This one begins on a Wednesday night; James, Lindsay and I head out to the airport for our flight to Brussels. First experience with RyanAir and asides from the mad dash to get on the plane(no assigned seats), everything went quite smoothly. We landed and took a bus to one of the train stations where we had to walk another 20 minutes to get to the central train station, and then another train ride to get to where the Eurolines bus would pick us up. We met this nice man (28 though he looked 21) who was working in Brussels, but was born and raised in Mexico, studied in Canada for two years where he met his girlfriend who he then went to Spain to live with. He was an interesting fellow and pointed us in the right direction, since otherwise we wouldn’t have a clue where to go. We stopped for a bit to eat, Falafel and fries, than made our way to the Central station. After sleeping in the Central train station for a couple hours we headed for the north station where Lindsay and James napped for about an hour more. The bus ride was packed, slept most of the nearly 4 hour ride, and was dropped off about 10 minutes outside of the center of Amsterdam.
Then we were there. And it was love at first sight. Everything about the city was enamoring to me; from the efficiency and appealing look of the tram system, to the picturesque buildings to the beautiful parks that dotted the city. We had a bit of trouble finding our hotel and once we found it and got in it began to hail. We took that time to relax a bit from all the traveling. Once things cleared up we set out for a nice walk through the city. Cold and cloudy, but nothing could ruin my sparkling image of this Disney-esque place. Later in the evening we met up with Zach (from Villa Park) and Megan (Lindsay’s roommate) who had just arrived from there flight and went out for a night on the town.
The next morning began at a decent hour; we got our complementary breakfast and set out to the center of the city. After a bit of exploring we found ourselves at the Van Gogh museum. What an amazing man he was. Crazy no doubt, but an artistic genius, especially considering he didn’t want to be a painter until the latter portion of his life. He only spent about 10 years painting but managed to make 900 paintings, 1100 drawings and write about 500 letters. The museum curator set up the exhibitions in chronological order (I don’t know if that’s the norm, but it was my first visit to a museum dedicated to a specific artist). Ingenious and remarkable. It’s quite a shame VG had such powerful mental troubles, but the same illness that eventually caused him to commit suicide might have been the fuel for his passionate works of art. Later that evening we moseyed on over to the Red Light District. A place unlike any other. Beautiful women in all the windows, drug dealers swarming the streets, sex shows in every building. How is this place legal? I could never imagine such a place flourishing anywhere back home, but day in and day out this place is packed with people and is kept in check, at least on the outside, quite well. The rest of the night was spent walking around Leidsplein and eating the MOST delicious treats from Rene’s Bakery. Strawberry doughnuts, vanilla cream filled croissants, some random Dutch treat that I could never pronounce. Heavenly.
Saturday was spent meandering through the parks of Amsterdam. Vondelpark is a gorgeous, spacious park where locals run and ride their bikes, dogs enjoy rolling around in the wet grass, and tourists like us can just admire the low-laying clouds hovering over the pristine environment. We stumbled upon a film museum which was showing home videos from across the world. A Japanese foreign film was being shown at the time we came in, but certain complications kept us from being able to enter the theater. I also tried to imagine how much of the movie I’d understand as it was in Japanese with Dutch subtitles. Dinner was a struggle, as every meal is due to the enormous variety of food. From Mexican to Argentinean to Indonesian to Chinese and American and Pancakes and Kebabs and oh the choices. We settled on Chinese and feasted on a sampler platter of 5 of the most popular dishes. Some more exploring was done after the meal and the night ended at a somewhat early hour as Zach had to get up at 4 something in the morning.
A sad Sunday as I had to say goodbye to what had become my favorite place thus far. The ride back to the airport was another long yet bearable journey. Then an interesting and confusing event occurred at the airport. I was getting some shut eye waiting for the boarding call with my headphones on when I heard a large group of French people gathering at the gate. Now, we have all heard the jokes about the French being rude and the like but those were just words to me. Until this kind gentleman woke me up from my slumber (headphones on and all) and began repeating the word “Baptist”(now, figuring he was speaking French, as I fond out soon into the conversation he knew no English, I had no clue what this Baptist word meant, imagine the French accent and everything). This turned into a 5 minute discussion of me saying No, I don’t know what you’re saying and him repeating Baptist(maybe 50 times). By this point, all his little cronies where surrounding the 3 of us (James Lindsay and I) and laughing to themselves all the while not explaining what the hell was going on. Finally a nice girl sitting next to us spoke some English and asked us about what we were doing in Brussels and so on. She was warned by her friends not to say anything to us, but she was still thoughtful enough to engage us in conversation to divert attention from the asshole that had been badgering us. Now, does this make the stereotypes true of the French, of course not, its one isolated incident that could have been instigated by anyone, but does it help their cause. No.
Either way, this week has been a pleasant one, I have been feeling a lot better and been going out a little more. I just came back from Perugia today, where they hold the annual EuroChocolate Festival. Absolutely delicious. Fantastic idea though it required 6 hours of train rides for only about 2 or so hours of adventuring there. Well Worth it. Its now about 1:30 in the morning of Friday and I’m waiting for 3 to roll around so I can head out on my journey to Venice and Florence. Train ride up to Venice. All day Friday including the night, Saturday morning we are renting a car again and driving down to Florence for the day and night, then making a longer pit stop at the Ferrari Factory to actually look around, then make it home safely again and hopefully without going through the 30 kilometers an hour speed zones.
As always I hope everyone is doing well and midterms came back satisfactory. I’m a bit sad I wont be able to dress up in another ridiculous costume for Halloween this year.
Until next time
Ciao famiglia
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Tarquinia Legend
So its midterm week, meaning the half-way mark of this Italian adventure. I have two midterms tomorrow morning; Italian and Intro to Music. Neither of the two figure to be terribly difficult and things have been going pretty well in both classes so I am not anticipating too much trouble. After the exams I have a few hours to get ready and then I head off to
It’s been about a week since I returned from Oktoberfest and my body has yet to fully recover, in fact each day brings a new symptom and lessens the effects of the previous one. I’m still managing to get decent night’s sleep so at this point it hasn’t gotten too out of hand.
Last Friday the API group had a day trip planned to Tarquinia. It’s a quiet town about an hour outside of
Saturday began some time around
The concert was held in one of the bigger Piazzas that I’ve seen. I’d have to estimate that nearly 10,000 people flooded this area. We managed to shimmy our way to about the tenth row of the standing room only crowd. When John finished, The Cure came on. Now, I guess I’ve heard some of their music, but apparently all the Italians that were there came to see The Cure, and didn’t take too well to John’s performance. Once John was finished we escape the madness before getting trampled by the drunken, raucous crowd. Oh, it was a free concert, too.
Lindsay’s Birthday today. Happy Birthday to her! Her parents are here and will be cooking dinner for her, along with the roomies and I. Her parents actually also treated me to dinner before my fast for Yom Kippur. A Thank you to them.
Weather has been great here recently; hope the weather back home has been lovely as well.
Ciao Regazzi
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Oktoberfest, and all the rest
Wow, what a ridiculous weekend. One of the longest, most unpredictable weekends that I have ever experienced. It was amazing, it was mind blowing, it nearly sucked every bit of life out of me. As usual we will start in the beginning, with day one of this adventurous journey.
