For the past week or so I've been in a real funk. I've attributed it to a lot of things, such as living all alone, having been mugged, and being on a new type of medicine/vitamin. I have been a crying mess most days, dreading coming home from school to my empty apartment with nothing to do. People have been giving me lots of suggestions, such as reading new books, going out to eat, watching movies, etc. Nothing had been able to lift my mood though, and I was starting to get desperate. I'm normally a very happy, outgoing person and do not enjoy feeling like a total loser. After having burst into tears in front of my boyfriend, mom, and landlord, I figured I needed to do something fast. Well I have found my new mood-lifter in Florence, and it is Dance Aerobica.
I had joined a gym at the beginning of the semester to give me something to do in my free time. In the US I love to exercise, but it is a bit hard to find places to run in Florence where I won't get hit by a crazy Italian driver, and Italians aren't really as exercise conscience as we are in the US. I mean, they don't really need to be since they walk all over God's creation and eat fresh food daily. For me though, exercise is such a great stress reliever. I love organized group exercise classes because it reminds me of being back in dance class, which was a giant part of my youth. My new gym here in Florence, SWAN, is quite small, but only 5 minutes from my apartment, which is a pretty safe walk alone at night. I have taken a few classes there so far, body sculpt and kick boxing, but they haven't been my favorite. This dance aerobica is fantastic though. First, let me preface this with the fact that Italians (at least the ones that I encounter) are terrible dancers. Just imagine awkward jerking motions in a disco, eyes closed, and singing along to the music in English and getting every word wrong. I was curious to see what kind of moves the instructor would pull out. Well, much to my surprise, she said that she wanted to try to do something "funky" that night and try a new hip-hop approach. I figured this would be hilarious because what do Italians know about hip-hop, other than Fabri Fibra? The teacher ended up being fantastic though and teaching us a whole hip-hop routine that we put together at the end of class. Even better, I felt like I was high on a happy pill. I had gotten my adrenaline flowing, I was sweating, and I was proud to say I looked least ridiculous out of all the people in class. I was able to go home, skype my boyfriend, and not burst into tears upon seeing him. I sometimes forget how important dance is to me and how much I love it. I'm going to try to take every dance exercise class that SWAN offers now so I can keep this good mood going. I am going to turn into an Italian dancing queen and hopefulyy be able to dance away this black cloud that had been lurking over my head the past month.
Perugia
venerdì 11 febbraio 2011
martedì 1 febbraio 2011
Ladri, non di biciclette, ma di borse
I feel like I normally start these blog posts off pretty cheerfully, but today I'm a bit down in the dumps. I had a wonderful first day of school here yesterday, great batch of new students, and I actually have a student who is a Phi Mu at College of Charleston, just like I was, whom I took out for coffee. I also helped my friend Charlie with the set-up and take-down of a travel information session he was leading. After a few glasses of wine, we decided to head home, Charlie in one direction, and I off to retrieve my bike. When it is late at night in Florence I usually prefer to ride my bike home so I can make a speedy return and not run into creepers. I was riding along, about two blocks from my apartment, when I heard a car behind me. I turned my head real quickly and saw it was actually a motorino, and that it was coming right towards me, so I started riding closer to the sidewalk. I felt the motorino brush up against me and before I could even realize what was happening, the two men in helmets had my purse and were off without me even having a chance of catching up to them. I was in total shock, but horrible consequences started to enter my mind, such as "oh god, my passport was still in there" and "oh no, my keys, my wallet, my cell phone," etc. I had no way of contacting the police, so I rode over a block to my friend Charlie's place and started ringing his bell like a maniac. He ended up coming down and taking me to the nearest police station, which was of course closed, because this is Italy. There was an emergency number posted to call, and within five minutes I had 2 Carabinieri and 2 undercover policemen at my disposal. I gave them an exact report, that there were two men in black helmets, black jackets, and jeans, they rode a dark scooter that was not a Vespa, my purse was a special edition Longchamp bag with a yellow picture of the Eiffel tower on it, etc. Then they took me to the Carabinieri station, where I had to make my "denuncia" (the official report). This took me about another hour, after which I rode back home in a police car and had a very nice carabinieri check my apartment to make sure the thieves had not entered. Then I spent another few hours canceling everything over skype (since I no longer have a phone here). By then it was after 3 in the morning, I had cried my eyes out and was utterly exhausted.
