I'm a jumble of neuroses--some good, some bad, some just plain weird. I love the Iowa Hawkeyes. I'm intensely loyal to my friends. I would love to earn a living by traveling around the world taking pictures. It's a difficult journey to the center of my soul. Several have tried, none have succeeded, and a few have nearly exhausted themselves in the process. I'm not an open book, but sometimes I read like one. I like dogs.
hawkeye on What's up?
InMyLife on What's up?
Mo'nonymous on What's up?
RomaCittaEterna on What's up?
psmartin on Well doggone it!
DJGroovySlug on Well doggone it!
Mo'nonymous on Well doggone it!
Mo'nonymous on Well doggone it!
Olivia77 on Well doggone it!
RomaCittaEterna on Well doggone it!
*BLOG* Jackal
*BLOG* Geekgirl
*BLOG* indigo
*BLOG* The Goddess
Foamy the Neurotic Squirrel
Hawkeyesports
Overheard in the office
today
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
May 2004
April 2004
March 2004
February 2004
visited *loading* times
I couldn't find the shoe store yesterday. Just as well, since my feet are too big for Italian shoes. I ended up buying an Italian leather shoulder bag, then I bought anothe rshoulder bag (nylon) to use instead of my square bag, as it is more comfortable. Then I had to dash home to pack for the weekend. Probably one of my fastest packing jobs. I think i remembered everything, though, so that's good. Then D and I dashed to the bus stop, went to the train station (the other station, not Santa Maria Novella), and got our tickets. We had just enough time to grab something to eat and get to our track. Taking the train was weird--good, but weird. nobody checks your ticket when you get on (but somebody will during the ride, most likely) so if you're on the wrong train you likely won't know until it's too late. It's pretty relaxing, except for the major ear popping when you go through tunnels--wasn't expecting that, but it makes sense. It was dark when we left, so we didn't see any of the countryside.
We finally arrived in Pompeii around 11:20, then we had to figure out where in the world our hostel was because D realized about halfway there that she forgot the directions at home. We somehow figured it out and found it--it was a big gate with a big padlock around it. So we pushed the buzzer and waited a moment. D pushed it again. Somebody came! Yay! It's just locked during the night, which is good. We got checked in, found our room, and found out we had the place to ourselves--2 bunk beds, 2 little closets, a chair, and a bathroom (including shower). Perfecto! We were hungry (at 12 midnight) so we ventured out (which required the guy to let us out) and off we went. We wandered around a bit and went to the restaurant on the corner by our hostel. It was a charming place--the owner/waiter guy spoke som eEnglish and was friendly. His brother was celebrating his birthday in the other room. I had gnocci--good. The wine was good. It was just the house white wine, not very dry, not really sweet at all...very smooth. So I got a bottle. The owner guy gave us some Spumanti from his brothers party and some of his cake. While we were eating the cake the chef (cute, young) came out to chat with the two girls helping out. We told him we liked the cake, and the owner guy said something we couldn't understand--something about the chef being small. One of the two girls spoke some English and she translated for us: The chef is a little man with big balls (complete with gestures). We laughed and the chef was clearly embarrassed--he kept glancing over at us and ducking his head. Very cute. When it came time for our check, the owner guy said "For you, I give you a special deal" and charged us 20 euro for the whole shebang, including the bottle of wine (now somewhat safe in my suitcase). It wasn't until we were getting ready for bed that Dawn said "how much was your meal?" 8 euro or so. "Mine too." Then it clicked 2 meals x 8 euro + 1 glass of wine is about 20 euro. So we just ended up with the bottle of wine for free. Ah, well, we felt special nonetheless. :-)
We didn't get back to our room until almost 1:45 or so...maybe 1:30. We were pooped. 7:30 came to early. So did 8, for that matter, but breakfast ended at 9 so we had to get upa nd get ready. D forgot her towel and toothbrush, so she used brush-ups and her sheet for her towl. It works, and she plans to keep doing for that trip instead of buying things she already has. Makes sense. Breakfast was a danish filled with nutella--yum!! And a drink from the machine (I got hot chocolate with frothy milk). Then we got packed up, checked out, and left our luggage at the front desk while we ventured out. We checked out the church across the street from our hostel--beautiful! Apparently a girl was cured of something by a painting there (and was deemed miraculous) so that's why people go there. Then we went to the ruins, which were close by. We each got a dual ticket--good for Pompeii and Herculaneum (remember this). Vesuvius was awesome. It was surreal to see something I've been reading about since I was 9--I still remember the little book about volcanoes and earthquakes--black on gthe cover, red lava--and my first introduction to plate tectonics, I think. There was a picture of the ruins in there, and a drawing of a family trying to escape the ash. Anyway, the ruins were unbelievable--probably 2400 years old (it exploded in 79 AD, well-established with 20,000 people there) and there were still decorative tiles in place on walls and on floors. We went past the market area. Lots of pottery, bowls, huge jugs, and some plaster molds of victims. I was fine with the molds (as was D) until I saw the one of the little girl sitting curled up with her head in her hands. That was upsetting for both of us (almost to the point of tears) because here was this little girl, obviously terrified, and I could only imagine what we went through. We moved on. We saw a couple of theaters/amphitheaters. I acted something out at the Teatro Piccola (or something like that) and D took a picture. It was really cool that the grooves from wagon wheels were still very noticable in the roads. Oh, and I sprained my ankle (thank goodness for scar tissue, otherwise I'd probably be in pain) on the uneven road (it did sort of hurt for a bit afterwards, as did my foot and knee--my ankle really rolled) but it's okay now, I think.
