Monkey See Monkey Do

            Today, my roommates and I decided to go to the Rome Zoo and the Caprium Crypt.  First, we would go to the Rome Zoo, which is located in Villa Borghese so we would have to take the Metro in order to get there.  In order to get to the metro we had to cross through Saint Petersburg Square.  As I was approaching I could hear a speaker and a large crowd chanting and cheering.  As I neared the square I realized that there was a massive world youth day event going on.  I have never seen so many kids and families gathered in one place.  The speaker was speaking in Italian so I could not understand however the excitement in the crowd offered a replacement.  It was really cool and inspiring seeing so many people gathered in one place.  After we got off the metro we walked to a Piazza de Popolo, which is a famous square.  The square has a vast amount of space with churches bordering it.  At one end of the piazza a huge concert stage was being set up for an after event for the kids after the youth day at the Vatican.  At the other side of the square a large crowd was gathered watching an interpretation of Michael Jackson.  The interpreter looked like Michael Jackson and was dancing to all of his songs doing the moonwalk and others of Michael Jackson famous dance moves.  I took a couple of funny videos.

            In order to get up to Villa Borghese we walked up a large flight of stairs to a garden and park called Pincio.  In the park a great view of the entire city awaits.  This park also marks the entrance to Villa Borghese, which is the largest central park in Rome.  Quickly, this park became one of my new favorite places in the world.  The park is 226 acres and it is filled with vast grassland, changing autumn trees, fountains, and little artificial lakes.  It is really a breath of fresh air being in a beautiful park amongst a big busy city.  I want to come back to rent a bike to explore the park more and also bring a book to read or write.  In order to get to the zoo we had to walk through the entire park because it was on the opposite end. 

            Once at the zoo or in Italian “bioparco” we immediately began exploring.  First off we saw giraffes, elephants, and bears.  One of my favorites was the monkeys.  I spent a large amount of time watching a baby monkey and his mom play.  I also saw lions, buffalos, many different species of birds, camels, and hippos (I named him Otis).  I have recently been to the San Diego Zoo and I noticed some vast differences.  The SD zoo is much more progressive.  They have a large emphasis of preservation of endangered animals and strive to put animals in a most natural habitat as possible.  Here in Rome, the cages were too small for the animals, the water was dirty, and it was very clear that there were no animal rights activists walking around.  The zoo was not for tourists and locals and their kids made up the population of the zoo’s visitors.  I have not seen kids for a while so I found so many of the kids to be adorable.  I love looking at babies’ feet and seeing just how small their feet are.  It’s a little fetish haha.

            After the zoo, we took our time strolling back down the park and went of to our next destination, which was the Capuchin Crypt.  I have been told that this is a place to see artistically placed bones.  The bones of more than 4,000 friars who died between 1528 and 1870 are in the basement of the Church of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception.  This was definitely the place to visit right before Halloween because it was extremely spooky and eerie.  I have never seen anything like this before.  As you entire the roomfuls of artistically decorated bones a message reads “We were what you are…you will become what we are now.”  How scary!  The first crypt is the crypt of the Resurrection and it has a painting of Jesus bringing Lazarus back to life.  The next crypt was called the crypt of skull and the central scene is an hourglass with wings to send a message that time on Earth flies.  The next crypt is the crypt of hips because there was canopy of hipbones.  There were six crypts in total.  All of the walls were filled to the brim with bones and as I looked above me there were even chandeliers made entirely out of bones.  I am having trouble to put in words what the crypts looked like.  I have included a picture on the top to give an idea of what it looks like.  

Change of Plans!

