remain where I am, with the food and the walking to balance each other out. But, I will not fret. I played "Wii Fit" right before I left, and I'll do it again when I return so I can see what exactly happened; mostly because I am curious.
That's all for today; I must scurry off to bed. Tomorrow we go to Academia and I wish to be well rested. Last night was the first night I slept through to morning; I am hoping for a repeat performance this evening.
Uffizi is it's name; it is a very large museum in Florence, and apparently particularly important. I wont lie; I had never heard of it until we arrived here. But it was amazing! Hundreds of pictures adorned the walls. Most of them were either of very rich Italians, or the Virgin Mary. A precious few were of the Greek and Roman Gods and Goddesses. They were my absolute favorite. Though it was a little strange to see Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, then turn around and see The Birth of Venus in all her glory.
I found myself in the museum completely seperated from the rest of my class. I hadn't been through the entire building, but it was lunch time, and I had class in an hour, so I needed to get out of there. It was a maze to find the exit, and half a mile more the bathroom, but I managed to find a delicious pizza for lunch before class.
Kayla and I went on a laundry excursion this afternoon. We packed all the clothes we brought into a backpack and garbage bag, wearing the left over odds and ends four blocks to the laundry mat. We watched Lost while the laundry was in the washer, and put it in the dryer most of the way through the episode. That is where we made our mistake; apparently all of the laundry is supposed to go into a pressure cooker looking machine, where it sits for three minutes with the red light on and something happens, but I'm not sure what. After that it can go into the dryer. We did not know this until afterwards, when the nice Italian laundry mat owner explained why our clothes were so wet. So, we packed it all back into the garbage bag and back pack, carried it the four blocks back to our hotel, and hung it all on the balcony in Kayla's room.
We went out for a nice dinner; where I had a delicious calzone, before some gelato. I have had gelato every day since I have been in Italy, and I am not ashamed of it. I figure I'll either gain a whole bunch of weight from eating so much good stuff, or loose a few pounds after walking around everywhere. Or, it wouldn't be to bad to simply remain where I am, with the food and the walking to balance each other out. But, I will not fret. I played "Wii Fit" right before I left, and I'll do it again when I return so I can see what exactly happened; mostly because I am curious.
That's all for today; I must scurry off to bed. Tomorrow we go to Academia and I wish to be well rested. Last night was the first night I slept through to morning; I am hoping for a repeat performance this evening.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Europe Day 11: Living History
San Gimignano, pronounced San Jimmy-ahno (or something like that), is a town outside of Florence that chooses to remain as medievil as they can. The most important building in the town is a church, high up on the hill. The walls inside are covered with beautiful frescos.
On the Old Testement side (churches are usually decorated with the Old Testement on one side and New Testement on the other) we could see the creation story, Noah and the ark, the Exodus story, and the story of Job. The New Testement side had the nativity, miracles, and the crucifixtion. According to Malcolm Miller, our British guide from Chartres cathedral, the stories on the different sides are commentaries on each other. I haven't quite figured out what the origionally artists were trying to say, but I intend to keep considering it.
We wandered through the town a little, and found ourselves high up on the hill in a tower, looking out across the countryside. I am still absolutely in love with the Tuscan countryside. It is a patchwork quilt with the rich green of grass and vineyards, seperated by long lines of bushes and splattered with the red clay roofs of ranch houses. Standing there, admiring the view, I was graced with the sweet scent of wisteria that grew all along the tower. Could I possibly ask for better?
After lunch, we left for Sienna. You know the color Burnt Sienna? It is, in fact, according to our tour guide, name after the city of Sienna. I quite adored our tour guide. Her name was Donnatella, and she was half a foot shorter than me, with bold hair and sparkling bracelets that covered her entire forearm. As we stood in a half circle and she shouted at our group, people around the city would wave in her direction and shouted their greetings. Although they could not see her, but they could hear her distinctive voice. She must be a well liked woman!
It is a city full of shades of brown, white, and brick. We visisted another chapel and wandered around the city. Sienna has always been a city of bankers. Begun in 1472, the oldest bank in operation stands along the main road.
Unlike most Roman town, Sienna was not built by a river. The only water access they had was caverns built under the city. Because of this, none of the buildings have foundations, and only stand up because they lean on each other. All over town there are bridges joining the buildings and buildings touching each other, so that they can all stand up.
In the 13th century, town squares were built small and houses of rich people constructed like fortresses. Donnatella told us this was beacuse they feared revolution, and small gathering places and few windows made the expensive houses peasant proof. The Town Hall, on the other hand, is constructed on the edge of a large square-that's really shaped like a rainbow-with lots of windows. The leaders of the city decided to make the building a stand for peace. Instead of coming to the "square" to fight, the people could feel free to come and play. And play they do; that square is where the most dangerous horse race in the world takes place. The rules are so complex that most people don't even think there are any!
