"Our weekend in Florence"
Before I delve into the details of our wonderful weekend in Florence, let me just take a moment to celebrate the fact that I am writing this blog entry on the computer in my dorm. Yes, that is correct, our dorm has internet and a public computer! Granted, this is one of four computers in the computer room and seems to be the only one with a monitor AND mouse AND keyboard that all work, and it's incredibly slow, but it's internet, and I'm happy.
The background image of my blog is actually an image of Florence, so that can set the scene for this post. Nicole and I went to Florence early Saturday morning with two of our other friends from school, Sarah and Emily. We had a very full weekend, spent the night at a hostel in Florence, and got back to Bologna last night. The first thing we did in Florence (after a little adventure trying to find our hostel during which a nice old Italian man at a parking garage and a very well-dressed man who worked at the nearby Gucci store helped us look up the hostel address) was to climb the Duomo. Our hostel was literally two minutes away from Florence's beautiful Duomo, a proximity which we never could really get over. We saw the inside of the church, Santa Maria del Fiore, and then climbed up to the top of the Cupola. The stairs were very windy and narrow, as you can imagine if you've ever climbed any kind of church, but all 463 steps (I didn't count, there was a sign at the entrance) were well worth it. It was a beautiful sunny day and the view of Florence and the surrounding Tuscan hills was spectacular.
After the Duomo, we made our way to the Bargello Gallery, an undervisited sculpture gallery with many beautiful works of art. Its most famous sculpture is Donatello's David, (sorry that picture isn't better) but there were also sculptures by Michelangelo, Giambologna, and other artists. I would definitely recommend it to anyone visiting Florence with the least bit of interest in art, the building alone (a former palace) is worth seeing!
Next on our list was leather shopping. Florence is famous for its leather crafts, including jackets, belts, wallets, purses, of every size, shape and color. We headed to San Lorenzo, where there is a big leather market. Like any market, it's hit or miss, and we ended up in a leather store nearby the market. I was shopping for a jacket in particular, and lo and behold, I found the perfect one. It's absolutely gorgeous - brown, hand-painted leather with a mandarin collar and slight embellishments like the placement of the seams along the back. And so very soft. It's a bit hard to describe...but it's fantastic. Emily wasn't in the market for a jacket but she ended up buying one as well. That night, we were both deliriously happy with our new purchases!
Which brings me to our dinner that evening. We asked the man at our hostel for a restaurant recommendation, and we ended up going to Trattoria Anita for traditional Florentine food. The four of us shared most of the dishes, and we got bruschetta, pici with meat and peas, tagliatelle with pesto, ossobuca (a soft cut of beef) fiorentina (with a type of tomato and carrot stewy sauce), and of course, Chianti. We also got salads or side dishes of veggies that we ate individually. Everything was delicious, and classically Tuscan, which was our goal.
The next morning we got up early and headed to the Galleria dell'Accademia, which houses Michelangelo's famous David. Like I'd heard, seeing David in person is an incredible experience, no matter how many photos you've seen. His scale (17 feet) and artistic perfection is unbelievable. We also saw Michelangelo's unfinished serious of sculptures of slaves, who look like they're literally bursting forth from the blocks of stone that still surround them.
Next we walked to the Casa Buonarroti, the family home of Michelangelo, where there is a collection of Michelangelo's artwork, as well as art collected by his family over generations. The most famous work of art there was the adolescent Michelangelo's Battle of the Centaurs (wikipedia couldn't find an image for this one, see if you can google it) which is another amazing study of the human body. Also in the Casa Buonarroti was L'Inclinazione by Artemisia Gentileschi, one of the few famous female artists of the late Renaissance (again, wikipedia couldn't find an image of that ceiling fresco.) Next we headed to the Brancacci Chapel, where we saw Masaccio's famous frescoes of The Expulsion of Adam and Eve and The Tribute Money. Then we headed back across the Arno River to the church of Santa Maria Novella, which houses Trinity, another famous fresco by Masaccio, as well as many other beautiful works of art. It was very much an art-filled weekend, and we felt very satisfied (as well as exhausted) that we were able to fit so much in!