Thursday. By
Now, since Lindsay wasn’t arriving until tomorrow, we did not have any sleeping arrangements, but had been assured the train station provided housing for hundreds of people on a daily basis. We heeded the advice and roamed around looking for a place to sleep. The prime spots were all taken, so we ended up finding a spot near the lockers we had initially put our bags. The floor was a little dirty, so to combat this obstacle, James found 3 pieces of cardboard and one big sheet of bubble wrap. And yes, those were our beds for the night. And what a terrible night sleep it turned out to be. Constantly waking up from the raucous of the opening and slamming of lockers, and sketchy people walking around giving us suspicious looks. Not to mention the guy who peed about 5 feet from where James was sleeping. Yes, our dignity had taken a massive blow, but it didn’t stop their. At
Friday –
After waking up and finding the rest of the gang, including Lindsay, Megan and her friend Allison who is studying in London, we finally headed back to our hotel room for what we hoped was a good nights sleep. But with nine of us in this tiny hotel room and a broken window allowing the near freezing temperatures to join us in our slumber along with rock solid carpet, we managed to yet again sleep poorly and painfully. Next morning was early to rise as we wanted to make the grounds by
Success was found after about 45 minutes or so of pondering with a German man who let us sit at his reserved table for a few minutes while we ordered our beverages. Then we decided to wander around the walkways on the outside of the tables and look for any friendly faces that would let us join their party. Took only a few moments until we saw the Phillies Jersey, along with the Sean John T-shirt, and we knew we had found a piece of home. We kindly asked to join them and the three of them, along with about 10 military guys who are stationed in the North of Italy. We conversed with them for quite a while, grabbed a few more beers, sang along with the music of the band and walked around mingling with whomever. Sometime into the day, I met Flo Simon, a Swiss of twenty something years of age, and a connoisseur of everything
By the time we had gotten back to the hotel, we had no clue where anyone was and couldn’t get a hold of anyone either as we didn’t have phones. We figured we’d be the only ones back but to our surprise Lindsay and Megan had made their way home as well, and Henry, who had disappeared to hang out with some buddies that asked him to their table a while back in the tent, was also in the room, but only physically as he appeared to be in a world of his own for the remainder of the night. By the end of the night everyone had made it back safely and rest for day 3 was next on the to-do list.
We went to Haufbrau, arriving around 730 in the morning with a short line of a hundred or so people already waiting. The doors opened at 9 and the mad scramble ensued. This time we finally managed to come up on a bench to sit at, success never felt so good. We happened to be sitting with a massive group of Kiwi’s from
I don’t know if I summed it up the best way I could, the weekend was a bit hazy for much of it, and sleep-deprivation definitely hindered the memory. All-in-all in was a wild, glorious adventure of a lifetime and I would recommend it to anyone who has any chance to try it.
Im feeling a bit sick today, Tuesday, and I’ll be taking this week pretty easy. Tarquinia group trip on Friday which includes a nice bike ride through the country side. And I was just informed that John Legend will be performing for free somewhere in
Midterms next week. Not that
Hope all is well for everyone at school. Absence does really make the heart grow fonder, I am missing you all.
Upset the Angels lost, Go Tampa Bay??
Ciao regazzi
Monday, September 29, 2008
Rejuvenating
So its been a while since the last update. Not all too much has been going on besides the basic school stuff, finished my first painting, took another Italian test, went to a national library/museum with my music class, and kicked it with my Organizational Behavior teacher since apparently teaching is secondary on his priorities as a teacher (which by the way I have no problem with, especially since he talks with us about real world shit anyways and I presume it to be more valuable then regurgitating facts and figures Ill forget to remember after the test).
My first painting was a still life, I have class today and hopefully Ill remember to take a picture of it so I can post it for you all to see. Its a decent piece of work, for my first piece of artist work, ever, I like what I did. The library we checked out was actually really nice and contained original works from people like John Locke, Galileo, and my boy Einstein. We focused on the first written pieces of music from the Medieval era which was still rather interesting.
This weekend I went camping with a couple of friends from the program, some familiar names for those who have kept up, Tracy and James, along with Mike Moore who I happen to enjoy the company of a lot more then I think Id enjoy the company of another Mike Moore we might know....We set out to a lake about an hour north of Rome. Our campground consisted of a nice little motorhome-ish type of deal. 2 bed rooms a kitchen, a dining room and 2 bathrooms. Pretty well kept. It also came with about 7 cats that were clearly malnourished, one mother and the rest recently born little kittens. We bought them some food and on Saturday we sat for about 2 hours and watched the play on the lawn in front of us, just wrestling with each other and just having a damn good time. We had a damn good time watching them, too.
As for our other adventures, we signed up for this gig knowing it was slow season at the campground. but to our astonishment, slow season actually meant no one is fucking here including the people who run restaurants and other basic shit near the campground. So everything we did had to be down in the city above the camp site. Now, the walk to the main city is only a 15 or so minute walk, but on our way back from shopping on friday afternoon
, we managed to find a detour that took over an hour of walking, aimlessly. Now, it wasnt all in vain. Along one of the roads we couldnt find on the map, or at least, couldnt understand which way it was going, we ran into Jerry. Jerry was an old, creepy looking man taking some stuff out of his beat up car on the side of the road. In his car was your typical black rain boots, black gloves, a gallon of gasoline and some extra pairs of shoes all in the truck, as he removes giant planks of wood from his car. Now, mother always said, dont talk to stranger, but daddy always said, if there is a random man on the side of the road, and you dont want to wander for another 2 hours with 2 bags of groceries in your hands ask the man for help. My dad is a pretty cool guy, so I did just that. After coming to the understanding we wouldnt understand each other(language barrier) He finally signaled for me and the rest of us to get in his car and he will take us where he thinks we need to go. After only seconds of loosely constructed debate amongst my fellow campers, we decided to hop on for the ride. We made some nice conversation with him, and he drove us a few minutes down the windy road and right to our campground. We offered a tip for his services but he refused.
The rest of the day was uneventful, until the evening when we ventured out to get some dinner and enjoy some alcohol. It was a cold dark night, and the entire strip along the lakeside was abandoned, one or two places open with a bunch of teens at one bar, but it didnt serve food and they told us we would have to go up to the city for dinner. So, with one flashlight, we braved up the dark road to the city. You may think 15 minutes is nothing to walk, but with no street lights on an empty street in a city you've never been to it was one of the more frightening experiences of our lives. We made it, but I swear that on the way up, I heard a soft voice say, "hello" while we were on the climb up the hill. No one else heard it, or believed me, but it messed with my mind for a while afterwards.
The rest of the weekend went by rather smoothly, nothing else really went down, but on Sunday, since we came home a night early due to the lack of entertainment, all the museums in Rome were free for this holiday. So the roommate and I went to the National Roman Museum, a 4 story building full of artwork, sculptures, busts, coin collections and other random artifacts collected over the history of Rome. Afterwards, a few of us were craving some football, and nachos. So we went to an Irish pub, Scholars, watched the jacksonville v houston game (One of my roommates is from Texas so it was a nice rivalry game. We ordered loaded nachos, six of them, one for each of us. Piled high with bacon, cheese, red and yellow peppers, jalapenos, beans and sides of salsa and guacamole. I know, very italian, but I'm allowed to reward myself for a month of pasta and pizza with an occasional treat from back home.
Now for the insane experience that occurred to me yesterday while coming back from class and right before Rosh Hashanah services (which by the way, took place in this gorgeous Temple, the only one a Pope has ever prayed in and the biggest one I have ever seen. It was orthodox, which made things a little difficult to follow, but nevertheless a nice experience to have done.).
I was going to unlock my door, disturbed by a crowd of students who were filming a movie and had been all day on the street. I decided to stand and watch for a minute. Thats when Gregorio came up to me and asked me if i would like to be in a movie. I immediately accepted and he went and got me a jacket to match the outfits of the other kids, dressed in plaid scarves and hoodies. He told me I would be running with the group away from a few cops that were chasing us and we would be running by this girl laying on the ground bleeding, and I was to bump her with my shoulder if she tried standing up as I passed by. They shot the scene a couple times before I decided I should ask what all this is about. This stunning Italian girl was standing next to me, and I began some conversation, random questions, until I asked her what we were filming. She informed me that it was a short film about the 2001 Peace Protests for Palestine. The irony sent a tickle up my spine, but a pleasant one. After I realized I was going to be late to the service, I informed them I would have to go, but Gregorio asked for my number and told me he would call me back if they need me for filming at their university on Thursday. I hope he calls.
Otherwise, thats been the gist of the last few days. Once again apologies for the late post, Johnny, its nice to know that you have been following along so intently.
Hope school is going well for everyone.
Happy New Year
Thursday = Oktoberfest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My first painting was a still life, I have class today and hopefully Ill remember to take a picture of it so I can post it for you all to see. Its a decent piece of work, for my first piece of artist work, ever, I like what I did. The library we checked out was actually really nice and contained original works from people like John Locke, Galileo, and my boy Einstein. We focused on the first written pieces of music from the Medieval era which was still rather interesting.
