in rome

looking out from the pantheon • inside pantheon • near spanish steps
On Thursday morning we all headed out on the train for Rome and arrived around lunchtime. We sent the family (3 people) in a taxi to the rental apartment, while Chris and I took the bus, since we couldn't all 5 fit in a taxi. When we got off at the bus stop and walked through Piazza Navona to the apartment, we passed a couple very cute side streets with vines covering the walls, small market stalls of vegetables outside the shops, and homemade pizza eateries. The area of Rome between Piazza Navona and the Pantheon is probably my most favorite, and so when the option to rent this apartment in the heart of that area became available, I was excited to spend time there. It ended up to be a lovely place with very nice touches throughout...and we had a great time exploring a little of the smaller residential streets in this touristy area. After everyone set their bags down and freshened up a bit, we grabbed our unbrellas (as it was a little drizzly) and headed out for a walk around town.

We stopped in a pizzeria for a late lunch and then walked through the piazza and towards the Pantheon. When I knew we were nearing the last corner before the massive structure loomed before us, I turned around to watch everyone's faces as they saw the Pantheon for the first time. I love being with people around Italy who haven't been here before, or haven't seen some of the magnificent sites - because I remember what I felt like when I first saw these things. (And I'm blessed so many different days here to have that same experience over and over). The Pantheon is just so huge and indescribable to me...and everyone seemed to have a great time looking around. Even when we were about to walk outside, an group began to sing a beautiful old Mass type song, which seemed quite impromptu - but it was beautiful and we left smiling. Then we crossed the Corso towards the Trevi fountain and popped into a small church on a corner near the fountain. We continued our "walk through Rome" in the direction of Piazza della Spagna and the famous Spanish Steps. I really like this area of the city, as the buildings seem more colorful and there are palm trees that sprout up on the corners. We'd never walked up the steps, so we decided to this time and looked back down at the people and umbrellas and imagined the Cafe' Dinelli's (from my favorite movie, The Talented Mr. Ripley).

scene on our night walk • Isola Tiberina • fried artichoke
Later we took a walk across the Tiber River into the Trastevere neighborhood for our 9:15 reservations at Trattoria da Enzo. We ate here in the fall with my parents, after having it recommended by Shelley, and we loved the authenticity of the small restaurant, and the true Roman cuisine. Our table this time didn't clear up until about 9:40, but we enjoyed a good meal and watched as people were still coming in at 11:30.

On Friday morning, Chris and I got up and went to a cafe for breakfast and to a tabaccio to buy bus tickets for the family. We had to head back to Florence for work, but we marked up a map, handed the bus tickets over, gave our recommendations for the last 2 days in Rome, and said goodbye. They headed to the Vatican, and we started walking back to the train station, with a couple stops along the way. There were a couple of spots I wanted to see that we'd missed before in Rome that were on our way towards the station; the first being San Luigi dei Francesi church near Piazza Navona which houses three works by Caravaggio. It's so strange to me how you can just walk past random small chapels around the streets, and not even know that (for free) you can go right in and view some of the masterpieces of the world. We then walked towards Via Veneto and stopped in the Capuchin Crypt in a room located beneath the church of Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini. **Photos were not allowed, but Chris snuck some on his phone which he may post soon...you can also check out photos here and here**

It was so strange to see human bones used as intricate decorations in this place. Lampshades made of shoulder blades, door posts of vertebrae, crosses with arms, and even entire intact skeletons of children hanging on the ceiling. Even though this was known as an honor for your body to be used in this way during that time, it's such a stark difference to the way we treat the dead now -and almost seems irreverent. But the more I thought of it, the more I liked the idea that the bodies and bones were used in a decorative and honorary way as this, because it seems to signify even more what the church claims to believe...that the soul of a person lies somewhere else after death, and the body is just earthly material again.

I was hoping to make it to one last church, Santa Maria della Vittoria, before we left to see Bernini's sculpture, Ecstacy of St. Theresa - but unfortunately the church was closed on the mid-day break and we instead just caught our train home. Oh well, it's nice having things to see for our next trip, because it solidifies in my mind that there will be a next trip in not too long...