This semester I am fortunate enough to have a 9 AM TR class. Normally I would not mind this, since it gives me an even longer weekend than my 3-day weekends here. Today it was very difficult to get ready for this class, but I had to go, since it was the first day. After class was over I told my coordinators here what had happened the night before to see if I could get out of tutoring and go to the American consulate here in Florence. They of course let me go, especially since the consulate of course is only open from 9-12:30. I hoofed my way over to the building, which was quite difficult since it is blocked on three of its four sides by construction. I came aimed with all of my documents, ready to get my emergency passport as the web-site had instructed me to do. Of course, being in Italy, the people actually working at the embassy told me something totally different from what the web-site said. I walk up to the policemen guarding the entrance and ask them where I go to report a stolen passport and have an emergency passport issued. The man asked me how long I would be in Italy for and I told him until the end of May. He then told me that I do not need an emergency passport because I have plenty of time to get a new one. I expressed to him that I would feel much better with an emergency passport since I have plans to travel. He told me no, that my case was not an emergency, and that I had to make an appointment, maybe next week, and file for a new passport, which would get to me in hopefully 2 or 3 weeks (which means at least a month here). Frustrated, I went back to school and made my appt. for tomorrow and am now preparing all of my documents so hopefully I have a new passport before Spring Break and can travel at least a little bit while I am still in Italy.
This is all such a humungous and costly nuisance. Even my cell phone provider here, to whom I pay daily insurance, is charging me 35 euro to replace my phone and will not give me a new phone until my new credit card comes, which will take forever because my credit card company refused to mail it to Italy. The cell phone company also told me if I do not have credit card information within a week, they will charge me another 50 euro to terminate my plan. This on top of having to pay for a new passport, pay to have items expedited here, replacing all items lost, such as my wallet and a video camera is really starting to make this day even worse. I am also quite upset over losing some personal items I highly valued, such as a coin purse my sister Claire gave me and the actually purse, which was the only souvenir I bought myself on my fall break trip. If the Carabinieri manage to find the thieves and my purse, which is never going to happen, I hope I get the chance to confront those cowards.
I could really use some cheering up and encouragement friends!
Kate
This semester I am fortunate enough to have a 9 AM TR class. Normally I would not mind this, since it gives me an even longer weekend than my 3-day weekends here. Today it was very difficult to get ready for this class, but I had to go, since it was the first day. After class was over I told my coordinators here what had happened the night before to see if I could get out of tutoring and go to the American consulate here in Florence. They of course let me go, especially since the consulate of course is only open from 9-12:30. I hoofed my way over to the building, which was quite difficult since it is blocked on three of its four sides by construction. I came aimed with all of my documents, ready to get my emergency passport as the web-site had instructed me to do. Of course, being in Italy, the people actually working at the embassy told me something totally different from what the web-site said. I walk up to the policemen guarding the entrance and ask them where I go to report a stolen passport and have an emergency passport issued. The man asked me how long I would be in Italy for and I told him until the end of May. He then told me that I do not need an emergency passport because I have plenty of time to get a new one. I expressed to him that I would feel much better with an emergency passport since I have plans to travel. He told me no, that my case was not an emergency, and that I had to make an appointment, maybe next week, and file for a new passport, which would get to me in hopefully 2 or 3 weeks (which means at least a month here). Frustrated, I went back to school and made my appt. for tomorrow and am now preparing all of my documents so hopefully I have a new passport before Spring Break and can travel at least a little bit while I am still in Italy.
This is all such a humungous and costly nuisance. Even my cell phone provider here, to whom I pay daily insurance, is charging me 35 euro to replace my phone and will not give me a new phone until my new credit card comes, which will take forever because my credit card company refused to mail it to Italy. The cell phone company also told me if I do not have credit card information within a week, they will charge me another 50 euro to terminate my plan. This on top of having to pay for a new passport, pay to have items expedited here, replacing all items lost, such as my wallet and a video camera is really starting to make this day even worse. I am also quite upset over losing some personal items I highly valued, such as a coin purse my sister Claire gave me and the actually purse, which was the only souvenir I bought myself on my fall break trip. If the Carabinieri manage to find the thieves and my purse, which is never going to happen, I hope I get the chance to confront those cowards.
I could really use some cheering up and encouragement friends!
Kate
lunedì 24 gennaio 2011
Yes, I do care that I have a "fidanzato"
Ciao again from Italia everyone!
