Grathiath a la vida!

My travels in Europe may have come to a close this weekend (unless I can fit in a day trip to Venice) with a journey to Espana. I wasen't feeling any of the trips the kids in my program were planning for thanksgiving so I decided to book it solo to Madrid to visit Sarah and her madrid and the med crew. Although the weekend was cold and semi exhausting, Madrid was an exciting change from Rome. 

I arrived thursday afternoon and found my hostel fine. My hostel was in an awesome area with tons of art galleries and small bars, and was very centrally located to everything. For some reason, Madrid reminded me a lot of New York city, or at least some of its neighborhoods. That evening while sarah was in class I walked to the Prado Museum and toured that for awhile. Beautiful paintings by Goya, Velasquez, etc. The area around the museum reminded me almost exactly of the upper east side--tons of museums, the main central park (retiro), similar grand architecture, and lots of old money. After the museum I met sarah and some of her friends for sangria and then to her program's thanksgiving dinner. Her dinner by far trumped by school's weak attempt the pervious night. The dinner lasted hours and was followed by live music and a sing a long of spanish and beatles(?) tunes. Afterwards everyone went to an irish pub. nothing to note on that.

The next day sarah and her friend Jess met me at the train station and we decided to do a day trip to Segovia, a small town north of spain. The train ride was by far the most beautiful Id been on in all of Europe--we passed through snow capped hills, bull farms, and more until we finally reached our stop. The trip was kind of a bust. It was freezing in the town, and eventually froze rain, and we couldnt find anywhere that was open to eat for lunch. But, the town is famous for its roman aqueduct and huge castle, and both these sites were awesome. The castle is apparently the castle that inspired walt disney's snow white castle. We had the whole thing to ourselves when touring it--very cool and creepy. All in all, however, the small towns ive been to in Italy were better preserved and had more character and life, I felt.

Back in madrid, sarah met me at my hostel and we went over to this amazing tapas bar, le tigre, to meet her friends and ring in my birthday at midnight. This place was my favorite place we went to. It was so small and packed, and the tapas exceedingly delicious. After that we went to another lounge/bar to meet my friend Marissa from Buffalo. We hung out there for a little while then attempted to go to this top notch hipster club but gave up after about 45 minutes of waiting in a line. A typical occurance in Madrid, apparently. Around 4 15, we gave up on clubs and headed to this famous churros and chocolate place everyone goes to at the end of the night. 

The next day was jam packed with wandering and touring the streets and sites of madrid. Madrid's city layout is very confusing--there is no clear different between the old town and new, and neighborhoods seemed to blend into each other. Around 3 I was invited to sarah's host family's house for an amazing Spainish lunch. Sarah's home stay might be better than Matthew's, right on the main thoroughfare that is comparable to 5th ave in New York in a wealthy neighborhood with retiro, the main park, as her backyard. Sarah's host mom is this adorable 82 year old women who I barely understood but definitly enjoyed the experience.

That night we went to an awesome dinner in Chueca, followed by a few bars in Malasena, and then Pasha--the ridiculously swank club of all clubs in Madrid, where we robotically danced to the same house beats for three or so hours, until i hoped in a cab and went to the airport to catch my flight. 

And now im here, writing this on practically no sleep yet surprisingly with a considerable amount of energy. 

Hope your thanksgivings were great. It was sad missing it but when your so far away, you barely notice what your missing. Less than two weeks remain, and a week full of outstanding dinners await me.

Hasta luego,

CJ

I am a terrible blogger

So I am sure most of you have given up on checking this thing for updates, but I am going to try to revitilize it a bit. 

A quick recap of my time since Greece. 

-Mom and sisters visit and travel to Florence for the weekend: great food is eaten, trains are almost missed, and beautiful renaissance art is all around. I won't write much because primarily its my family who reads this and they've heard all there is to hear on this trip im assuming.

-The following weekend was Stockholm with my perfect travel companion Ms. Flak. It was an awesome, relaxed weekend. Stockholm is so different from Medditeranean Europe. So much cleaner than Rome, everyone speaks perfect English, much less traditional, more globalized, chains galore (we got pizza hut pizza one night, then got drinks next door at a 7 11!), much stricter alcohol policies (similar to Canada). But it is absolutely beautiful. Its made up of 14 or so islands, and water is everywhere. It is much smaller than I thought, but just as artsy as I imagined. We went to this awesome club sat. night under a bridge where they played the best music ive never heard of. We also went to the big park island and had a delicious meal at an organic farm there, very cool. The only bummer was that my friend amy who was there that weekend lost her passport and thus had some complications.