This weekend I went camping with a couple of friends from the program, some familiar names for those who have kept up, Tracy and James, along with Mike Moore who I happen to enjoy the company of a lot more then I think Id enjoy the company of another Mike Moore we might know....We set out to a lake about an hour north of Rome. Our campground consisted of a nice little motorhome-ish type of deal. 2 bed rooms a kitchen, a dining room and 2 bathrooms. Pretty well kept. It also came with about 7 cats that were clearly malnourished, one mother and the rest recently born little kittens. We bought them some food and on Saturday we sat for about 2 hours and watched the play on the lawn in front of us, just wrestling with each other and just having a damn good time. We had a damn good time watching them, too.
As for our other adventures, we signed up for this gig knowing it was slow season at the campground. but to our astonishment, slow season actually meant no one is fucking here including the people who run restaurants and other basic shit near the campground. So everything we did had to be down in the city above the camp site. Now, the walk to the main city is only a 15 or so minute walk, but on our way back from shopping on friday afternoon
, we managed to find a detour that took over an hour of walking, aimlessly. Now, it wasnt all in vain. Along one of the roads we couldnt find on the map, or at least, couldnt understand which way it was going, we ran into Jerry. Jerry was an old, creepy looking man taking some stuff out of his beat up car on the side of the road. In his car was your typical black rain boots, black gloves, a gallon of gasoline and some extra pairs of shoes all in the truck, as he removes giant planks of wood from his car. Now, mother always said, dont talk to stranger, but daddy always said, if there is a random man on the side of the road, and you dont want to wander for another 2 hours with 2 bags of groceries in your hands ask the man for help. My dad is a pretty cool guy, so I did just that. After coming to the understanding we wouldnt understand each other(language barrier) He finally signaled for me and the rest of us to get in his car and he will take us where he thinks we need to go. After only seconds of loosely constructed debate amongst my fellow campers, we decided to hop on for the ride. We made some nice conversation with him, and he drove us a few minutes down the windy road and right to our campground. We offered a tip for his services but he refused.
The rest of the day was uneventful, until the evening when we ventured out to get some dinner and enjoy some alcohol. It was a cold dark night, and the entire strip along the lakeside was abandoned, one or two places open with a bunch of teens at one bar, but it didnt serve food and they told us we would have to go up to the city for dinner. So, with one flashlight, we braved up the dark road to the city. You may think 15 minutes is nothing to walk, but with no street lights on an empty street in a city you've never been to it was one of the more frightening experiences of our lives. We made it, but I swear that on the way up, I heard a soft voice say, "hello" while we were on the climb up the hill. No one else heard it, or believed me, but it messed with my mind for a while afterwards.
The rest of the weekend went by rather smoothly, nothing else really went down, but on Sunday, since we came home a night early due to the lack of entertainment, all the museums in Rome were free for this holiday. So the roommate and I went to the National Roman Museum, a 4 story building full of artwork, sculptures, busts, coin collections and other random artifacts collected over the history of Rome. Afterwards, a few of us were craving some football, and nachos. So we went to an Irish pub, Scholars, watched the jacksonville v houston game (One of my roommates is from Texas so it was a nice rivalry game. We ordered loaded nachos, six of them, one for each of us. Piled high with bacon, cheese, red and yellow peppers, jalapenos, beans and sides of salsa and guacamole. I know, very italian, but I'm allowed to reward myself for a month of pasta and pizza with an occasional treat from back home.
Now for the insane experience that occurred to me yesterday while coming back from class and right before Rosh Hashanah services (which by the way, took place in this gorgeous Temple, the only one a Pope has ever prayed in and the biggest one I have ever seen. It was orthodox, which made things a little difficult to follow, but nevertheless a nice experience to have done.).
I was going to unlock my door, disturbed by a crowd of students who were filming a movie and had been all day on the street. I decided to stand and watch for a minute. Thats when Gregorio came up to me and asked me if i would like to be in a movie. I immediately accepted and he went and got me a jacket to match the outfits of the other kids, dressed in plaid scarves and hoodies. He told me I would be running with the group away from a few cops that were chasing us and we would be running by this girl laying on the ground bleeding, and I was to bump her with my shoulder if she tried standing up as I passed by. They shot the scene a couple times before I decided I should ask what all this is about. This stunning Italian girl was standing next to me, and I began some conversation, random questions, until I asked her what we were filming. She informed me that it was a short film about the 2001 Peace Protests for Palestine. The irony sent a tickle up my spine, but a pleasant one. After I realized I was going to be late to the service, I informed them I would have to go, but Gregorio asked for my number and told me he would call me back if they need me for filming at their university on Thursday. I hope he calls.
Otherwise, thats been the gist of the last few days. Once again apologies for the late post, Johnny, its nice to know that you have been following along so intently.
Hope school is going well for everyone.
Happy New Year
Thursday = Oktoberfest!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, September 19, 2008
AS Roma
So Tuesday night, about 20 of us from the API group went out to watch one of the soccer clubs from Rome play in a Champions League qualifying game against some Romanian counterpart. It was suppose to be an easy victory for the Roma squad, but either way we just wanted to watch some quality European Futbol. We all drank quite a bit before the game, then waited for a bus to take us from near our homes about 20 minutes to the outskirts of Rome where Stadio Olimpico resides. It was a mad rush to get in the stadium, and unbeknown to us, we could only enter at the gate which corresponded to our seats. After some confusion we finally found the right place, but my troubles were only beginning. After scanning my ticket I started walking towards the massive, metal turnstile that lets you in. I looked back to make sure the rest of my party had gotten past the ticket booth and as my head turned back to face the entrance, the metal bar smashed into my face with my nose taking a majority of the punishment. It skid off my nose and scratched my glasses right down the center of the lens. It took a few minutes of shaking off the daze that ensued before I even realized my glasses had been wounded. I could still see out of them but I constantly felt like a large piece of hair was dangling from my head and blocking my vision.
Side story - I set out on Thursday to get my glasses fixed. The first placed I stumbled upon told me they could only do the replacement of the lens by replacing both, at what he claimed was a fair price of 160 Euro. Now, I dont know how much that would normally cost back home, but the fact that him and his colleague spoke Italian to eachother before informing me how much it would cost led me to believe I wasnt getting the best deal out there. I told them Id consider and return, and thats when I headed off to the next place. This one was much more friendly, even made jokes about how silly I was for running into a metal bar. They kindly let me knwo they would only have to replace the broken lens, as well as give me a discount from the original price of 100 euro per lens (which might be a rip off on its own) of 30%. I was happy with 70. I just wanted to get it done. Then they said my final price would be 60 Euro. Though confused about the poor mathematics involved in this deal, I realized Italy isnt full of great finds when it comes to prices, so I immediately accepted. Ill be wearing contacts until Sunday when they will be ready for me.
back to the game. We all had seats spread out widely among one section, the corner section of the stadium. But after a couple minutes of deliberation, and realization that no one was occupying the first 15 rows, we all took advantage and made the first few rows our home. The stadium itself can seat about 80,000, but I dont think the attendance surpassed 20,000. Fortunately the great majority of the 20,000 were sitting in the sections adjacent to us. The entire game they were singing and chanting in harmony, it was brilliant and beautiful. I wish more American sports had that kind of passion. Ive seen college games with a lot of enthusiasm but professional sports dont come close to the style of fanaticism European soccer provides. We scored the first goal around the 15th minute and were expecting the game to get better from there. To our dismay, the offense disappeared and we ended up losing 2-1. the fans began loud whistles and jeers and we took the opportunity to scamper out of the stadium and make our way through the massive crowds to the buses that would take us home.
the adventures for the night werent over. After walking back towards the apartments that house the majority of the API kids to gather some of my belongings as well as my roommates, we tried to catch a bus that would take us back to our home, about a 15 minute bus ride. A police officer came up to us, we were with two girls that are roommates with Lindsay, and she told us that because of a fallen tree the bus route was not operating and we would have to hop on the bus that heads in the opposite direction and wait for it to loop back around and head in a different route home. We heeded her advice and waited for the night bus to pick us up. This bus, took us, to the end of the city, in the opposite direction. Stopped. and told us to get off and wait on the other side for a returning bus. wtf. Then, rather than walking around the bushes dividing the streets, I attempted to jump over them. Though i made it over the top of the bush, my leg landed comfortably on a wooden fence that was blocked from view on my side. ridiculous. We waited about 15 minutes for a bus to finally come and then headed home.
