Barcellona – Chunk 2

*I am doing these updates in a series of chunks because it’s too much for one post!

In short, Barcelona would be Manhattan’s Upper East Side if it were moved to the Mediterranean. Absolutely beautiful. And more than just appearances. Let me begin…

DAY 1

We arrived at our hostel via bus and metro. Other than a tricky elevator, we had no real problems finding the place, which was located right in the center of the city. As soon as we opened the door to the reception it felt like home.

Our Hostel

They were welcoming, helpful, and spoke a friendly English. We went to a place called Frico for brunch (phone: 93 452 54 95), recommended by the hostel. Brunch had been missing in our lives for two months in Italy, so we were excited to have eggs, bacon (not just pancetta), and toast in our tummies. Later that day we found another thing that had been missing: Starbucks. Real coffee. Hard to believe that in Italy you could miss coffee? Well, in Italy, a café is an espresso. Don’t order a café Americano – it’s watered-down espresso, not coffee. So it was nice to have coffee.

After a nap, we made our way to the Antonio Gaudí park. Gaudí is pretty much the patron saint of Barcelona. He designed tons of stuff in Art Nouveau style, including this Park Güel, and he began work on a cathedral called La Sagrada Família, before being hit and killed by – get this – a tram car! Seriously watch those tram cars.

To get to the Park Güel, we climbed a huge hill, and took the outdoor escalators. Cool.

Sara on the escalator

When we arrived, it was dusk, but we were fortunate to see most of the park and a beautiful sunset before its closing at dark. It had been a beautiful day weather-wise.

Park Güel at sunset

On our way through the park we kept seeing this castle, called Tibidabo, especially after dark when it was all lit up.

We never did go all the way up there, but apparently in the summer time there is a sort of amusement park (notice the Ferris Wheel in the last photo?) adjacent to this beautiful construction.

That night, we wandered down to the Barri Gòtic neighborhood, near the Mediterranean beaches. We were heading towards a restaurant recommended by the hostel and a guidebook, but ran into a guy I had known at Lehigh, and ate dinner at a place called Taller de Tapas (phone: 93 268 85 59 and www.tallerdetapas.com) with him and two of his friends, sort of by accident and insistence of the waitor. Perhaps they were short on tables? None of us really minded, though. Sangria helped ease some of the awkwardness. And the food was delicious! We had a bunch of seafood – shrimp, cuttlefish, (cuddlefish for you, Michelle!) mussels, and more.

Show Me Your Mussel

Tapas, a Spanish tradition, are a wonderful gift to the world of cuisine. You sample everything in really small portions, and it’s very conducive to sharing. I spent a little more than I had planned on that dinner, but I really enjoyed it. Afterwards Sara and I went to a club called Shoko, located along a strip of clubs which actually sit right on the beach. Sort of under the boardwalk. Like if the boardwalk had a bottom floor. Truly an awesome concept, I don’t know why we don’t adapt it in New Jersey. We also met our first “stag party” at Shoko, which is a European term for “bachelor party,” and which is often banned from places if they are too obvious. This one wasn’t. They were a bunch of nice guys from England. Actually nice guys from England kind of dominate the scene in Barcelona – beer drinking on La Rambla by day, beer drinking on the Mediterranean by night.

Matt, Me, Paul, Sara, and another friend

DAY 2

The next day, Saturday, Sara and I headed towards La Rambla, one of the main streets which leads to the sea from the city center. On the way, we did some shopping, stopped for lunch at a place called Txapela (phone: 93 412 02 89 and www.angrup.com) and ate outside at a leisurely European pace.

Second Tapas

Then we got some postcards, took a lot of pictures, and bought a snack at the Boqueria market. I got fresh coconut pieces which I munched on for the next two days, for only €1! Sara got a delicious fresh-fruit smoothie. Afterwards we went into a shop called Deƨigual (www.desigual.com) where a unique jacket had caught my eye. The jacket was really expensive but I ended up with a brightly-colored top and a new favorite store. And then we got Dunkin’ Donuts, and found the Placa Reial, a beautiful piazza.