We made our way back towards the hostel area to find some lunch--hard to do, believe it or not, unless you want a danish or gelatto for lunch. I got a pizza--huge, tasty (probably the best one I had on the trip) for only 3.50 euro. Dawn ended up with a seafood pasta dish. The pasta she wanted was out, and the waiter said they had this, this, and this, and this (the last 'this') was very good. Turns out 'this' was linguine with clams, shrimp (an actual shrimp--legs, shell, antennae), and a little octopus. Dawn hates seafood (as do I, of course) but she was a trooper and ate the clams (they were small), tried the shrimp, and a leg of the octopus. I told her that her bravery was impressive.
Then we got our luggage and wen tup to the train station for the Circumvesuviano--sort of like a Metro or the El for Napoli-Pompei. We go ton for Herculaneum (Erculano) to see the ruins there. Well, it turns out that they stop letting people in at 3:30...we got there at 3:30, and the lady wouldn't let us in even though we already had tickets. We ran into 4 girls who stayed at our hostel--they were leaving as we go tthere. They told us to just go in while nobody was at the counter. Finally we did (I know, definitely not in my character) but of course we got caught. And we got chewed out by the chick. D was saying (I think, it was Italian) that we already bought tickets and it was 3:30, but the chick wouldn't have any of it (I have no idea what she was saying) and D got mad...it's rather entertaining when D gets mad, I'll be honest. She's very nice, but if you piss her off she's not afraid to let you know. So we walked back up the hill to the train station (with the little rollowing suitcase following somewhat faithfully behind me) and took the train to Napoli. Then we got off at one of the Napoli stops (the 1st one) and managed to figure otu (with some assistance) where we buy tickets for TrenItalia. Then we got to our train, where we found a guy getting kicked off because he was trying to sell water and chips. D said he was a Mafiosa (still very much alive and well in Italy). The guy got back on and managed to elude the train guy.
We're sharing a room (or whatever you call it) with a guy--from Africa, I'm assuming, because he's wearing the robe thingy. Nice guy, but a bit of a language barrier...plus he's sleeping.
Almost to Rome now (6:20). When we get off we have to find an internet place because D's book doesn't have our hostel in it and she forgot the directions (remember?). Such fun!! :-) Until later!---
10:20 pm
Here we are in the hostel. Our room has 3 bunk beds, and so far there's one other person in here. Ther eis a cute guy in another room...he's from Australia, I think, such a lovely accent. We saw him as we got back from dinner. He was out having a cigarette, sad to say, but I could listen to him talk all night and day. Our roommate just got in--she's from London, very nice. Lovely accent, of course.
Dinner was good. We wandered a bit after checking in and decided to try Trimani (three hands) based on D's guidebook. Good choice, I think. I got ravioli with spinach and ricotta, topped with a bolognese sauce (it had wild boar in it...turns out wild boar is quite tasty). D had a pumpkin soup with meatballs and mushrooms. My ravioli was sooo good. I could have easily ahd another plate (I was hungry too). I had a lovely white wine...don't know what kind ot was....the waiter recommended it, it tasted good, so I had a glass. For dessert (yes, I'mfinally eating how I should be) I had a pear mousse in a chocolate shell. I had to have something different! It was tasty. The pear flavor hid from my tastebuds at first, but the more I had it the more I tasted it. The chocolate shell was perfect. All i all, a very good dinner.