This town hall also represents the beginning of the seperation of church and state. Although it was built on lower ground than the great cathedral, the tower was made to be equally high. In this way, the people with power felt they could show respect to the church, but still set themselves as important figures in the community. I really appreciated how this building had so many stories behind it; it is not just a government building, but a peice of history that can teach an eager listener things about the past.
At long last we came to the cathedral. I'm tired and it is past my bed time, so I'll just tell you that the whole point of the Cathedral in Sienna, was to make it bigger, better, and bigger than the cathedral in Florence. A ginormous area was marked out for the cross-shaped church, and the horizontal portion was finished, but then the black plauge hit. Most people in Sienna died. It wasn't until fifty years later that they began to even think about continuing construction. Then they realized that the columns they had built were not standing straight, and therefore would not support a church for long, so thy decided to stick with what they had. It really is an amazing place; there are 56 peices of artwork created by famous Italian painters decorating the floor, and 5 statues carved by Michealangelo. Huge frescos cover the walls of the library, and they are still in perfect shape-despite being half a century old-because the room was cool and dark.
Like Chartres, this Cathedral is still being built on and used, despite being origionally constructed in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. I am so impressed that such an old structure is still standing and being used. I love how, here in Europe, history is not the past, but a continuing part of the present. If only all that I loved was on this side of the Atlantic; I would probably stay forever!
One final note; after dinner I had a waffle with gelato on it. Apparently, they are a big deal in Italy. The waffle seemed to have chucks of sweet stuff in it, and as the man put it on the grill it was not a soupy batter, but more like a dough. I had "mars" candy gelato on top. I quickly ascertained that it would be a big mess, and I had chocolate on my nose, chin, and all over my fingers, but my white shirt was no less what from the process. Even though I know most 20 year olds can handle eating ice cream, I was still felt I had accomplished something great.
On the Old Testement side (churches are usually decorated with the Old Testement on one side and New Testement on the other) we could see the creation story, Noah and the ark, the Exodus story, and the story of Job. The New Testement side had the nativity, miracles, and the crucifixtion. According to Malcolm Miller, our British guide from Chartres cathedral, the stories on the different sides are commentaries on each other. I haven't quite figured out what the origionally artists were trying to say, but I intend to keep considering it.
We wandered through the town a little, and found ourselves high up on the hill in a tower, looking out across the countryside. I am still absolutely in love with the Tuscan countryside. It is a patchwork quilt with the rich green of grass and vineyards, seperated by long lines of bushes and splattered with the red clay roofs of ranch houses. Standing there, admiring the view, I was graced with the sweet scent of wisteria that grew all along the tower. Could I possibly ask for better?
After lunch, we left for Sienna. You know the color Burnt Sienna? It is, in fact, according to our tour guide, name after the city of Sienna. I quite adored our tour guide. Her name was Donnatella, and she was half a foot shorter than me, with bold hair and sparkling bracelets that covered her entire forearm. As we stood in a half circle and she shouted at our group, people around the city would wave in her direction and shouted their greetings. Although they could not see her, but they could hear her distinctive voice. She must be a well liked woman!
It is a city full of shades of brown, white, and brick. We visisted another chapel and wandered around the city. Sienna has always been a city of bankers. Begun in 1472, the oldest bank in operation stands along the main road.
Unlike most Roman town, Sienna was not built by a river. The only water access they had was caverns built under the city. Because of this, none of the buildings have foundations, and only stand up because they lean on each other. All over town there are bridges joining the buildings and buildings touching each other, so that they can all stand up.
In the 13th century, town squares were built small and houses of rich people constructed like fortresses. Donnatella told us this was beacuse they feared revolution, and small gathering places and few windows made the expensive houses peasant proof. The Town Hall, on the other hand, is constructed on the edge of a large square-that's really shaped like a rainbow-with lots of windows. The leaders of the city decided to make the building a stand for peace. Instead of coming to the "square" to fight, the people could feel free to come and play. And play they do; that square is where the most dangerous horse race in the world takes place. The rules are so complex that most people don't even think there are any!
This town hall also represents the beginning of the seperation of church and state. Although it was built on lower ground than the great cathedral, the tower was made to be equally high. In this way, the people with power felt they could show respect to the church, but still set themselves as important figures in the community. I really appreciated how this building had so many stories behind it; it is not just a government building, but a peice of history that can teach an eager listener things about the past.
At long last we came to the cathedral. I'm tired and it is past my bed time, so I'll just tell you that the whole point of the Cathedral in Sienna, was to make it bigger, better, and bigger than the cathedral in Florence. A ginormous area was marked out for the cross-shaped church, and the horizontal portion was finished, but then the black plauge hit. Most people in Sienna died. It wasn't until fifty years later that they began to even think about continuing construction. Then they realized that the columns they had built were not standing straight, and therefore would not support a church for long, so thy decided to stick with what they had. It really is an amazing place; there are 56 peices of artwork created by famous Italian painters decorating the floor, and 5 statues carved by Michealangelo. Huge frescos cover the walls of the library, and they are still in perfect shape-despite being half a century old-because the room was cool and dark.