Late afternoon I rushed home after my midterm to pack for Barcelona and make my night flight.  All 8 of my friends piled into two taxis’ and went off to the airport.  Half of the group was on a flight through the company Alitalia and the other half was on another airline called Vueling which I was on.  They were both leaving within 20 minutes of each other.  When I got to the airport, I was quickly notified that my flight had been canceled due to the terrorist threat in Paris.  A great deal of the Rome airport shutdown as well as the Barcelona airport and many other airports in Europe.  Tara and I went up the counter to figure out when the next flight would be.  It turns out it would not be until the next day at 4:00 pm but we could try to get on standby on a plane that left at noon.  If none of those options worked we could also receive a full refund.  They then informed us that they would put us in a hotel for the night near the airport.  The night ended up being one of the most fun nights.  I love hotels and whenever I am in a hotel I always have fun.  Something about the environment makes them special and fun.  So we were told to go to the Satellite bus stop where we would be escorted to the Satellite Palace Hotel.    We arrived at the hotel at about 8:30.  When we arrived Tara and I requested to share a room even though we were both given our own.  Also as a bonus they gave us dinner vouchers!  Who would have thought we would be given dinner vouchers and a hotel room.  We were quite happy because we would be getting into Spain extremely late anyway and staying in an uncomfortable hostel so this was great.  We dropped out stuff of in our room and went downstairs where we turned in our dinner vouchers and received a full buffet dinner.  The dinner was delicious with chicken, spaghetti, salad, and desserts.  We were each given a bottle of wine and a liter of water as well.  We sat and enjoyed a nice dinner and went up the room, watched TV (which we have not done in months) and set our alarm for the morning.

The next morning we had an included breakfast at the hotel.  The breakfast had eggs, bacon, cereal, yogurt, assortment of cheeses and pastries.  After, we went off to the airport.  Turns out I was unable to get on the standby flight so I decided to cancel the trip because I would be in Barcelona less than 36 hours which would not be worth it to me.  I have a good amount of friends who are staying in Rome that I can go out with this weekend.  I am happy that the airlines were being safe.

Tara and I decided to take advantage of our day in Rome and went on a tour of Sant Angelo castle.  I walked by this massive castle everyday but have never had a chance to actually go inside of it yet.  In my history class this quarter I have learned a great deal of history about the castle.  It was originally built as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian then used through the middle ages as a castle, prison, and a place for the pope to take refuge.  For nearly a hundred years, Roman emperors were buried here.  In the year 1590, the Archangel Michael appeared above the castle to Pope Gregory the Great and he signaled for the end of  the plague.  The former Hadrian’s mausoleum eventually became a fortified palace.  Castle Sant Angelo spent centuries of the Dark Ages as a fortress and prison, and was eventually connected to the Vatican via an elevated corridor at the Pope request.  Since Rome was constantly under attack it was a good place to for the Pope to hide from invaders.  Inside the castle was beautiful and was decorated with many mosaics and granite.  Touring the place turned out to be a stair stepping work out.  I went in and out of rooms that held previous emperors ashes and room with a big treasure chest that is said to hold all of the treasures of Rome at one point.  A narrow flight of stairs leads to the rooftop and perhaps the finest view of Rome anywhere.  I was able to pick out landmarks as I walked around.  From the safety of this dramatic vantage point, the pope surveyed the city in times of siege. 

After the castle Tara and I walked around the shops at the Spanish Steps and enjoyed people watching.  Tara is in the newspaper and her assignment was to go to an ethnic food restaurant and write a review.  Chinese food is one of my favorite kinds of food so naturally I jumped on “helping” her out with her assignment.  We went to a restaurant near my house and it wasn’t the most incredible Chinese food but it was good for being in Italy.  I ordered chicken with onion and fried rice.  It’s a little disappointing not to be in Spain but I am planning a fun, adventurous weekend in Roma!  The pictures at the top are at the top of the castle.

            

Potato Pizza and Weekend

On my way to school today I stopped by to grab a quick slice of pizza.  In Rome, potato pizza is in almost every restaurant but they taste best bought from any of the many hole-in-the-wall ovens. They bake them incredibly long and you buy a slice of it by showing with your hands how big piece you want. My pizza today was incredible.  Potatoes pizza does not have cheese on it.  Basically it is just freshly baked rustica bread, dressed with olive oil, and then thin pieces of potato on top of that.  Sometimes some parmassian cheese  is added on top.  It almost looks like potato chip pizza because the outer part of the potato is thin and crispy.  However, once you bight into the potato it is like a thick potato chip because the potato is still mushy on the inside but crispy on the outside.  It is delicious!  I have heard that it is easy to make and their are recipes all over the internet.  Def give it a try!  I have a presentation to give today in my economics class and I have a midterm in my cognitive science class tomorrow.  We started to watch the movie Memento.  I would highly recommend it.  The weather is beautiful outside and once again I have the urge to jump into the Tiber River.  Before I leave I plan to get a little paddle boat and paddle down the river. 