Long long adventurous night. Another game to come though, hopefully against Chelsea, should be crazy.
Toured around Rome today in the rain. Pictures will describe that journey.
Pope's summer vacation town tomorrow.
Side story - I set out on Thursday to get my glasses fixed. The first placed I stumbled upon told me they could only do the replacement of the lens by replacing both, at what he claimed was a fair price of 160 Euro. Now, I dont know how much that would normally cost back home, but the fact that him and his colleague spoke Italian to eachother before informing me how much it would cost led me to believe I wasnt getting the best deal out there. I told them Id consider and return, and thats when I headed off to the next place. This one was much more friendly, even made jokes about how silly I was for running into a metal bar. They kindly let me knwo they would only have to replace the broken lens, as well as give me a discount from the original price of 100 euro per lens (which might be a rip off on its own) of 30%. I was happy with 70. I just wanted to get it done. Then they said my final price would be 60 Euro. Though confused about the poor mathematics involved in this deal, I realized Italy isnt full of great finds when it comes to prices, so I immediately accepted. Ill be wearing contacts until Sunday when they will be ready for me.
back to the game. We all had seats spread out widely among one section, the corner section of the stadium. But after a couple minutes of deliberation, and realization that no one was occupying the first 15 rows, we all took advantage and made the first few rows our home. The stadium itself can seat about 80,000, but I dont think the attendance surpassed 20,000. Fortunately the great majority of the 20,000 were sitting in the sections adjacent to us. The entire game they were singing and chanting in harmony, it was brilliant and beautiful. I wish more American sports had that kind of passion. Ive seen college games with a lot of enthusiasm but professional sports dont come close to the style of fanaticism European soccer provides. We scored the first goal around the 15th minute and were expecting the game to get better from there. To our dismay, the offense disappeared and we ended up losing 2-1. the fans began loud whistles and jeers and we took the opportunity to scamper out of the stadium and make our way through the massive crowds to the buses that would take us home.
the adventures for the night werent over. After walking back towards the apartments that house the majority of the API kids to gather some of my belongings as well as my roommates, we tried to catch a bus that would take us back to our home, about a 15 minute bus ride. A police officer came up to us, we were with two girls that are roommates with Lindsay, and she told us that because of a fallen tree the bus route was not operating and we would have to hop on the bus that heads in the opposite direction and wait for it to loop back around and head in a different route home. We heeded her advice and waited for the night bus to pick us up. This bus, took us, to the end of the city, in the opposite direction. Stopped. and told us to get off and wait on the other side for a returning bus. wtf. Then, rather than walking around the bushes dividing the streets, I attempted to jump over them. Though i made it over the top of the bush, my leg landed comfortably on a wooden fence that was blocked from view on my side. ridiculous. We waited about 15 minutes for a bus to finally come and then headed home.
Long long adventurous night. Another game to come though, hopefully against Chelsea, should be crazy.
Toured around Rome today in the rain. Pictures will describe that journey.
Pope's summer vacation town tomorrow.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Appreciation
Yesterday, I grow a fond appreciation of rush hour traffic back home. For years I had thought to myself, why are the freeways always so packed, everyday at the same time. I mean sure its cause we all work 9-5 and work in the same area, live in the same area, but with all the measures they have made to curb the jams, it only seems to be getting worse.
Then I got to Rome, and yes, they too have rush hour traffic, the early mornings and the late afternoons are bustling with cars, motorcycles and buses that treat the road like their personal playground, as if no one else occupied the same cobblestone street they are on. But they also have something else, and that is traffic at all times of the day. I was heading to class at 10 am, taking one of my many routes on the buses to get to the tram that drops me off mere footsteps from the building in which I have class. Thats when I noticed all the buses were jam packed with people. The streets were covered in cyclists and cars and it took 20 minutes to travel a distance that is typically covered in about 2. I look at everyone on the bus, and their nonchalant attitudes perplexed me. Do these people not have anywhere to be at 10 30 in the morning. They already break for Riposo(ciesta in Spain, a nap time if you will) between 1 and 3:30, so when if at all, do these people get business done. I had to calm myself down and realize being late to class is such a petty issue to concernmyself with, but the greater picture remained...do Romans simply work when they please and leave progression to the rest of the world to take care of. Or, are they are gypsies, and mysteriously get work done while traveling about the city.
I mean not to offend the Romans, and i am sure it is just a cultural misunderstanding that I hope to educate myself on by the end of my stay. But one month in and my head still spins, oh what a city, damn what a pity.
Then I got to Rome, and yes, they too have rush hour traffic, the early mornings and the late afternoons are bustling with cars, motorcycles and buses that treat the road like their personal playground, as if no one else occupied the same cobblestone street they are on. But they also have something else, and that is traffic at all times of the day. I was heading to class at 10 am, taking one of my many routes on the buses to get to the tram that drops me off mere footsteps from the building in which I have class. Thats when I noticed all the buses were jam packed with people. The streets were covered in cyclists and cars and it took 20 minutes to travel a distance that is typically covered in about 2. I look at everyone on the bus, and their nonchalant attitudes perplexed me. Do these people not have anywhere to be at 10 30 in the morning. They already break for Riposo(ciesta in Spain, a nap time if you will) between 1 and 3:30, so when if at all, do these people get business done. I had to calm myself down and realize being late to class is such a petty issue to concernmyself with, but the greater picture remained...do Romans simply work when they please and leave progression to the rest of the world to take care of. Or, are they are gypsies, and mysteriously get work done while traveling about the city.
I mean not to offend the Romans, and i am sure it is just a cultural misunderstanding that I hope to educate myself on by the end of my stay. But one month in and my head still spins, oh what a city, damn what a pity.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Sorrento and Such
So its been a little while since the last post, its been a bit hectic, lots of random stuff going on.
This weekend was our API trip to Sorrento and Capri, with stops at Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. It began at 9 in the morning on Friday, with a four hour bus ride down to one of the most famous volcanoes in the world. We arrived under somewhat suspect weather conditions. the sky was hazy and vicious clouds seemed to be forming in the distance. The hike itself was short and sweet. We got to the crater and boy is it just enormous. it doesnt seem as threatening as I had always heard about, and though it is an "active" volcano, it seemed to be in a pleasant state of hibernation. The view from the top was disrupted by the low hanging clouds and possible smog but we enjoyed our view nonetheless and dabbled on the edge of the crater's mouth. After our brief stay there, we headed an hour further south to Sorrento.
A small quaint town, touristy like the rest of them but special in its own way. High cliffs and gorgeous views spread throughout the city. We were treated to a free dinner at a lovely restaurant that served up a few delicious courses of Sorrento cuisine. The rest of the night was ours, and after some deliberation on what to do for the night, we all split up for a while to consume alcohol in the streets while enjoying a couple street performers (pictures in facebook), then headed to the local Karaoke bar, kindly labeled "American Karaoke" for our comfort, and their wallets. We sang our favorite American tunes all night long while dancing the night away...sweating profusely and losing our voices. Jamie Courtney and I were going to sing Thriller, but the jackasses at the bar skipped over our song and we never had a chance to show off our spectacular vocals.... you can all imagine how upset I was at the lost chance to sing in front of 50+ people...
