 |
| Italy 2- Assisi, Amalfi, Cinque Terre, Pisa |
mercoledì 20 giugno 2007
Tomorrow two of my friends, Maria and Bridget, and I are going to Venice. Also, starting tomorrow there is a 24-hour train strike. Things are complicated! Strikes, it seems, are pretty common in Italy, so none of our teachers were surprised to hear about it. However, they told us last week when we first heard about the strike that the "other side," those who are being protested, would probably give in and there wouldn't be a strike after all. That looks improbable now. So we have been trying to figure out the best way to get to Venice tomorrow to make the most of our three day weekend.
The strike begins at 9 pm Thursday night and ends Friday at 9 pm. Venice is about 6 hours away by train. If we are on any train in Italy at 9 pm Thursday night, we will most likely be stuck at that location for the next 24 hours. I mean the train will literally come to a halt when the clock strikes 9. We really want to avoid that. So we have to skip our second class tomorrow and get on a train to Florence and then take the Eurostar (the fast, direct bullet train) to be able to be off of a train by 9. The whole thing is just messy. It should all work out, though.
We are planning on spending two nights in Venice. We have a 3-star hotel on Lido, a resortish island in Venice. Then, Saturday morning, we want to leave early from Venice and go to Umbertide, where our friend John has a house. We heard that Umbertide is probably about as Italian countryside as we are going to get. The people who went last weekend went to some fishing festival in the little town and did local dances with local people. I'm pretty excited about it. It will be nice to see un-touristy parts of Italy. For all you Californians, John's parents actually have a vineyard in Sonoma and they make (I think) Castle Wine. They just got a contract with Whole Foods California, so keep an eye out.
Neither Maria nor Bridget has ever been to Venice. Maria's dad (who was the first Italian to orbit the earth!) has traveled all over Italy but he has never been to Venice, so she's excited to beat her dad to it. Actually, both Bridget and Maria are half Italian and both have dark hair and olive skin, so I will probably (as usual) stick out like a sore thumb. But I am proud to say that I was mistaken for a German at the Vatican when we were there. Yippee!
Ci vediamo, Ellie
The strike begins at 9 pm Thursday night and ends Friday at 9 pm. Venice is about 6 hours away by train. If we are on any train in Italy at 9 pm Thursday night, we will most likely be stuck at that location for the next 24 hours. I mean the train will literally come to a halt when the clock strikes 9. We really want to avoid that. So we have to skip our second class tomorrow and get on a train to Florence and then take the Eurostar (the fast, direct bullet train) to be able to be off of a train by 9. The whole thing is just messy. It should all work out, though.
We are planning on spending two nights in Venice. We have a 3-star hotel on Lido, a resortish island in Venice. Then, Saturday morning, we want to leave early from Venice and go to Umbertide, where our friend John has a house. We heard that Umbertide is probably about as Italian countryside as we are going to get. The people who went last weekend went to some fishing festival in the little town and did local dances with local people. I'm pretty excited about it. It will be nice to see un-touristy parts of Italy. For all you Californians, John's parents actually have a vineyard in Sonoma and they make (I think) Castle Wine. They just got a contract with Whole Foods California, so keep an eye out.
Neither Maria nor Bridget has ever been to Venice. Maria's dad (who was the first Italian to orbit the earth!) has traveled all over Italy but he has never been to Venice, so she's excited to beat her dad to it. Actually, both Bridget and Maria are half Italian and both have dark hair and olive skin, so I will probably (as usual) stick out like a sore thumb. But I am proud to say that I was mistaken for a German at the Vatican when we were there. Yippee!
Ci vediamo, Ellie
lunedì 18 giugno 2007
Cinque Terre was even more beautiful than the Amalfi Coast, believe it or not. I will put pictures on hopefully tomorrow, and you'll be able to see for yourself. We really didn't have any crazy adventures this time like we had going to Amalfi, but our hotel was pretty funny. My friend, Maria, thought she had booked a three-star hotel, but she had actually booked a one-star hotel. We figured this out when we walked into our room and the shower was literally out in the room, with barely fogged windows. Good thing we were three girls and three friends!
Other than the shower thing, we absolutely loved our one-star hotel. It was up on a hill above Sestri Lavante, hidden by lots and lots of greenery. The couple that owns it runs it more like a bed and breakfast. They are totally hippy-ish and they have a fully functioning restaurant down below the main story. Instead of going out for dinner there, we just ate the food at the restaurant, which was fantastic! The lady turned on the reggae for us, lit candles out of wine bottles and brought us out extra bread. We think her husband, who made all the food, is American (like maybe from NYC), so they both speak pretty good English- he better than she. When she found out that we were studying Italian, she spoke to us pretty much in Italian, but she was able to tell us the necessary things in English.
