Ciao Tutti,
The past two days in Florence have been very busy. Yesterday, I arrived to my hostel at noon and checked into my room. Then, I went straight to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see the Statue of David. It was as impressive as I remember. I did not like that the museum was holding a modern art exhibit right next to a lot of the pieces of art. It honestly did not fit. There was a room with all plaster molds which are all white, but in the middle of the room there was a color statue of a man looking at the water at his reflection. It made no sense. They also had a replica of David with blonde hair and red lips. It was very strange and did not fit the museum at all.
After the Accademia, I headed for the Duomo. It was as big as I remember, but the inside seemed a bit nicer - it was less gaudy than I remember. Then, I saw the golden doors of the Baptistry and grabbed a piece of pizza in the piazza which overlooked the Duomo. Then, I got gelato at my favorite place in Florence, Grom, and went to the Piazza Della Reppublica. They were having an olive oil and wine tasting festival in the piazza (I was there for it last year, too), so I tasted a few different things. My favorite was olive oil with crushed up basil. It was phenomenal.
Then, I headed down to the leather market and tried to find a new wallet but had no luck. I rubbed the nose of the famous statue of a pig which guarantees my return to Florence as well! Italy won't be able to get rid of me.
Then, I walked to the Ponte Vecchio just to see the massive crowds of tourists, before turning up the river to take a few pictures of it. After, I walked past the Uffizzi Gallery and sat in Piazza della Signorina for a few minutes. Then, I walked to a place for dinner that has been suggested to me by a lot of my friends - Il Gatto e La Volpe. I ordered a plate of gnocchi pesto. It was really good.
After dinner, I stumbled upon the church that Dante first saw Beatrice in. My inner geek came out. I was fascinated! It was an old, dimly lit church, but had the graves of Beatrice and one of her other relatives there.
Then, I went to the train station to cancel my ticket to Verona. Given the recent earthquake activity, I decided to forgo Verona and go straight to Milan. Then, I headed back to the hostel and had a good chat with the people in my room before heading to bed around midnight.
This morning, I slept in until 11:00 AM - a much needed rest. I've been waking up between 3:30 AM and 7:45 AM since Thursday. I headed straight to lunch with one of my professors from Penn State who is teaching here for a month and met her husband. Other than going to the wrong place to meet them, the lunch was great and it was nice to see a familiar face and talk a bit with someone I know.
Then, I walked up to try to go to the Boboli Gardens, but like every other museum in Florence, they were closed today because it is a Monday. I honestly do not understand why every museum is closed every Monday. They should stagger their off days.
I then headed up to Dante's old house which was converted into a museum and the inner geek in me came out again. For those of you that don't know, I took a class on Dante this past semester. It was really cool to be able to think that he wrote his early poetry in the very house I was standing in today. It also had a very cool exhibit on the history of the old political parties Florence - one of which was the reason Dante was exiled from Florence. They also had a mini-movie with depictions of scenes from his Divine Comedy.
After I left Dante's house, I went back to Grom to grab another gelato - need to maintain my gelato a day diet! Then, I walked a few blocks to take a picture of the intersection of Via del Inferno and Via del Purgatorio. Then, I walked back to my hostel stopping by a souvenir market on the the way.
Tomorrow morning, I will take a wine and food tour of Florence. Then, I'm off to the train station! I've enjoyed my time in Florence, but am ready to head to Milan tomorrow afternoon.
Michele
Showing posts with label Penn State. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Penn State. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Friday, June 1, 2012
Everyone knows Everyone
Ciao Tutti!
I am on a train that is traveling along the coast of Italy on my way to Naples and Capri. As I look out the window, I can see the mountains of Sicily across the water.
I arrived in Reggio di Calabria two days ago at about 11:00 AM and took a taxi straight to the Bed and Breakfast that one of the Penn State professors arranged for me. There, I met the owner, also named Michele, who showed me to my own room. After dropping my bags off, I walked to the school that the Penn State study abroad program is held at. The walk was a bit dirty, but I was actually expecting it to be a bit dirtier. This is the first time I've been to a city south of the Amalfi Coast and had no idea of what I should actually expect.