We were also pleasantly surprised with how many people in Florence were willing to speak Italian with us, since it's such a touristed city that many people just speak English and we didn't expect to have much luck speaking Italian. We got many compliments for being college students there and actually speaking Italian, since it seems like there are many students who go to Florence to study abroad and don't make as much of an effort to speak the language, or maybe are just beginning to learn Italian when they get there. Bologna is good practice for Italian language skills, since you really do need to have some knowledge of Italian to get around for an extended period of time. But in Bologna we've also gotten, "You've only been here for two weeks? But you speak Italian so well!" to which we reply that we did, in fact, study Italian for two years before coming here.
So this is definitely one of my longer blog entries, but before I wrap up, I'll give a quick update on the state of my laptop. It has finally been refused by Italian customs, and is being sent back home to the US. Which is frustrating, but at least it's moving somewhere, after being stagnant in customs for so long. And once it's back home, my parents will try to mail it again. What an ordeal. But hopefully I'll get it within the next month, and until I do, at least I have functioning email in the dorm!
Thanks for sticking through this post, those of you who aren't that into art, and as soon as I can get some pictures onto a computer I'll be sure to post some of the beautiful photos I took in Florence. This afternoon I start my UniBo class, and will be able to report back on all of my classes by the end of this week.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Una Breve (Brief) Update
I have a roommate! Her name is Francesca, she's 24 years old, and is from Trieste. She said, "ah, piccolina!" when I told her I'm 20 years old, but then said her boyfriend is also 20...and his name is Francesco. How cute is that. She seems really nice, so hopefully we'll get along well. She said she was very happy to find the room so neat because her previous rooommate was apparently very messy. So that's a good start!
Yesterday we began a unit on the Italian anti-Fascist Resistance during World War II, and went to visit a memorial site a few minutes outside of Bologna. It was in the hills, and the landscape was very beautiful. It commemorated a battle fought between the anti-Fascist partisans and the Fascist army, and there were rocks with names of each of the Fascist soldiers who were killed (and one rock for the 47 whose names are unknown) and a white cross at the base of the hills where the bodies of the soldiers remained. It was very sad to see, but very interesting of course, and the view was beautiful.
I learned a new Italian phrase a few days ago while talking to an Italian about being short, since so many Italians are. It's the equivalent of "Good things come in small packages" - Nelle botte piccole, c'è il vino buono. In small bottles, there's good wine.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Il Re dei Formaggi
"The King of Cheese"
Then we went to an osteria where Balsamic Vinegar is produced. It seemed to be like a bed and breakfast/restaurant type place. We were served an absolutely delicious lunch, and then were told about the process of making Balsamic Vinegar. We got to see the upstairs room where vats of vinegar are aged, and then walked out behind the farm to see an utterly amazing view of the countryside. The sun was bright, and there was beautiful foliage, rolling hills, a small lake, and little villages in the distance. I took some beautiful pictures, but alas, until my computer is released from the clutches of hell (aka customs), descriptions will have to suffice!
I'll have to wrap this up, since Nicole's laptop is running out of battery power. (She really deserves a gold medal for letting me use her laptop so often!) I've had a cold this past week, which has put a bit of a damper on things, but otherwise I'm settling in and looking forward to the start of regular classes next week. The weather has been pretty chilly, so we're bundling up earlier than we expected to, but it's still beautiful when the sun is shining. Still no roommate, but we've been talking to lots of Italians in our dorm. Everyone is very friendly, and even though they're used to seeing a lot of Americans come and go within a few months, we're hoping to make lasting friends!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
La Dotta, La Rossa, La Grassa
And now, for a short Bologna history lesson!
Bologna is nicknamed La Dotta, La Rossa, e La Grassa. "La Dotta", which means "the learned," is because the University of Bologna is the oldest university in Europe, dating back to before the year 1088. The year 1088 is the commonly accepted year of foundation of the university, but it was actually chosen in the year 1888 so that they could celebrate the university's 800th anniversary. There are a few documents dating up to 20 years before 1088, but nobody pays attention to those. The University is also called Alma Mater Studiorum, or UniBo, for short.
"La Rossa," which means "the red," comes from Bologna's notable red roofs, but it also came to refer to politics after World War II. Bologna is the birthplace and home of Italy's political left, the Communist Party, and the smaller Socialist party. "La Grassa," which means "the fat," is the most obvious. It refers to Bologna's notoriously extraordinary cuisine...which, since we're on a food budget and cook most of our own food, we haven't really gotten to experience yet, but there's still plenty of time to experience la grassa (hopefully without becoming grassa!)