Tomorrow I head off to Barcelona for the long weekend!  Thank you All Saints Day. I am going with a huge group of people including my entire apartment.  I am leaving directly after my midterm around 6 at night.  When you look on a map Barcelona, Spain is located directly across from Rome.  One of the similarities between Barcelona and Rome is that they are both the capitals of the country and huge cities.  Maybe I will be able to put my 10 years of Spanish to use!  The weather maybe a little cold but according to National Geographic it is the best beach city in the World.  I have a couple of friends who are studying abroad in Barcelona who plan on showing me around the town!  I find it a little disappointing that the food is not Mexican food but it is Spanish.  There is a huge difference which I never was really aware of.  It looks like the most popular food called tapas are in store for me this weekend!

I will be returning back to Rome on Halloween to greet my parents who will be staying in Hotel across from my apartment.  Stayed tuned for some guest blogging from mom and dad!  Tonight I am going to pack, get organized, study, and do some pilates with the roommates and get ready for a big day tomorrow in Barca, home of the 2010 Fifa World Champs!

Allora

Today was a rainy day but in the mid afternoon cleared up.  I looked up the weather for the upcoming week and it is supposed to be sunny which is great considering it is already approaching the month of November.  My favorite and most common word I hear in Italian is “allora.”  On paper the word looks much more boring than it actually sounds.  The Italians have a special way of say it and it sounds like beautiful eloquent word.  I hear this word multiple times a day and it has differing meaning in different context.  It means look here, ok, how about, and other variations of those words.  The word can also be used as a filler between words.  I like to walk around my apartment and when I see a roommate I just say allora because it is such a pretty word.  I think it is by far my favorite Italian word.  I have ended the section on Italy in the book Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert and I now know why it is a national best seller.  Actually, I think Oprah is the one that made it famous by announcing it as her book of the month.  But anyway, the way she writes is captivating and kept my attention page after page.  It was really cool how I knew exactly where she lived and all of the names of the piazzas that she describes.  I plan to go to the pizza restaurant that she describes that is located in Naples which is only about an hour train ride from here.  If the best pizza comes from Italy and best pizza in Italy comes from this restaurant in Naples then I dare say that this must be the best pizza in the WORLD!  I really am enjoying the main plot of the book how she gets out of a divorce and goes on a quest to Italy to find pleasure and India to find devotion.  She thinks that a balance of those two will give her a peace of mind. 

One of my favorite parts of the Italy part was the way she described the Italian people because it is so true!  Italians are known for “bel far niente” which means the beauty of doing nothing.  The beauty of doing nothing is the goal of all your work, the final accomplishment for which you are most highly congratulated.  The more exquisitely and delightfully you can do nothing the higher your life accomplishment.  Another saying that applied to Italians is “l’arte d’arrangiarsi” which means the art of making something out of nothing.  I think living in Italy I have come to learn how to embrace this saying.  Sometimes when it comes to dinner time my roommates and I look in the fridge and realize all we have is eggs, maybe a few pieces of turkey and tomatoes.  Somehow we are able to combine our ingredients and make a delicious meal and sit around the table for a couple of hours talking.  In order to get to school I have to go through some small streets in Trastevere that is filled with apartment buildings.  Along all the balconies and stretching from one balcony to the other is laundry lines with clothes of different colors and design.  I like to play a game and try to guess who is living in the house based on the clothes.  There is one thing for sure the Italian clothes are not as big as Americans! 

Another part in the chapter about Italy that I found particularly interesting was when Elizabeth Gilbert talked about the tendencies of American pleasure.  Her argument is that America is an entertainment-seeking nation opposed to a pleasure-seeking nation.  I find this interesting because I always seem to associate pleasure with entertainment but I feel I may have conformed to this idea.  In the book, she goes to Italy to find pleasure in learning Italian.  She then goes on to argue that Americans work harder, longer, and more stressful days than anyone else in the world.  Everyone has heard about the quote about the overstressed executive who goes on vacation but cannot relax. However, we seem to like it.  This is what caused us a sense of fulfillment.  I would counter argue her point and say this brings us a sense of conformity, acceptance and praise which in turn brings us fulfillment.  But if this is truly making Americans happy why change?  Isn’t happiness an ultimate goal?  Thus going back to the concept of pleasure.  I then feel a little conflicted because I have been learning a great deal in my developmental economics class.  What entitles me to over indulge in food and feel this pleasure when there are alarming statistics worldwide.  I have learned the World Health Organization estimates that one-third of the world is well-fed, one-third is under-fed one-third is starving.  Over 4 million will die this year.  Nearly one in four people, 1.3 billion - a majority of humanity - live on less than $1 per day, while the world's 358 billionaires have assets exceeding the combined annual incomes of countries with 45 percent of the world's people.  What makes one worth worthy of overindulgence of pleasure?  This is an issue that is tough to grasp and for now all I can do is be thankful.  The tourist season here in Rome is beginning to finally be a little slower.  I have seen many people wearing Giants t-shirts around in honor of the World Series I assume.  I am off to my next class for the day.  Ciao!

