Best Dish: Risotto with artichoke and sun-dried tomatoes (at a bayside restaurant in Xlendi)
Favorite Pasta: Penne all'Arrabbiata from Insalata Ricca (Rome)
Best Roma Style Pizza: Margherita con Bufala from da Remo (Rome, Testaccio)
Most Interesting Pizza: Super Bufala from Dar Poeta. The style of pizza is all this pizzaria's own, but it really is quite good. (Rome, Trastevere)
Best Panino: Volpetti's (Rome, Testaccio)
Best Cheese: Pecorino Romano.
Best Gelato: Fior di Luna. Their Arancia, Fragola, Melone, and Stracciatella are all to die for. Actually, all their flavors are. (Rome, Trastevere)
Best Tiramisu: Pompi (Rome, near Piazza di Spagna)
Most Interesting Wine: Fragolino (wine made from grapes that taste like strawberries. A Venetian specialty, you won't find it (and have it be good) anywhere else. Wine and strawberries? Sign me up!)
Best Cheapest Food: Carlo Menta (Rome, Trastevere)
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Murphy's Law
This is the post my parents shouldn't read if they are still following along. If you do read this, Mom and Dad, remember, I made it home in one piece and didn't get into too much trouble at any point.
Okay so a list of all the things that went wrong this semester:
Well, it all started within my first hours in Italy: I left my purse in the cab that took us from the airport. My wallet and passport weren't in it, nor my computer, but just about all my other major things were: ipad, visa documents, glasses, sunglasses, ect. Fortunately my driver realized what happened and brought it back within the hour. Whew.
In Florence, I accidently nudged a bottle of wine when reaching for a bottle of Chianti and sent it and another tumbling to the floor to shatter. Two broken bottles and a broken ego made me glad to get out of the city
Sicily. Well, I planned it to be an adventure in the sense that I didn't plan much for this trip. Some things that went wrong: I left my wallet in an Internet cafe in Messina (it was still there when I sprinted back 15 minutes later) and the flight we booked to return to Rome was actually booked for Monday night rather than Sunday night (we were able to get a new flight, but it wasn't cheap).
I lost my iPhone in club in Prague.
I lost €30 in a bar in Rome. (I pretty much stopped going out at this point, because this was the weekend after the iPhone incident and I decided the world was trying to tell me something.)
I dropped my camera in a museum and broke it. (I then proceeded to drop my camera a dozen more times until it worked again. Probably not the best idea, but hey, it wasn't going to hurt it any more and it worked.)
Ciao,
J
Okay so a list of all the things that went wrong this semester:
Well, it all started within my first hours in Italy: I left my purse in the cab that took us from the airport. My wallet and passport weren't in it, nor my computer, but just about all my other major things were: ipad, visa documents, glasses, sunglasses, ect. Fortunately my driver realized what happened and brought it back within the hour. Whew.
In Florence, I accidently nudged a bottle of wine when reaching for a bottle of Chianti and sent it and another tumbling to the floor to shatter. Two broken bottles and a broken ego made me glad to get out of the city
Sicily. Well, I planned it to be an adventure in the sense that I didn't plan much for this trip. Some things that went wrong: I left my wallet in an Internet cafe in Messina (it was still there when I sprinted back 15 minutes later) and the flight we booked to return to Rome was actually booked for Monday night rather than Sunday night (we were able to get a new flight, but it wasn't cheap).
I lost my iPhone in club in Prague.
I lost €30 in a bar in Rome. (I pretty much stopped going out at this point, because this was the weekend after the iPhone incident and I decided the world was trying to tell me something.)
I dropped my camera in a museum and broke it. (I then proceeded to drop my camera a dozen more times until it worked again. Probably not the best idea, but hey, it wasn't going to hurt it any more and it worked.)
Ciao,
J
Great Expectations
So because I had such an amazing time this semester and saw so many
amazing things, I now have some very amazing expectations for my
future. Some could maybe, eventually, hopefully happen while some are
just flat out ridiculous. I don't care. So here is what my semester
has done to my dreams:
I will have a rose garden that is a pretty as the Roseto Comunale. (First I will learn how to tend garden and make things grow. Really I just want to have access to fresh beautiful roses on a regular basis.)
I will have a grand library like the Biblioteca Angelica. (I am determined to have at least a full wall of bookshelves when I grow up so this is a do-able goal.)
I will have a house (villa) in the Pigneto neighborhood of Rome (co-owned with Shruti) where we will escape to during the alternating years when she is not visiting me in California, nor I her in Thailand.
I will have an apartment in Gozo overlooking Xlendi Bay.
I will have a Vespa or similar scooter/bike to get around Rome (and it's countryside) and Gozo. (I haven't quite figured out how to get the scooter between the two residences yet.)
I will be back in Italy for an olive harvest, and make and eat fresh olive oil.
I will travel to all the places I didn't get to this semester, including (but not limited to): Italy (Cortona, Riomaggiore, Basilicata, Pompey, Capri), Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Croatia, Budapest, Portugal, Greece (Athens and assorted islands), Netherlands, Turkey (Istanbul, Pamukkale), and lets throw in Egypt and India and New Zealand for good measure.
I will revisit all the places I saw this semester.
I'm sure there are several other things the semester has lead me to dream about because this list seems much shorter than it was in my head three days ago.
Ciao,
J
I will have a rose garden that is a pretty as the Roseto Comunale. (First I will learn how to tend garden and make things grow. Really I just want to have access to fresh beautiful roses on a regular basis.)
I will have a grand library like the Biblioteca Angelica. (I am determined to have at least a full wall of bookshelves when I grow up so this is a do-able goal.)
I will have a house (villa) in the Pigneto neighborhood of Rome (co-owned with Shruti) where we will escape to during the alternating years when she is not visiting me in California, nor I her in Thailand.
I will have an apartment in Gozo overlooking Xlendi Bay.
I will have a Vespa or similar scooter/bike to get around Rome (and it's countryside) and Gozo. (I haven't quite figured out how to get the scooter between the two residences yet.)
I will be back in Italy for an olive harvest, and make and eat fresh olive oil.
I will travel to all the places I didn't get to this semester, including (but not limited to): Italy (Cortona, Riomaggiore, Basilicata, Pompey, Capri), Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg), Croatia, Budapest, Portugal, Greece (Athens and assorted islands), Netherlands, Turkey (Istanbul, Pamukkale), and lets throw in Egypt and India and New Zealand for good measure.
I will revisit all the places I saw this semester.
I'm sure there are several other things the semester has lead me to dream about because this list seems much shorter than it was in my head three days ago.
Ciao,
J
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Life on the Hill
Somehow, I always manage to find a school on a hill: my high school was built into the side of a mountain, my college is sitting pretty at the top of a hill in Clinton, New York, and now I've found a study abroad program at the peak of the Aventine Hill. I don't know why I do this to myself. I hate hills. Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me that I really don't.
Anyway, life atop the Aventine was superb. I was talking about it these last couple days with my friends, and we decided that there is really no better place we could have lived. We could see the ruins of the imperial palace from the window, had the best food available to us right across the river in Trastevere, and we knew about a bunch of unconventional places like the Parco Savello orange grove, the Rose Garden and the keyhole view. Really, I considered taking the veil if it meant I could live in this convent. It was just the most amazing place to live, and all the better for being a little bit on the outside of things: I explored more because it took just as much effort to go to the unconventional places as the top 10 tourist sites.
Speaking of nuns, living with them was awesome. One of my favorite parts of the day was meeting for dinner in the lobby and watching a few minutes of some Italian game show with the nuns as they chatted and knitted away. Even those that spoke English forced us to struggle through our elementary Italian to talk to them. They rocked. Seriously, a nunnery might be in my future.
Ciao,
J
Anyway, life atop the Aventine was superb. I was talking about it these last couple days with my friends, and we decided that there is really no better place we could have lived. We could see the ruins of the imperial palace from the window, had the best food available to us right across the river in Trastevere, and we knew about a bunch of unconventional places like the Parco Savello orange grove, the Rose Garden and the keyhole view. Really, I considered taking the veil if it meant I could live in this convent. It was just the most amazing place to live, and all the better for being a little bit on the outside of things: I explored more because it took just as much effort to go to the unconventional places as the top 10 tourist sites.
Speaking of nuns, living with them was awesome. One of my favorite parts of the day was meeting for dinner in the lobby and watching a few minutes of some Italian game show with the nuns as they chatted and knitted away. Even those that spoke English forced us to struggle through our elementary Italian to talk to them. They rocked. Seriously, a nunnery might be in my future.
Ciao,
J
Its Back to Reality, Oh There Goes Gravity
Days 106-107
I'm writing this on the plane as I fly away from my beloved Rome, though I probably won't get a chance to post it until I'm State's side again. Even sitting on the plane, having gone through the rigorous game of getting all my bags to the correct weight in the airport, I don't really believe I am going. Somehow, I'm hoping I will fall asleep on the plane and wake up to find that I am not on a flight from Italy, but rather to it and I get to do the semester all over again.
What I can say about my semester was best said by Giuseppe Verdi: "You may have the universe if I may have Italy." I just couldn't image a better place to experience, and three months was not nearly long enough to satisfy me.
My last day was spent wandering, exactly as my first days started. I ate my favorite pasta for lunch and said goodbye to my panino man as I picked up snacks for the plane. When it finally came time for me to leave for the airport, the heavens opened up and cried. Don't worry Rome, I cried too, but we'll be reunited someday.
Arrivederci,
J
P.S. Though my semester is over and there aren't really any new adventures to relate, I've got a few more things I've got to say so I don't forget them. If you were just tuning in to make sure I was still kicking, go ahead and leave off. If you want all my final thoughts on Rome and the semester, then stay tuned.
I'm writing this on the plane as I fly away from my beloved Rome, though I probably won't get a chance to post it until I'm State's side again. Even sitting on the plane, having gone through the rigorous game of getting all my bags to the correct weight in the airport, I don't really believe I am going. Somehow, I'm hoping I will fall asleep on the plane and wake up to find that I am not on a flight from Italy, but rather to it and I get to do the semester all over again.
What I can say about my semester was best said by Giuseppe Verdi: "You may have the universe if I may have Italy." I just couldn't image a better place to experience, and three months was not nearly long enough to satisfy me.
My last day was spent wandering, exactly as my first days started. I ate my favorite pasta for lunch and said goodbye to my panino man as I picked up snacks for the plane. When it finally came time for me to leave for the airport, the heavens opened up and cried. Don't worry Rome, I cried too, but we'll be reunited someday.
Arrivederci,
J
P.S. Though my semester is over and there aren't really any new adventures to relate, I've got a few more things I've got to say so I don't forget them. If you were just tuning in to make sure I was still kicking, go ahead and leave off. If you want all my final thoughts on Rome and the semester, then stay tuned.
And So It Ends...
Day 105
My fairy tale of a semester is coming to its end.
Today, our last full day in Rome, we decided to do the only thing that was left to be done: have a tour of all the best gelato places in Rome. So began the Gelato World Tour 2013. It was perfect. Walking around the city, hitting up all the best gelato and other dessert places, and revisiting all the sites.
Our tour lasted until dinner time and we revisited one of Romes most famous, though unconventional pizza places, Dar Poeta. My pizza was delicious, and sharing a meal with a big group of friends while sitting outside, was the perfect last dinner. Then we washed it down with another cup of gelato (because we could).
Then it was to the orange grove (I hesitate to call it our orange grove, because we lived there as much as we lived at the convent). We saw our last sunset in Rome, and were pleased to find that the guards decided to forget their duty to lock it up at 9 so we were free to stay as long as we liked.
Now, while I still have most of tomorrow to look forward to, most of my friends are leaving in the wee hours of the morning. So we resolved to stay up all night and leave sleep for when we're dead (or at least until we have nothing better to do, like on our flights home.) To that end, we decided to hit up the one gelato place we didn't make it to during the day, San Crispino, which just so happens to be right next to the Trevi Fountain. We got there at midnight and spent the next hour tossing coins in, taking pictures, and enjoying life in Rome.
When we got back to the convent, sometime around 2am, we decided that, since Rome is a city of fountains, we couldn't leave the city without swimming in one. We decided on the fountain next to the orange grove (because unlike the Trevi, police aren't watching it 24/7). We had a quick dip in this bathtub, then went back to the convent to drink wine out on the patio.
At 4am, the first of my friends said their goodbyes and took off for the airport. At this point I realized that I too might actually have to leave and went back to my room to start packing. My room was a disaster up to this point and anyone looking at it would never guess that I had to clear out within the next 6 hours (we were supposed to be out of our rooms by 10am). And here I am, having said goodbye to so many amzing friends I have made this semester. Its okay though. I'm already planning a summer reunion for the California kids, a fall reunion for all those going to school in New England, and a 10 year reunion in Rome to be held in the villa I'm going to co-own with Shruti in Pigneto.
Ciao,
J
My fairy tale of a semester is coming to its end.
Today, our last full day in Rome, we decided to do the only thing that was left to be done: have a tour of all the best gelato places in Rome. So began the Gelato World Tour 2013. It was perfect. Walking around the city, hitting up all the best gelato and other dessert places, and revisiting all the sites.
Our tour lasted until dinner time and we revisited one of Romes most famous, though unconventional pizza places, Dar Poeta. My pizza was delicious, and sharing a meal with a big group of friends while sitting outside, was the perfect last dinner. Then we washed it down with another cup of gelato (because we could).
Then it was to the orange grove (I hesitate to call it our orange grove, because we lived there as much as we lived at the convent). We saw our last sunset in Rome, and were pleased to find that the guards decided to forget their duty to lock it up at 9 so we were free to stay as long as we liked.
Now, while I still have most of tomorrow to look forward to, most of my friends are leaving in the wee hours of the morning. So we resolved to stay up all night and leave sleep for when we're dead (or at least until we have nothing better to do, like on our flights home.) To that end, we decided to hit up the one gelato place we didn't make it to during the day, San Crispino, which just so happens to be right next to the Trevi Fountain. We got there at midnight and spent the next hour tossing coins in, taking pictures, and enjoying life in Rome.
When we got back to the convent, sometime around 2am, we decided that, since Rome is a city of fountains, we couldn't leave the city without swimming in one. We decided on the fountain next to the orange grove (because unlike the Trevi, police aren't watching it 24/7). We had a quick dip in this bathtub, then went back to the convent to drink wine out on the patio.