We talked to Chris' family yesterday and they had a great time seeing the Vatican, Forum, Palatine Hill, and the Colosseum - and they caught the flight back to the States this morning! It was great being able to see them and show everyone around, but now it's several days of recovery for us before we head to Sicily :)

a couple days & then siena

view from San Miniato • sunset sidewalk • park by the river
The beginning of last week brought rainy and dreary weather here in Florence, which halted some of the plans we had with Chris' family. Instead, they concentrated their time indoors and took in the museums around town on Monday, and on Tuesday the sun was peeking through the clouds although the temperature was still quite low. That morning I was able to spend time with a friend from Florida who was on a trip to Italy, and had stopped in Florence for the day. I met up with her and also was introduced to another girlfriend of hers as we chatted over coffee and hot chocolate and then walked up to San Miniato al Monte for my most favorite view over the city. Later that day, with Chris' family I headed up there again and we were able to take in a lovely sunset over the city, as well as sit through the majority of the evening vesper service given by the monks in Gregorian chant.

On Wednesday, the weather began cloudy again, but ended up staying dry at least as we took a bus to Siena. Most people here couldn't believe that we've been here as long as we have without having visited Siena. It was something we were holding out on, as we figured our spring-time guests would like to see too. As soon as we arrived, we could see the similarities and contracts to the "look and feel" of Florence. The architecture was very different, although we found windows and doorways with the same designs. There was much more brick, and darker reddish-orange colors. I hadn't noticed before how almost all the buildings in Florence are plastered or stuccoed, and how little (if any) brick faces we see.

Siena Duomo • chapel inside church • countryside by the city wall
We went to the famous Duomo first and were amazed at the intricate mosaic and marble flooring, as well as the chapels, stained glass, and marble pillars inside. It is quite a stark contrast from the more subtle interior of the Duomo here in Florence. Next, we took a nice walk around part of the city wall, and took in great views of the Tuscan countryside, which was so colorful because of the spring blooms showing up on the trees. We visited the Piazza del Campo, where the famous Palio horse race is held every July, and then went to Santa Maria della Scala museum (which used to be an old hospital) to climb down several layers of earth into an exhibit of Etruscan ruins which were uncovered under this site.

buildings in Siena • Mangia Tower • Piazza del Campo
I was keeping my eyes open for the fresh fritelle while we were there. Remember, these are the "fried balls of goodness" I've been talking about since Carnival - and a friend told me that there was a big vat of freshly-fried fritelle in one of the main squares in Siena. Alas, we found none...but traditionally, these disappear after Easter, so I think we were a little too late. But don't despair, because I did try a couple different treats from the pasticcerie (pastry shops) we passed in the city....including GLAZED bombolone. I'd not realized that I hadn't seen a glazed pastry since we moved, but as soon as we began seeing glazed croissants, glazed buns, and glazed creme filled dough, it hit me...and when it melted in my mouth, I suddenly became very aware that I need to look harder for these in Florence.

peppers on a wall • pizzicheria • pastry shop
By the time we'd made our walk around the town, we headed back to near the bus station is and stopped in one last church, San Domenico. Chris' uncle wanted to make sure that we were able to see the relics housed here...those of the head and right thumb of Saint Catherine of Siena. The thumb is in a glass case which one can get right next too to look in - but the head sits off in a small chapel area, which must be viewed from a distance. Relics are an unusual concept to me, but they are interesting to find and see, whether or not they are real...part of the draw lies in the mystery of the questions of authenticity.

We caught the bus back to town and relaxed over a dinner at home and got ready for our train to Rome the next day...

cinque terre & easter

view of Monterosso from the monestery • church on the hill • St. Francis
Chris' mom, aunt and uncle arrived last Thursday and we've had an eventful time since then. We did a little sightseeing on Thursday evening around Florence, and on Friday we headed to the Cinque Terre to visit the towns for the weekend. We stayed in Monterosso at the same guesthouse where Chris and I have stayed a couple of times before, and took a train to Vernazza for some wonderful white local wine and the best focaccia, which is famous in the Ligurian region. Since we didn't do the hike through the mountains this time, and instead took the train to the different towns, we were able to explore the other villages a little more thoroughly than we had in the past.

