Cari tutti,
Last night, Benedetta called me at midnight and fortunately I was still awake. She apologized for the hour and basically begged me to hang out with her friend today. She sounded very stressed out and was speaking Italian a mile a minute. She explained that she had to study, but had a friend visiting that only spoke English, so she asked if her friend could hang around with us during the afternoon. She spoke English, so of course I accepted.
By the end of this morning, I was ready to crawl into a hole and hibernate for the rest of eternity, so I was in no mood to make friends and show someone around in the pouring rain. I guess this girl really wanted to get out of the house though, because she still came.
At one, when CLIDA let out, we met Benedetta and her friend, Maria in Piazza della Repubblica. Benedetta went off to study and we got to know Maria. She is Greek, and a very sweet girl. I ended up really enjoying her company. We took her to eat at Antico Noe, our favorite, but she couldn't finish the whole sandwich (neither can I). Then, since it was raining, we walked over to a little bar on Maggie's street and had a cappuccino and chatted for a while. I was very interested to hear that she and all of the other Greek students are required to learn two languages besides Greek, starting at a very early age. The first language is English, and the second is a selection between French or German. Maria chose German. I was so impressed to hear that she was fluent in 3 languages. She has been studying English for 12 years!!!! Like many other Europeans, she is obsessed with America, but has never been. She is hoping to do her study abroad in Washington, D.C. Sounds pretty cool.
After cappuccino, Maggie and Kevin went home, and I brought Maria to the Duomo. She seemed to enjoy it. Then, I showed her the bus station so that she could find it when she was ready to go home. I left her in the center and she went off to do some shopping. She informed me that I have an open invitation to stay with her in Greece. I better take it! Sounds amazing :) She also gave me a really nice complement in saying "I always thought Americans were very closed, but you and your friends are so nice. I really like you!" That was very sweet of her.
I'm looking forward to seeing her again on Thursday when I go over to Benedetta's for dinner and to teach Anarita and Antonio English. I think she and Benedetta want to go out dancing after that. We'll see how tired I am haha. Anyway, I'm glad I ended up meeting Maria. It was great to see a fresh face and get my mind off all the things that have been bothering me.
Tonight, we are going to a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Andrea's birthday, so I'm looking forward to that too. Maybe I'll have more to update tomorrow or Thursday.
Ciao!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Venice Carnevale
Ciao!
Yesterday morning, we left our house at 7:05 am to meet the Florence For Fun student travel agency at the train station for our trip to Carnevale in Venice. We were scheduled to leave by 7:30, but didn't get on the road until 8:30 because they were so poorly organized with checking in about 100-150 kids. We arrived in Venice around 12:30 instead of 11:00 as originally planned. There were no spaces left for our busses in the parking lot, and that was really annoying. I think the guides were able to sense our aggravation because as we were leaving the bus, they pushed our leaving time back from 6 pm to 7 pm. All settled.
We boarded a water taxi to take us to Venice from the mainland, and it was a perfect day. The sun was bright and there was just a little haze from the water. It was so beautiful. I took a few pictures from the boat.
When we arrived in the main area of Venice, Maggie, Andrea, and I immediately bought masks. I chose a gold and white one, with white feathers and lots of glitter. Of course, I saw many others that I would have wanted too, but I could only afford one. Carla had brought a mask with her, and neither Kevin nor Jeff were remotely interested in sparkly, feathery masks. I guess that's understandable. We walked to San Marco where the major festivities of Carnevale were taking place. There were lots of people walking around, completely decked out in 16th and 17th century costumes and masks. (I was able to recall the names of all the parts of the costumes thanks to my History of Costume course.) Others had less-traditional costumes. I was intrigued by a man who was wearing a snail body so that it looked like he was riding it. There was also a man dressed up as a Playboy, which was kind of gross. There was a human sun that was so bright, I had a hard time looking at him with the real sun's reflection. It took a very long time to walk through the Piazza because the whole place was shoulder-to-shoulder people. On our walk through, I stopped and fed some pigeons. There are so many that if you bent down gently with some crumbs in your hand, they'd come right over and peck them off! I tried it, and it was fun :)
We got across San Marco and strolled around for a while, admiring the canals and taking pictures of all the gondolas. I didn't realize that there were so many! While we were gondola-watching, one came by with a couple in it. The woman lifted up her hand to show us her ring. Her fiancee had proposed to her on the gondola on Valentine's Day! Sooooo cute! We clapped for them :)
At 3 pm, the agency with which we had come had set up a glass-blowing demonstration for us. Carla wasn't interested in coming, so she got herself some lunch while Maggie, Kevin, Jeff, Andrea and I went to the demonstration. Usually, most of the Murano glass is made on the island of Murano which is right off the main island of Venice. This place was mainly just for demonstrations and it's huge number of showrooms. It was really cool though. The glass-maker made both a vase and a horse, and he made it look so easy! It's crazy how they do it! After seeing the actual blowing process, our guide brought us to a chandelier room and explained they way they change the colors of the glass using the natural elements. The chandeliers were absolutely amazing and the information was pretty cool too. Then, we were free to look around for a while. I couldn't afford anything, but their stuff was beautiful. It was so expensive because this store guaranteed that everything was hand-made. It also looked like a pretty famous store, as there were TONS of rooms with all different types of things.
After the demonstration, we scooped up Carla and started to do a little glass shopping. At the first store, I was terribly offended by one of the men who worked there. I was in search of small earrings in the form of a ball, so when he asked if I needed help in English, I responded in Italian (because I need the practice, of course!) that I was looking for earrings in the form of a ball. He rudely responded to me very quickly in Italian, thinking that I wouldn't understand him. He said, "it's better that we speak in English because your Italian is a disaster." I looked at him and said "Excuse me? Then you don't need my business." And I walked out. After the fact, I thought of a million other things I could have said to that guy, but I suppose my choice of action was sufficient. Maggie and Andrea were both with me and were equally shocked by how easily and nonchalantly he offended me. They also left immediately, following behind me. The next store I went to, I found my earrings and a few other things I wanted. HA. Serves him right. What he said is still bothering me, but Maria Pia assures me that my grammar is perfect and that all I have to do is learn more vocabulary and speed, which I'm already aware of and don't mind working on.
After our shopping spree, we visited the Rialto Bridge and took a few pictures. It was swarming with people, so once we had gotten our photos, we left. Then, we found a little place to eat near one of the canals. The food wasn't out of this world, but it was just as tasty as we had wanted. I had spaghetti with red sauce and mini shrimp. I had read that the seafood was very good, so I wanted to try it. I don't think this place was the most ideal restaurant for seafood, but it wasn't bad.
We left dinner at around 6:30 and bought some Bellini in bottles. Bellini is a champagne and peach juice drink that is very famous in Venice. We pretty much ran all the way back to the boat dock with these bottles because we feared that the boat would leave without us. However, we should have learned from the experiences that morning because we arrived around 7:15 pm, and didn't leave until around 8:15. Fortunately, it didn't matter to us. It was a beautiful night so we drank our Bellini and took a few pictures. When the boat came to get us, Maggie ran into a high school friend on board, and two foolish American girls tried to pretend to be French to Kevin. It didn't work because they couldn't speak French very well, and their fake English was absolutely stupid. Also, when Kevin called me over and said "Hey Elsa, you remember a little French right?," they got very nervous and turned around. How can an American think that they can fool another American? We all know that we stick out like sore thumbs.
Anyway, we got back to the bus around 8:30 and I passed out immediately. I missed 5 calls from my Dad during the ride (sorry Dad), but I got back to him when I woke up in Florence around 11:45 pm. Andrea and I decided to take a cab because the next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 12:30 am. We had a little trouble getting a cab because while we were figuring our plans, there was some kind of trouble between the cab drivers and a group of African men. They were all arguing and calling each other racists until the cops came over and broke it up. After that, the cab drivers got back in their respective taxis, and we went home.
I really enjoyed Carnevale. It was such a unique experience. It's amazing how much effort these people put into their costumes. It's really something special to see and I would recommend everyone to go if they ever get the chance. I hope that I can go back some day. It's most certainly classier than the American Halloween!
A presto!
Yesterday morning, we left our house at 7:05 am to meet the Florence For Fun student travel agency at the train station for our trip to Carnevale in Venice. We were scheduled to leave by 7:30, but didn't get on the road until 8:30 because they were so poorly organized with checking in about 100-150 kids. We arrived in Venice around 12:30 instead of 11:00 as originally planned. There were no spaces left for our busses in the parking lot, and that was really annoying. I think the guides were able to sense our aggravation because as we were leaving the bus, they pushed our leaving time back from 6 pm to 7 pm. All settled.
We boarded a water taxi to take us to Venice from the mainland, and it was a perfect day. The sun was bright and there was just a little haze from the water. It was so beautiful. I took a few pictures from the boat.