Like Chartres, this Cathedral is still being built on and used, despite being origionally constructed in the thirteenth and fourteenth century. I am so impressed that such an old structure is still standing and being used. I love how, here in Europe, history is not the past, but a continuing part of the present. If only all that I loved was on this side of the Atlantic; I would probably stay forever!
One final note; after dinner I had a waffle with gelato on it. Apparently, they are a big deal in Italy. The waffle seemed to have chucks of sweet stuff in it, and as the man put it on the grill it was not a soupy batter, but more like a dough. I had "mars" candy gelato on top. I quickly ascertained that it would be a big mess, and I had chocolate on my nose, chin, and all over my fingers, but my white shirt was no less what from the process. Even though I know most 20 year olds can handle eating ice cream, I was still felt I had accomplished something great.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Europe Day 10: Adventure is Out There!
This morning, I intended to go for a walk, find a sunny place, and read my book. Alone, quiet, relaxing.
Instead, I bumped into Kayla. We wandered through the leather market and into a shop where we picked up some sandwiches. We decided to walk to Piazzale Michelangiolo, eat our sandwiches, and spend alone time together, each reading our own books.
Instead, we ate lunch long before we made it to the Piazzale. When we got there, we just kept going and managed to climb the hill all the way to St. Miniato ai Monte-a Monastery. We wandered through the beautiful sanctuary, admired the mausoleum and other burial sites. These people are very classy, even when dead.
From the monestary we could look down into the trees and could see a little path winding outside the monestary walls, and soon found the trailhead. I felt as though I had landed in The Secret Garden, as was Mary Lennox, wishing I could fly like a bird over the wall and into places unknown.
Eventually, the path ran into a pretty stone wall, and we decided to walk along it. A castle tower could be seen in the distance, and we were determined to follow the path to it. A sense of adventure lured us through the tall trees, and over the stone wall onto a skinny little road. (It is important to have a small car here, or else you may not be able to drive many places!) We walked between high walls and past houses, with wisteria spilling out of gardens and greeting our noses with their pleasent scent.
After a while we found the main road, where we were lucky enough to intersect a pair of college girls-much like ourselves-who spoke english. We asked about the castle, and they encouraged us to continue up hill. There were no "touristy" things, but many beautiful views of castles and vineyards. Our appetites whetted, we walked up the hill, excited for what would greet us.
We soon left the city limits and found ourselves in the heart of Tuscany. Or at least what I imagine the heart of Tuscany would look like! Lush green grass carpeted vineyards that stretched over rolling hills, reaching all the way to the brightly colored main house. I have never been so tempted to tresspass in my life! I felt my world would be complete if I could wander under the trees, listening to birds sing and smelling the olive trees around me. Tuscany is, hands down, the most beautiful country I have ever seen!
Our wandering continued, always expecting a beautiful view around the bend. We ended up in a little town, with charming Italian houses and many Italian flags. Advenutre continued to pull us forward, down a pretty lane. But, as the hill sloped downwards and the clock ticked closer to dinner, we decided to return. As wonderful as our adventure had been, we did not want to be caught in unfamiliar country after dark.
The walk back was much quicker; though it was difficult to walk past every vantage point without taking a few more pictures. Eventually we returned to the city and found some delicious dinner and flavorfull gelato. Completely content, we returned to our hotel, grateful for our adventure.
Instead, I bumped into Kayla. We wandered through the leather market and into a shop where we picked up some sandwiches. We decided to walk to Piazzale Michelangiolo, eat our sandwiches, and spend alone time together, each reading our own books.
Instead, we ate lunch long before we made it to the Piazzale. When we got there, we just kept going and managed to climb the hill all the way to St. Miniato ai Monte-a Monastery. We wandered through the beautiful sanctuary, admired the mausoleum and other burial sites. These people are very classy, even when dead.
From the monestary we could look down into the trees and could see a little path winding outside the monestary walls, and soon found the trailhead. I felt as though I had landed in The Secret Garden, as was Mary Lennox, wishing I could fly like a bird over the wall and into places unknown.
Eventually, the path ran into a pretty stone wall, and we decided to walk along it. A castle tower could be seen in the distance, and we were determined to follow the path to it. A sense of adventure lured us through the tall trees, and over the stone wall onto a skinny little road. (It is important to have a small car here, or else you may not be able to drive many places!) We walked between high walls and past houses, with wisteria spilling out of gardens and greeting our noses with their pleasent scent.
After a while we found the main road, where we were lucky enough to intersect a pair of college girls-much like ourselves-who spoke english. We asked about the castle, and they encouraged us to continue up hill. There were no "touristy" things, but many beautiful views of castles and vineyards. Our appetites whetted, we walked up the hill, excited for what would greet us.
