Classes are over. I'm right now in the process of finishing all my work for each of my courses. Papers are all done actually, I only have a single exam next Tuesday (not counting my Italian and One World, One Language presentations on Monday and Wednesday.
That stuff is boring though. I was actually kind of frustrated at my lessons this week because I had prepared all my information for the papers due next week... that means I had no real reason to go to class other than to sign attendance. However, the past couple days have been really nice, I should say.
Thursday, I had literally no idea what I would do. I had heard from Elena that there was going to be a reading and question session with the author Salman Rushdie. He recently wrote a book called The Enchantress of Florence and I guess the Italian connection warranted an appearance somewhere in Italy! So Ca' Foscari was a part-sponsor of this bigger program called "Incroci di Civilta'" (Cultural Intersections).
So I ran into Shereen, a literature student from England (University of Kent) and she convinced me that it would be really cool (which didn't take much, let's be honest). We didn't know if we would be able to get tickets, but we did! This event took place in the Teatro Malibran, not far from the Ponte Rialto. We were up in the top balcony. But I could see perfectly. The program opened with Rushdie reading a passage from the new book, with the words translated on a screen behind him. After that, there was a discussion moderator and a professor who asked him questions. Everyone on stage had headphones, and there were live translators working. Actually a lot of people in the audience had headphones too, if they didn't know the English. It was cool for me because I could get both sides of the dialogue.
After the reading session and the questions, I found Elena outside the theater. She was with her friend from childhood Maura, and the three of us went to get a spritz before they were going to the bus station to return to Montebelluna (about one and a half hours away). We picked this trendy little bar near the Erbaria of Rialto, where we met the German girl Sarah and the American Vanessa. Also Judith (German) showed up with her family. They were all heading in different directions. We got in touch with Anthony and he came to meet me, Elena and Maura. After a nice typical plate of Venetian cichetti that we shared, we all walked through San Polo and Santa Croce to Piazzale Roma, the bus station. Then Maura and Elena would go to Mestre, where Elena parked her Vespa. Haha... isn't that typical that they drove on a Vespa? But we don't see that much around here since there aren't any motor vehicles in Venice.
So I was going to go to Campo Santa Margherita to meet with some other VIU students, but Anthony invited me instead to go to the train station to meet up with Anna and Juliana, two other Italian VIU friends. Anna is from Trentino-Alto Adige but has an apartment for school in San Giobbe, in the sestiere of Canareggio of Venice. Juliana is from the same region but she said she's staying in Mestre for the scholastic year. They both go home during breaks. But anyway, they wanted to show me and Anthony one of their favorite places in Canareggio which has a really good white wine. So we took the glasses outside... it was a relatively nice night compared to how humid it's been recently. Although then the bar closed, and we couldn't return the glasses! So they were a present. I now am the proud owner of a wine glass from Vecia Carboneria.
So then we were off to get a gelato, but first Anna wanted to stop by her apartment to ask her housemate if she wanted to come along. Her name was Anastazia, and Anna introduced both me and Anthony. We were really impressed by how large the place was. It was the first time I really saw the inside of a Venetian house. So anyway, on the way to the gelateria (which Anna claims is the best in Canareggio, maybe in Venice) I talked with Anna and Anastazia, and I was flattered and maybe a little embarassed when Anastazia said that when Anthony and I came upstairs and were introduced, she thought Anthony seemed more "straniero" and I seemed more Italian. Which I don't really get because Anthony and I have the same level of Italian, I'd say... although he's more extroverted than I am, I think, and has a more "California" air about him, I mean, that's where he's from. So in a lot of ways, maybe he seems more "American" in that sense (although you can't feel more American than me when Thanksgiving rolls around!!! WOW the countdown is always on). But anyway, I explained the Italian heritage that both Anthony and I have, actually both from Sicily, from Palermo. Although of course Anthony's cognome Dragotto is a little more obvious still today than LaMonica which is there, you just don't see it.
The gelato was amazing. It would be a waste of time searching for the perfect words to describe how good it was. Anthony and I walked back to the vaporetto station with our glasses (from the bar, of course) and it was SO humid! That's another problem. It's hard to sleep now because of the oppressive humidity every night. But whatever. The two of us just love going out and hanging out with the Italians, communicating in another language, and one that's important to both of us at that. I really think that both Anthony and I were looking for the same kind of experience when we came over here. And so I'm glad that we were able to work toward that goal together -- it'd be interesting still by myself, but I like having another American with me. And the Italians think it's really funny that the two of us spend more time speaking Italian than the others, especially since we speak to each other sometimes in Italian.
I'll keep this post short. Next time, I'll tell about the tour of the Laguna di Venezia, which included stops at Torcello, Burano, Mazzorbo, and San Francesco del Deserto. Also, I have to say that I've possibly been hit by some kind of bug, but whatever, I hope I get over it soon.
A piu' tardi,
Andrew
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Le Mie Foto da Sicilia
I know it's not Palermo... but it's the 100th annual Giro d'Italia on the Island of Lido
I Quattro Canti, The Four Corners of Palermo. This is the center of the old town. Actually this is just one of the four sides.
The Catedrale di Monreale, near Palermo. A wedding was going on.
Il Teatro Massimo, one of the most famous operahouses in Italy. Our hostel was really just behind it.
Here I am in the Villa Giulia, one of the public gardens of Palermo.Quasi Morto a Trapani, Colpa di Gelato
So I'm picking up the story of my travels in Sicily with Jenn and Tim on Sunday morning around 11:30, when we finally wake up after our night with the palermitani U2 fans (I know, isn't it awesome??) So we got a knock on the door around this time; it was Letizia, the hostel woman, telling us that unfortunately we had to get up. This was the day we were checking in, and maybe we vaguely heard someone, an American actually, trying to check in and put his bags in our room for the next day... but... we were asleep.
Letizia was actually so nice about it. Not only was she so helpful although we basically broke one of the typical rules of the hostel, she put out some things for breakfast for us! It ended up being such a nice morning. I chatted with her and Claudia, the woman who actually runs the hostel, for a little bit. They said it was ok (third reason why they were amazing!) if we left our bags up in the hostel while we explored the markets and gardens of Palermo. So we began our Sunday journey.
Palermo is kind of a rough city. I'm definitely glad I didn't go by myself... not only for that, I have to say that Jenn and Tim were more than excellent company. But let it suffice to say that while we were walking to the Quattro Canti on the way to the train station (this was before we left the city, a few hours later) we saw a crime scene. The police had blocked off the road in front of a church we had gone into on Friday, baroque style. But this time it was decorated with a couple puddles of blood on the front steps. So creepy. Not as much as the catacombes, but we were like, whoooa we're in Sicily.
But in the morning, we saw a religious procession, which I imagined we might see. There was a priest in black robes even though it was sooo hot, and he was holding a wooden cross up in the air. There were a few (but not a lot) people following behind, chanting in Italian. It struck me as a typically Sicilian scene... after all, like in the US, the south of Italy is more relgiously traditional than the north. Or maybe not religiously traditional, just religious period.
We reached the train station, turned left and wandered down what I maybe remember correctly as Corso Abramo Lincoln. Essentially, Abraham Lincoln Avenue. We were vaguely following the magical map of Palermo that John had made for us (he's another one of my VIU friends) and we were looking for this place that serves arancine, "little oranges." These sound benign but actually really can do a number on your system if you're not careful. NEVER eat more than one, even if they look small. I figured out this rule when I asked for mine (it cost 1.20, cheaper than gelato!) and the guy put it into my hand... it made my hand fall down a little since it was SO heavy. Inside there is... wow, this is important, I can't leave out the ingredients. There is rice inside, and the outside is battered and fried. The exact center can have different kinds of ingredients... one kind is called "mangiami mangiami" (eatme eatme) and has everything inside. I settled for the one with the meat and peas.
So we took our arancine outside on this beautiful, sunny Sunday. There were a lot of other palermitani around doing the same thing which told us this would be an amazing experience. Or at least a very typical experience. We began eating ravenously since we were so hungry. This was around 1:30. But we began slowing down as we began to realize how big these rice balls actually were. However, I am proud to say that I finished mine! First, and I was also the only one to finish. But it's not really a problem because Jenn and Tim did the right thing for their health and I did not. But it was ok... haha.
We began walking through the public garden known as the Villa Giulia which is just across the street. That's when the arancina started to kick in... for Tim and Jenn, that is! For some odd reason, I felt fine. And don't worry, this never changed. I was absolutely ok! It was like I hadn't eaten anything at all! Ok, not really, but I felt great. And the garden was beautiful! Run down, ancient even. It felt like we were "in the lost world," as Jenn put it. And it is the "old world," as so many call it, Palermo, Sicily. After a little jaunt through the gardens, looking at the fountains and the flowers and the families enjoying a beautiful day, I was up for another round. Gelato anyone???
Of course, Jenn and Tim took me up on this offer. But first we went to the botanical gardens, which had a lot more beautiful plants and it was actually much bigger than the public Villa Giulia. This place had specific types of plants that the botany department of the Universita' di Palermo had been cultivating and studying. There was even an "experimental plants" section. And of course there were fountains and beautiful greenhouses, and the amazing old magnolia style trees from Australia that I mentioned before.
We got a gelato before collecting our bags from the hostel and bussing back to Trapani. The gelato in Sicily, I should say, is SO cheap and SO rich. And they give you SOOO much!!! Tim got the speciality though. This includes a couple of scoops of gelato (very generous) in a brioche, which is essentially a pastry shaped like a hamburger bun. Sooo good for you, right??? Haha, you can tell that this was the most healthy experience of our Sicilian adventure.
So we got to the train station, and after a bit of confusion, we figured out where we should buy our bus tickets (from the meanest bus ticket salesman in Palermo, I know it... maybe my Italian isn't perfect... but it's pretty good. Actually I'm getting to a problem point because I can speak so naturally sometimes that when I screw up or have trouble understanding, people don't think I'm an American, they just think I'm a really stupid Italian. And my looks don't help this battle much either). So with a half hour to go before the bus left, we decided to cool off at a nearby cafe with a beer. Unfortunately Tim ended up buying 66cl bottles (more than 2 times the amount of a typical bottle in the USA). So I didn't manage to finish, and it was a good thing because the bus ride to Trapani was just south of two hours and I didn't really fancy needing to go to the bathroom on a bouncy vehicle like the bus.
We arrived in Trapani in one piece with nevertheless a pretty decent need to use the bathroom. I called Marcello, the guy who runs the B&B Al Porto, where we were set up to stay. We had NO idea where in Trapani we were. But to our astonishment, Marcello said that he would pick us up and drive us to the hostel! Yesss! So we got there, worked out the arrangements and paid since we'd have to leave early in the morning. We had booked a matrimoniale and a singolo, only two beds, so Tim and I split the huge bed and left Jenn to her own bed.