Even when we returned to Monterosso that evening we walked up the hill to visit the old monastery, church, and cemetery that overlook the town. We passed a statue of St. Francis who protects the city and seems to be constantly blessing the natural surroundings that make this area so lovable. That night we witnessed one of the biggest storms the worker at the guesthouse said that he's ever seen. The waves came up over the main embankment of the town and the next morning workers were out putting boats back on shore and shoveling sand off the sidewalks. But it was a nice day at least...

sun on the sidewalk • wine bar in Vernazza • Manarola from the tracks
On Saturday we took the train to Manarola, and decided to skip Corniglia as we didn't want to be rushed and also could see rain showers coming down on that part of the coast. Luckily, the weather continued to clear up during the day and we did the quite flat walk on the Via dell'Amore between Manarola and the southern-most town of Riomaggiore. Riomaggiore is similar to the size of Monterosso, and larger than the 3 interior towns and it was nice to find new passageways and even walk to the shore line and look up to see the entire cityscape, which we hadn't done before.

rough seas • Riomaggiore • mare that way
We caught a train that evening back to Florence and tried to get a good night's rest for Easter Sunday. Several people of our group began battling sicknesses of sorts, and are still working on getting over different respiratory infections. I'm just trying to get as much fresh air as possible and load up on the vitamins, as we have so much to do in the next month that I can't afford even a day "out of order". So far so good though...

cart in the crowd • flags flying by the cart • exploding cart
Easter Sunday was a spectacle here in Florence, and something we'd been looking forward to for a while. We got up early and headed to the Duomo for the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart), a Florentine tradition, which has been taking place in the location where we witnessed it, since around 1494. We arrived on the street about 8am and the crowd was already quite large. I pushed through a little and was able to get an okay view to watch the flag-throwing troop doing routines while the church bells rang and the drummers signaled the beginning of the festivities. There was a fire truck on the side for emergencies and the workers finished putting all the explosives on the outside of the massive cart. Promptly at 9am the first boom and puff of smoke came out of one side of the cart, and then we watched for about 10 or so minutes a very impressive and well orchestrated series of fireworks, even with burnt paper pieces raining down on our heads.

A little bit of dodging the rain (AND SNOW) here in Florence, while all trying to stay well with doctor visits, herbal shops and pharmacies - and a visit from another friend from Florida who happened to be in town today for a quick visit - and we're on our way to Siena tomorrow and Rome for the long weekend :)

...I'll keep you posted.

tagged

I got "tagged" last week by My Melange who writes about "Infusing European Culture into your Lifestyle..." to participate in a question meme for a "get to know you better" post. I see that this one is making it's rounds among the blogs that I read, so I'd better get at it and post mine too.

Of course, it was several days later than planned because we're busy now traveling around and having fun being tourguides for Chris' family who is visiting! I'll be updating soon about our trip to the Cinque Terre, Siena, and Rome!

Now, on with the questions...

What I was doing 10 years ago:
I was a senior in high school preparing to move to NC for my first year of college and finally being able to live in the same city as Chris. So, this year is my 10th year reunion...

Five things on my to-do list today:
1. go to the market & grocery store
2. show our visitors around town
3. research about sicily
4. start the laundry
5. stop for a marocchino & bombolone at a cafe'

Snacks I enjoy:
pineapple, nutella on hot toast, cheese on Triscuits, anything chocolate

Things I would do if I was a Billionaire:
Pay off all debt, do an RTW (Round the World) trip for a year, spend time on long-term humanitarian projects in different countries, and probably learn to sail...hey, I have these goals anyway and will probably do them without being a billionaire :)

Three of my bad habits:
1. biting my lip
2. rushing through tasks
3. reading People Magazine

Five places I have lived:
Monticello, IL, USA
Lakeland, FL, USA
Elizabeth City, NC, USA
St. Augustine, FL, USA
Florence, Italy

Five jobs I have had:
Cashier at Publix
Sales for Donna Karen Co. Store
Graphic Designer for Hue Design
Freelance Graphic Designer
Real Estate Sales Agent

done.