I have been back in Italy for approximately three days and have already had a creepy Italian man experience. I had gotten really used to not being harassed as much by creepy Italians last semester since I had Andy by my side most of the time. Not that I had forgotten that Italian men are the most horny people on the planet, I had just become complacent, I guess. Anyhow, I went over to Lorenzo de'Medici today to pick up my paycheck from last month and check in at the office, but of course both were closed, being 4 in Italy. I know, I should have gotten my butt over there much earlier, but I am still recovering from jet lag, slept till almost 1 today, and didn't even make it out of my pajamas until 3. Just one of those days! So I left LdM, where I did have the pleasure of running into my old student Jordan from UNC who is now studying here in Florence. I was in quite a good mood, it being a sunny day in Florence (which were few and far between last semester), so I decided to go shopping and check out the sales. Good thing I hadn't brought any cash or cards with me, because it totally would have been hard to resist, since this time of year everything is at a minimum 50 % off for the twice yearly sales. After checking out a bunch of my favorite places, I made the trek back to my apartment. While crossing Piazza Sant'Ambrogio though, someone called out "scusa". I thought it was for someone else, so I kept walking, but I had the suspicion I was being followed. Eventually, whoever had called out scusa came up to me and asked "Sei italiana?" which means "are you Italian?". I said no, that I was American, thinking maybe the man was going to ask me for directions or something along those lines. He proceeded to say (loosely translated) "I just wanted to tell you that you are absolutely beautiful and stupendous," then looked me up and down from head to toe. I said "grazie" (because what else can you say in those kind of situations) and turned to walk away, but the man wasn't done yet. The man asked me in terrible English where I was going, if he could come with me, and if I was married. I told him I was on my way home and that I was "fidanzata". The term "fidanzato/a" means "fiance" in Italian, but is used whenever you are in a serious relationship that lasts longer than a month. I think the man actually got the hint because he said how my fidanzato was a lucky man and walked away. This incident has happened to me many times before, but I felt angry this time. Even though the guy left me alone, most times Italian guys say "oh, that's okay, you aren't married, come out with me and let me take you to my car and rape you" or something along those lines. Sometimes I just want to say back to them "what makes you think these lines are going to work?" I mean, American girls have the reputation of being easy and slutty over here (a stereotype that many of my students upheld last semester), but not all of us want to jump into bed with skeezy Italian men. While I was at home for break everyone kept asking me we I hadn't broken up with my American boyfriend for a romantic Italian man, and it's incidences like these that make me certain that I am much better off in my loving relationship with my non-creepy American boyfriend.
Disclaimer: Not all Italian men are bad, and some make very good boyfriends. The good ones are a bit hard to find though.
I have been back in Italy for approximately three days and have already had a creepy Italian man experience. I had gotten really used to not being harassed as much by creepy Italians last semester since I had Andy by my side most of the time. Not that I had forgotten that Italian men are the most horny people on the planet, I had just become complacent, I guess. Anyhow, I went over to Lorenzo de'Medici today to pick up my paycheck from last month and check in at the office, but of course both were closed, being 4 in Italy. I know, I should have gotten my butt over there much earlier, but I am still recovering from jet lag, slept till almost 1 today, and didn't even make it out of my pajamas until 3. Just one of those days! So I left LdM, where I did have the pleasure of running into my old student Jordan from UNC who is now studying here in Florence. I was in quite a good mood, it being a sunny day in Florence (which were few and far between last semester), so I decided to go shopping and check out the sales. Good thing I hadn't brought any cash or cards with me, because it totally would have been hard to resist, since this time of year everything is at a minimum 50 % off for the twice yearly sales. After checking out a bunch of my favorite places, I made the trek back to my apartment. While crossing Piazza Sant'Ambrogio though, someone called out "scusa". I thought it was for someone else, so I kept walking, but I had the suspicion I was being followed. Eventually, whoever had called out scusa came up to me and asked "Sei italiana?" which means "are you Italian?". I said no, that I was American, thinking maybe the man was going to ask me for directions or something along those lines. He proceeded to say (loosely translated) "I just wanted to tell you that you are absolutely beautiful and stupendous," then looked me up and down from head to toe. I said "grazie" (because what else can you say in those kind of situations) and turned to walk away, but the man wasn't done yet. The man asked me in terrible English where I was going, if he could come with me, and if I was married. I told him I was on my way home and that I was "fidanzata". The term "fidanzato/a" means "fiance" in Italian, but is used whenever you are in a serious relationship that lasts longer than a month. I think the man actually got the hint because he said how my fidanzato was a lucky man and walked away. This incident has happened to me many times before, but I felt angry this time. Even though the guy left me alone, most times Italian guys say "oh, that's okay, you aren't married, come out with me and let me take you to my car and rape you" or something along those lines. Sometimes I just want to say back to them "what makes you think these lines are going to work?" I mean, American girls have the reputation of being easy and slutty over here (a stereotype that many of my students upheld last semester), but not all of us want to jump into bed with skeezy Italian men. While I was at home for break everyone kept asking me we I hadn't broken up with my American boyfriend for a romantic Italian man, and it's incidences like these that make me certain that I am much better off in my loving relationship with my non-creepy American boyfriend.