At 4am, the first of my friends said their goodbyes and took off for the airport. At this point I realized that I too might actually have to leave and went back to my room to start packing. My room was a disaster up to this point and anyone looking at it would never guess that I had to clear out within the next 6 hours (we were supposed to be out of our rooms by 10am). And here I am, having said goodbye to so many amzing friends I have made this semester. Its okay though. I'm already planning a summer reunion for the California kids, a fall reunion for all those going to school in New England, and a 10 year reunion in Rome to be held in the villa I'm going to co-own with Shruti in Pigneto.
Ciao,
J
Ciao Firenze! (Pt. 3)
Day104
Most of my friends are still in the final throws of finals. Rather than stick around the convent or wander Rome on my lonesome, I decided to hop on a train and go see Florence once last time.
I walk out of the the Santa Maria Novella train station like I owned the city. I forgo a map and decide that if can't remember my way around, then I'm not actually as good as I thought. But I am. I had no problem finding all my favorite places and discovering other parts of the city as well. For lunch I even managed to find the little back-alley trattoria we went to on our last day back in February. (I wanted their ribollita again. It was just as good as I remembered).
I didn't go into any museums or churches this time around, but rather just wandered the streets and shopped. (I may have spent a little much, but I'm not too torn up about it because I can't regret my purchases).
It started to rain very suddenly and very unexpectedly (There were no clouds in the sky when I arrived). Though I remembered to pack my umbrella, my flats were not as keen to keep my feet dry and comfortable. So I made my way back to the train station and bought a ticket for the text train to Rome and made it back in time for dinner.
Though I do love Rome more, I think that when I live there, I'll be taking day trips to Florence at least once a month. It is such a different city, but undeniably beautiful.
Ciao,
J
Most of my friends are still in the final throws of finals. Rather than stick around the convent or wander Rome on my lonesome, I decided to hop on a train and go see Florence once last time.
I walk out of the the Santa Maria Novella train station like I owned the city. I forgo a map and decide that if can't remember my way around, then I'm not actually as good as I thought. But I am. I had no problem finding all my favorite places and discovering other parts of the city as well. For lunch I even managed to find the little back-alley trattoria we went to on our last day back in February. (I wanted their ribollita again. It was just as good as I remembered).
I didn't go into any museums or churches this time around, but rather just wandered the streets and shopped. (I may have spent a little much, but I'm not too torn up about it because I can't regret my purchases).
It started to rain very suddenly and very unexpectedly (There were no clouds in the sky when I arrived). Though I remembered to pack my umbrella, my flats were not as keen to keep my feet dry and comfortable. So I made my way back to the train station and bought a ticket for the text train to Rome and made it back in time for dinner.
Though I do love Rome more, I think that when I live there, I'll be taking day trips to Florence at least once a month. It is such a different city, but undeniably beautiful.
Ciao,
J
Bufala Soldier
Day 104
As so often happens, I decide I don't like something before I have tried it, or after one mediocre example, and therefore curse myself. This happened with olive oil in at the beginning of the semester (fortunately I caught my error after the first month), and just last week I realized I had committed another fatal error: I shunned bufala mozzarella.
In a bittersweet moment, I realized my mistake: sweet because I am now enjoying this delicious cheese every other meal; bitter because I soon must bid it farewell because no one raises an Asian water buffalo like the Italians. As part of my eat everything in sight program this week, I ate not one but two bufala margherita pizzas at dinner tonight, along with one I had last night, and another I plan on having tomorrow night. (The first three are from the same place, but tomorrows will be from a different place. The difference is one melts its cheese and the other leaves it raw. They are both delicious.)
Ciao,
J
As so often happens, I decide I don't like something before I have tried it, or after one mediocre example, and therefore curse myself. This happened with olive oil in at the beginning of the semester (fortunately I caught my error after the first month), and just last week I realized I had committed another fatal error: I shunned bufala mozzarella.
In a bittersweet moment, I realized my mistake: sweet because I am now enjoying this delicious cheese every other meal; bitter because I soon must bid it farewell because no one raises an Asian water buffalo like the Italians. As part of my eat everything in sight program this week, I ate not one but two bufala margherita pizzas at dinner tonight, along with one I had last night, and another I plan on having tomorrow night. (The first three are from the same place, but tomorrows will be from a different place. The difference is one melts its cheese and the other leaves it raw. They are both delicious.)
Ciao,
J
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Vino vidi vinci
Day 102
The wine, I saw it and conquered. Even if Italy held no other attraction for me, the wine culture here would be reason enough to make this place my first choice for my semester abroad.
Like so much else here, wine is not something, its everything: a way of life. Wine an inseparable part of every meal. Wine a social outing after a stressful day of classes that complements the beautiful setting around me. Wine is sunlight held together by water, and wine is bottled poetry. (That last one is Galileo and Robert Louis Stevenson, not me).
I'm not sure I have had a single meal that did not involve wine (outside of the convent, of course. Cracking a bottle with the nuns is strictly prohibited). But even when I'm drinking wine by itself (or with a light snack like cheese), I'm not drinking to get drunk. That idea seems almost barbaric here where there are no limitations on drinking. No, wine is way to prolong and enjoy ever bite of the meal and every moment of your friends' company.
I don't know how life if gonna work for me those those three weeks between the time I get home and my 21st birthday, but I know I'll make it through. The real challenge will be when I go back to Hamilton next fall and I wont be able to drink wine with dinner in the dining hall. (But then again, the food there hasn't inspired me to sit and enjoy it for 2 years now, so maybe it would just be a waste of good wine anyway).
Ciao,
J
The wine, I saw it and conquered. Even if Italy held no other attraction for me, the wine culture here would be reason enough to make this place my first choice for my semester abroad.
Like so much else here, wine is not something, its everything: a way of life. Wine an inseparable part of every meal. Wine a social outing after a stressful day of classes that complements the beautiful setting around me. Wine is sunlight held together by water, and wine is bottled poetry. (That last one is Galileo and Robert Louis Stevenson, not me).
I'm not sure I have had a single meal that did not involve wine (outside of the convent, of course. Cracking a bottle with the nuns is strictly prohibited). But even when I'm drinking wine by itself (or with a light snack like cheese), I'm not drinking to get drunk. That idea seems almost barbaric here where there are no limitations on drinking. No, wine is way to prolong and enjoy ever bite of the meal and every moment of your friends' company.
I don't know how life if gonna work for me those those three weeks between the time I get home and my 21st birthday, but I know I'll make it through. The real challenge will be when I go back to Hamilton next fall and I wont be able to drink wine with dinner in the dining hall. (But then again, the food there hasn't inspired me to sit and enjoy it for 2 years now, so maybe it would just be a waste of good wine anyway).
Ciao,
J
Monday, May 6, 2013
An Evening Stroll
Day 101
I have decided that my for the remainder of my time, I will give in to that impulsive side of me that I always try to suppress. That means when I want to do something, I'm gonna do it; if I want to eat something, I will walk clear across the city and get it; if I pass something I think is pretty, I'm going to buy it. The last 3+ months I have been so incredibly careful to budget out my money and time that I now find I have an excess of one and none of the other.
So I started today. After coming home from a dinner with a family friend I decided that, since it was promising to be such a lovely evening, I would sit in the rose garden next to the convent and read a book rather than go study. It had rained earlier today and the shower has made the garden more vibrant than ever. I love this place. Over the past week I have been considering becoming a nun, but only if I get to live in the convent I'm currently in, because it is just in the perfect location for everything and is surrounded by beauty.
When the guard came to kick me out at 8, rather than crossing the street and submitting to studying for finals I decided that I wanted gelato, and not just any gelato, but strawberry and melon gelato made using fresh melons and strawberries (you can taste the little chunks of fruit still in it). So I set off down the Aventine and along the Tiber. Walking along the Tiber I made another resolution to take my camera with me every time I leave my room because I'm going to need to take pictures of every inch of this city at least twice more. For instance: walking along the Tiber I was struck that it was just so pretty and had to snap half a dozen pictures on my poor quality iPad camera. Lets get one thing straight: three months ago, I would have said the Tiber is about as ugly as a river can get. Its brown and full of trash and constrained by these unnatural walls. But tonight, man, it was just the prettiest thing.
So I finally get myself some gelato from Fior di Luna (the gelato), and decide to just wander the streets around the gelato place since it, like the Tiber, is just the prettiest thing I have ever seen. Lining the streets are all these vendors selling everything from scarves to art to jewelry to pouches of dried lavender. And wouldn't you know but I just had to buy this one scarf. By the time I hit the end of the street I'm scraping the bottom of my cup. I'm disappointed for a minute until I realize I have to pass back by Fior di Luna to get back home. So I eagerly head back down the road crowded with hawkers, diners, and that something that makes Rome Rome, and get myself another cup of gelato. And then, for the hell of it, I buy another two scarves (I now have enough scarves to open my own shop). Walking back home I pass another part of the Tiber that I needed a picture of.
And to think, the day started out rainy and miserable and me being sure I wouldn't do or see a single thing all day.
Ciao,
J
I have decided that my for the remainder of my time, I will give in to that impulsive side of me that I always try to suppress. That means when I want to do something, I'm gonna do it; if I want to eat something, I will walk clear across the city and get it; if I pass something I think is pretty, I'm going to buy it. The last 3+ months I have been so incredibly careful to budget out my money and time that I now find I have an excess of one and none of the other.So I started today. After coming home from a dinner with a family friend I decided that, since it was promising to be such a lovely evening, I would sit in the rose garden next to the convent and read a book rather than go study. It had rained earlier today and the shower has made the garden more vibrant than ever. I love this place. Over the past week I have been considering becoming a nun, but only if I get to live in the convent I'm currently in, because it is just in the perfect location for everything and is surrounded by beauty. When the guard came to kick me out at 8, rather than crossing the street and submitting to studying for finals I decided that I wanted gelato, and not just any gelato, but strawberry and melon gelato made using fresh melons and strawberries (you can taste the little chunks of fruit still in it). So I set off down the Aventine and along the Tiber. Walking along the Tiber I made another resolution to take my camera with me every time I leave my room because I'm going to need to take pictures of every inch of this city at least twice more. For instance: walking along the Tiber I was struck that it was just so pretty and had to snap half a dozen pictures on my poor quality iPad camera. Lets get one thing straight: three months ago, I would have said the Tiber is about as ugly as a river can get. Its brown and full of trash and constrained by these unnatural walls. But tonight, man, it was just the prettiest thing.And to think, the day started out rainy and miserable and me being sure I wouldn't do or see a single thing all day.
Ciao,
J
Sunday, May 5, 2013
The Name Game
Day 101
So I realized there are about a million and a half things that I wanted to post about but just never got around to. So here is me trying to fit it all in the next week. We'll see how it goes.
So Italy, like most non-English speaking countries, has its own variation for the names of cities. Some of them are totally understandable (we say Rome, they say Roma; we see Naples, they see Napoli; we know Venice, they know Venezia; ect), and then you also get some less understandable changes (at least to me) things like Florence vs Firenze.
Anyway, the point of this little rant is that this semester I decided to participate in this little name game challenge. Whereas everyone at home calls me Jackie, here I've convinced everyone that I go by JJ. (The notable exception is my professor Jan Gadeyne who, when I told him to call me JJ, gave me a long look and decided that my name would remain Jacquelyn.)
It all started at the airport, when I met another girl on the program and my self-decided moniker rolled off my tongue before I realized I had even made a decision to actually do it. The funny bit is that now, after having my sister and my friend from school visit me, and having them call me Jackie again, I have to look around and go "whose that?" before I realize they're talking to me!
Just to be clear, I have no problem with the name Jackie. In fact, I love it. I will probably never be anything but a Jackie for the rest of my life. But what other time in my life do I have to try out this kind of thing? If your semester abroad isn't the time to shake things up, then when is?
Ciao
J
So I realized there are about a million and a half things that I wanted to post about but just never got around to. So here is me trying to fit it all in the next week. We'll see how it goes.
So Italy, like most non-English speaking countries, has its own variation for the names of cities. Some of them are totally understandable (we say Rome, they say Roma; we see Naples, they see Napoli; we know Venice, they know Venezia; ect), and then you also get some less understandable changes (at least to me) things like Florence vs Firenze.
Anyway, the point of this little rant is that this semester I decided to participate in this little name game challenge. Whereas everyone at home calls me Jackie, here I've convinced everyone that I go by JJ. (The notable exception is my professor Jan Gadeyne who, when I told him to call me JJ, gave me a long look and decided that my name would remain Jacquelyn.)
It all started at the airport, when I met another girl on the program and my self-decided moniker rolled off my tongue before I realized I had even made a decision to actually do it. The funny bit is that now, after having my sister and my friend from school visit me, and having them call me Jackie again, I have to look around and go "whose that?" before I realize they're talking to me!
Just to be clear, I have no problem with the name Jackie. In fact, I love it. I will probably never be anything but a Jackie for the rest of my life. But what other time in my life do I have to try out this kind of thing? If your semester abroad isn't the time to shake things up, then when is?
Ciao
J
Saturday, May 4, 2013
L'Arte D'Arrangiarsi
Day 100
Today marks my 100th day abroad, and while it should be a milestone and a day of excitement, instead all I feel is dread: its a day of panic trying to realize how I can fit in everything I have yet to do and everything I want to do again in the next 6 days.
The day started bright and early (as I predict all my mornings for the next week will. Who needs sleep when you are 6 days away from leaving these friends and this beautiful city?) and I headed off to Tivoli with the only 3 friends I have who have not explored this area yet. Tivoli (or its surrounding countryside) is one of the places you went when you were an imperial emperor and wanted to build a countryside getaway. So off we went to explore Hadrian's Villa. We explored the villa, imitated Classical poses on ancient column pedestals, and shared a bottle of wine. It was a lovely morning.
We would have continued on to the other major estate in the area (Villa d'Este) except for the farewell party the administration had planned for us back at the convent. So we hightailed it back to Rome to get back for the one of the few drinking and mingling parties allowed on the nun's grounds.
