Dear Friends and Family,
Well, here I am in my very own bedroom, sending you all my last issue of Italian Sand Through the American Hourglass. I could tell you that I am shocked and sad to be back in the States, but honestly, it feels great. I got home last night to see that the downstairs part of my house had been completely repainted, we have a new refridgerator, and Thanksgiving plans are truly underway. I was smart enough to leave my room clean when I left, so I arrived to a luxurious space. My bed was amazing last night. My parents were kind enough to put my new couch in my room that Jenn and Jason gave me for my bday. See J squared, it only took 6 months to complete the transaction!
My last few days in Florence were packed. It rained a lot, but I kept on trucking, getting in all the last minute things I had not done: The Accademia, the Bapistry, and the Bargello. Michaelangelo's David is in the Accademia. He is quite striking. While all of him looks like a big beautiful man, there are still a few parts that make it clear he is only a little boy. I wish I could have taken pics. The bapistry at Santa Maria Del Fiore (the Duomo) was also amazing. It holds some of my favorite mosaics of hell and monsters eating people. Awesome! The Bargello museum, however, is truly amazing. It holds Donatello's David, which is much different than Michaelangelo's. He looks like a little hippie boy with a frilly hat, long locks, and a relaxed stance. It is beautiful. The museum also had a lot of the old coins, weapons, armor, and china of Florence. It also holds a huge collection of Della Robbia's work. His work is all in ceramic and is very colorful. I am sure if you all saw it, you would recognize it. Personally, I don't really love his work, but it is very famous and you can buy reproductions of it all over Italy.
On Saturday night, Alex and I planned a big night out. We called Acqua Al' Due ( I turned him onto it) for a reservation. They could not take us until 11pm! So, we went to Colle Beretto (the place with awesome appetizers) and started out at about 8PM. I was already starving, so we filled up and had cocktails. It was nice. There was a couple in their with their baby. Yes, a baby in a bar. Well, she was really 3 or 4 and quite spunky. She was dancing her heart out and it was really adorable. It did not take long to notice that her flamboyance was her attempt to get attentioon from her folks who sat and talked, completely ignoring her. After a while, she began smoking her straw. She had it down, taking the straw and inhailing and then blowing it out like a little diva. She even had her hand on her hip. Immediatly I flashed to her home with her parents drinking wine in the other room while she sat in front of the TV for hours. All of her behavior was so stylized and practiced. It was wierd. Really, it was cute, minus the smoking part. I bet she's going to be an awesome teen!
We finally made it to dinner, at which point I was so hungry I thought I would die. We had the pleasure of sitting next to the most annoying people from Chicago. I am sorry guys, but there are, as K calls them, "Ugly Americans" out there. One of them, who was engaged, was flirting with Alex so hard core that I thought her man would jump over and smack him! She was being really nosey too, trying to figure out how the two of us came to be eating together. We started out by joking. I told her I was a mail order bride from the US and he was a rich, Italian tycoon. She actually believed it for a second. However, once our dinner came, they finally left us alone and all the unpleasantness was erased as we ate out chicken with port sauce and laughed and joked all through the meal. Alex asked the waiter, who is his friend, what was in the sauce. The guy, Stefano, just laughed. Oh well. Someday I will figure it out!
On Sunday night we just enjoyed a meal in as I stressed about packing and finishing up a project for Alex's uncle, Carlo. You guys are talking to the newest model of Bargello Leather! They have a website and asked me to model a bunch of their jackets for pics to put up on the site. They are not up yet, but I will keep you posted! It was a great move, as I was given a very good deal on a jacket to bring home with me. Look out, because I am going to look hot!
The trip home was fine. Even though the flight home was three hours longer, it seemed shorter. I had an aisle seat this time with no one in the middle, so I had much more room. I sat with an older gentleman who had quite an interesting life. I heard the story a few times because he seemed to keep forgetting he had already told me. The worst part of the trip was waiting for luggage. Why is it that people have to crowd around the baggage claim and stand so close to it that you can't see your luggage, and if you do, you have to punch through them to grab it and swing it off without crushing someone's foot. I hate that! It finally got it though, and customs was a breeze!
This morning I rose at 10 and enjoyed my first cup of American coffee in 5 weeks. It was fabulous. I looked out the window at our beautiful yard with the fall colors and familiar trees. I love home. What this trip taught me the most is that there are beautiful places all over the world and I will continue to visit them and maybe live somewhere else someday, but a place is nothing without your friends, family, and community. I am happy to be back on my turf and hope that the experiences I had without all of you can still be a part of your life as I share them. I want the same from all of you too! I look forward to seeing everyone over the holidays and sharing more pics with anyone who wants to see them.