So that was the brief, but hopefully engaging, history lesson. We've been in Bologna for exactly a week, and I'm finally starting to feel at home here. Still no roommate, but she'll probably show up soon since UniBo classes start in a week and a half. We're also hoping that once more Italians move into the dorm, we'll be able to form friendships and utilize/improve our bastardized Italian.
Speaking of classes, right now we're taking a two week intensive italian review, which covers an array of topics. So far we've focused on the student political movement on the 1960s and 70s in Italy, which unfortunately doesn't capture my interest all that much, but tomorrow we start opera, I Pagliacci to be exact, which is a bit more up my alley.
Regular classes start the first week of October, and we have the option of choosing between our program's classes, which are taught in Italian but designed just for the program students, and classes at the university. I'm choosing to do one class at the university and two with the program. Many people are doing two or more classes at the university, but I'm actually interested in the program classes, so hopefully they'll all be good! With the program, I'll be taking Art History, which focuses on five female artists of the Renaissance, and Theater, which sounds like it will be a lot of reading out loud of plays in Italian. (What's not to love?) The class I'm taking at UniBo is called "The Semiotics of Art" and sounds really interesting. It's unlike any class I could take at home, and it's taught by a professor who's supposed to be really good. She teaches with our program in the spring semester, so she's used to us Americans and our level of Italian, which can't be said for all of the UniBo professors. Hopefully that link works, because I'm not sure I understand the topic enough to explain it, but it sounds good!
Other than classes, we've been trying to explore Bologna, but there hasn't been much time. It seems like all of our free time is the exact same time that all of the stores are closed. We get two hours for lunch, for example, which is during the three+ hours all of the stores close for their afternoon pausa. Also, everything is closed on Sunday. It's so strange for me, coming from a big city, where shopping on the weekend is what people (and stores) live for, to see all of the stores closed on Sunday! But now that we know that, we'll be more prepared for this weekend. We've also gone for a few runs in a park about 20 minutes away, and the weather has been beautiful. It was quite chilly on the weekend, but it's warmed up again to normal early-autumn weather.
And sadly, still no computer. But I'm remaining optimistic, really I am, that customs will eventually deliver to me my computer. But until that day, I have to rely on the generosity of others, or the computer in our program's office (which is in high demand), for internet. As soon as I get my computer, I'll post lots of pictures from the last few weeks.
I'll end with one last tidbit about Bologna. In my last post I mentioned that Bologna has a ridiculous amount of arcades/porticoes. I found out that there are actually 44km of arcades in the city. Apparently the farthest distance you can walk without passing under an arcade is 8km!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Oh, Bologna
After about two years of anticipation, I am finally in Bologna. Okay, that makes it sound a lot more dramatic than it is, but still. It's exciting.
We got to Bologna on Wednesday afternoon, and were brought to our respective dorms. There are three student residences to which we were randomly assigned. I'm living in Poeti, the actual dorm building (the other two are apartment-style housing) where we all live in double rooms with Italian roommates. Luckily, Poeti is right in the middle of the city, and about a block away from our program's office where all of our MAIL arrives! And also where some of our classes are held. Some of our roommates have already arrived, but most won't get here until the end of September, when the University of Bologna classes start. My roommate apparently lived in our room last year, since she has pictures on the wall and some things in the bathroom. (Bonus: we all have private bathrooms in our dorm rooms.) But since she's not here yet, I live in a constant state of nervous anticipation. It's nice to have the room to myself for now (although it's a very oddly shaped room, more like a hallway, it's very long and narrow and the window looks out onto some huge building machinery, maybe heating or water pipes...but at least there isn't noise from the street) but it's strange because I'm still expecting someone who will share the room with me. Hopefully we'll get along well, and be able to understand each other!
From what I've seen so far, Bologna looks like a great place to live. It's a city of about 400,000, in addition to about 100,000 university students. We're still finding our way around, finding the best places to buy groceries and kitchen supplies (since we cook most of our meals in a communal kitchen) but we've been finding everything pretty easily so far. As far as the communal kitchen goes, it seems nice enough, and there are wooden lockers next to the kitchen where we can store pots and pans, etc. We also have mini fridges in our rooms. Unfortunately, my locker doesn't lock, so I've decided to just keep the non-valuable cooking supplies in there and hope that nobody steals it. Also unfortunately, Nicole, who also lives in Poeti, has a locker that locks but is extremely shallow because it's in front of a pillar, so we can't actually store anything there.