-Since stockholm ive been laying low in Rome. Last weekend sarah and the whole au program was in Rome so I spent the majority of the weekend with her and matt. It was kind of surreal that the three of us were all in Rome together, and it was a lot of fun. We went out one night to one of Rome's centri sociali--an underground squatted 'social center'. A lot of my research involves these semi-legal establishments. We saw a reggae show there--very very cool and gritty. 

-This weekend I actually had a lot of fun. I finished a rough draft of my research paper, so a little stress was taken off. I went out for a great meal friday, went exploring all day saturday to the catacombs, jewish ghetto and trastevere, and then went out again last night. I finally found a bar in Rome that plays good music, called Radio, and went there both nights this weekend. A lot of kids stayed in Rome this weekend so there was a lot of people to go out with.

OOOK well the next three days will be a nightmare full of presentations and papers so I need to get going. A fun thanksgiving/birthday awaits in Madrid!

A presto,

Connor

Fall Break: Grecia

Its been awhile, sorry. Recently returned from a 10 day tour all over Greece, though especially throughout the polypenisian penninsula. I really shouldn't be allowed to complain about the trip because it was pretty much all paid for (except for a few meals) by my Ricci Scholarship. Still, being the constant critic that I am, I have to point out the ups as well as the downs of the Grecian adventure. Bear with me, it was a LONG 10 days.



Right from the airport we met our tour guide, Yoanna, a middle aged Athenian who grew up in south carolina. She made the trip. Yoanna has a resume I could only dream of achieving: she has written guide books on Athens and Greece, is currently a food and wine critic for the Athens press, teaches university classes, had hiked from Athens to Istanbul as part of a political protest, etc..



We then went on a stunning drive along the coast down to cape sounion to see the temple of poseiden. After that breif detour we reached Athens and I immediatly fell in love. It is the grittiest city I have every been in, yet it was also incredibly hip, contemporary and real. Our hotel was right in Pyrssi, a big nightlife area with clubs, cafes, hookah lounges, and pita stands. The hipsters scene in Athens was unlike anything in the states. Girls frizzed their hair up similar to amy winehouse, while boys dreaded their mullets. There were everywhere in the streets hanging out until 5 in the morning. The next morning we saw the Acropolis, which provided awesome views of the city...you could really see how sprawled and overpopulated the city is. Yoanna told us that 2/3rds of Greece live in Athens.



After another great, late night, we headed the next morning on a drive through the mountains to Delphi. We spent the day touring what would be one of many many anceint archeological sites. This one, perched on a dramatic mountain slope, was quite impressive, however. It is the site where the oracle of delphi was. My hotel looked out down the mt. parnassas and into the sea. That evening we went a town over to Arahova, a swanky ski resort town. I had an awesome, intimate meal with Yoanna, a few students, and the faculty of the trip. After dinner and numerous glasses of raki--a hot Grecian liquor infused with honey, the cleared some tables and turned the restaurant into a raucous dancefloor. It was spontaneous, brilliant, and one of the highlights of the trip for me.



The next day was one of the lowlights of the trip--what could have been a short bus ride to olympia (4 hours away) turned into a dragged on day full of overpriced food and annoyingly frequent reststops every 20 minutes. I longed for my family's efficient ways of traveling when we would wake up early and drive straight through to our destination.



The downslop continued at Olympia: a gross hotel, a so-so dinner, a dead tourist town completely void of any local life, and a hot day exploring crappy ruins that were of no interest to any of us. By this time we felt like we were on an retired old person packaged bus tour--we longed for freedom, the beach, and the ability to choose what we wanted to do.



Then it all turned around--we made a quick, no stopping drive from Olympia to the Messian Bay and stayed at an awesome resort right on the water. Although we were only there one night, we made full use of it: swimming in the ocean and pool, drinking margheritas as the sun set and learning greek dances in the moonlight.