We awoke the next morning to a simple breakfast and a thunder storm. We were set to take a HYDROFOIL over to Capri Island and while waiting in line to board the rain poured on our mostly poorly prepared crew of students, dressed for a warm day on the beach. Once we arrived, and Henry relieved himself of his sea sickness, the rain went away and the sun came out to play. but to our dismay, the Blue Grotto, a highlight for all tourist in the area to see, was closed for the day due to high water levels and choppy conditions. instead we walked around the city, ate some tasty lunch at what else, a pizza restaurant, then walked to the other side of the island down an old Roman alleyway with breath taking sights to witness. Slowly the group began to dissipate, Rahul and I set off on a magical scooter ride across the island. For 15 euro for 2 hours, with Rahul as the captain of our vehicle(the renter pleaded with him not to let me ride as only experience riders were suggested, Rahul has been riding motorcycles back home for quite a while, while repeatedly telling us how dangerous it is to ride around with the locals((narrow roads crazy driver))) we set off to the highest point on the Island.
Sorry about how confusing that sentence was, but I love run on sentences.
After 2 hours of riding around enjoying the sights and sounds, we returned to the group who was at the beach chillin on the rocks. Shortly there after we set sail back to Sorrento where we laid low for the night. A small dinner with a few people at a restaurant with probably the rudest waiter I have had since I got to Italy. Later that night we went to an English pub and enjoyed a few glasses on their specialty alcoholic cider. The next morning was another early start, and off to Pompeii we went...
Pompeii is an insane place. massive in size and so well preserved. We didnt get to venture around the area too much, but the highlight was definitely walking down the "Red light District" of the city. An area where prostitution reigns, and the best of paintings were preserved. Over each room was a painting of the girl's specialty who occupied the room. the specialties consisted of missionary, doggy style and various other positions. I have pictures which will be going up shortly that you all can enjoy along with a few pictures of random penises that were plastered on the street walls. It is insane how smart and intricate this people were for created this amazing city over 2000 years ago. And how absolutely depressing it is that something they merely thought was a giant mountain could destroy everything they had accomplished.
Then, after about an hour of free time, and 7 shots of lemoncello later, we embarked on our 4 hour journey home to Rome.
That was all for the weekend. more to come soon about week- up dates.
Staying in Rome this weekend, going to be relaxing and recuperating since i have been feeling a bit ill, but hopefully that will pass soon enough.
and whats been happening to my Jaguars...and those Bruins...atleast the Angels are giving me some lovin.
Miss you all, Keep in touch with some updates about yourselves.
This weekend was our API trip to Sorrento and Capri, with stops at Mount Vesuvius and Pompeii. It began at 9 in the morning on Friday, with a four hour bus ride down to one of the most famous volcanoes in the world. We arrived under somewhat suspect weather conditions. the sky was hazy and vicious clouds seemed to be forming in the distance. The hike itself was short and sweet. We got to the crater and boy is it just enormous. it doesnt seem as threatening as I had always heard about, and though it is an "active" volcano, it seemed to be in a pleasant state of hibernation. The view from the top was disrupted by the low hanging clouds and possible smog but we enjoyed our view nonetheless and dabbled on the edge of the crater's mouth. After our brief stay there, we headed an hour further south to Sorrento.
A small quaint town, touristy like the rest of them but special in its own way. High cliffs and gorgeous views spread throughout the city. We were treated to a free dinner at a lovely restaurant that served up a few delicious courses of Sorrento cuisine. The rest of the night was ours, and after some deliberation on what to do for the night, we all split up for a while to consume alcohol in the streets while enjoying a couple street performers (pictures in facebook), then headed to the local Karaoke bar, kindly labeled "American Karaoke" for our comfort, and their wallets. We sang our favorite American tunes all night long while dancing the night away...sweating profusely and losing our voices. Jamie Courtney and I were going to sing Thriller, but the jackasses at the bar skipped over our song and we never had a chance to show off our spectacular vocals.... you can all imagine how upset I was at the lost chance to sing in front of 50+ people...
We awoke the next morning to a simple breakfast and a thunder storm. We were set to take a HYDROFOIL over to Capri Island and while waiting in line to board the rain poured on our mostly poorly prepared crew of students, dressed for a warm day on the beach. Once we arrived, and Henry relieved himself of his sea sickness, the rain went away and the sun came out to play. but to our dismay, the Blue Grotto, a highlight for all tourist in the area to see, was closed for the day due to high water levels and choppy conditions. instead we walked around the city, ate some tasty lunch at what else, a pizza restaurant, then walked to the other side of the island down an old Roman alleyway with breath taking sights to witness. Slowly the group began to dissipate, Rahul and I set off on a magical scooter ride across the island. For 15 euro for 2 hours, with Rahul as the captain of our vehicle(the renter pleaded with him not to let me ride as only experience riders were suggested, Rahul has been riding motorcycles back home for quite a while, while repeatedly telling us how dangerous it is to ride around with the locals((narrow roads crazy driver))) we set off to the highest point on the Island.
Sorry about how confusing that sentence was, but I love run on sentences.
After 2 hours of riding around enjoying the sights and sounds, we returned to the group who was at the beach chillin on the rocks. Shortly there after we set sail back to Sorrento where we laid low for the night. A small dinner with a few people at a restaurant with probably the rudest waiter I have had since I got to Italy. Later that night we went to an English pub and enjoyed a few glasses on their specialty alcoholic cider. The next morning was another early start, and off to Pompeii we went...
Pompeii is an insane place. massive in size and so well preserved. We didnt get to venture around the area too much, but the highlight was definitely walking down the "Red light District" of the city. An area where prostitution reigns, and the best of paintings were preserved. Over each room was a painting of the girl's specialty who occupied the room. the specialties consisted of missionary, doggy style and various other positions. I have pictures which will be going up shortly that you all can enjoy along with a few pictures of random penises that were plastered on the street walls. It is insane how smart and intricate this people were for created this amazing city over 2000 years ago. And how absolutely depressing it is that something they merely thought was a giant mountain could destroy everything they had accomplished.
Then, after about an hour of free time, and 7 shots of lemoncello later, we embarked on our 4 hour journey home to Rome.
That was all for the weekend. more to come soon about week- up dates.
Staying in Rome this weekend, going to be relaxing and recuperating since i have been feeling a bit ill, but hopefully that will pass soon enough.
and whats been happening to my Jaguars...and those Bruins...atleast the Angels are giving me some lovin.
Miss you all, Keep in touch with some updates about yourselves.
Monday, September 8, 2008
We took the midnight train going....
What a spectacular weekend. Cinque Terre lived up to every expectation and many more were surpassed, as well as dismally realized. We'll start from the beginning since that usually makes the most sense.
11:58 train ride from Termini station to La Spezia, arriving at 4:14 am. The 6 of us; the roommate James, Henry from Connecticut, Tracy from New York, Emily from Massachusetts, and as some of you may be familiar with, Zach from Villa Park, hopped on the train with no inclination of the odor and horror we were about to encounter. Besides the train being seemingly overbooked and under sanitized, we were all under the suspicion that the people who were already on the train had been on there for what could have been weeks, without cracking a window or showering their moldy bodies. the stench was horrendous, and with no open cabins (rooms with 6 chairs, about 10 per car) we were forced to situated ourselves in the hallways, with basically standing room only. We did the only thing foreigners in a sticky situation knew how to do, drank. We popped open a bottle of rum and began what appeared to be a long and arduous journey. We soon realized we had English counterparts, Shane Watson and his tired friend Dan, who felt the same dismay we did and we politely shared our beverages. We mingled and drank for the remainder of the trip, with Henry passing out on the luggage racks above the hallway(about 1 foot wide, metal bars meant for duffel bags and carry-ons). We arrived in La Spezia and switched trains to make it to Monterosso Al Mare, the furtherest of the 5 Cinque Terre towns. At this point it was about 5 o clock and we found a beach that seemed peaceful and serene enough to lay our bags down and take a nap. I decided to take this opportunity to strip naked and jump into the Sea. Before I could take my first gasp of air after jumping in, my fellow journeymen and women were already scampering away as a security guard had shooed them off the premises(private beach). I slowly realized that I would need to quickly get dressed, stuff everything back into my bag, and drip my way back to the main road. After about 2 hours of walking around and waiting for the sun to arise, we had a nice little breakfast then proceeded to a public beach where we all, fully clothed in street clothes and absolutely worn out from the long night that had slipped away, passed the hell out into our own little dream worlds. Only to shortly be awoken (about 3 hours later) by locals and tourists who felt it necessary to photograph our napping. After the confusion wore off, we changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the sea.