Venice!

the flooded square!

I arrived in Venice at 8:00 am at the Marco Polo Airport.  From there, we took a bus to a station where we then purchased a three day pass for water taxi tickets or also known as the  “vaporetto.”  I had no idea but I learned very quickly that Venice is made up of many different islands.  The only way to get from one Island to the next is by a water taxi.  The water taxi system acted like a bus system and had about 8 different lines crossing the river in all different directions.  So first thing first Carly, Marni, Tara and I learned just how to read the map and figure out the different routes of how to get to our hotel.  Our hotel was located on the island of Guidecca.  We found out that we had to take line “2” so we waited for the boat to come.  A couple minutes later we hoped on and as soon as we were leaving we realized that the line “2” goes in two different directions and one direction was way quicker than the other.  We didn’t care though as we sat in the boat for about an hour and just took in Venice for all of its beauty.  As a general rule in Europe, I never imagine things to be as big as they actually are.  The town of Venice was huge!  The river was wider and skinner in some place and on the left and right it was covered with building, churches, restaurants, and hotels.  I could see many cruise ships in the distance shuttling people into downtown.  The sun was not out so it was cloudy and the town almost seemed spooky and magical.  We hoped off our boat when we got to our exist called Zitelle and dropped our stuff of and went on with our day. 

At this point it was still only 10:00 am.  We figured out how to get to the main island called San Marco.  When we arrived I felt like I was in Disneyland.  There were so many tourists, music playing, food vendors, and all of the building looked straight out of a scene from pirates of the Caribbean or Indiana Jones.  The buildings were definitely old.  The most shocking thing happened when we finally arrived in the main square.  Half of the square was underwater!  The only way to get around it was to walk on wooden planks.  A few people had rain boots and were able to slosh through the rain.  It seemed as if Venice was sinking.  Even the entrance to the basicalla which had beautiful marble was completely underwater.  We asked around and did a little research on why the city seemed to be underwater.  This is in fact a somewhat simplistic description of a complex problem. One part of the problem is that the city is not built on a solid foundation. Venice was originally a collection of muddy islands. In order to construct buildings, workers drove millions of pilings—thin, sharpened poles made of alder trees—through the mud and into the marginally more solid base of sand and clay beneath. Oak planks were placed on top of the pilings, and on top of the planks, several thick layers of marble (which is impermeable by water) formed the foundations of the buildings. From there on up, most of the construction was done in ordinary brick or wood. At the time the buildings were constructed, the marble was well above the high water line, so there was nothing to worry about. However, over the centuries, the weight of the buildings has driven the pilings deeper into the mushy seabed. In addition, at one time there were hundreds of wells in the city, removing water from deep aquifers. Unfortunately, these aquifers had acted as a sort of balloon of water propping up the city; when it was “deflated,” the city began to sink even faster.  The tide rises in the morning so in the morning most of the square is underwater and but the time the afternoon and night rolls around most of the after has been drained.  So in attempt to avoid the main crowd of people in the planks we decided to explore and find a round about way into the heart of Venice. 