Bologna is very beautiful, particularly because there are so many porticos. Almost every street has a portico. Which is convenient, because apparently it rains a lot here in the fall. Luckily, it seems to be one of those European cities that is gorgeous even on the most depressing rainy day. The art and architecture is truly beautiful!
The worst part of the last four days has been my inability to reunite with my beloved laptop...which is currently being held hostage in customs in the Bologna Airport due to miscommunication and errors written on the mailing form. (I'm using a public computer right now.) Hopefully I'll receive it sometime this week. I hope it's soon, too, because in order to get wireless set up in the dorm, we need to fill out a form and write in the IP address of our computers, and once that's handed in, it'll take 15 days to get internet. At least there's a lot of free internet in the city that I'll be able to take advantage of once the computer gets here.
But on a more positive note, we had some of the best gelato EVER yesterday, at Gelateria Gianni. I thought it was good in Postiano, but this Pistacchio gelato was far superb. Do gelaterias remain open in the winter in Italy? We'll certainly find out. On a not-so-unrelated note, Nicole and I are going to try to go for a run through a park tomorrow morning. We're hoping that we can find a nice route and have enough endurance after our past few weeks of eating European food to go jogging on a regular basis.
We got to Bologna on Wednesday afternoon, and were brought to our respective dorms. There are three student residences to which we were randomly assigned. I'm living in Poeti, the actual dorm building (the other two are apartment-style housing) where we all live in double rooms with Italian roommates. Luckily, Poeti is right in the middle of the city, and about a block away from our program's office where all of our MAIL arrives! And also where some of our classes are held. Some of our roommates have already arrived, but most won't get here until the end of September, when the University of Bologna classes start. My roommate apparently lived in our room last year, since she has pictures on the wall and some things in the bathroom. (Bonus: we all have private bathrooms in our dorm rooms.) But since she's not here yet, I live in a constant state of nervous anticipation. It's nice to have the room to myself for now (although it's a very oddly shaped room, more like a hallway, it's very long and narrow and the window looks out onto some huge building machinery, maybe heating or water pipes...but at least there isn't noise from the street) but it's strange because I'm still expecting someone who will share the room with me. Hopefully we'll get along well, and be able to understand each other!
From what I've seen so far, Bologna looks like a great place to live. It's a city of about 400,000, in addition to about 100,000 university students. We're still finding our way around, finding the best places to buy groceries and kitchen supplies (since we cook most of our meals in a communal kitchen) but we've been finding everything pretty easily so far. As far as the communal kitchen goes, it seems nice enough, and there are wooden lockers next to the kitchen where we can store pots and pans, etc. We also have mini fridges in our rooms. Unfortunately, my locker doesn't lock, so I've decided to just keep the non-valuable cooking supplies in there and hope that nobody steals it. Also unfortunately, Nicole, who also lives in Poeti, has a locker that locks but is extremely shallow because it's in front of a pillar, so we can't actually store anything there.
Bologna is very beautiful, particularly because there are so many porticos. Almost every street has a portico. Which is convenient, because apparently it rains a lot here in the fall. Luckily, it seems to be one of those European cities that is gorgeous even on the most depressing rainy day. The art and architecture is truly beautiful!
The worst part of the last four days has been my inability to reunite with my beloved laptop...which is currently being held hostage in customs in the Bologna Airport due to miscommunication and errors written on the mailing form. (I'm using a public computer right now.) Hopefully I'll receive it sometime this week. I hope it's soon, too, because in order to get wireless set up in the dorm, we need to fill out a form and write in the IP address of our computers, and once that's handed in, it'll take 15 days to get internet. At least there's a lot of free internet in the city that I'll be able to take advantage of once the computer gets here.
But on a more positive note, we had some of the best gelato EVER yesterday, at Gelateria Gianni. I thought it was good in Postiano, but this Pistacchio gelato was far superb. Do gelaterias remain open in the winter in Italy? We'll certainly find out. On a not-so-unrelated note, Nicole and I are going to try to go for a run through a park tomorrow morning. We're hoping that we can find a nice route and have enough endurance after our past few weeks of eating European food to go jogging on a regular basis.