Feel free to play along, but I won't tag anyone in particular.

souvenir of florence

stands in Piazza della Repubblica • what caught my eye • our new piece
A "souvenir" we like to bring back with us when we travel is a piece of original artwork from a local artist. We don't buy many souvenirs in general, and aren't much for accumulating kitsch, but a piece of work from someone from that area means a little more to us and is something we can hang up and serves as a memory of our travels. We normally buy pieces at art festivals, markets, or outdoor stalls straight from the artists themselves rather than galleries. I like to meet the people behind the work and buy directly from them, because that experience adds even more significance to the work. Plus, the piece we choose also resembles something of the place where we visited.

When we were in England several years ago I met a lady at an international market who was from Manchester, and she took series of photographs (mainly of texture and color patterns) around the city, then arranged them together to form collages and printed them on canvas that were stretched onto different size frames. Her work immediately stuck out to me and after talking with her for a while, I bought a piece that I thought would fit perfectly in our hallway and had her ship it home. By the time we got back, it was waiting for us and couldn't have fit more ideally in the spot I'd envisioned.

Also, in several other cities we've visited around the world, we've met some artists and together picked out a piece to bring home. Nothing has ever been too expensive, but more than we'd spend on anything else to bring back - but we appreciate having a memory and story to go behind the work on our walls.

I tend to be drawn to pieces focused on color patterns and arrangement of design, and rarely am attracted to realism (although I appreciate this style by all means). I think this is tied to the fact that I'm quite half-and-half when it comes to right/left brains, creative/logical traits, etc. I majored in Business Administration, Fine Arts, and Graphic Design...the type of people that study business and those that study art are quite a different breed, yet I connected with both. This is why I think the art I am prone to admiring and connecting with is that of theory-based design, but at the same time a openness of artist interpretation. I appreciate art for the physical traits: paint that I can touch, shape of the canvas, color compatibility, etc. and rarely find anything past these components (i.e.: you'll probably never hear me talking about the "deep meaning" behind a Cezanne or even a Pollock...because this hardly ever exists for me).

All this to say, I'd been keeping my eyes open for an artist in Florence that attracted me. This is not an easy task for me, although it's one of the art capitals of the world. Most art here is Renaissance style, prints of famous paintings, or cookie-cutter street artists painting Tuscan hillsides that are best marketed for the tourists. Sometime in the fall though I remember passing an artist set up in Piazza della Repubblica that caught my eye right away. I was on a schedule and couldn't stop to look, but figured that I'd see the booth again sometime, as normally the same artists set up in the same piazzas around town.

When Chris' cousin (who's an artist) came last week to visit, we were talking about art around town, etc, and I mentioned seeing some pieces I really liked several months ago, but hadn't seen since...and then, while we were walking around with them on Wednesday I saw the stand again in the piazza! I was excited and asked everyone if I could take a bit and go look. I walked over and the artist started talking with me about the pieces. We spoke only in Italian, and I asked her where she was from and from where the inspiration from the pieces came. She said that she lived in the hills outside town and most of the pieces were of the Ponte Vecchio or the building surrounding that area but were interpreted "through her eyes", and told me about the materials (pencils, water, pigments for color, and cement for texture). She asked me what brought me to Florence and how I liked it, while she arranged different pieces for me to view as I narrowed them down to my 3 favorites. Chris then came over and pointed to the final choice. We left very much satisfied with our "souvenir" of Florence, and it's now hanging on our kitchen wall!

in between guests

Today began our small window of "in-between-guests" period and so we're trying to get things done while we have time. There are several friends I plan to meet up for coffee with, as well as making a big grocery trip, doing the laundry (which takes several days without a dryer), and cleaning the house in anticipation of Chris family who arrive on Thursday.

school sign • our class • view from classroom
Last Friday was our final day of classes after 6 months. It was a little sad to say goodbye, but we had a wonderful group of students and because several people were leaving when we did, we had a bit of time after class taking photos and exchanging contact information. To top it off, it was a beautiful spring-like day, and the view from the class window displayed the new green on the trees. Now we are having to do some "self-study" a little each day because it will be easy to get back in the English-only bubble especially with all of our guests...and we want to be careful not to do that.