The highlight of the party was a slideshow composed of pictures the students had sent to the resident director over the past week. It was lovely and nostalgic and made me so incredibly sad to think that I will be leaving in less than a weeks time. There were tears in my eyes by the end. I honestly have never been so regretful to move on from somewhere: leaving my childhood friends at 8th grade graduation, saying good-bye to my high school friends after senior year, nothing could hold a candlestick to the frustration I have now. Yes, leaving the city is part of it, but I know, one way or another, I will come back to Rome. However, the real issue I face is leaving the people. My semester has been incredible (amazing, phenomenal, out of this world, and a thousand other adjectives), and it truly is the people who have made it that way. They shared my fascination with ancient culture, art, landscape, travel. If I wanted to do something I had a friend who would follow me there. And those few times that I couldn't find someone to do something with were just as memorable: those times I learned to live on my own, and I want to thank my friends for that as much as anything else.
So I say to you: Ali, Bridget, and Hannah; Shruti, Christina, and Annie; Bismar and Mark and Gabby; Sarai, Kelly, Hillary, and Erin; Courtney, James, Callie, and Emily; and everyone else; We started strangers, but I won't forget you or the times we had together. We absolutely made something out of nothing: you made my semester unforgettable, it wouldn't be the same without you and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Ciao,
J
Today marks my 100th day abroad, and while it should be a milestone and a day of excitement, instead all I feel is dread: its a day of panic trying to realize how I can fit in everything I have yet to do and everything I want to do again in the next 6 days.
The day started bright and early (as I predict all my mornings for the next week will. Who needs sleep when you are 6 days away from leaving these friends and this beautiful city?) and I headed off to Tivoli with the only 3 friends I have who have not explored this area yet. Tivoli (or its surrounding countryside) is one of the places you went when you were an imperial emperor and wanted to build a countryside getaway. So off we went to explore Hadrian's Villa. We explored the villa, imitated Classical poses on ancient column pedestals, and shared a bottle of wine. It was a lovely morning.
We would have continued on to the other major estate in the area (Villa d'Este) except for the farewell party the administration had planned for us back at the convent. So we hightailed it back to Rome to get back for the one of the few drinking and mingling parties allowed on the nun's grounds.
The highlight of the party was a slideshow composed of pictures the students had sent to the resident director over the past week. It was lovely and nostalgic and made me so incredibly sad to think that I will be leaving in less than a weeks time. There were tears in my eyes by the end. I honestly have never been so regretful to move on from somewhere: leaving my childhood friends at 8th grade graduation, saying good-bye to my high school friends after senior year, nothing could hold a candlestick to the frustration I have now. Yes, leaving the city is part of it, but I know, one way or another, I will come back to Rome. However, the real issue I face is leaving the people. My semester has been incredible (amazing, phenomenal, out of this world, and a thousand other adjectives), and it truly is the people who have made it that way. They shared my fascination with ancient culture, art, landscape, travel. If I wanted to do something I had a friend who would follow me there. And those few times that I couldn't find someone to do something with were just as memorable: those times I learned to live on my own, and I want to thank my friends for that as much as anything else.
So I say to you: Ali, Bridget, and Hannah; Shruti, Christina, and Annie; Bismar and Mark and Gabby; Sarai, Kelly, Hillary, and Erin; Courtney, James, Callie, and Emily; and everyone else; We started strangers, but I won't forget you or the times we had together. We absolutely made something out of nothing: you made my semester unforgettable, it wouldn't be the same without you and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Ciao,
J
Prayers for Peter
Day 99
Today we got an exclusive look at an area of the Vatican: the catacombs below St. Peters. The Vatican has a long history, starting as a necropolis with a neighboring circus. For those who don't know, St. Peter's is situated where it is because it is the most promising site for where St. Peter himself was buried after he was crucified (upside-down) at the circus. In fact, if you drop a plumb line from the center of Bernini's baldichino inside of the basilica, it would hit Pete's tomb.
So Trinity Rome arranged for us to get a behind the scene's tour of the now buried necropolis beneath St. Peter's. The place is incredibly well preserved considering how much Constantine destroyed when he built the first church in that place, the questionable excavation techniques of the mid 20th century, and everything else in between. What really made our tour though was our guide. Because it is now so miserably hot in Rome, I wasn't paying particular attention when he told us his name, but what I do remember is that he is a seminarian from Manchester who couldn't have been more than a couple years older than me. He was awesome, cracking jokes at some of the ridiculous things that happened in antiquity (some Romans believed the afterlife would be one giant orgy), in the excavation process (apparently the head archeologist decided to hide a skeleton in his office at one point and tell no one else about it. That skeleton was St. Peter...oops), and during his tours (the most common question he gets asked is why they build the mausoleums underground. The short answer is they didn't, duh. Like all the rest of Rome, St. Peter's was built on top of the preexisting structures).
The tour ended after we stood in the single spot you can see St. Peter's bones underneath the basilica. The entire tour lead up to this moment, slowly building up both the historical evidence of Peter's burial and the excavation of the tomb. This final moment did not disappoint.
Afterwards I went up into the current Basilica and marveled at how far the Catholic Church has come. It really is incredible when you consider it. The Church decided to build its stronghold, its home on a place they believed was holy, but had no material evidence to support this idea for nearly two millennia. And yet, St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church and perhaps the most spacious building I have ever been in, and that's saying something considering how many churches, basilicas, and cathedrals I've been in. Everything, even the statues and monuments within seem tiny in comparison to its soaring arches. All this was built on the hope, on the faith, that a few measly documents were telling the truth. Though the current evidence absolutely supports in ancient testaments, even if it didn't, how incredible is it that an institution promoting God's love was built on this one piece of faith.
Ciao,
J
Today we got an exclusive look at an area of the Vatican: the catacombs below St. Peters. The Vatican has a long history, starting as a necropolis with a neighboring circus. For those who don't know, St. Peter's is situated where it is because it is the most promising site for where St. Peter himself was buried after he was crucified (upside-down) at the circus. In fact, if you drop a plumb line from the center of Bernini's baldichino inside of the basilica, it would hit Pete's tomb.
So Trinity Rome arranged for us to get a behind the scene's tour of the now buried necropolis beneath St. Peter's. The place is incredibly well preserved considering how much Constantine destroyed when he built the first church in that place, the questionable excavation techniques of the mid 20th century, and everything else in between. What really made our tour though was our guide. Because it is now so miserably hot in Rome, I wasn't paying particular attention when he told us his name, but what I do remember is that he is a seminarian from Manchester who couldn't have been more than a couple years older than me. He was awesome, cracking jokes at some of the ridiculous things that happened in antiquity (some Romans believed the afterlife would be one giant orgy), in the excavation process (apparently the head archeologist decided to hide a skeleton in his office at one point and tell no one else about it. That skeleton was St. Peter...oops), and during his tours (the most common question he gets asked is why they build the mausoleums underground. The short answer is they didn't, duh. Like all the rest of Rome, St. Peter's was built on top of the preexisting structures).
The tour ended after we stood in the single spot you can see St. Peter's bones underneath the basilica. The entire tour lead up to this moment, slowly building up both the historical evidence of Peter's burial and the excavation of the tomb. This final moment did not disappoint.
Afterwards I went up into the current Basilica and marveled at how far the Catholic Church has come. It really is incredible when you consider it. The Church decided to build its stronghold, its home on a place they believed was holy, but had no material evidence to support this idea for nearly two millennia. And yet, St. Peter's Basilica is the largest church and perhaps the most spacious building I have ever been in, and that's saying something considering how many churches, basilicas, and cathedrals I've been in. Everything, even the statues and monuments within seem tiny in comparison to its soaring arches. All this was built on the hope, on the faith, that a few measly documents were telling the truth. Though the current evidence absolutely supports in ancient testaments, even if it didn't, how incredible is it that an institution promoting God's love was built on this one piece of faith.
Ciao,
J
Interdum Feror Cupidine Partium Magnarum Europe Vincendarum.
Day 99
Sometimes I get the urge to conquer large parts of Europe. However, this sentiment may have been a bit easier to achieve back when men had whole armies at their beck and call. Unfortunately, I do not. But, in this enlightened age, I can do my best by going everywhere I can and eating their local specialties. I've traveled a lot this semester: I've been to 3 countries, seen more than 7 world renowned cities, and tried the local cuisine in each and every one. Here are some of the local tastes I've experienced:
Rome: Pizza, Roman Style (No, the pizza here is different; you have to try it to understand. Yes, this is only the tip of the iceberg of Roman foods I've tried.)
Florence: Ribollita
Sicily: Sicilian Pizza and a kind of shrimp pasta. (We just asked for something traditionally Sicilian)
Venice: Squid ink pasta, Fragolino wine (that's wine made from grapes that have a strawberry flavor. I've tried other 'fragolino's' around Italy, but none are as good)
Prague: Pivo (beer), knedlíky (bread dumplings), Smazeny syr (fried cheese), trdelnik (a pastry consisting of dough rapt around a spindle and slowly roasted). (We had friends in Prague who took us around, can you tell? Also I couldn't pronounce any of these, I just pointed.)
Malta: Rabbit Stew
Amalfi: Lemoncello
Ciao,
J
Sometimes I get the urge to conquer large parts of Europe. However, this sentiment may have been a bit easier to achieve back when men had whole armies at their beck and call. Unfortunately, I do not. But, in this enlightened age, I can do my best by going everywhere I can and eating their local specialties. I've traveled a lot this semester: I've been to 3 countries, seen more than 7 world renowned cities, and tried the local cuisine in each and every one. Here are some of the local tastes I've experienced:
Rome: Pizza, Roman Style (No, the pizza here is different; you have to try it to understand. Yes, this is only the tip of the iceberg of Roman foods I've tried.)
Florence: Ribollita
Sicily: Sicilian Pizza and a kind of shrimp pasta. (We just asked for something traditionally Sicilian)
Venice: Squid ink pasta, Fragolino wine (that's wine made from grapes that have a strawberry flavor. I've tried other 'fragolino's' around Italy, but none are as good)
Prague: Pivo (beer), knedlíky (bread dumplings), Smazeny syr (fried cheese), trdelnik (a pastry consisting of dough rapt around a spindle and slowly roasted). (We had friends in Prague who took us around, can you tell? Also I couldn't pronounce any of these, I just pointed.)
Malta: Rabbit Stew
Amalfi: Lemoncello
Ciao,
J
Friday, May 3, 2013
The Sweetest Meal of the Day: Snacktime
Day 93
No day is complete without a fourth meal composed of gelato, tiramisu, cheese, or some other tidbit. I know I said earlier that I don't snack, and I'm sticking by that. Fourth meal here is not really as snack, its a way of life. Snacking back home is eating something salty 4 times a day because I'm bored and my brain translates that to hungry. Here it is eating something between meals because it is a pleasure. There are no snack foods in my room and I have to go out and find what my fourth meal will be.
I'm not going to go into detail of what my favorite gelato places are or where I've had the best gelato because I've already started writing my semester superlatives and gelato gets its very own section. No point in repeating it here. I will say that during the day I always get fruity gelato flavors and the best places make their flavors fresh everyday from local ingredients: translation delicious.
I'm not much of a coffee drinker because I recognize that I have a personality and body that loves to get addicted to things, and once I start drinking coffee I will not be able to function without it (and if I started with Italian coffee and had to go back home to mass produced school coffee I would fall apart). Tiramisu, however, lets me get that little shot of Italian expresso without risking my becoming a coffee zombie. Yum.
Cheese: the saltier the better. Back home I like cheese...but only if is in some melted form. When I told my friends here that they immediately set about correcting my ways. Now my favorite is a Pecorino Romano I get from the grocery down the road. This is the only snack that I actually can call upon without going out of my way, since I tend to just buy a huge hunk of it at the beginning of every week. Pair it with a good wine and I'm set for an evening.
Ciao
J
No day is complete without a fourth meal composed of gelato, tiramisu, cheese, or some other tidbit. I know I said earlier that I don't snack, and I'm sticking by that. Fourth meal here is not really as snack, its a way of life. Snacking back home is eating something salty 4 times a day because I'm bored and my brain translates that to hungry. Here it is eating something between meals because it is a pleasure. There are no snack foods in my room and I have to go out and find what my fourth meal will be.
I'm not going to go into detail of what my favorite gelato places are or where I've had the best gelato because I've already started writing my semester superlatives and gelato gets its very own section. No point in repeating it here. I will say that during the day I always get fruity gelato flavors and the best places make their flavors fresh everyday from local ingredients: translation delicious.
I'm not much of a coffee drinker because I recognize that I have a personality and body that loves to get addicted to things, and once I start drinking coffee I will not be able to function without it (and if I started with Italian coffee and had to go back home to mass produced school coffee I would fall apart). Tiramisu, however, lets me get that little shot of Italian expresso without risking my becoming a coffee zombie. Yum.
Cheese: the saltier the better. Back home I like cheese...but only if is in some melted form. When I told my friends here that they immediately set about correcting my ways. Now my favorite is a Pecorino Romano I get from the grocery down the road. This is the only snack that I actually can call upon without going out of my way, since I tend to just buy a huge hunk of it at the beginning of every week. Pair it with a good wine and I'm set for an evening.
Ciao
J
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
This is a Marathon Not a Spring (Part 2: Food Edition)
Day 94
Despite my inability to put together travel plans for this weekend, I was able to get out of Rome, if only for the day. Trinity put together "A Day in the Countryside" at €20 a head. Less than half of the students signed up, but everyone who did is part of my friend group, so it was a guaranteed good time even before we knew just what a deal we got.
We met bright and early this morning and walked down the hill to get breakfast at a bar. Once we got on the bus Francesco (one of our directors here and the one who put the day together. I think of him as a mix of a dean of students and social chair) got up and started describing our game plan for the day, and making some outrageous comments along the way. (I think the comments were a result of the cold medicine he was on and which were making him a little loopier than usual).
So we take the bus to Sermoneta in the Alban Hills south of Rome. We had a tour of a castle originally built by the Caetani family (Very interesting history there. Apparently they were the nemesis of the Borgia family. The Borgias is the #1 show on my to watch list when I get back home: they have so much interest in the history here). The castle was very pretty, and the town around it absolutely adorable. However, by the time we left, we were all ready for the lunch we were promised.