Disclaimer: Not all Italian men are bad, and some make very good boyfriends. The good ones are a bit hard to find though.
mercoledì 22 dicembre 2010
T'was the Nightmare Before Christmas...
I have been in Italy for 4 months and was really looking forward to seeing my family and friends in the US again. Though I hated leaving my boo in Italy, I was very much ready for my glorious return to the US. The Friday before my scheduled Monday departure Florence recieved an unprecedented amount of snow, 8 inches. This may not seem like a lot to most people, but in Italy it was enough to pretty much shut down the country. Friday was great because the snow was really festive and I didn't have to go anywhere except to turn in my grades. Andy got off work early in the market and we enjoyed watching the snow from our apartment and cooking all sorts of delicious warm food. The snow remained for the next two days and I hibernated inside, packing and cleaning and finishing my Christmas preparations. Monday morning I awoke at 3:30 to prepare myself for my taxi to the airport that I was scheduled to take at 5 AM. I had no idea that I would not arrive back in Charleston until exactly 48 hours later!
My taxi driver came right on schedule, and surprisingly the ride only took 8 minutes, even though there was still all over the rodes that this man decided to take. Guess it was just because he still didn't drive with caution, like every Italian on the roads. When I walked into the airport, I couldn't even move because there were so many people inside. Every flight out of Florence had been cancelled since Saturday because the city has no equipment to clear the snow. My flight to Frankfurt ended up being delayed until 8:30 and they wouldn't let us check in early because there were so many people checking into other flights, so I just had to stand in a clump of people in the ticketing room with my fellow travelers. Though Florence is a popular travel destination, the airportis one of the smallest I have ever been in, even smaller than the Jacksonville, NC airport! So not to my surprise the airport was a giant cluster. When we finally were allowed to check our luggage in, the airport staff alerted us that we would be boarding a bus to Pisa because Florence had to much fog for our plane to get in, so we were going to meet it instead. After the hour and a half bus ride to Pisa, we were delayed yet again, not taking off until 11 AM, when my flight was scheduled to leave Frankfurt at 11:40. So we all arrive in Germany, and pretty much everyone on the flight had missed their connections, sowe were all forced into ridiculously long lines to start the re-ticketing process. There were no flights heading back to the US for the rest of the day that weren't booked solid, but I ended up being incredibly lucky and getting the last seat available on any flight to the US for the following day, which was a relief. Then Lufthansa booked me into the hotel attached to the airport because they were trying to get as many people out of the airport as possible since it was so crowded. I spent the rest of my day watching BBC world news, where the only story they kept talking about were the horrible travel conditions in Europe and how it was hurting the economy even more. My hotel had ridiculously priced food, so I ended up eating German pretzels and drinking beer in the comfort of my hotel room, which is a lot better than a lot of other people fared, but I really just wanted to get back to the US.
The next day I woke up and made my way straight to the airport. of course my flight out of Germany ended up being delayed for 3 hours because our plane was stuck in Manchester, England and couldn't get out. The flight went quite smoothly and I watched four movies to pass the time. Of course, since I got the last available ticket, I had the last seat on the plane, so I was the last person to recieve food every time the crew came around, so I had no options and got served the worst crap, like some "beef burgundy" that had one mouthful of beef in it and a lot of sauce. When we arrived in Charlotte, every person on the flight had missed their connecting flights, especially after we all had to go through the ridiculously long customs lines and recheck luggage/re-ticket. I finally got a seat on the last flight to Charleston for the night, and hoofed my way over to the gate. After sitting for a while, it was announced that our flight to Charleston would be delayed due to a crew switch. I literally thought I was going to lose it by that point, but found solace in a smoothie I bought across the hall. I was finally allowed to board the flight, and was seated next to a really nice man who chatted with me for the entirety of the flight, so my last flight "flew" by. I ended up arriving in Charleston at 9:00 US time, 3:00 AM Italy time last night, and ran to my family at the arrivals gate. It was an incredibly long, nightmarish journey, but it made me even more happy to be home with my family for Christmas. Keep all the travelers in Europe in your thoights because many will not be making it home for Christmas since the weather conditions are not improving. Happy Holidays everyone, and Buone Feste a tutti!