We walked around the coast and eventually cut in.  We were all really hungry so we stopped at a pizza place.  I got a slice of cheese pizza.  We then walked around for about 3 hours just getting lost.  The buildings are so beautiful and the allies are tiny!  Everything is connected by little mini bridges and the river runs throughout the city.  Venice has around 150 canals connected by 409 bridges, and over 3000 alleyways on the 117 islands. Basically every time you see a bridge it is connecting two islands and the water acts as roads.  We decided to avoid the main San Marco square for now since it was so crowded.  We hoped on a water taxi and went to the island of Murano which is known for its manufacturing of glass.  All around Venice, many of the stores are filled with glass.  Everything  you could possibly think of from glass jewelry, to cups, to frames, and simply table décor.  I learned that what made Murano's manufacturing unique, was that they used pure silica extracted from local quartz pebbles. The majority of the population in Murano are glassmakers, and back in the day they were forbidden to leave the Republic in fear that they would open there their own business or sell to other manufacturers in Europe the secret of the manufacturing style.  Sand is a peculiar element to prepare a good glass product, and of course Venice has lots of high quality sand in its shores. Glass is the result of several mixed elements: the sand constitutes the main part of the glass. It contains also sodium, calcium carbonate, sodium nitrate and arsenic. Glassworkers in Murano were and still are very experienced in manufacturing glass, and for this reason glass production is a drawing sector of Venetian economy beyond its artistic importance.

The next island we visited was the island of Burano which is famous for lace.  After that we went back to our hostel and relaxed for a little bit and made dinner plans.  We found out that there was a Hard Rock Café so we immediately all decided to go to Hard Rock Café Venice.  Just being inside was a breath of fresh air.  Everyone spoke English and it was so great looking at the menu and seeing big salads and juicy burgers.  For dessert we even split a big brownie sundae.  We all left feeling completely satisfied.  After dinner we headed back and I quickly realized that Venice at night was by far the best.  Most of the crowds had died down in San Marco square had orchestras playing all around the out edge.  Looking out on the water everything was lit up and could see the reflections of the buildings in the water.  There were children playing in the middle of the square and splashing in the puddles while parents sat and drank their wine.  Everything was well lit and once again I felt like I was in Disneyland, the most magical place on earth. 

We woke up Sunday morning and headed straight to San Marco square to see the Basicalla and climb the big bell tower.  Once again the middle of the piazza was flooded but we were left with no choice.  First, we went up to the top of the bell tower where we were able to see incredible views.  I was amazed at how small all of the individual islands were.  From above you could really see that Venice is an aging city and almost depressing at the facts that many buildings are vacant.  Many of Venice’s grand buildings are vacant or run down – they are simply too expensive to maintain.  There are also strict laws as to what redecoration and restoration can be carried out to the buildings, especially those fronting the Grand Canal.  Also the population in Venice is declining rapidly due to how expensive it is to live in Venice, the tough transportation, and an inconvenient lifestyle.  After we climbed the bell tower we went to the basilica.  Originally a sign outside said that the church was closed to the public on Sundays.  This made absolute no sense to me!  With a little further research we found out that it was closed to visitors and that you were allowed to go in for mass.  So naturally we talked to the guard and said we were going to mass and entered the cathedral.  The church was the most beautiful and breath taking church I have ever seen in my life even more so than the Vatican.  Walking in everyone mouth’s just drops.  It is covered in gold ceramic mosaic art.  The roof or the top was covered in with bright mosaics containing gold, bronze, and the greatest variety of stones.  The floor was marble with pictures of apostles and animals. 

After the visit the basilica we went looking for a book store because it was rainy so we decided to find a cute café and rain.  On our way in the distance we saw crowds of people all standing in a line so we decided to see what all of the commotion was about.  It turns out that it was the morning of the Venice Marathon!  We were at the 25.5 mile mark and it was so fun seeing all of the runners and cheering them on.  Some families of the runners rented boats and followed them around the island.  At the finish line I could see runners run into the arms of loved ones and see the faces of runners completing one of the biggest accomplishments of their lives.  I was smiling just watching them.  We found a book store and I started to read the book Eat, Pray, Love and already I love it way more than the movie.  For dinner it s tough to admit but yes we did return to Hard Rock Café again.  It is one of out last chances for good American food before returning to the land of pasta and pizza and it was raining and we knew exactly where it was located.    Once again on out way back we walked through San Marco square and I had fun running after scaring all of the pigeons in the pouring rain.  I spent that night in Venice and caught a 11:00 am plane ride the next morning and was listening to my econ professor in class by 2:15! 