We really only had one day in Cinque Terre, and we spent the majority of it hiking from village to village. We hiked from the southernmost town, Riomaggiore, up to the fourth town, Vernazza, and then took a train from Vernazza to the fifth town, Monterosso. I know, we wimped out, but we still felt like we accomplished a lot. We started hiking at 12:30 and ended around 5:30, with about an hour for lunch up on a cliff in Corneglia, the third town, where we ate swordfish and insalata di mare (literally salad of the sea, but actually a mix of sea creatures). The hikes from the first town to the second town and the second to the third town were pretty easy. But the hike from the third town to the fourth town was pretty intense. Lots of very, very steep inclines and steps. I have minor shin splints now, but it was worth it. Every view was breathtaking! Imagine the bluest sea ever and the greenest leaves with the sheerest cliffs. When we got back to the hotel, we ate dinner and then just crashed. We were all in bed by 11 pm- pretty early for college students!
There ended up being only three of us because a lot of our friends decided to go to Venice for a huge concert that was supposed to have had Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, the Killers, Incubus, My Chemical Romance and lots more. I say was supposed to have had because there was a storm on Friday, two days after the concert had started. It rained and hailed and about three fourths of the staging and sound equipment fell on the crowds. I've heard that 26 people are in the hospital and 2 are in critical condition. The concert, I think, was pretty much canceled. My friends either hung out in Venice or went to Verona. Aside from missing the concert of a lifetime, I don't think the weekend was wasted.
The Urban Trekking was pretty cool except for the fact that it started at 9:15 am :) Regularly school starts at 9, but it would be nice to have a day to sleep in every once in awhile. Anyway, our first stop was at a leather binding shop where we watched two people beat, cut, and stain leather and then bind it into a little journal. Our second stop was at a ceramics shop where a woman hand paints and fires beautiful stuff with the Italian countryside all over it. Then we went to a weaving shop where table runners are made with old mechanical looms. The last place was a gelato shop which is considered to have the best gelato in town. It was not the Perugina factory (sniff sniff!) but it was acceptable (anything with chocolate is acceptable). They talked about making their own gelato and their chocolate truffles. We didn't get to see them make anything but it was still neat to hear about. I can confirm the part about the best gelato!
Buona serata, Ellie
Other than the shower thing, we absolutely loved our one-star hotel. It was up on a hill above Sestri Lavante, hidden by lots and lots of greenery. The couple that owns it runs it more like a bed and breakfast. They are totally hippy-ish and they have a fully functioning restaurant down below the main story. Instead of going out for dinner there, we just ate the food at the restaurant, which was fantastic! The lady turned on the reggae for us, lit candles out of wine bottles and brought us out extra bread. We think her husband, who made all the food, is American (like maybe from NYC), so they both speak pretty good English- he better than she. When she found out that we were studying Italian, she spoke to us pretty much in Italian, but she was able to tell us the necessary things in English.
We really only had one day in Cinque Terre, and we spent the majority of it hiking from village to village. We hiked from the southernmost town, Riomaggiore, up to the fourth town, Vernazza, and then took a train from Vernazza to the fifth town, Monterosso. I know, we wimped out, but we still felt like we accomplished a lot. We started hiking at 12:30 and ended around 5:30, with about an hour for lunch up on a cliff in Corneglia, the third town, where we ate swordfish and insalata di mare (literally salad of the sea, but actually a mix of sea creatures). The hikes from the first town to the second town and the second to the third town were pretty easy. But the hike from the third town to the fourth town was pretty intense. Lots of very, very steep inclines and steps. I have minor shin splints now, but it was worth it. Every view was breathtaking! Imagine the bluest sea ever and the greenest leaves with the sheerest cliffs. When we got back to the hotel, we ate dinner and then just crashed. We were all in bed by 11 pm- pretty early for college students!
There ended up being only three of us because a lot of our friends decided to go to Venice for a huge concert that was supposed to have had Aerosmith, Pearl Jam, the Killers, Incubus, My Chemical Romance and lots more. I say was supposed to have had because there was a storm on Friday, two days after the concert had started. It rained and hailed and about three fourths of the staging and sound equipment fell on the crowds. I've heard that 26 people are in the hospital and 2 are in critical condition. The concert, I think, was pretty much canceled. My friends either hung out in Venice or went to Verona. Aside from missing the concert of a lifetime, I don't think the weekend was wasted.
The Urban Trekking was pretty cool except for the fact that it started at 9:15 am :) Regularly school starts at 9, but it would be nice to have a day to sleep in every once in awhile. Anyway, our first stop was at a leather binding shop where we watched two people beat, cut, and stain leather and then bind it into a little journal. Our second stop was at a ceramics shop where a woman hand paints and fires beautiful stuff with the Italian countryside all over it. Then we went to a weaving shop where table runners are made with old mechanical looms. The last place was a gelato shop which is considered to have the best gelato in town. It was not the Perugina factory (sniff sniff!) but it was acceptable (anything with chocolate is acceptable). They talked about making their own gelato and their chocolate truffles. We didn't get to see them make anything but it was still neat to hear about. I can confirm the part about the best gelato!
Buona serata, Ellie
giovedì 14 giugno 2007
One of the most frustrating things about being in Italy and learning so much Italian so fast is that I have (hopefully temporarily) to think quickly in French. Before coming here, I was able to translate English into French pretty easily in my head and if I ever thought in a different language, it would be French, not Italian. However now that I've been here for four weeks and have rarely heard French, I mix the two up so much! Last night I was talking with an Italian who is learning French and actually has a French exam today. We wanted to talk in French, but I couldn't pull the words to the fore of my mind quick enough to have even the simplest conversation! Maybe only other people who know multiple languages can relate, but I thought I would write about what, for me, has been a strange experience.