My taxi driver came right on schedule, and surprisingly the ride only took 8 minutes, even though there was still all over the rodes that this man decided to take. Guess it was just because he still didn't drive with caution, like every Italian on the roads. When I walked into the airport, I couldn't even move because there were so many people inside. Every flight out of Florence had been cancelled since Saturday because the city has no equipment to clear the snow. My flight to Frankfurt ended up being delayed until 8:30 and they wouldn't let us check in early because there were so many people checking into other flights, so I just had to stand in a clump of people in the ticketing room with my fellow travelers. Though Florence is a popular travel destination, the airportis one of the smallest I have ever been in, even smaller than the Jacksonville, NC airport! So not to my surprise the airport was a giant cluster. When we finally were allowed to check our luggage in, the airport staff alerted us that we would be boarding a bus to Pisa because Florence had to much fog for our plane to get in, so we were going to meet it instead. After the hour and a half bus ride to Pisa, we were delayed yet again, not taking off until 11 AM, when my flight was scheduled to leave Frankfurt at 11:40. So we all arrive in Germany, and pretty much everyone on the flight had missed their connections, sowe were all forced into ridiculously long lines to start the re-ticketing process. There were no flights heading back to the US for the rest of the day that weren't booked solid, but I ended up being incredibly lucky and getting the last seat available on any flight to the US for the following day, which was a relief. Then Lufthansa booked me into the hotel attached to the airport because they were trying to get as many people out of the airport as possible since it was so crowded. I spent the rest of my day watching BBC world news, where the only story they kept talking about were the horrible travel conditions in Europe and how it was hurting the economy even more. My hotel had ridiculously priced food, so I ended up eating German pretzels and drinking beer in the comfort of my hotel room, which is a lot better than a lot of other people fared, but I really just wanted to get back to the US.
The next day I woke up and made my way straight to the airport. of course my flight out of Germany ended up being delayed for 3 hours because our plane was stuck in Manchester, England and couldn't get out. The flight went quite smoothly and I watched four movies to pass the time. Of course, since I got the last available ticket, I had the last seat on the plane, so I was the last person to recieve food every time the crew came around, so I had no options and got served the worst crap, like some "beef burgundy" that had one mouthful of beef in it and a lot of sauce. When we arrived in Charlotte, every person on the flight had missed their connecting flights, especially after we all had to go through the ridiculously long customs lines and recheck luggage/re-ticket. I finally got a seat on the last flight to Charleston for the night, and hoofed my way over to the gate. After sitting for a while, it was announced that our flight to Charleston would be delayed due to a crew switch. I literally thought I was going to lose it by that point, but found solace in a smoothie I bought across the hall. I was finally allowed to board the flight, and was seated next to a really nice man who chatted with me for the entirety of the flight, so my last flight "flew" by. I ended up arriving in Charleston at 9:00 US time, 3:00 AM Italy time last night, and ran to my family at the arrivals gate. It was an incredibly long, nightmarish journey, but it made me even more happy to be home with my family for Christmas. Keep all the travelers in Europe in your thoights because many will not be making it home for Christmas since the weather conditions are not improving. Happy Holidays everyone, and Buone Feste a tutti!
lunedì 6 dicembre 2010
La vita è bella (minus not having heat and never-ending rain)!
Ciao a tutti!
I know I have not posted anything in a long time, but so much has been going on here in Florence. First, Andy left for Turkey for 11 days, so I got all reorganized and back on track with school work, but also had fun. I saw "The Social Network" in English, which was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I also made my first trip to Lucca, which is definitely in my top five places in Italy! After this period of alone time though, I was invaded by visitors, which I had been craving!
First my best friend for 20+ years, Amy, came to visit for two weeks. It was so good having a girlfriend around to chat with and just do girly things with. I introduced Amy to Trattoria Anita, the best restaurant in Florence, Don Chisciotte, the best pizza in Florence, and to Andrea and vino sfuso. Needless to say, most of her visit revolved around our eating schedules. Andy arrived home the day after Amy arrived and the three of us saw Harry Potter (in English with Italian subtitles), then ventured off to Rome. I was so excited to show both of them how amazing the eternal city is (and how it trumps Florence in every aspect). The only thing that dampened our visit to Rome was the copious amounts of rain, which I am sick and tired of since it has rained every day for the past month. Anyhow, we took a guided tour of the Vatican museums, which allowed Amy's inner art history nerd to shine, and we walked all around Vatican City. I was also reunited with my friend Yann, who taught with me at UNC last year. Yann took Amy, Andy and me out to the best aperitivo I have ever been to, where we actually hung out with Italians. This was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me because I never meet Italians in Florence, and when I do they insist on speaking to me in English. Anyhow, Yann and his sweet girlfriend Antonella were excellent tour guides and showed us all the beauties of Rome by night. The next day we went and saw all the Roman monuments, like the colosseum and the Roman forum, etc. Since it rained even harder on that day though, we decided to head back to Florence, where more rain awaited.