Marcello didn't speak any English, or if he did, he didn't want to. No problem! Communicating was a snap, even with the Sicilian accent, which I actually really like a lot. Cinquanta= shinguanda, Marcello = Marshello, you know. So we went out into the streets and gave Trapani a try. Weirdly, it's an odd community because a few of the buildings are so new, it's like they were constructed within the past 10 years. Ridiculously new for this country. But Trapani has an incredible port, very clean and new, the best I've ever seen in fact. Despite this, being on these streets felt a little like being in a planned community like Phillips place or the other place in Charlotte where the restaurant Brio is (sorry for all my non-Charlottean buds and family out there, haha). This however didn't take away from the charm of the community. Walking around in the tiny streets, just a single stroll would run you past the same people several times.
We were hungry. Stomach completely empty. In only three or so hours, I would feel the exact opposite. Anyway, here we go. The only place we could find on this main road was a pizza place, and so we all got a slice of pizza (really pretty mediocre). THEN down by the water we found a trattoria, and it looked good, and we were still hungry. So what do we do? Sit down for an actual meal. We were able to watch the ships coming into port, that was pretty cool. Afterwards, I was stuffed but what's the rule in Sicily? Enough is never enough when it comes to food! This simple philosophy led Tim and I once again to the gelato stand where "I spoke better Italian so I got way more gelato" according to Tim. I don't know if that's the reason, but I definitely did have two fist-sized scoops of gelato right there. And we walked through the streets enjoying the first few bites. It was only when we stopped at an intersection listening to a singer at this cafe that it hit me. The PAIN! It was honestly my best guess to what contractions must feel like. I wasn't doubled over but literally my stomach was so full, so solid... like, it hadn't been that hard since wrestling season my senior year in high school, and that was from a completely different reason. Ahhh!
Anyway, I made it back, and I'm fine now. I think. Time will tell.
This is the last official week of classes. Here are a few new points:
The humidity is KILLING ME. There hasn't been new air in my dorm room for maybe 5 days. It's honestly like a giant is exhaling through the AC vents... which aren't working.
The last VIU trip, on the Laguna di Venezia, goes to Torcello, Burano and some other islands nearby on Friday. I'm going, it should be fun.
I've finished all my papers and have only Professor Northrup's exam left, that's on tuesday. Wish me luck!
Andrew
Letizia was actually so nice about it. Not only was she so helpful although we basically broke one of the typical rules of the hostel, she put out some things for breakfast for us! It ended up being such a nice morning. I chatted with her and Claudia, the woman who actually runs the hostel, for a little bit. They said it was ok (third reason why they were amazing!) if we left our bags up in the hostel while we explored the markets and gardens of Palermo. So we began our Sunday journey.
Palermo is kind of a rough city. I'm definitely glad I didn't go by myself... not only for that, I have to say that Jenn and Tim were more than excellent company. But let it suffice to say that while we were walking to the Quattro Canti on the way to the train station (this was before we left the city, a few hours later) we saw a crime scene. The police had blocked off the road in front of a church we had gone into on Friday, baroque style. But this time it was decorated with a couple puddles of blood on the front steps. So creepy. Not as much as the catacombes, but we were like, whoooa we're in Sicily.
But in the morning, we saw a religious procession, which I imagined we might see. There was a priest in black robes even though it was sooo hot, and he was holding a wooden cross up in the air. There were a few (but not a lot) people following behind, chanting in Italian. It struck me as a typically Sicilian scene... after all, like in the US, the south of Italy is more relgiously traditional than the north. Or maybe not religiously traditional, just religious period.
We reached the train station, turned left and wandered down what I maybe remember correctly as Corso Abramo Lincoln. Essentially, Abraham Lincoln Avenue. We were vaguely following the magical map of Palermo that John had made for us (he's another one of my VIU friends) and we were looking for this place that serves arancine, "little oranges." These sound benign but actually really can do a number on your system if you're not careful. NEVER eat more than one, even if they look small. I figured out this rule when I asked for mine (it cost 1.20, cheaper than gelato!) and the guy put it into my hand... it made my hand fall down a little since it was SO heavy. Inside there is... wow, this is important, I can't leave out the ingredients. There is rice inside, and the outside is battered and fried. The exact center can have different kinds of ingredients... one kind is called "mangiami mangiami" (eatme eatme) and has everything inside. I settled for the one with the meat and peas.
So we took our arancine outside on this beautiful, sunny Sunday. There were a lot of other palermitani around doing the same thing which told us this would be an amazing experience. Or at least a very typical experience. We began eating ravenously since we were so hungry. This was around 1:30. But we began slowing down as we began to realize how big these rice balls actually were. However, I am proud to say that I finished mine! First, and I was also the only one to finish. But it's not really a problem because Jenn and Tim did the right thing for their health and I did not. But it was ok... haha.
We began walking through the public garden known as the Villa Giulia which is just across the street. That's when the arancina started to kick in... for Tim and Jenn, that is! For some odd reason, I felt fine. And don't worry, this never changed. I was absolutely ok! It was like I hadn't eaten anything at all! Ok, not really, but I felt great. And the garden was beautiful! Run down, ancient even. It felt like we were "in the lost world," as Jenn put it. And it is the "old world," as so many call it, Palermo, Sicily. After a little jaunt through the gardens, looking at the fountains and the flowers and the families enjoying a beautiful day, I was up for another round. Gelato anyone???
Of course, Jenn and Tim took me up on this offer. But first we went to the botanical gardens, which had a lot more beautiful plants and it was actually much bigger than the public Villa Giulia. This place had specific types of plants that the botany department of the Universita' di Palermo had been cultivating and studying. There was even an "experimental plants" section. And of course there were fountains and beautiful greenhouses, and the amazing old magnolia style trees from Australia that I mentioned before.
We got a gelato before collecting our bags from the hostel and bussing back to Trapani. The gelato in Sicily, I should say, is SO cheap and SO rich. And they give you SOOO much!!! Tim got the speciality though. This includes a couple of scoops of gelato (very generous) in a brioche, which is essentially a pastry shaped like a hamburger bun. Sooo good for you, right??? Haha, you can tell that this was the most healthy experience of our Sicilian adventure.
So we got to the train station, and after a bit of confusion, we figured out where we should buy our bus tickets (from the meanest bus ticket salesman in Palermo, I know it... maybe my Italian isn't perfect... but it's pretty good. Actually I'm getting to a problem point because I can speak so naturally sometimes that when I screw up or have trouble understanding, people don't think I'm an American, they just think I'm a really stupid Italian. And my looks don't help this battle much either). So with a half hour to go before the bus left, we decided to cool off at a nearby cafe with a beer. Unfortunately Tim ended up buying 66cl bottles (more than 2 times the amount of a typical bottle in the USA). So I didn't manage to finish, and it was a good thing because the bus ride to Trapani was just south of two hours and I didn't really fancy needing to go to the bathroom on a bouncy vehicle like the bus.
We arrived in Trapani in one piece with nevertheless a pretty decent need to use the bathroom. I called Marcello, the guy who runs the B&B Al Porto, where we were set up to stay. We had NO idea where in Trapani we were. But to our astonishment, Marcello said that he would pick us up and drive us to the hostel! Yesss! So we got there, worked out the arrangements and paid since we'd have to leave early in the morning. We had booked a matrimoniale and a singolo, only two beds, so Tim and I split the huge bed and left Jenn to her own bed.
Marcello didn't speak any English, or if he did, he didn't want to. No problem! Communicating was a snap, even with the Sicilian accent, which I actually really like a lot. Cinquanta= shinguanda, Marcello = Marshello, you know. So we went out into the streets and gave Trapani a try. Weirdly, it's an odd community because a few of the buildings are so new, it's like they were constructed within the past 10 years. Ridiculously new for this country. But Trapani has an incredible port, very clean and new, the best I've ever seen in fact. Despite this, being on these streets felt a little like being in a planned community like Phillips place or the other place in Charlotte where the restaurant Brio is (sorry for all my non-Charlottean buds and family out there, haha). This however didn't take away from the charm of the community. Walking around in the tiny streets, just a single stroll would run you past the same people several times.
We were hungry. Stomach completely empty. In only three or so hours, I would feel the exact opposite. Anyway, here we go. The only place we could find on this main road was a pizza place, and so we all got a slice of pizza (really pretty mediocre). THEN down by the water we found a trattoria, and it looked good, and we were still hungry. So what do we do? Sit down for an actual meal. We were able to watch the ships coming into port, that was pretty cool. Afterwards, I was stuffed but what's the rule in Sicily? Enough is never enough when it comes to food! This simple philosophy led Tim and I once again to the gelato stand where "I spoke better Italian so I got way more gelato" according to Tim. I don't know if that's the reason, but I definitely did have two fist-sized scoops of gelato right there. And we walked through the streets enjoying the first few bites. It was only when we stopped at an intersection listening to a singer at this cafe that it hit me. The PAIN! It was honestly my best guess to what contractions must feel like. I wasn't doubled over but literally my stomach was so full, so solid... like, it hadn't been that hard since wrestling season my senior year in high school, and that was from a completely different reason. Ahhh!
Anyway, I made it back, and I'm fine now. I think. Time will tell.
This is the last official week of classes. Here are a few new points:
The humidity is KILLING ME. There hasn't been new air in my dorm room for maybe 5 days. It's honestly like a giant is exhaling through the AC vents... which aren't working.
The last VIU trip, on the Laguna di Venezia, goes to Torcello, Burano and some other islands nearby on Friday. I'm going, it should be fun.
I've finished all my papers and have only Professor Northrup's exam left, that's on tuesday. Wish me luck!
Andrew
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sicilia: La Morte Sua
"It's the death of you." That's what Marcello, the guy who takes photographs for our VIU trips, told me about Sicily... referring to the food, that is! And there really is truth in what he said... the food in this island is just irresistible, and when you think you've had enough, you haven't because it just gets better and better. After the eggplants, you can't refuse the fried calamari, and after that, you can't refuse the gelato (served in the typical sicilian way, of course).
Anyway, the night before I went to Sicily with Jenn and Tim, the two other Americans from BC and UVA, I went out to dinner with both of them and maybe 5 or 6 American students. It was Thursday, so the week was over! After dinner Anthony and I walked up to San Giobbe, on almost the farthest northwest point of the island. The economics department of Ca' Foscari threw a big party there in the university center. It's actually the closest thing I've seen to a college campus in Italy, believe it or not, maybe because it's so far removed from the rest of the city. There were a couple other VIU students from Italy, Germany and Israel who met up with me and Anthony. It was really fun... the music was amazing! Kind of techno-european remixes of a few songs I really like (like Banquet, by Bloc Party). Anyway, it was fun.
