I am completely stressed out about the most ridiculous things. Actually, while they are ridiculous in some ways, they are also very important, so I think some of my stress is legitimate.
First off, these freaking Italians really need to light a fire under their butts and get their business together, because I can't handle them anymore. They are TOO carefree. We were supposed to know the dates of our finals right after Easter. Nothing yet. The urgency to know grows with every passing day. I'm not sure I mentioned it before, but the reason we are worrying is related to our having to book a return flight way back in July so that we could obtain our visas. So in July, I booked my departure flight for August 31st and return flight for April 1, the latest they had available. When the beginning of March came along, we had to look into changing our dates because if you let yourself pass the date, you lose the ticket and the money along with it. The professors/tutors/etc. didn't seem to know, care, or understand our reason for needing to know our exam dates when it was time to change our flights the first time. No one helped us. Therefore, back in March, I changed my flight from April 1st to May 26th, in hopes for making it home for my Dad's birthday on the Vineyard. It has now been a month and a half and still no word.
I ran into my literature tutor (Claudio) yesterday while I was on my way to class and told him that I would be asking the professor for any updates on the exam. He warned me "Don't ask him too much. He'll get very annoyed." First off, what the heck does Claudio think we do?! It's not like I LOVEEE talking to the professor. The last time I had said one word to him was in the beginning of the semester in regards to being a foreign student. I'm scared of the guy! I proceeded to tell Claudio that we really needed to know the date of the final because again, we are nearing the date where we'll have to change them for a second time. He said to me: "See, I told you not to book a return flight!" in one of those condescending voices. I got soooooo pissed. We have explained to him a million times the fact that we HAD to change our flights or else we would have lost our tickets. He's knows his Italian Literature, but I'd say that's about it. What an idiot. I'm completely pulling my hair out with this huge unknown that's lying at the end of May. The longer I wait to change my flight (if I have to), the more expensive it will become and the less seats there will be. Also, I HAVE to be home for the start of my internship, which is June 7. I'd like to get home a few days early so that I'm not a zombie on the first day. Right now, I have no solution and I'm continuously racking my brain, but writing it out at least helps to calm me a little.
On a more minor, but still stressful, note, I am in the process of prepping for class registration for next semester. I have a very tight schedule because I have to pretty much start and complete my Childhood Studies minor, and also finish my Italian major. I have 8 spaces for courses throughout both semesters. I have 3 classes remaining for Italian, and 5 for Childhood Studies. While I'm aware that 5+3 equals 8, it's much easier said than done. I have to get permission from all these people because I want to take high level courses, and I'm trying to bypass the SOC 101 class, which is a pre-requisite for some Childhood Courses, but a complete waste (that won't fit in my schedule) towards finishing my degrees. I've emailed about 10 different people, and they are slowly getting back to me. I know it's a very busy time at Holy Cross, but I hope they know that they are driving me crazy in holding back this info from me. I'm hoping for responses by Monday.
I'm also quite distracted by the illness of Grandpa (Mrs. Fanelli's Dad) and I hope that everything is going alright over there in America.
There are so many people that I miss and think about all the time, and I really can't wait to see everyone again and give them all huge hugs! Part of me feels ready to go back to America, but I know that once all the un-known holes are filled in throughout the next few weeks, I'll feel a little calmer.
All I can say is that a beautiful beach weekend in Amalfi has come at the perfect time. Updates next week on our trip!
Ciao!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Dad's fun-filled vacation
Ciao a tutti!
If I were to write and describe everything my Dad and I did in the last 10 days, I would miss dinner tonight. So, I'm going to make a concise little list and inform everyone that we had a fabulous time at everything we accomplished! No negative experiences to report!
Here's more or less how it went:
Dad stayed in my extra bed at Maria Pia's house, which worked out just splendidly.
Day 1 (Florence, Tuesday):
Day 2 (Florence, Wednesday):
Day 3 (Florence, Thursday):
Day 4 (Venice, Friday):
Day 5 (Florence, Saturday):
Day 6 (Florence, Sunday, Easter):
Day 7 (Rome, Monday):
Day 8 (Rome, Tuesday):
Day 9 (Rome, Wednesday):
Day 10 (Rome, Thursday):
Now, it's back to work mode. I have a lot to catch up on.
Ciao!!
If I were to write and describe everything my Dad and I did in the last 10 days, I would miss dinner tonight. So, I'm going to make a concise little list and inform everyone that we had a fabulous time at everything we accomplished! No negative experiences to report!
Here's more or less how it went:
Dad stayed in my extra bed at Maria Pia's house, which worked out just splendidly.
Day 1 (Florence, Tuesday):
- Santa Maria Novella pharmacy- Dad loved it!
- Delicious dinner at Maria Pia's.
- Pub Night at "Dexter's Laboratory" with my friends. Dad bought
everyone drinks. What a guy.
Day 2 (Florence, Wednesday):
- Galleria Palatina in Palazzo Pitti.
- Sandwiches at Antico Noe. Dad was crazy for them.
- Gelato at Vestri. Another place that Dad loved.
- Bargain shopping in San Lorenzo Marketplace.
- Dinner at Alberto and Maria's with Benedetta, Antonio and Anarita.
Antonio and Anarita wanted to see my Dad before they left for Vienna
the following day.
Day 3 (Florence, Thursday):
- A few random errands.
- Had cappuccinos on the rooftop terrace of Rinascente. Took some
great pictures of Dad "living the life."
- Bargain shopping again in San Lorenzo Marketplace.
- Mercato Centrale meat market. Fascinating and disgusting.
- Italian Literature tutoring= damper on the day. Dad shopped around for an hour in the bookstore downstairs from CLIDA.
- Lunch at Natalino. Warm and deliciously toasted sandwiches.
- Gelato at Grom. Yummm.
- Piazzale Michelangelo. It had been raining all day and then cleared up. The view was perfect.
- San Miniato church on top of the Piazzale.
- Dinner at Maria Pia's. Dad brought beautiful flowers.
- A walk around the center and a Charlie Chaplin impersonator.
Day 4 (Venice, Friday):
- Took a VERY early train to Venice and arrived around 10:30.
- Dad bought a TON of glass souvenirs.
- Used Rick Steves' tip to cut the line and see St. Mark's Basilica. (His tip: Use the free bag check that not many people know about and get a card that allows you to skip ahead of everyone else).
- Found a nice family from Wisconsin and took an amazing gondola ride through the canals. Split the price 6 ways instead of 2= very key.
- Tried to get to Murano island to see the glass museum and demonstration, but discovered that it was too far away.
- Got the last train home.
- Ate dinner at La Giostra at 9:30. OUT OF THIS WORLD, as usual. Dad loved it.
Day 5 (Florence, Saturday):
- Dad bought beautiful suede shoes. (I insisted that he buy some Florentine leather for himself)
- Boboli Gardens. We were glad to have waited because the previous two days were cloudy and rainy. This day was perfect.
- Lunch at Antico Noe, again.
- Train to Siena for an evening visit.
- Saw the Duomo and Piazza Il Campo, famous site of "Il Palio."
- Searched for about an hour for Uncle Roger's dinner recommendation and failed because Maria Pia and Andrea had misread us the information on the business card which we had left at home.
- Had a pricey, but lovely dinner right in the piazza.
- Took the train back to Florence.
Day 6 (Florence, Sunday, Easter):
- Decided to skip out on the Scoppio del Carro outside of the Duomo because we really needed to avoid sickness and get some sleep. (The Scoppio del Carro is an Easter tradition where they throw a plaster dove at the Duomo and then light off fireworks. Oxen are also involved, as I understand it.)
- Leisurely bussed into the city center around noon, got
cappuccinos, and walked around San Lorenzo.
- Met Maurizio (Alberto and Maria's son who still lives at home) who
brought us to the Easter celebration at their house.