Ci Voglio Bene. Arrivaderci e ci vediamo. Oh, and, of course, Tanti Baci!
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Friday, November 17, 2006
Italian Sand Through The American Eyeglass: 11/17/06
Caro AMici e Famiglia,
I wanted to write today because I was really distracted when I wrote my email and I felt so detached. Here I am in the Internet Train and one of the all time greatest songs just came on: Neverending Story. So Sweet. Now I am motivated to write.
So, how do I feel about coming home? Well, I have very mixed feelings. I do not want to deal with the extra luggage I will be returning with. I do NOT want to sit on a plane from Frankfurt for 12 hours. I am afraid I will have to wear my pajama pants, as I have finally gone over the limit of which my jeans can hold. I mean, they work, but if I am sitting in them for too long, I fear my legs will have to be amputated upon exiting the plane due to lack of circulation. It does not help that Thanksgiving is only three days after my return, so my diet, or fasting, cannot start until Friday at the earliest! Of course, the holidays are coming, so I suppose I will end up putting it off for a New Year's resolution. Ok, I figured it out, diet starts Jan.2, 2007.
As I told you guys, I had an amazing trip to the Cinque Terre. I think that is where I got some of my best photos too. Overall, I have had a nice week. On Tuesday night I decided to wander in search of a new restaurant. I found a place, Ristorante Ricchi that seemed a little pricey, but looked nice and a little different. It was the most amazing meal I have EVER had. I could not decide what to eat, so I asked the waiter to choose for me, even though that is sometimes a bad idea. He did a great job. I started with this soup made from orange squash. It had a small fillet of cod in it, as well as a few clams and rosemary. Sounds kind of iffy, definitely not something I would order. It was awesome. I could have licked the bowl and asked for more. Then I got a fillet of seared ahi served with a homemade tartar sauce and fresh diced tomatoes. Um, awesome. Since everything was so good, I HAD to order dessert.
Being on your own in a restaurant can have some great advantages. Sometimes the staff really warms up to you. Maybe they feel like you are lonely, or maybe it is easier to pamper one person. Either way, they were great. I sat by the kitchen and was adorned with great service, free tasters, and even got to be the subject of a dessert experiment. The chef gave me little tastes of three desserts and they all bet on which one I would like the best. Tiramisu, cheesecake, and hazlenut gelato. Suprisingly, the tiramisu was the best and the owner was pleased, as she knew I would choose her pick. Honestly, I think they thought I was a travel writer or a food critic. Everything was served immaculately. Or, maybe it was because for one person I did qquite a bit of damage on the bill. Everything was so good that I wasn't too upset that I made a wine mistake: The menu said, I thought, that the bottle I chose was 25 Euro. However, I got a small bottle, a half bottle. Oops, the price was 25 Euro for a half bottle. It tasted great and upon doing some research found that it is a really good wine from Montepulciano. The night was a splurge, but worth it!
Today I finalized all my packing. My stuff is sitting in my apartment waiting for Alex to help me shove it in a cab and head to his house. I had to stay in my apartment and extra night because Alex's Mom has been on a neverending visit, taking up the guest room. However, she FINALLY left today. Mom, if you ever want to surprise visit me, please do not do it for 3 weeks. Love you!
I really feel for sorry for Alex though. Last night I had to help do some internet research on luggage and flights. You see, in the three weeks his mom was here, she bought a small store to take home with her. She lives in Paris with her husband and youngest son, plus there is another son in Paris. For each of the three, she bought a leather jacket, pair of shoes, a dress shirt, and two T shirts. For herself, she got a jacket, shoes and other clothes. For friends she bought a total of 4 purses and 20!!!!!!!!!! bottles of parfume. I am sure there is more, but I cannot remember. Now, I know Flroence is a great place to shop, but she lives in Paris!! Don't they have great shopping there? I am just kidding, I think it is hillarious. So, she is leaving with two GIANT bags, a big carryon and her purse. The problem arose when her brother, Carlo, told her she would have to pay a ton of money because her stuff is so heavy. He said his friend was charged 700 Euro for a bag that was too heavy. It made her stomach hurt. However, upon my research, I found that if his friends really got charged that much at 6 Euro per KG over, then his bag weighed about 150 KG. Ummm, that is a really heavy bag. Either he is exaggerating or his friend was transporting gold bars, maybe? Who knows. In the end, Alex had to deal with all of that last night, get up at 6 to drive her 3 hours to Rome for her flight, unload it all, only to come back and find the car had been towed. He is currently on his way back to Florence to come to my house, get all my crap and cab it to his house, then come back to finish out the afternoon/evening at work. Poor guy with a heart of gold. Now I don't feel so bad about my two mediumish, not so heavy bags.