I walked back to the vaporetto with Judith and Sara, both Germans. We had to call the vaporetto staff to get back to our island since a sciopero (strike) was going on on Friday... I was kind of worried about being able to get to the Treviso Airport the next day for the trip to Sicily. But it was no problem at all... everything worked out great. Got back to the island, got some sleep, and met Jenn and Tim at the vaporetto stop in the morning.
Now, fastforwarding to actually landing in Sicily (because we all know that travelling can be SO boring) we got into Trapani, on the farthest west tip of Sicily, around 2. We quickly reorganized and got onboard a bus to Palermo. I asked this businessman on the bus (who knew what he was doing... I overheard his conversation and it was obvious he'd taken this bus before) how long it took to travel to Palermo. An hour and a half. But he asked if the three of us were German. I asked him if he thought my accent (in Italian) was German, and he said maybe, but when I told him we were Americans he was surprised. Jenn has blond hair and has the German look, so that's where this guy said he got the idea. He chatted with us a little on the way, and I mentioned that it was my second time in Sicily (wow! I was so excited to say that!) and that my family a few generations ago was Sicilian. As I've said before, it's kind of weird explaining that cultural link to Europeans of any kind... but I think they find it interesting since they have nothing similar usually.
Our hostel in Palermo (A Casa di Amici) was in the most PERFECT location, just west of the Teatro Massimo, one of the most famous landmarks in the center of the city. The woman working there, Letizia, was so nice to us and explained all the things we should check out during our stay. This included an amazing restaurant, Ferro di Cavallo in Via Venezia, that I recommend to everyone. Tim, Jenn and I walked into the heart of the city, past the Quattro Canti (4 corners) which divide the old city into four parts, each having its own marketplace. We walked down Corso Vittorio Emmanuele and found a beautiful garden with HUGE trees imported during the 19th century from Australia. They're a member of the Magnolia family and have vines that drape down, take root and then become separate trees! We continued on, and hit the water; then we turned back and got an aperitivo before dinner. This was just a nice time to relax and enjoy the evening together before our three and a half hour meal. WOOWWW!!! Isn't Sicily amazing!!!???
We immediately ordered the panelle, which means something like "little breads." Of course, in the traditional style of Sicily, they were FRIED! And delicious. Absolutely to die for. We finished them off in a decent amount of time, although I think it was slower probably because we were just chatting and chatting. Literally, the time just flew by. And this place was really popular because there was a decent crowd forming nearby, wanting to eat. This was around 8:45. We ate pretty late, which is typical. So anyway, for the main meal we got the calamari fritti, fried calamari, which Letizia recommended (along with the panelle). I had actually never had calamari before and it was SO good! I just figured, why not start in Sicily? So it was sooo good. The time just flew by, and we got a gelato before closing out the rest of the day, this was around 11:30. We were pretty tired after all the travel anyway.
On Saturday morning, we got breakfast in the hostel and walked up Corso Vittorio Emmanuele toward Piazza dell'Indipendenza. From here, we took a bus to Monreale, a town up on a hill that offers an incredible view of Palermo. The weather was a little hazy but perfect. I have to add that it was so hot while we were there! But when we got up to the top of the hill, we went inside the famous Catedrale di Monreale which is almost over-decorated with golden mosaic Bible stories. Inside, there was a wedding going on! Jenn and Tim looked at me and asked, "Is it ok? Can we be in here?" I remembered what Vittoria had told me about her cousin's wedding in Sicily, how all these random people were coming in and out of the church, often to get a look at the new couple. So yeah, I figured it was fine! We walked up and took a closer look, and stood outside the church when the bride and groom (Salvatore and Lisa, that is) came outside, and everyone pelted them with rice. Like seriously, it was enough rice to kill a whole species of pigeons... at least that's the conclusion that Tim drew. And if it's true, I think that there should be a lot of similar weddings in Venice, if you see what I'm saying. But anyway, it was incredible seeing the Sicilian wedding... the couple was from Bagheria, east of Palermo. And I can only imagine what the reception would have been like!
So we stopped at a trattoria after the wedding for lunch. The whole town of Monreale shut down around 1:00, when everyone takes the break for lunch and a bit of rest. Then everything re-opens later in the day. But it was here in Monreale that I had the best pasta I've ever had in my life. It was pennette alla norma, which is a simple, mediterranean style which included some vegetables and the best eggplants ever!!! And it was cooked perfectly al dente. The bread was also fresh... and we learned that in Sicily it's typical to find bread with sesame seeds. We walked through the streets of Palermo after lunch, which were absolutely deserted... and we found an amazing paneficio, a bread and bakery store, and we ate the cannoli there... it was soooo good. I just can't express how good the food is there!
When we took the bus back to the center of Palermo after gazing off the cliffs into the valley, we planned on stopping at the Catacombe, the catacombs. The Cappucini family was very rich and influential during the 19th century of Palermo, and they thought it would be a great idea to bury their family members underground, where it was cool and the bodies decomposed less. So... it became trendy and a lot of other people ended up being buried there too, religious people like priests and nuns, and then later on nobles who paid a nice price. We descended the stairs... and I saw the most dead people I have ever seen in my life. It was really kind of scary... so many skeletons, row after row, just hanging from the walls, one after another. And there was no glass or wires frequently between the skeletons and the walkways, like if you got pushed you'd be touching a 200 year old priest. It was so refreshing to climb up out of there into the fresh air of Palermo.
We got a granita at this little bar across from the cathedral of Palermo. This is crushed flavored ice, and is really particular of Sicily. We all got the lemon flavor! It was the perfect thing since it was so hot. We had just stopped in the cathedral, which is decorated on the outside in a middle-eastern style (I don't know if I mentioned it, but Sicily was dominated by the Ottomans and the Arabs at different times and was influenced aesthetically. This also happened when the Normans invaded, later on. There's actually a Palazzo dei Normani in Palermo, but we didn't go). Similar to the Catedrale di San Petronio in Bologna, this cathedral has a meridiana, a meridian line that was built to put Sicily on the same hour-clock as the rest of Europe. A hole in the ceiling lets light hit a specific spot on the floor at noon, and that's how you know it's noon. There are also the remains of Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, whose bones were brought down from Monte Pellegrino in maybe the 19th century? can't remember, to end the plague. About two weeks later, the Plague was gone. So Santa Rosalia got a special place in Palermo.
We looked for some shoes after that. For me, I should say... Jenn was trying to help me narrow down my choices, I can't say we made progress really quickly though. I did narrow my search, but I still didn't get any shoes. At this point it was starting to rain. So we went to the restaurant we had seen before, which actually had been highly rated by the New York Times just a month or two before. After an incredible dinner (we got caprese and fried eggplant balls to begin, and incredible bread, and after I got the farfallette al salmone. Perfect!) we wandered around looking for a taxi to take us to Mora Mora, the club where the U2 cover band would play. It was actually only a few blocks away... so we kind of got scammed on the taxi but we were there. And there was no cost to enter the club.
This band was set up in the corner... actually we were sitting for a little while before they started to play. But it didn't matter, tempo palermitano. They started with "City of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo" but moved onto older stuff like "New Year's Day." I was really impressed with the guitarist's imitation of the Edge, he really had the style down. The "Bono" was maybe the weakest link, but I will give him a lot of credit for singing in a second language. He did leave out some words and even verses, and he also had a music stand in front of him. But the sound of the group in general was great. And I just loved being there with other Palermitani who liked U2! Seriously, I hadn't been to anything like this since maybe the Serbian club in Zurich, but this time I really felt like I belonged. During the breaks between songs, the band would introduce themselves and talk a little bit... and it was fun being able to just understand and interact with the environment a little more. There was actually a big group of young people (late 20s maybe) standing behind where Tim, Jenn and I were sitting, and they knew all the words to these songs, maybe better than the lead singer. Unfortunately one of these people, a woman, went up to sing with the band for a few numbers. I don't know, I didn't really mind, even though she wasn't a great singer, but Tim and Jenn thought she was ruining the illusion. Possibly. But it was so palermitano, the whole situation.
Another really typical thing was that, for example, as the guitarist was playing, he'd have a solo, and during the solo, he'd be concentrating, and someone, a friend, would come up to him and talk to him, whispering into his ear. And he just kept playing, and even talked back to the guy or girl, while still playing! Priceless. Actually during one of the breaks the woman behind me was calling out to the lead guitarist, "Claudio! Claudio! Cla! Guarda la mamma!" I started laughing and turned around, realizing that the lead guitarist's mom was sitting behind me, and I said, "Oh, it's your son," and she said yes. I complimented his guitar playing, and we chatted a little because she wanted to know where we were from, etc. I always get a charge out of talking to normal people like in this instance, and it made the club feel really small, like everyone knew each other. I mean, there must have been more family in there! But I shared that I'm a quarter Sicilian and she thought that was pretty cool, returning to Palermo for the second time. And when we were leaving, after the show, she waved to us and told us to enjoy our stay. So nice!
That wasn't the end of my meetings with the palermitani. We went to a bar after the concert (which finished even better than it started) and I went to the bathroom, and there was a bit of a line so I had to wait. I chatted a little with two guys waiting behind me, in Italian, and they spoke of course with the obvious sicilian accent. For example, dieci is prounounced more like dieshi. But a little bit into our brief conversation, one of them said, "Tu non sei da qui?" which is, "You're not from around here, are you?" No, American, I said, but they were impressed at my Italian, and I told them I've been studying in Venice for a couple months. Normal, mundane even, but little interactions like that are really cool, secondo me (according to me).
So that was really the end of Saturday. I'll get on about Sunday in Palermo and Trapani later, pictures included... and I have to say that now it's crunchtime at VIU! I just gave a big presentation today and I have printed out all my papers. I do have a 100-question multiple choice exam next Tuesday!
Ciao,
Il incredibilmente ingrassato Andrew
Anyway, the night before I went to Sicily with Jenn and Tim, the two other Americans from BC and UVA, I went out to dinner with both of them and maybe 5 or 6 American students. It was Thursday, so the week was over! After dinner Anthony and I walked up to San Giobbe, on almost the farthest northwest point of the island. The economics department of Ca' Foscari threw a big party there in the university center. It's actually the closest thing I've seen to a college campus in Italy, believe it or not, maybe because it's so far removed from the rest of the city. There were a couple other VIU students from Italy, Germany and Israel who met up with me and Anthony. It was really fun... the music was amazing! Kind of techno-european remixes of a few songs I really like (like Banquet, by Bloc Party). Anyway, it was fun.