When we arrived in the main area of Venice, Maggie, Andrea, and I immediately bought masks. I chose a gold and white one, with white feathers and lots of glitter. Of course, I saw many others that I would have wanted too, but I could only afford one. Carla had brought a mask with her, and neither Kevin nor Jeff were remotely interested in sparkly, feathery masks. I guess that's understandable. We walked to San Marco where the major festivities of Carnevale were taking place. There were lots of people walking around, completely decked out in 16th and 17th century costumes and masks. (I was able to recall the names of all the parts of the costumes thanks to my History of Costume course.) Others had less-traditional costumes. I was intrigued by a man who was wearing a snail body so that it looked like he was riding it. There was also a man dressed up as a Playboy, which was kind of gross. There was a human sun that was so bright, I had a hard time looking at him with the real sun's reflection. It took a very long time to walk through the Piazza because the whole place was shoulder-to-shoulder people. On our walk through, I stopped and fed some pigeons. There are so many that if you bent down gently with some crumbs in your hand, they'd come right over and peck them off! I tried it, and it was fun :)
We got across San Marco and strolled around for a while, admiring the canals and taking pictures of all the gondolas. I didn't realize that there were so many! While we were gondola-watching, one came by with a couple in it. The woman lifted up her hand to show us her ring. Her fiancee had proposed to her on the gondola on Valentine's Day! Sooooo cute! We clapped for them :)
At 3 pm, the agency with which we had come had set up a glass-blowing demonstration for us. Carla wasn't interested in coming, so she got herself some lunch while Maggie, Kevin, Jeff, Andrea and I went to the demonstration. Usually, most of the Murano glass is made on the island of Murano which is right off the main island of Venice. This place was mainly just for demonstrations and it's huge number of showrooms. It was really cool though. The glass-maker made both a vase and a horse, and he made it look so easy! It's crazy how they do it! After seeing the actual blowing process, our guide brought us to a chandelier room and explained they way they change the colors of the glass using the natural elements. The chandeliers were absolutely amazing and the information was pretty cool too. Then, we were free to look around for a while. I couldn't afford anything, but their stuff was beautiful. It was so expensive because this store guaranteed that everything was hand-made. It also looked like a pretty famous store, as there were TONS of rooms with all different types of things.
After the demonstration, we scooped up Carla and started to do a little glass shopping. At the first store, I was terribly offended by one of the men who worked there. I was in search of small earrings in the form of a ball, so when he asked if I needed help in English, I responded in Italian (because I need the practice, of course!) that I was looking for earrings in the form of a ball. He rudely responded to me very quickly in Italian, thinking that I wouldn't understand him. He said, "it's better that we speak in English because your Italian is a disaster." I looked at him and said "Excuse me? Then you don't need my business." And I walked out. After the fact, I thought of a million other things I could have said to that guy, but I suppose my choice of action was sufficient. Maggie and Andrea were both with me and were equally shocked by how easily and nonchalantly he offended me. They also left immediately, following behind me. The next store I went to, I found my earrings and a few other things I wanted. HA. Serves him right. What he said is still bothering me, but Maria Pia assures me that my grammar is perfect and that all I have to do is learn more vocabulary and speed, which I'm already aware of and don't mind working on.
After our shopping spree, we visited the Rialto Bridge and took a few pictures. It was swarming with people, so once we had gotten our photos, we left. Then, we found a little place to eat near one of the canals. The food wasn't out of this world, but it was just as tasty as we had wanted. I had spaghetti with red sauce and mini shrimp. I had read that the seafood was very good, so I wanted to try it. I don't think this place was the most ideal restaurant for seafood, but it wasn't bad.
We left dinner at around 6:30 and bought some Bellini in bottles. Bellini is a champagne and peach juice drink that is very famous in Venice. We pretty much ran all the way back to the boat dock with these bottles because we feared that the boat would leave without us. However, we should have learned from the experiences that morning because we arrived around 7:15 pm, and didn't leave until around 8:15. Fortunately, it didn't matter to us. It was a beautiful night so we drank our Bellini and took a few pictures. When the boat came to get us, Maggie ran into a high school friend on board, and two foolish American girls tried to pretend to be French to Kevin. It didn't work because they couldn't speak French very well, and their fake English was absolutely stupid. Also, when Kevin called me over and said "Hey Elsa, you remember a little French right?," they got very nervous and turned around. How can an American think that they can fool another American? We all know that we stick out like sore thumbs.
Anyway, we got back to the bus around 8:30 and I passed out immediately. I missed 5 calls from my Dad during the ride (sorry Dad), but I got back to him when I woke up in Florence around 11:45 pm. Andrea and I decided to take a cab because the next bus wasn't scheduled to arrive until 12:30 am. We had a little trouble getting a cab because while we were figuring our plans, there was some kind of trouble between the cab drivers and a group of African men. They were all arguing and calling each other racists until the cops came over and broke it up. After that, the cab drivers got back in their respective taxis, and we went home.
I really enjoyed Carnevale. It was such a unique experience. It's amazing how much effort these people put into their costumes. It's really something special to see and I would recommend everyone to go if they ever get the chance. I hope that I can go back some day. It's most certainly classier than the American Halloween!
A presto!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Jason
Ciao a tutti!
I'm not sure if I already mentioned this, but my friend from middle school, Jason is here visiting Florence for the weekend. He arrived yesterday to discover that his Spanish phone (he's studying in Barcelona) doesn't work here, so we've had a really difficult time getting together. I finally found him today around 2 pm. I met him and his friends in the Boboli Gardens and we walked around for a little while and saw some museums within Palazzo Pitti. Then, we broke off from his friends and he was dying for some coffee, so I took him to a little bar I know and we got cappuccinos and a snack. After that, we strolled through the San Lorenzo Marketplace, but didn't find anything good. Around 6, I brought him on the bus to Piazzale Michelangelo to meet up with his friends who had gone up there for the view and dinner.
It's been a long day, but I was really happy to have finally found Jason. It was great to catch up. He's such a nice kid and I'm so glad to hear that he's doing well and having such a great time abroad. I'm hoping to see him again tonight when we go out, but it will be tough with his lack of phone. We'll see.
Tomorrow, me and my friends are getting up very early to be at the train station by 7 am. We are taking a bus to Venice and spending the day there for Carnevale. I am beyond excited. I even made a mask! However, I think I'm going to buy one there as a souvenir, and I also want some Murano glass. We're going to have a great time. I'll definitely have some updates for when I return. It will just be a day trip, but we'll be getting back around midnight. Woohooo!
More later.
I'm not sure if I already mentioned this, but my friend from middle school, Jason is here visiting Florence for the weekend. He arrived yesterday to discover that his Spanish phone (he's studying in Barcelona) doesn't work here, so we've had a really difficult time getting together. I finally found him today around 2 pm. I met him and his friends in the Boboli Gardens and we walked around for a little while and saw some museums within Palazzo Pitti. Then, we broke off from his friends and he was dying for some coffee, so I took him to a little bar I know and we got cappuccinos and a snack. After that, we strolled through the San Lorenzo Marketplace, but didn't find anything good. Around 6, I brought him on the bus to Piazzale Michelangelo to meet up with his friends who had gone up there for the view and dinner.
It's been a long day, but I was really happy to have finally found Jason. It was great to catch up. He's such a nice kid and I'm so glad to hear that he's doing well and having such a great time abroad. I'm hoping to see him again tonight when we go out, but it will be tough with his lack of phone. We'll see.
Tomorrow, me and my friends are getting up very early to be at the train station by 7 am. We are taking a bus to Venice and spending the day there for Carnevale. I am beyond excited. I even made a mask! However, I think I'm going to buy one there as a souvenir, and I also want some Murano glass. We're going to have a great time. I'll definitely have some updates for when I return. It will just be a day trip, but we'll be getting back around midnight. Woohooo!
More later.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Ancient Italian ways...
Usually I just laugh at how archaically daily tasks are carried out in Italy. I think their strange opinions on health and food are ridiculous, but I usually just let it roll of my shoulder. Today, I couldn't do any of these things. I can't believe I'm saying this but... I'm actually annoyed with Maria Pia.
Incident #1: Two days ago, I asked for some tea in the afternoon because I wanted to relax a little. I volunteered to make it myself, but I guess that wasn't the problem. As soon as I had asked, Maria Pia got all worked up and said, "You really shouldn't be drinking that much tea. It's not good for your health." I got a little ticked and answered back that it's fine for my health. I only use sugar and milk in the morning. Any time after that, I take it as is. It helps my digestion and I know that it's not "bad" for my health. I tried to tell her these things, but she didn't care to waver.
Incident # 2: This morning, Maria Pia scolded me for having given her too much laundry to wash. Allow me to remind everyone that when I gave her the laundry, I apologized for having a lot from our vacation to Amsterdam. She told me that it didn't matter because it would all fit in one load anyway. Well, I guess it mattered today because as she folded everything up for us, she counted how many things I had in comparison to Andrea. Do I have to keep watch on my laundry now to avoid frustrating her? Let's assume that she was having a bad morning or something. I don't want to blame her too much.
Incident #3: Also this morning, I came to the breakfast table in an outfit that I felt awesome in. I was wearing a sweater with my new skirt, stockings, high socks, and high boots. The second I came into Maria Pia's sight, she actually started to YELL at me. She told me that my legs were going to be cold and that I was too "nuda" and that it was below freezing outside. It most certainly wasn't, because I checked the weather before getting dressed this morning and it said 45 degrees. (The Italians are pretty retarded when it comes to temperature. They tell you that it's the coldest day of the year when there have clearly been colder days. They wear layer after layer when it's 50 degrees out. They are crazy and don't understand that America is muchhhh colder in the winter than Italy.) She heard me cough only one time and started moaning and groaning saying, "O Dio mio! (Oh my God) You are still getting over your cold and you are going out like that so you can get sick again and blah blah blah." Anyway, I argued with her for a while and told her about my layers that I would be putting on under my coat, just to make her happy. She still went on about how I was under-dressed for 10 minutes after I had sat down. For the record, I was perfectly comfortable all day, if not even a little on the warm side for wearing all the layers that I had promised to Maria Pia. When I got home, she asked me if I had been freezing all day in an "I told you so" way. I told her that I had actually felt very comfortable. She thought that I was lying, so she put her hands on my legs. Suprise-- they were a NORMAL temperature. She has to stop bugging me about this stuff. I KNOW that it's winter.