The next day we spent the morning touring Mystras, a cool old Byzantine town that is now just well preserved ruins. Then we went to Yoanna's hometown outside of Sparta. This is a place that has never seen a tour bus, she told us. One of my other favorite memories of the trip was our afternoon here. We had a beyond delicious meal, a savager hunt through the town, then hours in the main square drinking, talking, watching the sun set, and enjoying life.



Finally that night we made it to Napflio. This is the most beautiful town we visited by far. Set on the water overlooking the Aegian sea, it had a beautiful, hidden beach, a towering castles, really cool authentic shops, delicious food, and a really cool artsy bar called 'the wrong bar'. We had a great time here. (somewhere in here we also fit in two more archeological sites--epridavros and mycenae)



Finally we were off on the last leg of the trip: Mykonos. I had dreamt of the place all summer and it exceeded all my expectations. After our ridiculous 4 and a half hour ferry, we reached the isalnd late friday night. We stayed at a beautiful, labyrinth of a resort. Saturday a good chunk of us rented ATVs(all terrian vehicles...aka 4x4s) and explored the whole island. It was seriously the coolest thing I may have ever experienced. After being dragged around in a bus all week, the ability to be flying through an island on my own vehicle was perfectly satifying. Everything on Mykonos is white and the postcard image you expect of a Greek island. We had a perfect yet sad final dinner together in town then almost everyone including the staff went out together to a bar on the water called Jackie O's. Megan you would have been in heaven--the whole bar/club was dedicated to Jackie Oneisses, who vacationed here...i think...



Wow this is a long post. I congradulate anyone who read the whole thing. I'm keeping it cool in Rome this weekend, hoping to explore some more and get caught up on research. You'll here from me soon.

Ciao!

Some thoughts on Rome.

Rome is old, dirty, busy, delicious, repetitive, slow, fast, compact, aesthetically pleasing, aesthetically displeasing, intimidating, stylish, rude, contradicting, overwhelming, exhaustingly touristed, ancient yet very alive, manic depressive and undefinable. 

Sagra dei Funghi

Another weekend, another trip. This past one was a school sponsored trip to Cusano Mutri, a small, small town deep in the Apennines mountains, three hours outside of Roma, but well off the tourist map. We went during the town's famed mushroom festival. Despite my aversion towards organized travel, i chose the trip because it seemed like a real authentic experience i wasn't likely to find on my own. 

The weekend started out rough. The bus ride was long, windy, and nausea inducing. Finally, when we arrived at our little cabins on top of a mountain, it started raining. This rain would not stop till saturday night. It was also freezing, and i did not pack enough warm clothes at all. So the first night was kind of a bust--we went into the festival but not many people were around nor things open because of the freezing whether. The next day was bizarre and frustrating. For some unknown reason the directors of the trip decided to take us to a random trifecta of museums. First was a museum in town with the world's largest wooden spoon. Then a paleontology museum, and finally a crawfish lab. Don't ask. At this point everyone was a little annoyed and pissed off that they spent the money on the trip.

Then we got back to town saturday night and things went straight up 360 degrees. The festival was hopping, authentic, delicious, dancing in the streets fun. We spent the entire evening eating, dancing, and embaressingly attempting italian. I have never met more friednly and welcoming locals in my life. The town seriously loved us--they even played a Chicago song towards the end of the night. I have never eaten better than on this trip--delicious mushrooms, out of this world cheeses, and all kinds of desserts including the best crepe ive ever had. (with white nutella, baileys, and smarties). Towards the end of the night everyone took to the streets and danced away to what seemed like 15 different versions of the italian macarena. It was brilliant. 

We woke up sunday to a beautiful sunny sky (finally) and took an awesome hike before heading back to rome. More than anything the trip was a big bonding experience for the 23 of us who went. Ive solidified  some great friendships and am actually really enjoying the tight community that has formed living at the JFRC compound. 

Ischia

This past weekend was the first unorganized trip me and a group of friends embarked on. It was an unexpectedly awesome time full of good people, good wine, and great views. 

The group was large--10 people--but I started my travels early on thursday afternoon with my friend tia to get a head start on the trip. We decided to leave early on a whim and boarded a train to naples with no place to stay for the night; surprisingly, we weren't at all nervous. We randomly ran into kids at the station who were also going to naples and mooched off of their hostel for the night. I had heard all the usual awful things about Napoli: its trash, crime, and overall sketchiness, but was determined to come up with a better image. Sadly, all my expectations were met and then some. Naples is not a pleasant place to be, especially the area surrounding the train station which is where our hostel was. That night (after eating the most delicious pizza i have ever had) was a sleepless one, full of suffocating heat, loud bomb like sounds, rickshaw screeching, and other noises one would usually associate with a third world country. 