I guess I will spend this weekend closing out and seeing the stuff I have yet to see. There are plenty. On Sunday, Alex is going to follow me around the city for a picture marathon, allowing me to finally get pictures of me in Firenze!
I hope you are all well! Miss you tons!
Tanti Baci,
I wanted to write today because I was really distracted when I wrote my email and I felt so detached. Here I am in the Internet Train and one of the all time greatest songs just came on: Neverending Story. So Sweet. Now I am motivated to write.
So, how do I feel about coming home? Well, I have very mixed feelings. I do not want to deal with the extra luggage I will be returning with. I do NOT want to sit on a plane from Frankfurt for 12 hours. I am afraid I will have to wear my pajama pants, as I have finally gone over the limit of which my jeans can hold. I mean, they work, but if I am sitting in them for too long, I fear my legs will have to be amputated upon exiting the plane due to lack of circulation. It does not help that Thanksgiving is only three days after my return, so my diet, or fasting, cannot start until Friday at the earliest! Of course, the holidays are coming, so I suppose I will end up putting it off for a New Year's resolution. Ok, I figured it out, diet starts Jan.2, 2007.
As I told you guys, I had an amazing trip to the Cinque Terre. I think that is where I got some of my best photos too. Overall, I have had a nice week. On Tuesday night I decided to wander in search of a new restaurant. I found a place, Ristorante Ricchi that seemed a little pricey, but looked nice and a little different. It was the most amazing meal I have EVER had. I could not decide what to eat, so I asked the waiter to choose for me, even though that is sometimes a bad idea. He did a great job. I started with this soup made from orange squash. It had a small fillet of cod in it, as well as a few clams and rosemary. Sounds kind of iffy, definitely not something I would order. It was awesome. I could have licked the bowl and asked for more. Then I got a fillet of seared ahi served with a homemade tartar sauce and fresh diced tomatoes. Um, awesome. Since everything was so good, I HAD to order dessert.
Being on your own in a restaurant can have some great advantages. Sometimes the staff really warms up to you. Maybe they feel like you are lonely, or maybe it is easier to pamper one person. Either way, they were great. I sat by the kitchen and was adorned with great service, free tasters, and even got to be the subject of a dessert experiment. The chef gave me little tastes of three desserts and they all bet on which one I would like the best. Tiramisu, cheesecake, and hazlenut gelato. Suprisingly, the tiramisu was the best and the owner was pleased, as she knew I would choose her pick. Honestly, I think they thought I was a travel writer or a food critic. Everything was served immaculately. Or, maybe it was because for one person I did qquite a bit of damage on the bill. Everything was so good that I wasn't too upset that I made a wine mistake: The menu said, I thought, that the bottle I chose was 25 Euro. However, I got a small bottle, a half bottle. Oops, the price was 25 Euro for a half bottle. It tasted great and upon doing some research found that it is a really good wine from Montepulciano. The night was a splurge, but worth it!
Today I finalized all my packing. My stuff is sitting in my apartment waiting for Alex to help me shove it in a cab and head to his house. I had to stay in my apartment and extra night because Alex's Mom has been on a neverending visit, taking up the guest room. However, she FINALLY left today. Mom, if you ever want to surprise visit me, please do not do it for 3 weeks. Love you!