- Celebrated Easter from 1:30 until about 9:00 at night. We ate for about 4 hours non-stop and at the 9:00 mark when we were preparing to leave, Maria was in the process of making dinner. She was confused as to why we were leaving, and we were confused as to why she was making dinner after a 4 hour meal. No hard feelings though.
Day 7 (Rome, Monday):
- Took the 9:15 am train to Rome.
- Settled in at our hotel near the Vatican.
- Found one of Paul's favorite sandwich places from his study abroad experience. The sweet lady was still there and made us some fabulous sandwiches.
- Spent a lot of time walking around. It started to pour.
- Walked to the Pantheon, Piazza Navona, and all the way to the Vittorio Emmanuele II monument.
- Soaked, we stumbled upon one of Paul's favorite bars from his study abroad experience. We went in for a drink.
- Upon emergence, the sun was shining brightly, thank goodness.
- Searched for an internet cafe (our hotel didn't have wireless) so that I could check my email on interview updates with the Citi Performing Arts center in Boston. Didn't receive anything.
- Walked all the way back to the hotel and stopped briefly.
- Walked all the way to Trastevere.
- Ate a fabulous dinner at Dar Poeta.
- Stopped for some twilight pictures of the Vatican on the way home.
- Went home, exhausted.
Day 8 (Rome, Tuesday):
- Woke up at the crack of dawn and walked to the Vatican Museum.
- Skipped the line because I had made reservations.
- Spent 3 hours touring the museum and saw the Sistine Chapel at the end.
- Broke for sustenance in the Vatican Cafe.
- The weather was perfect, so we walked to the Roman Forum.
- Almost forgot to eat lunch, so we just grabbed one of those terrible sandwiches from a cart vendor and shared it.
- Toured the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill with the help of my trusty Rick Steves book.
- Skipped the line at the Colosseum because we had bought our tickets in the Forum (thanks to Paul's suggestion).
- Toured the Colosseum and filled Dad in on the history.
- Dragged our aching legs and feet to a Rick Steves recommended
cafe, Cafe dello Studente, and had a light snack because it was
too close to dinner for a big lunch.
- Stopped at an internet cafe. No word at that point.
- Opted for a cab back to the hotel.
- Attempted to walk to dinner, but only made it half way before running out of time and taking a cab.
- Had some incredible fried zucchini flowers and spaghetti at a spaghetteria called, Archetto.
- Took my Dad on Rick Steves' "romantic night walk." (Campo dei Fiori --> Piazza Navona --> Pantheon (where we stopped for gelato at the famous, and crowded Giolitti) --> Trevi Fountain --> Spanish Steps (where we were harassed by an Indian man selling roses).
- Took a cab home and went to bed.
Day 9 (Rome, Wednesday):
- Got up early, once again. (This time, we were incredibly tired and sore).
- Took a cab to the Borghese Gallery, whose tickets I had reserved a week before because they only allow 360 people in per time slot. What an incredible museum. Bernini is a genius.
- Walked around the gorgeously green Borghese Gardens.
- Took a cab to Basilica di San Clemente.
- Toured the Basilica and were amazed by the underground passageways and Pagan altars.
- Had lunch on Via Cavour and soaked in the sunshine.
- Found the bus near Circus Maximus and took it outside of the Roman walls and to the Catacombs of San Sebastiano.
- Toured the Catacombs. SOOOOOO COOOOL!
- Took a bus back to the center and found an internet cafe to check my email for an internship response.
- Received a rejection from Citi Performing Arts Center (thumbs down).
- Proceeded to walk towards the area of dinner, but stopped when we saw video cameras and people outside of a governmental building near Vittorio Emmanuele II.
- Discovered that Berlusconi was inside.
- Waited for 45 minutes and decided to leave, laughing to ourselves about the amount of film that had been wasted on Berlusconi-less cars with tinted windows.
- Stopped in Piazza Navona for a cappuccino.
- Became the first guests, with a 7:30 reservation, at a restaurant called Tre Archi.
- Ate a wonderful final dinner.
- Bought gelato from a gelateria that was blasting techno music.
- Walked home.
- Went to bed early.
Day 10 (Rome, Thursday):
- Got up at 6:15.
- Had breakfast with Dad and then put him in a car to the airport. :(
Now, it's back to work mode. I have a lot to catch up on.
Ciao!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Jeff's 21st and Mac Dario
Ciao!
Yesterday was Jeff's 21st birthday so after our test in CLIDA, we celebrated with some mimosas, cake and lots of other junk food until 1 pm. When class ended, we got lunch and then Grace took me to a place she had recommended to get my hair cut. I think I got one of the best haircuts I've ever had. It was a breath of fresh air to get it chopped off. She took so much weight off by giving me tons of layers. I still have my length though! My hairdresser was awesome because she was Canadian and obviously spoke perfect English. She explained that she has dual citizenship, which was really cool, and that she's living in Italy for a few months and then going back for a break. Then, she'll be coming back for a longer span of time. Kind of weaning onto the idea of living in Italy, I guess.
I was excited to have my new hair for Jeff's birthday dinner, which we celebrated at Borgo Antico, his favorite restaurant. His mom (who is still in America) treated us to the whole thing!! We had a great time. Andrea and I split these amazing ravioli and spicy spaghetti, because we both wanted both. So, it worked out perfectly. We drank lots of wine and had amazing cheesecake for dessert. We were in food heaven despite the fact that the owners were being hardcore creepers on all the girls at the table. Apparently, according to Grace and Carla who frequent Borgo often, they are always hitting on them.
After dinner, one of the owners came out with us and brought us to this really cool bar/club, called Slowly. However, the atmosphere wasn't right for the kind of dancing that we wanted to do because everyone was just sitting around and the music was terrible. So, we decided to leave. We'll probably go back for a drink some day, but not for dancing. After Slowly, we went to Cafe Bigallo and sat there for a while. Elmer came to hang out with us and did some more insulting of the American culture. Here's how our conversation played out.
Elmer: Yea, every American is fake.
Me: What do you mean exactly? I know there are some fake people, but I really disagree about them all being that way.
Elmer: Well, even you're a little fake.
Me: Excuse me?
Elmer: Well, you're the least fake out of all your friends.
Me: Thanks, I think?
Elmer: Yes, but even you are still a little fake. For example, when you see a person you don't like, why do you talk to them?
Me: Well I'm not just going to pretend they don't exist if all my friends are talking to that person or something. I'm not going to hug and kiss them, but I'll be civil of course.
Elmer: And see, that's a little fake because it's not the way you really feel.
Me: Okay, Elmer.
I let him say what he wanted to say because he doesn't really have a filter on anything. However, I just always remember to not take anything he says seriously. That's the only way to deal with him. He's very socially strange, but a nice kid when you get past that.
We all called it a night around 2:30am, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
Today was an incredibly memorable day. At 11am, we met Maria (our teacher from CLIDA) and her husband, Piero in front of CLIDA to drive to a restaurant called Mac Dario, in Chianti. I was so excited to be a passenger in Maria's mini cooper as we took the curves, climbing up the Tuscan countryside. She's a pretty good driver, for an Italian, but I'm not sure how much that's actually saying. Anyway, we arrived at Mac Dario around 12:30 and it was the coolest little place! There was a long picnic table set up and two smaller picnic tables tucked into the alcoves in the wall. In the middle of the room on the wall was a huge charcoal grill and all these cool appliances. The bathroom was made too look like a closet among the series of real closets, so I had a hard time finding it.