We woke up early and rushed to the ferry station; within an hour and a half we were in paradise--the beautiful mountainous island of Ischia. What really made the weekend a success was RING HOSTEL. This place is a true gem--the whole place is covered in murals and graffiti of people who have stayed there, there were hammocks right outside our room, a rooftop terrace overlooking the mountain and sea, etc.

After a awesome day at the beach full of rock jumping, we all had what will be a night of legend. Almost the entire hostel went to dinner at the owner's family restaurant, where we had a delicious dinner, with good music (matt, katie, sarah[s], they played 'one more night' by stars!), and copious liters of homemade wine. Then, the hostel organized this event where we all piled into these tiny taxis with water jugs full of wine and drove away to a secret cove across the island where there were natural hot springs. We spent the next three or four hours lounging in this organic jacuzzis with the moon shining right on us--seriously no words can describe how unreal this felt. 

The next day we split up and my group climbed to the top of the mountain (ill have pics up soon...i swear). That night the hostel took us to a local 'piano bar'..which is Ischia's version of a nightclub,...the piano is a keyboard, and they play weird techno versions of songs like 'september' by earth wind and fire. It was really really amusing. 

I must end this post with a dedication to Anna, a kiwi who worked at the hostel. She is honestly the coolest person i have ever met in my life. Her life is full of energy, spontaneity, music, and new experiences. Everything she told us about herself and what she had done already in her life was exactly what i wish i could be like.  She hung out, talked, and partied with us all weekend. I think she is only going to be working there for a few more weeks before she goes on tour in New Zealand so to all those studying in Europe this semester, go to RING HOSTEL as soon as possible!

Orientation Tour, Part 2: Siena, Assisi

The second half of the trip was what gave me a more fuller image of Italy. Siena and Assisi are both impossibly picturesque towns. This is something I had expected but was still in awe of, but what surprised me more was how much they are still living cities. I had figured there were mere tourist villages stuck in time. Instead, I found activity and culture all around me.

Siena was first. A medieval city set in Tuscany, it was rivaled florence but was almost completely wiped out by the plague. Siena is famous for the il palio horse race, which occurred a few months before my visit. Still, the city celebrates the winners of the race well into august. On a random tuesday night we walked through the city and came upon two huge competing parades and celebrations of the two winners of the il palio. Young and old Sienese beat drums, sang, and marched through town and closed in the piazza. However it wasen't a big spectacle, there were few people in town except locals and those participating in the parade.

The perfect contrast of Italy and the U.S. was found that night. Me and my friends spent the first half of the night doing as italians do: talking, people watching and having a few drinks at a bar in the main piazza along with many locals. Then we proceeded to go to the 'club' that all the other JFRC kids were heading off to. This club turned out to be a tacky pub complete with soldier boy-like american music, 8 euro Heineken carafes and a makeshift dancefloor. There were few italians in sight, just american tourists and sketchy men standing in the corner offering rooffied beverages. What I have come to realize, and the JFRC staff has helped me confirm, is that Italians don't drink the way American students do. They don't go to pubs, they don't think getting drunk is cool, and they would never offer going out for drinks as a first date option. And yet alcohol is incredibly commonplace here. It is served with every meal and sold at every coffee shop, gelateria, and grocery store. I think because it is always there, it is not a big deal, it is not something to get excited about or take advantage of. In that way, I think Italians are way more mature than us in the US.

Anways, the last leg of the trip was a relaxing time in Assisi, set right on an umbrian hill. The hotel we stayed at was unbelievable--old buildings scattered throughout town. My view overlooked the entire valley and was absolutely stunning. The town was a perfect place to get lost and explore. I was schocked by how easy it was to find yourself alone wandering quiet alleys while elderly italians went about the daily routines. Because Assisi is best known for touristy--yet awe inspiring sights--like the basilica of saint francis, i did not expect to find the local life that i did.

I highly recommend Siena and Assisi for anyone currently studying in Italy or planning a visit soon.