I really feel for sorry for Alex though. Last night I had to help do some internet research on luggage and flights. You see, in the three weeks his mom was here, she bought a small store to take home with her. She lives in Paris with her husband and youngest son, plus there is another son in Paris. For each of the three, she bought a leather jacket, pair of shoes, a dress shirt, and two T shirts. For herself, she got a jacket, shoes and other clothes. For friends she bought a total of 4 purses and 20!!!!!!!!!! bottles of parfume. I am sure there is more, but I cannot remember. Now, I know Flroence is a great place to shop, but she lives in Paris!! Don't they have great shopping there? I am just kidding, I think it is hillarious. So, she is leaving with two GIANT bags, a big carryon and her purse. The problem arose when her brother, Carlo, told her she would have to pay a ton of money because her stuff is so heavy. He said his friend was charged 700 Euro for a bag that was too heavy. It made her stomach hurt. However, upon my research, I found that if his friends really got charged that much at 6 Euro per KG over, then his bag weighed about 150 KG. Ummm, that is a really heavy bag. Either he is exaggerating or his friend was transporting gold bars, maybe? Who knows. In the end, Alex had to deal with all of that last night, get up at 6 to drive her 3 hours to Rome for her flight, unload it all, only to come back and find the car had been towed. He is currently on his way back to Florence to come to my house, get all my crap and cab it to his house, then come back to finish out the afternoon/evening at work. Poor guy with a heart of gold. Now I don't feel so bad about my two mediumish, not so heavy bags.
I guess I will spend this weekend closing out and seeing the stuff I have yet to see. There are plenty. On Sunday, Alex is going to follow me around the city for a picture marathon, allowing me to finally get pictures of me in Firenze!
I hope you are all well! Miss you tons!
Tanti Baci,
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Italian Sand Through The American Eyeglass: 11/16/06
Hello to all!
Well, my friends, we are getting down to the wire. I will probably try to send a last update on Sat. or Sun., but this will probably be the last email with pics. Enjoy them.
I have had a great few days. I FINALLY climbed the dome at sunset on Tuesday, only to find there was a big fire near Florence that caused a ton of smoke, so no orange sun was visible. I later I found out they were burning to kill the mosquitoes. Aren't mosquitoes supposed to die when it gets cold? I swear, I cannot wait to get away from them. I did get some great sunset pics the day before, however. I was getting frustrated because the pics did not have same color I saw when looking at the sky and the buildings. Then I realized that my sunglasses are tinted a yellowish brown. Duh. It is nice looking at the world through rose colored glasses.
I also went to the Museo del Duomo. This is the museum that houses a lot of the original stonework, art, and such that originally hung in Santa Maria Del Fiore, the Duomo. It really is an amazing museum. It also holds Donatello's Mary Magdelene, which is a favorite of my friend, Rose. Mrs. Metivier, I hope you enjoy the pic I threw in for you!
Yesterday was really the best day, perhaps on this whole trip. I decided to go up to the Cinque Terre for the day. The Cinque Terre is now a National Park that consists of 5 tiny towns balnced on the Northern Italian Coast. Each town is connected by train, or hiking paths that go along the mountains that run between each town. I started at the most northern city, Monterosso. I made really good time and as it was off season, there was not much happening, nor sun to enjoy on the beach. Even though I had not planned it, I decided to hike to Vernazza. I am not sure how far it is miles, maybe 3 or 4 miles, but let me tell you, there are some stairs! I was not wearing the proper attire at all. It was rainy, but humid and pretty warm. I had on a tshirt, jeans and my stylish down jacket with a fur collar. I made it though and got some amazing pictures, as well as inspiration on my journey. Only in Italy can you buy a bottle of homemade booze (limoncello) from an old guy named Giuseppe on the middle of a mountain hiking path and feel alright about drinking it. I know I said I hate limoncello, but it was hard to say no to this guy. Plus, throughout the day I sipped a little. Somehow it was all gone by the time I got ack to Florence. Sorry, Kay, your warning came too late! I definitely did not feel so hot last night when I went to bed at 8:30.
In one moment, things can happen to you to change everything. Our moods are dancing a fine line between bad and good on a daily basis. While it may only take a moment to fall into the bad or nervous moods, sometimes all it takes is a day to put it right. In one day you can find yourself again, your faith in something bigger can be renewed, and you can discover a whole other resource for motivation. yesterday was one of those days for me. I enjoyed nature, saw the ocean, met a great couple from Minnesota, and had a steaming bowl of Trofie al Pesto, just for my mom. It was a magical day. The pics will give you an idea of how beautiful the Cinque Terre is. It is my favorite place in the world aside from jackson Lake. When I die, I want part of me to be there forever.
The ride home was very peaceful as I realized I was exhausted. We passed a mountain that looked like it was covered in snow, but it was actually a marble quarry. Imagine: that very mountain is where Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo Da VInci, and many others got their marble for their sculptures. Today it is still being mined for artists to transform. After that I fell into a lovely sleep on the smooth train ride. I had gotten up at 6:30am to head out and the hike did me in. I came home, packed a little, and fell into my bed.