Then came the treacherous hike to the next town, Vernazza, where we hoped to find a comfy place to rest our heads for the next night. The hour and thirty minute hike was a strenuous one with many rocky steps and steep and narrow pathways, engulfed by breath taking views of the coastline and clear waters. We made it into Vernazza and Zach and James went directly to the beach to wash away their sweat while Henry Emily Tracy and I went to look for a room. After a few unsuccessful attempts at contacting room renters, we ran into Egi. Egi could have been the shadiest, sketchiest looking Italian I had seen in my 2 weeks abroad by far, but after a few greetings and hellos, as well as a little bargaining by your author[me:)] we managed to pull out a beautiful room on the main road for 20 euro a night per person(everyone began their bargaining at 30, and Egi was the only one who was kind enough to compromise) under the condition we stayed for 2 nights. We decided it was well worth it and after putting our bags down we joined the two boys on the beach. Later that evening, us guys decided we would surprise our two ladies with a gorgeous reservation atop the highest restaurant in the city, directly on the cliff overlooking the Sea and facing the sunset over the nearest hillside. Truly spectacular.
We called it an early night and set off to bed with the plan of hiking across the next three towns on Saturday, and returning back before nightfall to our room in Vernazza, at Egi's palace. The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia was only 45 minutes but nevertheless a bit challenging, the sights and sounds were once again impressive beyond expectation and we even managed to make some friends on the trail. We met a couple from San Francisco who was also doing the 5 city tour, but that was only a small detour on their year long vacation which began in New Zealand and worked its way Westward through Southeast Asia Eastern Europe and will end up in Brazil in December. Quite the luxury to be able to take a year off work, and life, to adventure around the world and build such amazing memories. definitely made me contemplate a similar itinerary at some point in my life. Either way, we stopped in Corniglia for not too long as there was not much to see within the city itself. but there was a set of switchback stairs, ones that zig zag back and forth to make the steep climb a bit more bearable. it probably included 30 or so switches, which was nice and easy on the way down, but not so much fun on the return trip.
after a short 25 minute walk to the next town, Manarola, we stopped and Tracy got some pizza to eat, we thought she got lost because it took her 30 minutes to find her way back, but it turned out she just waited 30 minutes for the pizza to cook. The next hike was another short one, lasting about the same time and also right along the coast, and it was called Via Del'Amore. There was one nice point where a nice bench was placed in front of the railing of a tunnel overlooking the Sea, and the entiure section of railing was covered in locks. Apparently couples are suppose to leave locks there to symbolize them locking their love to each other, then stop for a photo-op on the bench. Once at the last town, we headed to their beach(aka big marble rocks jeti-ing into the water) Henry and I wanted to do some kayaking, but I guess 80 degree weather with minimal winds and no clouds is a warrant for unsafe conditions, and they would not rent us a kayak. :(. this town was called Riomaggiore, and the 4 guys shared a large pizza, just cheese, which might have actually been the most american, and therefore most unsatisfying pizza of my trip thus far.
Zach and James took a ferry back to our town of Vernazza, Tracy and Emily walked back the same trail, and Henry and I aimlessly and unsuccessfully looked for a more exciting path to take home. All roads were either closed or the stupid bus system which is suppose to get you to the top of the mountain for the extended hike was either not operating or the towns are full of lazy liars who did not want us to make the trip and we also ended up taking the same trail back home.
our last night consisted of some light drinking by the Sea, the guys stripping naked and jumping off one of he ledges into the water, with mine stunt ending in a terrible headache as my front flip went half a turn too far and my face was the first to separate the water molecules of the Sea, and finally a game of musical beds with everyone moving around throughout the night to find the most comfortable and cool location.
We woke up a little later than initially planned, clean up our terrible mess, which consisted of Zach dropping a half full bottle of Rum and pounds of sand everywhere. We headed back to La Spezia where we feasted on the most expensive and least filling Mcdonalds I have every been to. Which by the way, I have calculated a formula for why Americans are obese and Europeans are skinny.
50% more expensive + 50% less food = Every fucking meal. but maybe pizza and gelato.
We then took a train to Pisa to visit our buddy, the leaning tower. besides the nothingness that Pisa encompasses, the leaning tower wasnt quite as impressive as I had been imagining all my years. It must be much greater than I can fathom as thousands flock every day to take the same picture, we all know it, in a place where this is the ONLY tourist attraction. Maybe im just not that understanding of greatness...Oh well...
after our last 3 hour train ride we arrived back in Rome, tired hungry and ready for our next weekend at the Almalfi Coast with the rest of our API gang.
on a side note, Cinque Terre is mildly populated by city dwellers and everyone you meet is a tourist, but the nice thing is the tourists are from every part of the world which is quite a nice experience to have, walking down a trail and hearing about 7 different languages.
all in all, fabulous weekend with beautiful memories, and the craziest thing is im coming back to Rome. which has been mind blowing on it own.
Pictures should be up soon, you all know how lazy I can get...
I also probably forgot to mention a few things here and there, if anything ground breaking is re-inserted to my memory I shall update immediately.
talk to you all soon!!!
Ciao!
11:58 train ride from Termini station to La Spezia, arriving at 4:14 am. The 6 of us; the roommate James, Henry from Connecticut, Tracy from New York, Emily from Massachusetts, and as some of you may be familiar with, Zach from Villa Park, hopped on the train with no inclination of the odor and horror we were about to encounter. Besides the train being seemingly overbooked and under sanitized, we were all under the suspicion that the people who were already on the train had been on there for what could have been weeks, without cracking a window or showering their moldy bodies. the stench was horrendous, and with no open cabins (rooms with 6 chairs, about 10 per car) we were forced to situated ourselves in the hallways, with basically standing room only. We did the only thing foreigners in a sticky situation knew how to do, drank. We popped open a bottle of rum and began what appeared to be a long and arduous journey. We soon realized we had English counterparts, Shane Watson and his tired friend Dan, who felt the same dismay we did and we politely shared our beverages. We mingled and drank for the remainder of the trip, with Henry passing out on the luggage racks above the hallway(about 1 foot wide, metal bars meant for duffel bags and carry-ons). We arrived in La Spezia and switched trains to make it to Monterosso Al Mare, the furtherest of the 5 Cinque Terre towns. At this point it was about 5 o clock and we found a beach that seemed peaceful and serene enough to lay our bags down and take a nap. I decided to take this opportunity to strip naked and jump into the Sea. Before I could take my first gasp of air after jumping in, my fellow journeymen and women were already scampering away as a security guard had shooed them off the premises(private beach). I slowly realized that I would need to quickly get dressed, stuff everything back into my bag, and drip my way back to the main road. After about 2 hours of walking around and waiting for the sun to arise, we had a nice little breakfast then proceeded to a public beach where we all, fully clothed in street clothes and absolutely worn out from the long night that had slipped away, passed the hell out into our own little dream worlds. Only to shortly be awoken (about 3 hours later) by locals and tourists who felt it necessary to photograph our napping. After the confusion wore off, we changed into our bathing suits and jumped into the sea.
Then came the treacherous hike to the next town, Vernazza, where we hoped to find a comfy place to rest our heads for the next night. The hour and thirty minute hike was a strenuous one with many rocky steps and steep and narrow pathways, engulfed by breath taking views of the coastline and clear waters. We made it into Vernazza and Zach and James went directly to the beach to wash away their sweat while Henry Emily Tracy and I went to look for a room. After a few unsuccessful attempts at contacting room renters, we ran into Egi. Egi could have been the shadiest, sketchiest looking Italian I had seen in my 2 weeks abroad by far, but after a few greetings and hellos, as well as a little bargaining by your author[me:)] we managed to pull out a beautiful room on the main road for 20 euro a night per person(everyone began their bargaining at 30, and Egi was the only one who was kind enough to compromise) under the condition we stayed for 2 nights. We decided it was well worth it and after putting our bags down we joined the two boys on the beach. Later that evening, us guys decided we would surprise our two ladies with a gorgeous reservation atop the highest restaurant in the city, directly on the cliff overlooking the Sea and facing the sunset over the nearest hillside. Truly spectacular.