Incident # 4: Maria Pia made pizza for dinner tonight. One included veggies, and the other was a 3 cheese pizza. The pizza in question is the 3 cheese one, consisting of gorgonzola, brie, and mozzarella. When she served this particular pizza to me, I did the usual; I sprinkled a little pepper on it. No big deal. Well, apparently I was a HUGE deal because Maria Pia got all worked up and told me that pepper was terrible for my health. She claimed that it clogged people's arteries while I sat there eating the 3 CHEESE pizza that SHE made! I assured her that I was fine and that I disagreed with her theory. I told her that my Dad was in the medical industry and that there has never been a problem with a person consuming too much pepper. She told me, "That's right, because you Americans are special so you don't have these problems. Well, obviously there is something wrong because there is such a problem with obesity." I am full aware that there is a problem with obesity, but what does that have to do with pepper!!?? That really pissed me off. I just feel like I'm being watched with every bite I take. She makes fun of me for eating too little and doesn't understand why more won't fit in my stomach. She makes fun of me for PEPPER! Whatever, she can eat as little pepper as she wants, and she'll be fine too.
Love her to death, but sometimes I want to bring her into this century and let her know that we're all ok with the way we choose to live.
Okay, I feel better now. We're going out tonight to celebrate Andrea's birthday so I'm looking forward to that.
A dopo!
Incident #1: Two days ago, I asked for some tea in the afternoon because I wanted to relax a little. I volunteered to make it myself, but I guess that wasn't the problem. As soon as I had asked, Maria Pia got all worked up and said, "You really shouldn't be drinking that much tea. It's not good for your health." I got a little ticked and answered back that it's fine for my health. I only use sugar and milk in the morning. Any time after that, I take it as is. It helps my digestion and I know that it's not "bad" for my health. I tried to tell her these things, but she didn't care to waver.
Incident # 2: This morning, Maria Pia scolded me for having given her too much laundry to wash. Allow me to remind everyone that when I gave her the laundry, I apologized for having a lot from our vacation to Amsterdam. She told me that it didn't matter because it would all fit in one load anyway. Well, I guess it mattered today because as she folded everything up for us, she counted how many things I had in comparison to Andrea. Do I have to keep watch on my laundry now to avoid frustrating her? Let's assume that she was having a bad morning or something. I don't want to blame her too much.
Incident #3: Also this morning, I came to the breakfast table in an outfit that I felt awesome in. I was wearing a sweater with my new skirt, stockings, high socks, and high boots. The second I came into Maria Pia's sight, she actually started to YELL at me. She told me that my legs were going to be cold and that I was too "nuda" and that it was below freezing outside. It most certainly wasn't, because I checked the weather before getting dressed this morning and it said 45 degrees. (The Italians are pretty retarded when it comes to temperature. They tell you that it's the coldest day of the year when there have clearly been colder days. They wear layer after layer when it's 50 degrees out. They are crazy and don't understand that America is muchhhh colder in the winter than Italy.) She heard me cough only one time and started moaning and groaning saying, "O Dio mio! (Oh my God) You are still getting over your cold and you are going out like that so you can get sick again and blah blah blah." Anyway, I argued with her for a while and told her about my layers that I would be putting on under my coat, just to make her happy. She still went on about how I was under-dressed for 10 minutes after I had sat down. For the record, I was perfectly comfortable all day, if not even a little on the warm side for wearing all the layers that I had promised to Maria Pia. When I got home, she asked me if I had been freezing all day in an "I told you so" way. I told her that I had actually felt very comfortable. She thought that I was lying, so she put her hands on my legs. Suprise-- they were a NORMAL temperature. She has to stop bugging me about this stuff. I KNOW that it's winter.
Incident # 4: Maria Pia made pizza for dinner tonight. One included veggies, and the other was a 3 cheese pizza. The pizza in question is the 3 cheese one, consisting of gorgonzola, brie, and mozzarella. When she served this particular pizza to me, I did the usual; I sprinkled a little pepper on it. No big deal. Well, apparently I was a HUGE deal because Maria Pia got all worked up and told me that pepper was terrible for my health. She claimed that it clogged people's arteries while I sat there eating the 3 CHEESE pizza that SHE made! I assured her that I was fine and that I disagreed with her theory. I told her that my Dad was in the medical industry and that there has never been a problem with a person consuming too much pepper. She told me, "That's right, because you Americans are special so you don't have these problems. Well, obviously there is something wrong because there is such a problem with obesity." I am full aware that there is a problem with obesity, but what does that have to do with pepper!!?? That really pissed me off. I just feel like I'm being watched with every bite I take. She makes fun of me for eating too little and doesn't understand why more won't fit in my stomach. She makes fun of me for PEPPER! Whatever, she can eat as little pepper as she wants, and she'll be fine too.
Love her to death, but sometimes I want to bring her into this century and let her know that we're all ok with the way we choose to live.
Okay, I feel better now. We're going out tonight to celebrate Andrea's birthday so I'm looking forward to that.
A dopo!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Italian hospitality
Ciao,
I just wanted to mention something funny that happened Tuesday at breakfast. It was around 10 am and I was minding my own business, eating my yogurt, when I heard a knock at the door. Maria Pia was rushing to get ready to go somewhere at 10:30, but she ran to the door and answered it. From my spot at the table, I couldn't see our visitor, but I knew he was trying to sell something. Maria Pia talked to him for about 3 minutes, but I wasn't really paying attention. Next thing I knew, he came inside! I guess Maria Pia invited him in, but I wasn't sure.
When I finally saw him, I thought he looked to be about my age, and I'm pretty sure he thought the same as he perked up when he saw me. He immediately came over and shook my hand, and wouldn't stop looking at me! I was thinking to myself, "What the heck is Maria Pia trying to do to me!?" I WAS going to eat my breakfast in peace, but that changed. After he offered me a job doing whatever boring thing he was here doing and I politely declined, he gave my face a rest and talked to Maria Pia. I went back to my breakfast and didn't really listen to the conversation. But, a little while in, I started to hear Maria Pia's voice raise, and I knew that she was frustrated. So, then I listened! He was trying incredibly (and desperately) hard to sell her these books. She explained that she had let him in because she has a "weak heart for young people that try so hard to make money," but that she didn't want to buy anything that was going to be sent to her house, and that she was never going to read. This kid would not take no for an answer, so they kept arguing and cutting each other off with their own explanations. It was pretty funny.
When the kid finally threw in the towel and Maria Pia was ready to push him out the door, he bid farewell to me and then Maria Pia quickly changed her tone to Italian Mom... "Have you eaten anything today? Did you have breakfast?" I chuckled at that. Yes, he had eaten breakfast, but I loved that Maria Pia was so aggravated with him and still felt the need to offer him, a complete (and creepy) stranger, something to eat. That's great Italian hospitality.
I just wanted to mention something funny that happened Tuesday at breakfast. It was around 10 am and I was minding my own business, eating my yogurt, when I heard a knock at the door. Maria Pia was rushing to get ready to go somewhere at 10:30, but she ran to the door and answered it. From my spot at the table, I couldn't see our visitor, but I knew he was trying to sell something. Maria Pia talked to him for about 3 minutes, but I wasn't really paying attention. Next thing I knew, he came inside! I guess Maria Pia invited him in, but I wasn't sure.
When I finally saw him, I thought he looked to be about my age, and I'm pretty sure he thought the same as he perked up when he saw me. He immediately came over and shook my hand, and wouldn't stop looking at me! I was thinking to myself, "What the heck is Maria Pia trying to do to me!?" I WAS going to eat my breakfast in peace, but that changed. After he offered me a job doing whatever boring thing he was here doing and I politely declined, he gave my face a rest and talked to Maria Pia. I went back to my breakfast and didn't really listen to the conversation. But, a little while in, I started to hear Maria Pia's voice raise, and I knew that she was frustrated. So, then I listened! He was trying incredibly (and desperately) hard to sell her these books. She explained that she had let him in because she has a "weak heart for young people that try so hard to make money," but that she didn't want to buy anything that was going to be sent to her house, and that she was never going to read. This kid would not take no for an answer, so they kept arguing and cutting each other off with their own explanations. It was pretty funny.
When the kid finally threw in the towel and Maria Pia was ready to push him out the door, he bid farewell to me and then Maria Pia quickly changed her tone to Italian Mom... "Have you eaten anything today? Did you have breakfast?" I chuckled at that. Yes, he had eaten breakfast, but I loved that Maria Pia was so aggravated with him and still felt the need to offer him, a complete (and creepy) stranger, something to eat. That's great Italian hospitality.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Amsterdam
Goedemiddag friends! That means "good afternoon" in Dutch, a word that I learned after a fabulous weekend in Amsterdam. I have a ton of interesting and amusing stories, so this is going to be a long, and hopefully entertaining, entry.
When we left off, I was getting ready to head into the center of Florence to wait for our 3:30 am bus to Pisa. Andrea and I took our last bus #23 at 11:45 pm, planning to go and sit in Mac Donald's for a few hours, since that was the only place open so late. We didn't get off to the best start because as soon as we boarded the bus and turned the corner, I started talking about the time Kathryn almost forgot her passport for our London trip. That quickly made Andrea realize that she had forgotten her passport. Great. She immediately called up Maria Pia, who was most likely sleeping in her comfy chair, as she does every night. She immediately responded and said that she was not able to move her car, but would come in Gianna's car with Andrea's passport. About 20 minutes after Andrea and I arrived downtown, Maria Pia and Gianna were there, with passport. Seriously, she's a gem that Maria Pia. She'd really do anything for us. So, around 12:30, the crisis had been averted and Andrea and I went to Mac Donald's to sit down. I felt obligated to buy something so that we were allowed to sit, so I got a little milkshake. Around 1am, Kevin showed up and ordered himself a full meal (chicken nuggets, fries and a soda). I really envy boys in that respect because late night Mac Donald's would very quickly turn me into a cow.
