Youn is in the room with me watching The Notebook for the first time… It’s so fun to see her reactions all the way through! “No, she’s leaving!” “Just wait Youn,… it gets even better!” What a classic!
Okay so down to business: this last weekend I went to Rivoli Castle (which houses a contemporary art museum) on Friday, Alba on Saturday, and Cinque Terre on Sunday/Monday. Needless to say, it was a great weekend!
Rivoli is a castle outside of Torino, but unlike many others, it has been kept in its natural state (ie not restored to its original state but left rough, aged, and weathered). On top of this historic structure, a layer of modern interventions have been added. It has been my favorite castle ─ such an interesting juxtaposition of old and new. The rough brick sits in combination with a modern steel staircase, for example. The concept of old and new is carried through to the function of the building: an exhibit for contemporary art inside a historic enclosure. Walking through the gallery, abstract, large scale modern art is displayed in rooms with frescoed ceilings that are peeling at the edges, with walls decorated by plaster moldings, and with original stone flooring. The art itself was very interesting, definitely different than what I am used to or what I normally seek out. To non-art lovers, it was merely things like: a circular pile of rocks in the center of the empty room, a mound of sand with a candle on top, a video of a man walking naked down a highway,.. I think you get the picture. However, since we went for my art class, we had an English guide explaining the artists’ intentions and meaning behind each piece, which made it much more interesting to see.
Saturday morning began the travels for Youn and I; we’ve never traveled together before and I really enjoyed her positive attitude and our girl-time. We took a two hour bus to Alba, which is a small, historic, wine producing community surrounded by vineyards. Since we visited on a Saturday, we got to experience the market in the morning that wound through the crowded streets. In the afternoon, there was a wine festival. Unfortunately, it was a very rainy, gloomy day, so the wine tasting was not as ideal as pictured (held in big tents), but it was still fun and interesting to try to begin recognizing the differences between wines (of which I’m still no good at!). Youn and I are both lightweights, so we took it slow and spent the afternoon using our 10 tasting coupons. I found out that I like Moscoto the best, although it’s a dessert wine, so that should really come as no surprise if you know my palate. I bought my favorite Mascoto (only 6 Euros! I love that about Italy… great wine for so cheap) and then we headed back on the bus that evening. We left at the perfect time too; while we were waiting under the cover of the bus station, it started to DOWNPOUR and thunder and lightning.
With the terrible weather of Saturday, we were really worried about our plans to hike Cinque Terre on Sunday. We were going to try to reschedule but would have been charged for our hostel, so we took our chances and headed out early in the morning on the train. It is supposed to be a 4 hour journey, but somehow the ticket-man gave us a bad combination of train connections and it ended up taking us 6 hours to get there! It worked out though; we had just enough time to do the whole hike between the towns and arrived at the last village in time to have a sunset dinner on the water. The hike takes 6 hours (11 Km, 6.8 miles) and has some dramatic changes in elevation (some towns are at sea level, while others are perched on the top of the hills). It also varies widely in the trail conditions. At the beginning, it was a wide stone paved path hugging the side of the cliff on the sea. By the end, it was a narrow dirt trail that wound among the ridges of the vegetated hills. The five towns were all cute and offered a different atmosphere. I think I enjoyed Vernazza the most (the 4th town) for its more lively square, colorful buildings, and picturesque cove with small weathered wooden fishing boats waiting to be taken out to sea. We were very tired by the end of the day and enjoyed a good night’s sleep in Riomaggiore (the first town we started at… we took a train back after finishing at the 5th town).
By the way, Youn just finished the notebook and when I asked her what she thought she got that dreamy look in her eyes and melodically responded, “It’s like a dream…. Where is my Romeo?” I couldn’t have said it better myself; we’re so good at being girly together!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Stereotypes
This was a Journal entry for a class assignment in Culture, but I thought you might be interested in some of my views on the variance between the Italian life style and ours in the States.
Honestly, I think my strongest stereotype before coming to Italy was about the food! And it is definitely different than I had pictured; it has a milder flavor, an emphasis on fresh market ingredients, and simple, natural construction (you know what is going into your food because you are making it from the basics, not from the ready-made ingredients in the States). Until grocery shopping in Torino, I didn’t realize how much Americans rely on prepackaged, pre-prepared foods. For that reason, the grocery store is a completely different experience (and co-exists with necessary trips to the market).
