buona sera! come state? i'm still goin strong here in rome. we had our first week of core classes, which is both a good and bad thing. good because it means 3 day weekends, and after this first one i can greatly appreciate the no class friday lifestyle. plus the classes do mix up the monotony of 3 hrs/day italian. so now my schedule looks a little like this:
10-11 italian
11 30-1 30 renaissance city and society (on tues/thurs)
2-4 sociology of rome (on mon/wed)
2-4 museum history and theory in rome (on tues/thurs)
if you're asking yourself if i made a point of not getting into the class from 4 30-6 30 you are spot on. who on earth would want that? it would've been a really poor decision for me to pick one of those classes. anyway, i am excited about them because i believe all have at least a handful of site visits including a trip to an as roma match (the local soccer - or football or here in italy 'calcio') team.
of course, 2 hrs per class is about 1/2 hr too long. and boy does that last half hour drag. good times though because it leaves enough time to both get work done and stay focused on the really important things, like finding a perfect leather jacket, eating well and making sure to hang out as much as i can.
speaking of which, my first 3 day weekend was splendid (apart from the steadfast flea market shoe vendor -- no one's buyin your pointy shoes amico, sell em to me at half price.) i decided to taste a bit more of the night life of rome, via its clubs, and was not in the least disappointed. even in spite of my own poor dancing skills there will always be a goofy italian guy just so into it regardless of not being able to dance. the patrons range from older mid 40's to the 20ish crowd and just about everything in between.
and the music, boy oh boy. i mean, i know they have dj's but for a good 80% of the time it might as well just be a soundtrack they're mixing. not that i'm complaining, you get used to em and hey when you're out there dancing (or in my case, faking it pretty poorly) it's kinda more about le ragazze anyway, and they dig it.
that and when every now and again a song comes on that is recognizable (they're almost all american songs, so it doesn't feel that far off from home) only it's about 4-5 years late. for example, did he just mix a beyonce song with any will smith song? oh he did? great. that's right folks, here in rome we party like it's 1999 just about every week, and that's mostly just the music. but good times were had by all and due to their late hours i've made a point to either nap or sleep in enough to ensure i get adequate sleep.
that said, no pictures this week as i'm clearly still lagging on the last ones. but also because you can pretty much paint a picture of me at a desk, sleeping, or eating. and as for the club, with my dancing skills, its probably best we not document any of that. until next time. ciao ciao!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
sono ritornato a roma!
ciaoooo roma! it goes without saying that i haven't updated the ol' (or should i say vecchio?) blog. and if you're still reading this it is also safe to say that you're a more patient person than myself, which is fortunate. that said i have a great excuse for not updating for a while and that of course is vacanza! i finished my first 3 weeks of intensive italian and was rewarded with a week-long break. naturally there's a week-long's worth of pictures but that may take even longer to update due to the quantity, stay patient! luckily i took notes on my trip so i didn't forget anything, side note it's gonna be a long one (think lord of the rings-long) so grab that caffè e biscotti and settle in. anyway i'll break it down locale by locale for continuity's sake starting with the very beginning:
PRE-DEPARTURE/DEPARTURE DAY/SUNDAY
like all sundays i went to the flea market, however getting up late meant that it was gonna be a shorter trip. and when it came time to return to the apt, i was greeted with a confidence-inspiring "No Servizio" on my necessary tram. i've only missed one train in my life and i was hell bent on keeping it at that, so naturally (for me at least) i hoofed it. is that a lanky boy dressed in a canadian tuxedo* running towards the colosseum? you bet it is. and for good reason, i did in fact make it, and after a short passport-forgetting scare, we were headed to stazione termini to get the hell out of dodge, because after that showing, rome clearly didn't want us here any longer.