We made it down La Rambla without being pick-pocketed, and took a ton more pictures along the coast.

We explored a pier which reminded me of Inner Harbor, Baltimore.

And dipped our feet in the Mediterranean!

It was a nice and sunny evening, but then we were so exhausted from walking around all day that we hailed a cab on the way back. The cab driver didn’t try to rip us off. Yay.

We bought groceries and made some fish and risotto for dinner, in the hostel’s kitchen. Later that night, we went to a bar called Chipito’s. They have hundreds of different shots for less than €2 each, many of which the bartenders proceed to light on fire before serving. One called “Harry Potter” causes sparks to fly; one called “Boy Scout” allows you to roast marshmallows on the bar before consuming the contents of the shot. Without adequate warning, you may even be lit on fire: “Here, just stick your thumb in here…” (bartender grabs my hand and a lighter) WHOOSH! *My thumb alights and is then shoved in my own mouth to extinguish!* For the more mild-hearted, Chipito’s also offers a selection of jungle-juice-type drinks. €11 gets you a huge glass. Split it with a friend or two. Or five. After Chipito’s and another chance meeting with some classmates, Sara and I went to another club near the sea, called Catwalk. We had to pay an entrance fee and it was still pretty crowded on both floors, but it was a good time.

Shots at Chipitos

DAY 3

On Sunday we headed to Gaudí’s Sagrada Família. We tried to find a place to eat but it was very difficult until about 11,00 when we saw some people sitting outside being served, so we made ourselves a spot and enjoyed another breakfast of eggs, potatoes, toast, and cappuccino. I guess the Spaniards like to sleep late on Sunday like the Romans.

Mmmm, breakfast!

When we arrived at Sagrada Família, I was immediately impressed, although a bit confused as to what the heck was going on. There were so many different styles and colors and textures and ideas all meshed into one. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Apparently it’s still not finished, either, which means I will just have to go back in 20 or so years to see it completed!

Beautiful. Go see it.

Sunday night, we made reservations through the hostel to see a flamenco show, called Tablao de Carmen: flamenco puro. (Carmen’s Table: pure flamenco? As in, non-rehearsed, improvisational.) It claims to be the best flamenco show in Barcelona, and it was definitely a wonderful experience, including a traditional Andalusian dinner and wine. We heard there was another show for much less than we paid which included tapas and drinks, but ours was located within an experimental town called Poble Espanyol, built for Barcelona’s 1929 International Exhibition, which we had wanted to see. It contains buildings which are reproduced from various regions of Spain, and many restaurants and shops dedicated to different crafts: jewelry making, textiles, etc. Unfortunately they were not open – either because it was Sunday or because it was the off-season – but we got a sense of the place and then enjoyed an energetic flamenco performance. On the way there we also stopped at the MNAC, a huge museum which boasts plenty of fountains and lights, but they only run on Fridays and Saturdays. We had seen a glimpse from Park Güel when it was lit up, and I can only imagine how breathtaking it must be up close with the fountains running.

I guess this means I have to go back someday.

Sara outside the MNAC

Flamenco Puro

Next up: Berlin.

Departure – Chunk 1

*I am doing these updates in a series of chunks because it’s too much for one post!

Arianna helped Sara and I book a car service to Ciampino airport for our departure Friday, since no public transportation would have been open by 3:30 on Friday morning, except maybe the Thursday night buses. For safety and sanity reasons, we decided on the car service. Massimo, it was called, i.e. “the Best,” recommended by a friend of Arianna’s. The driver picked us up in a Mercedes, and he was very nice, so I guess it was the Best. We spoke a bit of Italian, mostly about how tired we all were, and arrived at the airport in no time. The driver told me to have Arianna call him again for our return journey. But the €30 each was a bit steep, so I nodded my head, said thank you and goodbye. I think he had interpreted my Italian wrong anyway, and thought that we were spending two months in Barcelona, Berlin, and Prague before returning to Rome. So he won’t be expecting us anytime soon.