Apparently this place and this man are very famous in America, but I had never heard of either. Naturally, Maria and Piero are great friends with the owner, so we were their special guests. I wonder how they come to know so many classy people in high places. Mac Dario came out and greeted us all, and I told him that he was a genius. The waitstaff was also great, and one of the waiters had the most amusing sense of humor. He kept saying "Oh you young people, beautiful like the sun." When it came time for the food delivery, he put bowls out on the table and each of us had an individual one to ourselves. He proceeded to throw this amazing spiced salt mixture into each of our bowls, launching it from a spoon. He only missed once! Then, they brought out the "Accoglienza," which consisted of raw vegetables dipped in the aforementioned bowl with the salt, and olive oil and vinegar. There was also sushi of Chianti which I can't believe I liked. It was completely raw ground beef with lots of seasonings. I am shocked at how good it was. Unbelievable! There was also tuna of Chianti, which was grated chicken that had cooked in some kind of broth for 10 hours. It was delicious. The following dishes included rosemary pork and some kind of amazing meatloaf with a sweet and sour sauce. The meatloaf was my favorite of all the starters.
Our main course was the famous "Mac Dario," which was probably one of the best hamburgers I had ever tasted. It was the perfect size and cooked exactly the way I like it, about medium-well. It had a light bread crumb covering and a side of rosemary steak fries, onions, and boiled vegetables. There were also three amazing sauces. One was spicy and thick, the next was sweet and sour and had a marmalade consistency, and the last was honey mustard! We were pleasantly surprised about the last one, considering it's nowhere to be found in Italy. Maybe Mac Dario got the idea from his wife, since she's American and is obviously familiar with honey mustard. I ate as slowly as possible to enjoy every bit of it. For dessert, we had a delicious, light cake, called Schiacciata alla Fiorentina. There was also espresso, of course.
I absolutely cannot forget to mention our lovely neighbor who sat himself next to Maria at the communal table. Lord only knows what his name was, but he was sooooo annoying. He was an American from Chicago, and spoke only English. From the brief background that Maria gave us, we learned that he goes to Mac Dario EVERY DAY for a hamburger and tries to make conversation with the people around him whenever he is there. At one point, even the waiter walked behind him mouthing to me that he never shuts up and that he's always there. He reached over our section of the table, and even got out of his seat to walk down to the very end of our section to re-fill our waters. I could have done it myself. Such a weird man. When Carla asked him what he was doing in Italy, he responded, "I'm eating." Period. The whole time, Maria was sitting with her back to him and blatantly ignoring anything he said to her. Knowing full well that he didn't speak Italian, she talked about him in Italian to us the whole time that he was seated next to her. Poor Jeff was his unfortunate victim of conversation, so they ended up talking American politics the whole time. Jeff majors in Political Science, and I assume he shared that with the man. Apparently though, all of his ideas and opinions were completely unsupported and nonsensical. I really thought Maria was going to kill him and I can't imagine how he visits Mac Dario every day. All they serve is meat! I imagine he's not leading the healthiest of lifestyles. Maria also told us that last time they had lunch there, the man turned to her and asked "how do you say 'to bleach' in Italian?" She responded with "candegginare" and he said "are you sure?" ARE YOU SURE!? SHE'S THE ITALIAN ONE! We won't even discuss the randomness of that question.
Anyway, when we were done with lunch, we went to the downstairs part of the restaurant where he had his butcher shop. All the meat looked so perfect and fresh. Mac Dario was so excited to have us that he gave us all mini sizes of that salt and herbs mixture. I asked him if I could take a picture with him and he was delighted and hugged the guts out of me for the photo. Then he said "ti sono piaciuti i bruciaculi, giusto?"--> You liked the (literally) butt-burners, right? I had no idea what they were, but I responded positively. So, he wrapped those up for me as another present. When I opened it up later, I saw that they were delicious looking peppers, soaked in olive oil. Those are most certainly coming home to the States. I guess they will be spicy, considering the fact that he calls them "butt-burners." As I walked out of the butcher shop, I saw his meat refrigerator, which was on display to the public. Hanging inside were huge cow legs and slabs of other types of meat. It was very unique, to say the least. Outside, our waiter popped out the top window and thanked us a million times over, blowing us lots of kisses. Then we went to take some pictures in front of the hills of Chianti.
On a side note, while this Mac Dario is a complete genius, I also understand that he is a little crazy. Apparently, he held funerals for the cows during the "Mad Cow" epidemic. Maybe he's a cow-whisperer and that's why he makes such great food. :)
As we were driving back towards Florence, I had such an amazing feeling about my study abroad experience. First off, I couldn't believe that I was living real life. I was in Chianti at a famous restaurant, eating incredible food with some amazing Italians. Maria calls herself our Aunt, and that's what she really is. She loves taking care of us and I will never be able to find the right words to thank her for all of it. I was so perfectly content at lunch, speaking Italian with my friends and experiencing something so totally unique. I felt so included in the culture because the waitstaff was so genuine and fun. Also, Maria and her husband make me so comfortable because everywhere they take us, they know the owners. We are always welcomed with warm hearts and that really makes me feel like a native Italian and not like an American who completely sticks out.
We returned to the center around 2:30 and I met up with my friend Alex, from high school. She is studying abroad in Ferarra and came to visit Florence for the day with her friend Nikki. As soon as I found them, they were sooo ready to go shopping, so I took them to the Ponte Vecchio as per their request. They bought some beautiful pieces of gold jewelry. I was amazed at how beautiful everything was. Then, I took them to Prada, Gucci, Hermes, and Fendi, and I don't think more needs to be said about this, except that they dropped a TON of money in all these places. I ONLY watched, but it was fun. Actually, when we were in the jewelry store Alex reminded me of something that I had done in 7th grade that she'll "never forget." I don't remember this, but apparently I really liked her silver heart link Tiffany's bracelet when we had French class together. She explained that one evening I called her house (this was pre-cell phone) and asked her where she had bought it because I had wanted to ask for it for my birthday. I guess her Mom thought that I was "soooo sweet" because I had no idea of any of these designer things, and I too found the story a little funny. I guess that answers my personal question of when I discovered Tiffany's. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing the bracelet as I type this entry.
Anyway, that's about it for now. I am so full from today and I think I'm going to stay in for the night and watch a movie. I need to be well-rested for homework tomorrow. Yay. Oh, and thank goodness that I had such a good weekend because I just received an email today that I didn't get the Avon internship in NYC. Apparently, they were impressed with my research and writing skills, but wanted someone with "more related experience." I'm sorry, but how much more related can my experiences get when I did Relay for Life for two years with the American Cancer Society?! Avon is a breast cancer foundation! What a lame excuse. Well, there's always more out there, I guess. I'll keep everyone posted.
A presto!
Yesterday was Jeff's 21st birthday so after our test in CLIDA, we celebrated with some mimosas, cake and lots of other junk food until 1 pm. When class ended, we got lunch and then Grace took me to a place she had recommended to get my hair cut. I think I got one of the best haircuts I've ever had. It was a breath of fresh air to get it chopped off. She took so much weight off by giving me tons of layers. I still have my length though! My hairdresser was awesome because she was Canadian and obviously spoke perfect English. She explained that she has dual citizenship, which was really cool, and that she's living in Italy for a few months and then going back for a break. Then, she'll be coming back for a longer span of time. Kind of weaning onto the idea of living in Italy, I guess.
I was excited to have my new hair for Jeff's birthday dinner, which we celebrated at Borgo Antico, his favorite restaurant. His mom (who is still in America) treated us to the whole thing!! We had a great time. Andrea and I split these amazing ravioli and spicy spaghetti, because we both wanted both. So, it worked out perfectly. We drank lots of wine and had amazing cheesecake for dessert. We were in food heaven despite the fact that the owners were being hardcore creepers on all the girls at the table. Apparently, according to Grace and Carla who frequent Borgo often, they are always hitting on them.
After dinner, one of the owners came out with us and brought us to this really cool bar/club, called Slowly. However, the atmosphere wasn't right for the kind of dancing that we wanted to do because everyone was just sitting around and the music was terrible. So, we decided to leave. We'll probably go back for a drink some day, but not for dancing. After Slowly, we went to Cafe Bigallo and sat there for a while. Elmer came to hang out with us and did some more insulting of the American culture. Here's how our conversation played out.