Hopping back on the bus we drove for about an hour and then got off at an olive grove. Here is where the day really gets interesting and fits in so nicely with my slew of food posts. So the main advertisement of this trip was the chance to try a kind of artichoke called Carciofi alla Matticella which you can only really get in this one area of all of Italy because of a certain herb it uses. We were told we would get this as lunch along with a few types of grilled meats. Okay, sounds simple enough.
Ha! that meal description was so inaccurate. More students may have signed up if they actually knew what they would really be getting. It went a little something like this:
It started out normal enough: we watched the owners prepare these artichokes and bury them in the grill. Before the artichokes were done though, we were called inside for our first course: a pasta with some kind of creamy and spicy tomato sauce. Not knowing what the full menu was (or at least thinking I knew the menu was small) I ate an extra half plate of pasta. Then we were served grilled chicken and potatoes marinated in rosemary, salt, and pepper. There were two extra plates of potatoes on each table. (I withheld this time, because I was starting to get wary of how much might still be coming). Next came the artichokes (which were appropriately delicious given how much hype they had) served with sausage and bacon. Then an extra artichoke (that Francesco said we were not allow to leave uneaten). The next course was a huge platter of the traditional Roman springtime snack of fava beans and pecorino cheese. (This was definitely my favorite. I'm going out to buy some tomorrow). Finally, when we didn't think we could stuff any more food into our stomachs, we got some sort of cream and pastry and fruit dessert.
So for the final count (keeping in mind we only paid €20 and part of that logically had to go toward the charter bus we were traveling in) we got 6 courses and 9 different kinds of food. Oh, and lets keep in mind that there was unlimited wine, and still and sparkling water.
When we were finally fit to burst, we went and laid outside in the grass. Our respite was not long though, because the professor who had decided to join us for on our day in the countryside had brought their kids along as well, and they wanted to play a game of soccer. I joined in on the girls team (made of all abroad students and one 6 year old), and we were soundly beaten by the prepubescent and middle aged (only 1 student). In our defense though, we were outnumbered almost 2 to 1.
We got on the bus a while later and immediately fell asleep in order to give our poor bodies a moment to focus on digesting the feast we had consumed.
Ciao,
J
Despite my inability to put together travel plans for this weekend, I was able to get out of Rome, if only for the day. Trinity put together "A Day in the Countryside" at €20 a head. Less than half of the students signed up, but everyone who did is part of my friend group, so it was a guaranteed good time even before we knew just what a deal we got.
We met bright and early this morning and walked down the hill to get breakfast at a bar. Once we got on the bus Francesco (one of our directors here and the one who put the day together. I think of him as a mix of a dean of students and social chair) got up and started describing our game plan for the day, and making some outrageous comments along the way. (I think the comments were a result of the cold medicine he was on and which were making him a little loopier than usual).
So we take the bus to Sermoneta in the Alban Hills south of Rome. We had a tour of a castle originally built by the Caetani family (Very interesting history there. Apparently they were the nemesis of the Borgia family. The Borgias is the #1 show on my to watch list when I get back home: they have so much interest in the history here). The castle was very pretty, and the town around it absolutely adorable. However, by the time we left, we were all ready for the lunch we were promised.
Hopping back on the bus we drove for about an hour and then got off at an olive grove. Here is where the day really gets interesting and fits in so nicely with my slew of food posts. So the main advertisement of this trip was the chance to try a kind of artichoke called Carciofi alla Matticella which you can only really get in this one area of all of Italy because of a certain herb it uses. We were told we would get this as lunch along with a few types of grilled meats. Okay, sounds simple enough.
Ha! that meal description was so inaccurate. More students may have signed up if they actually knew what they would really be getting. It went a little something like this:
It started out normal enough: we watched the owners prepare these artichokes and bury them in the grill. Before the artichokes were done though, we were called inside for our first course: a pasta with some kind of creamy and spicy tomato sauce. Not knowing what the full menu was (or at least thinking I knew the menu was small) I ate an extra half plate of pasta. Then we were served grilled chicken and potatoes marinated in rosemary, salt, and pepper. There were two extra plates of potatoes on each table. (I withheld this time, because I was starting to get wary of how much might still be coming). Next came the artichokes (which were appropriately delicious given how much hype they had) served with sausage and bacon. Then an extra artichoke (that Francesco said we were not allow to leave uneaten). The next course was a huge platter of the traditional Roman springtime snack of fava beans and pecorino cheese. (This was definitely my favorite. I'm going out to buy some tomorrow). Finally, when we didn't think we could stuff any more food into our stomachs, we got some sort of cream and pastry and fruit dessert.
So for the final count (keeping in mind we only paid €20 and part of that logically had to go toward the charter bus we were traveling in) we got 6 courses and 9 different kinds of food. Oh, and lets keep in mind that there was unlimited wine, and still and sparkling water.
When we were finally fit to burst, we went and laid outside in the grass. Our respite was not long though, because the professor who had decided to join us for on our day in the countryside had brought their kids along as well, and they wanted to play a game of soccer. I joined in on the girls team (made of all abroad students and one 6 year old), and we were soundly beaten by the prepubescent and middle aged (only 1 student). In our defense though, we were outnumbered almost 2 to 1.
We got on the bus a while later and immediately fell asleep in order to give our poor bodies a moment to focus on digesting the feast we had consumed.
Ciao,
J
Saturday, April 27, 2013
The Most Adventurous Meal of the Day: Dinner
Day 93
My favorite places to eat and what I get there:
Insalata Ricca: Penne all'Arrabbiata (literally, "angry penne"), Avocado Salad, or a white pizza with artichoke plus a bruschetta with a truffle spread for starters.
Volpetti's: A panino with turkey and marinated artichoke with fried vegetables.
Ciao,
J
Dinner is the meal I go out and try to experience Italian food. Trinity gives us three meal coupons a week that can be redeemed for the amount to
€11,20 worth of food at two food markets (Volpetti's and Giacomini's), or a pasta or salad or pizza and a appetizer or dessert with wine, soda, or water at two restaurants (Insalata Ricca and Da Rino's).
So we have three meal coupons a week, but they give us the entire months worth at the end of the previous month. I usually spend them all before the last week of the month and then am left to fend for myself. Oops. But that means I just have to go out and find some new place to eat. I have yet to go somewhere that I didn't enjoy the food, which is usually pizza or pasta.
I usually don't snack during the day so I'm ravenous by dinnertime, which for Italians is late. 830/9 is the Roman dinner time. We usually go around 7/730 and the restaurants are always empty. Sometimes its a little weird, but it also means we don't need to make reservations. Most restaurants (at least the good ones) are small, family owned and run, and are about the size of my room in the convent: tiny. Its great. I love the homey atmosphere, the food, and the waiters/owners.
My favorite places to eat and what I get there:
Insalata Ricca: Penne all'Arrabbiata (literally, "angry penne"), Avocado Salad, or a white pizza with artichoke plus a bruschetta with a truffle spread for starters.
Volpetti's: A panino with turkey and marinated artichoke with fried vegetables.
Carlo Menta: Pizza Margherita (and its only
€3!) and I usually split the Gnocchi Carlo Menta (gnocchi with a tomato sauce with clams and mussels) with someone as well.
Taverna Cestia: Cacio e Pepe (spaghetti in a cheese and pepper sauce).
Ciao,
J
The Most Unexpected Meal of the Day: Lunch
Day 93
Twelve hours after I was delayed from getting on a train because my keys were MIA, I find the bastards on not my first, not my second, but my third reorganization of my closet. (The bed has been stripped and remade twice, and my notes and papers haven't been so organized all semester). Not only a perfectly good day gone, but likely my last Saturday in Rome. (*scowls*)
Anyway, Lunch. Trinity also provides lunch 5 days a week. And by Trinity I mean they pay for it and the nuns make it. And man, can those Sisters cook.
Lunch always consists of a meat (usually chicken, but sometimes pork or Italian lunchmeats), a veggie, pasta, salad, apples and oranges, and nun buns. The tables are set family style for six and the food is always good enough that people are scraping bowls.
When the semester started out, I was a little skeptical about having no real options for lunch (a take it or leave it deal if you will) since I usually stay away from the hot meals at school in preference of making my own salad or sandwich. (I have trust issues with food). How open I was to trying the food (mainly because I'm really hungry by 1 o'clock since 2 mostly hollow rolls will only hold you over for so long), and how much I enjoyed the food was an unexpected surprise.
Hmm... what else can I say about this meal without going overboard. My favorite meals are those with chicken saltimbocca for the meat, greenbeans boiled with garlic for the veggie, and risotto for the pasta. I don't think I've ever had this exact combo, but whenever one of these is on the table, I know I'm going to be asking for seconds.
Ciao,
J
Twelve hours after I was delayed from getting on a train because my keys were MIA, I find the bastards on not my first, not my second, but my third reorganization of my closet. (The bed has been stripped and remade twice, and my notes and papers haven't been so organized all semester). Not only a perfectly good day gone, but likely my last Saturday in Rome. (*scowls*)
Anyway, Lunch. Trinity also provides lunch 5 days a week. And by Trinity I mean they pay for it and the nuns make it. And man, can those Sisters cook.
Lunch always consists of a meat (usually chicken, but sometimes pork or Italian lunchmeats), a veggie, pasta, salad, apples and oranges, and nun buns. The tables are set family style for six and the food is always good enough that people are scraping bowls.
When the semester started out, I was a little skeptical about having no real options for lunch (a take it or leave it deal if you will) since I usually stay away from the hot meals at school in preference of making my own salad or sandwich. (I have trust issues with food). How open I was to trying the food (mainly because I'm really hungry by 1 o'clock since 2 mostly hollow rolls will only hold you over for so long), and how much I enjoyed the food was an unexpected surprise.
Hmm... what else can I say about this meal without going overboard. My favorite meals are those with chicken saltimbocca for the meat, greenbeans boiled with garlic for the veggie, and risotto for the pasta. I don't think I've ever had this exact combo, but whenever one of these is on the table, I know I'm going to be asking for seconds.
Ciao,
J
The Most Important Meal of the Day: Breakfast
Day 93
So I vastly overestimated my abilities with my post last Saturday. Like so may of my other efforts this week, I failed to keep to my post-a-day promise about food.
However, I am now stuck in my room because I managed to loose my keys between the time I opened my room last night and the time I woke up this morning. After stripping my room and putting it back together, my keys have still not surfaced, so I am taking a break by doing all the writing I promised for last week and waiting for divine inspiration. Dear Saint Anthony, please come around, something's lost and needs to be found.
So, back to the subject. Breakfast.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but as a recap anyway: Trinity provides breakfast 5 days a week. It is available between 730 and 9 and then you're on your own.
I have never missed a breakfast. And every Sunday I go to sleep dreaming about waking up for breakfast the next day.
Breakfast is incredibly simple: They have a type of roll the students have affectionately dubbed "nun buns," cereal, coffee, and tea. To mix it up, there is a rotating schedule of eggs, cornetti (the italian croissant), yogurt and fruit. For the cornetti and nun buns there is also a wide selection of jams, spreadable cheese, and, the best, a chocolate hazelnut spread called Nocita. Some students will tell you that Nocita isn't as good as Nutella. They are wrong. It is better.
Every morning I grab my hot water with lemon, 2 nun buns and 4 of packs of this psuedo-Nutella spread. I only use 2 of these with breakfast, but I keep the others to take back to my room. You see, I'm stockpiling them to take home with me because I'm not convinced I can get it back in the States. The first thing anybody says when they come into my room is "Wow, you have quite a collection." They said that a couple of months ago too, but then it was because of the collection of Carnevale masks on my shelf. Now its because of my collection of Nocita. Its is so noticeable that it eclipses the six sparkly, eye catching masks above it. I'm not sure that I can ever go back to anything else for breakfast, though I haven't figure out yet how to preserve a nun bun for more than a day and goodness help me when I run out this summer.
Ciao
J
So I vastly overestimated my abilities with my post last Saturday. Like so may of my other efforts this week, I failed to keep to my post-a-day promise about food.
However, I am now stuck in my room because I managed to loose my keys between the time I opened my room last night and the time I woke up this morning. After stripping my room and putting it back together, my keys have still not surfaced, so I am taking a break by doing all the writing I promised for last week and waiting for divine inspiration. Dear Saint Anthony, please come around, something's lost and needs to be found.
So, back to the subject. Breakfast.
I'm not sure if I've mentioned it before, but as a recap anyway: Trinity provides breakfast 5 days a week. It is available between 730 and 9 and then you're on your own.
I have never missed a breakfast. And every Sunday I go to sleep dreaming about waking up for breakfast the next day.
Breakfast is incredibly simple: They have a type of roll the students have affectionately dubbed "nun buns," cereal, coffee, and tea. To mix it up, there is a rotating schedule of eggs, cornetti (the italian croissant), yogurt and fruit. For the cornetti and nun buns there is also a wide selection of jams, spreadable cheese, and, the best, a chocolate hazelnut spread called Nocita. Some students will tell you that Nocita isn't as good as Nutella. They are wrong. It is better.
Every morning I grab my hot water with lemon, 2 nun buns and 4 of packs of this psuedo-Nutella spread. I only use 2 of these with breakfast, but I keep the others to take back to my room. You see, I'm stockpiling them to take home with me because I'm not convinced I can get it back in the States. The first thing anybody says when they come into my room is "Wow, you have quite a collection." They said that a couple of months ago too, but then it was because of the collection of Carnevale masks on my shelf. Now its because of my collection of Nocita. Its is so noticeable that it eclipses the six sparkly, eye catching masks above it. I'm not sure that I can ever go back to anything else for breakfast, though I haven't figure out yet how to preserve a nun bun for more than a day and goodness help me when I run out this summer.
Ciao
J
Sunday, April 21, 2013
2766 And Still Looking Good
Day 87
Today Rome celebrated its 2766th birthday. Whew, and I thought I was getting old with 21 around the corner.
Do as the Romans do when it comes to celebrating birthdays, 'cuz the party today rocked. I made plans yesterday to go to the free and reduced fare museums in the morning, but when we set out today, we quickly changed our itinerary. We had to walk by the Circus Maximus to get to the museum, and what we saw there stopped us in our tracks.
Gladiators, Centurions, Barbarians, Oh my!