In the United States, I felt Italians were/are represented as a fashion conscious culture, one who values the finer things in life, and takes leisure time to ensure enjoyment. On some levels this has proven true, although, as with all groups of people, it varies greatly depending on the person. I do see a lot of people (especially my generation) assert their own fashion style, indicating their level of concern for clothing. I’ve passed many high-end clothing stores, an example of the financial value Italians are willing to put on personal appearance. I would argue that this appreciation extends into the “finer things” in life as well. It’s common to enjoy a morning cappuccino at the local café or linger over a meal for hours with good friends. In comparison, Americans usually just grab coffee ‘on the way to work’ or make it themselves in the morning rather than take time out of their day to enjoy the café surrounding and the personal service of the local employees. As we’ve mentioned in class, I rarely see people walking with food; even in a busy schedule, time is taken to enjoy the daily activities.
Some stereotypes that I have developed since I arrived deal with driving, males, and punctuality. Although I think that most people view European traffic as very hectic, I was unaware as to the extent. I now generalize Italian drivers as aggressive, intense, and “rule breakers”. This system would be very nerve racking for me to drive in, however I do not see Italians as negligent or reckless. I have actually only seen one accident (involving a bus)! Similarly, I was warned of the forward nature of Italian men, but since being in Torino, I have developed an even stronger negative stereotype. I think a really big part of this has to do with the location and level of interaction I’ve had with males. In most cases, I deal with men while out at pubs, dance clubs, restaurants, or night settings. These locations/activities tend to attract the less “reputable” type of men. While I do understand that, I also get some of the same feelings during the day (ex: on the bus, at the market, walking along the street). The way men openly vocalize, stare, or view a smile as encouragement has definitely been verified through my experiences. Part of this could also have to do with the fact that in the States, I rarely visit large cities and might experience something similar in a place the size of Torino. Lastly, I was unaware of the relaxed view on punctuality, business etiquette, and ‘waiting’ situations. For example, our apartment has been told that we will be getting internet installed since January. In the states, a lack of follow through in a business situation would reflect very poorly on the establishment (whether the hold is with the landlord, the internet company, or other circumstances, I do not know). While this can be frustrating, there are also parts of this philosophy that I enjoy; the laid back approach reminds me to take life slowly, enjoy the everyday routines, and realize that it’s not all about being the first person in line.
Honestly, I think my strongest stereotype before coming to Italy was about the food! And it is definitely different than I had pictured; it has a milder flavor, an emphasis on fresh market ingredients, and simple, natural construction (you know what is going into your food because you are making it from the basics, not from the ready-made ingredients in the States). Until grocery shopping in Torino, I didn’t realize how much Americans rely on prepackaged, pre-prepared foods. For that reason, the grocery store is a completely different experience (and co-exists with necessary trips to the market).
In the United States, I felt Italians were/are represented as a fashion conscious culture, one who values the finer things in life, and takes leisure time to ensure enjoyment. On some levels this has proven true, although, as with all groups of people, it varies greatly depending on the person. I do see a lot of people (especially my generation) assert their own fashion style, indicating their level of concern for clothing. I’ve passed many high-end clothing stores, an example of the financial value Italians are willing to put on personal appearance. I would argue that this appreciation extends into the “finer things” in life as well. It’s common to enjoy a morning cappuccino at the local café or linger over a meal for hours with good friends. In comparison, Americans usually just grab coffee ‘on the way to work’ or make it themselves in the morning rather than take time out of their day to enjoy the café surrounding and the personal service of the local employees. As we’ve mentioned in class, I rarely see people walking with food; even in a busy schedule, time is taken to enjoy the daily activities.