VENEZIA
after a brief(?) 5 hr train ride my roommate philippe and i arrived in venice. the ride flew by on our 'eurostar' train, and not just because there was a man across the aisle intending to eat his way to venice. 3 drinks and 2 full size containers of cookies made it down his gullet by the time we pulled in. and when i mean in venice i mean the island of, because there is a mainland venice where our hotel was located -- sweet. another quick slap in the face was the fact that i naturally assumed venice was part of italy. this was wrong. as canada is to america, venice is an italy-light thanks to its seemingly constant tourism. luckily however that was quickly pushed off (as i try to do with most of my problems) until tomorrow, because after a quick gelato we had checked in and settled down to watch the "miss italia pageant 2009", yahtzee! we also ate at the only other open option for dinner on a sunday at 11 30 PM, which was chinese (our other option was mcdonald's, which for the record had a full bar built in -- yahtzee due?). now i only mention this to give you a scope of the obscurity of mainland venice -- our check came in euro AND lire options, i wonder if they took discover cards too?
however the island itself was a true wonder. things like, "no wonder it's sinking," (the rain drains right onto the sidewalk) came into my mind as we waded through what little streets they had. luckily rain (torrential rain) in venice means pretty much vacant streets, so i can deal. plus it wasn't cold. but after a bit of roaming (rome-ing?) we were ready for our second stop.
LA SPEZIA/CINQUE TERRE
what a place! as the trend follows, falling in love with something (generally somethings) italian - more often than not le ragazze - happens daily. this lovely town is lucky enough to belong to the region able to call itself the home of foccacia as well as provide some seriously proper pesto. or if you prefer, propsto. also lucky was the fact that i am a qualified aficionado of both, for the record i was not disappointed. cinque terre also lived up to its hype as one of the most beautiful places i've ever been, in spite of its rain. truly incredible. in fact, i'm letting you down for lagging with the pictures it was that gorgeous. but after a quick sojourn there, it was time for our chaotic day before reaching florence.
PISA/PONTEDERA/FIRENZE
yep, and in that order, which if you look at a map does in fact result in backtracking. and we did just that, backtrack. but boy was it worth it, because apart from pisa (honestly all it's got to offer is the tower) we went to pontedera! however, i will say pisa not only allowed me to walk clear across town to reach the tower (with my bag, thanks pisa) and have pine nut gelato. which was pretty good due to it being mixed with vanilla, otherwise i think the flavor would be too powerful and you're reading the blog of a guy who loves things piney.
so after arriving to pontedera, which is essentially the italian equivalent of any town you've ever arrived in and said "boy i'm glad i don't live here" we looked for any and everything 'piaggio'. luckily right as you get out of the station there is that word. unluckily is the fact that what you're greeted by is the manufacturing plant, and not anything close to 'il museo piaggio.'** sweet. so after a good 15 minutes wandering into the heart of the piaggio plant and realizing we were the only non-employee persons on the premise (when you trade a blue piaggio shirt for a duffel and rolling suit case with tags reading LAX to FCO the jig is up) we u-turned and headed out. so we asked the nearby bartender because i'll be damned if i made it out to god-forsaken pontedera and didn't make it to the museum. so we got directions and made it to heaven, i mean the museum. what a great place. 60+ years of vespa history can really complete one's day, ya know? but we wrapped up quickly to get to our accommodations in firenze.
FIRENZE
so cool! of course how could it not be when it's essentially the davis of italy. small enough that you can walk end to end, long enough that said walk will take you just long enough. and the place is home to artisan leather-work AND high quality meat? scoresville. needless to say i was a fan. we did the tourist necessities like get to the top of the duomo (463 steps, which they make very clear are not accessible by lift), see the birth of venus (very cool, i liked it better than the david statue) and the david statue (not bad, but it was no birth of venus). we also visited ponte vecchio and had a hostel which included one of the most 'charming' bathrooms we'd ever stayed in. just a shower head and push squeegee separated it from being called a shower to a toilet, because nothing quite says europe like getting all your stuff inevitably soaked by the shower you're taking as you watch in helpless agony. we also met up with an old school friend of mine, who's studying there now, and some others from our program which meant for a good time exploring florence's party scene. and honestly, that was its downside. as a smaller city, the night life noticeably died out after a certain hour, whereas rome essentially runs by whatever schedule you're on. other than that, i loved firenze and plan on returning for more good times (and maybe some leather or paper goods/inks?)
all in all, i had a great time, ate some great foods, and stared at some fantastic ragazz - i mean - monuments. i am however, glad to be back in rome in spite of starting real classes. so far, they're ok, 2 hrs is a little long but i am looking forward to doing the site visit (let's face it, their field trips) portion and getting past the intro stuff. sure it means waking up at 8.20 AM daily, but it's only mon-thurs so can i really be that bummed? in the words of kevin mccallister***: "i don't think so."