More about Bologna and my classes later...the public computer logged me off with no notice, and subsequently deleted a bit of this post, so now I'm using Nicole's laptop to finish up this post. It will be a happy day when I see my lovely laptop again!
P.S. If you'd like to send me a letter/postcard/hug and kiss in the mail, my address is:
My Name
P.S. If you'd like to send me a letter/postcard/hug and kiss in the mail, my address is:
My Name
c/o Programma ECCO
Via Val d'Aposa, 7
40123, Bologna
Italia
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
When in Rome
Just a quick update from Rome! This morning we had a slightly hellish experience in the Naples train station...nothing involving theft or the endangerment of personal safety, but suffice it to say that it involved an unmarked track number, a missed train, running from ticket booth to ticket booth in hopes we'd be helped, and finally catching a train that we had to pay more money for once on board. Luckily we were helped by some very kind people who took pity on us (including the station's janitor who was actually the most helpful) and we found that our Italian held up well enough under a lot of stress.
We made it to Rome, a little later than expected, but with the whole afternoon to enjoy the city. We really got all we could out of Rome. Even though we'd all been to Rome before, we wanted to see as much of the city as we could, again. And being three art history enthusiasts, we let the art guide us. It was a very Bernini-themed day! We started out by visiting the Pantheon, then went to a cafe Nicole had been to before for Granita di Caffe con Panna, a specialty of this particular cafe. It was cream, a large scoop of iced granulated espresso, topped with more cream. Basically caffeinated heaven in a cup. Caitlin and I shared one, it was a bit too intense for us to handle alone. But outstanding nonetheless.
From the Pantheon we walked past the Trevi Fountain (Bernini masterpiece #1) and then to San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Bernini #2). After that we saw the beautiful Ecstasy of Saint Teresa altarpiece sculpture (Bernini #3) in Santa Maria della Vittoria, and also peeked inside a church across the street called Santa Susanna. We then took the metro to St. Peter's, and sat and gazed at the cathedral, piazza, and colonnade (Bernini #4) for a few minutes before venturing inside. Inside, we saw Michelangelo's Pietà, as well as Bernini's massive Baldacchino, and statue of Saint Longinus (#5 and 6). I had forgotten how truly astounding St. Peter's is. The ceiling alone is so high that you lose your sense of perspective. We almost didn't go inside, since we had all been before, and were enjoying the piazza so much, but it was definitely the right decision.
After St. Peter's we walked to Ponte Sant'Angelo, our final Bernini of the day. From there we walked along the Tiber River until we arrived in Trastevere, a neighborhood not far from where we're staying, which is supposedly the cool, less-touristy area, excellent for food. Our dinner was slightly less impressive than others we've had, but the good thing about food in Italy is that even a mediocre meal is still really, really good. And the neighborhood was very nice.
So that was our busy day (afternoon, really - all of this took place in about 4 hours, before we sat down to dinner). Luckily we walked enough today to justify all the delicious food we've been enjoying! Hope you're enjoying the links to wikipedia, sorry if they get a bit tiresome, but it's the easiest way to connect a visual to all the sites I'm rambling off, until I can hook up my camera to a computer. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be in Bologna!
P.S. Last mention of this, I promise - if you didn't read my previous post, and want an email notification when I publish a new post, let me know. No pressure for my friends, I figure this is just for family!
We made it to Rome, a little later than expected, but with the whole afternoon to enjoy the city. We really got all we could out of Rome. Even though we'd all been to Rome before, we wanted to see as much of the city as we could, again. And being three art history enthusiasts, we let the art guide us. It was a very Bernini-themed day! We started out by visiting the Pantheon, then went to a cafe Nicole had been to before for Granita di Caffe con Panna, a specialty of this particular cafe. It was cream, a large scoop of iced granulated espresso, topped with more cream. Basically caffeinated heaven in a cup. Caitlin and I shared one, it was a bit too intense for us to handle alone. But outstanding nonetheless.