We called it an early night and set off to bed with the plan of hiking across the next three towns on Saturday, and returning back before nightfall to our room in Vernazza, at Egi's palace. The hike from Vernazza to Corniglia was only 45 minutes but nevertheless a bit challenging, the sights and sounds were once again impressive beyond expectation and we even managed to make some friends on the trail. We met a couple from San Francisco who was also doing the 5 city tour, but that was only a small detour on their year long vacation which began in New Zealand and worked its way Westward through Southeast Asia Eastern Europe and will end up in Brazil in December. Quite the luxury to be able to take a year off work, and life, to adventure around the world and build such amazing memories. definitely made me contemplate a similar itinerary at some point in my life. Either way, we stopped in Corniglia for not too long as there was not much to see within the city itself. but there was a set of switchback stairs, ones that zig zag back and forth to make the steep climb a bit more bearable. it probably included 30 or so switches, which was nice and easy on the way down, but not so much fun on the return trip.
after a short 25 minute walk to the next town, Manarola, we stopped and Tracy got some pizza to eat, we thought she got lost because it took her 30 minutes to find her way back, but it turned out she just waited 30 minutes for the pizza to cook. The next hike was another short one, lasting about the same time and also right along the coast, and it was called Via Del'Amore. There was one nice point where a nice bench was placed in front of the railing of a tunnel overlooking the Sea, and the entiure section of railing was covered in locks. Apparently couples are suppose to leave locks there to symbolize them locking their love to each other, then stop for a photo-op on the bench. Once at the last town, we headed to their beach(aka big marble rocks jeti-ing into the water) Henry and I wanted to do some kayaking, but I guess 80 degree weather with minimal winds and no clouds is a warrant for unsafe conditions, and they would not rent us a kayak. :(. this town was called Riomaggiore, and the 4 guys shared a large pizza, just cheese, which might have actually been the most american, and therefore most unsatisfying pizza of my trip thus far.
Zach and James took a ferry back to our town of Vernazza, Tracy and Emily walked back the same trail, and Henry and I aimlessly and unsuccessfully looked for a more exciting path to take home. All roads were either closed or the stupid bus system which is suppose to get you to the top of the mountain for the extended hike was either not operating or the towns are full of lazy liars who did not want us to make the trip and we also ended up taking the same trail back home.
our last night consisted of some light drinking by the Sea, the guys stripping naked and jumping off one of he ledges into the water, with mine stunt ending in a terrible headache as my front flip went half a turn too far and my face was the first to separate the water molecules of the Sea, and finally a game of musical beds with everyone moving around throughout the night to find the most comfortable and cool location.
We woke up a little later than initially planned, clean up our terrible mess, which consisted of Zach dropping a half full bottle of Rum and pounds of sand everywhere. We headed back to La Spezia where we feasted on the most expensive and least filling Mcdonalds I have every been to. Which by the way, I have calculated a formula for why Americans are obese and Europeans are skinny.
50% more expensive + 50% less food = Every fucking meal. but maybe pizza and gelato.
We then took a train to Pisa to visit our buddy, the leaning tower. besides the nothingness that Pisa encompasses, the leaning tower wasnt quite as impressive as I had been imagining all my years. It must be much greater than I can fathom as thousands flock every day to take the same picture, we all know it, in a place where this is the ONLY tourist attraction. Maybe im just not that understanding of greatness...Oh well...
after our last 3 hour train ride we arrived back in Rome, tired hungry and ready for our next weekend at the Almalfi Coast with the rest of our API gang.
on a side note, Cinque Terre is mildly populated by city dwellers and everyone you meet is a tourist, but the nice thing is the tourists are from every part of the world which is quite a nice experience to have, walking down a trail and hearing about 7 different languages.
all in all, fabulous weekend with beautiful memories, and the craziest thing is im coming back to Rome. which has been mind blowing on it own.
Pictures should be up soon, you all know how lazy I can get...
I also probably forgot to mention a few things here and there, if anything ground breaking is re-inserted to my memory I shall update immediately.
talk to you all soon!!!
Ciao!
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Change of schedule
Just wanted to update you all on my change of schedule. I am no longer taking Moles Spies and Terrorists. I have decided to go for a more liberal approach to this experience and pick up Beginning Painting. I have to do 5 paintings for my grade with no tests or quizzes or papers. One landscape, one interior, one still life, one portrait and im not sure aboutt he other but ill figure that out. As most of you know I am terrible with anything artistic, but with music and painting as my focuses this semester, I hope to return a more cultured, educated and artistic person. lol. We'll see how this goes.
Monday, September 1, 2008
First day of school
So the first day of school was today, 4 classes and a repeat on wednesday.
We'll start with Italian. The teacher refuses to speak English which made sense once i got over the initial fear that I wouldnt understand a word he said. He does a good job motioning what he is saying, so ultimately it will improve my conversational abilities. He gave out more homework one the first day then a majority of my general ed classes at UCI.
Next came Introduction to Music. quiz on the first day to see hwo well we knew how to distinguish different kinds of music throughout the 1500's to today. Out of 7 examples, with time period, region and types of instruments used, i got possibly 3 of 21 right. Pathetic, i know, but I think this class will actually be useful and beneficial to my culture understanding of music.
After a nice 2 hour break, which included a stop at a pizzeria, i began my third class, Moles Spies and Terrorists
Initially this was suppose to be the kick it and chill class. The one where we would here cool stories and do absolutely nothing. 8 pages of syllabus, 10 required readings and an additional 10 on reserve, a 15 page final paper and four 5 page reviews later i realized, I was right. kick it and chill. My 15 page paper will most likely be on the Israeli CIA and their covert mission to revenge the deaths of their Olympians, so its not going to be as bad as it seemed.
The last class of the day was Organization behavior. And some of you might know this man, Joe Flaggliano(terrible spelling) but he went to servite, friends with Ian and Ray and them, he is in our mini group, just thought it was interesting. Our teacher is way chill and told us there was no class wednesday. he didnt pass out a syllabus or give us any books to buy. really liked this guy.
Thats day one, ill update soon enough. Public transportation has been chill. I had my first full nights sleep last night. No class tomorrrow. Might venture around the city and try to get some pictures in.
In touch
We'll start with Italian. The teacher refuses to speak English which made sense once i got over the initial fear that I wouldnt understand a word he said. He does a good job motioning what he is saying, so ultimately it will improve my conversational abilities. He gave out more homework one the first day then a majority of my general ed classes at UCI.
Next came Introduction to Music. quiz on the first day to see hwo well we knew how to distinguish different kinds of music throughout the 1500's to today. Out of 7 examples, with time period, region and types of instruments used, i got possibly 3 of 21 right. Pathetic, i know, but I think this class will actually be useful and beneficial to my culture understanding of music.
After a nice 2 hour break, which included a stop at a pizzeria, i began my third class, Moles Spies and Terrorists
Initially this was suppose to be the kick it and chill class. The one where we would here cool stories and do absolutely nothing. 8 pages of syllabus, 10 required readings and an additional 10 on reserve, a 15 page final paper and four 5 page reviews later i realized, I was right. kick it and chill. My 15 page paper will most likely be on the Israeli CIA and their covert mission to revenge the deaths of their Olympians, so its not going to be as bad as it seemed.
The last class of the day was Organization behavior. And some of you might know this man, Joe Flaggliano(terrible spelling) but he went to servite, friends with Ian and Ray and them, he is in our mini group, just thought it was interesting. Our teacher is way chill and told us there was no class wednesday. he didnt pass out a syllabus or give us any books to buy. really liked this guy.
Thats day one, ill update soon enough. Public transportation has been chill. I had my first full nights sleep last night. No class tomorrrow. Might venture around the city and try to get some pictures in.
