Long long ago in a place called Rome

Hello all,
can you believe it's already the middle of November? Time passes incredibly fast when you're without work.. haha. Yes, I realize I promised updates from my European travels, but I got distracted by life. However, I did keep a sort of journal while traveling, so I will fulfill my previous promises and retroactively update everyone on the past trip.

Rome August 1 - 3

Our last day on the program in Sorrento was a Thursday that was spent at the Sorrento Lingue Center, frantically trying to finish and turn in our exams and papers. The night before I stayed up really late to finish my exams, pack my belongings, and clean our apartment I guess I shouldn't have been so surprised when I woke up late. I rushed to finish pack, dropped my excess luggage off at the center (because the staff was nice enough to let us keep our stuff there for the rest of our trip), turned in my exam and went back to get the luggage I would be traveling with, all before heading to the Circumvesuviana. We missed the train I had originally planned to take and arrived at the Napoli Garibaldi Station just in time to watch our train to Rome leave. Literally, I ran to the platform just to see the train whiz past my face. Now, we had experienced some displeasing incidences with Italian trains before, so I was super concerned that we would have to buy a completely new ticket and be ripped off by the Trenitalia, yet again. However, after a few minutes of worred wandering, I found out that we could just take the next train. So we did. The new train left only an hour later and we arrived in Rome at 2:30pm. We lugged our bags to the hotel and just sat on our beds for 2 hours, figuring out what we wanted to see in the next few days. We decided our first stop would be the Trevi Fountain, followed by a nice visit to the Spanish Steps. But then we decided we should probably eat before we did anything. Guess what we chose to eat? Yup, Chinese food.

Delicious, I had a simple chicken fried rice and it was wonderful.


Following our culinary trip to China..town, we wandered our way to the Trevi Fountain. We saw a bunch of really interesting buildings and statues along the way, most notably the Basilica Maria degli something.. the door to this place was cool in a creepy way as it had figures of human body parts coming out of the door:

Ah, there it is, the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.
If you look closely.. On the right there's a torso and head with a cross embeded into it. On the left there are body parts.



The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi, as the Italians call it) turned up after a couple of windy streets and the first thing we noticed was the immense crowd around the fountain. I'm sure the fountain is always crowded, come on, it's THE Trevi fountain.
On a side note, I found a picture of my uncle in front of the Trevi fountain from the 70's, I thought it was cool..
The fountain was indeed an attraction for good reason, it's huge! And detailed too, statues of tritons and horses and a guy named Oceanus are all over the place. We took a ton of pictures and I even threw a coin in, as everyone does, but I forgot to make a wish, whups.

After fighting our way out of the crowds, we started looking for the Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna, or Spanish Plaza, actually). By this time, night had fallen and the place was beautiful, all the lights were on and the crowd wasn't too massive. We climbed up the stairs, sat down, and opened a bottle of wine. We sat there drinking wine for an hour and a half, while taking all sorts of silly pictures. Definitely relaxing, I would return soon if given the chance...


See, the less than massive crowds, the top, where we chilled, wasn't this crowded, really.

We then headed back to the hotel, but not before getting some much needed gelato. A perfect ending to a perfect night.






The next day we went to the Coloseum (GLADIATORRRR), Piazza Fiori (chill outdoor market), Piazza Navona (cool statues), the Pantheon (huge hole in the ceiling, or opening to heaven), Piazza del Popolo (massive fountain, crazy man swimming in it), and the Trevi fountain (again).

Yea, that's the coloseum.

There it is again.












Hey look, a gladiator!

They were actually a little mean, but I guess everyone's gotta hustle to make a living.






I swear I was there!

Climbing in someone's house












The big hole in the ceiling at the Pantheon
We ended the incredibly HOT day with a meal of Eritrean food, there were a lot of Eritreans in the area where our hotel was located. If you've never had Eritrean food, go get some. They serve everything your party orders on a huge plate over this porous bread. You take a piece of the bread and grab some of the food in it and stuff it in your mouth. SO GOOD.

Sunday, the day of the lord, and we went to Vatican City. We attended mass in St. Peter's Basilica and it was unbelievable. First we go through a thorough security check (shoulders and knees need to be covered) then we walked through the crypt where they keep all the past popes and saints.. their corpses that is.. then we waited for the 10:30am mass. Anyone can go, so I did, despite the lack of Catholicism in my everyday life, I went for the experience. The Basilica is magnificent, everything is leafed in gold, the statues are plentiful, the molding and other decorations were intricate, and everything has a holy feel. If that makes any sense, which I guess it doesn't, it does to me...