We had a good time last week and over the weekend with our other guests. Our only guests before that came back in November, and since that time we've narrowed down even more our favorite "must-sees" of the city. We did A LOT of walking...up the river to Ognissanti church, over the Ponte Vecchio, through San Niccolo and up to San Miniato for the view of Florence. We stopped for gelato several times at our favorite spots, drank a lot of caffe', went to the Saturday market, and sampled many traditional Tuscan dishes.

outside Ognissanti • friends & the symbol of Florence • olive branches in the flowers
On Sunday, we enjoyed the church bells signaling Palm Sunday, and noticed people all over town holding olive branches. On Saturday there were piles of pruned branches all over the outskirts of town, and fires burning the brush on the hillsides. Churches were handing out the olive branches that had been blessed during mass throughout the weekend. These branches are used in this area instead of palm frawns which we're used to back in Florida. We stopped in Ognissanti to view the ceiling painting, and arrived just as mass was ending, so we picked up some branches ourselves. When we returned home, I added them to a vase of flowers we'd bought at the market.

The weather was very on-and-off, and has been for the past couple of weeks, but luckily never ruined an entire day with rain or anything. We're hoping for this to remain true with our next guests, although the forecast isn't saying sunshine the entire time. There is many fun new things we'll be doing and seeing in the coming weeks and I'll try to keep updating everyone...as for now, it's back to doing the laundry...

spring happenings

The beginning of our "spring guests" arrived on Tuesday and it will be an almost steady stream through the end of April. It's been nice seeing friends and family from the States, and although we've just been tour-guiding through Firenze so far, we've planned some trips along the way as well.

This week was also the last days of school - after steady language classes since the beginning of September, we said goodbye today to our teachers and fellow classmates. A break will be nice, but I'm sure I'll be craving more Italian language interaction, especially since we'll be immersed in English again with all our ospiti (guests). The timing was perfect though considering we'll have a lot more time to spend with them, and do traveling of our own.

Chris' family arrives next week and we're going to the Cinque Terre together during the first weekend. Although we've been there a couple of times, it's one of our most favorite places in Italy and it will be great to show it to our guests. We'll be back in Florence for Easter Sunday and we're excited to see all the festivities around the city, including the Scoppio del Carro (Explosion of the Cart) in front of the Duomo. During the next week with them, we've planned to visit Siena on a day trip (which we haven't seen yet) and probably another Tuscan town before heading for a long weekend in Rome.

We have the first week of April free, before more friends arrive for a couple of weeks, so we booked tickets for Sicily to have a small private vacation! Sicily was on our "must-see" list (preferably in the spring) in Italy, and so we are very excited about getting to go. I'd been keeping an eye on the flights on the cheap airline, Ryanair and found tickets for 0.01€ each from Pisa to Trapani...but of course after taxes, etc it was more. Still, we got 2 round trip tickets for a total of 66€!! Since we only have 5 days, we're going to concentrate on the western side of Sicily and see the cities of Erice, Segesta, Palermo, and the small islands off of Trapani! This way, we'll get in lots of landscapes and sights from island caves, Greek temple ruins, medieval hill top towns, and the bustling capital city with all the food, churches, and famed traffic!

