Culture Shock!!!!!!!

Hello Forced Followers of my blog,

Well after many miles traveled, cities visited, family and friends saluted, and laps around the Colosseum, I am back in Philly and wondering what to do with myself next. It's over! My quasi-year in Italy is over! I can't believe it. I mean, I knew it was coming; I was coming home and I felt prepared, but noooooooo! Now it's over and I am sad. Who is going to speak Italian with me? Where am I going to get my gelato fix? What was I thinking coming home? Why would I ever leave bella Italia!?!? And even worse, now I have to think about jobs! Ugh. 

Okay, well now that I got that out, I can reminisce about the great places I visited and the amazing people I met. I had an amazing March and April in Italy which I have completely left you in the dark about. I left Rome on a cold, rainy March 5, 2010 to find a chilly, but fortunately, sunny and dry Florence. I spent 5 blissful days wandering around town,  doing nothing and everything. I visited with my Italian boyfriend, David. He's quite tall at 14' high with penetrating eyes, great abs and a nice butt. You aren't allowed to take pictures, but I like to break rules, so I snuck this one in as the "hall monitors" were chatting in a corner completely oblivious. It's just a bit out of focus.

Here's a shot from the steps of the Duomo, before I made the journey to the top of the tower. Note to all tourists: the perfect time to visit Florence and never stand in line is early March. Granted, it's a little chilly and might rain, but there are noooooo lines which, you may know from experience, is not the norm. 

I love Florence. I should have lived there for a while this year. Should have, could have, would have. What else is new... at least I visited a handful of times. It's not too big, not too small. Easy to get around, clean, beautiful, happy. People seem genuinely happy there. Maybe it's just all the tourists, maybe it's me, maybe it's the gelato.

Speaking of gelato....  your Tuscan dreams have come true! This May is the first annual Gelato Festival in Florence! Like I said, why on earth did I leave? Festival del Gelato, May 28-31, 2010. If you thought Florence was full of tourists when you were there, then don't go this particular weekend -- I am having flashbacks to Perugia's Chocolate Festival which turned my tiny hilltop town into Hershey Park, Pennsylvania.

One awesome item I found on the website: le ricette (the recipes)!  Knock yourself out! Unfortunately, it's in Italian and there is no English version. Once I am back in LA and settled, I'll let you know how it turns out.  http://www.firenzegelatofestival.it/site/d_page.asp?IDPagina=23

That's all for now. There are just too many wonderful things to say about Florence.  I guess there will have to be a Florence Part II sometime in the future. Arrivaderci!

And She's Off....

So, I just spent 5 pleasant but rainy weeks in Rome during which I took an additional Italian course (for those of you wondering how I spend all my fabulous time when not eating gelato and fending off gorgeous men following me around everywhere); it was fantastic! Now, as the sun finally begins to shine bringing some warm rays to my chilly afternoons, and as I finally begin shedding my winter layers -- or stop dressing like an onion as they say in Italy ---I have decided to venture North where it's still cold! Why? Why? Why on earth would I do that to myself? Because people, well, it's just not warm enough to go lay on a beach somewhere in Southern Italy yet, obviously!

As most of us all know by now, I don't stand still for very long. I just can't; I try, I really do, but I can't do it! There are too many amazing places to go and things to see! Additionally, as I re-evaluate my allocated travel funds....  sadly, it looks like this vacation may come to an end sooner than those of you vicariously living through me would like. True bummer that money simply does not grow on trees. I know you are all upset, however, I am coming to grips with this reality and so should you. The good news of course, is that I will see you all sooner than we thought and I do look forward to seeing you soon. Especially Batman and Ginger!

They tried to come with me when I packed last July. How cute is that?!! There have been many lonely nights without my kitty-cats around waking me up at 3am and then 4am and then 5am and always, again at 6am.

Fortunately, I do have about a month of "La Dolce Vita" left in me.  My travel adventure begins anew tomorrow when I go to Florence! And then to Bologna... and then to Torino... and then to Nice, France... and then to Lucerne, Switzerland.... and then I don't have anything else planned yet. But I am sure I will think of something and when I do, I'll let you know!

