Another interesting weekend

Friday morning we left for Napoli—arriving by bus around midday. Though the sights inside the city were gorgeous—the outskirts of the city had a grungy beauty to them. Napoli had such a different culture than Rome, possible to tell even from the way that people dressed.

 

  We went to a convent covered in Majolica:

We Left Naples and headed for the Almalfi Coast–

Where little towns cling to sheer cliff faces, all huddling around little vocanic sand beaches.

 

Saturday, I became fully immersed in the culture—after being pick pocketed in Sorrento I was whisked away to the Polizia Municipale (which was not open for police reports) and then to the Carabinieri—(military police as opposed to citizens) where I filled out a denuncia (police report). I certainly have a souvenir that no one else on the trip got—it was even signed by the friendly local police officer!

On Sunday, after that minor episode… we went to Pompeii, leaving behind Sorrento and Napoli, and heading to the ancient site. We had just a few hours to explore, and I certainly would like to return. 

 

 

 

Munich, Vienna and Milan! Oh My!

Well! Last weekend was a busy one! Frank came to visit and we whisked ourselves off the the four corners of the world–or at least a few countries in Europe!

Karlskirche in Vienna:

Stephansdom:

And then: Off to Munich!

And here is the Marienplatz

Milan:

Outiside the Duomo, the pigeons were having a feild day with the monuments:

Inside the Duomo:

Orvieto and Ostia Antica

Orvieto is an old city which looks like the Etruscans found the steepest cliffs that they could and then built walls on top of them. Saturday afternoon, the town was quiet and foggy—old women in fur coats waddled up the hilly streets with arms full of bags from the markets.

 

The market itself was held under an old fortress and a church, with everything from household goods, food, clothes and flowers being sold there. It seemed as though everyone from the town was there, bartering and joking and buying oranges.

 

In the middle of the small town is a huge Duomo. The cathedral looks out of place near the little quaint shops and cafes and the gothic architecture seems an odd match with the rest of the Etruscan and Roman architecture.  

 

The next day we went to Ostia Antica—a Roman city that was buried under silt. In Ostia Antica, you can wander around the ruins, have a picnic in an old temple, climb over the old funeral grounds… Barely anything is roped off, and even on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, there was nearly no one there.

 

Much of the city is incredibly well preserved: The floors of the bath houses, the ampitheatre near the main forum, some frescos and even the counter of the city bar—the entire place feels like a large archaeological playground.

 

 

 

More about Rome

The last Sunday of the month is free at the Vatican, so early in the morning I woke up to try and beat the crowds as best as I could. At 7, San Pietro’s Basilica and square were nearly empty—just a few early risers and people praying.

I notice a line forming around the walls of the Vatican city to see the museum, so I get in line and wait for an hour and a half before the doors open. The museum was beautiful, the architecture inside almost as much as the objects being displayed. After wandering around the museum for a few hours, and as the exhibits start to close, I decide to return home and get some rest.

 

When I got home, my roommates were about to head out to show their friends, who were visiting, the city–so I decided to join them. We walked with them all over—from the Pantheon, to the Trevi Fountain, to the Spanish Steps, to Piazza del Popolo, and then down the Tiber to Isola Tiburtina and across it to Trastevere, where we ate at a Chinese/Italian restaurant.

My roommate and I decided to walk to the Trevi fountain again to see it at night, and it was beautiful—all lit up with most of the traffic from the day back in their hotels. We sat there at the fountain, people-watching for the better part of 45 minutes, until finally, a woman in red, plunges herself into the Trevi fountain and sweeps up some of the money, throws it into a plastic bag and scampers away.

 

 

On the way back home, it starts to rain, and we walk back to the Spanish steps to catch a bus back. It stops raining before we get there, but the short rain storm as completely emptied the Spanish steps, something which I never expected to see in Rome.

 

Venezia

            This weekend I took a train and went to Venice. Since it was Carnivale, a couple hundred thousand other people all had the same idea. The streets outside the bus station were packed, and in all the major piazzas and streets were thousands of masked, costumed, revelers. We took a ferry to Murano—the island on which all the Venetian glass is made and watched a man make a glass cat. The island, which was far away from most of the party of Carnivale, was how I imagined Venice—calm and serene, with rowers gliding through the canals and little picturesque bridges every few blocks.

 

 

        At night, back in the city proper, Piazza San Marco was lit up—washed in a hundred colors, and in the square itself, hundreds of thousands of people stared at costumed characters having a tea party in the small cafes, danced and listened to the live act which was performing in a huge opened mask.

 

            In the smaller piazzas were smaller concerts, men and women selling masks and clothes and glass and cheap purses—the streets themselves were concerts, as men and women dressed as trashcans and frogs danced to a drum circle that some clowns started outside of a small café.

 

In the morning, when if finally began to get light, the rest of the city started to show itself—with the piazzas mostly empty and the public ferries with plenty of room to sit, the sun rose on bronze green domes and palaces. The city itself is beautiful, and I wish that I had been able to see more of the architecture.

 

When I went back to San Marco in the morning, thousands of pigeons were cleaning up the mess from the partiers the night before. Just after sunrise, as San Marco was just starting to wake up, models in full Carnivale regalia posed for photographers along the water, handing out their cards to professionals.

 

Shortly after exploring San Marco, I headed back to the train station—which seemed considerably less crowded than the day before—the crowd arrived as I was leaving, when the entire train station was packed with people streaming constantly to the party from 11-1230.

 

 

Assisi and Perugia

This weekend we traveled to Assisi and Perugia—spending the night in Assisi and then taking a bus to Perugia for the afternoon on Sunday.

 

Assisi was a beautiful city—old architecture with mock doves flying everywhere.

As a very important city for St. Francesco (and for religious pilgrims) the whole hill had a calm and serene feel to it. We spent the afternoon exploring the main city, and then, close to sundown climbed the hill which had a medieval castle at the top.

In Perugia, modern architecture was built on top of medieval, which was built on top of Roman which was built on top of Etruscan. The whole city smells of chocolate, and most of the stores that were open on Sunday were sweet shops. In Perugia we saw more beautiful architecture—tiny city streets up steep hills that flattened suddenly into sprawling piazzas.

 

 

After lunch and a brief stroll in the park in Perugia, we returned to Rome by bus.

 

This week we finish our orientation period and begin classes in earnest. After talking with the Italian advisors for classes, I’ll be taking one class at RUFA (Rome University of Fine Arts). In the next week, I will be beginning classes and visiting more areas of Rome.

Here

After a cancellation of my second flight, and eight hours in the Zurich airport I finally arrived in Rome, the eternal city. My apartment is gorgeous—a huge orange building in a quiet neighborhood.

Where a few feet down the street there is a huge old tree sprouting up from the middle of the street, which although narrowing the way a bit, doesn’t prevent the drivers from driving just as fast or crazily.

I haven’t had as much time as I would like to explore and its very difficult to communicate, especially since internet is only available at times when I am in class, usually, and its only been today when I’ve been able to sit down and send a few e-mails. Even with a limited time, I was able to explore some beautiful parts of the city—

 

Piazza del Popolo

And the Trevi Fountain, where there was a Roman on his Cell Phone.

I’ve walked through a few neighborhoods, along with seeing the Coliseo, Spanish Steps, the Pantheon and a small ruins in the middle of a square that serves as a cat sanctuary. Today is my first day of class, so I’ll update more later, when I have more time.

While I’m away

While I am away in Italy, I will be using this as a travel journal and blog of sorts. I will try to update regularly so that anyone who wishes may see what I’ve done and where I’ve been.