See, I was also really in Vatican City, for real.






Us, sad >>

Sadly, and VERY unfortunately, the Sistine Chapel was CLOSED. Yes, I went all the way to Rome, spent a month and a half in Italy and never saw the Sistine Chapel, I may have failed as a traveler. Oh well, guess this means I have to return to Italy, I GUESS I don't mind. This was our last day in Rome so we ended it with a meal of.... Chinese food. Of course we did. We then ran to catch our bus to the airport and flew to Barcelona.

I must say, Rome is not over rated and lives up to its hype as a must visit destination.
This has been a really long update, and I've only covered Rome. I'll leave the other destinations for some other time. Hope you enjoyed!

Guess who's back

Hello!
I'm back in the good ol' United States of America. Well, I've been back for a few days now, but it's been busy. I actually stayed a few days in Washington D.C. before coming back to Chino Hills, land of cows and me, to visit a couple of friends. Europe was fun and I'm glad I got to see everything I did, but I've realized that I've seen more of the rest of the world than I have of my own country*. So my next outings should probably be closer to home and you are all invited. I'm going to hang out with family now, but I will be back with what I promised before, updates on my European travels!
Bye for now!


(*My own country being the one I was born in, not the motherland.)

All Prague-d Out

Ahoj! (Hello in czech or Cau in slovak)
It's my last night in Prague and I'm in an Italian cafe surrounded by Italians, watching the Olympics. Somehow it always comes full circle. I'm not ready to spend the night at the airport waiting for my 6am flight. The public transport system shuts down at midnight, so there really is no other option than to just tough it out at the airport. I'll be doing the same in Milan, can't wait. Well, it's been raining all day and it's freezing. Which is good for me because I packed for Italian weather. D: I've pretty much seen all of Prague and I must say I love gothic and baroque architecture, if only buildings in cali coulf be this interesting. The small town I ended up going to was the town of Plzen, the fourth largest city in the Czech Republic. Otherwise known as the birthplace of Pilsner beer. So guess what the first thing we did after getting off the bus? We went on the Pilsner beer factory tour.The place was huge, like the backlot of a hollywood studio. They showed us the bottling area, the big copper containers where they brew their beer, the raw materials they use, and even the cellars they used to store beer barrels. While in the very cold cellar, we got to try some unfiltered pilsner. It was quite good, sweet with a bitter finish. They really love their beer in this part of the world. After the tour, we walked around the city and saw the major sites in less than an hour, it was a rather small city, in comparison to everywhere else we've been, but small cities are nice too. When we got back to Prague, we walked around a mall and that's about it. The malls here are the same as in America, oh globalization.
Today, we got our souvenir shopping done, in the cold rain. I've decided I hate souvenir shopping because I can just imagine what ever I'm buying just sitting on a table (or under it) collecting dust, so I might as well not buy and just get myself a nice sweater. But then I have to let people know that I did not forget them while on my quest for world knowledge, so I must get some souvenir for them. so if my gift to you is tacky and/or crappy, tough, souvenir craftsmanship here is severely lacking and expensive.
I'll be back in the states in 5 days! And, to tell you the complete truth, I can't wait. I'm broke and tired and in need of a bit of familiarity! So when I get back, visit me or call, it would be much appreciated, along with some comments here.. :D
I'm going to go back to watching the czech vs australian women's olympic basketball game.
See you in Milan! Ciao.

Czech-ing Prague out

Hehe.. Get it.. Czech..Prague. So clever. Anyway, it's been a while since I've had a chance to update! I will have some massive information dump sometime, probably after my trip though. I'm in a McDonald's in Prague's Mala Strana eating a chicken salad and listening to Britney Spears. I know, I should be eating goulash or something, but I needed this salad, you wouldn't believe the amount of bread I've consumed on this trip, it's the cheapest food in the stores. Prague is amazing, the architecture is incredibly impressive. I lost myself on the edge of the city today, just walking around different neighborhoods and parks, not opening my mouth. Czech is definitely very different than any language I've ever learned, I can barely pronounce the street names (osvezujici anyone??).
I've discovered that I really enjoy gothic architecture, it's so ominous and creative, so I'm having a blast just looking at buildings. I have yet to visit Charles Bridge or Old Town, but I have 4 more days, I'm also gonna hit up a small town outside the city, see what country life is all about.
Enjoy those Olympic games everyone!

more to come

Sorry for the lack of posts! Been busy walking around the sites. I'll do a big post later, but right now other people are waiting for this one computer. I'm in Paris now and it's raining and cold. complete change from the unbearable heat of spain and italy. bye!