Here are a few photos of my two favorite places in all of Rome.... bet you could guess, but I'll tell you anyway:

#1 The Collosseum

#2  The Pantheon

These are my parents in case it's not obvious :) 

Here's the quick and dirty history lesson on these two: they are both really old. For everything else, there's this awesome website called wikepedia.com.  Actually the one cool thing about this last photo of The Pantheon is the close up of the Latin inscription which basically says "I am awesome, I built this." That of course, is my loose interpretation of what Marcus Agrippa meant when he put his name on The Pantheon, like a really long time ago. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantheon,_Rome

Hope you are well and enjoying your version of "La Dolce Vita"!

Una Passeggiata Incantevole a Trastevere

Ciao everyone!  Great news!!! The sun finally arrived this week, perfectly timed with my recovery from the worst cold ever: duration 8 days, mostly spent in bed watching television online = huge bummer when abroad.

To celebrate my health, I took myself for an afternoon walk in Trastevere yesterday. Trastevere is an area of Rome not to be missed and worth spending more than a single afternoon ambling through the corkscrew alleys.  Fifty-odd years ago it was kind of the Roman ghetto where no-one went or wanted to live. Today, it's considered a hip bohemian neighborhood with lots of pizzerias and restaurants, cafés, one-of-a-kind boutiques and bars... kind-of like Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA, but more awesome and less expensive, and just slightly older and totally different, so I guess it's not the same at all. So much for comparisons.  

It was sunny and warm and seemed like everyone had the same idea as me. Here are some pictures from my walk-about. The first few pics are in Piazza Santa Maria di Trastevere where the oldest church in all of Rome still stands, dating back to 3rd century AD and houses these amazing Bysantine mosaics of the same era. If you are ever in Rome, you have to check out this church! It's a fun little piazza with kids running around, couples holding hands, friends and family catching up with one another, and me, eating gelato of course.

 

Apparently the ingredient of the day was artichoke. I love how they make little flower arrangements with them.  Below is simply fantastic: Here's the website for "Women against Discrimination."

Sometimes, I don't know why I take certain pictures. Those of you who are actual photographers or amateurs or have any taste at all, would probably agree. When I took the picture below I thought it would be cool. But I had to stand in the street to take it, truely risking my life when a little old Italian man sideswiped my backside as he drove by. I have officially been hit by a car.  The picture is clearly not worth it, but now at least it tells a story.

Fortunately, I am alive today to blog about it. Shortly afterward, I walked on to catch the Tram #8 to Largo Argentina and shop for boots, a far less dangerous sport than photography.

Una Lunghissima Pausa!

Ciao!!!!!

Well, I am back in bella Italia and have been enjoying the Roman lifestyle for the past few weeks, despite the rain! It's been raining a lot this month and it snowed the other day. So, does it ever snow in Rome? "Ogni morte di Papá" which translates to "Every death of the Pope" which in turn means, once in a blue moon.

 For those of you a bit out of the loop I went to Philly at Christmas to say "ciao" to the family and ended up staying for all of January. Here's the itty-bitty recap on that month: I was sick for the first 2 weeks, had a life crisis during week 3, resolved life crisis during week 4 with the decision to come back to Italy right away and worry about life at a later point in time. January also included many good times with friends and family; thanks for always making it so hard for me not to love Philly!

So, here I am in Italy again and it's been wonderful. I love the chaos of Rome and big city life: tons of people to chat up, lots of cafés to pop into for a cappuccino, hundreds of streets to wander down where I eventually ask myself, "Where am I and how did I get here?" On my third day in Rome, I got lost on my way to Campo di Fiori. Within a 3 block radius I must have asked directions at least 16 times which brought me wonderful affirmation and proves that Rome is the perfect place for me: every single time I stopped someone to ask directions, both men and women called me "bella" and told me I spoke Italian really well. And so I am here to stay! Well, at least until the travel bug bites and takes me elsewhere. The savvy observer might interject that if I actually understood Italian well then I wouldn't get lost quite so easily to which I would reply, I get distracted easily by sparkly objects, my quest for the perfect leather purse and gelato, thank you very much.

More to come soon, I promise. I do have one request for you: the next time you say your bedtime prayers, can you please ask God, Buddha or to whomever you pray to send some California sunshine my way! I am sick of the rain! Grazie!