Anyway, Sara and I had tried to do an online check-in with RyanAir, but because we don’t have EU passports, it wouldn’t let us select our nationality as “American” or “United States” or any of the things which apply to us. So we nixed the online check-in idea and decided to pay the extra €4 and stand in the line to avoid confusion. Turns out, we had to go to a separate line to pay by credit card because they don’t accept cash at the check-in line, and while on that line we met a few other girls who had actually done the online check-in but had specified “Italian” as their nationality (a thought Sara and I had thoroughly considered) but they had to pay extra and stand on both lines anyway. So boo to the US for not being in the European Union. And Sara had to check one of her bags, because she was being honest and asking. Otherwise they would have let her carry it on, as she did in subsequent flights. Morals of that story: don’t specify online check-in with RyanAir if you’re not an EU national, just pay the €4 when buying the ticket originally; and don’t ask whether you need to check your bag if you don’t want to, just shove it in the overhead compartment with the help of your friend or a burly Italian man, whichever is first available.

The flight went well albeit uncomfortable, cold chairs. What do you want for low-cost though, eh?

La Pausa di Primavera - Chunk 0

(Spring Break)

Was quite an adventure! Here's what our self-made itinerary looked like:

Friday 22 February
Rome (Ciampino – CIA) to Girona (GRO)
Flight FR9183 at 6:15 am on RyanAir

3 nights at Sant Jordi Alberg in Barcelona
C/ Roger de Luria 40 1-2, Barcelona
+34 933424161
albergsantjordi@yahoo.es

Monday 25 February
Barcelona (BCN) to Berlin (Schoenefeld – SXF)
Flight 4526 at 10:40 am on EasyJet

3 nights at Schlafmeile Hostel in Berlin
Weichsel Strasse 25, Berlin
+49 3096514676 or +49 (0)1777793422
anja_glenn_aotearoa@freenet.de

Thursday 28 February
Berlin (HBF) to Prague (Holesovice)
Train 00177 at 12:46 pm

3 nights at Emma Hostel in Prague
Na Zderaze 10, Prague
+42 0774807787
emmahostel@yahoo.com

Sunday 2 March
Prague (PRG) to Rome (Fiumicino – FCO)
Flight 2386 at 12:30 pm on SkyEurope

Sara and I are now both safe and sound at home, not really ready, but sort of ready, to tackle the week ahead in Rome. More updates to follow.

I Miei Genitori

(My Parents)

Mom and Dad were here all weekend. They arrived safely and on time Friday morning in Rome. I met them around midday at their hotel, we had a nice lunch, and then I went to school to study while they took a short nap.

We met up again for dinner with my friend Sara at a trattoria near the Spanish Steps, called Trattoria Otello alla Concordia. Our reservation was for 7:30 but we got there a little early, and the place wasn't even open yet! So we walked around for a while and did some window shopping. After dinner mom and dad went to the hotel again to catch up on some ZZZ's because neither had slept well on the plane and they were extremely jet-lagged. Sara and I went to Art Cafe for some late-night dancing.

The next morning mom and dad woke up early for a tour of Rome which lasted until the evening. I did some studying for midterms. We met up again for dinner at a pizza place recommended by a magazine called Where Rome. It was really good pizza but very slow service. We wondered whether they had forgotten about us! In actuality, that's just the way it is here. No one got their pizza very quickly; it is probably made fresh to order.

I took a cab home and attempted to do some more studying.

On Sunday at 11,00 mom and dad met me at the Ottaviano metro stop where we walked to the Vatican city together. Arianna also met us at St. Peter's, and we all listened to the Pope's address at 12,00. Being German, his Italian accent was a little more difficult to understand, and his English as well! But it was a great experience to be in the piazza for this Catholic/Italian tradition and I was glad they had met Arianna.

In the afternoon, I took mom and dad on a bus to my school. Dad was happy to finally see the Sycamore trees lining the streets on the way over, hehe. I showed them my quasi-campus and my printmaking studio. Then we walked towards Piazza del Popolo and stopped for lunch on the way. It turned out to be a sunny day so we ate on the tables outside. We shared chicken, rice with mushrooms in a white wine sauce, meatballs with peas, bread, and Coca Cola. After lunch we headed into the Piazza, and then into Villa Borghese. Mom and dad got Gelatto and I headed back to school.