Today we had our midterm, which went well I think. In our second class today, we went to a cafe for about an hour because we learned about the Italian coffee culture. Did you know that it is unheard of for an Italian to have a cappuccino after breakfast? Italians can always tell who the stranieri (foreigners) are, or at least the Americans, because we will drink a cappuccino at any time of the day. The rest of the time Italians drink espresso. They will even take espresso after a dinner complete with wine and a digestivo because they think that coffee is the magical elixir of life- it helps one get up in the morning, it helps one go to bed at night, and it keeps one healthy. I can't understand this at all, seeing as I don't even drink coffee.
Tomorrow we have an "Urban Trekking" activity with Umbra Institute. We will be walking around Perugia going to various workshops and monuments here. It should be interesting. I think I'm looking forward to the Perugina Chocolate Factory the most! If you see Perugia Chocolate in the United States (I think it is now carried at Whole Foods and Central Market), try it!! It's so good! The most famous product is Baci (kisses), which are individually wrapped chocolates with a hazelnut filling. Mmmmmm!!!! These were actually predecessors to Hershey's Kisses. I'll let you know more after I have visited the factory.
After we trek, four of us girls will head to Cinque Terre on the west coast of Italy. It means, literally, five lands, and there is a path along the cliffs (and from what I've heard, RIGHT along the cliffs) that takes you from village to village. The entire hike should take about 6 hours, and we're up for it. Our goals is to see all five villages and then jump into the Mediterranean for a refresher, and then we'll take the train back to the town we're staying in , Sestri Levante, which is a couple of kilometers north of Cinque Terre. I'm really excited!
Ciao! -Ellie
Today we had our midterm, which went well I think. In our second class today, we went to a cafe for about an hour because we learned about the Italian coffee culture. Did you know that it is unheard of for an Italian to have a cappuccino after breakfast? Italians can always tell who the stranieri (foreigners) are, or at least the Americans, because we will drink a cappuccino at any time of the day. The rest of the time Italians drink espresso. They will even take espresso after a dinner complete with wine and a digestivo because they think that coffee is the magical elixir of life- it helps one get up in the morning, it helps one go to bed at night, and it keeps one healthy. I can't understand this at all, seeing as I don't even drink coffee.
Tomorrow we have an "Urban Trekking" activity with Umbra Institute. We will be walking around Perugia going to various workshops and monuments here. It should be interesting. I think I'm looking forward to the Perugina Chocolate Factory the most! If you see Perugia Chocolate in the United States (I think it is now carried at Whole Foods and Central Market), try it!! It's so good! The most famous product is Baci (kisses), which are individually wrapped chocolates with a hazelnut filling. Mmmmmm!!!! These were actually predecessors to Hershey's Kisses. I'll let you know more after I have visited the factory.
After we trek, four of us girls will head to Cinque Terre on the west coast of Italy. It means, literally, five lands, and there is a path along the cliffs (and from what I've heard, RIGHT along the cliffs) that takes you from village to village. The entire hike should take about 6 hours, and we're up for it. Our goals is to see all five villages and then jump into the Mediterranean for a refresher, and then we'll take the train back to the town we're staying in , Sestri Levante, which is a couple of kilometers north of Cinque Terre. I'm really excited!
Ciao! -Ellie
mercoledì 13 giugno 2007
Yesterday, my friend Caleb and I made a list of things that we really really miss from the United States. Some of the things we miss are obvious, like steak and tex-mex, but some are things you wouldn't think of immediately. Here they are:
-dryers
-BIG washing machines that wash in less than 30 minutes
-pancakes with maple syrup
-Fahrenheit
-ice
-real cars (not these little toy cars they have here!)
-normal keys (we all have skeleton keys)
-good showers (the showers here are tiny and they leak all over the floor)
-queen size beds (or at least normal size twin beds- the beds here are for twigs)
-real breakfast (not just a chocolate croissant and an espresso)
-cheap cell phone calls (calls to the U.S. are 50 cents a minute)
-the US Dollar (not this expensive Euro thing)
-big, COLD refrigerators (it seems like the fridges here don't actually refrigerate)
-microwaves
-normal plugs (we have to use converters that don't always work)
-wireless
-shopping malls and supermarkets (like Target, HEB and Albertson's)
-movies in English (that AREN'T dubbed)
-big TVS with lots of channels
-cheddar cheese
-1% milk
-ketchup
-ranch dressing
-Caesar salad
-salad in general (we've only had like 2 salads)
-gallons
-pounds
-dishwashers that work
-41 cent stamps (we have to pay 85 cents to send letters to the US)
-sticker stamps (NOT lick-able)
-free nights and weekends (for cell phones)
-Kleenex
-cheesecake
-swimming pools
-electricity (that works)
-meat (we eat so much pasta here, we just want plain old meat)
-veggies (same as above)
-English instructions
-soft toilet paper
-trucks
-American movies
I'm loving it here, but there are a lot of American commodities that I really miss. I bet when I get to the United States I'll be missing some things about Italy, too. The grass is always greener on the other side!!! :)
Ciao! -Ellie
-dryers
-BIG washing machines that wash in less than 30 minutes
-pancakes with maple syrup
-Fahrenheit
-ice
-real cars (not these little toy cars they have here!)