The costume parade that was set to start around noon was already gathering its forces with hundreds of people dressed in various (Ancient) Roman fashions. My first thought was that I wish I had a toga so I could join in the party. My second was if the nuns would mind if I used my bedsheets for the task. I'm not sure how you got to participate, but I want in next year. The only problem will be deciding who I want to be: the vestal virgin or the barbarian Briton.
After watching the assembly for about an hour we headed to the Campidoglio Museum with its reduced ticket price. The Classical marble and bronze statues were the perfect accompaniment to the party going on outside.
When we finally left the museum, we found that the parade that had started in the Circus Maximus was now making a loop around town and passing right in front of the square we were in. I found myself a good perch and watched the procession of Centurion Legions who marched in sync, Barbarian tribes who jumped out at the crowd unexpectedly, and Olympic gods who sauntered on their way as priestesses tossed petals in their path.
A bite for lunch in the Jewish quarter finished up our wanderings before we headed toward the convent, but the festivities didn't end there. Back in the Circus Maximus various ceremonies and contests (some of which I didn't understand) kept going until around dinnertime.
Unfortunately I missed out on some of the other festivities this weekend, including yesterdays Tango Party for Papa Francesco, and today's flash-mob style pillow fight in Trastevere. I can't always hit them all, but I'll take what I can get.
Buon Natale Roma! Keep on going!
Ciao,
J
Today Rome celebrated its 2766th birthday. Whew, and I thought I was getting old with 21 around the corner.
Do as the Romans do when it comes to celebrating birthdays, 'cuz the party today rocked. I made plans yesterday to go to the free and reduced fare museums in the morning, but when we set out today, we quickly changed our itinerary. We had to walk by the Circus Maximus to get to the museum, and what we saw there stopped us in our tracks.
Gladiators, Centurions, Barbarians, Oh my!
The costume parade that was set to start around noon was already gathering its forces with hundreds of people dressed in various (Ancient) Roman fashions. My first thought was that I wish I had a toga so I could join in the party. My second was if the nuns would mind if I used my bedsheets for the task. I'm not sure how you got to participate, but I want in next year. The only problem will be deciding who I want to be: the vestal virgin or the barbarian Briton.
After watching the assembly for about an hour we headed to the Campidoglio Museum with its reduced ticket price. The Classical marble and bronze statues were the perfect accompaniment to the party going on outside.
When we finally left the museum, we found that the parade that had started in the Circus Maximus was now making a loop around town and passing right in front of the square we were in. I found myself a good perch and watched the procession of Centurion Legions who marched in sync, Barbarian tribes who jumped out at the crowd unexpectedly, and Olympic gods who sauntered on their way as priestesses tossed petals in their path.
A bite for lunch in the Jewish quarter finished up our wanderings before we headed toward the convent, but the festivities didn't end there. Back in the Circus Maximus various ceremonies and contests (some of which I didn't understand) kept going until around dinnertime.
Unfortunately I missed out on some of the other festivities this weekend, including yesterdays Tango Party for Papa Francesco, and today's flash-mob style pillow fight in Trastevere. I can't always hit them all, but I'll take what I can get.
Buon Natale Roma! Keep on going!
Ciao,
J
Scenes from an Italian Restaurant
Day 86
As I haven't really written about food yet (at least not in its own right), I haven't included a HUGE part of my experience here. Today, I went to Eataly*, and was finally inspired to get a move on about it. I'm planning this as a five part entry, with an entry a day over the next week, but it may quickly fragment into 10 or more as picking and choosing my favorite foods and places to eat is a nearly impossible task and a work in progress.
I can't remember if I mentioned it somewhere at the beginning of the semester, but I am one of the pickiest eaters ever and in the worst way: I tend to say I don't like things before I've even tried them. At home, if someone said we were getting Italian food I would say great and then order fettucine alfredo no matter what else was on the menu. I like fettucine alfredo, but I've never really tried anything else (plus Italians don't really consider that Italian food. I know, I've asked). That principle pretty much goes for all types of food for me. I've loosened up a little since I left home for college, but not by much. This semester I was determined to try everything and not get stuck in the rut of ordering the same dish over and over again. This task was made easy as all of my friends here love trying to prove they ordered the best dish and therefore insist everyone try a bite.
To hopefully avoid some unnecessary entries and comments later, here is part one, where I will elucidate some quintessential Roman/Italian foods that make me smile.
Carciofi (artichoke) - I have always liked artichokes. Here, I love them. If something on the menu has carciofi in it, I automatically like it.
Blood Oranges - I've mentioned these before. So good. I'm not even sure they should be called oranges. Lately I've taken to juicing them at lunch. Yum.
Tartufo (truffle) - I had never (probably) tried truffle before I got here. Fortunately my friends forced it upon me and now I like it in just about anything: on pizza, in pasta, on bruschetta, you name it.
Olio (olive oil) - I didn't use the olive oil provided at every meal for the first month here. What a mistake! That is a month of good olive oil I will never get back. I use it in excess now. Just ask my little sister, she was appalled. (And I was appalled that she got to go to an olive oil factory and didn't enjoy it!)
Formaggio - Cheese! Add it to any dish or eat it raw. I'm definitely a hard cheese kind of girl when we're just buying it for snacks, but its impossible not to eat all kinds of cheese here. It just is.
Vino - ... Nope not gonna be able to summarize this one. It will need its own entry.
Pizza - Roman pizza is this super thin crust with just a little extra crunch around the edges. I love it. (Though maybe that's because LA doesn't really have a signature style pie). Plus you eat the entire pie by yourself every time and no one gives you a second look.
Pasta - Not to go into it extensively, but its just an art form here. Plus I don't think I'll ever be able to eat pasta that is anything but al dente ever again.
Ciao,
J
*Eataly is a chain restaurant/supermarket (kindof like the lovechild of Whole Foods and Panera) that features typical Italian cuisine and products. There's one in NYC, but not in LA yet.
As I haven't really written about food yet (at least not in its own right), I haven't included a HUGE part of my experience here. Today, I went to Eataly*, and was finally inspired to get a move on about it. I'm planning this as a five part entry, with an entry a day over the next week, but it may quickly fragment into 10 or more as picking and choosing my favorite foods and places to eat is a nearly impossible task and a work in progress.
I can't remember if I mentioned it somewhere at the beginning of the semester, but I am one of the pickiest eaters ever and in the worst way: I tend to say I don't like things before I've even tried them. At home, if someone said we were getting Italian food I would say great and then order fettucine alfredo no matter what else was on the menu. I like fettucine alfredo, but I've never really tried anything else (plus Italians don't really consider that Italian food. I know, I've asked). That principle pretty much goes for all types of food for me. I've loosened up a little since I left home for college, but not by much. This semester I was determined to try everything and not get stuck in the rut of ordering the same dish over and over again. This task was made easy as all of my friends here love trying to prove they ordered the best dish and therefore insist everyone try a bite.
To hopefully avoid some unnecessary entries and comments later, here is part one, where I will elucidate some quintessential Roman/Italian foods that make me smile.Carciofi (artichoke) - I have always liked artichokes. Here, I love them. If something on the menu has carciofi in it, I automatically like it.
Blood Oranges - I've mentioned these before. So good. I'm not even sure they should be called oranges. Lately I've taken to juicing them at lunch. Yum.
Tartufo (truffle) - I had never (probably) tried truffle before I got here. Fortunately my friends forced it upon me and now I like it in just about anything: on pizza, in pasta, on bruschetta, you name it.
Olio (olive oil) - I didn't use the olive oil provided at every meal for the first month here. What a mistake! That is a month of good olive oil I will never get back. I use it in excess now. Just ask my little sister, she was appalled. (And I was appalled that she got to go to an olive oil factory and didn't enjoy it!)
Formaggio - Cheese! Add it to any dish or eat it raw. I'm definitely a hard cheese kind of girl when we're just buying it for snacks, but its impossible not to eat all kinds of cheese here. It just is.
Vino - ... Nope not gonna be able to summarize this one. It will need its own entry.
Pizza - Roman pizza is this super thin crust with just a little extra crunch around the edges. I love it. (Though maybe that's because LA doesn't really have a signature style pie). Plus you eat the entire pie by yourself every time and no one gives you a second look.
Pasta - Not to go into it extensively, but its just an art form here. Plus I don't think I'll ever be able to eat pasta that is anything but al dente ever again.
Ciao,
J
*Eataly is a chain restaurant/supermarket (kindof like the lovechild of Whole Foods and Panera) that features typical Italian cuisine and products. There's one in NYC, but not in LA yet.
Hamilton Homies
Day 85
This week was uneventful in the abroad sense, but stressful in the study part. With barely three weeks left in the semester, I had to started buckling down my work here and had to look toward home with Hamilton's fall class registration period upon me. Fortunately I got into all the classes I wanted with little trouble and have an excellent schedule on top of it. Now all I have to worry about is housing lottery next Sunday (which is actually the most stressful day of any student's college career. A thesis presentation is a cake walk compared to this day.)
To round off my Hamilton featured week, my friend, Jenn, is visiting with her family. After tackling her in a bear hug, I stole her away minutes after she arrived and showed her my favorite places around Rome. I had more freedom than when I showed my sister around because we were on a looser schedule. I also noticed that most of my favorite places revolve around food: "Let's go see the orange grove, we'll have a panino picnic!" "Wanna see the Trevi fountain? There's a great gelato place nearby!" "The Spanish Steps? Lets pick up some awesome tiramisu on the way!"
It was a great day, even if we were both dead on our feet by the end of it. But we hadn't been together for 2 hours (even though we only just started catching up and hadn't even seen that much of the city yet), before we started planning on coming back together. (We're thinking graduation presents to ourselves. Tara Hansen, if you're reading this, be prepared. We're coming for you too.)
Ciao
J
This week was uneventful in the abroad sense, but stressful in the study part. With barely three weeks left in the semester, I had to started buckling down my work here and had to look toward home with Hamilton's fall class registration period upon me. Fortunately I got into all the classes I wanted with little trouble and have an excellent schedule on top of it. Now all I have to worry about is housing lottery next Sunday (which is actually the most stressful day of any student's college career. A thesis presentation is a cake walk compared to this day.)
To round off my Hamilton featured week, my friend, Jenn, is visiting with her family. After tackling her in a bear hug, I stole her away minutes after she arrived and showed her my favorite places around Rome. I had more freedom than when I showed my sister around because we were on a looser schedule. I also noticed that most of my favorite places revolve around food: "Let's go see the orange grove, we'll have a panino picnic!" "Wanna see the Trevi fountain? There's a great gelato place nearby!" "The Spanish Steps? Lets pick up some awesome tiramisu on the way!"
It was a great day, even if we were both dead on our feet by the end of it. But we hadn't been together for 2 hours (even though we only just started catching up and hadn't even seen that much of the city yet), before we started planning on coming back together. (We're thinking graduation presents to ourselves. Tara Hansen, if you're reading this, be prepared. We're coming for you too.)
Ciao
J
Wishing Stones and Messages in a Bottle
Days 79-81
The second long weekend is upon us here at Trinity Rome and I, along with about half of the students here, decided to take this opportunity to explore the Amalfi Coast. That sounds much easier than it actually was. Originally I was supposed to travel with a group of girls as part of a preplanned trip. I signed up with them and happily paid the 180 euro for the trip. When we signed up it sounded like a great deal to me: travel and accommodations all taken care of? Great. A few days later I realized I could organize the trip for significantly less. I convinced another friend to buy out my spot and proceeded to organize a trip for 70 euros.
Though my trip was less extensive than the pre-planned trip was, the girls I traveled with agreed that we were going for the sole purpose of sitting on a beach. And that's exactly what we did. We weren't truly in Amalfi (I actually don't know where exactly we truly were. I think it was Sorrento, but we definitely weren't in the normal part of Sorrento), but we had a lovely little pebble beach and a beautiful mountain backdrop. (I am definitely turning into a beach snob though, because while my friends where oohing and aahing, all I could think was that it wasn't as pretty as Malta's beaches).
I had never been to a pebble beach before and the little stones scattered about were beautiful in their own right. My friend, Hannah, called them wishing stones because most of them had white rings around them. You're supposed to find them on the seashore, then stand by the water's edge, hold it in your hands, close your eyes, make a wish, and throw it as far as you can. Well, this must be the beach of a thousand wishes because there were tons of these stones lying around.
The majority of the weekend was spent uneventfully on sunbeds, but our final night we grabbed the bottle we had emptied of wine the night before and sat down with pens and junk receipts from our wallets and wrote dozens of messages that we stuffed into this wine bottle. Wishes, secrets, lyrics, and bits of nonsense went into this bottle, and this bottle went out to sea after I corked it and threw it as far as I could. I don't know if it made it anywhere, but it wasn't on the beach the next morning either. We're all pretending that someone, someday, will find it and pull out our messages.
Ciao,
J
The second long weekend is upon us here at Trinity Rome and I, along with about half of the students here, decided to take this opportunity to explore the Amalfi Coast. That sounds much easier than it actually was. Originally I was supposed to travel with a group of girls as part of a preplanned trip. I signed up with them and happily paid the 180 euro for the trip. When we signed up it sounded like a great deal to me: travel and accommodations all taken care of? Great. A few days later I realized I could organize the trip for significantly less. I convinced another friend to buy out my spot and proceeded to organize a trip for 70 euros.
Though my trip was less extensive than the pre-planned trip was, the girls I traveled with agreed that we were going for the sole purpose of sitting on a beach. And that's exactly what we did. We weren't truly in Amalfi (I actually don't know where exactly we truly were. I think it was Sorrento, but we definitely weren't in the normal part of Sorrento), but we had a lovely little pebble beach and a beautiful mountain backdrop. (I am definitely turning into a beach snob though, because while my friends where oohing and aahing, all I could think was that it wasn't as pretty as Malta's beaches).
I had never been to a pebble beach before and the little stones scattered about were beautiful in their own right. My friend, Hannah, called them wishing stones because most of them had white rings around them. You're supposed to find them on the seashore, then stand by the water's edge, hold it in your hands, close your eyes, make a wish, and throw it as far as you can. Well, this must be the beach of a thousand wishes because there were tons of these stones lying around.