Yesterday, mom and dad did a half-day tour of a hill town where the Pope stays on vacation. They said it seemed as though the bus wasn't going to make it over the small bridges and narrow streets. The place was not tourist-y at all, and the shopowners barely spoke English. They did a wine tasting and bought some pastries from a bakery.

After class at 18,00 I met them at their hotel again, where we exchanged much-needed items from home for my heavy sweaters and winter things. Then we went to a bancomat so I could give dad a short-term loan, since another bancomat had eaten his credit card the day before! When this was done, we ventured over to Casa Mia (my house) for dinner with Arianna and the kids.

Gifts were exchanged, and Italian words. Mom did very well! Maybe better than me as far as comprehension :-/

We had dinner of tortellini soup, my favorite bread with nuts, bread with olives, polpetone (like a meatloaf), meat with a "salsa verde" (green sauce), and dessert of fragole from Spain (strawberries) and homemade panna (whipped cream). And wine to compliment the dishes. Arianna is a great host :-)

My parents really enjoyed the dinner. We talked about a lot of different things like food (of course), colleges in the United States, taxes, previous homestay students, Iraq and the war, customs, family, and much more - in Italian and broken Italian. It lasted for a few hours and then Arianna graciously drove us back to the hotel. My parents have now experienced pretty much every mode of transportation possible in Rome... airplane, cab, metro, bus, car, and on foot! We said goodnight and goodbye, and Arianna and I went back home.

Today my parents are in Firenze (Florence) and I have a midterm at 18,00. Poo. I will be updating this post with pictures later tonight.

Play, Play, Pray

Carnevale is officially over now, but I posted some Venice photos - stolen from Facebook, courtesy of Denise - in my Picasa album.

*Teaser*

From La Dolce Vita: Month Two

The Chinese New Year was this weekend, so on Sunday there was a celebration in Piazza del Popolo. Pictures also posted from that.

From La Dolce Vita: Month Two

For Ash Wednesday (exactly one week ago), a few of us attended service at a cathedral called Chiesa Pontificia di San Gioacchino ai Prati di Castello. Yep, that's the whole name. It was all in Italian but I understood a great deal of the sermon, which was predictably about the meaning of Lent and that it is a time to return to the Lord, not just to give up a bad habit.

The cathedral was beautiful and "la cenere" (the ashes) were placed on our hair, accompanied by the traditional phrase: "Ricordati che sei polvere e in polvere tornerai" (Remember that you are dust, and to dust you will return).

Taken from the bulletin:
• La cenere ricorda che siamo niente, siamo polvere, siamo creature; è simbolo di caducità e di penitenza. L'uscire dai nostri posti per ricevere te ceneri esprime la nostra volontà di impegnarci in questi quaranta giorni nell'ascolto della parola del Signore e nella conversione.

My (fairly literal) translation:
• The ashes remind us that we are nothing, we are dust, we are creatures; it is symbolic of our falling and of penitence (of sins and penitence). The going out of our place (out of our way) to receive ashes expresses our desire of undertaking in these 40 days in listening to the word of the Lord and in the conversion.

My (interpretive) translation:
• The ashes remind us that we are nothing, we are dust, we are but creatures; it is symbolic of sins and of penitence. By going out of our way to receive ashes, we express our desire to undertake in these 40 days of Lent the listening to the word of the Lord and self-conversion.

Aided by Webster, now I can see the problem professional translators have in keeping the fidelity of the words versus expressing their meaning as un-clumsily as possible. Nevertheless, you get the point.

Italian Keyboards

Interesting to note that the Italian keyboard differs slightly from its American counterpart. Punctuation marks are in different locations, so I keep making weird typos, and the @ key is impossibly hard to find when attempting to send e-mails. I still hesitate for a good 6 seconds every time I go to send something before I find it again - which, by my book, is molto lento (very slow). You have to hit the "Alt+Gr" key in order to type it. Whatever that means. Alt+Gr, you're crampin' my style!!