In touch
Sunday, August 31, 2008
one week in
So its one week into my Italian adventure, and it is starting to hit me that Ill be gone from home for another 15 weeks. Not that I dont think the time will fly by and ill be keeping busy, but the comforts of home are definitely beginning to be missed.
The last few days have been pretty relaxed, just been going around the main parts of the city, getting used to the sights and sounds, figuring out the public transportation and hanging out with the newly made friends from the group. I did another one of those pub crawls i think i mentioned in the first post, but this one was completed in full. In the second bar we went to, a friend got a mixed drink with a twist...the mix was every type of alcohol the bar offered, a rather disgusting yet potent beverage but interesting nonetheless so i thought id share. The last place we stopped at was a club on top of a hill, half outdoor half indoor. Mostly american music, which so far ive realized the italians love to listen to (Kanye tracks bumping at a lot of the random stores along the streets in flee markets and what not). When it was all over we had no clue where the bus had taken us, and if it wasnt for my trusty Brazilian roommate with a keen sense of direction, we might not have ever made it home. Thankfully we did and the night was a great success.
I made it down to the beach yesterday, interesting experience to say the least. Small, crowded ass beaches with minimal sand and maximum capacity. beautiful nonetheless and somewhat warm, refreshing waters to swim in. Little italian boys approached me while i was dabbling in the water and began speaking Italian to me, all the while acknowledging I am an American who cant speak their language. I wasnt sure how the interaction went(and i guess in Italy it isnt taught that you dont speak to strangers as a kid) but by the end he asked me for a cinque while extending his arm with a open palm. High five kid, you got it. though he might have been asking for money... oh well. It was also pleasant to see that some italian women dont mind being topless in a packed beach, but no complaints from here, just wish america adapted some friendly qualities from the Italians :).
We took the train there and back, quite nice and easy to get around with and the night concluded with an amazing Italian dinner cooked by some of the ladies in our group, with the guys electing to do the dishes in return. Parmesan Chicken, 2 types of pasta with garlic string beans and garlic bread along with a tomato and mozzarella salad, spinach cutlette champagne and wine. My first GOOD meal of the entire trip, and after splitting costs it was only 5 euro. lovely.
School begins tomorrow, with Intro to Italian first on the menu at 830 am. 715 wake up to ensure i get there on time.
havent been sleeping well at all so it should be a problem waking up, but nevertheless itll be a quiet night. I just want to muggy heat to go away and sleep will finally be plausible.
Its looking like the angels might be playing boston first round, in which case itll be 25 on 1, but ill stand strong and support the troops and hopefully they will return the favor.
Over and out.
The last few days have been pretty relaxed, just been going around the main parts of the city, getting used to the sights and sounds, figuring out the public transportation and hanging out with the newly made friends from the group. I did another one of those pub crawls i think i mentioned in the first post, but this one was completed in full. In the second bar we went to, a friend got a mixed drink with a twist...the mix was every type of alcohol the bar offered, a rather disgusting yet potent beverage but interesting nonetheless so i thought id share. The last place we stopped at was a club on top of a hill, half outdoor half indoor. Mostly american music, which so far ive realized the italians love to listen to (Kanye tracks bumping at a lot of the random stores along the streets in flee markets and what not). When it was all over we had no clue where the bus had taken us, and if it wasnt for my trusty Brazilian roommate with a keen sense of direction, we might not have ever made it home. Thankfully we did and the night was a great success.
I made it down to the beach yesterday, interesting experience to say the least. Small, crowded ass beaches with minimal sand and maximum capacity. beautiful nonetheless and somewhat warm, refreshing waters to swim in. Little italian boys approached me while i was dabbling in the water and began speaking Italian to me, all the while acknowledging I am an American who cant speak their language. I wasnt sure how the interaction went(and i guess in Italy it isnt taught that you dont speak to strangers as a kid) but by the end he asked me for a cinque while extending his arm with a open palm. High five kid, you got it. though he might have been asking for money... oh well. It was also pleasant to see that some italian women dont mind being topless in a packed beach, but no complaints from here, just wish america adapted some friendly qualities from the Italians :).
We took the train there and back, quite nice and easy to get around with and the night concluded with an amazing Italian dinner cooked by some of the ladies in our group, with the guys electing to do the dishes in return. Parmesan Chicken, 2 types of pasta with garlic string beans and garlic bread along with a tomato and mozzarella salad, spinach cutlette champagne and wine. My first GOOD meal of the entire trip, and after splitting costs it was only 5 euro. lovely.
School begins tomorrow, with Intro to Italian first on the menu at 830 am. 715 wake up to ensure i get there on time.
havent been sleeping well at all so it should be a problem waking up, but nevertheless itll be a quiet night. I just want to muggy heat to go away and sleep will finally be plausible.
Its looking like the angels might be playing boston first round, in which case itll be 25 on 1, but ill stand strong and support the troops and hopefully they will return the favor.
Over and out.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Rome. Day 3
Hello to everyone back home.
It is the third day of my fantastic voyage and I have just moved into my apartment that Ill be staying in for the remainder of my trip. I havent taken all too many photos yet because I havent gotten quite situated yet. Amazingly, if I look out my room window, and to the left, I see the Roman Forum. If I step outside and walk 50 feet to my right, The Colosseum stares me down. Everywhere you walk is something beautiful and historical. for the most part people are really friendly, with the exception of all drivers, who have no regard for anyone but themselves. PDA also seems to be quite fashionable as everybody partakes in it.
From my API group, about 60 students, i believe 40 or so are from Mass. with many others joining them from the Northeast. My roommates surprisingly are quite diverse. I have a Brazilian roommate who goes to school in Ohio, one who is from New Jersey, A Texan, and a Massachusettian for good measure.
Its humid as hell over here, but within a month it should be getting cooler. School starts on Monday and so far we have just had some orientations and tours of the historical part of the city.
Last night our group went on a "pub crawl," you pay 20 euro and you bar hop throughout the night. The first bar in our crawl provided free pizza, 3 jagger bombs, and free drinks for an hour. After that we moved bars but I got separated from the group and ended up walking around with a newly acquired friend across Rome from the Pantheon to the Colosseum, across the Tiber River and down to the Vatican City. Incredible.
I hope to keep everyone updated asap, and ill be posting pictures once enough are taken.
I miss you all back home and hope all is well, and good luck to those starting school next week.
PS Sorry for the bland post with little detail, those should get better with practice writing a blog.
PSS. The cookie trip on the flight from Philly to Rome was one of the most unbelievably terrifying, yet spectacular adventures of my existence. Thank you Minh.
It is the third day of my fantastic voyage and I have just moved into my apartment that Ill be staying in for the remainder of my trip. I havent taken all too many photos yet because I havent gotten quite situated yet. Amazingly, if I look out my room window, and to the left, I see the Roman Forum. If I step outside and walk 50 feet to my right, The Colosseum stares me down. Everywhere you walk is something beautiful and historical. for the most part people are really friendly, with the exception of all drivers, who have no regard for anyone but themselves. PDA also seems to be quite fashionable as everybody partakes in it.
From my API group, about 60 students, i believe 40 or so are from Mass. with many others joining them from the Northeast. My roommates surprisingly are quite diverse. I have a Brazilian roommate who goes to school in Ohio, one who is from New Jersey, A Texan, and a Massachusettian for good measure.
Its humid as hell over here, but within a month it should be getting cooler. School starts on Monday and so far we have just had some orientations and tours of the historical part of the city.
Last night our group went on a "pub crawl," you pay 20 euro and you bar hop throughout the night. The first bar in our crawl provided free pizza, 3 jagger bombs, and free drinks for an hour. After that we moved bars but I got separated from the group and ended up walking around with a newly acquired friend across Rome from the Pantheon to the Colosseum, across the Tiber River and down to the Vatican City. Incredible.
I hope to keep everyone updated asap, and ill be posting pictures once enough are taken.
I miss you all back home and hope all is well, and good luck to those starting school next week.
PS Sorry for the bland post with little detail, those should get better with practice writing a blog.
PSS. The cookie trip on the flight from Philly to Rome was one of the most unbelievably terrifying, yet spectacular adventures of my existence. Thank you Minh.
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