I walked back to the vaporetto with Judith and Sara, both Germans. We had to call the vaporetto staff to get back to our island since a sciopero (strike) was going on on Friday... I was kind of worried about being able to get to the Treviso Airport the next day for the trip to Sicily. But it was no problem at all... everything worked out great. Got back to the island, got some sleep, and met Jenn and Tim at the vaporetto stop in the morning.
Now, fastforwarding to actually landing in Sicily (because we all know that travelling can be SO boring) we got into Trapani, on the farthest west tip of Sicily, around 2. We quickly reorganized and got onboard a bus to Palermo. I asked this businessman on the bus (who knew what he was doing... I overheard his conversation and it was obvious he'd taken this bus before) how long it took to travel to Palermo. An hour and a half. But he asked if the three of us were German. I asked him if he thought my accent (in Italian) was German, and he said maybe, but when I told him we were Americans he was surprised. Jenn has blond hair and has the German look, so that's where this guy said he got the idea. He chatted with us a little on the way, and I mentioned that it was my second time in Sicily (wow! I was so excited to say that!) and that my family a few generations ago was Sicilian. As I've said before, it's kind of weird explaining that cultural link to Europeans of any kind... but I think they find it interesting since they have nothing similar usually.
Our hostel in Palermo (A Casa di Amici) was in the most PERFECT location, just west of the Teatro Massimo, one of the most famous landmarks in the center of the city. The woman working there, Letizia, was so nice to us and explained all the things we should check out during our stay. This included an amazing restaurant, Ferro di Cavallo in Via Venezia, that I recommend to everyone. Tim, Jenn and I walked into the heart of the city, past the Quattro Canti (4 corners) which divide the old city into four parts, each having its own marketplace. We walked down Corso Vittorio Emmanuele and found a beautiful garden with HUGE trees imported during the 19th century from Australia. They're a member of the Magnolia family and have vines that drape down, take root and then become separate trees! We continued on, and hit the water; then we turned back and got an aperitivo before dinner. This was just a nice time to relax and enjoy the evening together before our three and a half hour meal. WOOWWW!!! Isn't Sicily amazing!!!???
We immediately ordered the panelle, which means something like "little breads." Of course, in the traditional style of Sicily, they were FRIED! And delicious. Absolutely to die for. We finished them off in a decent amount of time, although I think it was slower probably because we were just chatting and chatting. Literally, the time just flew by. And this place was really popular because there was a decent crowd forming nearby, wanting to eat. This was around 8:45. We ate pretty late, which is typical. So anyway, for the main meal we got the calamari fritti, fried calamari, which Letizia recommended (along with the panelle). I had actually never had calamari before and it was SO good! I just figured, why not start in Sicily? So it was sooo good. The time just flew by, and we got a gelato before closing out the rest of the day, this was around 11:30. We were pretty tired after all the travel anyway.
On Saturday morning, we got breakfast in the hostel and walked up Corso Vittorio Emmanuele toward Piazza dell'Indipendenza. From here, we took a bus to Monreale, a town up on a hill that offers an incredible view of Palermo. The weather was a little hazy but perfect. I have to add that it was so hot while we were there! But when we got up to the top of the hill, we went inside the famous Catedrale di Monreale which is almost over-decorated with golden mosaic Bible stories. Inside, there was a wedding going on! Jenn and Tim looked at me and asked, "Is it ok? Can we be in here?" I remembered what Vittoria had told me about her cousin's wedding in Sicily, how all these random people were coming in and out of the church, often to get a look at the new couple. So yeah, I figured it was fine! We walked up and took a closer look, and stood outside the church when the bride and groom (Salvatore and Lisa, that is) came outside, and everyone pelted them with rice. Like seriously, it was enough rice to kill a whole species of pigeons... at least that's the conclusion that Tim drew. And if it's true, I think that there should be a lot of similar weddings in Venice, if you see what I'm saying. But anyway, it was incredible seeing the Sicilian wedding... the couple was from Bagheria, east of Palermo. And I can only imagine what the reception would have been like!
So we stopped at a trattoria after the wedding for lunch. The whole town of Monreale shut down around 1:00, when everyone takes the break for lunch and a bit of rest. Then everything re-opens later in the day. But it was here in Monreale that I had the best pasta I've ever had in my life. It was pennette alla norma, which is a simple, mediterranean style which included some vegetables and the best eggplants ever!!! And it was cooked perfectly al dente. The bread was also fresh... and we learned that in Sicily it's typical to find bread with sesame seeds. We walked through the streets of Palermo after lunch, which were absolutely deserted... and we found an amazing paneficio, a bread and bakery store, and we ate the cannoli there... it was soooo good. I just can't express how good the food is there!
When we took the bus back to the center of Palermo after gazing off the cliffs into the valley, we planned on stopping at the Catacombe, the catacombs. The Cappucini family was very rich and influential during the 19th century of Palermo, and they thought it would be a great idea to bury their family members underground, where it was cool and the bodies decomposed less. So... it became trendy and a lot of other people ended up being buried there too, religious people like priests and nuns, and then later on nobles who paid a nice price. We descended the stairs... and I saw the most dead people I have ever seen in my life. It was really kind of scary... so many skeletons, row after row, just hanging from the walls, one after another. And there was no glass or wires frequently between the skeletons and the walkways, like if you got pushed you'd be touching a 200 year old priest. It was so refreshing to climb up out of there into the fresh air of Palermo.
We got a granita at this little bar across from the cathedral of Palermo. This is crushed flavored ice, and is really particular of Sicily. We all got the lemon flavor! It was the perfect thing since it was so hot. We had just stopped in the cathedral, which is decorated on the outside in a middle-eastern style (I don't know if I mentioned it, but Sicily was dominated by the Ottomans and the Arabs at different times and was influenced aesthetically. This also happened when the Normans invaded, later on. There's actually a Palazzo dei Normani in Palermo, but we didn't go). Similar to the Catedrale di San Petronio in Bologna, this cathedral has a meridiana, a meridian line that was built to put Sicily on the same hour-clock as the rest of Europe. A hole in the ceiling lets light hit a specific spot on the floor at noon, and that's how you know it's noon. There are also the remains of Santa Rosalia, the patron saint of Palermo, whose bones were brought down from Monte Pellegrino in maybe the 19th century? can't remember, to end the plague. About two weeks later, the Plague was gone. So Santa Rosalia got a special place in Palermo.
We looked for some shoes after that. For me, I should say... Jenn was trying to help me narrow down my choices, I can't say we made progress really quickly though. I did narrow my search, but I still didn't get any shoes. At this point it was starting to rain. So we went to the restaurant we had seen before, which actually had been highly rated by the New York Times just a month or two before. After an incredible dinner (we got caprese and fried eggplant balls to begin, and incredible bread, and after I got the farfallette al salmone. Perfect!) we wandered around looking for a taxi to take us to Mora Mora, the club where the U2 cover band would play. It was actually only a few blocks away... so we kind of got scammed on the taxi but we were there. And there was no cost to enter the club.
This band was set up in the corner... actually we were sitting for a little while before they started to play. But it didn't matter, tempo palermitano. They started with "City of Blinding Lights" and "Vertigo" but moved onto older stuff like "New Year's Day." I was really impressed with the guitarist's imitation of the Edge, he really had the style down. The "Bono" was maybe the weakest link, but I will give him a lot of credit for singing in a second language. He did leave out some words and even verses, and he also had a music stand in front of him. But the sound of the group in general was great. And I just loved being there with other Palermitani who liked U2! Seriously, I hadn't been to anything like this since maybe the Serbian club in Zurich, but this time I really felt like I belonged. During the breaks between songs, the band would introduce themselves and talk a little bit... and it was fun being able to just understand and interact with the environment a little more. There was actually a big group of young people (late 20s maybe) standing behind where Tim, Jenn and I were sitting, and they knew all the words to these songs, maybe better than the lead singer. Unfortunately one of these people, a woman, went up to sing with the band for a few numbers. I don't know, I didn't really mind, even though she wasn't a great singer, but Tim and Jenn thought she was ruining the illusion. Possibly. But it was so palermitano, the whole situation.
Another really typical thing was that, for example, as the guitarist was playing, he'd have a solo, and during the solo, he'd be concentrating, and someone, a friend, would come up to him and talk to him, whispering into his ear. And he just kept playing, and even talked back to the guy or girl, while still playing! Priceless. Actually during one of the breaks the woman behind me was calling out to the lead guitarist, "Claudio! Claudio! Cla! Guarda la mamma!" I started laughing and turned around, realizing that the lead guitarist's mom was sitting behind me, and I said, "Oh, it's your son," and she said yes. I complimented his guitar playing, and we chatted a little because she wanted to know where we were from, etc. I always get a charge out of talking to normal people like in this instance, and it made the club feel really small, like everyone knew each other. I mean, there must have been more family in there! But I shared that I'm a quarter Sicilian and she thought that was pretty cool, returning to Palermo for the second time. And when we were leaving, after the show, she waved to us and told us to enjoy our stay. So nice!
That wasn't the end of my meetings with the palermitani. We went to a bar after the concert (which finished even better than it started) and I went to the bathroom, and there was a bit of a line so I had to wait. I chatted a little with two guys waiting behind me, in Italian, and they spoke of course with the obvious sicilian accent. For example, dieci is prounounced more like dieshi. But a little bit into our brief conversation, one of them said, "Tu non sei da qui?" which is, "You're not from around here, are you?" No, American, I said, but they were impressed at my Italian, and I told them I've been studying in Venice for a couple months. Normal, mundane even, but little interactions like that are really cool, secondo me (according to me).
So that was really the end of Saturday. I'll get on about Sunday in Palermo and Trapani later, pictures included... and I have to say that now it's crunchtime at VIU! I just gave a big presentation today and I have printed out all my papers. I do have a 100-question multiple choice exam next Tuesday!
Ciao,
Il incredibilmente ingrassato Andrew
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Studiare, Studiare, Studiare!
So, here I am in the last month of my experience in Venice.
Like I said before, the work has really kicked in. So first I'll start with the boring stuff. I spent all Sunday on San Servolo... didn't go anywhere... in fact, I was in the library most of the day, sometimes all by myself, working on my One World, One Language paper. This was the one where I interviewed my roommates about their English education and usage. I finished it, and then I checked over my Shakespeare paper, and that's ok, so then I moved on to my Islam paper... wow, this must be really boring to read.