After about a 30 minute walk, I arrived at their school - the actual function is an engineering school, but Penn State rents a few classrooms every summer. As soon as I walked up the staircase, I was greeted by a few friendly faces that I saw just under a month ago! We started talking and more students I knew began to emerge from class. Then one of my Italian professors who grew up in Reggio di Calabria, Vincenzo Gatto, emerged. The students ran to catch the bus back to their apartments and I stayed in the school to have lunch with Vincenzo and the professor that helped me arrange my accommodations, Fiona. It was great to see them both!
After lunch, I walked with Fiona to a pastry bar in town called Cordon Blue. She treated me to a caffè and a few pastries including the best cannoli I've had in my life. After a while, two of my friends from Penn State joined us. One of them, Giulia, is studying with the program while another, Nikki, was visiting like me.
When we finished, Fiona went home and I stayed with Nikki and Giulia. First, we found my Italian bank. Then, we just walked down their main street, Corso di Giuseppe Garibaldi. After an hour, Nikki had to go meet her Italian family and head back to Sicily and Giulia went to head back to her apartment, so I decided to walk along the water. It was a beautiful site. You could see Sicily and the water was so blue. Sicily was so close that I felt like I could swim to it.
After a short walk along the beach, I grabbed my gelato (I'm trying the patented gelato a day diet). Then, I headed back to my bed and breakfast to relax. About an hour later, I headed out to dinner to a pizza place called Pepy's. It was pretty good. Then, I went back and crashed for the night. I was running on three hours sleep!
Yesterday, I woke up and went to school with a few of my friends. They had their Italian conversation class with Vincenzo's cousin, Eleonora. We spoke about dialects, specifically the Calabrian and Sicilian dialects, the ongoing debate about nuclear power, and the culture of Reggio di Calabria. It was a lot of fun.
Then, we were all invited to a free lunch about a 20 minute drive up the side of a mountain with a group of Italian students from the university. Their student government sponsored a lunch for the American students. It was a blast. We were able to socialize with Italian students and eat what seemed like a 10 course meal! The restaurant was on a beautiful piece of land with beautiful views in every direction! Then, an Italian musician played an accordion-like instrument outside while we took in the view. He played traditional Calabrian songs. It was a great experience.
After lunch, I headed back to the bed and breakfast with Vincenzo who knows the owner. I had to switch to a different bed and breakfast down the road, so we met back up after an hour to go get gelato. We went to Gelateria Cesare and met one other Penn State student, Mario, as well as Fiona and her husband who flew in from the UK the night before. Then, Vincenzo, Mario, and myself walked along the Corso di Giuseppe Garibaldi where everyone walks up and down every night to socialize. Vincenzo said that you meet everyone there - your friends, your barber, and even your shrink, if you need one! Vincenzo met two friends from his childhood. It was quite the experience.
Then, we sat down at Cordon Blue for an hour and chatted a bit more before retiring for the night. This morning, I took a taxi to the train station (Vincenzo even knew my taxi driver) at 6:00 AM.
Reggio di Calabria, for me, is a true Italian city. It is unique. There are not a lot of tourists. It has not lost its charm. People walk down the streets to socialize. Old men meet in squares to talk. Young lovers sit down by the ocean. Everyone knows everyone. It's a small town in a small city. I like it.
Michele
I am on a train that is traveling along the coast of Italy on my way to Naples and Capri. As I look out the window, I can see the mountains of Sicily across the water.
I arrived in Reggio di Calabria two days ago at about 11:00 AM and took a taxi straight to the Bed and Breakfast that one of the Penn State professors arranged for me. There, I met the owner, also named Michele, who showed me to my own room. After dropping my bags off, I walked to the school that the Penn State study abroad program is held at. The walk was a bit dirty, but I was actually expecting it to be a bit dirtier. This is the first time I've been to a city south of the Amalfi Coast and had no idea of what I should actually expect.
After about a 30 minute walk, I arrived at their school - the actual function is an engineering school, but Penn State rents a few classrooms every summer. As soon as I walked up the staircase, I was greeted by a few friendly faces that I saw just under a month ago! We started talking and more students I knew began to emerge from class. Then one of my Italian professors who grew up in Reggio di Calabria, Vincenzo Gatto, emerged. The students ran to catch the bus back to their apartments and I stayed in the school to have lunch with Vincenzo and the professor that helped me arrange my accommodations, Fiona. It was great to see them both!