We soon left the city limits and found ourselves in the heart of Tuscany. Or at least what I imagine the heart of Tuscany would look like! Lush green grass carpeted vineyards that stretched over rolling hills, reaching all the way to the brightly colored main house. I have never been so tempted to tresspass in my life! I felt my world would be complete if I could wander under the trees, listening to birds sing and smelling the olive trees around me. Tuscany is, hands down, the most beautiful country I have ever seen!
Our wandering continued, always expecting a beautiful view around the bend. We ended up in a little town, with charming Italian houses and many Italian flags. Advenutre continued to pull us forward, down a pretty lane. But, as the hill sloped downwards and the clock ticked closer to dinner, we decided to return. As wonderful as our adventure had been, we did not want to be caught in unfamiliar country after dark.
The walk back was much quicker; though it was difficult to walk past every vantage point without taking a few more pictures. Eventually we returned to the city and found some delicious dinner and flavorfull gelato. Completely content, we returned to our hotel, grateful for our adventure.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Europe day 10: A Growing Appreciation
Let's be real; Florence really rubbed me the wrong way yesterday. The gelato lady was rude, and all that I could see any where was expensive shop after expensive shop. I did not come to Europe to participate in a mass consumerist society intent on the next new thing, but to experience all that is old and noteworthy.
As it turns out; there is much more old and noteworthy here than what I first thought, it simply is not as obvious.
Florence has always been full of traders and merchants; it's just a fact. Even more than that, it has been a place of art.
Today I stood in the square where Dante read The Divine Comedy and created the italian language. Before that, Italian was simply a really bad form of Latin, but Dante took it and made it it's own.
I saw the graves of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo.
I stood next to the Arno river that, in 1961, flooded its banks and submerged many magnificent peices of art. Thosands of college students from America took a break from their studies, flew to Florence, and painstakingly rescued all the art they possibly could. Isn't that amazing?
The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge stretching across the Arno. It is covered with jewlery stores, that have been jewlery stores and goldsmiths for ages. The statue on the end honors a man considered to be the best gold smith of all time.
Many of the buildings are important and historic, it simply is not obvious at first glance. It is important to look up to the second floor, where a plaque will tell you what that place is significant. Unfortunately, it tells you this in Italian, and I do not speak Italian. I feel my experience here will not be quite as rich as it was and will be in France, but I have begun to enjoy myself much more regardless.
Tonight, Kayla, Josh and I ate some delicious pizza before walking to the Arno to watch the sun set over the river. We ended up on sitting on a railing high above the water. The view was utterly amazing, and the gelato dripping all over my hand was equally outstanding. As the sun sank behind the horizan, we heard the amplified voice of street performer and sought him out. We found ourselves on the Ponte Vecchio in a crowd of college students from across Europe. We danced to the guitarist with the gravely voice. Instead of being a cautious tourist, I was a young person enjoying myself with other young people. I can competely understand how rich people-or people with rich parents-spend weeks touring Europe. Carefree, few responsibilities, and other young people having a good time; it is a beautiful life!
As the crowds drifted apart, we wandered in the direction of our hotel, stopping to appreciate another musical performance. This was a trio of older men, one on the violin, the second on the bass, and a third on the electric guitar. I grew nostalgic for my orchestra days as my fingers twitched with the music, yearning to draw a bow and dance along the strings once more.
Leaving the plaza, we stumbled upon a clown, entertaining the crowd in the middle of another street. He constantly teased children and adults alike. His little hook cane lured in wary observers, and his whistle demanded they do as he instructed. All of his antics were rewarded by hearty laughter from the audience. It was a spectacular evening. I am now headed to bed; my head full of the pleasent things of the evening.
Florence; I may like you more than I origionally thought.
As it turns out; there is much more old and noteworthy here than what I first thought, it simply is not as obvious.
Florence has always been full of traders and merchants; it's just a fact. Even more than that, it has been a place of art.
Today I stood in the square where Dante read The Divine Comedy and created the italian language. Before that, Italian was simply a really bad form of Latin, but Dante took it and made it it's own.
I saw the graves of Michelangelo, Machiavelli and Galileo.
I stood next to the Arno river that, in 1961, flooded its banks and submerged many magnificent peices of art. Thosands of college students from America took a break from their studies, flew to Florence, and painstakingly rescued all the art they possibly could. Isn't that amazing?
The Ponte Vecchio is a bridge stretching across the Arno. It is covered with jewlery stores, that have been jewlery stores and goldsmiths for ages. The statue on the end honors a man considered to be the best gold smith of all time.
Many of the buildings are important and historic, it simply is not obvious at first glance. It is important to look up to the second floor, where a plaque will tell you what that place is significant. Unfortunately, it tells you this in Italian, and I do not speak Italian. I feel my experience here will not be quite as rich as it was and will be in France, but I have begun to enjoy myself much more regardless.