Unfortunately, we got kicked out of Mac Donald's at 2 am because they needed to close. So Kevin, Andrea and I walked over to Piazza Santa Maria Novella and sat on a bench. It was pretty freezing, especially because there wasn't much between my butt and the cold marble bench. We distracted ourselves by watching the drunk, under-dressed Americans stumble by and chatting while listening to music. Maggie Rossi showed up soon after we got to the Piazza, and we sat there shivering until about 3:00 am. At that point, we decided to walk over to where the bus was scheduled to arrive, just to ensure that we didn't miss it. There were a ton of homeless people sleeping under the station's awning, so we avoided that area and waited further away so that we could keep watch on the happenings of late-night Florence. The bus arrived on schedule at 3:30 am and we had no problems getting tickets, thank goodness. There were a lot of other kids there that had already ordered tickets, so we were a little nervous until we made it on the bus. Most of the kids were either going to Amsterdam as well, or Morocco. Pretty cool!
As soon as I sat in my seat, I passed out. I guess Kevin, Maggie and Andrea had a little more trouble sleeping because some idiotic American spent the whole 1 hour, 15 min bus ride calling people- at 3:30 in the morning! Maggie was pretty pissed about that. When we arrived at the airport in Pisa, we had to wait about a half hour before check in began. Everything went smoothly through our boarding at 6:30 am, and we slept again on the 1 hour, 30 min plane ride. We landed in Eindhoven, The Netherlands around 9 am and hopped on a shuttle from the airport to get to the train station. At the train station, we got situated on a train heading into Amsterdam, with a little help from some kind Dutch people that conveniently spoke perfect English (I suppose just about all of them are bilingual). The train ride lasted a little under 2 hours and we arrived in Amsterdam around 11--- finally. We got our hands on a map and decided to walk to our hostel because it didn't look like it was very far away. While admiring the unique scenery (canals, quaint buildings, etc), we got a little turned around and had some trouble getting to the hostel. From the beginning, Amsterdam was pretty hard to navigate because it is built around the canals, and they don't have much of a pattern. It's certainly no New York grid. To make matters worse, all of the street names were about 12+ letters long, and varying only very slightly. Here's what I mean; Our hostel was located on OUDEZIJDS ACHTERBURGWAL, while other streets were named OUDEZIJDS VOORBURGWAL and NIEUWEZIJDS VOORBURGWAL. Forget trying to pronounce them, let alone find them.
Anyway, after a few wrong turns, we found ourselves in the Red Light District, which appeared much more tame than we had expected. Yes, there was a store dedicated to selling only condoms, and sex shops and peep shows lining the streets, but it really wasn't that bad. I saw the windows where I imagined the girls would appear later in the day, and then marveled at the hundreds of white swans in the canals. Turns out we didn't lead ourselves in too wrong of a direction because we quickly found our hostel, called The Heart of Amsterdam, smack in the middle of the busiest street of the Red Light District. Oops. From the information online, we had no way of understanding its actual location. I just laughed it off, saying that it would be a great way to get a full, Amsterdam experience. Maggie was a little nervous, but I think that subsided once we got settled in.
The hostel was pretty nice. It was designed in a movie theater layout, so the front desk was the "ticket booth" and all the walls were black and red, with movie posters and paintings all over. It was pretty cool. The stairs up to the third floor (where we were staying) were treacherous, but pretty entertaining to climb at the same time. If memory serves me correctly, our room was called "Fight Club." It was an 8-bed room and at the start, we had a quiet Asian boy, two middle-Eastern boys, and a boy from Brussels to share our space with. The room was cozy and all black, perfect for good slumber. We also had a great view from our window of some lovely naked women across the street. We were intrigued watching men shadily sneak in and out of the different doors.
Once we got settled in, we found a pub and got some lunch. I had a burger, which I hadn't had since the summer. It was great. We also all ordered Heineken's in honor of being in Amsterdam. After lunch, we headed over to the Van Gogh Museum, despite being completely exhausted. We knew we had to get at least one activity in for the day if we were to finish everything that we had planned for the weekend.
I really liked the Van Gogh Museum. It was very well laid out and though kind of big, it was not overwhelming. I loved all of his paintings. It was very interesting to see how much his style changed over the years, based on different influences. Previously, I had really only known him by his style in his famous works, but there were a lot of other very interesting subjects that he painted throughout his life. I really appreciated them all. Maggie and I finished viewing last, after Andrea and Kevin had already parked it in the lounge. We found Kevin sleeping and Andrea just about to do the same. So, we headed back to the hostel for a nap (around 4:30 pm).
When we awoke, it had already gotten dark, so I think it was somewhere around 7pm. We had an intense craving for Asian food, which is very popular in Amsterdam, so we found a nice little place for dinner. After dinner, we snooped around the Red Light District for a while and did some people watching. For the record, the Red Light District did not feel at all dangerous. There were lots of people walking around and generally minding their own businesses. Not everyone hangs in the area to get prostitutes. There's just a lot of activity there at night because there are so many bars and coffeeshops (the places where weed is sold) in the area. Also, the prostitution is pretty controlled. None of them walk the streets or anything like that. Instead, they all stand behind glass doors, usually wearing a teeny tiny bra and underwear set and dancing under red neon lighting (hence the name of the area). These doors can be either ground level or one story up, sometimes both within the same building. The most desirable prostitutes get the best windows on the main drag, while the pregnant, overweight and old prostitutes get the smaller alley-ways. Those buildings that don't display the prostitutes are usually sex shops or theaters for peep and porno shows. Oh yea, and there were also hostels, like mine.
We poked our heads into a few weed-infested coffee shops to see what was going on and then wound up at a nice pub. We got some Heineken's and a few Coke's and watched some hilarious 90s music videos on TV. At one point, a really drunk man turned around and started talking to us, asking to buy us drinks. We refused about 5 times before he got the message, and when he complimented Kevin on his choice in women, Kevin fooled him into thinking that he and Maggie were married. It was entertaining. We left the bar, got some incredible Dutch pastries and then called it in early night.
The next day, we woke up completely refreshed and headed off to the train station to pick up a free, 3-hour tour that we had read about. Our tour guide, Mason picked up those interested and we all walked to Dam Square, the original heart of the city with the Queen's Palace, etc. From there, he divided everyone up and we began our tour. I am not kidding when I say that it was one of the best tours that I had ever taken. 3 hours was most certainly a really long time but Mason had the most interesting and hilarious stories to share about the city. He was 25 and from New Zealand. He moved to Amsterdam a year ago, when he fell in love with the city and explained that he chose to be a part of this tour company because he liked their ideals: everyone should be able to learn about the history of a city, regardless of how much they can afford. As a college student, I'm in full agreement. We covered all parts of the city, including, The Old Church, The Red Light District, The Jewish Quarter, The Royal Palace, The Anne Frank House, The Jordaan District, The Begijnhof Convent, Hidden Catholic churches, Dutch Art, Multatuli's Giant Head, The Hash, Marihuana and Hemp Museum, Widest Bridge and smallest house, leaning buildings, The Dutch East India Company, and more stuff that I probably don't remember.
I learned sooooo much. For one, Amsterdam is very liberal, if you haven't figured that one out already. Mason explained that prostitution has been around and legal since Amsterdam first came to be. With all the canals, it was predominantly a sea-trading town, with lots of sailors coming in from long journeys on the ocean. This easily explains the presence of the girls back then, when sailors, just paid, were looking to have a little fun before going back out to sea. I found it funny that the main church in town was right next to the Red Light District. Turns out it was purposely placed there, so that sailors could come to repent their sins of the nights. The church benefited from charging a fee to all confessors, so business worked out just fine. Nowadays, the girls are all self-employed and there are no pimps involved in the prostitution. They usually do pretty well in the business, as they charge 50 euro for 15 minutes, and additional costs for anything "out of the ordinary," like pretending to actually like the customer. It's a very regulated business, as Mason explained that all the men must take showers when they arrive before even being able to touch a prostitute. I also know that they are regularly checked for STDs. The oldest prostitute in Amsterdam is 73 (I'm pretty sure we found her accidentally.. ew), but doesn't get very many customers. I think she should consider retiring. Anyway, Mason sadly informed us that the prostitutes are starting to get a lot of trouble from the government and are slowly starting to disappear. He thinks that there won't be much left for the business in about 10 years. I thought that was kind of sad considering Amsterdam's unique reputation based off prostitution and decriminalized marijuana.
Mason also explained how literal the Dutch people are when it comes to naming things, hence "The Old Church," "The New Church," "The National Monument," and "The Royal Palace." I guess they didn't want mess around with names (like they did with their streets!). I also learned that there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam, and that Amsterdammer's will run you right over if you are in their bike lane. I had a few close calls. I learned that marijuana is not actually legal, but decriminalized. According to Mason, the Dutch believe that the things one does on his/her own time, are his/her personal business. So, if you run up to an Amsterdam police men claiming that a man is selling marijuana behind the counter of a coffee shop, he will look at you and tell you that they are only selling coffee, tea and lattes, and that they are very tasty. I thought this was funny.
I was also very intrigued by the extent to which Amsterdam government went to control public urination. All over the city, there are actually "pee deflectors" designed to keep men from peeing in public corners. They look like metal shields that are flat, and form a triangle with the corner of a building. They have little flaps on the surface so that if a man tries to pee, everything ends up on his pants. Way back when, they were equipped with electrical currents running through them, but that got nixed when some mischief-makers got into the circuit box and turned up the voltage. There are also standing urinals all over the city. I was pretty amused to see that the government actually spent a lot of time worrying about accommodating drunk people who felt the need to pee in the street. Like I said, very liberal.