The majority of the weekend was spent uneventfully on sunbeds, but our final night we grabbed the bottle we had emptied of wine the night before and sat down with pens and junk receipts from our wallets and wrote dozens of messages that we stuffed into this wine bottle. Wishes, secrets, lyrics, and bits of nonsense went into this bottle, and this bottle went out to sea after I corked it and threw it as far as I could. I don't know if it made it anywhere, but it wasn't on the beach the next morning either. We're all pretending that someone, someday, will find it and pull out our messages.
Ciao,
J
Monday, April 15, 2013
A Night At the Opera
Day 78
Tonight, after more confusion than is worth relating, I went off to the opera.
Dressing up is always my favorite part of any endeavor, and this night did not disappoint with a virgin-white dress, green suede heels, a black statement necklace, and harlot-red lipstick. Don't be fooled by the lipstick, I looked as classy as I always do and was fit to impress the octogenarians sitting next to me.
My outfit was just an added benefit to the night thought. The opera was the real draw. Don't ask me why, but I really wanted to go see an opera or ballet while I was here in Rome. I got my wish. One of our program directors here organized an opera night and all I had to do was fork over the cash and show up.
The opera was Samsone e Delila, a story I know well enough from my childhood Bible stories. This rendering, however was definitely way beyond what the Catholic-school version of me could have comprehended. The orchestra was wonderful, the singers were talented, but the performance was different. There is weird. Then there is Weird. Then there is WEIRD. This fit in the third category. So yes, it was quite odd. (Though it should be noted that I have never been to opera before, so I don't know how much of a judge I really should be). It was very modern in its use of technology and very obvious with its euphemisms. Nonetheless, I was enthralled with the production and appreciated the extra 10 euro I coughed up to be in the front row of the balcony.
Ciao,
J
Tonight, after more confusion than is worth relating, I went off to the opera.
Dressing up is always my favorite part of any endeavor, and this night did not disappoint with a virgin-white dress, green suede heels, a black statement necklace, and harlot-red lipstick. Don't be fooled by the lipstick, I looked as classy as I always do and was fit to impress the octogenarians sitting next to me.
My outfit was just an added benefit to the night thought. The opera was the real draw. Don't ask me why, but I really wanted to go see an opera or ballet while I was here in Rome. I got my wish. One of our program directors here organized an opera night and all I had to do was fork over the cash and show up.
The opera was Samsone e Delila, a story I know well enough from my childhood Bible stories. This rendering, however was definitely way beyond what the Catholic-school version of me could have comprehended. The orchestra was wonderful, the singers were talented, but the performance was different. There is weird. Then there is Weird. Then there is WEIRD. This fit in the third category. So yes, it was quite odd. (Though it should be noted that I have never been to opera before, so I don't know how much of a judge I really should be). It was very modern in its use of technology and very obvious with its euphemisms. Nonetheless, I was enthralled with the production and appreciated the extra 10 euro I coughed up to be in the front row of the balcony.
Ciao,
J
Painting on High
Day 76
Tuesdays mean that I must do something with my day because I have far too much free time. Today, that meant a trip to the Vatican Museum, to which all except one of my friends had already seen.
So off Courtney and I go to the Vatican Museum, not entirely sure of where we are supposed to go, but trusting those good old fashioned rust-colored signs to get us there. Soon enough we hit a line that seemed neither too far from, nor too near to the entrance for us to stand in. An hour later we were buying our tickets and riding up the escalator to see those Popes' fantastical art collections.
The sculptures were lovely, of course. (They could have been blank slabs of marble and I would say that, but hey, I'm a Classicist. Produce anything before the 3th century and I would love it. Though the art here really is great. After all, Popes took the time to collect it.) We spent the majority of our time in front of Raphael's School of Athens and below Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Raphael will stubbornly remain my favorite Renaissance painter because his work is just so pretty, though Michelangelo was undeniably a genius. In front of the School of Athens, I gazed from face to face admiring both his rendering of the individual philosophers and the hidden faces of his contemporary artists. I have way too much of an art history background to just glance-and-go this painting. To me, this painting sums up everything I love about art and the Classics, bringing together old and new, comparing one idea with another without dismissing either, and showing the roots of all modern thought. Next it was to the Sistine Chapel. You can see slide upon slide and picture upon picture of this fresco and never understand what it is truly like. I know I have. Courtney and I would have laid down on the floor and looked at the ceiling fresco for hours if we could have. Unfortunately, the mad rush of unappreciative tourists made that impossible and instead we settled for standing with our heads craned upwards for half and hour. No regrets. In photos I dismiss it. In person it is unbelievable, especially when you consider that is it was painted on a ceiling. (How did he even get up there?)
After that we took a quick tour of a gallery of ancient statuary and tried one last time to see the Augustus of Prima Porta (which is currently unavailable for viewing) before calling it quits and grabbing some tiramisu and returning to the convent for lunch. Overall, an excellent morning adventure.
Ciao,
J
Tuesdays mean that I must do something with my day because I have far too much free time. Today, that meant a trip to the Vatican Museum, to which all except one of my friends had already seen.
So off Courtney and I go to the Vatican Museum, not entirely sure of where we are supposed to go, but trusting those good old fashioned rust-colored signs to get us there. Soon enough we hit a line that seemed neither too far from, nor too near to the entrance for us to stand in. An hour later we were buying our tickets and riding up the escalator to see those Popes' fantastical art collections.
The sculptures were lovely, of course. (They could have been blank slabs of marble and I would say that, but hey, I'm a Classicist. Produce anything before the 3th century and I would love it. Though the art here really is great. After all, Popes took the time to collect it.) We spent the majority of our time in front of Raphael's School of Athens and below Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel. Raphael will stubbornly remain my favorite Renaissance painter because his work is just so pretty, though Michelangelo was undeniably a genius. In front of the School of Athens, I gazed from face to face admiring both his rendering of the individual philosophers and the hidden faces of his contemporary artists. I have way too much of an art history background to just glance-and-go this painting. To me, this painting sums up everything I love about art and the Classics, bringing together old and new, comparing one idea with another without dismissing either, and showing the roots of all modern thought. Next it was to the Sistine Chapel. You can see slide upon slide and picture upon picture of this fresco and never understand what it is truly like. I know I have. Courtney and I would have laid down on the floor and looked at the ceiling fresco for hours if we could have. Unfortunately, the mad rush of unappreciative tourists made that impossible and instead we settled for standing with our heads craned upwards for half and hour. No regrets. In photos I dismiss it. In person it is unbelievable, especially when you consider that is it was painted on a ceiling. (How did he even get up there?)
After that we took a quick tour of a gallery of ancient statuary and tried one last time to see the Augustus of Prima Porta (which is currently unavailable for viewing) before calling it quits and grabbing some tiramisu and returning to the convent for lunch. Overall, an excellent morning adventure.
Ciao,
J
Thursday, April 11, 2013
Parks, Picnics, and Daisy Chains
Days 73-74
The remainder of the weekend did not disappoint.
With the promise of beautiful weather Saturday, my friend, Bridget, proposed a trip to the Italian countryside to a town called Orvieto. Bridget has an internship at a gelateria this semester, and the girls she works with say that Orvieto is their favorite place to take a day trip to. I didn't know what might be there, but I agreed to go along for the ride.
An hour train ride later and a tram up a mountain and the five of us who joined in on the adventure were enjoying a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. We walked around for a bit and enjoyed the quaintness of the town before lunch. After we ate, we had an hour to kill before a tour of something Etruscan. To help pass the time, we grabbed a couple bottles of wine and headed to the park right at the edge of the mountain for a picnic. Four bottles of wine later, we no longer cared about the Etruscan underground tour when we were having so much fun above the ground in the park. It was a glorious day and we behaved like silly girls in springtime making daisy chains and braiding them into each others hair.
It was one of the most laid back, yet still fun days I've had this semester. No, I didn't spend hours on end looking at art or soaking up history or culture, but I still spent a beautiful day unlike any before in a new town with a idyllic Italian view.
Today the perfect weather persisted, so I decided to keep on with the park theme. After spending the morning walking around the historic part of Rome running errands (which is so crowded now that it is officially tourist season. Goodness, I couldn't stand it, so I can't imagine how the Italians make it through the day), I grabbed my go to out-door read (hi, Ovid), and went to the Parco Savello (aka the orange grove) next to the convent and spent the afternoon sitting in the sunshine and reading.
A very low-key weekend, but I am no longer upset that I couldn't convince anyone to travel farther with me. Day trips to the country might be the way I spend the rest of my weekends.
Ciao,
J
The remainder of the weekend did not disappoint.
With the promise of beautiful weather Saturday, my friend, Bridget, proposed a trip to the Italian countryside to a town called Orvieto. Bridget has an internship at a gelateria this semester, and the girls she works with say that Orvieto is their favorite place to take a day trip to. I didn't know what might be there, but I agreed to go along for the ride.
An hour train ride later and a tram up a mountain and the five of us who joined in on the adventure were enjoying a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside. We walked around for a bit and enjoyed the quaintness of the town before lunch. After we ate, we had an hour to kill before a tour of something Etruscan. To help pass the time, we grabbed a couple bottles of wine and headed to the park right at the edge of the mountain for a picnic. Four bottles of wine later, we no longer cared about the Etruscan underground tour when we were having so much fun above the ground in the park. It was a glorious day and we behaved like silly girls in springtime making daisy chains and braiding them into each others hair.
It was one of the most laid back, yet still fun days I've had this semester. No, I didn't spend hours on end looking at art or soaking up history or culture, but I still spent a beautiful day unlike any before in a new town with a idyllic Italian view.
Today the perfect weather persisted, so I decided to keep on with the park theme. After spending the morning walking around the historic part of Rome running errands (which is so crowded now that it is officially tourist season. Goodness, I couldn't stand it, so I can't imagine how the Italians make it through the day), I grabbed my go to out-door read (hi, Ovid), and went to the Parco Savello (aka the orange grove) next to the convent and spent the afternoon sitting in the sunshine and reading.
A very low-key weekend, but I am no longer upset that I couldn't convince anyone to travel farther with me. Day trips to the country might be the way I spend the rest of my weekends.
Ciao,
J
Sunday, April 7, 2013
I Want to Ride My Bicycle
Day 72
Despite my best efforts, I am in Rome this weekend. (Apparently all my friends are all traveled out for now because that had very active spring breaks. I told them they should have come to Malta with me.) However, so far it is turning out well.
After lunch today, some girls and I decided to brave the dubious weather and head toward the Spanish Steps. Once there, we remembered that one of our program directors said the best tiramisu she had ever had in Rome was in a shop nearby. So there we headed, and it did not disappoint. That treat alone was worth staying in Rome for the weekend. Yet the day did not end there!
One of the girls had not been to the Piazza del Popolo yet so that was our next stop. Though the square itself is only somewhat interesting, and that mostly from a historical point of view, the church at the back of it has yet another incredible Caravaggio that I hadn't seen before today. Since we were there, we decided to walk up to the neighboring Borghese gardens. After walking around for an hour or so we were at the point of heading home when two things happened that changed our plans: the sun came out and we came upon bikes for rent. How could we say no?
We each hopped on a bike and spent the next hour seeing more of the villa than we could in 3 hours on foot and having way more fun in the process. I've been to the gardens several times before, but this time was undoubtedly the best because of the bikes. The sun has made such a rare appearance in the Roman skies in the last month that it was impossible not to find everything extra beautiful while riding down the avenues.
I've got high hopes for the rest of the weekend now.
Ciao,
J
Despite my best efforts, I am in Rome this weekend. (Apparently all my friends are all traveled out for now because that had very active spring breaks. I told them they should have come to Malta with me.) However, so far it is turning out well.
After lunch today, some girls and I decided to brave the dubious weather and head toward the Spanish Steps. Once there, we remembered that one of our program directors said the best tiramisu she had ever had in Rome was in a shop nearby. So there we headed, and it did not disappoint. That treat alone was worth staying in Rome for the weekend. Yet the day did not end there!
One of the girls had not been to the Piazza del Popolo yet so that was our next stop. Though the square itself is only somewhat interesting, and that mostly from a historical point of view, the church at the back of it has yet another incredible Caravaggio that I hadn't seen before today. Since we were there, we decided to walk up to the neighboring Borghese gardens. After walking around for an hour or so we were at the point of heading home when two things happened that changed our plans: the sun came out and we came upon bikes for rent. How could we say no?
We each hopped on a bike and spent the next hour seeing more of the villa than we could in 3 hours on foot and having way more fun in the process. I've been to the gardens several times before, but this time was undoubtedly the best because of the bikes. The sun has made such a rare appearance in the Roman skies in the last month that it was impossible not to find everything extra beautiful while riding down the avenues.
I've got high hopes for the rest of the weekend now.
Ciao,
J
Sempre Sorelle
Days 67-68
Most of the students here have had the pleasure of having some part of their family come visit them this semester. Today and yesterday, I joined this club with my sister, Tori, coming to Rome as part of her high school's spring break trip.
Though I only got to see her for bits and pieces of these two days, (and to say it was difficult to find each other is putting it lightly), it was great not only to see someone from home, but also to share this city that I love so much.
Now Monday evening came along, and I knew only roughly when she would be arriving in Rome. Rather than risk missing her, I got to her hotel half an hour before she was expected and sat waiting in the lobby, earning more than a few quizzical glances from the bell boys. My hyper-cautions were not in vain though, as I was ready and waiting to grab her the minute she walked in the door. Though we didn't have much time between her arrival and dinner, we managed a quick walk to the Piazza della Republica and Baths of Diocletian/Basilica di S. Maria degli Angeli. I party crashed her program's dinner and made her friends pity that she has such a crazy sister to deal with. After dinnerwe ditched her group's tour, and I gave Tori the express tour with extra history and points of interest between Santa Maria Maggiore and the Spanish Steps where we reconnected with the program. After a quick stop at one of my favorite gelato places we said good-bye for the night with plans to meet again the following afternoon.