From the Pantheon we walked past the Trevi Fountain (Bernini masterpiece #1) and then to San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane (Bernini #2). After that we saw the beautiful Ecstasy of Saint Teresa altarpiece sculpture (Bernini #3) in Santa Maria della Vittoria, and also peeked inside a church across the street called Santa Susanna. We then took the metro to St. Peter's, and sat and gazed at the cathedral, piazza, and colonnade (Bernini #4) for a few minutes before venturing inside. Inside, we saw Michelangelo's Pietà, as well as Bernini's massive Baldacchino, and statue of Saint Longinus (#5 and 6). I had forgotten how truly astounding St. Peter's is. The ceiling alone is so high that you lose your sense of perspective. We almost didn't go inside, since we had all been before, and were enjoying the piazza so much, but it was definitely the right decision.
After St. Peter's we walked to Ponte Sant'Angelo, our final Bernini of the day. From there we walked along the Tiber River until we arrived in Trastevere, a neighborhood not far from where we're staying, which is supposedly the cool, less-touristy area, excellent for food. Our dinner was slightly less impressive than others we've had, but the good thing about food in Italy is that even a mediocre meal is still really, really good. And the neighborhood was very nice.
So that was our busy day (afternoon, really - all of this took place in about 4 hours, before we sat down to dinner). Luckily we walked enough today to justify all the delicious food we've been enjoying! Hope you're enjoying the links to wikipedia, sorry if they get a bit tiresome, but it's the easiest way to connect a visual to all the sites I'm rambling off, until I can hook up my camera to a computer. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be in Bologna!
P.S. Last mention of this, I promise - if you didn't read my previous post, and want an email notification when I publish a new post, let me know. No pressure for my friends, I figure this is just for family!
Monday, September 8, 2008
The Bay of Naples
We thought the view from Naples was beautiful, but Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast have far surpassed anything we'd seen so far.
We arrived in Sorrento two nights ago, and explored the town a bit while looking for a place to eat. Sadly, since it's a beach town, it's overpopulated with English-speaking tourists (not to say that doesn't include us, which it does, but it's a little frustrating to speak in Italian and be answered in English every single time.) Nevertheless, it's beautiful, and we've been eating very well. Just to summarize the food:
We arrived in Sorrento two nights ago, and explored the town a bit while looking for a place to eat. Sadly, since it's a beach town, it's overpopulated with English-speaking tourists (not to say that doesn't include us, which it does, but it's a little frustrating to speak in Italian and be answered in English every single time.) Nevertheless, it's beautiful, and we've been eating very well. Just to summarize the food:
- Linguine al frutte di mare (seafood)...amazing. The tomatoes were so fresh and seasoned the whole dish
- Risotto al frutte di mare...same amazingness, this time with rice!
- Linguine al pesto...pesto unlike I've ever had it before. It actually wasn't green, more of a tan color. That may sound a bit unappetizing but trust me, it was incredible.
- Baba al Rhum...a rum-soaked pastry native to the region
- Buffalo Mozzerella, also native to the region
- Pistaccio Gelato, and Lemon and Strawberry Sorbet...enough said.
Those are just some of the food highlights that have impressed us so far. Yesterday we saw Pompeii in the morning, which was fascinating of course, but too hot to stay for very long. We were lucky and had a bit of a breeze and some cloud coverage, but after a few hours we were burnt out and ready to leave. The remains of people frozen in motion, and the Roman houses with colorful frescoes still on the walls were my favorite parts.
This morning we took a bus to Positano, a city on the Amalfi Coast. Imagine a classic winding road hugging the side of a huge cliff with the water stretching out below. We saw the water almost the whole way there, and then Positano came into view, with little colored houses and hotels piled right onto the side of the cliff. Caitlin told me that Positano is the city that the main character in Under the Tuscan Sun (which I haven't seen in years) goes to visit when she goes to southern Italy to visit her Italian boyfriend. It was certainly very picturesque. Swimming in the bay while looking up at the coast, and the cliffs, and all the beautiful pastel buildings with little balconies, is not something I'll soon forget! The water was warm and clear. On the way back, we took a ferry, and passed the island of Capri, and got a view of the coast which we didn't get to see on the way there. It was the perfect late-afternoon lighting and we took way too many pictures. Once I'm in Bologna I should be able to share some of those pictures here.
P.S. If you'd like to get an email notification when I post a new blog entry, let me know, because there's a setting where I can enter peoples' email addresses and you'll get an instant notice. Of course, I assume this would mostly be family members, since I know my friends have enough going on already, but if you'd like me to put in your email address, just let me know.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Scusami, but you see, back in old Napoli...