Anyway, there was a lot more that I learned on the tour, but that stuff really stuck with me because it was so unique and Mason told the stories so well. At the end of the tour, he invited those who wanted to hang around to join him for a traditional Dutch lunch, called Stamppot. We happily accepted because being on his tour got us a free beer and unlimited servings of this dish for only 7 euro. The Stamppot was delicious and included a Dutch sausage and 3 scoops of mashed potatoes, mixed in with shredded vegetables, bacon and gravy. It was delicious. During lunch, we met this Turkish girl who had also been on the tour. Her name was something that we couldn't understand, so she told us to call her "Moon." Seriously. Anyway, she was 20 years old and taking a vacation by herself in Amsterdam. She was a little shy, but sweet and completely out of her element within this culture. We also found ourselves next to two Americans that were also studying in Florence. What a coincidence. Their names were Andrew and Dan and both go to Georgetown back in the States. Turns out one of them went to high school with Matt Harper, one of my good friends back at Holy Cross.
After lunch, we did a little souvenir shopping and then headed back to the hostel to shower and rest. When we arrived back, in place of the Asian boy on the top bunk was a girl who I thought was a boy until she stood up. She confirmed our suspicions of her sexual orientation when she invited the other newbies (that replaced the middle-Eastern boys) to a gay bar that night. Those other newbies were two girls from Canada who were a part of the circus. I couldn't believe it at first, but while talking to one of the girls, I realized that she was actually serious. She was a contortionist! When I asked her how she got involved with the circus, she said "I was born that way." I think she misunderstood my question, but I'm not sure if she meant that she's been able to bend her body for her whole life, or that she's actually been in the circus for her whole life. Either way, these girls were an interesting and very noisy addition to the room.
At 8, we met at a bar to join a pub crawl that Mason had suggested. We were the first to arrive, so we got first pick of the free t-shirts, and free unlimited shots of vodka and juice. We weren't in the bar very long when we witnessed a naked, middle-aged man run through the bar, right past me who was standing in his way, up the stairs, and out into the street. I guess he lost a bet? Kevin also found a random mullet wig on the ground, so he tried that one for size while we were hanging out. Next thing we knew, Moon showed up! I'm not sure if she knew we were coming or not, but she latched right on to us. She was a little awkward and Kevin couldn't stand her, but Andrea and I enjoyed chatting with her for a little while. Those boys Andrew and Dan also showed up because they saw a crowd. What a small world. Our second stop on the pub crawl was a bar where we were given free Jager shots and beer at a discounted price. At this place, we met a British girl named Robyn, who was insanely underdressed for the cold weather and had a ridiculous amount of mascara on. She was great company though and very fun. Our third bar was at St. Christopher's Hostel, and it was packed. We also got free Jager shots there. Moon was already very drunk and made a bit of a scene with the pub crawl leaders. She tried to take more shots than she was permitted, and had a hard time understanding what the leaders were saying since English was her second language. She was pretty ridiculous, but it cracked us up. At the fourth bar, we got more free Jager shots and discounted beers. We got to chatting with one of the pub crawl leaders and found out that she was from New York, so that was pretty cool. There was supposed to be a fifth and final stop on the pub crawl, but Andrea, Maggie, Kevin and myself decided to skip out. We were tired, hungry (we hadn't had time for dinner), and were ready to get away from Moon. So, we thanked the pub crawl leaders and found this amazing "Wok to Go" restaurant and got a late dinner. We got back to the hostel around 1 am.
Yesterday, we got up early and walked for about 40 minutes, trying to find Mike's Bike Tours. Needless to say, we got a little lost, but finally found it. Mike's Bike Tours is the same company that we used to tour Munich when we went in October. We had really enjoyed it, so that's why we decided to use the same company. When we arrived, there were two other Holy Cross students already there. We had run into them on Saturday while we were on the free tour, and decided to get together for the bike tour. Since it was a little chilly yesterday, the only people on the tour were the 6 of us, so it was great. We road all the way out to the countryside of Amsterdam and saw the classic windmill. We also stopped at a farm and got a cheese-making demonstration and tasting, and also watched the owner make the traditional wooden clogs. It was really cool and we took a few pictures with some cows, too. On our ride back into the city, our tour guide took us through Vondelpark and showed us a statue made by Picasso. He also told us that the park originally used to be private and was reserved for use by rich people only. When the owner passed away, she left the park to the city of Amsterdam, provided that dogs were allowed to go unleashed. Then, he told us a funny story about the park in the summer time. During the sixties, lots of people came to the park to sunbathe naked. At a certain point, a more conservative group of people moved into the city and complained about the public nudity. So, the city forbade nude sunbathing. Soon after though, the gay population got upset that nudity wasn't allowed because they used to go to the park at night to, uh "make love," and wouldn't be able to with this law. So, the government changed the law to say that nudity was not allowed, but sex was as long as the people had clothes on. I don't get it, but again, that's the liberalism that runs rampant through Amsterdam!
After our cold and long, but very exciting bike ride through Amsterdam's countryside, we split with the other Holy Cross students and got "Wok to Walk" for lunch. It was delicious. I had wheat Asian noodles with shrimp and peanut sauce. After lunch, we walked over to the Anne Frank Museum and got inside very quickly. I was so impressed with the way the exhibit had been set up. It was incredibly informative, but very touching and real at the same time. We got to see the rooms of "The Secret Annex" as they had been left after the Frank family was taken to the concentration camps. All of Anne's personal photos and interests were affixed to the walls of her room, just as she had left them. Anyone who visits Amsterdam CANNOT miss the Anne Frank museum. I liked it so much that I'm going to read her diary as soon as I can find it for a cheap price here in Italy.
After the museum, we scooted back over to the area of the Van Gogh Museum and took some pictures in front of the I amsterdam sign. That was a must-do for tourists. After that, we realized that we were in the area in which our bike tour guide had described the location of a Taco Bell. Kevin's favorite fast food restaurant is Taco Bell, so we had to go. Turns out this "Taco Bell" wasn't a Taco Bell at all, but a "Taco Mundo." Kevin carried his disappointment back towards the direction in which we had come when we stumbled upon a Dominoes Pizza, Kevin's second favorite fast food place! So, we stopped there and he got his America fix. After that, we ran up to the train station and got our information squared away for our journey home, and then went back to rest before dinner.
We chose to eat dinner at "The Pancake Corner" because we had heard that we couldn't leave Amsterdam without having tried Dutch pancakes. So, we shared a pitcher of Heineken and each got our own pancake. They were HUGE and I could not even think about finishing mine. I included tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and onions in mine and it was delicious. After dinner, the other Holy Cross students met us at this restaurant to watch the Superbowl together. We got bored pretty quickly because they didn't turn the sound on, so we couldn't enjoy the commercials. So, we left soon after the game had started and just hung out for a little while before going back.
This morning, we woke up at 3:50 am and left the hostel at 4:30. Walking through the Red Light District at that time was a little weird, but not too bad. We got to the train station and hopped on the 5:00 am bus to Eindhoven. We had a very difficult time getting tickets for this bus, not because it was full, but because the driver sounded like he had a terrible speech impediment on top of his inability to speak English. I know that the tickets were supposed to be 23 euro, and I gave him 25. It sounded like he was trying to get another euro from me and I told him that I knew it was 23, so then he just shooed me away, without my change. Whatever, at 5 am, I just wanted to get moving. The entire 2 hour bus ride was absolutely freezing and since no one could communicate with this crazy bus driver, we suffered for a good while. We were so thankful to arrive at the heat of the airport. Everything went fine and I slept the entire flight. When we arrived in Pisa, it was sunny! The entire time in Amsterdam had been gloomy and foggy, with occasional mist. I think that's common for the area during this time of year, but it was really nice to get back to the sunshine. We missed the 10:30 bus back to Florence by 10 minutes, so we waited around until noon to get the next bus in. We ended up being the only 4 people on it, so that was nice. Maria Pia had lunch waiting for us when we got home. Oh man, did I miss her. And as a side note, as soon as I opened my Facebook back home, I discovered that Moon had found me—already!? She didn’t even know my last name. Oh boy.
Anyway, we had an absolutely wonderful time. Amsterdam is such a unique city and I would recommend everyone to go. It has more canals than Venice and some great little bridges. The houses are very quaint and leaning with time. It's definitely a city with lots of character. I guess I would most closely pair the style of the houses in Amsterdam to that of the houses in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Not exactly the same, but similar in their simplicity. Also, the people are just gorgeous! All tall, blonde and thin. I hope that I get to go back some day in the future. There's still more I want to see.
As a side note, Ryanair (the airline that we used) sucks. Sure, the flights are cheap; but, the schedules are almost impossible to work with and they never fly into the convenient airports. So, what you don't pay for in the flight, you pay for in transportation to and from the flight. We'll see if we can find another option next time.
I just spent 3 hours writing this entry, so I have to go and do some other things. I'll update later this week.
Ciao!
When we left off, I was getting ready to head into the center of Florence to wait for our 3:30 am bus to Pisa. Andrea and I took our last bus #23 at 11:45 pm, planning to go and sit in Mac Donald's for a few hours, since that was the only place open so late. We didn't get off to the best start because as soon as we boarded the bus and turned the corner, I started talking about the time Kathryn almost forgot her passport for our London trip. That quickly made Andrea realize that she had forgotten her passport. Great. She immediately called up Maria Pia, who was most likely sleeping in her comfy chair, as she does every night. She immediately responded and said that she was not able to move her car, but would come in Gianna's car with Andrea's passport. About 20 minutes after Andrea and I arrived downtown, Maria Pia and Gianna were there, with passport. Seriously, she's a gem that Maria Pia. She'd really do anything for us. So, around 12:30, the crisis had been averted and Andrea and I went to Mac Donald's to sit down. I felt obligated to buy something so that we were allowed to sit, so I got a little milkshake. Around 1am, Kevin showed up and ordered himself a full meal (chicken nuggets, fries and a soda). I really envy boys in that respect because late night Mac Donald's would very quickly turn me into a cow.