Tonight, Kayla, Josh and I ate some delicious pizza before walking to the Arno to watch the sun set over the river. We ended up on sitting on a railing high above the water. The view was utterly amazing, and the gelato dripping all over my hand was equally outstanding. As the sun sank behind the horizan, we heard the amplified voice of street performer and sought him out. We found ourselves on the Ponte Vecchio in a crowd of college students from across Europe. We danced to the guitarist with the gravely voice. Instead of being a cautious tourist, I was a young person enjoying myself with other young people. I can competely understand how rich people-or people with rich parents-spend weeks touring Europe. Carefree, few responsibilities, and other young people having a good time; it is a beautiful life!
As the crowds drifted apart, we wandered in the direction of our hotel, stopping to appreciate another musical performance. This was a trio of older men, one on the violin, the second on the bass, and a third on the electric guitar. I grew nostalgic for my orchestra days as my fingers twitched with the music, yearning to draw a bow and dance along the strings once more.
Leaving the plaza, we stumbled upon a clown, entertaining the crowd in the middle of another street. He constantly teased children and adults alike. His little hook cane lured in wary observers, and his whistle demanded they do as he instructed. All of his antics were rewarded by hearty laughter from the audience. It was a spectacular evening. I am now headed to bed; my head full of the pleasent things of the evening.
Florence; I may like you more than I origionally thought.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Europe Day 9: In Transit
From first thing this morning until 5 in the evening, I was traveling to Florence.
We flew with Easy Jet airlines. Every single piece of their propoganda is bright orange. We talked a little about color psycology before the flight and how orange and red make people feel rushed. I felt unsettled. But, I did have delightful conversations with Kayla and Ruth.
I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such spectacular people. One of my concerns with this trip is how I don't generally make friends very quickly. Perhaps it is because we are an island of Americans in a sea of Europeans, or because we are spending so much time together, or even because we are having incredibly deep experiences together, or all of these combined, it feels to me that we are all becoming a close knit group rather quickly. I like it.
I am not so sure how I feel about Florence. The hotel is pretty okay; much better wifi, a very large bath tub, and (or so I hear) breakfast that involves more than bread and coffee. We do have five people in our room, which likely means I'll have to track down my alone time elsewhere, but I can handle that. The luggage situation I'm not too sure about. Other than putting in five beds, and five plastic cups, they did not seem to take into consideration how five people will fit into one room. They only gave us four towels. I am-potentially-taking the last shower tomorrow. I better make sure we get another towel tonight!
The city is really beautiful, but in the brief time we walked around today, it seems to be a lot of shopping. We did stumble across a collection of sculptures which was pretty amazing. They all featured things we had read about in our Greek Mythology book, so it was fun to figure out who was who and which story they were in. I rather like Greek Mythology, though I think the disturbing parts managed to creep into my dreams the other night, and I did not so much appreciate that.
A little group of us ate at a little pizzaria. I am a slow decision maker, and ended up randomly choosing a pizza from the menu. It said something about featuring the toppings from a certain soup. I thought it would be good; vegetables, cheese, probably some meat thrown in their. Nope. I'm pretty sure they opened a can of soup, dumped out three quarters of the juice, threw what was left on some pizza dough with sauce and a tiny bit of cheese, tossed it in the oven and fed it to me. It was not that good. Next time, no matter how hungry we are, I am determined that we will pick a restaurant with other people in it. That is usually a sign it tastes good.
We flew with Easy Jet airlines. Every single piece of their propoganda is bright orange. We talked a little about color psycology before the flight and how orange and red make people feel rushed. I felt unsettled. But, I did have delightful conversations with Kayla and Ruth.
I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such spectacular people. One of my concerns with this trip is how I don't generally make friends very quickly. Perhaps it is because we are an island of Americans in a sea of Europeans, or because we are spending so much time together, or even because we are having incredibly deep experiences together, or all of these combined, it feels to me that we are all becoming a close knit group rather quickly. I like it.
I am not so sure how I feel about Florence. The hotel is pretty okay; much better wifi, a very large bath tub, and (or so I hear) breakfast that involves more than bread and coffee. We do have five people in our room, which likely means I'll have to track down my alone time elsewhere, but I can handle that. The luggage situation I'm not too sure about. Other than putting in five beds, and five plastic cups, they did not seem to take into consideration how five people will fit into one room. They only gave us four towels. I am-potentially-taking the last shower tomorrow. I better make sure we get another towel tonight!
The city is really beautiful, but in the brief time we walked around today, it seems to be a lot of shopping. We did stumble across a collection of sculptures which was pretty amazing. They all featured things we had read about in our Greek Mythology book, so it was fun to figure out who was who and which story they were in. I rather like Greek Mythology, though I think the disturbing parts managed to creep into my dreams the other night, and I did not so much appreciate that.