*canadian tuxedo - when one wears both a denim shirt/jacket, or both, AND similarly colored jeans.
**il museo piaggio - www.museopiaggo.it - yea, it totally exists.
***macaulay culkin's character in home alone responding to the grocery store clerk asking if he's shopping alone. the answer includes a pretty great head-shake whilst saying the line.
PRE-DEPARTURE/DEPARTURE DAY/SUNDAY
like all sundays i went to the flea market, however getting up late meant that it was gonna be a shorter trip. and when it came time to return to the apt, i was greeted with a confidence-inspiring "No Servizio" on my necessary tram. i've only missed one train in my life and i was hell bent on keeping it at that, so naturally (for me at least) i hoofed it. is that a lanky boy dressed in a canadian tuxedo* running towards the colosseum? you bet it is. and for good reason, i did in fact make it, and after a short passport-forgetting scare, we were headed to stazione termini to get the hell out of dodge, because after that showing, rome clearly didn't want us here any longer.
VENEZIA
after a brief(?) 5 hr train ride my roommate philippe and i arrived in venice. the ride flew by on our 'eurostar' train, and not just because there was a man across the aisle intending to eat his way to venice. 3 drinks and 2 full size containers of cookies made it down his gullet by the time we pulled in. and when i mean in venice i mean the island of, because there is a mainland venice where our hotel was located -- sweet. another quick slap in the face was the fact that i naturally assumed venice was part of italy. this was wrong. as canada is to america, venice is an italy-light thanks to its seemingly constant tourism. luckily however that was quickly pushed off (as i try to do with most of my problems) until tomorrow, because after a quick gelato we had checked in and settled down to watch the "miss italia pageant 2009", yahtzee! we also ate at the only other open option for dinner on a sunday at 11 30 PM, which was chinese (our other option was mcdonald's, which for the record had a full bar built in -- yahtzee due?). now i only mention this to give you a scope of the obscurity of mainland venice -- our check came in euro AND lire options, i wonder if they took discover cards too?
however the island itself was a true wonder. things like, "no wonder it's sinking," (the rain drains right onto the sidewalk) came into my mind as we waded through what little streets they had. luckily rain (torrential rain) in venice means pretty much vacant streets, so i can deal. plus it wasn't cold. but after a bit of roaming (rome-ing?) we were ready for our second stop.
LA SPEZIA/CINQUE TERRE
what a place! as the trend follows, falling in love with something (generally somethings) italian - more often than not le ragazze - happens daily. this lovely town is lucky enough to belong to the region able to call itself the home of foccacia as well as provide some seriously proper pesto. or if you prefer, propsto. also lucky was the fact that i am a qualified aficionado of both, for the record i was not disappointed. cinque terre also lived up to its hype as one of the most beautiful places i've ever been, in spite of its rain. truly incredible. in fact, i'm letting you down for lagging with the pictures it was that gorgeous. but after a quick sojourn there, it was time for our chaotic day before reaching florence.
PISA/PONTEDERA/FIRENZE
yep, and in that order, which if you look at a map does in fact result in backtracking. and we did just that, backtrack. but boy was it worth it, because apart from pisa (honestly all it's got to offer is the tower) we went to pontedera! however, i will say pisa not only allowed me to walk clear across town to reach the tower (with my bag, thanks pisa) and have pine nut gelato. which was pretty good due to it being mixed with vanilla, otherwise i think the flavor would be too powerful and you're reading the blog of a guy who loves things piney.
so after arriving to pontedera, which is essentially the italian equivalent of any town you've ever arrived in and said "boy i'm glad i don't live here" we looked for any and everything 'piaggio'. luckily right as you get out of the station there is that word. unluckily is the fact that what you're greeted by is the manufacturing plant, and not anything close to 'il museo piaggio.'** sweet. so after a good 15 minutes wandering into the heart of the piaggio plant and realizing we were the only non-employee persons on the premise (when you trade a blue piaggio shirt for a duffel and rolling suit case with tags reading LAX to FCO the jig is up) we u-turned and headed out. so we asked the nearby bartender because i'll be damned if i made it out to god-forsaken pontedera and didn't make it to the museum. so we got directions and made it to heaven, i mean the museum. what a great place. 60+ years of vespa history can really complete one's day, ya know? but we wrapped up quickly to get to our accommodations in firenze.