Some stereotypes that I have developed since I arrived deal with driving, males, and punctuality. Although I think that most people view European traffic as very hectic, I was unaware as to the extent. I now generalize Italian drivers as aggressive, intense, and “rule breakers”. This system would be very nerve racking for me to drive in, however I do not see Italians as negligent or reckless. I have actually only seen one accident (involving a bus)! Similarly, I was warned of the forward nature of Italian men, but since being in Torino, I have developed an even stronger negative stereotype. I think a really big part of this has to do with the location and level of interaction I’ve had with males. In most cases, I deal with men while out at pubs, dance clubs, restaurants, or night settings. These locations/activities tend to attract the less “reputable” type of men. While I do understand that, I also get some of the same feelings during the day (ex: on the bus, at the market, walking along the street). The way men openly vocalize, stare, or view a smile as encouragement has definitely been verified through my experiences. Part of this could also have to do with the fact that in the States, I rarely visit large cities and might experience something similar in a place the size of Torino. Lastly, I was unaware of the relaxed view on punctuality, business etiquette, and ‘waiting’ situations. For example, our apartment has been told that we will be getting internet installed since January. In the states, a lack of follow through in a business situation would reflect very poorly on the establishment (whether the hold is with the landlord, the internet company, or other circumstances, I do not know). While this can be frustrating, there are also parts of this philosophy that I enjoy; the laid back approach reminds me to take life slowly, enjoy the everyday routines, and realize that it’s not all about being the first person in line.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice
Nice, France
My weekend trip with Kate and Sarah was my first venture into our neighboring country, France. And the first opportunity to call back my two years of high school French (after speaking both, I still think that French is beautiful; it rolls off my tongue in ways Italian never will). It was almost a 5 hour train journey to our destination, but I love traveling by train. The rhythm of the movement and sound put me right to sleep (practically in a comma… I can’t stay awake and read even if I want to!). The weather forecast warned us that our arrival day would be the best conditions, so we went straight to the beach to relax and soak up some sun. The beaches in Nice are all pebble/rock beaches, so it wasn’t the most ideal except the water was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen such a crystal shade of blue and teal. The wind picked up and it got chilly, so we hurried back to our hostel, changed and left to walk the main shopping street of town; an evening of shopping and I only bought one thing (thankfully!). We had tapas for dinner (small servings of food so you can try many different things… all you can eat of course). Unfortunately, I developed allergies for the first time and was so stuffed up I couldn’t taste anything (extremely disappointing when you are trying new foods. My dinner companions were trying to describe all the tastes to me). To our delight, we realized that Alice in Wonderland was playing in its original format (ENGLISH!). After dinner I took in my first 3D movie experience. The costumes were elaborate, but the movie story itself seemed a little underdeveloped. It was still fun to see a new American movie though.
The second day we ate breakfast at a delicious pastry shop; the best I’ve ever tried. Then we trekked across town and up a hill to an old historic lookout point. It gave a great view along the coast, out into the ocean, and the sprawling city in the hills. The weather finally failed us and it started raining, so we picked a cozy bench under a large tree and watched the rain move in across the ocean and towards the hills. The rest of the day was spent wandering and enjoying the town.
It was the first time I’d stayed in a mixed gender dorm hostel. It was actually a really good experience and we were able to meet some nice fellow travelers: two guys from the states who are attending school in Oxford for the semester. Over the course of the evening, we got to know them pretty well and all went out for a drink that night. In fact, they had to leave early the next morning for Switzerland, but were able to work in a visit to Torino on their way to Florence. It’s amazing the people you can randomly meet when traveling; a reassuring experience that great people surround us every day if we’d take the time to get to know them.
My weekend trip with Kate and Sarah was my first venture into our neighboring country, France. And the first opportunity to call back my two years of high school French (after speaking both, I still think that French is beautiful; it rolls off my tongue in ways Italian never will). It was almost a 5 hour train journey to our destination, but I love traveling by train. The rhythm of the movement and sound put me right to sleep (practically in a comma… I can’t stay awake and read even if I want to!). The weather forecast warned us that our arrival day would be the best conditions, so we went straight to the beach to relax and soak up some sun. The beaches in Nice are all pebble/rock beaches, so it wasn’t the most ideal except the water was absolutely beautiful! I’ve never seen such a crystal shade of blue and teal. The wind picked up and it got chilly, so we hurried back to our hostel, changed and left to walk the main shopping street of town; an evening of shopping and I only bought one thing (thankfully!). We had tapas for dinner (small servings of food so you can try many different things… all you can eat of course). Unfortunately, I developed allergies for the first time and was so stuffed up I couldn’t taste anything (extremely disappointing when you are trying new foods. My dinner companions were trying to describe all the tastes to me). To our delight, we realized that Alice in Wonderland was playing in its original format (ENGLISH!). After dinner I took in my first 3D movie experience. The costumes were elaborate, but the movie story itself seemed a little underdeveloped. It was still fun to see a new American movie though.
The second day we ate breakfast at a delicious pastry shop; the best I’ve ever tried. Then we trekked across town and up a hill to an old historic lookout point. It gave a great view along the coast, out into the ocean, and the sprawling city in the hills. The weather finally failed us and it started raining, so we picked a cozy bench under a large tree and watched the rain move in across the ocean and towards the hills. The rest of the day was spent wandering and enjoying the town.