Also included in this fascinating keyboard are shortcuts for € (Alt+Gr+E) and àèìòù near the Enter key, plus éç°§ accessible with the Shift key. And a host of other pecularities which make me very conscious of my fingers while typing, such as a minuscule Shift key on the left.

I'm just glad I didn't study abroad in Temple Tokyo. Imagine how lost I'd be on THAT keyboard...

This Weekend, and Last Week

Since my past two weeks were quite eventful, now that I think about it, here is a second post for your reading pleasure...

So this Friday (two days ago), we all met at school to buy tickets for Saturday night's soccer game at the Stadio Olympico. You need a passport when buying the tickets, according to a new law. So we waited in a long line to pay our £25 each. Some of us were too hungover to wait on line and sat in the sun instead?

After that, I went shopping, since we were already out on Via Del Corso. I ended up buying sunglasses for £8, a Sandro Ferrone shirt for £15, a purple necklace from Rossa Fish for £15, and a black dress from United Colors of Benetton for £15. It was a great day to go shopping because the period of Saldi, or winter sales, was ending so everything was marked down even more than it had been during the month of January. Of course it wasn't the cream of the crop selection-wise, and the dress and shirt need minor repairs (I bargained for an additional £5 off the dress because of this, in broken Italian yay!) but overall, I am very happy with my purchases and the fact that I restrained myself up to this point shopping-wise. Arianna was also very happy to see my Sandro Ferrone shirt, and showed me the jackets she owns by him in her own closet.

Friday night, no one was answering their phones so I didn't have dinner plans and I rushed to the GS Supermercati which closes at 20,00 (8 o'clock), to buy some fettucine and tomato sauce. Probably not the best combination but I was desperate and pressed for time. The fettuccine was dough-like, made with eggs but not cooked all the way through, and instructed me to cook it for 4 minutes. It sounded good. It tasted good. But the next day, it didn't sit too good in my stomach.

Anyway, that night we went to a lounge/bar/club called Radio Cafè which, in all honesty, I thought was called Radio City when we arrived because of the distracting blue neon lights. You go in, pay the £8 entrance fee, and descend a stone staircase. Down below you find a space which might be best described as dungeon-turned-runway. On either side of the glowing runway are low tables and many cusions and ottomans, which lend it that NYC lounge-y feeling. A little further down the runway, passing underneath stone archways, is a dance floor with a DJ booth for the apse. We grabbed two tables and many pillows, and had ourselves a seat. We talked, danced, drank, and went home around 3 am. A good time was had by all.

Until I woke up Saturday with the worst stomach ache / nausea ever. Not hungover. Just "mal di pancia" which caused me to not even hold water down until later that night. However, I did force myself to go to the partita di calcio (soccer game) which I had already bought tickets for. I didn't even stay for the halftime show, but was able to catch the end on TV with the kids. Roma won!

Lo Stadio Olympico

I drank some tea. I ate some crackers.

Today I felt better, and had pesto and pasta with the family for lunch around 14,00. Then I went to school, made another print, worked on some Spring Break plans with Sara. We went to dinner near the metro stop by school - thanking goodness something was open at 20,00 on Sunday - and had a great chicken with rice for £7 each, while sitting outside of the Piazza del Popolo. I also learned how to correctly pronounce rice ("riso" with a rolled "r").

Outdoor Dining with Sara

Came back home, Arianna wasn't here but the kids were watching another soccer game on TV. A little after midnight, she came home all decked out and perhaps a little ubriaca (intoxicated) because she said she'd been at a feste (party) for Acquario because it had been her birthday on the 3rd, and a few of her friends were also Aquarius(es?). She looked great and didn't stop smiling - it is so nice to see her healthy again, since she has been recovering from her two eye surgeries for the past few weeks. She scampered off to bed and on that note, I must do the same.

Last Weekend, of Last Week

Okay so I'm a little late on updating, but I have had an interesting 2 weeks... and soon to be an interesting 2 more because mom and dad are coming to visit, and after that we have Spring Break!