After lunch, I walked with Fiona to a pastry bar in town called Cordon Blue. She treated me to a caffè and a few pastries including the best cannoli I've had in my life. After a while, two of my friends from Penn State joined us. One of them, Giulia, is studying with the program while another, Nikki, was visiting like me.
When we finished, Fiona went home and I stayed with Nikki and Giulia. First, we found my Italian bank. Then, we just walked down their main street, Corso di Giuseppe Garibaldi. After an hour, Nikki had to go meet her Italian family and head back to Sicily and Giulia went to head back to her apartment, so I decided to walk along the water. It was a beautiful site. You could see Sicily and the water was so blue. Sicily was so close that I felt like I could swim to it.
After a short walk along the beach, I grabbed my gelato (I'm trying the patented gelato a day diet). Then, I headed back to my bed and breakfast to relax. About an hour later, I headed out to dinner to a pizza place called Pepy's. It was pretty good. Then, I went back and crashed for the night. I was running on three hours sleep!
Yesterday, I woke up and went to school with a few of my friends. They had their Italian conversation class with Vincenzo's cousin, Eleonora. We spoke about dialects, specifically the Calabrian and Sicilian dialects, the ongoing debate about nuclear power, and the culture of Reggio di Calabria. It was a lot of fun.
Then, we were all invited to a free lunch about a 20 minute drive up the side of a mountain with a group of Italian students from the university. Their student government sponsored a lunch for the American students. It was a blast. We were able to socialize with Italian students and eat what seemed like a 10 course meal! The restaurant was on a beautiful piece of land with beautiful views in every direction! Then, an Italian musician played an accordion-like instrument outside while we took in the view. He played traditional Calabrian songs. It was a great experience.
After lunch, I headed back to the bed and breakfast with Vincenzo who knows the owner. I had to switch to a different bed and breakfast down the road, so we met back up after an hour to go get gelato. We went to Gelateria Cesare and met one other Penn State student, Mario, as well as Fiona and her husband who flew in from the UK the night before. Then, Vincenzo, Mario, and myself walked along the Corso di Giuseppe Garibaldi where everyone walks up and down every night to socialize. Vincenzo said that you meet everyone there - your friends, your barber, and even your shrink, if you need one! Vincenzo met two friends from his childhood. It was quite the experience.
Then, we sat down at Cordon Blue for an hour and chatted a bit more before retiring for the night. This morning, I took a taxi to the train station (Vincenzo even knew my taxi driver) at 6:00 AM.
Reggio di Calabria, for me, is a true Italian city. It is unique. There are not a lot of tourists. It has not lost its charm. People walk down the streets to socialize. Old men meet in squares to talk. Young lovers sit down by the ocean. Everyone knows everyone. It's a small town in a small city. I like it.
Michele
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
At the Airport
Hi All,
Last night we had dinner at the same place we had lunch two days ago. I ordered Chicken Souvlaki which was amazing, then we headed back to our hotel for our farewell party on the rooftop terrace. It was a lot of fun and had a great view of the Acropolis. We didn't get to bed until midnight!
This morning, I woke up at 3:15 AM for a 3:30 AM taxi to the airport with a few people. I'm still waiting at the airport check in as my flight is still two and a half hours away.
I have a short layover in Rome before catching my flight to Reggio di Calabria where I will meet up with a few people I know from Penn State. Two of my teachers are hosting a study abroad program there and I know one girl that graduated with me who is visiting as well. It will be a lot of fun!
I can't wait to get back to Italy where there is nowhere near the language barrier I had in Greece! Greece didn't even have the same alphabet!
Michele
Last night we had dinner at the same place we had lunch two days ago. I ordered Chicken Souvlaki which was amazing, then we headed back to our hotel for our farewell party on the rooftop terrace. It was a lot of fun and had a great view of the Acropolis. We didn't get to bed until midnight!
This morning, I woke up at 3:15 AM for a 3:30 AM taxi to the airport with a few people. I'm still waiting at the airport check in as my flight is still two and a half hours away.
I have a short layover in Rome before catching my flight to Reggio di Calabria where I will meet up with a few people I know from Penn State. Two of my teachers are hosting a study abroad program there and I know one girl that graduated with me who is visiting as well. It will be a lot of fun!
I can't wait to get back to Italy where there is nowhere near the language barrier I had in Greece! Greece didn't even have the same alphabet!
Michele
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