It was the first time I’d stayed in a mixed gender dorm hostel. It was actually a really good experience and we were able to meet some nice fellow travelers: two guys from the states who are attending school in Oxford for the semester. Over the course of the evening, we got to know them pretty well and all went out for a drink that night. In fact, they had to leave early the next morning for Switzerland, but were able to work in a visit to Torino on their way to Florence. It’s amazing the people you can randomly meet when traveling; a reassuring experience that great people surround us every day if we’d take the time to get to know them.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Sunshine and Friends
I’m going to fly by the seat of my pants and blog OUT OF ORDER… I still need to tell you about my great weekend in Nice, but I had such a beautiful day in Torino that it needs to be shared!
The day began with an early rise to get to the open market (I feel like most good days in my life begin with me getting up early… I should make that a trend). This was a new market that Tara found so she and I and her friend from out of town spent a few hours and a “few” Euros there this morning. Let’s just say part way through I visited an ATM… But they were such good deals! It was a quality market. Among the purchase were bright pink top-sider shoes, white summer flats, summer skirt, flowy shirt, chunky bead necklace… well, you get the idea.
We came home in time to meet at the Borgo Medieval Castle in the park near our house for a class tour. It was a cool place to see (okay well I seem to like it more than others, but that’s beside the point, this is my blog). After leaving the castle, we took the time to enjoy the park and grabbed Kebabs for lunch at a little stand. Probably the best Kebab I’ve had. THEN we finally went back home and had a “fashion show” to show all the roomies our market purchases…. Can it get any girlier than that?! Ready for some relaxing time, we headed to the park to soak up the rays, take a nap, listen to music, and read magazines (I finally got to read my “Dwell” magazine I picked up in London). Returning home in the evening, the neighborhood café was our next destination. And here I sit, enjoying aparitivo (a drink and unlimited finger foods), talking with friends, and relishing my internet connection. We’re going out tonight to hear Tara’s Italian boyfriend DJ at a local club. I think it’s awesome that he’s a DJ and I’m excited I get to hear him finally. He’s been over the apartment several times and is a really nice guy. I love sunny spring days in Torino!
Worthy side note: There is an avocado salad at aparitivo with a light citrus flavor…. Best thing I’ve ever had.
The day began with an early rise to get to the open market (I feel like most good days in my life begin with me getting up early… I should make that a trend). This was a new market that Tara found so she and I and her friend from out of town spent a few hours and a “few” Euros there this morning. Let’s just say part way through I visited an ATM… But they were such good deals! It was a quality market. Among the purchase were bright pink top-sider shoes, white summer flats, summer skirt, flowy shirt, chunky bead necklace… well, you get the idea.
We came home in time to meet at the Borgo Medieval Castle in the park near our house for a class tour. It was a cool place to see (okay well I seem to like it more than others, but that’s beside the point, this is my blog). After leaving the castle, we took the time to enjoy the park and grabbed Kebabs for lunch at a little stand. Probably the best Kebab I’ve had. THEN we finally went back home and had a “fashion show” to show all the roomies our market purchases…. Can it get any girlier than that?! Ready for some relaxing time, we headed to the park to soak up the rays, take a nap, listen to music, and read magazines (I finally got to read my “Dwell” magazine I picked up in London). Returning home in the evening, the neighborhood café was our next destination. And here I sit, enjoying aparitivo (a drink and unlimited finger foods), talking with friends, and relishing my internet connection. We’re going out tonight to hear Tara’s Italian boyfriend DJ at a local club. I think it’s awesome that he’s a DJ and I’m excited I get to hear him finally. He’s been over the apartment several times and is a really nice guy. I love sunny spring days in Torino!
Worthy side note: There is an avocado salad at aparitivo with a light citrus flavor…. Best thing I’ve ever had.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Cheers to London
It’s been too long since I’ve updated! A series of fortunate events has kept me occupied. To begin, let’s go all the way back to London:
I loved visiting London… Not to mention we definitely savored the opportunity to speak english! We split a hotel room (cheaper than a hostel), which ended up being really plush. It was just us 4 girls this time: Katie, Kelsey, and Sarah. Drew was in London for the weekend too, so we met up for Thai food and a drink at the Pub for his birthday (Side note: glad I did not turn 21 while in Europe). Unfortunately, we only had a day and a half for touring, so it was packed with activity. Of course we saw all the major sites: Parliament building, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, River walk, London Bridge, London Tower, Portobello Street (vintage shops), Tate Modern Art Museum (I saw Picaso, Monet, Matisse, Warhol, Salvador Dali, and even more that I can’t remember right now… It was very cool). My favorites were probably Westminster and Tate. And the accents: In the pub, we had an English man telling us how much he loved OUR American accent and the fact that we all spoke so properly. I’d have to disagree with his view, but it was fun to hear none the less.