During the second half of Amy's visit we hung out in Florence and prepared for our foreign Thanksgiving, and the arrival of Andy's parents. Even without hot water (which broke) and heat (which was out for 5 days) our Thanksgiving was honestly one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had. We had thirteen people for dinner, including two Mexicans, a frenchman, and an Italian. We had delicious food, including a 17 lb. turkey cooked by my friend Charlie (thank you). It was so amazing to share Thanksgiving with so many people that had never celebrated it before.
While Andy's parents were in town we did some more traveling and sight-seeing, as well as watched the Auburn Tigers beat Alabama 28-27 in the Iron Bowl (War Eagle)! My favorite part of the Gilliom's visit was our tour of Chianti. We all piled into a van with our guide Claudio, who was the stereotype for all Italians in the minds of Americans. We traveled to Greve in Chianti and went to five different wine tastings, as well as ate a delicious Tuscan meal in a medieval village nearby. It was sunny the entire time we were there and I drank so much red wine and ate so much olive oil that I had to lay off of both for a few days afterwards. It was so much fun getting to see Andy's parents, especially when AMy and I took his mother shopping in Florence. The day they left though was a miserable rainy day, and also the Florence marathon, so getting them out of the city was quite the task. After making sure they were able to find a taxi though, Amy and I went off to Siena, where we ate some absolutely delicious gelato and braved heavy rain to see the duomo and the church that houses St. Catherine's head and thumb.
Amy left two days later and the heat and hot water returned and life went somewhat back to normal. Now Andy and I are relishing our last few weeks in Italy together by preparing for Christmas. We went on a date yesterday to Lucca and went ice skating and to their local Christmas market, as well as shopped, which was a perfect day for me (minus missing the train we wanted and having to sit in the train station for two hours until the next one came). Overall, life has been pretty great the past few weeks, and I'm trying to enjoy the last two weeks until I come home for the holidays.
I know I have not posted anything in a long time, but so much has been going on here in Florence. First, Andy left for Turkey for 11 days, so I got all reorganized and back on track with school work, but also had fun. I saw "The Social Network" in English, which was one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. I also made my first trip to Lucca, which is definitely in my top five places in Italy! After this period of alone time though, I was invaded by visitors, which I had been craving!
First my best friend for 20+ years, Amy, came to visit for two weeks. It was so good having a girlfriend around to chat with and just do girly things with. I introduced Amy to Trattoria Anita, the best restaurant in Florence, Don Chisciotte, the best pizza in Florence, and to Andrea and vino sfuso. Needless to say, most of her visit revolved around our eating schedules. Andy arrived home the day after Amy arrived and the three of us saw Harry Potter (in English with Italian subtitles), then ventured off to Rome. I was so excited to show both of them how amazing the eternal city is (and how it trumps Florence in every aspect). The only thing that dampened our visit to Rome was the copious amounts of rain, which I am sick and tired of since it has rained every day for the past month. Anyhow, we took a guided tour of the Vatican museums, which allowed Amy's inner art history nerd to shine, and we walked all around Vatican City. I was also reunited with my friend Yann, who taught with me at UNC last year. Yann took Amy, Andy and me out to the best aperitivo I have ever been to, where we actually hung out with Italians. This was pretty much the highlight of the trip for me because I never meet Italians in Florence, and when I do they insist on speaking to me in English. Anyhow, Yann and his sweet girlfriend Antonella were excellent tour guides and showed us all the beauties of Rome by night. The next day we went and saw all the Roman monuments, like the colosseum and the Roman forum, etc. Since it rained even harder on that day though, we decided to head back to Florence, where more rain awaited.
During the second half of Amy's visit we hung out in Florence and prepared for our foreign Thanksgiving, and the arrival of Andy's parents. Even without hot water (which broke) and heat (which was out for 5 days) our Thanksgiving was honestly one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had. We had thirteen people for dinner, including two Mexicans, a frenchman, and an Italian. We had delicious food, including a 17 lb. turkey cooked by my friend Charlie (thank you). It was so amazing to share Thanksgiving with so many people that had never celebrated it before.
While Andy's parents were in town we did some more traveling and sight-seeing, as well as watched the Auburn Tigers beat Alabama 28-27 in the Iron Bowl (War Eagle)! My favorite part of the Gilliom's visit was our tour of Chianti. We all piled into a van with our guide Claudio, who was the stereotype for all Italians in the minds of Americans. We traveled to Greve in Chianti and went to five different wine tastings, as well as ate a delicious Tuscan meal in a medieval village nearby. It was sunny the entire time we were there and I drank so much red wine and ate so much olive oil that I had to lay off of both for a few days afterwards. It was so much fun getting to see Andy's parents, especially when AMy and I took his mother shopping in Florence. The day they left though was a miserable rainy day, and also the Florence marathon, so getting them out of the city was quite the task. After making sure they were able to find a taxi though, Amy and I went off to Siena, where we ate some absolutely delicious gelato and braved heavy rain to see the duomo and the church that houses St. Catherine's head and thumb.