Elmer: Yea, every American is fake.
Me: What do you mean exactly? I know there are some fake people, but I really disagree about them all being that way.
Elmer: Well, even you're a little fake.
Me: Excuse me?
Elmer: Well, you're the least fake out of all your friends.
Me: Thanks, I think?
Elmer: Yes, but even you are still a little fake. For example, when you see a person you don't like, why do you talk to them?
Me: Well I'm not just going to pretend they don't exist if all my friends are talking to that person or something. I'm not going to hug and kiss them, but I'll be civil of course.
Elmer: And see, that's a little fake because it's not the way you really feel.
Me: Okay, Elmer.
I let him say what he wanted to say because he doesn't really have a filter on anything. However, I just always remember to not take anything he says seriously. That's the only way to deal with him. He's very socially strange, but a nice kid when you get past that.
We all called it a night around 2:30am, and I'm pretty sure I fell asleep before my head even hit the pillow.
Today was an incredibly memorable day. At 11am, we met Maria (our teacher from CLIDA) and her husband, Piero in front of CLIDA to drive to a restaurant called Mac Dario, in Chianti. I was so excited to be a passenger in Maria's mini cooper as we took the curves, climbing up the Tuscan countryside. She's a pretty good driver, for an Italian, but I'm not sure how much that's actually saying. Anyway, we arrived at Mac Dario around 12:30 and it was the coolest little place! There was a long picnic table set up and two smaller picnic tables tucked into the alcoves in the wall. In the middle of the room on the wall was a huge charcoal grill and all these cool appliances. The bathroom was made too look like a closet among the series of real closets, so I had a hard time finding it.
Apparently this place and this man are very famous in America, but I had never heard of either. Naturally, Maria and Piero are great friends with the owner, so we were their special guests. I wonder how they come to know so many classy people in high places. Mac Dario came out and greeted us all, and I told him that he was a genius. The waitstaff was also great, and one of the waiters had the most amusing sense of humor. He kept saying "Oh you young people, beautiful like the sun." When it came time for the food delivery, he put bowls out on the table and each of us had an individual one to ourselves. He proceeded to throw this amazing spiced salt mixture into each of our bowls, launching it from a spoon. He only missed once! Then, they brought out the "Accoglienza," which consisted of raw vegetables dipped in the aforementioned bowl with the salt, and olive oil and vinegar. There was also sushi of Chianti which I can't believe I liked. It was completely raw ground beef with lots of seasonings. I am shocked at how good it was. Unbelievable! There was also tuna of Chianti, which was grated chicken that had cooked in some kind of broth for 10 hours. It was delicious. The following dishes included rosemary pork and some kind of amazing meatloaf with a sweet and sour sauce. The meatloaf was my favorite of all the starters.Our main course was the famous "Mac Dario," which was probably one of the best hamburgers I had ever tasted. It was the perfect size and cooked exactly the way I like it, about medium-well. It had a light bread crumb covering and a side of rosemary steak fries, onions, and boiled vegetables. There were also three amazing sauces. One was spicy and thick, the next was sweet and sour and had a marmalade consistency, and the last was honey mustard! We were pleasantly surprised about the last one, considering it's nowhere to be found in Italy. Maybe Mac Dario got the idea from his wife, since she's American and is obviously familiar with honey mustard. I ate as slowly as possible to enjoy every bit of it. For dessert, we had a delicious, light cake, called Schiacciata alla Fiorentina. There was also espresso, of course.
I absolutely cannot forget to mention our lovely neighbor who sat himself next to Maria at the communal table. Lord only knows what his name was, but he was sooooo annoying. He was an American from Chicago, and spoke only English. From the brief background that Maria gave us, we learned that he goes to Mac Dario EVERY DAY for a hamburger and tries to make conversation with the people around him whenever he is there. At one point, even the waiter walked behind him mouthing to me that he never shuts up and that he's always there. He reached over our section of the table, and even got out of his seat to walk down to the very end of our section to re-fill our waters. I could have done it myself. Such a weird man. When Carla asked him what he was doing in Italy, he responded, "I'm eating." Period. The whole time, Maria was sitting with her back to him and blatantly ignoring anything he said to her. Knowing full well that he didn't speak Italian, she talked about him in Italian to us the whole time that he was seated next to her. Poor Jeff was his unfortunate victim of conversation, so they ended up talking American politics the whole time. Jeff majors in Political Science, and I assume he shared that with the man. Apparently though, all of his ideas and opinions were completely unsupported and nonsensical. I really thought Maria was going to kill him and I can't imagine how he visits Mac Dario every day. All they serve is meat! I imagine he's not leading the healthiest of lifestyles. Maria also told us that last time they had lunch there, the man turned to her and asked "how do you say 'to bleach' in Italian?" She responded with "candegginare" and he said "are you sure?" ARE YOU SURE!? SHE'S THE ITALIAN ONE! We won't even discuss the randomness of that question.
Anyway, when we were done with lunch, we went to the downstairs part of the restaurant where he had his butcher shop. All the meat looked so perfect and fresh. Mac Dario was so excited to have us that he gave us all mini sizes of that salt and herbs mixture. I asked him if I could take a picture with him and he was delighted and hugged the guts out of me for the photo. Then he said "ti sono piaciuti i bruciaculi, giusto?"--> You liked the (literally) butt-burners, right? I had no idea what they were, but I responded positively. So, he wrapped those up for me as another present. When I opened it up later, I saw that they were delicious looking peppers, soaked in olive oil. Those are most certainly coming home to the States. I guess they will be spicy, considering the fact that he calls them "butt-burners." As I walked out of the butcher shop, I saw his meat refrigerator, which was on display to the public. Hanging inside were huge cow legs and slabs of other types of meat. It was very unique, to say the least. Outside, our waiter popped out the top window and thanked us a million times over, blowing us lots of kisses. Then we went to take some pictures in front of the hills of Chianti.
On a side note, while this Mac Dario is a complete genius, I also understand that he is a little crazy. Apparently, he held funerals for the cows during the "Mad Cow" epidemic. Maybe he's a cow-whisperer and that's why he makes such great food. :)
As we were driving back towards Florence, I had such an amazing feeling about my study abroad experience. First off, I couldn't believe that I was living real life. I was in Chianti at a famous restaurant, eating incredible food with some amazing Italians. Maria calls herself our Aunt, and that's what she really is. She loves taking care of us and I will never be able to find the right words to thank her for all of it. I was so perfectly content at lunch, speaking Italian with my friends and experiencing something so totally unique. I felt so included in the culture because the waitstaff was so genuine and fun. Also, Maria and her husband make me so comfortable because everywhere they take us, they know the owners. We are always welcomed with warm hearts and that really makes me feel like a native Italian and not like an American who completely sticks out.
We returned to the center around 2:30 and I met up with my friend Alex, from high school. She is studying abroad in Ferarra and came to visit Florence for the day with her friend Nikki. As soon as I found them, they were sooo ready to go shopping, so I took them to the Ponte Vecchio as per their request. They bought some beautiful pieces of gold jewelry. I was amazed at how beautiful everything was. Then, I took them to Prada, Gucci, Hermes, and Fendi, and I don't think more needs to be said about this, except that they dropped a TON of money in all these places. I ONLY watched, but it was fun. Actually, when we were in the jewelry store Alex reminded me of something that I had done in 7th grade that she'll "never forget." I don't remember this, but apparently I really liked her silver heart link Tiffany's bracelet when we had French class together. She explained that one evening I called her house (this was pre-cell phone) and asked her where she had bought it because I had wanted to ask for it for my birthday. I guess her Mom thought that I was "soooo sweet" because I had no idea of any of these designer things, and I too found the story a little funny. I guess that answers my personal question of when I discovered Tiffany's. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing the bracelet as I type this entry.