On Saturday, I went back to Lido in the afternoon with John and Lauren. We actually saw a segment of the Giro d'Italia, the famous national bike race. It wasn't "exciting" like we thought, that is, it was the first stage, so no one was winning and the bikers were just racing against the clock to fight for the possession of the first maglia rosa (pink shirt, it means you're winning). The bikers raced in teams, so a car would go by announcing the team, then 12 or so bikes would shoot by, then another car or a motorcycle would bring up the rear with a few stragglers. So not really exciting, per se, but it was still an awesome experience. That is, I'm really glad to say I saw the 100th Giro d'Italia in Venice. That's right, it was the 100th running of the race, cool huh?
So after that, I went up to Cannareggio, the northern sestiere of Venice, to do my site visit for my last architecture report of the semester. Pretty interesting... there was a housing complex we had to look at that had a nice little view out on the lago. I met up later with John, Lauren and a few other BC friends - we went to this two-story restaurant that we sometimes frequent where the waiters just love us! Or just pretend, we don't know. And after that we went out to Campo Santa Margherita for a little bit, just to meet up some friends. Anthony got back via train from Vicenza, where there was the Cuban music concert.
On Monday, I went into Venice early in the morning (no morning classes anymore since Italian is over) and I did two interviews with some people in the sestiere of Santa Croce for my architecture and Italian final projects. I asked a woman with a dog who didn't want to answer my questions at first, but I said, "Oh, it's only 2 questions," and she finally agreed. You just kind of have to push people a little bit here. But when I started asking the questions, her dog went crazy and started barking and jumping. The interview went well though, regardless. I also asked this old man who was walking really slowly to the main campo, S. Giacomo dell'Orio. But I only got the two interviews because it was the morning, and people are... well, I hesitate to say "busy," but people have things to do.
My classes are now kind of pointless because I've finished all my papers and have just one final exam left, which is May 25. That's for the Islam class. Anyway, so classes are soooo boring! But outside class is fun, I just speak to the Italian students a lot. Usually Anthony joins me, and I like that because then both of us get practice. Whatever, I've already said that.
Monday night, I went to Ca' Foscari after classes to meet up with Elena. She just finished her lessons and invited Anthony and me to the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, a really famous modern art collection in Dorsoduro (that's a neighborhood, a sestiere of Venice). At this event, which started around 7, you pay 7 euro and get entry to the gallery as well as two spritz. Elena and I waited in Campo Santa Margherita for her friend Maura, a childhood friend of Elena. We had to meet Anthony at the gallery since he had to work in the library on San Servolo. But we all met up eventually. This was such a cool event! There was this weird band playing artsy music and all these artsy people sipping spritz and talking to each other. And the gallery was amazing, even though I'd already been. A lot of our friends from VIU ended up going, so we hung out with them. None of them were Americans though (it was just me and Anthony, I think). But the Israeli students and a couple Germans were there. A decent group of us went to Campo Santa Margherita afterwards to get a couple slices of pizza at Pizza al Volo, a place that's really popular with the students.
Tuesday I was too lazy to get a haircut. I did end up doing two more interviews for that architecture project, and I started on my Architecture final paper. I have a lot of resources cited, so that must be a good sign. Nothing much really happened on Tuesday... I was in the library all night, until like 12:30. I went back this morning to finish my Architecture paper! And then I had class....
Today there was a lecture at 5:00. I went, and it was pretty interesting. A Chinese professor discussed the importance of China for the 21st century and its recent history, ie how it's had a Rocky Balboa-style comeback. All the Italians have to go because it's mandatory for the globalization program. I went because I thought it would be kind of interesting... some parts were kind of boring, yeah, but the reception after was amazing!!! Yeah, they really know how to do receptions here. Tramezzini, panini, different kinds of sweets (dolci) and prosecco. Then most of the Italians got on the vaporetto to head back to Venice, or Mestre or wherever. I struggled with the lack of internet in my room... it seems to happen every other day... and I finally got a decent amount of resources for my Islam paper, so I finished writing it! And here I am now, in the computer lab.
If I want, maybe I'll cut my hair tomorrow morning, before classes. I just think it needs to happen before I go to Sicily, that's on Friday. I'm going with Jenn and Tim, two Americans (BC and UVA). We're staying in Palermo for 2 nights and then we're heading to Trapani for a day. It's gonna be hot! I'm excited, been looking forward to this trip for a while, but actually I think I'm going to miss Venice, just a little bit. We'll see. But I'm getting really ready to go home... nothing against Italy, I think it's my favorite country, but I've got my work, my housing lined up for the summer in Boston! And I cannot wait!!!!
Ok, a little scatterbrained for a post, but whatever,
Ciao!
Andrew
Like I said before, the work has really kicked in. So first I'll start with the boring stuff. I spent all Sunday on San Servolo... didn't go anywhere... in fact, I was in the library most of the day, sometimes all by myself, working on my One World, One Language paper. This was the one where I interviewed my roommates about their English education and usage. I finished it, and then I checked over my Shakespeare paper, and that's ok, so then I moved on to my Islam paper... wow, this must be really boring to read.
On Saturday, I went back to Lido in the afternoon with John and Lauren. We actually saw a segment of the Giro d'Italia, the famous national bike race. It wasn't "exciting" like we thought, that is, it was the first stage, so no one was winning and the bikers were just racing against the clock to fight for the possession of the first maglia rosa (pink shirt, it means you're winning). The bikers raced in teams, so a car would go by announcing the team, then 12 or so bikes would shoot by, then another car or a motorcycle would bring up the rear with a few stragglers. So not really exciting, per se, but it was still an awesome experience. That is, I'm really glad to say I saw the 100th Giro d'Italia in Venice. That's right, it was the 100th running of the race, cool huh?
So after that, I went up to Cannareggio, the northern sestiere of Venice, to do my site visit for my last architecture report of the semester. Pretty interesting... there was a housing complex we had to look at that had a nice little view out on the lago. I met up later with John, Lauren and a few other BC friends - we went to this two-story restaurant that we sometimes frequent where the waiters just love us! Or just pretend, we don't know. And after that we went out to Campo Santa Margherita for a little bit, just to meet up some friends. Anthony got back via train from Vicenza, where there was the Cuban music concert.
On Monday, I went into Venice early in the morning (no morning classes anymore since Italian is over) and I did two interviews with some people in the sestiere of Santa Croce for my architecture and Italian final projects. I asked a woman with a dog who didn't want to answer my questions at first, but I said, "Oh, it's only 2 questions," and she finally agreed. You just kind of have to push people a little bit here. But when I started asking the questions, her dog went crazy and started barking and jumping. The interview went well though, regardless. I also asked this old man who was walking really slowly to the main campo, S. Giacomo dell'Orio. But I only got the two interviews because it was the morning, and people are... well, I hesitate to say "busy," but people have things to do.
My classes are now kind of pointless because I've finished all my papers and have just one final exam left, which is May 25. That's for the Islam class. Anyway, so classes are soooo boring! But outside class is fun, I just speak to the Italian students a lot. Usually Anthony joins me, and I like that because then both of us get practice. Whatever, I've already said that.
Monday night, I went to Ca' Foscari after classes to meet up with Elena. She just finished her lessons and invited Anthony and me to the Collezione Peggy Guggenheim, a really famous modern art collection in Dorsoduro (that's a neighborhood, a sestiere of Venice). At this event, which started around 7, you pay 7 euro and get entry to the gallery as well as two spritz. Elena and I waited in Campo Santa Margherita for her friend Maura, a childhood friend of Elena. We had to meet Anthony at the gallery since he had to work in the library on San Servolo. But we all met up eventually. This was such a cool event! There was this weird band playing artsy music and all these artsy people sipping spritz and talking to each other. And the gallery was amazing, even though I'd already been. A lot of our friends from VIU ended up going, so we hung out with them. None of them were Americans though (it was just me and Anthony, I think). But the Israeli students and a couple Germans were there. A decent group of us went to Campo Santa Margherita afterwards to get a couple slices of pizza at Pizza al Volo, a place that's really popular with the students.
Tuesday I was too lazy to get a haircut. I did end up doing two more interviews for that architecture project, and I started on my Architecture final paper. I have a lot of resources cited, so that must be a good sign. Nothing much really happened on Tuesday... I was in the library all night, until like 12:30. I went back this morning to finish my Architecture paper! And then I had class....
Today there was a lecture at 5:00. I went, and it was pretty interesting. A Chinese professor discussed the importance of China for the 21st century and its recent history, ie how it's had a Rocky Balboa-style comeback. All the Italians have to go because it's mandatory for the globalization program. I went because I thought it would be kind of interesting... some parts were kind of boring, yeah, but the reception after was amazing!!! Yeah, they really know how to do receptions here. Tramezzini, panini, different kinds of sweets (dolci) and prosecco. Then most of the Italians got on the vaporetto to head back to Venice, or Mestre or wherever. I struggled with the lack of internet in my room... it seems to happen every other day... and I finally got a decent amount of resources for my Islam paper, so I finished writing it! And here I am now, in the computer lab.
If I want, maybe I'll cut my hair tomorrow morning, before classes. I just think it needs to happen before I go to Sicily, that's on Friday. I'm going with Jenn and Tim, two Americans (BC and UVA). We're staying in Palermo for 2 nights and then we're heading to Trapani for a day. It's gonna be hot! I'm excited, been looking forward to this trip for a while, but actually I think I'm going to miss Venice, just a little bit. We'll see. But I'm getting really ready to go home... nothing against Italy, I think it's my favorite country, but I've got my work, my housing lined up for the summer in Boston! And I cannot wait!!!!
Ok, a little scatterbrained for a post, but whatever,
Ciao!
Andrew
Friday, May 8, 2009
Maggio... e Comincia il Vero Lavoro
Ciao a tutti,
It's May, and in this case that means the real work has begun. I've already started on a few of my final projects... for the others, I'm just waiting anxiously. For a few of my classes, class participation comprises at least 40% of our grades, which is quite helpful, although the final projects weigh about as much. I need to scramble in a way because next weekend I'll be in Sicilia, Palermo and Trapani, on the western coast.
One of my projects involves interviews with actual Venetians about the sestiere of Santa Croce, on the west side of the city. This will be used for my final grades in Italian but also part of my grade in architecture... we're supposed to find out about the houses and buildings in that sestiere. So I need to finish this project soon, as it's due the day after I get back. Oh well.
So that stuff is pretty boring. I feel ambivalent about seeing everyone's Facebook statuses back home at BC... "so-and-so has one exam left!" or "so-and-so is done!" It's really been pretty easy-going here in Italy, and I figure I wouldn't sacrifice that for an early end of my semester. I am getting ready to go back... in a lot of ways I'm really excited. I've gotten all my arrangements for my same off-campus apartment at school, and I just got an email from my boss at Video Services about my hours. Things are coming together, and I really am really excited. Most of all to see the people I've missed so much.