Musical Explosions

This past weekend was our last in Sorrento and we spent it enjoying the musical culture of the area. Thursday evening, we took a chartered bus to the town of Ravello, about an hour long (nauseating) ride along the windy coast of Amalfi, to watch a concert that was part of Ravello Festival 2008. Apparently, every summer, Ravello hosts a series of concerts and other artsy stuff. The concert was conducted by Jeffrey Tate and featured the Orchestra del Massimo Napoletano from the San Carlo Theatre in Naples (the longest fully running theatre ever) along with an opera singer during the second movement of the second act. The stage was set to a backdrop of the ocean and coast of Amalfi, definitely classy. The music was enjoyable and the opera set heartfelt. I guess I can like opera, but only in moderation.

Saturday Night was a Tarantella show down in the fishing village of Marina Grande. Tarantella is the traditional folk dance and song show of the region and is accompanied by a festival-type atmosphere. There were lots of candy selling stands, a moon bounce, bungee thing, and other craziness. We had dinner in the village, even though it´s known for being a bit pricey, but we were determined to have fish and chips. We found a nice restaurant with no cover fee and had a nice dinner, but when we paid the bill, they didn´t give us back the right change.. we tried to tell them but the language barrier made it difficult, in the end, after much confusion, we ended up only paying 9 euro total.. because we quickly walked away when they gave us more change.

Sunday.. we didn´t do anything except read and sleep.

Sorry I´m so delayed in blogging, but I´ve been distracted by the end of the program (i.e. papers and exams and stuff) and a trip to Rome left me with no computer for a while.
I´m now in Barcelona and will update the Rome trip in a bit.
CIAO

Erupting Volcanoes under the Capri Sun

Salve mi amici,
This past long weekend was spent with the entire class and professor. We went to the ruins of Pompei, the island of Capri, the ruins of Ercolano, and the city of Napoli.

Pompei: Disaster waiting to happen.
It is said that Mt. Vesuvius experiences a great eruption every 2000 years. The last huge eruption occurred in 79A.D. and wiped out the entire city of Pompeii (English spelling) with falling debris and ash. It's now 2008, so this next eruption can happen anytime, or so the professor told us right before entering the city. Comforting really. We had been to the Pompeii exhibit in San Diego and the one in Naples, now we were finally going to the actual scene of crime. The place was massive, incredible even, much more so than I had ever imagined. An entire city covered with ash and poisonous gases, killing all who stayed, burying them almost perfectly. We were lucky to have a Napoli native and anthropolgist show us around the site, giving us additional insight into the historical area. The forum, gymnasium, many villas and shops, etc. had all been excavated and preserved. I walked down the streets and through houses and imagined how daily life could have been for these ancient people. Casts of the final resting place for many Pompei-ians were found all over the grounds, in varying positions, most being in huddled fetal positions, no doubt trying to shield themselves from the fatal gases and debris coming from all sides. The most tragic cast I saw was one of a mother shielding her child in her arms. We had a long, full day at the ruins and were rather exhausted when we came back. Pompei is definitely a site one must visit if ever in the area, hopefully before the next great eruption of Vesuvius.