It's only 11 right now, but it's about bed time. Hopefully I can sleep, since there are people outside talking. I guess that's what headphones are for.
We were planning on hitting the Vatican tomorrow, but the museum is closed on Sundays (except for the last Sunday of the month) so I wouldn't be able to see the Sistine Chapel, which would be a travesty. So we're goin gon Monday, which means we probably won't see the pope. Bummer! But that's okay. We'll still have fun!
Notes:
Busy day so far! We got off to a late start--finally got out of bed at 9:30. No ricotta pancakes for us. But that's okay, because it is a beautiful day! Blue skies, mild (warm in the sun), just what I'd hoped for. The perfect weather meant Dawn and I would be tackling the Duomo. Huge!! 463 steps to the very top. Narrow stairs. It was so worth it. The views are spectacular! I didn't know until we got up there that it's open. There's a fence, of course, but it's only waist high or so. Holy cow! Amazing. Perfect day for it. Stairs are hard for me (knees and lungs) but I didn't care once I saw the view.
Then D and I went home for lunch. I joined her for a bit in her art restoration class. I learned (sort of) how to put a canvas on a stretcher. I didn't stay for the whole thing, though, as I had places to go!
I went ot the Pitti Palace to see the Boboli Gardens. Again, amazing. It was a very small hike up to the top, and again I was rewarded with an amazing view. The sun made everything glow. The terra cotta rooftops looked warm and so inviting (as inviting as a rooftop can be, I guess). The gardens themselves were pretty cool, though the plants in the garden at the top weren't in bloom. Lots of statues and cats (yes, cats). Beautiful. I came across a grotto that was cool, as grottos usually are. I finally found the erotic mythology exhibit, but was 10 minutse late to be let in, so I couldn't see it. Bummer!! ***D saw it the next week, and she said it was very cool...people were kinda dirty back then***
I left Pitti Palace and wandered over to San Spirito Church. I would have gone in, but I couldn't figure out how (seriously) so I putzed around the plaza there, got some tiramisu gelatto (good) and made my way through some side streets (and found a very neat-looking and closed jazz bar) back to Uffizi and the copy of David. I had taken a bunch of pictures of the statues around there on my way to Pitti Palace. Neptune, faux David, Pegasus with Medusa's head, the lions, and a bunch on the Uffizi--Dante, Machiavelli, Galileo, Amerigo Vespucci. And now I'm next to faux David waiting for D to show up.--
--She showed up, fresh from class an dfull of ammonia (art restoration, remember?) and we headed off to Piazza Michaelangelo, where there is a bronze statue of David. This was yet another mini-hike, and again we were graced with another gorgeous view of Florence, this time at sunset (or shortly after, since it takes a bit to walk up from the Arno). Apparently the Gregorians do chantes there in the evenings...I so wish I could see it. We walked over to the church, but it was closed. We saw a little pathway to the side, so we ventured off track hoping to get past the iron gates, but when we emerged we were right outside the gates. Another bummer. We ventured back home an d made supper (ricotta pancakes and fruit and nutella, yum). Then we headed to D's school to plan our trip to Rome and Pompeii. We endedup with reservations for a hostel in Rome for Saturday and Sunday nights and a number for a hostel (and apparently the only hostel) in Pompeii for tomorrow night. My first real train ride! I'm excited. We're sort of planning to see the opop on Sunday at noon. That'd be cool..."yeah, I saw the pope. Where? In Rome!" /Dork
Random thoughts:
-I love that tax is included in the price already.
-I love that bars and restaurants are non-smoking.
-I love that people here usually don't drink to get drunk...they just have a couple of drinks and they're good to go. And there's no drinking age. Amazing.
-Nutella rocks. So much so that I need to never buy it, for fear of putting on the weight that I think I've lost here so far (we walk a lot). Italians just love it, and I really can't blame them. It'd been a while since I had any...so much better than peanut butter (and I love peanut butter).
-I think I walked 10 miles and climbed about 1000 feet today. Great workout, sore everthing.
-Italian guys seem to have a thing for American girls (Americanas). Can you blame them??
The pictures will come gradually, as I am naming all of them (all ~600 of them). But my next journal entry is about the Duomo, so I thought I should give you a look at what I'm talking about.