-normal keys (we all have skeleton keys)
-good showers (the showers here are tiny and they leak all over the floor)
-queen size beds (or at least normal size twin beds- the beds here are for twigs)
-real breakfast (not just a chocolate croissant and an espresso)
-cheap cell phone calls (calls to the U.S. are 50 cents a minute)
-the US Dollar (not this expensive Euro thing)
-big, COLD refrigerators (it seems like the fridges here don't actually refrigerate)
-microwaves
-normal plugs (we have to use converters that don't always work)
-wireless
-shopping malls and supermarkets (like Target, HEB and Albertson's)
-movies in English (that AREN'T dubbed)
-big TVS with lots of channels
-cheddar cheese
-1% milk
-ketchup
-ranch dressing
-Caesar salad
-salad in general (we've only had like 2 salads)
-gallons
-pounds
-dishwashers that work
-41 cent stamps (we have to pay 85 cents to send letters to the US)
-sticker stamps (NOT lick-able)
-free nights and weekends (for cell phones)
-Kleenex
-cheesecake
-swimming pools
-electricity (that works)
-meat (we eat so much pasta here, we just want plain old meat)
-veggies (same as above)
-English instructions
-soft toilet paper
-trucks
-American movies
I'm loving it here, but there are a lot of American commodities that I really miss. I bet when I get to the United States I'll be missing some things about Italy, too. The grass is always greener on the other side!!! :)
Ciao! -Ellie
lunedì 11 giugno 2007
After a hectic train ride, we arrived in the beautiful coastal town of Amalfi. Although it's a little touristy and hence overpriced, we managed to have a relaxing time.
We left on the train from Perugia at 8:40 Thursday night. We planned on having a lay-over in Rome from 1 am till 6:45 during which we would hang out and nap in Roma Termini, the Rome train station. But we didn't realize two things: 1) we would have to change trains in Tarantola, a town that exists solely because there is a train station at which people going from Perugia to Rome switch trains, and 2) that Roma Termini closes from 1 am till 4:30 am. When we got to Tarantola, the train-guy ran through our car yelling "Vuoi andare a Roma (You want to go to Rome)" or something like that and we just kind of sat there while the few remaining people on the train hurried off. After a few minutes we realized we were the only people on the train. Then the train-guy walked by outside with his bags and happened to see us in the train. He told us that we missed the train to Rome that had just left and that we had about an hour and a half till the next one. So we hung out for an hour and a half in a town whose only purpose is to have a train station.
When we got to Rome, at 1 am, we got kicked out of the train station because it was closing! Luckily, our fellow TCU student, Rachael, had stayed at a hostel in Rome before the trip, so she called a guy who worked there and we were able to hang out there for a little while, but we couldn't have beds unless we paid the whole $25. We didn't think that was worth is seeing that we would only be there for a few hours. So my friend Maria from TCU called a friend she had in Rome and we were given a place to nap for about 2 hours. We fit 5 girls into 2 single beds and a single futon (somehow I, the smallest one, got my own bed). It was a fun time let me tell you. But being able to have a full day in Amalfi was worth it, plus we have a story.
When we got to Amalfi, after an hour-long winding bus ride, we immediately dropped our bags at the hotel and headed for the beach. The closest beach was 400 stairs down the side of a cliff, so down we went. We were five of about 20 people on the beach, and we were the only Americans. It was so relaxing! The water was so blue and the cliffs were amazing. The water was pretty cold but not so cold that you couldn't enjoy it. After laying out and heating up for awhile, we took a dip and we were totally refreshed.
The next day we decided to go to a more touristy beach that was in between our hotel and the hotel of our friends and that also did not involve 400 steps. The beach, of course, was not as nice, but it sufficed.
Amalfi is known for it's gargantuan lemons that are used to make Limoncello, an after dinner digestivo, a liqueur served in small quantities that's supposed to help you digest your food. It's really good and it was especially good there. All of the restaurants serve it (usually for free) after meals.
To go back to the train station, we chose to take a ferry instead of the bus. The view was fantastic, and it didn't make my friend Camille sick! We had another short stop in Roma Termini, where my friends payed $10 for McDonald's. I won't let myself buy or eat any American food like that while I'm here. I've only had a couple of Pringles, and I intend to keep it that way. But it was such torture having to sit in the same train compartment smelling their fries!!!
I just had an Umbrian specialties tasting session, which included salami, wild boar sausage, peccorino and parmaggiano cheeses, olive oil and bread and red wine. It was really good, and all of it was made locally. Tonight we have a wine tasting session, after which my roommates and I are making breakfast burritos with Italian sausage and Italian tortilla-type-things. We'll see how it goes!