In the middle of all of this we're still discussing our plans for after this wave of guests...lots to think about, and a lot of options on our plates. I'm sure I'll be updating everyone on this sometime soon - but for now, it's nice just taking life as it comes and not planning so much. It's probably the "least-planned" I've ever been in my life (at least for big decisions), and it is kind of nice - and definitely a lesson I've learned to embrace more since we've been here.

festa della donna & a bike ride

mimosa flowers from festa della donna • on a bike ride looking towards florence
I'm a couple of days late, but to all the ladies: HAPPY FESTA DELLA DONNA! It was the International Women's Day here on Saturday, and the city was painted yellow...no, not really, but yellow flowers were everywhere celebrating the "day of women". Mimosas, the flower signifying the end of winter and beginning of spring have been blooming on many trees on the hillsides, and Saturday was the day that they were cut and given to women of all ages.

Chris and I got up and headed to the market like every Saturday and passed lots of flower stands with mimosa...mimosa bouquets, mimosa label sprigs, small branches of mimosa with ribbon. We picked out a small bunch wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. I liked the simplicity of our choice (or rather, my choice) :) Almost every female we passed had a branch or bouquet in hand or a small sprig pinned on her shirt. I put a small piece on my jacket and smiled as we approached the market. A lot of the vendors had small plants on their tables and were giving out flowers to the women passing by.

We stopped in our Saturday-morning bar for a caffe' and the barista gave me a piece of chocolate and wished me a happy women's day! Chris mentioned that this was my first "Women's Day" experience (at least to the extent that it's celebrated in Italy), and asked if there was anything in particular about women that this day celebrates, and the barista (*take a second and imagine as I try to vividly explain this common Italian hand motion) turned his palms upward with elbows bent, while touching his thumbs together with his other fingertips, shook his hands up and down and also made small circles outward as he searched for the words...but ended up just saying "eeehh, boh! E' una festa della donna!" (Um, I don't know...it's a celebration of the women!). We all chuckled.

I put the mimosa branch in water when we got home and hope they last for a while!

On Sunday, the city of Firenze held another "dominica ecologica" like they had several months ago. No cars (except police, certain taxis, and buses) were allowed in the center. It was to promote a more ecological day against pollution that is damaging the monuments downtown. We enjoyed taking a super long bike ride all around town and even stopped for a snack at the Lent market at Cascine Park like last Sunday.

Now we're gearing up for busy weeks ahead, as spring guests begin arriving tomorrow... I'm sure I'll have lots of fun things to share as we travel around with our friends and family who are coming to visit...

market finds & miscuglio

our market finds: raddichio rosso & round zucchini as well as pineapple which is so cheap now, and a grassy plant
When we go to the market on Saturday mornings, I like to see what new and different produce selections are showing up on the tables. Every now and then we'll pick out something that we've never seen before and I'll research what it is after we get home to get an idea about the best way to prepare it - or I'll just make something up.

Normally, most of my cooking is in the style "miscuglio". No, this isn't an Italian word...just a fancy (or at least strange-sounding) English word for "mixture, concoction, melting pot" of sorts. I've decided that the recipes (of my own) that I post from now on will be written in the exact way that I prepare them...which is very random and "throw-it-in-because-we-have-a-little-left-lying-around" kind of preparation. I can happily say (and Chris can vouch for me) that 9.5 times out of 10 the final product is really quite good.

Since we've been in Italy I've made many types of risotto (creamy leek, marsala and coconut, broccoli and pecorino, carrot pea white wine cream, chive curry, etc), pasta (pesto tortellini, gnocchi with tartufo creme, farfalle with pecorino pomodoro, walnut creme and linguini...), and soups (pappa al pomodoro, ceci & pasta, rice and mixed veggies, creamy squash, 3-bean, broccoli cream...). Most of the time our dinner consists of the ingredients we have left in the kitchen, since our shopping trips are much smaller (due to only bike-space in transport) and more frequent (our fridge is small, and food is fresher). We normally always have a random assortment of the market veggies, as well as a type of cheese we picked out for the week, and alwyas a staple like rice, beans, or pasta.

Even though it sounds like it could get a little boring, there's always something new to throw in the mix. This past Saturday we picked up a couple new products: radicchio rosso and tondo di Piancenza (a round type of zucchini). I wasn't sure how to really prepare the radicchio, but made something up and it turned into something very tasty. They had a little bitter bite to them, but sauteed, ended up adding a smooth taste of "something different" to the dish.