But I do have a few more chapters until I reach the end of this experience in Venice. I'm not really sure how it'll close out, but I like the way it's going. Traveling and day trips, and even final projects, I guess, keep my mind off wanting to go home. Ah... I'm making it sound like I'm bored of Italy and want to go home. I'm not bored of Italy, that's not the issue. I'm really comfortable here, I really am having a lot of fun, and it's been my time getting to know "normal Italy" that's been the most fun, not so much the fantastic art, architecture and nature that are so famous (and justifiably so).
But you all know I went to the Universita' Ca' Foscari with Elena last Wednesday. Well, I went to Treviso, which is not where Elena lives, but one of her friends Laura does. On Sunday, I went to Treviso -- I had heard it's really nice and my 3 hours of agonized waiting at the "Treviso" Airport (which isn't actually in Treviso) didn't really give the city justice. So I wanted to go see it. As I went to the train station on Sunday, I walked quickly - it was kind of annoying because the vaporetto ran 10 minutes late, which is a rarity, and then I had to fight through all the crowds. I ran into Tim (UVA) near the Ponte all'Accademia. I wanted to chat but told him I had to run! As I was passing through Campo Santa Margherita, I heard someone shout out my name in an Italian accent... it was actually Elena, and she introduced me to her friend Maura. Again, I told her I had to run so I wouldn't miss the train. But seeing Tim and Elena in Venice... it's just really cool seeing people you know in the city when you're walking somewhere.
Anyway, I barely made the train, which was probably close to 100 degrees (fahrenheit this time) inside... ahhh it was terrible. But it left immediately. Surprisingly we were on time, and I found Laura outside the station. She showed me around, and I was actually really struck by how beautiful Treviso is for a normal city. There are three rivers that run through the city, all of them really pretty small. But there are buildings constructed so that the river runs under them. I saw the main piazza, Piazza Principale (each ancient Italian city had its own governor's palace with a main piazza). Treviso also had a huge, wide brick wall around it. While walking around the wall, Laura and I asked each other questions about culture stuff, like what kind of movies are popular in Italy or the US, and which beaches people prefer to go to. I left after about an hour because Laura was going home for dinner and then to study (one thing that's interesting is that the Italian students study so much! Sometimes they're in the library on weekends, or during the sunniest days possible. But since it's May, they're crunching it all in since now is the time that counts).
So Treviso was pretty cool. The week itself was pretty uneventful. I actually didn't go into Venice all week, except for an hour on Monday to do two interviews with an old Venetian guy and a Carabiniere. That was for my Italian class-- actually, my professor told us to ask these questions (about acqua alta, the high water) in the dialetto Veneto (Venetian) - and so I know how to say "Cossa ze', l'acqua alta," meaning "What's acqua alta?" Anyway, we didn't actually do this. I told this to Alberto, one of the few Italian guys at VIU. I usually chat with him before my architecture class... but anyway, he thought it was pretty funny that we're learning the local dialect. I do know a few words, just a handful though, it's kind of confusing in reality. But I like chatting and hanging out with Alberto, even though I don't see him that often. That's one thing that I don't really like as much about VIU... there aren't enough guys in the program, so we don't have "guy time" that frequently. There are just four or five Japanese guys, one German, maybe six or seven Americans, and just a handful of Italians. Basically, less than twenty compared to the 60 or so girls. Whatever, it's not a huge problem but I'm realizing that the concept of a "guy's night" is rare.
On Thursday we went to the apartment of Sally, the Irish girl, which is in Campo San Maurizio. It's actually a kind of tight place, especially with 12 Americans crowded inside. Jenn and Tim cooked us some pasta with a sauce that was kind of spicy and some really good chicken. Lauren made some caprese with some amazing mozzarella, and afterwards some crepes. It was a really nice evening. Unfortunately we got back later than I wanted to, since I wanted to go on the trip to the Porto di Venezia and the Mose (this was the weekly VIU trip. I just can't get enough of them because they're always... ok maybe most of the time interesting, and often I just speak Italian the whole time instead of English.
So we met up at Piazzale Roma, where we usually do, and got on a decent-sized vaporetto for a tour of the Porto di Venezia. There we saw a bunch of the cruise ships which go down the canal between the Giudecca and Venice. Actually there was this Port guy talking to us, giving us information, but we were mostly talking amongst ourselves because the boat was so loud. One thing that was kind of funny was that the Port people gave us an information packet, and there were little boxes of "Porto di Venezia" candy. Weird huh?
Anyway, we continued on toward Porto Marghera, which is where ships and cruises are actually assembled in a lot of cases. The boat ride was nice but it was really industrial and not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, to say the very least. A lot of towers and smokestacks... "un sacco di metallo," we'd say. Interesting nonetheless. But we crossed to the other side of Venice where we changed guides -- this woman explained to us what the Mose is. I assume not many of you know, so I'll tell you. The Mose is a water-management system that operates at every inlet from the Adriatico into the Lago di Venezia. When high water is a threat. These little gates open (it's all underwater" and raise up so that the water is blocked, and can't enter the lagoon. Yeah, pretty cool idea. But we don't know if it'll actually work, or what it'll do to the environment of the lagoon. So there may be some problems. This part of the tour was kind of weird because we couldn't actually see anything -- that is, the Mose is underwater.
The tour ended at Lido. We were going to meet up with my architecture professor Paola at 3, so we had time for lunch. I went with Anthony and some of the Italian students to the beach, but not before stopping at the supermarket to buy some things for a picnic. The sun was pretty hot (actually I got kind of sunburned) but it was really nice, just hanging out and speaking Italian. I think I may have mentioned this before, but the Italians think it's really "cute" when Anthony and I practice Italian between the two of us. 3:00 rolled around and so I went with a few of my classmates (and the other BC students who had arrived a little later) to rent bikes for our biking tour of Lido.
Now as some of you may know, the Giro d'Italia is taking place actually today on Lido. I'm not sure if I'm going to go... a lot of me wants to go since it's the 100th anniversary of the race. We'll see. Unfortunately I have a ton of work to do for my classes. But anyway, we had our own little Giro d'Italia yesterday; 25 students on rented bikes, and all the signs and barriers for the race were set up. Really we were looking at examples of particular 20th century architecture on Lido, like the Grand Hotel des Bains (famous in the movie Death in Venice) and the Excelsior (probably the most famous for its view on the sea and its interesting architecture). The bike ride was maybe 4 hours long. It was a really fun day though.
Not sure what I'm doing today. Obviously, I have some work to do. So that's a bit of a problem. Also I have to mention that there's a concert today in Vicenza tonight... it's a long shot but Anthony wanted to go, so I may go if he does. So yeah, that's about it for now.
A dopo,
Andrew
It's May, and in this case that means the real work has begun. I've already started on a few of my final projects... for the others, I'm just waiting anxiously. For a few of my classes, class participation comprises at least 40% of our grades, which is quite helpful, although the final projects weigh about as much. I need to scramble in a way because next weekend I'll be in Sicilia, Palermo and Trapani, on the western coast.
One of my projects involves interviews with actual Venetians about the sestiere of Santa Croce, on the west side of the city. This will be used for my final grades in Italian but also part of my grade in architecture... we're supposed to find out about the houses and buildings in that sestiere. So I need to finish this project soon, as it's due the day after I get back. Oh well.
So that stuff is pretty boring. I feel ambivalent about seeing everyone's Facebook statuses back home at BC... "so-and-so has one exam left!" or "so-and-so is done!" It's really been pretty easy-going here in Italy, and I figure I wouldn't sacrifice that for an early end of my semester. I am getting ready to go back... in a lot of ways I'm really excited. I've gotten all my arrangements for my same off-campus apartment at school, and I just got an email from my boss at Video Services about my hours. Things are coming together, and I really am really excited. Most of all to see the people I've missed so much.
But I do have a few more chapters until I reach the end of this experience in Venice. I'm not really sure how it'll close out, but I like the way it's going. Traveling and day trips, and even final projects, I guess, keep my mind off wanting to go home. Ah... I'm making it sound like I'm bored of Italy and want to go home. I'm not bored of Italy, that's not the issue. I'm really comfortable here, I really am having a lot of fun, and it's been my time getting to know "normal Italy" that's been the most fun, not so much the fantastic art, architecture and nature that are so famous (and justifiably so).
But you all know I went to the Universita' Ca' Foscari with Elena last Wednesday. Well, I went to Treviso, which is not where Elena lives, but one of her friends Laura does. On Sunday, I went to Treviso -- I had heard it's really nice and my 3 hours of agonized waiting at the "Treviso" Airport (which isn't actually in Treviso) didn't really give the city justice. So I wanted to go see it. As I went to the train station on Sunday, I walked quickly - it was kind of annoying because the vaporetto ran 10 minutes late, which is a rarity, and then I had to fight through all the crowds. I ran into Tim (UVA) near the Ponte all'Accademia. I wanted to chat but told him I had to run! As I was passing through Campo Santa Margherita, I heard someone shout out my name in an Italian accent... it was actually Elena, and she introduced me to her friend Maura. Again, I told her I had to run so I wouldn't miss the train. But seeing Tim and Elena in Venice... it's just really cool seeing people you know in the city when you're walking somewhere.
Anyway, I barely made the train, which was probably close to 100 degrees (fahrenheit this time) inside... ahhh it was terrible. But it left immediately. Surprisingly we were on time, and I found Laura outside the station. She showed me around, and I was actually really struck by how beautiful Treviso is for a normal city. There are three rivers that run through the city, all of them really pretty small. But there are buildings constructed so that the river runs under them. I saw the main piazza, Piazza Principale (each ancient Italian city had its own governor's palace with a main piazza). Treviso also had a huge, wide brick wall around it. While walking around the wall, Laura and I asked each other questions about culture stuff, like what kind of movies are popular in Italy or the US, and which beaches people prefer to go to. I left after about an hour because Laura was going home for dinner and then to study (one thing that's interesting is that the Italian students study so much! Sometimes they're in the library on weekends, or during the sunniest days possible. But since it's May, they're crunching it all in since now is the time that counts).
So Treviso was pretty cool. The week itself was pretty uneventful. I actually didn't go into Venice all week, except for an hour on Monday to do two interviews with an old Venetian guy and a Carabiniere. That was for my Italian class-- actually, my professor told us to ask these questions (about acqua alta, the high water) in the dialetto Veneto (Venetian) - and so I know how to say "Cossa ze', l'acqua alta," meaning "What's acqua alta?" Anyway, we didn't actually do this. I told this to Alberto, one of the few Italian guys at VIU. I usually chat with him before my architecture class... but anyway, he thought it was pretty funny that we're learning the local dialect. I do know a few words, just a handful though, it's kind of confusing in reality. But I like chatting and hanging out with Alberto, even though I don't see him that often. That's one thing that I don't really like as much about VIU... there aren't enough guys in the program, so we don't have "guy time" that frequently. There are just four or five Japanese guys, one German, maybe six or seven Americans, and just a handful of Italians. Basically, less than twenty compared to the 60 or so girls. Whatever, it's not a huge problem but I'm realizing that the concept of a "guy's night" is rare.