Buona serata, Ellie
We left on the train from Perugia at 8:40 Thursday night. We planned on having a lay-over in Rome from 1 am till 6:45 during which we would hang out and nap in Roma Termini, the Rome train station. But we didn't realize two things: 1) we would have to change trains in Tarantola, a town that exists solely because there is a train station at which people going from Perugia to Rome switch trains, and 2) that Roma Termini closes from 1 am till 4:30 am. When we got to Tarantola, the train-guy ran through our car yelling "Vuoi andare a Roma (You want to go to Rome)" or something like that and we just kind of sat there while the few remaining people on the train hurried off. After a few minutes we realized we were the only people on the train. Then the train-guy walked by outside with his bags and happened to see us in the train. He told us that we missed the train to Rome that had just left and that we had about an hour and a half till the next one. So we hung out for an hour and a half in a town whose only purpose is to have a train station.
When we got to Rome, at 1 am, we got kicked out of the train station because it was closing! Luckily, our fellow TCU student, Rachael, had stayed at a hostel in Rome before the trip, so she called a guy who worked there and we were able to hang out there for a little while, but we couldn't have beds unless we paid the whole $25. We didn't think that was worth is seeing that we would only be there for a few hours. So my friend Maria from TCU called a friend she had in Rome and we were given a place to nap for about 2 hours. We fit 5 girls into 2 single beds and a single futon (somehow I, the smallest one, got my own bed). It was a fun time let me tell you. But being able to have a full day in Amalfi was worth it, plus we have a story.
When we got to Amalfi, after an hour-long winding bus ride, we immediately dropped our bags at the hotel and headed for the beach. The closest beach was 400 stairs down the side of a cliff, so down we went. We were five of about 20 people on the beach, and we were the only Americans. It was so relaxing! The water was so blue and the cliffs were amazing. The water was pretty cold but not so cold that you couldn't enjoy it. After laying out and heating up for awhile, we took a dip and we were totally refreshed.
The next day we decided to go to a more touristy beach that was in between our hotel and the hotel of our friends and that also did not involve 400 steps. The beach, of course, was not as nice, but it sufficed.
Amalfi is known for it's gargantuan lemons that are used to make Limoncello, an after dinner digestivo, a liqueur served in small quantities that's supposed to help you digest your food. It's really good and it was especially good there. All of the restaurants serve it (usually for free) after meals.
To go back to the train station, we chose to take a ferry instead of the bus. The view was fantastic, and it didn't make my friend Camille sick! We had another short stop in Roma Termini, where my friends payed $10 for McDonald's. I won't let myself buy or eat any American food like that while I'm here. I've only had a couple of Pringles, and I intend to keep it that way. But it was such torture having to sit in the same train compartment smelling their fries!!!
I just had an Umbrian specialties tasting session, which included salami, wild boar sausage, peccorino and parmaggiano cheeses, olive oil and bread and red wine. It was really good, and all of it was made locally. Tonight we have a wine tasting session, after which my roommates and I are making breakfast burritos with Italian sausage and Italian tortilla-type-things. We'll see how it goes!
Buona serata, Ellie
giovedì 7 giugno 2007
I have learned a new lesson here in Italy. Italian dishwashers should not be trusted. The two words just don't go together. The other day we had our landlady come over to help us with our washing machine (which we had somehow managed to fill with stale water and couldn't drain). After we learned how to use our washing machine, we asked about the dishwasher. She turned a knob under the sink to open up a pipe so the dishwasher could have water. Then she showed us basically how to use the dishwasher. We left. About half an hour later we came back to a lake about an inch deep, not only in our kitchen but in our hall, our roommate's room and the bathroom. Apparently the dishwasher does not work. The landlady is bringing a new one tomorrow, but I doubt any of us will touch it because, as I have said, we have learned a lesson about Italian dishwashers.
The lateria, the milk shop, is now probably my favorite place in Perugia. As soon as we stepped inside, the man behind the counter (who only spoke Italian- yay!) brought out a huge bowl overfilling with panna, whipped cream. But this was no ordinary whipped cream. It was fluffy, fresh, sweet and wonderful!!! He let us all try a spoonful of it and then we all got fresh brioches filled with the panna and Nutella. It was heaven on bread. The milk we bought was pretty good too.
Last night my roommates and I cooked dinner for ourselves. We had angel hair pasta (obviously not the Italian word for it, but I can't remember what it is right now), and we made a cheese sauce with mozzarella, a little emmentaler, a little parmesan, sundried tomatoes (the best I've ever had), lots of random spices like basil, pepper and rosemary, milk and oil. It tasted great but it was definitely not a sauce sauce. It was more like a big gooey mess. Anybody know how to make a cheese sauce creamy?
Either tonight or tomorrow, I head for Amalfi, which is on the West coast of Italy near Sorrento and Capri. It's supposed to be beautiful and I can't wait!
Ciao!-Ellie
The lateria, the milk shop, is now probably my favorite place in Perugia. As soon as we stepped inside, the man behind the counter (who only spoke Italian- yay!) brought out a huge bowl overfilling with panna, whipped cream. But this was no ordinary whipped cream. It was fluffy, fresh, sweet and wonderful!!! He let us all try a spoonful of it and then we all got fresh brioches filled with the panna and Nutella. It was heaven on bread. The milk we bought was pretty good too.