Here's the recipe "Erin-style" :
Creamy Pasta with Raddichio Rosso & Leek

Cut 1 head radicchio into inch-long pieces
Thinly cut a leek crossways to equal a small handful
Chop one clove garlic
Put all in pan with olive oil and saute until beginning to brown


Grate probably about 1/4 cup each of 2-3 types of harder cheese (provolone, pecorino, and another Italian type that I can't remember what it was because I removed the wax skin with the name...but whatever you like) into a small saucepan
Add 1/4cup creme
Grate fresh black pepper and nutmeg to your liking
Add one small dollop of dijon mustard
Heat on low until melted

Add sauteed veggies to cheese mixture. If too clumpy with veggies, add a quick pour of milk to thin out the sauce.

Boil salted water and add any type of fun pasta.
*Now Italians would probably frown on that statement because to them, every type of pasta has its place. Pesto with gnocchi, ragu with spagetti, chunky sauces with smooth noodles and creamy sauces with "pocket" noodles...
I used Mafalda Corta pasta, and it worked out well!

Top with fresh grated Parmesean and ENJOY!

As for the round zucchini, I just borrowed an idea from Michelle at Bleeding Espresso with her Fried Calabrian Prickly Zucchini. Although ours wasn't prickly, it still came out tasty!

on the subject of politics

Politics isn't one thing that I write much on at all, but I thought that at such a pivotal time in history it would be a good thing for me to write about my reflections on the matter. (At least for my own "diary" of posts to look back on personally). *So, for those of you who are bored easily by this topic...fell free to skip :) I promise a lovely post about Italy will be coming soon!

Living in a foreign country during a year where so much is changing in the US, gives a completely different perspective to the day-to-day events. One thing that I can say without any hesitation is that I like not being subjected to unsolicited propaganda during almost all waking hours.

I can remember during past election years how many political ad campaigns ran during every commercial break, how many billboards changed from Oreo Cookies to Vote-for-Me's, and how many bumper stickers, buttons, t-shirts, hats, yard signs, ball-point pens, and airplane banners screamed of different candidates. I can hear the announcers voice quickly spout out the legal jargon at the end of each commercial including the ever-present "I'm so-and-so, and I approved this message." And even now, while living across the Atlantic, I can see and hear these same things...

...but only when I choose to!!

That's the best part. Almost everyday I do a little reading on the news updates via the Internet. I can read the current happenings on the campaign trails, but I don't have to listen to any of the advertising or propaganda if I don't want to. I think it may allow for a clearer idea on what is going on...I'm not sure, but it does seem to make sense. Also, I choose to read international press reports rather than the undoubtedly biased news programs in the US (Fox news is just one example). Even when we were back in the States, we tried not watching too many news programs on TV, but would instead read reports on the BBC or other similar casts.

It's so interesting to hear news about America, coming from reporters not in America (or at least, not American themselves). It is something I recommend for everyone to do. Just like traveling, which opens one's eyes to so many new things and helps break down stereotypes and prejudices (even those a person didn't know they had) - I think hearing clearer news from an outside perspective allows for a broadening of sight as well. I share the excitement with the majority of Americans of looking forward to a change in the coming years. "CHANGE" is definitely the buzz word of this election time, but it's because it's the obvious one to use, since it's long overdue.

An interesting observation living in Europe is the fact that America's strong hold on the world seems to be slightly slipping...being in an economy of the super strong Euro, and reading almost everyday at how American Dollar is falling, housing market is (still) crashing, and a recession is inevitable doesn't lend itself to positive thoughts. Also, in conversation class we've been talking about the different countries represented in our student group, and a couple of people mentioned how Chinese is slowly becoming an extra language of choice around the world (not just English anymore) because we're seeing China's power increase in the world economy.

In general I've found that living away from the US for a bit of time has allowed me to more clearly define the things I think could (and quite quickly, need) to be improved or changed...but also, shown me things that I took for granted, and things I really respect about the ideals of the country...