Capri Sun.
Okay, not really, the island was shrouded with clouds when we arrived in the morning, which wasn't a bad thing as it controlled the temperature for us. We hopped on a morning ferry and docked in the port of Capri after the half hour ride. We took a lift-type thing and were greeted by our professor's gregarious friend Maurizio. Maurizio has a house on the island and is very familiar with the trails that connect Capri to Anacapri and was willing to be our personal tour guide for the day. Now, the island of Capri is known to be a vacation getaway for the rich and famous from all over the world, not a field trip destination for a group of poor college students. However, with Maurizio's help, we got to see the island's true beauty, off the beaten path. We were treated to an expansive hike through the villas in the hills and to the top of the mountain between Capri and Anacapri. Amazing views all around, one can definitely see why the rich come here to get away from it all. To clarify, Capri is the tourist side of the island and Anacapri is the side where the locals live. We had lunch/dinner at a small trattoria (kitchen/restaurant) and were happily surprised when the professor decided to use our funds to pay for it. I had a wheat crouton and olive salad, which was a refreshing change from all the nutella sandwiches I've been having. After our meal, Maurizio decided to show us one last place before we had to head back to Sorrento. He led us up a path, through a filosofica garden and to the edge of the world. Or that's what it looked like anyway. This place was a small look out on top of sheer cliffs that looked directly out to the ocean. An ocean sight that was untouched by any landmasses, thus making it look like the end of the world. I will indeed post pictures when I can, but they won't be able to capture the full immensity of this place.

Ercolano: A Forgotten City.

Saturday morning began with an early train to the city of Herculaneum (Ercolano in Italian). This town was dirty and smelt of garbage and was supposedly not the best place to be at night, at least that's what our landlord's son told us. Why, then, did we want to visit this area? The volcanic eruption of 79A.D. that preserved Pompeii under layers of ash had covered Ercolano with molten lava. This place was thought to be lost until the 1700s when some kings decided to excavate the area. It was because of the cover of volcanic debris and extreme heat that the city was preserved so well, however, once excavated and exposed to air, the ruins have begun to deteriorate. So, the current focus for officials here is to preserve what they have already found. It was amazing to see how well these buildings and artifacts were preserved knowing that they were once covered with lava. They even found skeletal remains of about 55 people around the shore area, clustered there in an attempt to flee by boat. Ercolano was a smaller and wealthier town in comparison to the trading port town of Pompei, the main physical difference being the presence of a sewage system. But enough history, the place was immense, but not as much as Pompeii because it's still not all excavated. We stayed until the early afternoon, hopped back on the Circumvesuviana, and headed toward Napoli.

Napoli: My Chinese food Mecca.

Our small group of nine had been talking about food for three straight days. We were tired of bread, nutella, pasta, tomato sauce, sandwiches, and whatever crap we throw together in a sad attempt to make a balanced diet. A few of us had been craving Indian food, but upon walking down Corso Umberto (the main street in Napoli) we were disappointed to find no Indian food, we were about to give up and settle for another friggin pizza, but Eureka! I spotted a Chinese ristorante. Chang cheng jiu lou (translation: Great Wall Restaurant), I knew there was Chinese food in Naples, I just had to find it. Though it was not Indian food, I think we were just yearning for ethnic food. This place was better than the first Chinese restaurant we went to a few weeks back. The setting was nicer, cleaner plates and utensils, Chinese pop music playing quietly in the background.. Awesome. I shared some curry chicken and shrimp with bamboo shoots with Khadjia. We were greatly satisfied. I even had a sweet mantou for "dessert". I'm not too sure what was in it, but it was delicious. We visited the Castel Nuovo after, which we had skipped on the first time we were in Naples because of the 5 Euro entrance fee, but now we had our Artecards, which give us free entrance to most museums and monuments in the Campania area. We wandered around the 13th century fortress for lack of anything else to do, we were really just waiting for our boat back to Sorrent. We were tired from the full day of ruin walking. After awhile, we just sat down in the courtyard area to chill for a bit. Not long after sitting down, an Italian lady came up to me and asked if I was Japanese, before I could answer, she asked if I ate cats. I really hoped I was hearing wrong because it was all in Italian, but she gestured while saying "mangiare" which means eat and "gatti" the plural form of cat, and proceeded to bite the air in front of my face. All I could do was shake my head no, and before I could wrap my head around the situation, she walked off. I guess she really thought the Japanese ate cats, although she had a crazy look in her eyes...

That's how my third weekend on this program went, we don't have much planned for this next weekend, just a trip to Ravello for a music festival and maybe we'll splurge for a seafood dinner.

Pictures now, enjoy!

Weak jumping picture in a forum in Pompei.

Perfect statue.

Class photo in Pompei with Mt. Vesuvius in the back.

Eating in Capri, we could only afford thin breadsticks.

At the end of the world in Capri w/Maurizio in the background.

Chilling in a male bath in Ercolano

Jumping picture with the professor in Ercolano.

The entire Sorrento crew at our sweet apartment.