Today, I set out from the convent a few minutes late and rushed over to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, where she would be getting off for her afternoon's free time. Though I knew what gate she was supposed to get out of, after I couldn't find her the in the first 10 minutes I was there, I then started moving between the 3 entrances that I knew about trying to find my sister. While this isn't a huge distance, its not small either, and I am out of shape having just come off of spring break where I sat on a beach/pool deck for multiple hours a day. 45 minutes after I thought I was supposed to meet her, I was about to give up and head back home when I spied the two girls who were at our table the night before, and not far behind was Tori. Right before that point I felt so bad that I was late and my little sister was on her own in a strange city, but luckily I had just got the meeting time wrong. Another tour of different parts of the city with another dose of extra history and POI and we were back at her hotel to so she could go off with her group to dinner. However, due to an unfortunate incident of miscommunication, she missed dinner and got to eat with me! I was so excited to take her out to one of restaurants I thought was worth eating at that I had trouble deciding exactly where to go. We just got pizza (but very good pizza in my opinion) and I think Tori was a little shocked that we each got our own and had no trouble eating what we were given (the only way to do it). After that, it was a quick tour of the convent I call home and then back to her hotel for an early curfew.
Unfortunately she got some horrible weather to see the city in, and was not able to see half of what there was, but what she did see I hope she enjoyed, and I hope I made the experience a little bit more special.
Ciao,
J
Most of the students here have had the pleasure of having some part of their family come visit them this semester. Today and yesterday, I joined this club with my sister, Tori, coming to Rome as part of her high school's spring break trip.
Though I only got to see her for bits and pieces of these two days, (and to say it was difficult to find each other is putting it lightly), it was great not only to see someone from home, but also to share this city that I love so much.
Now Monday evening came along, and I knew only roughly when she would be arriving in Rome. Rather than risk missing her, I got to her hotel half an hour before she was expected and sat waiting in the lobby, earning more than a few quizzical glances from the bell boys. My hyper-cautions were not in vain though, as I was ready and waiting to grab her the minute she walked in the door. Though we didn't have much time between her arrival and dinner, we managed a quick walk to the Piazza della Republica and Baths of Diocletian/Basilica di S. Maria degli Angeli. I party crashed her program's dinner and made her friends pity that she has such a crazy sister to deal with. After dinnerwe ditched her group's tour, and I gave Tori the express tour with extra history and points of interest between Santa Maria Maggiore and the Spanish Steps where we reconnected with the program. After a quick stop at one of my favorite gelato places we said good-bye for the night with plans to meet again the following afternoon.
Today, I set out from the convent a few minutes late and rushed over to the Colosseum and Roman Forum, where she would be getting off for her afternoon's free time. Though I knew what gate she was supposed to get out of, after I couldn't find her the in the first 10 minutes I was there, I then started moving between the 3 entrances that I knew about trying to find my sister. While this isn't a huge distance, its not small either, and I am out of shape having just come off of spring break where I sat on a beach/pool deck for multiple hours a day. 45 minutes after I thought I was supposed to meet her, I was about to give up and head back home when I spied the two girls who were at our table the night before, and not far behind was Tori. Right before that point I felt so bad that I was late and my little sister was on her own in a strange city, but luckily I had just got the meeting time wrong. Another tour of different parts of the city with another dose of extra history and POI and we were back at her hotel to so she could go off with her group to dinner. However, due to an unfortunate incident of miscommunication, she missed dinner and got to eat with me! I was so excited to take her out to one of restaurants I thought was worth eating at that I had trouble deciding exactly where to go. We just got pizza (but very good pizza in my opinion) and I think Tori was a little shocked that we each got our own and had no trouble eating what we were given (the only way to do it). After that, it was a quick tour of the convent I call home and then back to her hotel for an early curfew.
Unfortunately she got some horrible weather to see the city in, and was not able to see half of what there was, but what she did see I hope she enjoyed, and I hope I made the experience a little bit more special.
Ciao,
J
Monday, April 1, 2013
The Voice of the Sea
Days 58-66
Spring Break - A Reflection
So my island retreat is over, and while I've only just started talking with other students about their breaks, I really think that I had the best one. I've traveled a lot since I've gotten to Italy, but this is the only trip that I consider a vacation. If was awesome. I would recommend everyone go to Malta. But looking back, there are some things I would do differently:
First my baggage. I usually pride myself on being a economic packer. To say I over packed for this trip is like saying the Sahara is a little dry. I packed for a week on the beach. I should have brought 1 pair of short, 3 shirts and a skirt. Instead I brought 2 pairs of shorts, 3 skirts, and 10 shirts. Oops. Mora, who spent the first 5 days of her break in the arctic circle in Norway before joining me had a smaller bag than me. (She was dog sledding and snow shoeing and chasing northern lights) . She packed for 2 completely different climates and still had less than me. Mad props to her, shame on me.
What I did like about my packing was I opted for the free backpack I got at the Rome Marathon the week before rather than a purse. Between the rocks I was clambering over and the sea air, my cheap one shoulder backpack was perfect because it fit everything I could want for a day and I didn't give a damn how dirty it got. (That's a bit of a lie because it was a plain white backpack when I got it. Some pens and the delusion that I'm artistic changed that part though, and then I didn't care how dirty it got.)
My favorite bits/what I would change: If I knew then what I know now, I would spend the entire week at the Kappara Court in Xlendi Bay on Gozo. While the 4 star hotels were nice, that flat was so comfortable and the area so relaxed it was worth the loss of a bath tub. It was easy to access, and a beautiful backdrop for days when I would have wanted to do nothing. I would have possibly spent a couple days on Malta (as day trips only) to see what was what, but could have been equally comfortable only doing the day I arrived and the day I left in Valletta.
In my imaginary world, sometime in the future after I've become a wildly successful author with the first 3 or 4 books of my 6 part novel published, I will return to Malta to write the 5th or possibly 4th book (or maybe both), and spend the month of April in a flat on Gozo overlooking Xlendi. I would spend my mornings on the balcony writing, make my own lunch in the flat, head to the Azure Window in the afternoon, and return to Xlendi to eat at one of the waterside restaurants for dinner. I would go to Comino when I'm in a rut. Oh, and I would have some sort of scooter or bike to get me around and let me explore more. (And just in case you thought my fantasy is only half-baked and only semi-unrealistic, I would then go and spend the month of May in Venice before returning to my Strand house in California for the summer. This cycle would preferably happen every year.)
Apart from that, I wish I had tried to see the west side of Malta (the Golden Bay area) rather than doing St. Paul's Bay (which I was overall just not impressed with). While seeing the temples were a nice touch, again I could have been happy not seeing them, or to only see one. I think I saw 4 because I felt guilty that most of my friends were off in Spain, France, and Germany seeing museum on museum, culture on culture. Malta has plenty, but I was there for the landscape. I love the water. I grew up by the ocean, and I'm gonna grow old by an ocean. It calls to me, and I always answer. My little sister is currently on a school trip and in an email said she wasn't upset she hadn't seen the beach in Barcelona because "it's just a beach, we see it everyday." I never, ever feel that way. Ever.
So I will end my island adventure with this quote from L.M. Montgomery which sums up how I felt about this trip: "Look at the sea girls - all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds."
Ciao,
J
Spring Break - A Reflection
So my island retreat is over, and while I've only just started talking with other students about their breaks, I really think that I had the best one. I've traveled a lot since I've gotten to Italy, but this is the only trip that I consider a vacation. If was awesome. I would recommend everyone go to Malta. But looking back, there are some things I would do differently:
First my baggage. I usually pride myself on being a economic packer. To say I over packed for this trip is like saying the Sahara is a little dry. I packed for a week on the beach. I should have brought 1 pair of short, 3 shirts and a skirt. Instead I brought 2 pairs of shorts, 3 skirts, and 10 shirts. Oops. Mora, who spent the first 5 days of her break in the arctic circle in Norway before joining me had a smaller bag than me. (She was dog sledding and snow shoeing and chasing northern lights) . She packed for 2 completely different climates and still had less than me. Mad props to her, shame on me.
What I did like about my packing was I opted for the free backpack I got at the Rome Marathon the week before rather than a purse. Between the rocks I was clambering over and the sea air, my cheap one shoulder backpack was perfect because it fit everything I could want for a day and I didn't give a damn how dirty it got. (That's a bit of a lie because it was a plain white backpack when I got it. Some pens and the delusion that I'm artistic changed that part though, and then I didn't care how dirty it got.)
 | |||||
| I started the night before I left with the goal of finishing in 2 days.. | . |
| My new goal is to finish before my trip to the Amalfi Coast |
In my imaginary world, sometime in the future after I've become a wildly successful author with the first 3 or 4 books of my 6 part novel published, I will return to Malta to write the 5th or possibly 4th book (or maybe both), and spend the month of April in a flat on Gozo overlooking Xlendi. I would spend my mornings on the balcony writing, make my own lunch in the flat, head to the Azure Window in the afternoon, and return to Xlendi to eat at one of the waterside restaurants for dinner. I would go to Comino when I'm in a rut. Oh, and I would have some sort of scooter or bike to get me around and let me explore more. (And just in case you thought my fantasy is only half-baked and only semi-unrealistic, I would then go and spend the month of May in Venice before returning to my Strand house in California for the summer. This cycle would preferably happen every year.)
Apart from that, I wish I had tried to see the west side of Malta (the Golden Bay area) rather than doing St. Paul's Bay (which I was overall just not impressed with). While seeing the temples were a nice touch, again I could have been happy not seeing them, or to only see one. I think I saw 4 because I felt guilty that most of my friends were off in Spain, France, and Germany seeing museum on museum, culture on culture. Malta has plenty, but I was there for the landscape. I love the water. I grew up by the ocean, and I'm gonna grow old by an ocean. It calls to me, and I always answer. My little sister is currently on a school trip and in an email said she wasn't upset she hadn't seen the beach in Barcelona because "it's just a beach, we see it everyday." I never, ever feel that way. Ever.
So I will end my island adventure with this quote from L.M. Montgomery which sums up how I felt about this trip: "Look at the sea girls - all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds."
Ciao,
J
A Fragrant Breeze
Days 65-66
Spring Break Part 4
Saturday I said goodbye to my pretty flat and the prettier Xlendi and Gozo and hopped on the ferry back to Malta. All morning I traveled, trying to get from Xlendi in the west of Gozo to Mgarr Harbor in the south, arriving in Cirkewwa on the north-west point of Malta, going to Valletta on the western coast, and then finally getting to Zurrieq in south. (total travel time about 4 1/2 hours)
Once we finally hopped off the bus, I realized that we were nowhere near our destination of the temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra and the next bus didn't come for an hour. Mora and I strapped on our bags (we're carrying all our luggage all day today) and prepared to walk rather than just sit around. Turns out we made a most fortuitous error as the walk was gorgeous. This part of Malta was very like Gozo with its lovely stepped farmland, and the winding road we walked was picturesque with the sea cliffs as its background. About 2 km along our walk we noticed a bunch of stopped cars and decided to check out what all the commotion was. It was Malta's Blue Grotto (a rock formation as equally impressive as the Azure Window on Gozo, if a little less accessible), which was on my to-do list though I was sure it wasn't getting done. I love it when I accidentally stumble upon things like this.
After we were cruelly shot down by the bus that finally showed up, we walked the last kilometer to the temple complex. The temples were cool. I was finally getting bored of rocks though. And my feet hurt. We finally caught a bus and headed to our hotel, ordered some pizzas and watched a movie before tucking in to bed. Though a bit anti-climactic, the walk made the day a success.
We woke up this morning, slightly frantic about the time, because it was the European Daylight Savings Time hour change. From what little we saw of the town the night before, we were unimpressed and decided to scrap anything planned (which wasn't much) and head back to Valletta for an Easter breakfast before Mora had to go to the airport (her flight was a couple hours earlier than mine). We sat at an outdoor cafe and enjoyed hot chocolate that came in every possible flavor and was thicker than pudding, chocolate croissants, and fruit smoothies. We then headed to the Archeological Museum in which we found that everything we had looked at at the temple sites was a copy, and that all the really good stuff was currently on loan in New York. Oh the irony.
After I sent Mora off to the airport, I slipped into the first Church I came to to find that mass had only just begun. (Its good to be a country with over 365 churches. The church density of the island is slightly more than 1 church/sq km. When you consider how much of Malta is farmland, it makes finding a Church really easy.) After the service I decided to just sit by the waterfront and soak up every last bit of vitamin D I could before heading to the airport and going back to Rome. Addiju, Malta!
Addiju to you too,
J
Spring Break Part 4
Saturday I said goodbye to my pretty flat and the prettier Xlendi and Gozo and hopped on the ferry back to Malta. All morning I traveled, trying to get from Xlendi in the west of Gozo to Mgarr Harbor in the south, arriving in Cirkewwa on the north-west point of Malta, going to Valletta on the western coast, and then finally getting to Zurrieq in south. (total travel time about 4 1/2 hours)
Once we finally hopped off the bus, I realized that we were nowhere near our destination of the temples of Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra and the next bus didn't come for an hour. Mora and I strapped on our bags (we're carrying all our luggage all day today) and prepared to walk rather than just sit around. Turns out we made a most fortuitous error as the walk was gorgeous. This part of Malta was very like Gozo with its lovely stepped farmland, and the winding road we walked was picturesque with the sea cliffs as its background. About 2 km along our walk we noticed a bunch of stopped cars and decided to check out what all the commotion was. It was Malta's Blue Grotto (a rock formation as equally impressive as the Azure Window on Gozo, if a little less accessible), which was on my to-do list though I was sure it wasn't getting done. I love it when I accidentally stumble upon things like this.
After we were cruelly shot down by the bus that finally showed up, we walked the last kilometer to the temple complex. The temples were cool. I was finally getting bored of rocks though. And my feet hurt. We finally caught a bus and headed to our hotel, ordered some pizzas and watched a movie before tucking in to bed. Though a bit anti-climactic, the walk made the day a success.
We woke up this morning, slightly frantic about the time, because it was the European Daylight Savings Time hour change. From what little we saw of the town the night before, we were unimpressed and decided to scrap anything planned (which wasn't much) and head back to Valletta for an Easter breakfast before Mora had to go to the airport (her flight was a couple hours earlier than mine). We sat at an outdoor cafe and enjoyed hot chocolate that came in every possible flavor and was thicker than pudding, chocolate croissants, and fruit smoothies. We then headed to the Archeological Museum in which we found that everything we had looked at at the temple sites was a copy, and that all the really good stuff was currently on loan in New York. Oh the irony.