...but among all the pros and cons, I am very thankful for our system of democracy, and look forward to watching how this year unfolds...

a day in lucca

outside the walls • city gate • view from top of wall
Sunday we took a day trip to Lucca, a smaller Tuscan town that some say is one of the most beautiful in the region. After taking a train from Florence on Sunday morning, we arrived in Lucca about 1 hour and 20 minutes later and into glorious weather. Registering at about 60-63º F, Sunday was the warmest day so far of the season, and the skies couldn't have been bluer. It was the perfect day to visit Lucca, which is known for the (fully intact) fortified wall surrounding the town center with a 2.5-mile promenade on the top of the muro (wall). Sundays in Italy, in general, are quite lazy, with most stores and cafes closed, and people just milling about taking the time-honored passegiata (stroll). The truths of the "Sunday" were told to us in full force during our small trip to Lucca...

Not only were there scarcely 5 small cafes open in the entire city, but being that Lucca is built for the passegiata, droves of people on rollerblades, bicycles, double-seat bikes, couples pushing strollers, dogs, runners with iPods, and lots of hand-holding lovers and arm-linking friends filled the well-equipted open sidewalk that lines the top of the city wall.

promenade on wall • view into center • colorful houses
It was a lovely day for breathing in clean air (something we don't take for granted when we get out of the city), and taking in the view of the surrounding countryside. Lucca itself is a handsome city with lively piazzas, and beautiful, unique white marble churches. Every corner we turned, we seemed to run into another church with a bell tower, and overall it was a quiet town - very different from the hustle of Florence. We sat on the edge of the wall and relaxed in the grass filled with spring wildflowers and laughed at how rare it is that we see grass, let alone get to lie in it! We grabbed some foccacia bread and fruit for our stroll around the city, then peeked down the street where the famous opera composer, Puccini (Madame Butterfly, La Boheme) lived before grabbing a late lunch and heading back to the train station.

church with the unique look of lucca • busy piazza • view from Puccini's street
I'll leave you with a video of my most favorite aria ever, "Nessun Dorma" from Puccini's opera "Turandot" - performed by the late Pavarotti at the winter olympics 2006 in Torino! The last refrain always sends shivers...
*email subscribers will have to view video from the online blog post

Thank you Lucca for your lovely day, picturesque walkways, quiet streets, and your famous son, Puccini!

morning earthquake

This morning about 8:45 we were awaken by a scosso di terremoto (earthquake tremor). I was already in that half-awake, half-dreaming stage of those slow mornings that have no specific wake-up time , when I heard the window panes in the kitchen begin to rattle. This is something that happens all the time as the windows are old and rickety (I've put stoppers in most of the windows to tighten the panes to the frames and so they're not so noisy). In the first couple of seconds I thought it was our loud neighbors upstairs moving furniture, walking hard, (or whatever they do) earlier than normal - but then the walls and our entire bed shook.

Chris and I simultaneously said, "Did you feel that?!", and I said that I thought it had to have been an earthquake. So weird. I've never experienced an earthquake ever in my life, and was surprised at how much this one shook (no pun intended :-)) me up. My heart beat a little faster and there was no falling back to sleep. I got up and went to the computer to see if there was any news - nothing. After about half an hour we headed out to the market we go to every Saturday morning, and stopped for a caffe' at our normal Saturday morning bar. I wanted to ask someone if they felt anything so we'd know that we didn't imagine it.

As soon as I began sipping my marocchino at the bar, an older lady sitting at the table behind us asked the barista if he'd felt the earthquake this morning. Chris turned around and said that we had! We talked a couple of minutes about it, but the bartender hadn't felt it and said that it was very strange for Florence.

When we got back home, there were a couple of reports on La Repubblica about the tremors here and also some in Rome which lead to school evacuation (there is public school 6 days a week in most of Italy). We felt another one at about noon.

It's definitely strange, especially that it's my first experience of the earth moving beneath my feet...