Let me begin by saying that I was slightly terrified of going to Naples. It's reputation for theft and dirt/garbage preceded it. Let me also say that we just had the most amazing day EVER, in Naples. And that I only saw garbage on the street once.
We arrived in Naples yesterday afternoon. Our hostel is 15-20 minutes outside of the city, and is very nice. We had enough time to go to the National Archeological Museum, where there are countless frescoes, mosaics, and statues from Pompeii. We saw the famous Alexander Mosaic, as well as the Gabinetto Segreto, literally "secret cabinet" with rated-R art and sculptures from the brothels of Pompeii. After that we had a dinner of, among other things, delicious pizza, although we knew there was better pizza to come.
This morning we got out early and walked to the Palazzo Reale, Naples' Royal Palace. On the way, I found a copy of O Princepe Piccerillo and was deliriously happy, especially since a salesman in one of the bookstores I had checked the previous day laughed at me when I asked for it in Neapolitan. After the Palazzo Reale, we made our way down to the harbor just to ogle at Mount Vesuvius. It's majestic, really. It reminded me of the island of Bali Hi from South Pacific. We briefly saw the Castel dell'Uovo (Egg Castle) which juts out on a little inlet into the sea. Next on our agenda was to find the small bakery which, according to my guidebook, is the birthplace of Sfogliatelle, a pastry that is a Naples specialty. (I don't know how accurate wikipedia's description is, but the picture is similar to what we ate.) It was truly heavenly. It was warm from the oven, crispy and flaky on the outside and gooey on the inside. And topped with powdered sugar. Wow. And that was lunch!
After that, we wandered down a street and came across a bank that housed Caravaggio's last painting. Very fortuitous. We also wandered down to Naples' main cathedral, the Duomo, which also housed the Crypt of San Gennaro. The Duomo was absolutely beautiful. We passed a small limoncello shop, and the man in the store showed us how they made limoncello right in the back. I wouldn't call it a factory, it was much too small, just another area of the main shop. Limoncello is a specialty of this area as well, as are all other lemon-related products, including cooking oil and pasta!
By that point, we had walked all over Naples and were tired and hungry, and seriously in need of some pizza. We found L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, a pizzeria with an excellent reputation. Naples is, after all, the birthplace of pizza, and we wanted only the best. We had read that people line up around the block for this pizza, but we went in the early evening and there were no crowds, so were able to sit and relax. Between the three of us we ordered one double mozzerella margherita pie, and one marinara pie. For 9 euros and 50 cents all together. Needless to say, it was outstanding. I even think that the marinara pie, just sauce, oregano, oil, and garlic, was better than the mozzerella pie. The ingredients are so simple, and yet, the result is amazing. I may never eat pizza again, because I will never be able to duplicate that experience.
Since we had such a full day, I'm sure I'll realize that I forgot to mention something, but I'll save it for the next post if I do. Tomorrow we leave for the Bay of Naples, and even more beautiful views.
We arrived in Naples yesterday afternoon. Our hostel is 15-20 minutes outside of the city, and is very nice. We had enough time to go to the National Archeological Museum, where there are countless frescoes, mosaics, and statues from Pompeii. We saw the famous Alexander Mosaic, as well as the Gabinetto Segreto, literally "secret cabinet" with rated-R art and sculptures from the brothels of Pompeii. After that we had a dinner of, among other things, delicious pizza, although we knew there was better pizza to come.
This morning we got out early and walked to the Palazzo Reale, Naples' Royal Palace. On the way, I found a copy of O Princepe Piccerillo and was deliriously happy, especially since a salesman in one of the bookstores I had checked the previous day laughed at me when I asked for it in Neapolitan. After the Palazzo Reale, we made our way down to the harbor just to ogle at Mount Vesuvius. It's majestic, really. It reminded me of the island of Bali Hi from South Pacific. We briefly saw the Castel dell'Uovo (Egg Castle) which juts out on a little inlet into the sea. Next on our agenda was to find the small bakery which, according to my guidebook, is the birthplace of Sfogliatelle, a pastry that is a Naples specialty. (I don't know how accurate wikipedia's description is, but the picture is similar to what we ate.) It was truly heavenly. It was warm from the oven, crispy and flaky on the outside and gooey on the inside. And topped with powdered sugar. Wow. And that was lunch!