D's apartment is cool. Frescoes on the living room ceiling. We had a cheese, honey, pear, and walnut tray last night--very good. Pizza wasn't too bad. Wandered around a bit, went home. Then we had hot chocolate at Nova (it was almost like hot chocolate pudding, very good) and tried to find a bar for the Super Bowl party, as they needed reservations and Danielle put herself in charge of arranging things (she's from Pittsburgh). Walked past the Duomo, the Uffizi, the copy of David, and Neptune. Very cool. Off to see the Uffizi today (the inside of it). More rain!--
--The Uffizi was really neat. We saw a couple of Leonardos, Bertocellis (lots of those), Rembrandts, Michaelangelos, Raphaels...pretty cool. The statues were amazing. There was one--the Medici Venus (a 1st century copy of the Greek original) that is considered one of the most erotic statues of the ancient world. The "Venus of Urbino" by Titian (influenced by Raphael) is one of the most explicit nudes in Western art and was described by Mark Twain as "the foulest, the vilest, the obscenest picture the world possesses." That's crazy talk, but I can see how some people could be offended by it--she's very open with her body language, shoulders facing the viewer, her face is a little come hither. But still.
After Uffizi Dawn and I went to Central Market to get a few fruits and some lunch. That was an experience. Turns out I don't like the smell of massive amounts of raw meat (the first floor is basically all meat, with produce upstairs). We had paninis for lunch. Then we dashed home so she could get to class and I had to take a nap...I was pooped. I ended up sleeping for about 3 hours. Then I headed out (alone!) and every so often I noticed a silly little grin on my face..."ooooh, I'm walking around Florence, Italy, by myself!" I was looking for a store that sold mules (of the shoe variety) that I'd seen earlier, but couldn't find it. I did find a cosmetics store (profumeria) and got some perfume...real perfume. It is now my scent. I don't know what it's called, though. But I like it. I kept smelling it tonight and was like "I like that. Wait, that's me. I like me." I also bought my roomie some stockings (need to find her legwarmers) and B a keychain--one side with David, the other with da Vinci's guy--and some postcards. Then I wandered around, didnt know where I was, kept wandering around, finally asked someone how to get to D's street (becasue I had her keys and her class ended at 7 and it was bout 6:40) and it turns out I was headed in the right direction. Yay me! So much walking...
Then Dawn and I went to the supermarket to get stuff for supper. After eating, 6 of us went to Maracana (web site here...click on photos, then spettacoli to see the dancers we saw), a Brazillian club/restaurant. Very cool. They had Brazillian dancers at 11--amazing. The women's bodies were amazing...toned, fit, just beautiful. The men were just as beautiful. So very talented. Costumes were fabulous. Then they pulled people onto the floor to dance with them. D got picked, then Val, then Sara, then me. We just danced in a big circle and kind of did a train through the club--fun! Then the breakdancers did their thing...also very cool, also very talented. Then everybody danced. D went out, then came back to get me, so I went out there. Some guy started dancing with me--not cute, but I didn't care. Then I had enough of that, so I eyed D and she grabbed my hand and pulled me over saying "Just walk away if you don't want to dance with them." I know, I'm just too nice. Then he came back for more, so we danced for a bit, but I walked away in the middle of the song. Then he came up behind me and started grinding. I moved away, he followed, and D pushed him back and said "no grazie." He tried a couple other times (including offering me some of his drink--ha!!) but to no avail.
There was this other guy too....we'll call him Jack, as that's what his name sounded like (one syllable of it anyway). Lord was he persistent! We danced a while, then I said I was going to go dance with my friends. He spoke French, very little English, very little Italian. I speak English and Spanish. Communication barrier! We danced a couple other times, the last time as a "grupo...todos" and I hoped he'd get the hint. No such luck. But he already told me he loved me. I'm such a heartbreaker. We decided to leave, and on our way out we walked past him. He saw me. Dang. If only Sara and Danielle hadn't stopped to ask questions. So Jack is asking me questions (what's my phone number, why I'm living here) and of course I have no Italian number, so he can't call me (darn!) and I'm just visiting. I think he tried to tell me he could go home with me, but I just kept saying no (duh). He said he loved me. No you don't. Like I said, I'm a heartbreaker.