Unfortunately, we got kicked out of Mac Donald's at 2 am because they needed to close. So Kevin, Andrea and I walked over to Piazza Santa Maria Novella and sat on a bench. It was pretty freezing, especially because there wasn't much between my butt and the cold marble bench. We distracted ourselves by watching the drunk, under-dressed Americans stumble by and chatting while listening to music. Maggie Rossi showed up soon after we got to the Piazza, and we sat there shivering until about 3:00 am. At that point, we decided to walk over to where the bus was scheduled to arrive, just to ensure that we didn't miss it. There were a ton of homeless people sleeping under the station's awning, so we avoided that area and waited further away so that we could keep watch on the happenings of late-night Florence. The bus arrived on schedule at 3:30 am and we had no problems getting tickets, thank goodness. There were a lot of other kids there that had already ordered tickets, so we were a little nervous until we made it on the bus. Most of the kids were either going to Amsterdam as well, or Morocco. Pretty cool!
As soon as I sat in my seat, I passed out. I guess Kevin, Maggie and Andrea had a little more trouble sleeping because some idiotic American spent the whole 1 hour, 15 min bus ride calling people- at 3:30 in the morning! Maggie was pretty pissed about that. When we arrived at the airport in Pisa, we had to wait about a half hour before check in began. Everything went smoothly through our boarding at 6:30 am, and we slept again on the 1 hour, 30 min plane ride. We landed in Eindhoven, The Netherlands around 9 am and hopped on a shuttle from the airport to get to the train station. At the train station, we got situated on a train heading into Amsterdam, with a little help from some kind Dutch people that conveniently spoke perfect English (I suppose just about all of them are bilingual). The train ride lasted a little under 2 hours and we arrived in Amsterdam around 11--- finally. We got our hands on a map and decided to walk to our hostel because it didn't look like it was very far away. While admiring the unique scenery (canals, quaint buildings, etc), we got a little turned around and had some trouble getting to the hostel. From the beginning, Amsterdam was pretty hard to navigate because it is built around the canals, and they don't have much of a pattern. It's certainly no New York grid. To make matters worse, all of the street names were about 12+ letters long, and varying only very slightly. Here's what I mean; Our hostel was located on OUDEZIJDS ACHTERBURGWAL, while other streets were named OUDEZIJDS VOORBURGWAL and NIEUWEZIJDS VOORBURGWAL. Forget trying to pronounce them, let alone find them.
Anyway, after a few wrong turns, we found ourselves in the Red Light District, which appeared much more tame than we had expected. Yes, there was a store dedicated to selling only condoms, and sex shops and peep shows lining the streets, but it really wasn't that bad. I saw the windows where I imagined the girls would appear later in the day, and then marveled at the hundreds of white swans in the canals. Turns out we didn't lead ourselves in too wrong of a direction because we quickly found our hostel, called The Heart of Amsterdam, smack in the middle of the busiest street of the Red Light District. Oops. From the information online, we had no way of understanding its actual location. I just laughed it off, saying that it would be a great way to get a full, Amsterdam experience. Maggie was a little nervous, but I think that subsided once we got settled in.
The hostel was pretty nice. It was designed in a movie theater layout, so the front desk was the "ticket booth" and all the walls were black and red, with movie posters and paintings all over. It was pretty cool. The stairs up to the third floor (where we were staying) were treacherous, but pretty entertaining to climb at the same time. If memory serves me correctly, our room was called "Fight Club." It was an 8-bed room and at the start, we had a quiet Asian boy, two middle-Eastern boys, and a boy from Brussels to share our space with. The room was cozy and all black, perfect for good slumber. We also had a great view from our window of some lovely naked women across the street. We were intrigued watching men shadily sneak in and out of the different doors.
Once we got settled in, we found a pub and got some lunch. I had a burger, which I hadn't had since the summer. It was great. We also all ordered Heineken's in honor of being in Amsterdam. After lunch, we headed over to the Van Gogh Museum, despite being completely exhausted. We knew we had to get at least one activity in for the day if we were to finish everything that we had planned for the weekend.
I really liked the Van Gogh Museum. It was very well laid out and though kind of big, it was not overwhelming. I loved all of his paintings. It was very interesting to see how much his style changed over the years, based on different influences. Previously, I had really only known him by his style in his famous works, but there were a lot of other very interesting subjects that he painted throughout his life. I really appreciated them all. Maggie and I finished viewing last, after Andrea and Kevin had already parked it in the lounge. We found Kevin sleeping and Andrea just about to do the same. So, we headed back to the hostel for a nap (around 4:30 pm).
When we awoke, it had already gotten dark, so I think it was somewhere around 7pm. We had an intense craving for Asian food, which is very popular in Amsterdam, so we found a nice little place for dinner. After dinner, we snooped around the Red Light District for a while and did some people watching. For the record, the Red Light District did not feel at all dangerous. There were lots of people walking around and generally minding their own businesses. Not everyone hangs in the area to get prostitutes. There's just a lot of activity there at night because there are so many bars and coffeeshops (the places where weed is sold) in the area. Also, the prostitution is pretty controlled. None of them walk the streets or anything like that. Instead, they all stand behind glass doors, usually wearing a teeny tiny bra and underwear set and dancing under red neon lighting (hence the name of the area). These doors can be either ground level or one story up, sometimes both within the same building. The most desirable prostitutes get the best windows on the main drag, while the pregnant, overweight and old prostitutes get the smaller alley-ways. Those buildings that don't display the prostitutes are usually sex shops or theaters for peep and porno shows. Oh yea, and there were also hostels, like mine.
We poked our heads into a few weed-infested coffee shops to see what was going on and then wound up at a nice pub. We got some Heineken's and a few Coke's and watched some hilarious 90s music videos on TV. At one point, a really drunk man turned around and started talking to us, asking to buy us drinks. We refused about 5 times before he got the message, and when he complimented Kevin on his choice in women, Kevin fooled him into thinking that he and Maggie were married. It was entertaining. We left the bar, got some incredible Dutch pastries and then called it in early night.
The next day, we woke up completely refreshed and headed off to the train station to pick up a free, 3-hour tour that we had read about. Our tour guide, Mason picked up those interested and we all walked to Dam Square, the original heart of the city with the Queen's Palace, etc. From there, he divided everyone up and we began our tour. I am not kidding when I say that it was one of the best tours that I had ever taken. 3 hours was most certainly a really long time but Mason had the most interesting and hilarious stories to share about the city. He was 25 and from New Zealand. He moved to Amsterdam a year ago, when he fell in love with the city and explained that he chose to be a part of this tour company because he liked their ideals: everyone should be able to learn about the history of a city, regardless of how much they can afford. As a college student, I'm in full agreement. We covered all parts of the city, including, The Old Church, The Red Light District, The Jewish Quarter, The Royal Palace, The Anne Frank House, The Jordaan District, The Begijnhof Convent, Hidden Catholic churches, Dutch Art, Multatuli's Giant Head, The Hash, Marihuana and Hemp Museum, Widest Bridge and smallest house, leaning buildings, The Dutch East India Company, and more stuff that I probably don't remember.
I learned sooooo much. For one, Amsterdam is very liberal, if you haven't figured that one out already. Mason explained that prostitution has been around and legal since Amsterdam first came to be. With all the canals, it was predominantly a sea-trading town, with lots of sailors coming in from long journeys on the ocean. This easily explains the presence of the girls back then, when sailors, just paid, were looking to have a little fun before going back out to sea. I found it funny that the main church in town was right next to the Red Light District. Turns out it was purposely placed there, so that sailors could come to repent their sins of the nights. The church benefited from charging a fee to all confessors, so business worked out just fine. Nowadays, the girls are all self-employed and there are no pimps involved in the prostitution. They usually do pretty well in the business, as they charge 50 euro for 15 minutes, and additional costs for anything "out of the ordinary," like pretending to actually like the customer. It's a very regulated business, as Mason explained that all the men must take showers when they arrive before even being able to touch a prostitute. I also know that they are regularly checked for STDs. The oldest prostitute in Amsterdam is 73 (I'm pretty sure we found her accidentally.. ew), but doesn't get very many customers. I think she should consider retiring. Anyway, Mason sadly informed us that the prostitutes are starting to get a lot of trouble from the government and are slowly starting to disappear. He thinks that there won't be much left for the business in about 10 years. I thought that was kind of sad considering Amsterdam's unique reputation based off prostitution and decriminalized marijuana.
Mason also explained how literal the Dutch people are when it comes to naming things, hence "The Old Church," "The New Church," "The National Monument," and "The Royal Palace." I guess they didn't want mess around with names (like they did with their streets!). I also learned that there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam, and that Amsterdammer's will run you right over if you are in their bike lane. I had a few close calls. I learned that marijuana is not actually legal, but decriminalized. According to Mason, the Dutch believe that the things one does on his/her own time, are his/her personal business. So, if you run up to an Amsterdam police men claiming that a man is selling marijuana behind the counter of a coffee shop, he will look at you and tell you that they are only selling coffee, tea and lattes, and that they are very tasty. I thought this was funny.