Bracciano Day Trip

Today, I went to a cute little medical town called Bracciano.  Bracciano lies north west of Rome and it took us about an hour to get there.  The locals are often looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the big city and Bracciano because of its natural beauty and ban on power boats.  The water on the lake was glass.  I quickly realized that I do not enjoy visiting lakes as much as I do oceans because all I want to do is go water skiing.  It was such a tease looking at a flat lake perfect to go waterskiing in!    Bracciano is a historic town with narrow cobblestone paved streets and it looks medieval.  One of the main attractions of the town is the Castello Odescalchi.  Wherever you are in the town you always have a view of the castle  because it is so big and is raised up over The castle is huge covering a large portion of the town  When we arrived we were guided into the castle and had a guided tour.  The castle belonged to Orsini and Odesalchi families .  The interior is fully furnished and we saw the lifestyle of the people who once lived there.  The castle began construction in 1470 and was finished in 1485.   During centuries the Castle was subjected to profound changes and because of its strategic position, it was always in the middle of fierce arguments between the most important aristocratic roman families as Colonna and Borgia families.  During the French occupation many precious furnishings were looted and the period after the Castle and its feud were given up with the right of redemption to the Torlonia family, who maintained it until 1848, when the Prince Livio III redeemed it from Duke Marino Torlonia.  The Prince Livio's son Baldassare, a leading figure of nineteen-century in Rome, took care to rehabilitate the castle and since it has been open to tourists.  The coolest part  about the castle is that it is where Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise got married!  The castle hosts many events especially weddings of actors and singers.  In the castle we saw the bedrooms, the kitchen, a jail, and where the servants live.  After the tour, we walked around the city and found a cute little restaurant to eat at.  The entire menu was in Italian.  My favorite pasta here is called spaghetti carbonara.  I asked the waiter if they had it and he said that he had one that was like it.  Instead, he brought out a pasta with oysters.  I am usually not a huge oyster fan but it turned out to be pretty good.  Not my favorite.  We wandered into the cutest little pastry shop and got really good mouse with cool decorations.  I well include a picture.  Most of the town and shops were closed because it was during the time of siesta.  Even in Rome, many stores close around 1:00 pm for siesta.  A siesta is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some countries, particularly those where the weather is warm.  I could really get used to the idea of a siesta everyday!  After stopping into the pastry shop we went down to the lake.  In order to get to the lake we had to walk down a big hill will breath taking views.  On our way down we saw baby kittens that could not of been more than a week old.  At the lake we enjoyed the city and skipped rocks.  I had fun playing with the ducks and swans.  Note for future: swans are actually really fast! Do not bug them!  I was not able to get more than four rock skips in.  After that we got back on the bus and people said jokes on the way home.  My favorite joke was “What do you call a cow with no legs.” Answer is ground beef!  I am waking up a 4:00 am tomorrow and am leaving for the airport to go to Venice until Monday.  Ciao!

Let the Weekend Begin!

Midterms are over!  My week went so fast having a midterm each day and having friends in town I can’t believe its already Thursday.  Needless to say I did not get very much sleep so I just took a two-hour power nap.  Ryan and Rob fit right into Roman life and started knowing there way around just as well as I did by the end.  On Monday night they have a friend who lives here in Rome so they went and visited him while I stayed in a studying.  On Tuesday night we went out to a really good restaurant called Tony’s and had some good long conversations.  They are both really smart so its fun getting into deep conversations.  On Wednesday night all my roommates and the boys went out together to dinner and to campo afterwards.  It was a really fun night and I woke up early to study for my midterm the next day.  Tomorrow I am going to Bracciano.  The town is famous for its volcanic lake and for a particularly well-preserved medieval castle. The lake is widely used for sailing and is popular with tourists; the castle has hosted a number of events, especially weddings of actors and singers.  I will only be going for the day and I leave for Venice early Saturday morning!  

Busy Busy Busy!

I have been really busy and do not have to much time to write this week!  I am busy planning my weekend trip to Venice, entertaining two friends from home, and taking midterms!  I have two midterms and a presentation down and two more to go.  My friends Rob and Ryan arrived yesterday morning from Berlin.  It was a little confusion meeting them as they just told me that they were at some little church near my house.  I don’t think they realize that there are over 1000 churches in Rome haha!  They have another older friend who is here in Rome who is taking them around since I have to study and go to class during the day.  I will hopefully be able to go out with them tomorrow night.  I always thought German was a really ugly language but hearing them talk in German it actually sounds cool!  Such a weird language but then again I guess English is right up there with weird languages.  The weather is gorgeous and I am still getting by without having to bundle up.  Thanks all for now!