Our flight out of London left at 6:50 in the morning. It is an hour bus ride to get there, we had to get to the bus stop to catch the airport bus, plus get to the airport early; all this left us with a departure time of 2:30 am! Yikes…. But of course we used our time wisely the night before: stayed up late watching episodes of CSI (had to feed the TV thirst).
I loved visiting London… Not to mention we definitely savored the opportunity to speak english! We split a hotel room (cheaper than a hostel), which ended up being really plush. It was just us 4 girls this time: Katie, Kelsey, and Sarah. Drew was in London for the weekend too, so we met up for Thai food and a drink at the Pub for his birthday (Side note: glad I did not turn 21 while in Europe). Unfortunately, we only had a day and a half for touring, so it was packed with activity. Of course we saw all the major sites: Parliament building, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, River walk, London Bridge, London Tower, Portobello Street (vintage shops), Tate Modern Art Museum (I saw Picaso, Monet, Matisse, Warhol, Salvador Dali, and even more that I can’t remember right now… It was very cool). My favorites were probably Westminster and Tate. And the accents: In the pub, we had an English man telling us how much he loved OUR American accent and the fact that we all spoke so properly. I’d have to disagree with his view, but it was fun to hear none the less.
Our flight out of London left at 6:50 in the morning. It is an hour bus ride to get there, we had to get to the bus stop to catch the airport bus, plus get to the airport early; all this left us with a departure time of 2:30 am! Yikes…. But of course we used our time wisely the night before: stayed up late watching episodes of CSI (had to feed the TV thirst).
Friday, March 26, 2010
Martina's Book
It’s weird to be considered an “expert” in English when I’m used to being surrounded entirely by English speaking people. In my architecture class on Thursday, the professor (Martina) asked me if I could come back to her office and help her out with a project; She is an innovative, accomplished young architect and one of her firm’s projects was being published into a book. Unfortunately, the translator that was hired did a “less than professional” job. Martina is proficient enough in English to recognize that it did not sound correct, but didn’t have the ability to change what needed to be fixed. She was so upset that the years of effort, that went into the project itself and then also into the publication, were going to be wasted by an embarrassing subpar translation. She later told me that she was sitting in class completely frazzled by it, when she heard me presenting my architecture project so articulately and knew that I was the person to “save her project” (her words, not mine). I felt so bad for her; on the drive to the office I could tell that she was really upset about it all. Understandably so, for when I read through the text it was an obvious direct translation from Italian, meaning sentence structures, ordering of words, punctuation and even word meaning were done incorrectly. It was helpful that I have a background in architecture so I was able to understand the ideas she wanted to communicate in the book. In some cases it was an easy fix and in others Martina would wordily explain to me the idea she was trying to express in order to help me choose the right words, adjectives, and phrasing. It was actually a really cool experience to work with her and to understand her project in such depth. They are also going to add my name to the “special thanks to…”-page in the publication. Isn’t that cool?! Martina said she would bring me a copy to class (done by the middle of April). And it was rewarding to see what a big change we made in the quality of the work, although they had to submit it for printing THAT night, so we couldn’t spend the time to make it absolutely perfect. (There was also the problem offending the publisher who had suggested the translator. We didn’t want to completely change around the wording if it could be avoided since the decision to bring me in on the project was Martina’s and not discussed by the publishing manager). I worked at her office from 2pm until we finished at 9:30, but the time flew by. Martina told me that she was just going to have me look at a few of the big things but then when she saw what a difference we were making she asked me look at everything! It was a good experience and I’m glad I could help her out… she was so appreciative and as I was leaving she kept telling me that I had “saved the book”.
Spring Break: Greece!
Spring Break: this is going to be a long one so sit down and buckle up!
It started off on a shaky note; the girls (Jena and Amanda: two friends from college) were supposed to land in Torino Friday morning and then take the airport shuttle to the downtown area where I would be waiting to welcome them. After waiting 2.5 hours at the bus stop without seeing them, I had reached my maximum worry point (they don’t have phones so if we didn’t meet as planned how would we find each other?!). I texted my parents who were able to call Jena’s mom and find out that their flight out of the states had been delayed 8 hours. So 8 hours later I stood waiting at the bus stop again… But they apparently arrived earlier than I had planned and were wondering around the train station, thinking I would meet them there. Luckily, they were able to mime well enough to a janitor/train worker/Italian man and he let them borrow his phone to call my number. So we ended up meeting just fine (with only a few more gray hairs).