FIRENZE
so cool! of course how could it not be when it's essentially the davis of italy. small enough that you can walk end to end, long enough that said walk will take you just long enough. and the place is home to artisan leather-work AND high quality meat? scoresville. needless to say i was a fan. we did the tourist necessities like get to the top of the duomo (463 steps, which they make very clear are not accessible by lift), see the birth of venus (very cool, i liked it better than the david statue) and the david statue (not bad, but it was no birth of venus). we also visited ponte vecchio and had a hostel which included one of the most 'charming' bathrooms we'd ever stayed in. just a shower head and push squeegee separated it from being called a shower to a toilet, because nothing quite says europe like getting all your stuff inevitably soaked by the shower you're taking as you watch in helpless agony. we also met up with an old school friend of mine, who's studying there now, and some others from our program which meant for a good time exploring florence's party scene. and honestly, that was its downside. as a smaller city, the night life noticeably died out after a certain hour, whereas rome essentially runs by whatever schedule you're on. other than that, i loved firenze and plan on returning for more good times (and maybe some leather or paper goods/inks?)
all in all, i had a great time, ate some great foods, and stared at some fantastic ragazz - i mean - monuments. i am however, glad to be back in rome in spite of starting real classes. so far, they're ok, 2 hrs is a little long but i am looking forward to doing the site visit (let's face it, their field trips) portion and getting past the intro stuff. sure it means waking up at 8.20 AM daily, but it's only mon-thurs so can i really be that bummed? in the words of kevin mccallister***: "i don't think so."
*canadian tuxedo - when one wears both a denim shirt/jacket, or both, AND similarly colored jeans.
**il museo piaggio - www.museopiaggo.it - yea, it totally exists.
***macaulay culkin's character in home alone responding to the grocery store clerk asking if he's shopping alone. the answer includes a pretty great head-shake whilst saying the line.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
how do you say "ice cream" in italian?
if you're in rome and really -- is there any other place to be, it's spelt g-i-o-l-i-t-t-i.
the very first sign giolitti is a very established place is if you look them up on google. the world's largest red flag about their serious stance on gelato is how nice their website looks and is maintained. this is something that very, very rarely exists with any italian website. the average italian site is full of links going nowhere and that's even if you're lucky enough to load a homepage.
not only does its interior resemble just about any ice cream shoppe on disneyland's main street, the producto truly does deliver. amidst the array of flavors (which for the record, and in my personal opinion, does not appear to beat the nearby 'il gelatone') it boasts pastries and of course a full bar. i sampled 'canella e tiramisu' which were both molto bene! canella (cinnamon) has been my newest revelation in frozen confection and is a must-sample whenever offered. tiramisu was chosen based on it being my old go-to when i was working at gelato paradiso so i could compare.
needless to say giolitti wins on both fronts, although the cinnamon was arguably just as good at il gelatone the tiramisu is what sealed the deal. with bits of lady finger within the gelato the attention to deal and noticeably fresh quality made it a 2,20 euro well spent. additionally they, just like most places, offer 'panna' or unsweetened whipped cream and i mean -- why not? all in all i will be back here, but more as a treat and less as a regular due to an equally tasty option much closer to my apartment for 20 cents less (think about it, after i eat 10 it's like getting the 11th free in comparison to giolitti!).
sunday wrapped up with a trip to the flea market where i was able to purchase, and in true scot fashion, haggle for -- not a coincidence 'haggle' and 'haggis' are so similar -- shoe laces. what's that mio amico? 1 euro, ehhh ho solo setanta, va bene? then when you put the money into the vendor's hand at the price you want it is near magic how they are far more down as they're literally so close to your money they feel it.
unfortunately (or fortunately as i know not every one of my readers is in support) i did not walk off - get it? - with pointy shoes this week. and so the hunt continues...see ya next sunday flea market.