Anyway, that's about it for now. I am so full from today and I think I'm going to stay in for the night and watch a movie. I need to be well-rested for homework tomorrow. Yay. Oh, and thank goodness that I had such a good weekend because I just received an email today that I didn't get the Avon internship in NYC. Apparently, they were impressed with my research and writing skills, but wanted someone with "more related experience." I'm sorry, but how much more related can my experiences get when I did Relay for Life for two years with the American Cancer Society?! Avon is a breast cancer foundation! What a lame excuse. Well, there's always more out there, I guess. I'll keep everyone posted.
A presto!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
A classy night
Buona sera a tutti!
Last night, we were lucky enough to eat free (well, it's included in our tuition for Holy Cross) at one of the most famous restaurants in Florence, La Giostra. At 7pm, we all met Elisa outside of the place and when we entered, there was a beautiful long table set up for us with pretty candles and linens. Elisa made sure that we ordered fast, because we had to be out of there by 8:30. We were automatically given champagne and 2 enormous appetizer platters because I assume those things get factored into the high meal prices. Every table gets them, and I thought they were a fabulous idea in place of bread that would have just filled me up anyway. Our platters included spinach and ricotta balls, rabbit and chicken crostini, tomato bruschetta, mini caprese salad pieces, zucchini stuffed with cheese and bread crumbs, red peppers soaked in balsamic vinaigrette, grilled eggplant slices soaked in olive oil, squash and some kind of mayo concoction, and mortadella slices. Elisa also ordered us red wine, and the waiters had a very interesting presentation process. They did all these crazy things with their hands and smelling the corks, and then they carefully poured the wine into a decanter. I now understand why their cheapest bottle of wine is 25 euro. What a fancy process!
I cannot even describe how fabulous this dinner was. Apart from the warm and cozy ambiance, the food was out of this world. For my first course, I ordered pear and pecorino ravioli, which is La Giostra's specialty. I easily understood why when I took my first bite. These ravioli were sooo rich with just the slightest hint of sweetness and an amazing flavor of pecorino. I was in food heaven. For my second course, I had veal with a lemon marsala sauce, and that was another draw-dropper. It came with perfectly seasoned potatoes, sweet peppers drenched in balsamic vinaigrette, and chopped eggplant. It was so delicious and one of a kind that I ignored my "I'm full" warnings halfway through the meal and finished the whole thing. Sadly, and probably fortunately, we didn't have time for dessert which was supposed to be amazing, according to Elisa. Looks like I'll be coming back with my Dad though, so we'll try it then :)
Dinner conversation was interesting, as it consisted of Elisa explaining her knowledge of the family who owns La Giostra. Apparently, the owner's son wears one bracelet for each woman that he has slept with. Right after she told us this, the legendary son (as a waiter) came strolling through the dining room with bracelets on both arms that stretched from his wrists to 3 inches before his elbows. There must have been about 50-75 of those very thin ones on each arm, and a few bulkier ones. Maybe the bulkier bracelets mean that those women were more important? Haha who knows.
Anyway, we left dinner very full and happy and headed to Il Teatro Verdi, just a 5 minute walk away. Elisa had gotten us all tickets to see Renzo Arbore, a very famous Italian singer from Naples. He's in his 70's now, so the crowd was generally pretty old but Elisa assured us that he would be singing "O Sole Mio," so we got ourselves psyched anyway. We had great seats right on the ground level, and the location made sense when I saw that each ticket had gone to Elisa for about 67 euro. Whoa!
While we waited for the show to start, I met Elisa's husband Marco, who was incredibly nice. After talking to him I realized how their marriage works. He seems to be a pretty laid back guy and Elisa can be very stressed and uptight. However, they are both equally (and highly) intelligent, and it seems to me that Elisa leaves her work for the daytime and keeps it as away from her marriage as possible. As my past tales have revealed, she's VERY scary when it comes to my group of friends and our academic achievements, but she was sooo relaxed last night that I actually enjoyed her presence! Shocking, I know. As for the good people-watching to be done in the theater, which there always is, we easily discovered an old woman who was questionably drunk, strutting back and forth through our aisle. (We had the first row of the second section, so it was the area where people walked to get to their seats). She was wearing a long, red lace dress with long sleeves and very red and runny lipstick. What a sight! The reason we thought that she had to have been drunk attributes to the fact that she tripped over Grace's foot and then glared at her for "being in her way," even though Grace had been sitting properly in her seat. We got a good initial laugh out of this woman, and there was still more to come.
Renzo Arbore opened up with a really upbeat song that we all loved. I don't think any of us had heard it before, but it was definitely Neapolitan and very foot-tapping worthy. Mid-way through the show, he got a little lovey and slow with his songs, so we had a hard time staying awake, especially after all of that red wine with dinner. I made it through, but some others dozed off for a few songs. Then, instead of making an intermission, Renzo stepped offstage for a break and sent a female barbershop trio into the spotlight. They called themselves The Blue Dolls, and they were VERY 50's. I thought they had amazing voices though, and really did a great job. Two were actually Florentine women, so that was pretty cool!
After his break, Renzo came back on stage and led into some more upbeat songs, including an attempt at Frank Sinatra in English as a dedication to NYC. He quickly used whatever Sinatra song it was (I couldn't figure it out for the life of me) to segue-way into something Italian because there was no chance in masking that heavy Neapolitan accent. I only recognized a few of the rest that he sang, but they were all great and had us clapping furiously to the beat. Elisa was next to me and waving her arms in the air like a crazy woman. She actually hit me in the head at one point, but I don't think she noticed. While our group was definitely the youngest and most spirited there, the old folks were pretty close in the energy department. They were going NUTS for this guy!!! Lots of people were standing, screaming, singing and clapping. Our "lady in red" was so wired that she tapped Jeff on the shoulder (she was sitting directly behind him) and asked him to scream "Luna Rossa" as a song request for her, because she wasn't able to yell it loud enough herself. Pretty soon after that, she left her seat and walked directly to the front of theater and stood in the middle of the aisle, dancing and clapping for Renzo all alone. That gave us another reason to believe that she was wasted... or just out of her mind. The funniest part was, she rocked herself back and forth, as if she were pretending that Renzo was singing directly to her, especially when the love songs came on. We couldn't contain ourselves from laughing. Even Elisa was loving it.
The show lasted 3 hours with no break, and he never sang "O Sole Mio." We were shocked and slightly disappointed by that little detail, but had an amazing time all the same. He really got the crowd going and we had a great time singing along and dancing to what we both recognized and didn't. The show let out around 12:15 am, and Elisa had arranged rides for all of us to get home. Her husband Marco was assigned to accompany Maggie Rossi, Maggie Wright, Andrea and myself to our respective houses. In the time that he took to bring us home, Andrea and I really struck up a nice acquaintance with him. He initiated the conversation by speaking to us in the most perfect English that I had ever heard a foreigner speak. Though he is 100% Italian, he had no accent whatsoever, and better grammar and sentence structure than a lot of people I know. He was so friendly and excited to learn about us that he made the car ride very comfortable, right from the beginning. We came to find out that he had been studying English since Kindergarten and that now he is publishing and researching in English for his geo-chemical engineering profession. Whoa.
So, last night turned out to be really great. I ended up with a huge stomach ache while I was lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it. Also, Renzo Arbore is most certainly worth a listen for those that don't know who he is. He actually toured NYC and Atlantic City this past year and Florence (last night) was the last leg of his tour. I'll remember this one, and the "lady in red," forever.
Tomorrow is St. Patty's Day and we've decided to go out. I can't imagine Florence is too big on Irish culture, seeing as Maria Pia completely forgot when we informed her of our plans, but the Irish and English pubs in the center know what's going on. It will be a unique St. Patty's Day this year.
Buona notte!