Saturday afternoon we visited my cute little neighborhood café before heading downtown for delicious gelato and shopping at the central open market. On the walk, I showed them some of the notable buildings and piazzas of Torino. Then we came home and made yummy pizza and packed for our “overnight” train to Rome. Basically everything from here on out went so surprisingly smoothly (you can stop holding your breath now). The train was fine (and not scary)… we arrived at 6am to Rome so we decided to sit at the station (outside a closed McDonalds) for the sun to rise before we ventured around the city. Our hostel was nice (with computers too). In the two days we were there, Jena and I showed Amanda all the famous attractions of Rome: Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Vatican, Roman Forum, and Coliseum (I went inside this time! It was great to see… very impressive. We even listened to the corny Rick Steve’s audio tour on our ipods while we wandered through the ancient stadium).
With our fingers crossed and our parents worried, we then headed to Greece! We landed at the Athens airport but then took a regional bus two hours outside of the city to Nafplio. It is a quaint little town and was a perfect first impression for Greece. There is a castle perched atop a cliff that rises directly out of the downtown area. We climbed the 999 steps (no we didn’t count, but that’s what the legend claims) to the top where we were rewarded with some great views of the bay and town. It was fun to get out and do something rather than just visit historical sites all day!
Nafplio offers many authentic “worry bead” shops. It is Greek tradition (in the ancient days probably started with a religious purpose, such as the rosary, but now is a secular habit). The beads are “clinked” together along the string and with each unique sound of the beads the owner thinks positive thoughts (“peace, protection, strength…”). After continually doing this (weeks?), the subconscious recognizes the “clinking” and the mind and body receive positive energy from the calming thoughts of “peace, protection, strength…” I liked this explanation the best (others merely described the beads as a way to relieve nervous, worry energy by playing with them). It was really cool to see so many local people actually using worry beads; sometimes I feel like I hear of “traditions” from other cultures but they don’t seem to be practiced anymore. Also, it used to be something that only the males did, but now it has expanded to be used by the women as well.
We also began our “good food” campaign in Nafplio… Greece treated us well when it came to food! The gyros (like pita wraps with grilled meat) and the baklava (pastry made from thin phyla dough layers, nuts, and a sweet honey sauce over the top) were probably my favorite, although the cream pies and Mousaka (dinner dish layered with eggplant, meat, potatoes, and probably some other stuff that I don’t currently remember) deserve an honorable mention. The place we stayed here was so cute! It was like a little bed and breakfast (by far the best “free” breakfast I have ever had… maybe even the best breakfast period). We were only there one night before taking the bus back to the city.
Next was Athens! You’ll be glad to know that we saw no rioting and no strikes. In fact, everyone was extremely helpful and most spoke English (which we were worried about before). We saw all the sites, but of course the Acropolis was my favorite! The view from the top of the hill is incredible and makes the impressive structures even grander. Unfortunately, our time got cut short on the Agora (why would they close at 3 on a beautiful, sunny afternoon?! I’m still confused) but we saw all the big stuff. AND at the hostel Jena got shocked by the electrical plug. She was unplugging her camera charger from the adaptor when it happened (and all the electricity in the room when out). Never had that happen before! (no worries, she took it like a champ… ). We liked seeing Athen’s ancient ruins, but the city itself was nothing special. In fact, it felt like an overcrowded, busy, dirty city (I think the population is something like 4 million, but don’t quote me on that. I know from our view on the Acropolis, the buildings were incredibly dense and stretched out over the hills and out of sight.) Interestingly, there were stray dogs wandering ALL over the city. They’d keep following us for blocks so of course we had them all named.
We ended our trip in Santorini: a perfect, relaxing destination to contrast the site seeing of the other locations. The island is very quiet this time of year, which we were thankful for. This meant fewer shops and restaurants were open, but it also meant that we were surrounded by locals and were able to enjoy the calm of the island without crowds of tourists. The first night we went to the neighboring town on the very tip of the island that is known for its beautiful sunset view, Oia. The views in Oia were absolutely amazing; I felt like all of my pictures should be postcards! We explored the town for couple hours in the warm sunshine before we settled on the cliff edge with a handful of others and watched the sun sink into the ocean. This was probably my favorite moment of the whole trip; the play of light on the ocean, the white washed structures of the town that clung to the cliff edge, the contrast of the buildings against the intense blue of the ocean and sky… it was great.