On Thursday we went to the apartment of Sally, the Irish girl, which is in Campo San Maurizio. It's actually a kind of tight place, especially with 12 Americans crowded inside. Jenn and Tim cooked us some pasta with a sauce that was kind of spicy and some really good chicken. Lauren made some caprese with some amazing mozzarella, and afterwards some crepes. It was a really nice evening. Unfortunately we got back later than I wanted to, since I wanted to go on the trip to the Porto di Venezia and the Mose (this was the weekly VIU trip. I just can't get enough of them because they're always... ok maybe most of the time interesting, and often I just speak Italian the whole time instead of English.
So we met up at Piazzale Roma, where we usually do, and got on a decent-sized vaporetto for a tour of the Porto di Venezia. There we saw a bunch of the cruise ships which go down the canal between the Giudecca and Venice. Actually there was this Port guy talking to us, giving us information, but we were mostly talking amongst ourselves because the boat was so loud. One thing that was kind of funny was that the Port people gave us an information packet, and there were little boxes of "Porto di Venezia" candy. Weird huh?
Anyway, we continued on toward Porto Marghera, which is where ships and cruises are actually assembled in a lot of cases. The boat ride was nice but it was really industrial and not the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, to say the very least. A lot of towers and smokestacks... "un sacco di metallo," we'd say. Interesting nonetheless. But we crossed to the other side of Venice where we changed guides -- this woman explained to us what the Mose is. I assume not many of you know, so I'll tell you. The Mose is a water-management system that operates at every inlet from the Adriatico into the Lago di Venezia. When high water is a threat. These little gates open (it's all underwater" and raise up so that the water is blocked, and can't enter the lagoon. Yeah, pretty cool idea. But we don't know if it'll actually work, or what it'll do to the environment of the lagoon. So there may be some problems. This part of the tour was kind of weird because we couldn't actually see anything -- that is, the Mose is underwater.
The tour ended at Lido. We were going to meet up with my architecture professor Paola at 3, so we had time for lunch. I went with Anthony and some of the Italian students to the beach, but not before stopping at the supermarket to buy some things for a picnic. The sun was pretty hot (actually I got kind of sunburned) but it was really nice, just hanging out and speaking Italian. I think I may have mentioned this before, but the Italians think it's really "cute" when Anthony and I practice Italian between the two of us. 3:00 rolled around and so I went with a few of my classmates (and the other BC students who had arrived a little later) to rent bikes for our biking tour of Lido.
Now as some of you may know, the Giro d'Italia is taking place actually today on Lido. I'm not sure if I'm going to go... a lot of me wants to go since it's the 100th anniversary of the race. We'll see. Unfortunately I have a ton of work to do for my classes. But anyway, we had our own little Giro d'Italia yesterday; 25 students on rented bikes, and all the signs and barriers for the race were set up. Really we were looking at examples of particular 20th century architecture on Lido, like the Grand Hotel des Bains (famous in the movie Death in Venice) and the Excelsior (probably the most famous for its view on the sea and its interesting architecture). The bike ride was maybe 4 hours long. It was a really fun day though.
Not sure what I'm doing today. Obviously, I have some work to do. So that's a bit of a problem. Also I have to mention that there's a concert today in Vicenza tonight... it's a long shot but Anthony wanted to go, so I may go if he does. So yeah, that's about it for now.
A dopo,
Andrew
Friday, May 1, 2009
Lido Ancora, e una Gita a Trieste
Hi family and friends,
This weekend seemed to come a little early since there wasn't a trip planned. You know, like in the past, we've gone to places like Murano, Padova, Vicenza and Valdobbiadene, but there was nothing this Friday. Maybe just because we have such a big trip coming up next weekend... that is, we have a huge bike tour of Lido next Friday, as a part of the Architecture class.
But this didn't stop us. We had beautiful weather on Friday; it really started on Thursday, which we kind of started by going to our Irish friend Sally's apartment (some of my friends, the Americans this time, went there for dinner -- instead, I stayed and ate at the mensa with some other San Servolo people, also BC friends. I went to Sally's apartment to meet with the others afterward. It was a nice evening.
But Friday was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining brightly as soon as I woke up, and I quickly got to the vaporetto with Anthony to go out to Lido. We met up with a few other of our friends and were joined by a couple more. It was an incredible afternoon, just lying down under the sun, talking, watching other people, listening to music, and playing frisbee. The water was ice cold but the sun was so hot! So we're actually kind of getting tan; we were out there from 1 until about 6. But don't worry, we're wearing sunscreen so we don't burn, we do know that the sun is brighter here. Anthony and I were playing frisbee when this guy Mimo, maybe a few years older than us, came up and asked what the game was (he spoke Italian but no English, and we thought he and his friends were of North African descent) - we said, frisbee, but with an Italian accent, so frisbi. Also to simplify we introduced ourselves as Andrea and Antonio. But Mimo and his friends asked if we wanted to play some minicalcio (minisoccer) with them, so of course, we ended up playing keep-away for an hour or so. The ball was kind of lame though, it was too small and a little flat. But it didn't really matter, it was so much fun playing calcio on the beach in Italy. That was definitely something I wanted to do when I came here.
The beach definitely tired us out. Know how you don't really do anything out on the beach, you just kind of get sun-tired? Yeah, well that happened to us. But it was an early morning on Saturday... a few of my friends, Emily and Jason in particular, Anthony also, had been planning to go to Trieste. Trieste is east and north of Venice in the region known as Friuli-Venezia-Giulia (I know it's kind of long and has three names, but it has to do with the collective identity or lack thereof between the people in that area, since it changed hands so many times). One thing that is also interesting is that Trieste is really, really close to Slovenia... if you look at a map, it's on this little peninsula of Italy that is surrounded by Slovenia. So I met Emily, Shinobu (one of the Japanese girls) and Jason at the vaporetto station at 7:35 Saturday morning, and we walked through the sestiere of San Polo toward the train station. The early morning is my favorite time of day in Venice. I don't know why, maybe because it's fairly empty and you really see a different side of the city that feels more normal and more particular at the same time. There are shopkeepers winching open their awnings, and the smell of coffee and pastries floats out of the doors and windows of caffes. It's also really quiet, and the silence fits perfectly with the delicate views from each and every bridge. There are also trash collectors, plowing their boats down the canals, and lifting heavy crates of refuse with the mechanical arm of their boats.
Once at the station, we bought our tickets for Trieste, there and back. It cost only 9,20 euro, which is pretty cheap. It was a regional train, however, which means that the journey, although short, would take two hours there and three hours back (they stop at more places on the return). But whatever. We got some coffee in a nearby bar and then boarded the train. The train ride went very quickly; we just really chatted about friends and family members, told some funny stories, and the next thing we knew we were soaring above the northernmost point of the Mare Adriatico. The view of the sea was incredible; Jason said it was his favorite train ride yet in Italy (although from Genova to Pisa was my favorite since we rode past the towns of Cinque Terre).
When we arrived in Trieste, which has actually a really nice train station, we walked into the city center to get a good feel of the place. We headed toward Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia, which is the main piazza. It is a huge, rectangular open space that made me think of Piazza San Marco in Venice. The similarities didn't stop there, however; in Trieste there is a "Palazzo del Governo" which is actually the equivalent of the Palazzo Ducale. There's also a clock tower with two figures of moors that strike the bell every so often, and this seems to recall the one in Venice. It was placed up there around the 13th century (we saw the original figures later), but I can't imagine that the Venice bellstriker figures came later. The Piazza has a beautiful view of the sea as well; it just opens right up onto the waterfront, similar in the way that the Piazzetta opens up on the Lago di Venezia (this is the place with the two columns in Venice, right next to the Palazzo Ducale). Trieste also has a "Canal Grande" which is just kind of lame when you realize it's just a place where they let water in for maybe 200 m so people could park some boats. The lamp fixtures of the main piazza, which would have been later additions, also had a similar style to those of Venice. I could see the similarities, in short, and it made sense, because Trieste did belong to the Republic of Venice at one point. Ah, it's just so crazy to think that the city where I'm living had one of the grandest and most rich empires of the age. Talk about over 500 years of decline. I wonder what the Venetian nobility of 1500 would have thought if they could've seen the cruise ships that go down the Canale della Giudecca every so often.
Anyway, so Trieste was great! It was actually kind of hot, which was annoying because I brought my coat with me and I didn't have anywhere to store it, unfortunately. On the upside, it was my half-birthday, May 2. So we celebrated (no, just kidding) by going to a trattoria not far from Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia. A few of us ordered the white pizzas there, at least, I did. And we ordered some of the white wine, which is really a specialty of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. My Italian professor, Massimo, tells us all this useful information about the best products in each city or region, so when he recommends something to eat or drink we usually follow his directions.
We went on a walk after lunch, first down to the waterfront where they were preparing for a Marathon. The finish line had been set up in Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia, and there were all these little tents where people were handing out free sports drinks and stuff. I stared out toward the horizon on the Adriatico with Anthony while our friends went on a ferris wheel.
We then figured we wanted to climb up to the top of this hill where the Castello di San Giusto is. I should mention that I felt like Trieste is a combination of Torino and Genova... a vast simplification, I know, but the style of architecture and urban planning in Trieste seemed more Torinese despite the hilly layout (not as hilly however) of Genova. But we walked up La Scala Gigante -- that is, the Gigantic Stairway, which really was called that, and really deserved to be called that. We enjoyed reading the graffiti scrawled over the stairs... this guy named Cristiano was crazy about Lisa, we learned.
At the top was a huge war memorial. I should Wikipedia Trieste and include some interesting information about the war history of Trieste and the crucial battles that took place there during the last century. However, that would be presumptuous of me and I don't have Will with me to back me up historywise. But it should suffice to say that we saw memorials everywhere... these little stones etched with red letters for Dalmatian or Friuliani soldiers who fell during a battle or were lost at sea.