A little group of us ate at a little pizzaria. I am a slow decision maker, and ended up randomly choosing a pizza from the menu. It said something about featuring the toppings from a certain soup. I thought it would be good; vegetables, cheese, probably some meat thrown in their. Nope. I'm pretty sure they opened a can of soup, dumped out three quarters of the juice, threw what was left on some pizza dough with sauce and a tiny bit of cheese, tossed it in the oven and fed it to me. It was not that good. Next time, no matter how hungry we are, I am determined that we will pick a restaurant with other people in it. That is usually a sign it tastes good.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Europe Day 8: Ordinary Day
I did not go to a monument today. I saw no stain glass windows, statues, or paintings. Lunch was another sandwich, and dinner was chicken that left much to be desired.
Even so, it was a good day. The sun shone brightly and I was inspired to get out and walk around. I ventured to one of the shopping streets and ended up with a pair of shoes. I now have two pair, and shower flip flops; I am excited to have variety.
Kayla and I purchased a kilogram of strawberries. They are so delicious, and came in a cute wooden box that I shall try to keep. It is very small, and I feel like it will easily fit in my suit case. And, if I have to dump it later, it wont be a big deal. It is just a little wooden box that came with a kilogram of strawberries after all.
Class today was filled with discussion of Italy! Tomorrow we catch an early plane to Pisa, but unfortunately do not get to see the leaning tower. I am a little dissapointed about that. I very much wanted to take a picture where it looked like I was holding the tower up. Cheesey, touristy, yes yes, I know. From Pisa we will take a coach to Florence, where we will spend the next week or so. Apparently, in Italy they also eat small breakfasts, huge lunches, and moderate dinners.
I dreamed of pancakes last night. Fluffy, delicious pancakes covered in berry syrup and peanut butter. Give me a second, I need a tissue to wipe the drool from my lip....that's better. I believe I am going through withdrawals.
The point of this blog: I do not know what the wifi situation is like in Florence, so if you do not hear from me for a while, I am probably neither dead, dying, or have run off with an Italian boy on his vespa. I probably just can't get free internet access. But, I intend to still write blogs, and post them all as soon as I get the chance. So please, faithful readers, don't give up on me!
Even so, it was a good day. The sun shone brightly and I was inspired to get out and walk around. I ventured to one of the shopping streets and ended up with a pair of shoes. I now have two pair, and shower flip flops; I am excited to have variety.
Kayla and I purchased a kilogram of strawberries. They are so delicious, and came in a cute wooden box that I shall try to keep. It is very small, and I feel like it will easily fit in my suit case. And, if I have to dump it later, it wont be a big deal. It is just a little wooden box that came with a kilogram of strawberries after all.
Class today was filled with discussion of Italy! Tomorrow we catch an early plane to Pisa, but unfortunately do not get to see the leaning tower. I am a little dissapointed about that. I very much wanted to take a picture where it looked like I was holding the tower up. Cheesey, touristy, yes yes, I know. From Pisa we will take a coach to Florence, where we will spend the next week or so. Apparently, in Italy they also eat small breakfasts, huge lunches, and moderate dinners.
I dreamed of pancakes last night. Fluffy, delicious pancakes covered in berry syrup and peanut butter. Give me a second, I need a tissue to wipe the drool from my lip....that's better. I believe I am going through withdrawals.
The point of this blog: I do not know what the wifi situation is like in Florence, so if you do not hear from me for a while, I am probably neither dead, dying, or have run off with an Italian boy on his vespa. I probably just can't get free internet access. But, I intend to still write blogs, and post them all as soon as I get the chance. So please, faithful readers, don't give up on me!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Europe Day 7: Poop and Gelato
Today was a day of up and downs.
I felt poorly when I woke up, but got to use my new hairdryer for the first time.
I had to eat breakfast very quickly, but my professor agreed to start class later so we didn't need to rush so much.
I was utterly starving, but rode the RER (a fast train) for the first time.
We really had to look for food, but the sandwhich I got was fantastic!
Luxembourg gardens was absolutely beautiful, but a bird pooped on my head while we were there.
I had to pay .40 euro to use the bathroom, but I managed to get all of the poop out pretty easily.
Even so, my hair was all wet, but we walked around in the sunshine and it dried quickly.
I was so tired, but Kayla and I enjoyed some delicious gelato, and that made me feel better.
We returned to the FIAP and comfortably relaxed, but I accidently got Cow Tongue for dinner-I didn't eat it. All I could think about was french kissing a cow (the French call it "digging a hole" by the way) and when I realized I probably would have enjoyed it if some one hadn't told me what it was, I wanted to throw up.
Now I'm just hanging out with Melissa and Jeanie in a little sun room while a concert-featuring people famous in Japan-is happening around the corner. It looks like they have food, so I may have to go get some snacks after such a disappointing dinner.