I was also very intrigued by the extent to which Amsterdam government went to control public urination. All over the city, there are actually "pee deflectors" designed to keep men from peeing in public corners. They look like metal shields that are flat, and form a triangle with the corner of a building. They have little flaps on the surface so that if a man tries to pee, everything ends up on his pants. Way back when, they were equipped with electrical currents running through them, but that got nixed when some mischief-makers got into the circuit box and turned up the voltage. There are also standing urinals all over the city. I was pretty amused to see that the government actually spent a lot of time worrying about accommodating drunk people who felt the need to pee in the street. Like I said, very liberal.
Anyway, there was a lot more that I learned on the tour, but that stuff really stuck with me because it was so unique and Mason told the stories so well. At the end of the tour, he invited those who wanted to hang around to join him for a traditional Dutch lunch, called Stamppot. We happily accepted because being on his tour got us a free beer and unlimited servings of this dish for only 7 euro. The Stamppot was delicious and included a Dutch sausage and 3 scoops of mashed potatoes, mixed in with shredded vegetables, bacon and gravy. It was delicious. During lunch, we met this Turkish girl who had also been on the tour. Her name was something that we couldn't understand, so she told us to call her "Moon." Seriously. Anyway, she was 20 years old and taking a vacation by herself in Amsterdam. She was a little shy, but sweet and completely out of her element within this culture. We also found ourselves next to two Americans that were also studying in Florence. What a coincidence. Their names were Andrew and Dan and both go to Georgetown back in the States. Turns out one of them went to high school with Matt Harper, one of my good friends back at Holy Cross.
After lunch, we did a little souvenir shopping and then headed back to the hostel to shower and rest. When we arrived back, in place of the Asian boy on the top bunk was a girl who I thought was a boy until she stood up. She confirmed our suspicions of her sexual orientation when she invited the other newbies (that replaced the middle-Eastern boys) to a gay bar that night. Those other newbies were two girls from Canada who were a part of the circus. I couldn't believe it at first, but while talking to one of the girls, I realized that she was actually serious. She was a contortionist! When I asked her how she got involved with the circus, she said "I was born that way." I think she misunderstood my question, but I'm not sure if she meant that she's been able to bend her body for her whole life, or that she's actually been in the circus for her whole life. Either way, these girls were an interesting and very noisy addition to the room.
At 8, we met at a bar to join a pub crawl that Mason had suggested. We were the first to arrive, so we got first pick of the free t-shirts, and free unlimited shots of vodka and juice. We weren't in the bar very long when we witnessed a naked, middle-aged man run through the bar, right past me who was standing in his way, up the stairs, and out into the street. I guess he lost a bet? Kevin also found a random mullet wig on the ground, so he tried that one for size while we were hanging out. Next thing we knew, Moon showed up! I'm not sure if she knew we were coming or not, but she latched right on to us. She was a little awkward and Kevin couldn't stand her, but Andrea and I enjoyed chatting with her for a little while. Those boys Andrew and Dan also showed up because they saw a crowd. What a small world. Our second stop on the pub crawl was a bar where we were given free Jager shots and beer at a discounted price. At this place, we met a British girl named Robyn, who was insanely underdressed for the cold weather and had a ridiculous amount of mascara on. She was great company though and very fun. Our third bar was at St. Christopher's Hostel, and it was packed. We also got free Jager shots there. Moon was already very drunk and made a bit of a scene with the pub crawl leaders. She tried to take more shots than she was permitted, and had a hard time understanding what the leaders were saying since English was her second language. She was pretty ridiculous, but it cracked us up. At the fourth bar, we got more free Jager shots and discounted beers. We got to chatting with one of the pub crawl leaders and found out that she was from New York, so that was pretty cool. There was supposed to be a fifth and final stop on the pub crawl, but Andrea, Maggie, Kevin and myself decided to skip out. We were tired, hungry (we hadn't had time for dinner), and were ready to get away from Moon. So, we thanked the pub crawl leaders and found this amazing "Wok to Go" restaurant and got a late dinner. We got back to the hostel around 1 am.
Yesterday, we got up early and walked for about 40 minutes, trying to find Mike's Bike Tours. Needless to say, we got a little lost, but finally found it. Mike's Bike Tours is the same company that we used to tour Munich when we went in October. We had really enjoyed it, so that's why we decided to use the same company. When we arrived, there were two other Holy Cross students already there. We had run into them on Saturday while we were on the free tour, and decided to get together for the bike tour. Since it was a little chilly yesterday, the only people on the tour were the 6 of us, so it was great. We road all the way out to the countryside of Amsterdam and saw the classic windmill. We also stopped at a farm and got a cheese-making demonstration and tasting, and also watched the owner make the traditional wooden clogs. It was really cool and we took a few pictures with some cows, too. On our ride back into the city, our tour guide took us through Vondelpark and showed us a statue made by Picasso. He also told us that the park originally used to be private and was reserved for use by rich people only. When the owner passed away, she left the park to the city of Amsterdam, provided that dogs were allowed to go unleashed. Then, he told us a funny story about the park in the summer time. During the sixties, lots of people came to the park to sunbathe naked. At a certain point, a more conservative group of people moved into the city and complained about the public nudity. So, the city forbade nude sunbathing. Soon after though, the gay population got upset that nudity wasn't allowed because they used to go to the park at night to, uh "make love," and wouldn't be able to with this law. So, the government changed the law to say that nudity was not allowed, but sex was as long as the people had clothes on. I don't get it, but again, that's the liberalism that runs rampant through Amsterdam!
After our cold and long, but very exciting bike ride through Amsterdam's countryside, we split with the other Holy Cross students and got "Wok to Walk" for lunch. It was delicious. I had wheat Asian noodles with shrimp and peanut sauce. After lunch, we walked over to the Anne Frank Museum and got inside very quickly. I was so impressed with the way the exhibit had been set up. It was incredibly informative, but very touching and real at the same time. We got to see the rooms of "The Secret Annex" as they had been left after the Frank family was taken to the concentration camps. All of Anne's personal photos and interests were affixed to the walls of her room, just as she had left them. Anyone who visits Amsterdam CANNOT miss the Anne Frank museum. I liked it so much that I'm going to read her diary as soon as I can find it for a cheap price here in Italy.
After the museum, we scooted back over to the area of the Van Gogh Museum and took some pictures in front of the I amsterdam sign. That was a must-do for tourists. After that, we realized that we were in the area in which our bike tour guide had described the location of a Taco Bell. Kevin's favorite fast food restaurant is Taco Bell, so we had to go. Turns out this "Taco Bell" wasn't a Taco Bell at all, but a "Taco Mundo." Kevin carried his disappointment back towards the direction in which we had come when we stumbled upon a Dominoes Pizza, Kevin's second favorite fast food place! So, we stopped there and he got his America fix. After that, we ran up to the train station and got our information squared away for our journey home, and then went back to rest before dinner.
We chose to eat dinner at "The Pancake Corner" because we had heard that we couldn't leave Amsterdam without having tried Dutch pancakes. So, we shared a pitcher of Heineken and each got our own pancake. They were HUGE and I could not even think about finishing mine. I included tomatoes, mushrooms, cheese and onions in mine and it was delicious. After dinner, the other Holy Cross students met us at this restaurant to watch the Superbowl together. We got bored pretty quickly because they didn't turn the sound on, so we couldn't enjoy the commercials. So, we left soon after the game had started and just hung out for a little while before going back.
This morning, we woke up at 3:50 am and left the hostel at 4:30. Walking through the Red Light District at that time was a little weird, but not too bad. We got to the train station and hopped on the 5:00 am bus to Eindhoven. We had a very difficult time getting tickets for this bus, not because it was full, but because the driver sounded like he had a terrible speech impediment on top of his inability to speak English. I know that the tickets were supposed to be 23 euro, and I gave him 25. It sounded like he was trying to get another euro from me and I told him that I knew it was 23, so then he just shooed me away, without my change. Whatever, at 5 am, I just wanted to get moving. The entire 2 hour bus ride was absolutely freezing and since no one could communicate with this crazy bus driver, we suffered for a good while. We were so thankful to arrive at the heat of the airport. Everything went fine and I slept the entire flight. When we arrived in Pisa, it was sunny! The entire time in Amsterdam had been gloomy and foggy, with occasional mist. I think that's common for the area during this time of year, but it was really nice to get back to the sunshine. We missed the 10:30 bus back to Florence by 10 minutes, so we waited around until noon to get the next bus in. We ended up being the only 4 people on it, so that was nice. Maria Pia had lunch waiting for us when we got home. Oh man, did I miss her. And as a side note, as soon as I opened my Facebook back home, I discovered that Moon had found me—already!? She didn’t even know my last name. Oh boy.
Anyway, we had an absolutely wonderful time. Amsterdam is such a unique city and I would recommend everyone to go. It has more canals than Venice and some great little bridges. The houses are very quaint and leaning with time. It's definitely a city with lots of character. I guess I would most closely pair the style of the houses in Amsterdam to that of the houses in Old Town Alexandria, VA. Not exactly the same, but similar in their simplicity. Also, the people are just gorgeous! All tall, blonde and thin. I hope that I get to go back some day in the future. There's still more I want to see.
As a side note, Ryanair (the airline that we used) sucks. Sure, the flights are cheap; but, the schedules are almost impossible to work with and they never fly into the convenient airports. So, what you don't pay for in the flight, you pay for in transportation to and from the flight. We'll see if we can find another option next time.
I just spent 3 hours writing this entry, so I have to go and do some other things. I'll update later this week.
Ciao!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Maria Pia throws a party/ Leather creations
Ciao a tutti!