Last night, we were lucky enough to eat free (well, it's included in our tuition for Holy Cross) at one of the most famous restaurants in Florence, La Giostra. At 7pm, we all met Elisa outside of the place and when we entered, there was a beautiful long table set up for us with pretty candles and linens. Elisa made sure that we ordered fast, because we had to be out of there by 8:30. We were automatically given champagne and 2 enormous appetizer platters because I assume those things get factored into the high meal prices. Every table gets them, and I thought they were a fabulous idea in place of bread that would have just filled me up anyway. Our platters included spinach and ricotta balls, rabbit and chicken crostini, tomato bruschetta, mini caprese salad pieces, zucchini stuffed with cheese and bread crumbs, red peppers soaked in balsamic vinaigrette, grilled eggplant slices soaked in olive oil, squash and some kind of mayo concoction, and mortadella slices. Elisa also ordered us red wine, and the waiters had a very interesting presentation process. They did all these crazy things with their hands and smelling the corks, and then they carefully poured the wine into a decanter. I now understand why their cheapest bottle of wine is 25 euro. What a fancy process!
I cannot even describe how fabulous this dinner was. Apart from the warm and cozy ambiance, the food was out of this world. For my first course, I ordered pear and pecorino ravioli, which is La Giostra's specialty. I easily understood why when I took my first bite. These ravioli were sooo rich with just the slightest hint of sweetness and an amazing flavor of pecorino. I was in food heaven. For my second course, I had veal with a lemon marsala sauce, and that was another draw-dropper. It came with perfectly seasoned potatoes, sweet peppers drenched in balsamic vinaigrette, and chopped eggplant. It was so delicious and one of a kind that I ignored my "I'm full" warnings halfway through the meal and finished the whole thing. Sadly, and probably fortunately, we didn't have time for dessert which was supposed to be amazing, according to Elisa. Looks like I'll be coming back with my Dad though, so we'll try it then :)
Dinner conversation was interesting, as it consisted of Elisa explaining her knowledge of the family who owns La Giostra. Apparently, the owner's son wears one bracelet for each woman that he has slept with. Right after she told us this, the legendary son (as a waiter) came strolling through the dining room with bracelets on both arms that stretched from his wrists to 3 inches before his elbows. There must have been about 50-75 of those very thin ones on each arm, and a few bulkier ones. Maybe the bulkier bracelets mean that those women were more important? Haha who knows.
Anyway, we left dinner very full and happy and headed to Il Teatro Verdi, just a 5 minute walk away. Elisa had gotten us all tickets to see Renzo Arbore, a very famous Italian singer from Naples. He's in his 70's now, so the crowd was generally pretty old but Elisa assured us that he would be singing "O Sole Mio," so we got ourselves psyched anyway. We had great seats right on the ground level, and the location made sense when I saw that each ticket had gone to Elisa for about 67 euro. Whoa!
While we waited for the show to start, I met Elisa's husband Marco, who was incredibly nice. After talking to him I realized how their marriage works. He seems to be a pretty laid back guy and Elisa can be very stressed and uptight. However, they are both equally (and highly) intelligent, and it seems to me that Elisa leaves her work for the daytime and keeps it as away from her marriage as possible. As my past tales have revealed, she's VERY scary when it comes to my group of friends and our academic achievements, but she was sooo relaxed last night that I actually enjoyed her presence! Shocking, I know. As for the good people-watching to be done in the theater, which there always is, we easily discovered an old woman who was questionably drunk, strutting back and forth through our aisle. (We had the first row of the second section, so it was the area where people walked to get to their seats). She was wearing a long, red lace dress with long sleeves and very red and runny lipstick. What a sight! The reason we thought that she had to have been drunk attributes to the fact that she tripped over Grace's foot and then glared at her for "being in her way," even though Grace had been sitting properly in her seat. We got a good initial laugh out of this woman, and there was still more to come.
Renzo Arbore opened up with a really upbeat song that we all loved. I don't think any of us had heard it before, but it was definitely Neapolitan and very foot-tapping worthy. Mid-way through the show, he got a little lovey and slow with his songs, so we had a hard time staying awake, especially after all of that red wine with dinner. I made it through, but some others dozed off for a few songs. Then, instead of making an intermission, Renzo stepped offstage for a break and sent a female barbershop trio into the spotlight. They called themselves The Blue Dolls, and they were VERY 50's. I thought they had amazing voices though, and really did a great job. Two were actually Florentine women, so that was pretty cool!
After his break, Renzo came back on stage and led into some more upbeat songs, including an attempt at Frank Sinatra in English as a dedication to NYC. He quickly used whatever Sinatra song it was (I couldn't figure it out for the life of me) to segue-way into something Italian because there was no chance in masking that heavy Neapolitan accent. I only recognized a few of the rest that he sang, but they were all great and had us clapping furiously to the beat. Elisa was next to me and waving her arms in the air like a crazy woman. She actually hit me in the head at one point, but I don't think she noticed. While our group was definitely the youngest and most spirited there, the old folks were pretty close in the energy department. They were going NUTS for this guy!!! Lots of people were standing, screaming, singing and clapping. Our "lady in red" was so wired that she tapped Jeff on the shoulder (she was sitting directly behind him) and asked him to scream "Luna Rossa" as a song request for her, because she wasn't able to yell it loud enough herself. Pretty soon after that, she left her seat and walked directly to the front of theater and stood in the middle of the aisle, dancing and clapping for Renzo all alone. That gave us another reason to believe that she was wasted... or just out of her mind. The funniest part was, she rocked herself back and forth, as if she were pretending that Renzo was singing directly to her, especially when the love songs came on. We couldn't contain ourselves from laughing. Even Elisa was loving it.
The show lasted 3 hours with no break, and he never sang "O Sole Mio." We were shocked and slightly disappointed by that little detail, but had an amazing time all the same. He really got the crowd going and we had a great time singing along and dancing to what we both recognized and didn't. The show let out around 12:15 am, and Elisa had arranged rides for all of us to get home. Her husband Marco was assigned to accompany Maggie Rossi, Maggie Wright, Andrea and myself to our respective houses. In the time that he took to bring us home, Andrea and I really struck up a nice acquaintance with him. He initiated the conversation by speaking to us in the most perfect English that I had ever heard a foreigner speak. Though he is 100% Italian, he had no accent whatsoever, and better grammar and sentence structure than a lot of people I know. He was so friendly and excited to learn about us that he made the car ride very comfortable, right from the beginning. We came to find out that he had been studying English since Kindergarten and that now he is publishing and researching in English for his geo-chemical engineering profession. Whoa.
So, last night turned out to be really great. I ended up with a huge stomach ache while I was lying in bed, trying to get to sleep, but I'm pretty sure it was worth it. Also, Renzo Arbore is most certainly worth a listen for those that don't know who he is. He actually toured NYC and Atlantic City this past year and Florence (last night) was the last leg of his tour. I'll remember this one, and the "lady in red," forever.
Tomorrow is St. Patty's Day and we've decided to go out. I can't imagine Florence is too big on Irish culture, seeing as Maria Pia completely forgot when we informed her of our plans, but the Irish and English pubs in the center know what's going on. It will be a unique St. Patty's Day this year.
Buona notte!
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Wine, cheese and white bathrobes
Ciao!
Yesterday, we had plans to take the 9:40am train out of Santa Maria Novella to Ravenna. There would be a stop in Faenza and there, we would transfer to a bus that took us to Ravenna. That slight inconvenience changed the price from 30,00 euro to only 8,35 euro, so we obviously went for it. Me, Andrea, Grace, Jeff and Carla were all on board waiting for the train to leave, but Maggie R was really cutting it close. When the train pulled away, there was no sign of Maggie and her later reports informed us that she had taken off her shoes and took off running down the platform to get the train. She was right behind it when it left without her. So, she had to take the 30,00 euro train at 10am, but at least she had the option for something else.