Last night my roommates and I cooked dinner for ourselves. We had angel hair pasta (obviously not the Italian word for it, but I can't remember what it is right now), and we made a cheese sauce with mozzarella, a little emmentaler, a little parmesan, sundried tomatoes (the best I've ever had), lots of random spices like basil, pepper and rosemary, milk and oil. It tasted great but it was definitely not a sauce sauce. It was more like a big gooey mess. Anybody know how to make a cheese sauce creamy?
Either tonight or tomorrow, I head for Amalfi, which is on the West coast of Italy near Sorrento and Capri. It's supposed to be beautiful and I can't wait!
Ciao!-Ellie
martedì 5 giugno 2007
At the "Tandem" meeting the other night, I talked to three 24 year old Italians- two women, Mariangela and Marta, and one man, Nicola.
Marta spent last October and November in New York City, and she and Nicola are currently trying to figure out a way to go back for a year. They asked if it was easy to get jobs in the US like waitressing and things like that, but we didn't really know what to tell them. For American teenagers like us it's pretty simple, but we can't really say how it would be for Italians.
Mariangela is from Southern Italy, and she seemed to fit the description of an American Southerner. She likes to talk A LOT, and she was always ready to think of new things to talk about, even when we started to run out of ideas. She spoke the best English, I think because she's half American. I was glad she was there because she got Marta and Nicola (both from Umbria or close to Umbria) to open up a little. With her, I talked a little about politics and religion.
There are three main political groups in Italy- the right and left, which are similar to ours, and the center, which was started by religious laymen. Mariangela really couldn't figure out how to describe the center to us, so I'm still a little confused about it. The Left is in power right now, and a lot of Italians are disgruntled about the opening of the borders. Mariangela said she would rather Italy fix it's own problems first and then try to help the poor people of North Africa and the Middle East.
As for religion, Mariangela described an antiquated system to which most Italians cannot relate. She was raised Catholic and goes to church regularly, but she has come to the conclusion that she knows better than the Church what she needs, so she kind of picks and chooses. She said that she thought the US was probably more religious than Italy, because we have groups that really motivate people to attend church and want to be religious. So as much as Italy seems really religious to us Americans, it's really because this is where the Pope resides and has political influence, not because the Italians themselves are particularly believing.
I did not get to see Pirates of the Caribbean. It is playing at the Italian theater and is dubbed, not at the theater that occasionally shows American movies with sub-titles. We don't want to already know what happens in the movie when we get to see it in English. The American theater is playing 23, with Jim Carrey, which I have no desire to see. Maybe next week a better movie will play there.
I have not really had milk while I've been here, so today my roommate and I are going to a lateria, a milk shop. I am pretty excited for a big (if not that cold) glass of milk. The fridges here just aren't the same!
TCU is paying for our group meal tonight. My roomates and I suggested Dalla Bianca. We actually ate there last night, too, but we don't mind eating there again since it's so good! My friend Brittany had a spicy rabbit pasta dish there last night and my friend Bridget had pollo con le pepe verde al forno, baked chicken with green peppers. I had the penne alla norcina. All were fabulous! After dinner, we'll probably go to Umbra Institute's gelato night. I've been craving gelato all day!
Buona serata! -Ellie
Marta spent last October and November in New York City, and she and Nicola are currently trying to figure out a way to go back for a year. They asked if it was easy to get jobs in the US like waitressing and things like that, but we didn't really know what to tell them. For American teenagers like us it's pretty simple, but we can't really say how it would be for Italians.
Mariangela is from Southern Italy, and she seemed to fit the description of an American Southerner. She likes to talk A LOT, and she was always ready to think of new things to talk about, even when we started to run out of ideas. She spoke the best English, I think because she's half American. I was glad she was there because she got Marta and Nicola (both from Umbria or close to Umbria) to open up a little. With her, I talked a little about politics and religion.
There are three main political groups in Italy- the right and left, which are similar to ours, and the center, which was started by religious laymen. Mariangela really couldn't figure out how to describe the center to us, so I'm still a little confused about it. The Left is in power right now, and a lot of Italians are disgruntled about the opening of the borders. Mariangela said she would rather Italy fix it's own problems first and then try to help the poor people of North Africa and the Middle East.
As for religion, Mariangela described an antiquated system to which most Italians cannot relate. She was raised Catholic and goes to church regularly, but she has come to the conclusion that she knows better than the Church what she needs, so she kind of picks and chooses. She said that she thought the US was probably more religious than Italy, because we have groups that really motivate people to attend church and want to be religious. So as much as Italy seems really religious to us Americans, it's really because this is where the Pope resides and has political influence, not because the Italians themselves are particularly believing.
I did not get to see Pirates of the Caribbean. It is playing at the Italian theater and is dubbed, not at the theater that occasionally shows American movies with sub-titles. We don't want to already know what happens in the movie when we get to see it in English. The American theater is playing 23, with Jim Carrey, which I have no desire to see. Maybe next week a better movie will play there.
I have not really had milk while I've been here, so today my roommate and I are going to a lateria, a milk shop. I am pretty excited for a big (if not that cold) glass of milk. The fridges here just aren't the same!