Yesterday evening, Maria Pia had all of my friends over to celebrate both mine and Andrea's birthdays. (Andrea's will be coming up on Feb. 16.) She extended the table and set it absolutely beautifully, with fancy plates and wine glasses and everything! We started with three types of crostini, one with a salmon butter spread and capers, the next with sauteed onions, and the last with pureed broccoli and kidney beans. All delicious. For the first part of the first course, we had my favorite, spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and pepperoncino. For the second part, we had lasagna with bechemel (sp?) sauce that was absolutely, indescribably incredible! For the second course, we had chicken soaked in a gravy and mushroom sauce and we also had roast beef. Both were fabulous, of course, and the chicken was sooooo moist for having been cooked the way it was! We also had grilled eggplant with chopped parsley and tomatoes on top.
Right before dessert, Maria Pia gave Andrea and I our birthday gifts. We each received an authentic Italian cookbook with recipes labeled by the different regions from which they originate. It's all in Italian and all in the metric system. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen! I was so incredibly touched because it was such a thoughtful gift. She had written me a card, but I asked her to re-write her words in the cover of the book. I never want to forget what she had to say. I absolutely love it. We took plenty of pictures :)
At dessert, she brought out two cakes with candles on them, one for me and one for Andrea. "Mine" was basically a chocolate fudge cake. It's made with no flour, so that's what made it so incredibly fudgy, just the way I like it! "Andrea's" was the famous "Torta della Nonna," which is a Tuscan classic. It consists of a gooey white cream inside and a a fabulously fresh pastry crust, topped with naked almonds and powdered sugar. It's to die for... seriously. There were also Maria Pia's famous "Cenci" which are hard to describe. They are a Tuscan specialty that are made only around the festival of Carnevale (which is Feb. 16) and they are a light, cookie-type pastry, but much more flaky and thin. They are drowning in powdered sugar and absolutely delicious. Kevin loved them and ate 12. I can't forget to mention that everyone sang "Tanti Auguri" to us with the lights off and the candles going. That was very nice as well.
With the dessert, she served us home made limoncello, Vin Santo, and a sweet red wine. After having had plenty of regular wine with dinner, this was pretty crazy for us, but it was a celebration, so we drank it anyway. After all of this, we were incredibly full, so Maria Pia made us some tea for digestion. She offered us a digestive liquor, but we passed. We couldn't take any more alcohol haha.
After dinner, we chatted for a while and then passed around photos of Maria Pia's family, which she was happy to show us. As we hear over and over, she adores her grandson Leonardo, who is 5. She shared a hilarious story with us that I absolutely have to retell... So, Federica (Maria Pia's daughter, Leonardo's mother) is trying to have another child with her husband, Lorenzo. Sadly, Federica has some irreversible problems with her female parts, so she and Lorenzo have been having a lot of trouble. Leonardo doesn't understand, and wants a sibling very badly. So one morning, Lorenzo walks into the living room and greets Leonardo. Immediately Leonardo asks, "did you try to make a sibling for me last night?!" Lorenzo doesn't answer and then the next day, Leonardo asks the same thing. This time, Lorenzo says "no," and Leonardo then asks "well, if you can't try any more, let me try!" We died laughing.
I think that everyone had a great time. We were originally planning on going out, but we were all so exhausted that we changed our minds on that one. Thank goodness, because I'm still exhausted today.
Today, we met Elisa at 12:45 for lunch at Teatro del Sale. Yes, that same terrible place that we went last time with Elia for dinner and a show. This time, it was better because lunch was much more calm and quiet. The asshole host was still there watching us though. We had a nice time and of course, ate too much. At 3:00 after lunch, Elisa took us to our cultural event for this month. Jeff, Carla, Andrea and myself went to the workshop of a leather artisan, while Kevin, Maggie, Maggie and Grace went to a book-binding workshop. For 3 hours, the artisan named Moranda helped us to make a real leather picture frame book! (You know, the ones that open like a book and have a spot for a 4 x 6 photo on each inside cover.) I was finally able to figure out how those imprinted designs on leather actually stayed that way because I got to do them myself! For that, you leave the metal stamp on an open flame for five minutes and then quickly dip it in water to cool it slightly. Then, you press the metal stamp right onto the leather- and there you have your imprint that won't ever go away!
I really enjoyed working on this picture holder with the artisan. The other ones with me didn't seem to enjoy it as much, but I'm so into arts and crafts that I had a great time! Mine doesn't look as good as all of hers do, but it takes practice!
Now, I'm home and about to take a nap. It's about 8:30 pm and at 11:44, Andrea and I will be taking the bus into the center to wait for our bus to Pisa that will be leaving at 3:30 am. When we arrive in Pisa, we will be flying Ryanair at 6:30 am to Eindhoven. From there, we will take a train to Amsterdam and finally arrive sometime during the day tomorrow. I'm really excited, but dreading the trip itself. I'm sure I will have plenty of stories on Monday!
A presto!
Yesterday evening, Maria Pia had all of my friends over to celebrate both mine and Andrea's birthdays. (Andrea's will be coming up on Feb. 16.) She extended the table and set it absolutely beautifully, with fancy plates and wine glasses and everything! We started with three types of crostini, one with a salmon butter spread and capers, the next with sauteed onions, and the last with pureed broccoli and kidney beans. All delicious. For the first part of the first course, we had my favorite, spaghetti with olive oil, garlic and pepperoncino. For the second part, we had lasagna with bechemel (sp?) sauce that was absolutely, indescribably incredible! For the second course, we had chicken soaked in a gravy and mushroom sauce and we also had roast beef. Both were fabulous, of course, and the chicken was sooooo moist for having been cooked the way it was! We also had grilled eggplant with chopped parsley and tomatoes on top.
Right before dessert, Maria Pia gave Andrea and I our birthday gifts. We each received an authentic Italian cookbook with recipes labeled by the different regions from which they originate. It's all in Italian and all in the metric system. It's the coolest thing I've ever seen! I was so incredibly touched because it was such a thoughtful gift. She had written me a card, but I asked her to re-write her words in the cover of the book. I never want to forget what she had to say. I absolutely love it. We took plenty of pictures :)
At dessert, she brought out two cakes with candles on them, one for me and one for Andrea. "Mine" was basically a chocolate fudge cake. It's made with no flour, so that's what made it so incredibly fudgy, just the way I like it! "Andrea's" was the famous "Torta della Nonna," which is a Tuscan classic. It consists of a gooey white cream inside and a a fabulously fresh pastry crust, topped with naked almonds and powdered sugar. It's to die for... seriously. There were also Maria Pia's famous "Cenci" which are hard to describe. They are a Tuscan specialty that are made only around the festival of Carnevale (which is Feb. 16) and they are a light, cookie-type pastry, but much more flaky and thin. They are drowning in powdered sugar and absolutely delicious. Kevin loved them and ate 12. I can't forget to mention that everyone sang "Tanti Auguri" to us with the lights off and the candles going. That was very nice as well.
With the dessert, she served us home made limoncello, Vin Santo, and a sweet red wine. After having had plenty of regular wine with dinner, this was pretty crazy for us, but it was a celebration, so we drank it anyway. After all of this, we were incredibly full, so Maria Pia made us some tea for digestion. She offered us a digestive liquor, but we passed. We couldn't take any more alcohol haha.
After dinner, we chatted for a while and then passed around photos of Maria Pia's family, which she was happy to show us. As we hear over and over, she adores her grandson Leonardo, who is 5. She shared a hilarious story with us that I absolutely have to retell... So, Federica (Maria Pia's daughter, Leonardo's mother) is trying to have another child with her husband, Lorenzo. Sadly, Federica has some irreversible problems with her female parts, so she and Lorenzo have been having a lot of trouble. Leonardo doesn't understand, and wants a sibling very badly. So one morning, Lorenzo walks into the living room and greets Leonardo. Immediately Leonardo asks, "did you try to make a sibling for me last night?!" Lorenzo doesn't answer and then the next day, Leonardo asks the same thing. This time, Lorenzo says "no," and Leonardo then asks "well, if you can't try any more, let me try!" We died laughing.
I think that everyone had a great time. We were originally planning on going out, but we were all so exhausted that we changed our minds on that one. Thank goodness, because I'm still exhausted today.
Today, we met Elisa at 12:45 for lunch at Teatro del Sale. Yes, that same terrible place that we went last time with Elia for dinner and a show. This time, it was better because lunch was much more calm and quiet. The asshole host was still there watching us though. We had a nice time and of course, ate too much. At 3:00 after lunch, Elisa took us to our cultural event for this month. Jeff, Carla, Andrea and myself went to the workshop of a leather artisan, while Kevin, Maggie, Maggie and Grace went to a book-binding workshop. For 3 hours, the artisan named Moranda helped us to make a real leather picture frame book! (You know, the ones that open like a book and have a spot for a 4 x 6 photo on each inside cover.) I was finally able to figure out how those imprinted designs on leather actually stayed that way because I got to do them myself! For that, you leave the metal stamp on an open flame for five minutes and then quickly dip it in water to cool it slightly. Then, you press the metal stamp right onto the leather- and there you have your imprint that won't ever go away!
I really enjoyed working on this picture holder with the artisan. The other ones with me didn't seem to enjoy it as much, but I'm so into arts and crafts that I had a great time! Mine doesn't look as good as all of hers do, but it takes practice!
Now, I'm home and about to take a nap. It's about 8:30 pm and at 11:44, Andrea and I will be taking the bus into the center to wait for our bus to Pisa that will be leaving at 3:30 am. When we arrive in Pisa, we will be flying Ryanair at 6:30 am to Eindhoven. From there, we will take a train to Amsterdam and finally arrive sometime during the day tomorrow. I'm really excited, but dreading the trip itself. I'm sure I will have plenty of stories on Monday!
A presto!
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