The next morning at the “hostel’s” breakfast (I say hostel loosely here… it was so nice! They even picked us up from the airport and dropped us off again at the end of our stay) we meet 5 other girls who are originally from the eastern United States but are currently studying in Florence. They were so fun and friendly; we all really hit it off. So that morning, we all (8 of us) climbed down the thousand-some stairs of the cliff to reach the old port. From there we took an afternoon boat tour on an old-style sailboat. Our first stop was the nearest island; it is a newly formed (within the last 500 years) volcanic island. We hiked 40 mins to the top and had an expansive view of the Aegean Sea and the surrounding small, uninhabited islands. Back on the boat, we headed to a hot springs located on the nearest of those “baby” islands. In order to reach them, you have to swim in the ocean from the boat to the spot where the warmer water dumps into the sea. We were told the water was 15 degrees Celsius, but being 8 adventurous girls on spring break, we took the plunge (notably, the only passengers of the boat crazy enough to give it a try). The water was such a cold shock! I started swimming frantically in hopes of reaching the warmer water faster. However, the water was so cold it kept my heart rate down and forced me to breathe in short wheezy gasps. We all made it to the “hot springs” (although I would classify them as “luke-warm-springs”) and back to the boat successfully. What a memory! AND… (Yep still more to this crazy boat adventure) When we docked in the old port, we all rode donkeys back up the thousands of stairs like they traditionally did to transport goods. It was a little nerve racking at first to trust this animal on such a steep and relatively narrow pathway, but it was a fun novelty to have experienced. The whole day seemed like it was straight out of a travel commercial. The next day was a little more low-key. We visited a wine museum where we also did a wine tasting. Then we relaxed on the black sand beach (although the day was not as warm as the others, so we didn’t stay more than an hour).
All in all, I left Greece wanting to go back again soon! It was so much fun to travel with my two good friends and to see such beautiful sites.
It started off on a shaky note; the girls (Jena and Amanda: two friends from college) were supposed to land in Torino Friday morning and then take the airport shuttle to the downtown area where I would be waiting to welcome them. After waiting 2.5 hours at the bus stop without seeing them, I had reached my maximum worry point (they don’t have phones so if we didn’t meet as planned how would we find each other?!). I texted my parents who were able to call Jena’s mom and find out that their flight out of the states had been delayed 8 hours. So 8 hours later I stood waiting at the bus stop again… But they apparently arrived earlier than I had planned and were wondering around the train station, thinking I would meet them there. Luckily, they were able to mime well enough to a janitor/train worker/Italian man and he let them borrow his phone to call my number. So we ended up meeting just fine (with only a few more gray hairs).
Saturday afternoon we visited my cute little neighborhood café before heading downtown for delicious gelato and shopping at the central open market. On the walk, I showed them some of the notable buildings and piazzas of Torino. Then we came home and made yummy pizza and packed for our “overnight” train to Rome. Basically everything from here on out went so surprisingly smoothly (you can stop holding your breath now). The train was fine (and not scary)… we arrived at 6am to Rome so we decided to sit at the station (outside a closed McDonalds) for the sun to rise before we ventured around the city. Our hostel was nice (with computers too). In the two days we were there, Jena and I showed Amanda all the famous attractions of Rome: Trevi fountain, Pantheon, Vatican, Roman Forum, and Coliseum (I went inside this time! It was great to see… very impressive. We even listened to the corny Rick Steve’s audio tour on our ipods while we wandered through the ancient stadium).
With our fingers crossed and our parents worried, we then headed to Greece! We landed at the Athens airport but then took a regional bus two hours outside of the city to Nafplio. It is a quaint little town and was a perfect first impression for Greece. There is a castle perched atop a cliff that rises directly out of the downtown area. We climbed the 999 steps (no we didn’t count, but that’s what the legend claims) to the top where we were rewarded with some great views of the bay and town. It was fun to get out and do something rather than just visit historical sites all day!
Nafplio offers many authentic “worry bead” shops. It is Greek tradition (in the ancient days probably started with a religious purpose, such as the rosary, but now is a secular habit). The beads are “clinked” together along the string and with each unique sound of the beads the owner thinks positive thoughts (“peace, protection, strength…”). After continually doing this (weeks?), the subconscious recognizes the “clinking” and the mind and body receive positive energy from the calming thoughts of “peace, protection, strength…” I liked this explanation the best (others merely described the beads as a way to relieve nervous, worry energy by playing with them). It was really cool to see so many local people actually using worry beads; sometimes I feel like I hear of “traditions” from other cultures but they don’t seem to be practiced anymore. Also, it used to be something that only the males did, but now it has expanded to be used by the women as well.