Last Friday (not 2 days ago, but before that), I had a class trip to the Printing Museum on the "Via del Stampa" - literally, the Street of Printing. It was easy to get to, located right next to the Trevi Fountain. We spent a few hours reviewing many beautiful prints from famous people such as Giovanni Battista Piranesi. Then we all got cappuccino compliments of our professor Mario ("And you ask me, 'Why, Mario, must we do this?' and I tell you, 'Because you must always keep your tools clean so that we get a nice print.'" Allora, I digress). We also sampled some Carnevale treats. Then 4 of us explored the Jewish Ghetto, made our way into a museum in the basement of a Synagogue, and got some falafel before going home. That night, I went to a pizza place in Trastevere called Dar Poeta. At first, they didn't understand the concept that we wanted two salads and one pizza for two of us to share... so we got one salad and one pizza. Perhaps our "due" was not clear enough? The pizza was fabulous, though.

Dinner at Dar Poeta

After dinner, we ran to a chocolate shop nearby in the pouring rain, and everyone had a Bailey's shot in a chocolate cup, topped with whipped cream and sprinkles. The woman was explaining how to take them...

How to Eat/Drink a Chocolate Shot

After the rain died down and our stomachs were settled (When in Rome, Drink as the Romans Do, right?) we made our way to a bar called Stairs which was remarkably close by. It's as though we had planned it. But we didn't. I think this was one of the first nights where dinner and after-dinner festivities continued within walking distance of each other. Yay :-)

The next day, I had another class trip for Anthropology to a smaller city called Rocglione, which is utterly difficult to pronounce correctly. It's just outside of Rome, and we got there by metro, train, and then bus, which took in total just over an hour. Maybe two, with the waiting. Before our bus ride we grabbed some pizza, and my friend Caroline was belittled in Italian for not having the correct change. They are not a fan of £50 bills here. No one ever wants to break them for you. In Venice, we each wanted to pay separately for our cappuccino one afternoon, and the cashier was very upset with me, being the last one to pay, thus hurling all the change left in the drawer onto the counter and telling me that it would just have to be good enough.

Anyway, after the pizza incident we made it to Ronciglione for a horse race, Carnevale-style. Like the Palio races of Sienna, which only happen 2x a year, this was kind of a big deal for the town. Pictures, and a video, tell all...

Carnevale Dust

New Desktop Background

The marching was slightly more risque than what we had in High School, haha.

So although I understood little of what the announcer was saying in Italian, except "Do not use flash photography," and "Hold onto your kids," the atmosphere was great and the race was exciting albeit very short! We'd had to give up our "illegal" spots about 3 times although Italians ended up crowding there anyway closer to the start of the race, and we couldn't see what was going on until the horses turned the corner. Apparently the bare-backed horses sometimes do not want to go into their pens, or start at all. There were 3 heats of 6 horses each, and a few horses fell on their way around the corners, which is why everyone had to hold onto their kids, haha. The race was almost called off a few weeks before as some animal rights groups were hassling the town. However, the horses were fitted with orthopedic horseshoes and all was well in the world. Following the race, I had the best cup of hot cocoa EVER made, pretty much pure chocolate topped with pure cream, hehe. I also bought £8 worth of Carnevale candy (nuts and dried bananas and such), unintentionally of course. After we had walked around a bit, basking in all the decor and atmosphere of Ronciglione, it was time to catch the last bus back to Rome.

(For more info on the Ronciglione Carnevale, in terrible English, click here).

That night, I went to Art Cafè a.k.a. Babel, which proved to be very trendy and un-American on Saturdays, unlike the Fridays I'd been hearing about. When they play American pop and "Commercial" music, drawing swarms of American students and non-natives.

HOUSE

Soooo after all this, you would think I'd be tired. But then came Super Bowl Sunday and since the GIANTS made it, why shouldn't I? Even if the game started at midnight here...

Ok, Abbey.
(at Abbey's Irish Pub)

Must...stay...awake...

Ohmigosh we WON!!!
(Don't scream)

A fabulous ending to a fabulous weekend.