my past school week was just that, pretty weak, although this coming one is the last of my intensive italian class. meaning no more 3 straight hrs/day and the start of having every friday off. i did however learn that nuns are bad luck and that italians both never say 'buona fortuna' (that is actually bad luck, instead you say 'in la bocca al lupo' to which you respond 'crepi!')* and that they knock on metal instead of wood, sweet.
tomorrow my roommate and i are going to the train station (stazione termini) to book train tickets to venezia with a german company (deutsche bahn) because if there's one group you can trust to have top-notch trains in the way of function and punctuality it's the germans. wunderbar! if all goes to plan, we'll be going to venezia, cinque terre, pisa, firenze, then back to rome. at least i think that's the plan now, not including a stop in between pisa and firenze in pontedera: home to none other than the museo piaggio, or simply put -- the vespa museum. hopefully it all works out and makes for quite the tour of italy, but either way i'm sure i'll find all sorts of new experiences during my upcoming week off. so, until then, ciao ciao!
*in english it directly translates to 'in the mouth of the wolf!' then the response being 'die! as if you're hoping the wolf die since otherwise it'd eat you when you're in its mouth. but it generally means more of a 'break a leg' sort of sentiment.
the very first sign giolitti is a very established place is if you look them up on google. the world's largest red flag about their serious stance on gelato is how nice their website looks and is maintained. this is something that very, very rarely exists with any italian website. the average italian site is full of links going nowhere and that's even if you're lucky enough to load a homepage.
not only does its interior resemble just about any ice cream shoppe on disneyland's main street, the producto truly does deliver. amidst the array of flavors (which for the record, and in my personal opinion, does not appear to beat the nearby 'il gelatone') it boasts pastries and of course a full bar. i sampled 'canella e tiramisu' which were both molto bene! canella (cinnamon) has been my newest revelation in frozen confection and is a must-sample whenever offered. tiramisu was chosen based on it being my old go-to when i was working at gelato paradiso so i could compare.
needless to say giolitti wins on both fronts, although the cinnamon was arguably just as good at il gelatone the tiramisu is what sealed the deal. with bits of lady finger within the gelato the attention to deal and noticeably fresh quality made it a 2,20 euro well spent. additionally they, just like most places, offer 'panna' or unsweetened whipped cream and i mean -- why not? all in all i will be back here, but more as a treat and less as a regular due to an equally tasty option much closer to my apartment for 20 cents less (think about it, after i eat 10 it's like getting the 11th free in comparison to giolitti!).
sunday wrapped up with a trip to the flea market where i was able to purchase, and in true scot fashion, haggle for -- not a coincidence 'haggle' and 'haggis' are so similar -- shoe laces. what's that mio amico? 1 euro, ehhh ho solo setanta, va bene? then when you put the money into the vendor's hand at the price you want it is near magic how they are far more down as they're literally so close to your money they feel it.
unfortunately (or fortunately as i know not every one of my readers is in support) i did not walk off - get it? - with pointy shoes this week. and so the hunt continues...see ya next sunday flea market.
my past school week was just that, pretty weak, although this coming one is the last of my intensive italian class. meaning no more 3 straight hrs/day and the start of having every friday off. i did however learn that nuns are bad luck and that italians both never say 'buona fortuna' (that is actually bad luck, instead you say 'in la bocca al lupo' to which you respond 'crepi!')* and that they knock on metal instead of wood, sweet.
tomorrow my roommate and i are going to the train station (stazione termini) to book train tickets to venezia with a german company (deutsche bahn) because if there's one group you can trust to have top-notch trains in the way of function and punctuality it's the germans. wunderbar! if all goes to plan, we'll be going to venezia, cinque terre, pisa, firenze, then back to rome. at least i think that's the plan now, not including a stop in between pisa and firenze in pontedera: home to none other than the museo piaggio, or simply put -- the vespa museum. hopefully it all works out and makes for quite the tour of italy, but either way i'm sure i'll find all sorts of new experiences during my upcoming week off. so, until then, ciao ciao!
*in english it directly translates to 'in the mouth of the wolf!' then the response being 'die! as if you're hoping the wolf die since otherwise it'd eat you when you're in its mouth. but it generally means more of a 'break a leg' sort of sentiment.
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