After I sent Mora off to the airport, I slipped into the first Church I came to to find that mass had only just begun. (Its good to be a country with over 365 churches. The church density of the island is slightly more than 1 church/sq km. When you consider how much of Malta is farmland, it makes finding a Church really easy.) After the service I decided to just sit by the waterfront and soak up every last bit of vitamin D I could before heading to the airport and going back to Rome. Addiju, Malta!
Addiju to you too,
J
Breathe the Wild Air
Days 63-64
Spring Break Part 3
Though this happened on Wednesday, I'm including it in this section's post since it took place on Gozo. Just when you thought my day couldn't get any better...
On the bus heading to my hotel, what do you know but our bus is stopped and basically shut down. In front of us is one of the many Passion Week (aka Holy Week) processions. Just like back in middle school how we did live action Way of the Cross, these kinds of processions are taking place all over Malta (and Gozo) all week, and we just happened to roll into the middle of one. (It was the 6th station for those curious. Mary Magdalen had just wiped Jesus' face.)
Now, I know that I left Rome of all places for Holy Week and Easter, but apparently, I chose a good substitute. Religion - of the Catholic variety mainly - has dominated the island ever since 60 AD when St. Paul accidentally ship-wrecked here and converted all the populace from paganism to Christianity. And they've never looked back. I've received pamphlet on pamphlet of events of every kind taking place in every city from Palm Sunday to Easter.
Anyway, this third stop of my break takes place on Malta's second-largest island, Gozo. Gozo has long been associated with Ogygia, Calypso's island in Homer's Odyssey, aka the place that Odysseus sat on a beach crying for seven years while a beautiful nymph tried to seduce him (and he held out until the last night. Right.) The island itself is certainly beautiful enough for me to believe Calypso made her home there, and there is a certain wildness to the air that corroborates it.
I booked what I thought was a hotel in Xlendi (pronounced Shlendi), but turned out to be a fully stocked two bedroom apartment with a breathtaking view of the bay below and the hills across. I spent most of Thursday morning sitting on the balcony reading and writing (and finally caught up on some of my posts here) while I waited to my friend Mora to join me from the main island. Once she got there, we had lunch at one of the many restaurants on the bays boardwalk, then headed off to see the Ġgantija temples. They were huge and impressive. That was the only activity on the books for Thursday though, and when a cloud cover started to roll in in the afternoon, I wasn't interested in finding another. A delicious dinner at an outdoor waterside Italian restaurant finished off the day.
Friday came along and I convinced Mora that she absolutely must see Comino and the Blue Lagoon, so we headed straight for the harbor and were in those turquoise waters by 11 am. (Told you I'd be back.) I was able to get over my fear of jellyfish and once again swam to the opposite side of the lagoon (though I looked much funnier this time as I used my sandals as hand flippers (1) to protect from accidentally brushing a jelly and (2) because I wanted to hike around that small island this time.) After swimming and sunbathing for a few hours we went back to Gozo and caught a bus to Dwerja and Gozo's iconic Azure Window. While the window was cool, perhaps even more interesting were the giant sand-dollars (sand-euros? if their that old are they sand-drachmas?), that were embedded in the stone. Beyond the sand-dollar graveyard their were these giant pools cut out of the rock that looked like they'd be a refreshing place to dip in in the summer months - that is until we noticed a man taking a wizz in one and the idea suddenly became extremely unappealing. Another waterside dinner at a different restaurant rounded off this glorious day. Tomorrow we're heading back to Malta, but I doubt I'll like anything as much as my time here.
Addiju,
J
Spring Break Part 3
Though this happened on Wednesday, I'm including it in this section's post since it took place on Gozo. Just when you thought my day couldn't get any better...
On the bus heading to my hotel, what do you know but our bus is stopped and basically shut down. In front of us is one of the many Passion Week (aka Holy Week) processions. Just like back in middle school how we did live action Way of the Cross, these kinds of processions are taking place all over Malta (and Gozo) all week, and we just happened to roll into the middle of one. (It was the 6th station for those curious. Mary Magdalen had just wiped Jesus' face.)
Now, I know that I left Rome of all places for Holy Week and Easter, but apparently, I chose a good substitute. Religion - of the Catholic variety mainly - has dominated the island ever since 60 AD when St. Paul accidentally ship-wrecked here and converted all the populace from paganism to Christianity. And they've never looked back. I've received pamphlet on pamphlet of events of every kind taking place in every city from Palm Sunday to Easter.
Anyway, this third stop of my break takes place on Malta's second-largest island, Gozo. Gozo has long been associated with Ogygia, Calypso's island in Homer's Odyssey, aka the place that Odysseus sat on a beach crying for seven years while a beautiful nymph tried to seduce him (and he held out until the last night. Right.) The island itself is certainly beautiful enough for me to believe Calypso made her home there, and there is a certain wildness to the air that corroborates it.
I booked what I thought was a hotel in Xlendi (pronounced Shlendi), but turned out to be a fully stocked two bedroom apartment with a breathtaking view of the bay below and the hills across. I spent most of Thursday morning sitting on the balcony reading and writing (and finally caught up on some of my posts here) while I waited to my friend Mora to join me from the main island. Once she got there, we had lunch at one of the many restaurants on the bays boardwalk, then headed off to see the Ġgantija temples. They were huge and impressive. That was the only activity on the books for Thursday though, and when a cloud cover started to roll in in the afternoon, I wasn't interested in finding another. A delicious dinner at an outdoor waterside Italian restaurant finished off the day.
Friday came along and I convinced Mora that she absolutely must see Comino and the Blue Lagoon, so we headed straight for the harbor and were in those turquoise waters by 11 am. (Told you I'd be back.) I was able to get over my fear of jellyfish and once again swam to the opposite side of the lagoon (though I looked much funnier this time as I used my sandals as hand flippers (1) to protect from accidentally brushing a jelly and (2) because I wanted to hike around that small island this time.) After swimming and sunbathing for a few hours we went back to Gozo and caught a bus to Dwerja and Gozo's iconic Azure Window. While the window was cool, perhaps even more interesting were the giant sand-dollars (sand-euros? if their that old are they sand-drachmas?), that were embedded in the stone. Beyond the sand-dollar graveyard their were these giant pools cut out of the rock that looked like they'd be a refreshing place to dip in in the summer months - that is until we noticed a man taking a wizz in one and the idea suddenly became extremely unappealing. Another waterside dinner at a different restaurant rounded off this glorious day. Tomorrow we're heading back to Malta, but I doubt I'll like anything as much as my time here.
Addiju,
J
Thursday, March 28, 2013
Floating in a Turquoise Sea
Day 62
Spring Break Part 2 1/2
Spring Break Part 2 1/2
Though I planned to do my entries by hotel stay, today was so fun it gets its own entry.
I woke up this morning and my first thought was, something is wrong. It turns out that something as actually right:the wind had stopped trying to uproot the palm trees. It looked like it was actually going to be a nice day in St. Paul's today. While one part of me regretted that I would have to leave since it was nice out, the other part of me was already calculating ahead thinking that if it was nice here then it would also probably be nice 13 km north where I was headed. I checked out looking forward to what lay ahead.
Hopping on a bus I traveled through some beautiful country and reached the Cirkewwa Ferry port. Rather than take to ferry to Gozo, where my next hotel is, I found a ferry to Comino's Blue Lagoon. Now I had read about this spot and thought, yeah I should check it out. I'm writing today's entry while I'm here and I'm pretty sure I'll be crossing something off my itinerary and coming back in the next couple days. It is absolutely gorgeous. You know how you see travel adds for certain places and they always show this perfectly clear turquoise water? Some part of me always believed that was photoshopped. Not anymore. Though cold, the water is indescribably gorgeous, and the cold never stopped me before. There was only a small bit of sandy beach, but when I was not in the water, I was perfectly content to sit on a rocky ledge and dangle my feet in the water.
First thing I did after locking down my bag was swim to the opposite side of the lagoon where small deserted beach and a couple of caves beckoned to me. Rather than climb back to the beach, I Decided that jumping off rocks would be fun, and may or may not have ruined my hat with that decision. Its ok, it was worth it and the mouthful of water I swallowed. Swimming back (because I realized I left the keys in the lock on my bag, whoops!) I then proceeded to float wherever the gentle current carried me. Getting out a bit later I found a good crop of rock and did some reading. Bored, but unwilling to go back in the water, I decided to explore what Comino itself was like. Now perhaps is a good time for Comino facts: the smallest inhabited island of Malta's archipelago (size: less than 1.5 sq miles) Comino is completely carless (read: no real roads, only rocky paths), and the only real habitation comes in the form of the islands 1 hotel. The landscape is a bit rockier than Malta's generally is, but that may be a result of it being in a more natural state than Malta. And the colors of the land and plants complemented perfectly the lagoon they overlooked.
The only down side to today was my ignorance of the sea life that lies in these waters, mainly there are jellyfish hanging out in these crystal waters. I wasn't in the water for half an hour before I got stung. 20 years I have swum in the Pacific Ocean and not been stung by one of these devils. 20 minutes in the Mediterrenean and I'm shouting and cursing like a sailor because I brush against one. The irony is that the jellies here are a bright red in the water, while the ones back home are able to hide in the sand churned waves.
Im not letting this get me down though. Today I got the thing I most looked forward to, swiming the in sea, and I put all my souvenirs thus far to good use (sandals, a towel, and a hat). Now I sit once again with my feet in the water, writing and watching the fish, putting off leaving this small bit of paradise till the last possible ferry back.
Addiju,
J
NB: After I finished writing the above, I did finally get on the ferry back, and that ferry ride includes a brief tour of the caves that the water has carved out of the rocks on Comino. In these sheltered caves it became painfully obvious that jellyfish not only can be found in the waters of this area, but in fact are numerous here. My research was not exactly thorough, but you'd think tht someone on tripadvisor would have mentioned this detail. Oops. Wish we had done the caves on the way there instead.
Give Me Books, Fine Weather, and a Little Music
Days 60-61
Spring Break Part 2
Spring Break Part 2
Today I packed up and said goodbye to Valletta and Sliema. After a slight mishap in which I had to return to the hotel because I forgot my water bottle (I honestly don't think I could function without it, so it really was necessary that I backtrack and pick it up) I took a lovely coastline bus ride to St. Paul's Bay and checked in to the Dolmen Resort and Spa.
This leg of my break was designated as my do nothing time. The title of this post is all I wanted for these two days. I had no plans to leave the hotel unless it was to find food because I was tired of the hotel's restaurants.
I got the books and I got the music, but the weather was a bit questionable. While it was beautifully sunny, the gale force winds put a bit of a damper on any enjoyable time I might have spend outside. In fact, the first night, the wind was so loud against the wall of windows of my room, that I was sure I wasn't getting to sleep. However, a hot bath and a good meal did wonders to make me forget it.
Though the wind died down a bit the next day, it was still enough to keep me it of the water. Fortunately, this day was my spa day, and I only wanted to spend a little time outside after my hour and half massage. A light stroll around the area in the evening, and I was back on my terrace with my books for a lovely sunset.
So not much to report on this leg of the trip. Summed up it comes out to wind, books, music, sea view balcony, massage, sun.
In other news though: I had a well duh moment when I was trying to find a outlet to charge my iPad. Both here at the Dolman, and in Sliema at the Preluna, the outlets were across the rooms and in no way could you have anything electronic near the bed. Suddenly I realized that this only applied to European outlets, and than malta seems to be on some other current (the British one maybe? Those damn Brits, making things so difficult for all the rest of the world. They were here during Malta's formative modern era so messed all kinds of things up. They drive on the wrong side of the road here too.)
Addiju,
J
Live in the Sunshine
Days 58-59
Spring Break Part 1
Merħba! That's 'hello' in Maltese, one of the official languages of Malta (the other is English), where I am spending the next week.
What's Malta?
Look at a map of the Mediterranean. You see Sicily? Look maybe a centimeter south of it (93 km) and there's the archipelago that makes up the Republic of Malta. You might want to break out a magnifying glass. Malta consists of three main islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino, along with a bunch of other tiny ones. Ill be hitting up all three over the next week. But to start, the island of Malta. This island is the main island of the trio. It's about (122 sq km. That is less than one fourth the size of LA). It's got less than half a million inhabitants but receives over 1 million tourists during the summer months. It averages 300 days of sun a year, and the water temperature can reach the high 20s (Celsius that is).
So you're there for the weather?
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't, but there is a lot more to Malta than that. Just about every western (and some non-western) civilization that has had any mention in the history books has had an influence on Malta, especially those who hold a special place in their hearts for the sea. It's got some of the oldest temples ever (think Greek), the only Semitic language in the Latin alphabet, beautiful Baroque architecture, and forts from the world wars.
Anyway, these first two days of my holiday I spent at the Preluna hotel (which is lovely) in Sliema and is right next door to my real destination of Valletta, Malta's capital city. I just wandered around the first day, not doing much of anything but seeing what I could see. My walks took me to Fort S.t Elmo, the Siege Bell memorial, the Lower Barrakka Gardens, not to mention the promenade along Valletta's Grand Harbor, some rocky tide pools in front of my hotel, and all the major squares and streets in Valletta.
On Sunday, I started out at church like the good Catholic girl that I am, then proceeded to some pagan temples, like the good Classicist that I am. The temples at Tarxien (about 15 minutes outside of Valletta) were surprising in their location (right in the middle of everything! I'm used to these digs have very clear boundaries that you see a mile away. But you could walk right by these and never know they're there.) Going back to Valletta and having a quick lunch, I decided to start hitting up museums and the like. Starting out at the War Museum, I learned about Malta's involvement in the two World Wars (hint: it was very involved). I also found this which I now absolutely must find for myself.
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| Nerding Out: EMT style |
Then it was to the Palace State Rooms and the Palace Armory Museum. Very interesting, though much more so to Allen, who is traveling with me for now (you remember him from Sicily, right?). He was like a kid in a candy store at both the War Museum and the Armory. We then found our way to Valletta's signature dome, which, we discovered is not a circular dome, but an ovular one (a first for me I think).
After dinner each night I returned to my room and took an hour long bath, which is such a luxury but so relaxing that I don't know what I'm going to do if my next hotel doesn't have a bath as well. You can hear the waves crashing from my room, which is one of my favorite things to fall asleep to.
The weather was all sun these two days. It really was a spectacular start to my vacation.
Addiju,
J
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