We also began our “good food” campaign in Nafplio… Greece treated us well when it came to food! The gyros (like pita wraps with grilled meat) and the baklava (pastry made from thin phyla dough layers, nuts, and a sweet honey sauce over the top) were probably my favorite, although the cream pies and Mousaka (dinner dish layered with eggplant, meat, potatoes, and probably some other stuff that I don’t currently remember) deserve an honorable mention. The place we stayed here was so cute! It was like a little bed and breakfast (by far the best “free” breakfast I have ever had… maybe even the best breakfast period). We were only there one night before taking the bus back to the city.
Next was Athens! You’ll be glad to know that we saw no rioting and no strikes. In fact, everyone was extremely helpful and most spoke English (which we were worried about before). We saw all the sites, but of course the Acropolis was my favorite! The view from the top of the hill is incredible and makes the impressive structures even grander. Unfortunately, our time got cut short on the Agora (why would they close at 3 on a beautiful, sunny afternoon?! I’m still confused) but we saw all the big stuff. AND at the hostel Jena got shocked by the electrical plug. She was unplugging her camera charger from the adaptor when it happened (and all the electricity in the room when out). Never had that happen before! (no worries, she took it like a champ… ). We liked seeing Athen’s ancient ruins, but the city itself was nothing special. In fact, it felt like an overcrowded, busy, dirty city (I think the population is something like 4 million, but don’t quote me on that. I know from our view on the Acropolis, the buildings were incredibly dense and stretched out over the hills and out of sight.) Interestingly, there were stray dogs wandering ALL over the city. They’d keep following us for blocks so of course we had them all named.
We ended our trip in Santorini: a perfect, relaxing destination to contrast the site seeing of the other locations. The island is very quiet this time of year, which we were thankful for. This meant fewer shops and restaurants were open, but it also meant that we were surrounded by locals and were able to enjoy the calm of the island without crowds of tourists. The first night we went to the neighboring town on the very tip of the island that is known for its beautiful sunset view, Oia. The views in Oia were absolutely amazing; I felt like all of my pictures should be postcards! We explored the town for couple hours in the warm sunshine before we settled on the cliff edge with a handful of others and watched the sun sink into the ocean. This was probably my favorite moment of the whole trip; the play of light on the ocean, the white washed structures of the town that clung to the cliff edge, the contrast of the buildings against the intense blue of the ocean and sky… it was great.
The next morning at the “hostel’s” breakfast (I say hostel loosely here… it was so nice! They even picked us up from the airport and dropped us off again at the end of our stay) we meet 5 other girls who are originally from the eastern United States but are currently studying in Florence. They were so fun and friendly; we all really hit it off. So that morning, we all (8 of us) climbed down the thousand-some stairs of the cliff to reach the old port. From there we took an afternoon boat tour on an old-style sailboat. Our first stop was the nearest island; it is a newly formed (within the last 500 years) volcanic island. We hiked 40 mins to the top and had an expansive view of the Aegean Sea and the surrounding small, uninhabited islands. Back on the boat, we headed to a hot springs located on the nearest of those “baby” islands. In order to reach them, you have to swim in the ocean from the boat to the spot where the warmer water dumps into the sea. We were told the water was 15 degrees Celsius, but being 8 adventurous girls on spring break, we took the plunge (notably, the only passengers of the boat crazy enough to give it a try). The water was such a cold shock! I started swimming frantically in hopes of reaching the warmer water faster. However, the water was so cold it kept my heart rate down and forced me to breathe in short wheezy gasps. We all made it to the “hot springs” (although I would classify them as “luke-warm-springs”) and back to the boat successfully. What a memory! AND… (Yep still more to this crazy boat adventure) When we docked in the old port, we all rode donkeys back up the thousands of stairs like they traditionally did to transport goods. It was a little nerve racking at first to trust this animal on such a steep and relatively narrow pathway, but it was a fun novelty to have experienced. The whole day seemed like it was straight out of a travel commercial. The next day was a little more low-key. We visited a wine museum where we also did a wine tasting. Then we relaxed on the black sand beach (although the day was not as warm as the others, so we didn’t stay more than an hour).
All in all, I left Greece wanting to go back again soon! It was so much fun to travel with my two good friends and to see such beautiful sites.
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