After that, we wandered down a street and came across a bank that housed Caravaggio's last painting. Very fortuitous. We also wandered down to Naples' main cathedral, the Duomo, which also housed the Crypt of San Gennaro. The Duomo was absolutely beautiful. We passed a small limoncello shop, and the man in the store showed us how they made limoncello right in the back. I wouldn't call it a factory, it was much too small, just another area of the main shop. Limoncello is a specialty of this area as well, as are all other lemon-related products, including cooking oil and pasta!
By that point, we had walked all over Naples and were tired and hungry, and seriously in need of some pizza. We found L'Antica Pizzeria da Michele, a pizzeria with an excellent reputation. Naples is, after all, the birthplace of pizza, and we wanted only the best. We had read that people line up around the block for this pizza, but we went in the early evening and there were no crowds, so were able to sit and relax. Between the three of us we ordered one double mozzerella margherita pie, and one marinara pie. For 9 euros and 50 cents all together. Needless to say, it was outstanding. I even think that the marinara pie, just sauce, oregano, oil, and garlic, was better than the mozzerella pie. The ingredients are so simple, and yet, the result is amazing. I may never eat pizza again, because I will never be able to duplicate that experience.
Since we had such a full day, I'm sure I'll realize that I forgot to mention something, but I'll save it for the next post if I do. Tomorrow we leave for the Bay of Naples, and even more beautiful views.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Finalmente in Italia!
Not much to say, since I've been traveling so much for the past few days, but I'm finally in Italy! I arrived in Rome from Barcelona two nights ago and met up with Caitlin and her family for dinner in Rome. The next day we took a flight from Rome to Lecce, meeting up with Nicole, who came straight from the US, at the gate. It rained and hailed a bit when we arrived in Lecce, but cleared up by night and was nice and cool. Nicole and I bought our Italian cell phones, which was an experience. The man at the store was not helpful at all and didn't even want to try to speak slowly so that we could understand him. Luckily there was a very sweet girl who was in the store, who didn't work there but spoke a little English and stayed to help us understand everything. Also, in order to buy a cell phone or SIM card in Italy you need an Italian ID Card number, which we didn't have, so she was nice enough to let us use her number to buy our phones. I hate to say it, but it feels great to have a cell phone again!
We had arranged to stay in the dorm with the rest of the students on our program, but there was no room, so they put us in an apartment nearby, which is actually a great arrangement. We met two girls from the Netherlands who are also in our apartment and they showed us around Lecce last night (they've only been here for a few days as well) and we all got dinner together. It was great to walk around and see the town. It's a small town with many beautiful Baroque churches, almost every few blocks. We also saw a small amphitheater from Roman times.
This morning, we got absolutely delicious cappucinos and brioches for breakfast, and are going out to explore Lecce a bit more in a few minutes. Tonight we're joining the group on their final dinner, and leaving for Naples tomorrow. I can still hardly believe I'm in Italy!
Side note: I successfully found The Little Prince in Catalan in Barcelona, it was a bit of a search, so I was very happy when I finally came upon it. It's called El Petit Prìncep. Our bike tour guide told us that Catalan is a combination of French and Spanish, although I thought I saw some Italian influences, just flipping through the book. Next on my list is to find the Napoletano-Calabrese version in Naples, O Princepe Piccerillo, although that might be a bit more difficult to track down!
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!
We had arranged to stay in the dorm with the rest of the students on our program, but there was no room, so they put us in an apartment nearby, which is actually a great arrangement. We met two girls from the Netherlands who are also in our apartment and they showed us around Lecce last night (they've only been here for a few days as well) and we all got dinner together. It was great to walk around and see the town. It's a small town with many beautiful Baroque churches, almost every few blocks. We also saw a small amphitheater from Roman times.
This morning, we got absolutely delicious cappucinos and brioches for breakfast, and are going out to explore Lecce a bit more in a few minutes. Tonight we're joining the group on their final dinner, and leaving for Naples tomorrow. I can still hardly believe I'm in Italy!
Side note: I successfully found The Little Prince in Catalan in Barcelona, it was a bit of a search, so I was very happy when I finally came upon it. It's called El Petit Prìncep. Our bike tour guide told us that Catalan is a combination of French and Spanish, although I thought I saw some Italian influences, just flipping through the book. Next on my list is to find the Napoletano-Calabrese version in Naples, O Princepe Piccerillo, although that might be a bit more difficult to track down!
P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!
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