Amy left two days later and the heat and hot water returned and life went somewhat back to normal. Now Andy and I are relishing our last few weeks in Italy together by preparing for Christmas. We went on a date yesterday to Lucca and went ice skating and to their local Christmas market, as well as shopped, which was a perfect day for me (minus missing the train we wanted and having to sit in the train station for two hours until the next one came). Overall, life has been pretty great the past few weeks, and I'm trying to enjoy the last two weeks until I come home for the holidays.
martedì 9 novembre 2010
The Grand Tour Part III: Amsterdam
So last I left off, Andy and I were departing from Berlin to go to Amsterdam. I was super excited to go to Amsterdam because I had always heard how pretty it is and how much fun a person can have there. I'd also heard that the hostel we were staying in, The Flying Pig, was amazing. I don't know what all of my friends that have been to Amsterdam were on when they told me this, but I honestly did not enjoy the city. This may have been because 1) it was 40 degrees and raining the whole time we were there 2) our hostel was super ghetto, loud, and reeked of pot (I know, should have realized this would be true in Amsterdam) 3) it is super expensive. When we arrived, it was 6 in the morning and Andy and I passed out in our room until about 10 minutes before we were supposed to go on our tour. We rushed down to breakfast, where everything was already eaten, and started the miserably cold walk to Dam square to meet our guide. Since our group was so large, we were split between 2 guides, and Andy and I were unfortunate enough to be with all the Jersey Shore reject guidos and a pissy Swede tour guide. Amsterdam's history was as strange as the city. We started in the red light district, where we saw a church that was surrounded by hookers in windows, a coffee shop, and a kindergarten. Our guide explained that this is normal in Amsterdam because everything here is considered okay as long as it brings in money. This may be another reason why I was so turned off by the city. We saw a few cool things on the tour, like this street where homeless people can live and not be kicked out, a one room wide house, and the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company. After the tour, a large group of our new friends decided to explore the "coffee shops," which was a cluster because no one could figure out where they wanted to go, etc. We finally ended up going to the Vincent Van Gogh Museum, which was really cool, since Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists, but was not worth the 14 euro entrance fee. Andy and I ended up going home and just chilling at the hostel so we could stay warm.
Day 2 I overslept and Andy and I just decided to go off and do things on our own, which was much better than trying to organize a giant group of people. We wandered around the canals and went into some really cool stores, like a store full of items such as a "Food Face" plate and cooking drumsticks, as well as the coolest vintage store ever. We ended up eating lunch at some overpriced Argentinian restaurant because Dutch food sucks, then waited in the freezing cold rain to go to the Anne Frank House. I really enjoyed touring the rooms where the Frank family hid, as well as the final exhibit where you can vote on current freedom of speech and civil rights issues. We decided to call it quits after the museum and again just spent the night chilling at our hostel. After Amsterdam, I was truly ready to head on to Paris!
Day 2 I overslept and Andy and I just decided to go off and do things on our own, which was much better than trying to organize a giant group of people. We wandered around the canals and went into some really cool stores, like a store full of items such as a "Food Face" plate and cooking drumsticks, as well as the coolest vintage store ever. We ended up eating lunch at some overpriced Argentinian restaurant because Dutch food sucks, then waited in the freezing cold rain to go to the Anne Frank House. I really enjoyed touring the rooms where the Frank family hid, as well as the final exhibit where you can vote on current freedom of speech and civil rights issues. We decided to call it quits after the museum and again just spent the night chilling at our hostel. After Amsterdam, I was truly ready to head on to Paris!
lunedì 8 novembre 2010
The Grand Tour Part II: Berlin
Sorry the description of the 10 day journey is taking longer than 10 days, but life is back in full swing here in Florence.