Chocolate - The breakfast of champions!

       Yesterday I went to the Eurochocolate festival in Perugia which is the Umbrian capital and is also one of Italy’s greatest art cities.  The biggest name in the local chocolate industry is Perugina, provider of Italy's finest chocolates. After boarding the bus around 7 :30 am we arrived at the Perugia chocolate factory for a tour.  The facility is in a light industrial area a few miles west of Perugia, the city where the candy was born and from which the company takes its name.  When we got there was a big table filled with all types of chocolate and we were given a bag and could walk down the table and grad all of the different chocolate samples.  It felt like Halloween but at an accelerated pace because it was just one long table opposed to a block of houses.  We then went into a movie theatre and had a brief introduction and were shown a movie of the history of the factory and the production process.              

              Getting into the theatre we went through a small hallway and I felt like I was in Charlie and the Chocolate factory.  They are most known for their chocolate called Bachi.   In 1907, pasta maker Francesco Buitoni and his partners started a venture to make "confetti" (sugar-coated almonds) and other confections. One day in 1922, Louisa Spagnoli, wife of one the co-ventures, blended some leftover chopped hazelnuts with chocolate rather than waste them. She formed the mixture into cylinders, topped them with whole hazelnuts and bathed her creations in dark chocolate.  Nestle now owns the factory and the company, now owned by international food giant Nestle, produces about 1.5 million of them a day.  Next, we were guided into the factory. 

            In the factory, we watched the manufacturing process from a series of glass-enclosed walkways. An intense cocoa smell permeated everywhere. Battalions of Baci marched out of the machines where they were formed. They were showered three times in dark chocolate, then sent back and forth across the factory on conveyor belts, first naked and shiny, then dressed in their distinctive silver-and-blue suits by little mechanical hands. An essential part of the wrapping, of course, is the insertion of fortune cookie-like messages with observations on love. The love notes have been a Baci feature since their creation, although at first they were written only in Italian. Now they are multilingual.  The languages chosen vary, depending on the batch's destination. The plant is highly automated, employing only about 800 people year-round, more for holiday production. Quality control workers smiled up at us as they kicked out less-than-perfect Baci ("We'll take them," we mouthed) and packed the rest into boxes, cylinders or holiday packaging.

       Next, we all piled into the bus and went off to Perugia.  It is an intensely colorful place with some of the most authentic medieval streets in all of Europe.  The bus could not fit into the small town so we had to park and then take the metro into town.  When we got there it was packed!  So many people everywhere and there were tents and tents everywhere.  All the main piazzas and many central streets are scattered with stalls selling chocolate, blended into ice creams, cakes, pastries and even savoury dishes.  Then we spent the day going around to different chocolate booths and trying free chocolate!  I was in heaven.  I never thought I would say that I have had too much chocolate in one day but I actually did!  My favorite booths were the Toblerone booth and the Milky booth that was a log cabin that you could go in and take a picture with a chocolate cow.  The festival was in the middle of the town and there was a game of chocolate chess and a giant chocolate key at the end of the tents.  

            We were given a “choco card” which was a card that had nine different tents listed all around the town.  At every tent we were given a little souvenir and they would put a star on the places that we went.  It felt like I was in a scavenger hunt.  At the various stations I collected chocolate bars, chocolate coffee, and a bunch of other little chocolate treats.  I had chocolate popcorn, chocolate churro, and great chocolate gelato.  Everyone at the festival was happy.  I mean who woundt be?  On the way back it was a mess.  Everyone wanted to leave at the same time so the metro was packed!  On top of that the metro broke half way through.  Luckily I just missed it but some people had to take cabs back.  We arrived back at Rome around 9pm! My final analysis of chocolate goes like this:  Chocolate causes certain endocrine glands to secrete hormones that affect your feelings and behavior by making you happy. Therefore, it counteracts depression, in turn reducing the stress of depression. Your stress-free life helps you maintain a youthful disposition, both physically and mentally. So, eat lots of chocolate!

            Today, I woke up and got to see all of my friends at Sonoma on skype so it was a start to a good day.  I went to the library for a group project.  Tomorrow I will presented for 20 minutes on Aristotle and his views about knowledge.  I also I have an economics midterm on Monday so the rest of my Sunday will be studying.  At least I have a full stash of chocolate now!