Orientation Tour, Part 1: Verona

Just got back from the JFRC (John Felice Rome Center) orientation tour throughout the northern half of Italy including Verona, Siena, and Assisi. We stayed at three different hotels in four nights. It was an overwhelming, exhausting, and wonderful experience that definitely helped me see what I want my experience studying here to be like. So much happened and I felt like I was there a week, so I think I am going to divide this blog into three seperate ones.

Out JFRC class was the first class to do a massive tour of this nature in over six years, and I am pretty sure we may be the last in awhile. We left sunday morning at 6:30 am for Verona, which in in the Veneto region 8 hours by bus from Rome. The ride was incredible: first through Tuscan mountains and vineyard hills, then through the flat emilia-romagna plains. The gas stations in Italy are fascinating and SO different from the states. They sell everything--gourmet cheese, pasta, wine, books, CDs, toys, etc. And the food is delicious. Also, people take their time in them...it really is a Rest stop. Old men sip their caffes, families eat full course lunches complete with pelligrino and wine, etc.

Anyways, we arrived at the hotel "near Verona" around three. We literally got off the freeway and it was right there. So that was kinda a bummer. Luckily the hotel was very nice. We slept five boys to a room. Everyone got dressed up and ready to go in an hour or so for dinner in Verona and the closing night of Verona's world famous Opera Festival. Dinner was the first of many three+ course Italian meals complete with unlimited table wine. For a group of young, under 21 Americans first encountering Italy and their relationship with alcohol, there was bond to be some riffs. (I'll get to my conclusions on drinking culture in US and Italy later). Anyways, it was a wonderful dinner--the excitement of everyone to be making new friends and experiencing a new country was very palpable. Then in a slightly beyond tipsy state, everyone headed to the opera. You have to check this out to completely understand how incredible this was: http://www.arena.it/. The opera was Aida, a play a thought i would be familiar with. Little did I know it would be four hours and I wouldn't be able to follow a thing. I would say about 85%, including me, the dean of students and several other faculty, left well beyond the finale and hung out in the piazza. Still, I was awed and grateful for the experience.

Next day began with language/culture survival lessons at the hotel and organize by the JFRC staff. After that it was a three course lunch complete with pasta, mystery meat, dessert, and table wine. I could write a whole blog on these meals alone....ill just say they weren't quite as delicious as i expected of Italian food...but i guess you cant expect much when you are cooking for about 200 people at once.

The afternoon was spent in the small village of Sirimione on Lake Garda, the largest lake in Italy (i think) at the base of the alps. It was absolutely beautiful and great to finally have time to relax and do what I wanted. Me and my friends scott and mike walked to the tip of the town, which is a peninsula jutting into the lake and spent most of our time swimming.

Ill close this portion of my account of the tour with what was one of the most ridiculous yet shamefully fun nights of my life. We had dinner at the hotel that night, and since the hotel was about a 30 euro taxi ride from verona, almost everyone stayed at the hotel bar, which our dean of students, Todd, so lovingly asked the hotel to keep open until 1am for us. Dinner was pure debauchery: 190 students went through 150 bottles of wine. fact. Then practically everyone stumbled into the bar slash gift shop slash office area and drank to an undeniably American extent. flip cup was played, glasses were shattered, and puking was to be found on almost all floors. The night was certainly a bonding experience for the fall 2008 JFRC class, though I'm pretty sure all woke up to feeling of slight embarrassment.

The infinite arrival

Ciao!

I feel like I have been here a month and and the same time have not even arrived yet.

In the past two days I have met and interacted with more people than I have all summer. This truly is like freshman year all over again, or more like summer camp.

This urgency to make friends and orientation to my new living situation and school has been a huge distraction in realizing and taking in where i am: Rome.

Yet at the same time I feel like a could write 12 blogs already on everything that has occurred. The plane ride, for instance, was an interesting cultural comparison. Since my beloved melatonin sleeping aid failed to knock me out, I was stuck with a dead ipod and a wired mentality. So I spent my time observing, stalking, and judging the Italian flight attendents. Right away it was clear they had a value of fashion higher than most in the U.S. While a Southwest, the attendents wear high waisted pleated khakis with a blue polo, here they wore a sharp fitting green suit with a slim navy tie. They were also much more subdued approach to customer service. Not rude, but not necessarily helpful.

I think I am going downtown now for the first time during the day. I will post soon.
Ciao.