We arrived after Maggie, because her train had been a faster one, and we all got together and checked into the hotel. It was called Hotel Mosaico and had 4 stars, but we only paid 30,00 a person because it was in an ugly location, next to the train station. That was perfect for us anyway. Andrea, Grace, Carla and Jeff shared a 4 person room, and Maggie and I shared a double across the hall. We would have easily all fit in the 4 person room, but it was nice this way anyway because we could all have our own beds, and eat breakfast legitimately. The hotel was GORGEOUS inside. The bathrooms were all mosaic-ed, so it was very pleasant. I wanted to steal the mosaic-ed mirror, but it was too big to carry, and I don't steal.
Once we put our things down, we set off to see Ravenna and search for the mosaics. We didn't have to search very hard. We found the Basilica di San Vitale very quickly and bought a complete ticket for that church, and all the others in Ravenna for only 8,50. Words can't even describe how beautiful these mosaics were. First off, the structure of San Vitale was so unique and I absolutely loved it. Instead of the more typical cross-shaped design for a church, the inside was round, with arches and columns to separate the "inner" circle from the "outer." Above the alter and all around that area were gorgeous, sparkling mosaics. The entire floor was also mosaic-ed. I was astounded at the amazing condition the mosaics were in. They looked practically new, but had actually been there since around 500 A.D., when the church was built. I read that mosaic is a type of art that withstands damage really well, and it made sense that they were in Ravenna because it's a town on the water and any art would have had to hold up against the salt air.
Foto di Ravenna "Basilica di S. Vitale" a cura di Globopix.
I didn't take this picture, but I thought it would give everyone a good idea of how amazing the mosaics looked.
After San Vitale, we saw il Mausoleo di Galla Placidia and that too, was filled with gorgeous and shining mosaics. There was also some kind of baptismal pool in the middle of the mausoleum with lots of different money currencies that people had thrown in. I was able to take some great pictures, thanks to the intelligently designed natural lighting that came through the door.
After the mausoleum, everyone had worked up quite an appetite, but it was too difficult an hour to find a restaurant. (Everything closes at 2:30 and then re-opens at 7 for dinner). It was around 3, so we were out of luck. We did manage to find a little bar that doubled as a tiny and tacky restaurant, so we had no choice but to eat there. When we walked in, I felt as if I were in an American diner. There were fake flowers on the tables and stupid gold candles, and those ugly diner-type pink and green colored tablecloths. The waitress was incredibly tanned and pretty crazy. She had an Indian, sparkly bindi on her forehead, even though she was Italian! I think she was just really excited to have a few customers, so she certainly gave us friendly treatment. We all ordered different plates of pasta and despite the fact that this place was deserted, everything tasted delicious. We left around 4 to finish our tour of Ravenna.
We saw the Battistero Neoniano and then the Basilica di Apolinare Nuovo. They were both equally beautiful and unique. I really loved how the architecture was so simple. It really made me appreciate the complexity of the art of mosaic-ing. I can't even imagine how long it took the artists to make those things. They were absolutely breath-taking.
After we saw everything we wanted to see, we found a mosaic artisan and his store, and I bought a little mosaic turtle. It's really cute :) Then, we went to the supermarket and went crazy buying food for dinner. We got champagne, wine, 3 types of pecorino, mozzarella, 3 baguettes, olives, olive oil, prosciutto, salami, apples, chocolate, cookies, cantucci, and probably even more stuff that I can't remember. We brought it all back to the hotel and showered. Then, the night got fun.
When we had arrived that afternoon, the people in the 4-person room had received white bathrobes. Maggie and I, in the double room, hadn't gotten them, so we asked for 2 at the front desk, and they kindly gave them to us. Once we were all showered up, we put on our bathrobes, popped the champagne, and enjoyed the spread that Grace had kindly set up in their huge room. The hotel had satellite TV, so we put on music channels and danced and played games. Several times throughout the evening, someone made a point of looking around the room and saying: "We are all wearing white bathrobes right now." It really was a funny sight to see, especially because they had hoods.
Anyway, I hadn't stayed in such a beautiful hotel in a really long time. They had all the amenities that I always forget about, like a mini-fridge, a bidet, an awesome shower, a blow-dryer, and ROBES! The bed was enormous and unbelievably comfortable, and we had a great flat-screen TV, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Breakfast this morning was in quite a variety and absolutely delicious. I ate yogurt and granola, which I had really missed from home. We took the train back today around 1:30 and had to stand because all of the seats had been reserved. It wasn't bad though, especially considering the fact that it only cost 15 euro to return, instead of the 30 euro for the fast train. Now, I'm home and I have a lot of work to do. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I was interviewed for the Avon Foundation internship in NYC this summer. There are 4 other Holy Cross students up against me, but I think that it went really well. The interviewer even asked me to send over the articles I had written for Holy Cross' newspaper, and the Powerpoint presentation from my research experience at Salve. I think that's a good sign and I can't wait to hear back! I will be interviewing with another company soon, as soon as they get in touch with me. That one is for Edward Street Child Services in Worcester and for them, I would be doing research on effective education tactics for young children, and the importance of parents' education of their children at home, in addition to at school.
Tomorrow night, Elisa is taking us to La Giostra for dinner. It is supposed to be amazing and very expensive, and Holy Cross is paying! Then, we're going to see an Italian orchestra. I can't wait!
More updates later. Ciao!
Yesterday, we had plans to take the 9:40am train out of Santa Maria Novella to Ravenna. There would be a stop in Faenza and there, we would transfer to a bus that took us to Ravenna. That slight inconvenience changed the price from 30,00 euro to only 8,35 euro, so we obviously went for it. Me, Andrea, Grace, Jeff and Carla were all on board waiting for the train to leave, but Maggie R was really cutting it close. When the train pulled away, there was no sign of Maggie and her later reports informed us that she had taken off her shoes and took off running down the platform to get the train. She was right behind it when it left without her. So, she had to take the 30,00 euro train at 10am, but at least she had the option for something else.
We arrived after Maggie, because her train had been a faster one, and we all got together and checked into the hotel. It was called Hotel Mosaico and had 4 stars, but we only paid 30,00 a person because it was in an ugly location, next to the train station. That was perfect for us anyway. Andrea, Grace, Carla and Jeff shared a 4 person room, and Maggie and I shared a double across the hall. We would have easily all fit in the 4 person room, but it was nice this way anyway because we could all have our own beds, and eat breakfast legitimately. The hotel was GORGEOUS inside. The bathrooms were all mosaic-ed, so it was very pleasant. I wanted to steal the mosaic-ed mirror, but it was too big to carry, and I don't steal.
Once we put our things down, we set off to see Ravenna and search for the mosaics. We didn't have to search very hard. We found the Basilica di San Vitale very quickly and bought a complete ticket for that church, and all the others in Ravenna for only 8,50. Words can't even describe how beautiful these mosaics were. First off, the structure of San Vitale was so unique and I absolutely loved it. Instead of the more typical cross-shaped design for a church, the inside was round, with arches and columns to separate the "inner" circle from the "outer." Above the alter and all around that area were gorgeous, sparkling mosaics. The entire floor was also mosaic-ed. I was astounded at the amazing condition the mosaics were in. They looked practically new, but had actually been there since around 500 A.D., when the church was built. I read that mosaic is a type of art that withstands damage really well, and it made sense that they were in Ravenna because it's a town on the water and any art would have had to hold up against the salt air.
Foto di Ravenna "Basilica di S. Vitale" a cura di Globopix.
After San Vitale, we saw il Mausoleo di Galla Placidia and that too, was filled with gorgeous and shining mosaics. There was also some kind of baptismal pool in the middle of the mausoleum with lots of different money currencies that people had thrown in. I was able to take some great pictures, thanks to the intelligently designed natural lighting that came through the door.