I still have to translate a French article into english, and all of the business has officially caught up to me and I am pretty tired. Add to that my disturbing dreams-where evil people get cut into little bits, and I nearly crash a car-I haven't slept too well since we got here.
But, like my Dad said; I can let these things drag me down, or I can ignore them and enjoy myself. I think that, despite the many draw backs of the day, I still enjoyed myself. When all is said and done, I am still glad I spent today in the beautiful city of Paris.
I felt poorly when I woke up, but got to use my new hairdryer for the first time.
I had to eat breakfast very quickly, but my professor agreed to start class later so we didn't need to rush so much.
I was utterly starving, but rode the RER (a fast train) for the first time.
We really had to look for food, but the sandwhich I got was fantastic!
Luxembourg gardens was absolutely beautiful, but a bird pooped on my head while we were there.
I had to pay .40 euro to use the bathroom, but I managed to get all of the poop out pretty easily.
Even so, my hair was all wet, but we walked around in the sunshine and it dried quickly.
I was so tired, but Kayla and I enjoyed some delicious gelato, and that made me feel better.
We returned to the FIAP and comfortably relaxed, but I accidently got Cow Tongue for dinner-I didn't eat it. All I could think about was french kissing a cow (the French call it "digging a hole" by the way) and when I realized I probably would have enjoyed it if some one hadn't told me what it was, I wanted to throw up.
Now I'm just hanging out with Melissa and Jeanie in a little sun room while a concert-featuring people famous in Japan-is happening around the corner. It looks like they have food, so I may have to go get some snacks after such a disappointing dinner.
I still have to translate a French article into english, and all of the business has officially caught up to me and I am pretty tired. Add to that my disturbing dreams-where evil people get cut into little bits, and I nearly crash a car-I haven't slept too well since we got here.
But, like my Dad said; I can let these things drag me down, or I can ignore them and enjoy myself. I think that, despite the many draw backs of the day, I still enjoyed myself. When all is said and done, I am still glad I spent today in the beautiful city of Paris.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Europe Day 6: Chartres
Today I met a British Man. He reminded me very much of Michael Caine, the butler in the Dark Knight. He came to France a long time ago as a student. He has spent the last 54 years wandering around Chartres, showing people the Cathedral.
After spending two hours with him, I am convinced I would be content to do the same.
Chartres is a Cathedral that, most recently, has been standing since the 13th century. The one I went to today was the fourth or fifth that had been constructed on that site.
Origionally, it was not a very important parish. Then, someone-I forget who-donated a piece of cloth 15 feet long that may have been worn by Mother Mary. When the idea of relics took flight, Chartres became a major destination for pilgrims on their way to Portugual, where they could see more relics.
In the late 12th century the church burned down. Three days after the fire, a pair of monks emerged from the building, carrying the cloth. Bishop Fulbert believed it must be a miracle and sent letters far and wide telling of what happened! My British tour guide called this "fundraising."
In less than half a century, the magnificent cathedral was rebuilt! All kinds of people helped. Blanche, the Regent of France, paid for the North Rose Window, and Richard the Lion Heart paid for another. Groups of wine merchants paid for windows, carpenters paid for a window, bakers paid for windowsl; with 150 beautiful stain glass windows, the list goes on and on!
I was particularly enchanted by the windows, after my British guide explained a bit more about how they work. First, every window that was donated by a group features something along the bottom about that group. For example, the wine merchant window has a wine merchant walking his donkey that is pulling a cart with a barrel of wine on it. The shoe makers window has pictures of men making shoes etc. But that is only a small part of the over all beauty.
Each window is like a commentary on a story in the bible read through pictures, from the bottom up. Some times the stories are written in pairs, and sometimes they are alone. Each has their own unique meaning. I cannot help but wonder about who designed these windows. They were created back before paper was even used in Europe, and almost no one could read or write. Therefore, these windows were all people had to learn about the bible. Why was each story chosen? How did they decide the clearest way to display each story with such limited space? More than anything, I long to feel the passion that drove the window makers to spend hours on every window, painstakingly cutting the glass and adhering them together in the exact correct shapes. Did they charge much? Or was it more an act of devotion to God?
To make the story even more interesting in the 1940s,when World War Two was on the rise, the bishop at this Cathedral had all of the windows taken down and put into wooden crates. Then, when invansion by the Germans seemed imminent, gathered over one hundred volutneers to carry the crates to the train station where they were delivered to the Chateau in Paris for safe keeping. When the worst was on the rise, the people helped the church. How amazing.
Outside of the church are thousands and thousands of sculptures embellishing the frams of nine different doors. Many of these, unfortunately, are missing their heads and other protrusions. During the revolution, the Cathedral was seen in a negative light-a symbol of Papal authority and waste (I think)-and was therefore vandalised. Even so, I was continually amazed by the obvious effort that was put into creating such a beautiful place of worship.