TCU is paying for our group meal tonight. My roomates and I suggested Dalla Bianca. We actually ate there last night, too, but we don't mind eating there again since it's so good! My friend Brittany had a spicy rabbit pasta dish there last night and my friend Bridget had pollo con le pepe verde al forno, baked chicken with green peppers. I had the penne alla norcina. All were fabulous! After dinner, we'll probably go to Umbra Institute's gelato night. I've been craving gelato all day!
Buona serata! -Ellie
lunedì 4 giugno 2007
This past weekend in Florence was nice, if overpriced. I have grown accustomed to Perugia's non-touristy prices for "staples" such as gelato and pizza and panini, so I did not enjoy paying 2 euros for half the gelato I would get in Perugia. But I did have gelato di Nutella, which was probably the best gelato I've had so far (for those who don't know, Nutella is hazelnut chocolate cream that can be put on basically anything- go buy it now!).
I think I said about 5 words in Italian while I was there, so it didn't help me out in the language department at all. However I was able to read most of the captions and titles of paintings that we saw in the Pitti Palace, which made the paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Ludovico and Titian that more interesting.
While in Florence, we waited in line for an hour and a half to get into the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David, waited 45 minutes to climb to the top of Brunelleschi's Duomo, and waited about 5 minutes to get into the Medici's Pitti Palace. All of the waiting was worth it for two reasons: 1) the artwork and views one can see in these places are amazing and 2) out of the three sites, we only had to pay to get into the Duomo because it was la Festa della Repubblica, the day in Italy that celebrates the birth of the Republic and the end of the monarchy. Six dollars to see over a half a century of art seems like a good deal to me!
We had hoped that the Festa would mean lots of Italian nationalism and festivities, but all we heard about was a parade in the morning and the free entry into some national monuments (such as the Accademia and the Pitti Palace). Apparently, the Festa is a relatively new holiday, so it hasn't really caught on in places outside of Rome.
Now for some facts about Perugia, at the request of my grandfather.
-The population of the province of Perugia is around 610,000 in an area of 6,334 km². I'm pretty sure that's not a huge population, but I'll let you do the math. I live near the center of town, so I see a lot of people every day.
-It seems like there are a lot of cars here, and most of them are new. This is because people are just now making enough money to buy cars. I see a lot of Citroens, Pugeots, and Smart Cars. The Fords I see are all European models- I have never seen any of them in the US. All of the cars are tiny and they have to be, since Perugia is a medieval town with very narrow cobblestone streets. Most people walk around the centro, the center of town, because it is hard to find parking spots. Corso Vanucci, the main concourse, is filled with people walking up and down at any given time, but especially at night. Italians love fare la passeggiata, taking walks. In the day there are a lot of adults, and at night there are mostly teens (like at a mall).
-For being such a small town out in the boonies, there are a lot of minorities here, mostly from North Africa and the Middle East. Recently, the left-leaning government of Italy officially opened up the borders to immigrants. As a peninsula without a very efficient police force, Italy was pretty much already open to immigration. Now it's legal. Everyday we see lots of fake Louis Vuitton and Fendi purses, fake Chanel sunglasses and so on. One really has to be careful to watch her stuff (like a backpack of purse), because there are a lot of pickpockets here, and most of them seem to be these poor immigrants or gypsies. Pickpocketing doesn't seem to be regarded as a major issue to the police here, as they recognize that it is the means by which these people can scrape by. Pickpocketers targets Americans anyway, and the Americans will come to Italy with or without pickpocketing, so the police don't really go after pickpocketing. The investigator who spoke to us at the beginning of our time at Umbra Institute said that in Florence last year, it was only Americans who reported being pickpocketed. We just stand out as idiots, I suppose. The rest of the minorities here are usually students at the University for Stranieri (foreigners).
-It seems that aside from the poor immigrants who sell cheap fake goods on the street, most people seem to be at about the same economic status. There are some nicer stores, and some less nicer stores, so either there is a little disparity of wealth or some people are acting like there is a disparity of wealth. Italians will go pretty far to look the best they can and to appear like they have money, so the nicer stores could just be bait for that kind of Italian.
-Perugia is about 3 hours by bus north of Rome, and about 2 hours by train south of Florence. My teacher told us today that Florence by car takes about 1 1/2 hours, but I pointed out that you'd spend another hour looking for reasonable parking, so it's probably better to take the train anyway. Trains run to and from Rome to Perugia and Florence to Perugia about every hour, so it's not hard to get out of the city. My family did it without speaking a word of Italian- if we can do it, most people should be able to also. Since everyone at the Umbra Institute flew into Fiumicino in Rome, they are providing a free bus from and to Rome at the beginning and end of the sessions here. However, I think my group from TCU will leave early to be able to spend our last weekend in Rome, so we'll probably take the train down there. I haven't learned much about other trains here, but since Perugia is the capital and largest city in Umbria it has a decent sized train station with trains that run often.
-Perugia has three colleges- the Umbra Institute, the University for Stranieri, and the College of Perugia, which is the provincial college for locals. This means that there are a lot of people my age in Perugia. But there are also a lot of older people, since families stay put generation after generation in Italy. In the center of town I would say there are a lot more younger people than older people. In the periphery of Perugia there are probably more middle aged people and older.