The next few days will be full of stress as I pack. Florence definitely understands that people come here to shop, making it easy to find cheap luggage to buy on the street. I had to do it. I bought a big red rolling bag for 10Euro that will hold all the stuff I bought (funny, I really did not feel like I shopped thhat much!). Coming to Florence close to xmas is a bad idea!
I hope you are all well and enjoy these last pics. I miss you all.
Picture From the Cinque Terre
Museo Del'Opera Del Duoma: Mary Magdalene and Michaelangelo's Unfinished Pieta
Well, my friends, we are getting down to the wire. I will probably try to send a last update on Sat. or Sun., but this will probably be the last email with pics. Enjoy them.
I have had a great few days. I FINALLY climbed the dome at sunset on Tuesday, only to find there was a big fire near Florence that caused a ton of smoke, so no orange sun was visible. I later I found out they were burning to kill the mosquitoes. Aren't mosquitoes supposed to die when it gets cold? I swear, I cannot wait to get away from them. I did get some great sunset pics the day before, however. I was getting frustrated because the pics did not have same color I saw when looking at the sky and the buildings. Then I realized that my sunglasses are tinted a yellowish brown. Duh. It is nice looking at the world through rose colored glasses.
I also went to the Museo del Duomo. This is the museum that houses a lot of the original stonework, art, and such that originally hung in Santa Maria Del Fiore, the Duomo. It really is an amazing museum. It also holds Donatello's Mary Magdelene, which is a favorite of my friend, Rose. Mrs. Metivier, I hope you enjoy the pic I threw in for you!
Yesterday was really the best day, perhaps on this whole trip. I decided to go up to the Cinque Terre for the day. The Cinque Terre is now a National Park that consists of 5 tiny towns balnced on the Northern Italian Coast. Each town is connected by train, or hiking paths that go along the mountains that run between each town. I started at the most northern city, Monterosso. I made really good time and as it was off season, there was not much happening, nor sun to enjoy on the beach. Even though I had not planned it, I decided to hike to Vernazza. I am not sure how far it is miles, maybe 3 or 4 miles, but let me tell you, there are some stairs! I was not wearing the proper attire at all. It was rainy, but humid and pretty warm. I had on a tshirt, jeans and my stylish down jacket with a fur collar. I made it though and got some amazing pictures, as well as inspiration on my journey. Only in Italy can you buy a bottle of homemade booze (limoncello) from an old guy named Giuseppe on the middle of a mountain hiking path and feel alright about drinking it. I know I said I hate limoncello, but it was hard to say no to this guy. Plus, throughout the day I sipped a little. Somehow it was all gone by the time I got ack to Florence. Sorry, Kay, your warning came too late! I definitely did not feel so hot last night when I went to bed at 8:30.
In one moment, things can happen to you to change everything. Our moods are dancing a fine line between bad and good on a daily basis. While it may only take a moment to fall into the bad or nervous moods, sometimes all it takes is a day to put it right. In one day you can find yourself again, your faith in something bigger can be renewed, and you can discover a whole other resource for motivation. yesterday was one of those days for me. I enjoyed nature, saw the ocean, met a great couple from Minnesota, and had a steaming bowl of Trofie al Pesto, just for my mom. It was a magical day. The pics will give you an idea of how beautiful the Cinque Terre is. It is my favorite place in the world aside from jackson Lake. When I die, I want part of me to be there forever.
The ride home was very peaceful as I realized I was exhausted. We passed a mountain that looked like it was covered in snow, but it was actually a marble quarry. Imagine: that very mountain is where Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo Da VInci, and many others got their marble for their sculptures. Today it is still being mined for artists to transform. After that I fell into a lovely sleep on the smooth train ride. I had gotten up at 6:30am to head out and the hike did me in. I came home, packed a little, and fell into my bed.
The next few days will be full of stress as I pack. Florence definitely understands that people come here to shop, making it easy to find cheap luggage to buy on the street. I had to do it. I bought a big red rolling bag for 10Euro that will hold all the stuff I bought (funny, I really did not feel like I shopped thhat much!). Coming to Florence close to xmas is a bad idea!
I hope you are all well and enjoy these last pics. I miss you all.
Picture From the Cinque Terre
Museo Del'Opera Del Duoma: Mary Magdalene and Michaelangelo's Unfinished Pieta
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