We reached the entrance to the Castello San Giusto and paid the 2,60 entrance fee. This let us walk around on the battlements for a spectacular panorama of the entire city. We couldn't tell where the line was, but we knew that somewhere out there was Slovenia. Really close by. The view of the sea was the best, however, and even though a weird sunshower was happening, it was perfect. Then we got the quotidian craving for gelato and set off on a new adventure in hopes of satisfying our desire. We descended the stairs and walked for a good half-hour, but we couldn't find any gelaterie. We changed our direction and headed back toward the water... and yes! We found an amazing street, all pedestrian with tables and chairs set up in the middle under huge ombrelloni. I got cherry-flavored gelato, one of my favorites, and we all sat down on a bench near a fountain to watch people walk by. It was seriously sooo much fun just relaxing and watching people! So many people were wearing purple yesterday, now that I remember. We got up and continued, passing two movie theaters across the street from each other (which is annoying because there are only two movie theaters total in Venice, and they're really small). But anyway, my friends noticed that they're playing the Wolverine movie at this cinema in Trieste, and I asked if they wanted to see it. But they decided to say "no" when I told them (and then they asked inside and found out) that it was dubbed in Italian, that is, without subtitles. Too bad, because I wanted to go... oh well, maybe I'll try to go to the movies in Venice with John again if it isn't acqua alta.
We then walked back to the train station. It was essentially the end of our trip to Trieste... our train left at 7, so we first bought some bread, meat and cheese to put together some panini on the train. While we were on the train, something kind of weird happened. The ticket controller, a woman with purple glasses (see? purple! they were really cool though) checked our tickets, but the Americans who had joined us bought the ticket for another train that takes a shorter amount of time to travel from Trieste to Venice. The woman was trying to explain to UVA Tim, but her English wasn't so good, so I had to kind of act as interpreter. She told me to explain the situation to all the others because they had bought a cheaper ticket that took less time, and they were now on the longer train. Ah, boring situation anyway, there's no need for me to tell any more.
That's about all for now. Today I've just been relaxing and catching up on some work... I do have some plans though. I'm going to Treviso at 4:15 to take a look around, some of the Italians from VIU are going to show me the city (it's really small so there's not much to see though). So that's it. More later... I'll tell about my trip to Treviso.
Andrew
This weekend seemed to come a little early since there wasn't a trip planned. You know, like in the past, we've gone to places like Murano, Padova, Vicenza and Valdobbiadene, but there was nothing this Friday. Maybe just because we have such a big trip coming up next weekend... that is, we have a huge bike tour of Lido next Friday, as a part of the Architecture class.
But this didn't stop us. We had beautiful weather on Friday; it really started on Thursday, which we kind of started by going to our Irish friend Sally's apartment (some of my friends, the Americans this time, went there for dinner -- instead, I stayed and ate at the mensa with some other San Servolo people, also BC friends. I went to Sally's apartment to meet with the others afterward. It was a nice evening.
But Friday was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining brightly as soon as I woke up, and I quickly got to the vaporetto with Anthony to go out to Lido. We met up with a few other of our friends and were joined by a couple more. It was an incredible afternoon, just lying down under the sun, talking, watching other people, listening to music, and playing frisbee. The water was ice cold but the sun was so hot! So we're actually kind of getting tan; we were out there from 1 until about 6. But don't worry, we're wearing sunscreen so we don't burn, we do know that the sun is brighter here. Anthony and I were playing frisbee when this guy Mimo, maybe a few years older than us, came up and asked what the game was (he spoke Italian but no English, and we thought he and his friends were of North African descent) - we said, frisbee, but with an Italian accent, so frisbi. Also to simplify we introduced ourselves as Andrea and Antonio. But Mimo and his friends asked if we wanted to play some minicalcio (minisoccer) with them, so of course, we ended up playing keep-away for an hour or so. The ball was kind of lame though, it was too small and a little flat. But it didn't really matter, it was so much fun playing calcio on the beach in Italy. That was definitely something I wanted to do when I came here.
The beach definitely tired us out. Know how you don't really do anything out on the beach, you just kind of get sun-tired? Yeah, well that happened to us. But it was an early morning on Saturday... a few of my friends, Emily and Jason in particular, Anthony also, had been planning to go to Trieste. Trieste is east and north of Venice in the region known as Friuli-Venezia-Giulia (I know it's kind of long and has three names, but it has to do with the collective identity or lack thereof between the people in that area, since it changed hands so many times). One thing that is also interesting is that Trieste is really, really close to Slovenia... if you look at a map, it's on this little peninsula of Italy that is surrounded by Slovenia. So I met Emily, Shinobu (one of the Japanese girls) and Jason at the vaporetto station at 7:35 Saturday morning, and we walked through the sestiere of San Polo toward the train station. The early morning is my favorite time of day in Venice. I don't know why, maybe because it's fairly empty and you really see a different side of the city that feels more normal and more particular at the same time. There are shopkeepers winching open their awnings, and the smell of coffee and pastries floats out of the doors and windows of caffes. It's also really quiet, and the silence fits perfectly with the delicate views from each and every bridge. There are also trash collectors, plowing their boats down the canals, and lifting heavy crates of refuse with the mechanical arm of their boats.
Once at the station, we bought our tickets for Trieste, there and back. It cost only 9,20 euro, which is pretty cheap. It was a regional train, however, which means that the journey, although short, would take two hours there and three hours back (they stop at more places on the return). But whatever. We got some coffee in a nearby bar and then boarded the train. The train ride went very quickly; we just really chatted about friends and family members, told some funny stories, and the next thing we knew we were soaring above the northernmost point of the Mare Adriatico. The view of the sea was incredible; Jason said it was his favorite train ride yet in Italy (although from Genova to Pisa was my favorite since we rode past the towns of Cinque Terre).
When we arrived in Trieste, which has actually a really nice train station, we walked into the city center to get a good feel of the place. We headed toward Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia, which is the main piazza. It is a huge, rectangular open space that made me think of Piazza San Marco in Venice. The similarities didn't stop there, however; in Trieste there is a "Palazzo del Governo" which is actually the equivalent of the Palazzo Ducale. There's also a clock tower with two figures of moors that strike the bell every so often, and this seems to recall the one in Venice. It was placed up there around the 13th century (we saw the original figures later), but I can't imagine that the Venice bellstriker figures came later. The Piazza has a beautiful view of the sea as well; it just opens right up onto the waterfront, similar in the way that the Piazzetta opens up on the Lago di Venezia (this is the place with the two columns in Venice, right next to the Palazzo Ducale). Trieste also has a "Canal Grande" which is just kind of lame when you realize it's just a place where they let water in for maybe 200 m so people could park some boats. The lamp fixtures of the main piazza, which would have been later additions, also had a similar style to those of Venice. I could see the similarities, in short, and it made sense, because Trieste did belong to the Republic of Venice at one point. Ah, it's just so crazy to think that the city where I'm living had one of the grandest and most rich empires of the age. Talk about over 500 years of decline. I wonder what the Venetian nobility of 1500 would have thought if they could've seen the cruise ships that go down the Canale della Giudecca every so often.
Anyway, so Trieste was great! It was actually kind of hot, which was annoying because I brought my coat with me and I didn't have anywhere to store it, unfortunately. On the upside, it was my half-birthday, May 2. So we celebrated (no, just kidding) by going to a trattoria not far from Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia. A few of us ordered the white pizzas there, at least, I did. And we ordered some of the white wine, which is really a specialty of Friuli-Venezia-Giulia. My Italian professor, Massimo, tells us all this useful information about the best products in each city or region, so when he recommends something to eat or drink we usually follow his directions.
We went on a walk after lunch, first down to the waterfront where they were preparing for a Marathon. The finish line had been set up in Piazza dell'Unita d'Italia, and there were all these little tents where people were handing out free sports drinks and stuff. I stared out toward the horizon on the Adriatico with Anthony while our friends went on a ferris wheel.
We then figured we wanted to climb up to the top of this hill where the Castello di San Giusto is. I should mention that I felt like Trieste is a combination of Torino and Genova... a vast simplification, I know, but the style of architecture and urban planning in Trieste seemed more Torinese despite the hilly layout (not as hilly however) of Genova. But we walked up La Scala Gigante -- that is, the Gigantic Stairway, which really was called that, and really deserved to be called that. We enjoyed reading the graffiti scrawled over the stairs... this guy named Cristiano was crazy about Lisa, we learned.
At the top was a huge war memorial. I should Wikipedia Trieste and include some interesting information about the war history of Trieste and the crucial battles that took place there during the last century. However, that would be presumptuous of me and I don't have Will with me to back me up historywise. But it should suffice to say that we saw memorials everywhere... these little stones etched with red letters for Dalmatian or Friuliani soldiers who fell during a battle or were lost at sea.
We reached the entrance to the Castello San Giusto and paid the 2,60 entrance fee. This let us walk around on the battlements for a spectacular panorama of the entire city. We couldn't tell where the line was, but we knew that somewhere out there was Slovenia. Really close by. The view of the sea was the best, however, and even though a weird sunshower was happening, it was perfect. Then we got the quotidian craving for gelato and set off on a new adventure in hopes of satisfying our desire. We descended the stairs and walked for a good half-hour, but we couldn't find any gelaterie. We changed our direction and headed back toward the water... and yes! We found an amazing street, all pedestrian with tables and chairs set up in the middle under huge ombrelloni. I got cherry-flavored gelato, one of my favorites, and we all sat down on a bench near a fountain to watch people walk by. It was seriously sooo much fun just relaxing and watching people! So many people were wearing purple yesterday, now that I remember. We got up and continued, passing two movie theaters across the street from each other (which is annoying because there are only two movie theaters total in Venice, and they're really small). But anyway, my friends noticed that they're playing the Wolverine movie at this cinema in Trieste, and I asked if they wanted to see it. But they decided to say "no" when I told them (and then they asked inside and found out) that it was dubbed in Italian, that is, without subtitles. Too bad, because I wanted to go... oh well, maybe I'll try to go to the movies in Venice with John again if it isn't acqua alta.
We then walked back to the train station. It was essentially the end of our trip to Trieste... our train left at 7, so we first bought some bread, meat and cheese to put together some panini on the train. While we were on the train, something kind of weird happened. The ticket controller, a woman with purple glasses (see? purple! they were really cool though) checked our tickets, but the Americans who had joined us bought the ticket for another train that takes a shorter amount of time to travel from Trieste to Venice. The woman was trying to explain to UVA Tim, but her English wasn't so good, so I had to kind of act as interpreter. She told me to explain the situation to all the others because they had bought a cheaper ticket that took less time, and they were now on the longer train. Ah, boring situation anyway, there's no need for me to tell any more.
That's about all for now. Today I've just been relaxing and catching up on some work... I do have some plans though. I'm going to Treviso at 4:15 to take a look around, some of the Italians from VIU are going to show me the city (it's really small so there's not much to see though). So that's it. More later... I'll tell about my trip to Treviso.
Andrew
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