Tonight I'm hoping to see Pirates of the Caribbean IN ENGLISH (yay!) at the local movie theater. I'll probably eat at Dalla Bianca, the great little restaurant across the alley from my apartment. I think I'll get penne alla norcina- yum! But I really just want a Large Bob from El Rancho :)
ArrivaderLa, Ellie
I think I said about 5 words in Italian while I was there, so it didn't help me out in the language department at all. However I was able to read most of the captions and titles of paintings that we saw in the Pitti Palace, which made the paintings by Caravaggio, Raphael, Ludovico and Titian that more interesting.
While in Florence, we waited in line for an hour and a half to get into the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David, waited 45 minutes to climb to the top of Brunelleschi's Duomo, and waited about 5 minutes to get into the Medici's Pitti Palace. All of the waiting was worth it for two reasons: 1) the artwork and views one can see in these places are amazing and 2) out of the three sites, we only had to pay to get into the Duomo because it was la Festa della Repubblica, the day in Italy that celebrates the birth of the Republic and the end of the monarchy. Six dollars to see over a half a century of art seems like a good deal to me!
We had hoped that the Festa would mean lots of Italian nationalism and festivities, but all we heard about was a parade in the morning and the free entry into some national monuments (such as the Accademia and the Pitti Palace). Apparently, the Festa is a relatively new holiday, so it hasn't really caught on in places outside of Rome.
Now for some facts about Perugia, at the request of my grandfather.
-The population of the province of Perugia is around 610,000 in an area of 6,334 km². I'm pretty sure that's not a huge population, but I'll let you do the math. I live near the center of town, so I see a lot of people every day.
-It seems like there are a lot of cars here, and most of them are new. This is because people are just now making enough money to buy cars. I see a lot of Citroens, Pugeots, and Smart Cars. The Fords I see are all European models- I have never seen any of them in the US. All of the cars are tiny and they have to be, since Perugia is a medieval town with very narrow cobblestone streets. Most people walk around the centro, the center of town, because it is hard to find parking spots. Corso Vanucci, the main concourse, is filled with people walking up and down at any given time, but especially at night. Italians love fare la passeggiata, taking walks. In the day there are a lot of adults, and at night there are mostly teens (like at a mall).
-For being such a small town out in the boonies, there are a lot of minorities here, mostly from North Africa and the Middle East. Recently, the left-leaning government of Italy officially opened up the borders to immigrants. As a peninsula without a very efficient police force, Italy was pretty much already open to immigration. Now it's legal. Everyday we see lots of fake Louis Vuitton and Fendi purses, fake Chanel sunglasses and so on. One really has to be careful to watch her stuff (like a backpack of purse), because there are a lot of pickpockets here, and most of them seem to be these poor immigrants or gypsies. Pickpocketing doesn't seem to be regarded as a major issue to the police here, as they recognize that it is the means by which these people can scrape by. Pickpocketers targets Americans anyway, and the Americans will come to Italy with or without pickpocketing, so the police don't really go after pickpocketing. The investigator who spoke to us at the beginning of our time at Umbra Institute said that in Florence last year, it was only Americans who reported being pickpocketed. We just stand out as idiots, I suppose. The rest of the minorities here are usually students at the University for Stranieri (foreigners).
-It seems that aside from the poor immigrants who sell cheap fake goods on the street, most people seem to be at about the same economic status. There are some nicer stores, and some less nicer stores, so either there is a little disparity of wealth or some people are acting like there is a disparity of wealth. Italians will go pretty far to look the best they can and to appear like they have money, so the nicer stores could just be bait for that kind of Italian.
-Perugia is about 3 hours by bus north of Rome, and about 2 hours by train south of Florence. My teacher told us today that Florence by car takes about 1 1/2 hours, but I pointed out that you'd spend another hour looking for reasonable parking, so it's probably better to take the train anyway. Trains run to and from Rome to Perugia and Florence to Perugia about every hour, so it's not hard to get out of the city. My family did it without speaking a word of Italian- if we can do it, most people should be able to also. Since everyone at the Umbra Institute flew into Fiumicino in Rome, they are providing a free bus from and to Rome at the beginning and end of the sessions here. However, I think my group from TCU will leave early to be able to spend our last weekend in Rome, so we'll probably take the train down there. I haven't learned much about other trains here, but since Perugia is the capital and largest city in Umbria it has a decent sized train station with trains that run often.
-Perugia has three colleges- the Umbra Institute, the University for Stranieri, and the College of Perugia, which is the provincial college for locals. This means that there are a lot of people my age in Perugia. But there are also a lot of older people, since families stay put generation after generation in Italy. In the center of town I would say there are a lot more younger people than older people. In the periphery of Perugia there are probably more middle aged people and older.
Tonight I'm hoping to see Pirates of the Caribbean IN ENGLISH (yay!) at the local movie theater. I'll probably eat at Dalla Bianca, the great little restaurant across the alley from my apartment. I think I'll get penne alla norcina- yum! But I really just want a Large Bob from El Rancho :)
ArrivaderLa, Ellie
Iscriviti a:
Commenti (Atom)