We made it home around 2, talked for a while, and now it's after 3:30. I've been writing for about half an hour. We're planning on having ricotta pancakes for breakfast, courtesy of D. Yummy. Hopefully the weather is nice tomorrow so we can go up into the Duomo--such a cool building! Ciao!--
So we eventually took off from Frankfurt. The flight was supposed to be an hour and fifteen minutes. We get close and find out that they want us to fly around for about 15-20 minutes in a holding pattern...okay. We start the final descent--wing flaps down, landing gear down, maybe 1500-2000 feet in the air--when we suddenly (very suddenly!) pull up, wing flaps go up, landing gear goes up. Oh, crap. Fog. So we fly past Florence, turn, turn again, and end up landing in Bologna. I didn't even know where that was. We landed in Bologna four hours after we were supposed to land in Florence. Ugh. They put us all on a bus and drove us down to Florence. A guy let me use his cell phone to call D, and after about 24 hours of traveling, I said I'd be willing to hang out in Florence Aeroporto if she'd come get me because I was tired of dealing with things. I've had maybe 3 or so hours of sleep in those 24 hours. Hopefully Dawn will get here soon; she had class until 4 and it's just after. Hopefully she'll find me. At least it's a small airport!--
--There she is! Yay!!!!!!!!--
Frankfurt's airport makes no sense. At all. I think the person who designed it is related to the people who design mall parking lots.
The flight over was good...a little bumpy at times, but nothing serious. We had dinner AND breakfast. I made a new friend. His name is J (well, his name starts with J). Very nice guy, lives in Illinois just a few hours from me. Talking to him helped pass the time, and he had a South Park episode on his computer I'd never seen, so I got to see that. I slept a couple of times for about 45 minutes each.
We ended up leaving Chicago late. Our plane was HUGE (it was a 747). 63 feet tall--6 stories! It had an upstairs. The seats were 3-4-3. First class (which I saw on my way out) was beyond sweet. Someday I'm going to fly first class on an international flight. Those guys have it made--so much room!!
It's snowing here in Frankfurt. After finally finding my gate, we (J and I) found out my flight was delayed about 25 minutes. Well, an hour later (and a shuttle out to nowhere to our plane) we're still sitting in the plane. They just deiced the wings and the engines are warming up. Hopefully we can leave soon. I'm tired and hungry...more hungry right now, but I know that I am going to crash hard whenever I go to sleep. Until next time! ---
---It's next time! 10:12am. Still in Frankfurt. Oh, yes. Our plane (originally delayed) had some sort of "technical problem" after we boarded and started to taxi, so we got back on a shuttle, back to the airport, got new tickets, new gate, new plane...ugh. Still tired, still hungry. Frankfurt airport is still weird. They have smoking areas that aren't separated in any way from non-smoking areas. Ick!! Like that does any good. That's one good thing about US airports. I bet Dawn is wondering where in the world I am. I can't get a hold of her to let her know I'll be late (I was supposed to be in Florence almost an hour ago). She'll probably be done with class by the time I get to Florence. Oh, well, just as long as I get there!---
Took a flight from CR to O'Hare. There were about 50 people on my flight, and they all had connecting flights. How do I know this? Because when I got to baggage claim, I was the only person from my flight there. And my bag was the only one that came out. I felt so special--the red light and everything, just for me. I talked to a gal from St. Louis who was in the same situation...her bag came a little after mine did.
It's just after 1:30 now...been here in O'Hare for a couple hours. We start boarding at 3. Bored, very bored. Tired. Anxious. Excited.
The screen at the gate--my gate--just came on--scheduled departure 3:40pm, on time, O'Hare to Frankfurt. Then on to Florence and D! I just saw her last week, but I'm so excited to see her.
2pm update: flight delayed half an hour.
Back home, much earlier than I planned (yay flying standby). Updates later.
pompei was awesome. rome is awesome. florence is awesome. everything is just awesome. didnt get to go to the vatican today as it was closed but we will be going tomorrow...yippee!!!!
the weather has been fantastic since thursday...chilly today, but still mostly sunny. we had limoncella tonight, my first try, and i will be bringing some home i believe. good stuff. hits you fast. we may go to a bar tonight to watch the game. so much walking. i have a couple blisters, sprained my ankle yesterday in pompei (thank goodness for scar tissue, or else i probably wouldnt be walking). i am on my second memory card. journal getting full.
foreign keyboards are weird, hence little typing. plus i have only 10 minutes left on my free time. ciao!
Template by Splinder.com | header image credit: Markus Gann © www.begann.de