After the mausoleum, everyone had worked up quite an appetite, but it was too difficult an hour to find a restaurant. (Everything closes at 2:30 and then re-opens at 7 for dinner). It was around 3, so we were out of luck. We did manage to find a little bar that doubled as a tiny and tacky restaurant, so we had no choice but to eat there. When we walked in, I felt as if I were in an American diner. There were fake flowers on the tables and stupid gold candles, and those ugly diner-type pink and green colored tablecloths. The waitress was incredibly tanned and pretty crazy. She had an Indian, sparkly bindi on her forehead, even though she was Italian! I think she was just really excited to have a few customers, so she certainly gave us friendly treatment. We all ordered different plates of pasta and despite the fact that this place was deserted, everything tasted delicious. We left around 4 to finish our tour of Ravenna.
We saw the Battistero Neoniano and then the Basilica di Apolinare Nuovo. They were both equally beautiful and unique. I really loved how the architecture was so simple. It really made me appreciate the complexity of the art of mosaic-ing. I can't even imagine how long it took the artists to make those things. They were absolutely breath-taking.
After we saw everything we wanted to see, we found a mosaic artisan and his store, and I bought a little mosaic turtle. It's really cute :) Then, we went to the supermarket and went crazy buying food for dinner. We got champagne, wine, 3 types of pecorino, mozzarella, 3 baguettes, olives, olive oil, prosciutto, salami, apples, chocolate, cookies, cantucci, and probably even more stuff that I can't remember. We brought it all back to the hotel and showered. Then, the night got fun.
When we had arrived that afternoon, the people in the 4-person room had received white bathrobes. Maggie and I, in the double room, hadn't gotten them, so we asked for 2 at the front desk, and they kindly gave them to us. Once we were all showered up, we put on our bathrobes, popped the champagne, and enjoyed the spread that Grace had kindly set up in their huge room. The hotel had satellite TV, so we put on music channels and danced and played games. Several times throughout the evening, someone made a point of looking around the room and saying: "We are all wearing white bathrobes right now." It really was a funny sight to see, especially because they had hoods.
Anyway, I hadn't stayed in such a beautiful hotel in a really long time. They had all the amenities that I always forget about, like a mini-fridge, a bidet, an awesome shower, a blow-dryer, and ROBES! The bed was enormous and unbelievably comfortable, and we had a great flat-screen TV, which we thoroughly enjoyed. Breakfast this morning was in quite a variety and absolutely delicious. I ate yogurt and granola, which I had really missed from home. We took the train back today around 1:30 and had to stand because all of the seats had been reserved. It wasn't bad though, especially considering the fact that it only cost 15 euro to return, instead of the 30 euro for the fast train. Now, I'm home and I have a lot of work to do. I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but I was interviewed for the Avon Foundation internship in NYC this summer. There are 4 other Holy Cross students up against me, but I think that it went really well. The interviewer even asked me to send over the articles I had written for Holy Cross' newspaper, and the Powerpoint presentation from my research experience at Salve. I think that's a good sign and I can't wait to hear back! I will be interviewing with another company soon, as soon as they get in touch with me. That one is for Edward Street Child Services in Worcester and for them, I would be doing research on effective education tactics for young children, and the importance of parents' education of their children at home, in addition to at school.
Tomorrow night, Elisa is taking us to La Giostra for dinner. It is supposed to be amazing and very expensive, and Holy Cross is paying! Then, we're going to see an Italian orchestra. I can't wait!
More updates later. Ciao!
Friday, March 12, 2010
Alice in Wonderland in 3D
Today, one of the teachers at CLIDA, Cristiana, took us to see Alice in Wonderland in 3D, in Italian. It was my first time to the Italian movies and the concessions weren't the best, but they were much cheaper than in America. No warm popcorn, just the bagged stuff. Anyway, tickets were outrageously priced-- 8,50 euro for students and 12 euro for regular admission. (Keep in mind that the euro is much stronger than the dollar, too). The 3D glasses were pretty intense though. Very sturdy.
Anyway, all seven of us (Jeff and Grace couldn't make it) parked it in a good spot and waited for the movie to start. The previews started on time and the lights were very low. I noticed an old man coming towards our row, looking for a place to sit. I had two seats to the left of me, and everything to the right was filled with all of us. The man was slowly shimmying down the aisle, and it seemed to me that he wanted to pass me. I didn't understand why, because there were no seats, but I tried to move my legs aside to the best of my abilities. I quickly discovered that he wasn't trying to get by me when he started to sit right on top of me. I don't know how he hadn't felt himself stepping on my feet while he was "trying to get by," but yea, he sat on me. So, I called out "Mi scusi!" in my loudest whisper voice and he finally realized that there was a little person under him. He apologized and sat in the aisle seat, two down from me.
I was sitting next to Andrea, and Carla was next to her, and both of them had seen the commotion. They completely lost it, and so did I. I felt kind of bad because I think this guy heard us giggling, but we couldn't help it! At the end of the movie, he apologized to me again, and of course I was as genuine as possible, without laughing.
The movie itself was awesome. Carla said that she felt a little woozy at some parts, but I thought that it was amazing. With the 3D glasses, we were flying through the mushroom fields and the Queen's castle. It was so cool! All the characters from the Disney version were there, but it was a very different story line. Of course, Johnny Depp did a great job. Everyone has to go see it. We were the oldest kids there and there was one 6 or 7 year old that complained and cried the whole beginning "Voglio andare, voglio andare!" (I want to go, I want to go). I think he was afraid because his mom probably told him that it would be a little scary or something. Anyway, it was great! I even understood most of the Italian in it, except when I couldn't figure out if some words were Lewis Carroll's made-up words or not. I'll have to see it in English when I get home.
I'm not going out tonight because tomorrow, we're leaving for Ravenna on the 9:40 train for an overnight. We found a great 4-star hotel on the water for only 30 euro per person. It's going to be awesome! Updates on Sunday.
Buona serata!
Anyway, all seven of us (Jeff and Grace couldn't make it) parked it in a good spot and waited for the movie to start. The previews started on time and the lights were very low. I noticed an old man coming towards our row, looking for a place to sit. I had two seats to the left of me, and everything to the right was filled with all of us. The man was slowly shimmying down the aisle, and it seemed to me that he wanted to pass me. I didn't understand why, because there were no seats, but I tried to move my legs aside to the best of my abilities. I quickly discovered that he wasn't trying to get by me when he started to sit right on top of me. I don't know how he hadn't felt himself stepping on my feet while he was "trying to get by," but yea, he sat on me. So, I called out "Mi scusi!" in my loudest whisper voice and he finally realized that there was a little person under him. He apologized and sat in the aisle seat, two down from me.
I was sitting next to Andrea, and Carla was next to her, and both of them had seen the commotion. They completely lost it, and so did I. I felt kind of bad because I think this guy heard us giggling, but we couldn't help it! At the end of the movie, he apologized to me again, and of course I was as genuine as possible, without laughing.
The movie itself was awesome. Carla said that she felt a little woozy at some parts, but I thought that it was amazing. With the 3D glasses, we were flying through the mushroom fields and the Queen's castle. It was so cool! All the characters from the Disney version were there, but it was a very different story line. Of course, Johnny Depp did a great job. Everyone has to go see it. We were the oldest kids there and there was one 6 or 7 year old that complained and cried the whole beginning "Voglio andare, voglio andare!" (I want to go, I want to go). I think he was afraid because his mom probably told him that it would be a little scary or something. Anyway, it was great! I even understood most of the Italian in it, except when I couldn't figure out if some words were Lewis Carroll's made-up words or not. I'll have to see it in English when I get home.
I'm not going out tonight because tomorrow, we're leaving for Ravenna on the 9:40 train for an overnight. We found a great 4-star hotel on the water for only 30 euro per person. It's going to be awesome! Updates on Sunday.
Buona serata!
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