So after being in beautiful Prague, we woke up and drove for 6 or 7 hours to Berlin. Honestly, Berlin was the city I was least excited about on this trip because I really had no interest in Germany, since I find the language so harsh. I would like to say Berlin may have been my favorite city on the trip, and I know it was Andy's. Berlin is awesome! It is humungous, with of course a very efficient public transportation system (this is Germany). Our hostel, Plus Berlin, was great. Andy and I lucked out and were given a private room with it's own bathroom, which was fabulous. We arrived in Berlin late in the afternoon, so not enough time to go out on the town yet, but Andy and I got ready for the Berlin nightlife by eating a kebab (we went looking for curry wurst, but could not find a stand. We joined the group for a pub crawl around Berlin, mainly because we only had one night in the city and we kept hearing how bizarre Berlin bars and clubs are. I will say Berlin has some of the best nightlife I have ever encountered. We started the night at this bar that I felt was a mix of Fuse and He's Not Here in Chapel Hill. I would call it the equivalent of a hipster bar, with random band posters on the wall, a sculpture that lit on fire every 15 minutes, and a backyard with a fire pit and an abandoned VW van. This place was pretty cool, except for the drug dealers that kept encouraging us to go buy some cocaine. After this bar, we went to a super-crowded wine bar, then to a really posh bar with padded leather couches and fancy chandeliers. Along the way a group of Ausies joined us, and they were way more out of control than any of the Americans. Case in point, on the way to bar four, an underground dance bar, an Ausie fell down the steps with a beer bottle in his hand, sliced his hand open, bled all over the bar, went and found Andy because he took a liking to him and kept asking him for a band-aid. We ditched most of the Ausies at bar 4 when we continued on to bar 5, a legit disco right across the street from our hostel. I really enjoyed ending the night to a German techno dance party. I never really got why everyone called Berlin's nightlife bizarre, but it is definitely varied and fun!
Day 2 we were taken on the best walking tour of our trip. Andy and I had this awesome guide named George from Missouri who was animated and really passionate about German history. We saw such fascinating places as the Reichstag, the Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the holocaust memorial, the location of Hitler's bunker, and of course, the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled baby Blanket out the window. After the tour, me, Andy, and our roommates from Prague went to this museum called the Pergamon which has the gates of Ishtar from the Babylonian gardens and this ancient altar from Turkey. It wans't as cool as we thought it was going to be, but I can now say I've seen one of the ancient wonders of the world. Afterwards we roamed around some cool side streets before heading back to our hostel, where we had to load all of our belongings for the next leg of our trip: Amsterdam.
So after being in beautiful Prague, we woke up and drove for 6 or 7 hours to Berlin. Honestly, Berlin was the city I was least excited about on this trip because I really had no interest in Germany, since I find the language so harsh. I would like to say Berlin may have been my favorite city on the trip, and I know it was Andy's. Berlin is awesome! It is humungous, with of course a very efficient public transportation system (this is Germany). Our hostel, Plus Berlin, was great. Andy and I lucked out and were given a private room with it's own bathroom, which was fabulous. We arrived in Berlin late in the afternoon, so not enough time to go out on the town yet, but Andy and I got ready for the Berlin nightlife by eating a kebab (we went looking for curry wurst, but could not find a stand. We joined the group for a pub crawl around Berlin, mainly because we only had one night in the city and we kept hearing how bizarre Berlin bars and clubs are. I will say Berlin has some of the best nightlife I have ever encountered. We started the night at this bar that I felt was a mix of Fuse and He's Not Here in Chapel Hill. I would call it the equivalent of a hipster bar, with random band posters on the wall, a sculpture that lit on fire every 15 minutes, and a backyard with a fire pit and an abandoned VW van. This place was pretty cool, except for the drug dealers that kept encouraging us to go buy some cocaine. After this bar, we went to a super-crowded wine bar, then to a really posh bar with padded leather couches and fancy chandeliers. Along the way a group of Ausies joined us, and they were way more out of control than any of the Americans. Case in point, on the way to bar four, an underground dance bar, an Ausie fell down the steps with a beer bottle in his hand, sliced his hand open, bled all over the bar, went and found Andy because he took a liking to him and kept asking him for a band-aid. We ditched most of the Ausies at bar 4 when we continued on to bar 5, a legit disco right across the street from our hostel. I really enjoyed ending the night to a German techno dance party. I never really got why everyone called Berlin's nightlife bizarre, but it is definitely varied and fun!
Day 2 we were taken on the best walking tour of our trip. Andy and I had this awesome guide named George from Missouri who was animated and really passionate about German history. We saw such fascinating places as the Reichstag, the Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, the holocaust memorial, the location of Hitler's bunker, and of course, the hotel where Michael Jackson dangled baby Blanket out the window. After the tour, me, Andy, and our roommates from Prague went to this museum called the Pergamon which has the gates of Ishtar from the Babylonian gardens and this ancient altar from Turkey. It wans't as cool as we thought it was going to be, but I can now say I've seen one of the ancient wonders of the world. Afterwards we roamed around some cool side streets before heading back to our hostel, where we had to load all of our belongings for the next leg of our trip: Amsterdam.
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