Even after a two hour tour, and times spent in the underground crypte, I could have continued to walk in and around Chartres for hours. It is so beautiful and has such rich history behind it. This building is hundreds of years old! So many people have walked in and out and around. But it is not so rooted in the past that the present is obsolete. In the crypte there can be found among the historical peices, two modern stain glass windows. One of which was donated with in the memory of our guide! The Cathedral is continuing to grow and change, and I am absolutely amazed by it.
I do dearly wish to return in five or six years. The alter and chapel holding the relic were closed off because it was being cleaned. The French government is in charge of maintaining the chapel, and it will take five to six years before they will have managed to get the whole thing washed and re-painted. We could see a portion that had already been finished, and it was stunning! "Gothic," in this day and age, often denotes dark and dreary, but the origional intent of architecture in this era was to be tall, bright, and colorful. I dearly wish to see Chartres at its best!
One final not; I had creme brulee for dessert after lunch. For some reason, I anticipated a warm dessert, but it is not. There was indeed a burnt sugar layer on top of the pudding, which I did not necessarily enjoy. even so, it was a delicious dessert. This is such a good life.
After spending two hours with him, I am convinced I would be content to do the same.
Chartres is a Cathedral that, most recently, has been standing since the 13th century. The one I went to today was the fourth or fifth that had been constructed on that site.
Origionally, it was not a very important parish. Then, someone-I forget who-donated a piece of cloth 15 feet long that may have been worn by Mother Mary. When the idea of relics took flight, Chartres became a major destination for pilgrims on their way to Portugual, where they could see more relics.
In the late 12th century the church burned down. Three days after the fire, a pair of monks emerged from the building, carrying the cloth. Bishop Fulbert believed it must be a miracle and sent letters far and wide telling of what happened! My British tour guide called this "fundraising."
In less than half a century, the magnificent cathedral was rebuilt! All kinds of people helped. Blanche, the Regent of France, paid for the North Rose Window, and Richard the Lion Heart paid for another. Groups of wine merchants paid for windows, carpenters paid for a window, bakers paid for windowsl; with 150 beautiful stain glass windows, the list goes on and on!
I was particularly enchanted by the windows, after my British guide explained a bit more about how they work. First, every window that was donated by a group features something along the bottom about that group. For example, the wine merchant window has a wine merchant walking his donkey that is pulling a cart with a barrel of wine on it. The shoe makers window has pictures of men making shoes etc. But that is only a small part of the over all beauty.
Each window is like a commentary on a story in the bible read through pictures, from the bottom up. Some times the stories are written in pairs, and sometimes they are alone. Each has their own unique meaning. I cannot help but wonder about who designed these windows. They were created back before paper was even used in Europe, and almost no one could read or write. Therefore, these windows were all people had to learn about the bible. Why was each story chosen? How did they decide the clearest way to display each story with such limited space? More than anything, I long to feel the passion that drove the window makers to spend hours on every window, painstakingly cutting the glass and adhering them together in the exact correct shapes. Did they charge much? Or was it more an act of devotion to God?
To make the story even more interesting in the 1940s,when World War Two was on the rise, the bishop at this Cathedral had all of the windows taken down and put into wooden crates. Then, when invansion by the Germans seemed imminent, gathered over one hundred volutneers to carry the crates to the train station where they were delivered to the Chateau in Paris for safe keeping. When the worst was on the rise, the people helped the church. How amazing.
Outside of the church are thousands and thousands of sculptures embellishing the frams of nine different doors. Many of these, unfortunately, are missing their heads and other protrusions. During the revolution, the Cathedral was seen in a negative light-a symbol of Papal authority and waste (I think)-and was therefore vandalised. Even so, I was continually amazed by the obvious effort that was put into creating such a beautiful place of worship.
Even after a two hour tour, and times spent in the underground crypte, I could have continued to walk in and around Chartres for hours. It is so beautiful and has such rich history behind it. This building is hundreds of years old! So many people have walked in and out and around. But it is not so rooted in the past that the present is obsolete. In the crypte there can be found among the historical peices, two modern stain glass windows. One of which was donated with in the memory of our guide! The Cathedral is continuing to grow and change, and I am absolutely amazed by it.
I do dearly wish to return in five or six years. The alter and chapel holding the relic were closed off because it was being cleaned. The French government is in charge of maintaining the chapel, and it will take five to six years before they will have managed to get the whole thing washed and re-painted. We could see a portion that had already been finished, and it was stunning! "Gothic," in this day and age, often denotes dark and dreary, but the origional intent of architecture in this era was to be tall, bright, and colorful. I dearly wish to see Chartres at its best!
One final not; I had creme brulee for dessert after lunch. For some reason, I anticipated a warm dessert, but it is not. There was indeed a burnt sugar layer on top of the pudding, which I did not necessarily enjoy. even so, it was a delicious dessert. This is such a good life.
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