     

Friday Funday

The last few days a have been busy with school since midterms are coming up.  I have four midterms and a presentation so I have been busy preparing study guides and reading.  Next Monday through Thursday I have two guy friends named Ryan and Rob who will be visiting Rome and staying in my apartment.  They both go to UCSD with me and are studying in Berlin this semester.  As a study break today, I went shopping for rain boots with my roommate Marni.  We went over to a huge shopping over by the Vatican.   There were many people out and about in the streets and many street vendors.  We wandered into some American stores (Tommy Hilfiger, the body shop, quicksilver) and also some European stores.  I did not see anything I wanted to buy.  Most of the fashion is so high fashion that I would not be able to pull it off!  Also, I am in denial that winter is coming and that I have to start wearing winter clothes.  I do not like wearing pants.  So not comfortable!  Marni and I stopped at a street vendor and Marni saw a dress that she wanted to try on.  She asked the guy if they had a dressing room and he told her that she could try it on in the trunk of his car.  He promised it would be ok.  Marni and I looked at each other and laughed and kept walking.  I am off the Eurochocolate festival tomorrow morning at 7 am.  I will be going to a guided tour of the Perugia chocolate factory.  After that I will have time to go around, enjoy the festival, and discover the city.  I plan to arrive back in Rome around 8 at night.

Chocolate on my Mind

I have a six page paper due later this week in philosophy so I spent most of my day in the library doing it.  My paper is on Thomas Aquinas and his analysis of free will.  I argue for and against free will using the argument of determinism which goes against free will.  I made a schedule for the weekend and I plan on doing quite of bit of studying because next Monday through Thursday I have midterms.  The way my classes are structured is 50% midterm and 50% final.  So after my midterm week I will not have any other grades until the final in December.  I am really excited for this Saturday because I am going to go to the Perguia chocolate festival.  EuroChocolate is an annual chocolate festival that takes place in Perugia, the capital of the Umbria region in central Italy. The festival has been held since 1993 and is the largest chocolate festivals in Europe. EuroChocolate draws nearly one million tourists and Italian natives each year.  Italy's most well-known chocolate company Perugina (now belonging to Nestlé), known for their Baci, is represented along with a number of other brands such as Lindt and Caffarel. EuroChocolate offers many snack and souvenir options such as chocolate covered bananas, chocolate liqueur, chocolate molds, and chocolate bricks.  EuroChocolate offers a variety of activities including chocolate art displays, experimental chocolate tastings, street performances, and chocolate sculpting. In recent years, an igloo has been constructed out of 3,600 kilograms of chocolate bricks. There is even an opportunity to make a chocolate day spa appointment. In 2003, the largest chocolate bar in the world was constructed. It measured to be more than 7 meters in length, two meters high and made with 5980 kilograms of dark chocolate and thousands of hazelnuts.  I love chocolate so I am really excited to go and see and taste!  I have watched a couple of youtube videos on it which has gotten me really excited.  For lunch I had a delicious meatball sandwich from a deli across from campus.  Tomorrow night I am meeting up with two girls who are in Theta with me who are also studying in Rome but in a different program.  We are going to meet for dinner so it will be nice to see them!

Just Another Manic Monday

On Saturday Night!

I woke up this morning and it was pouring rain outside.  It made me just want to snuggle up and good thing because I have midterms next week so I need to catch up on readings and do homework.  I skyped with my friends from home for three hours.  I swear skype time moves faster than real time.  I grabbed my umbrella and went to class and realized that I need to invest in rain boots or any pair of closed toe shoes for that matter.  I had my international economics and philosophy class today.  In philosophy we had a heated debate centering around the question “does the end justify the means?”  My roommates Tara has her parents in town so we went to a pizza parlor named Tony’s for dinner.  I got the Rustica pizza and it had potatoes, sausage, and three different types of cheeses on it.  I am almost finished with my new book (second chance) and I am really enjoying it.  I am excited to see how it ends hopefully before I fall asleep tonight!

Vineyard Tour and Market

On Saturday, I woke up early and I had a wine tasting event in the cutest little suburb town called Civitella.  It is located on the border of Northern Lazio and Umbria between the hills and the clay canyons of Civitella d'Agliano to the west and the fertile plain of the Tiber Valley to the East. The natural beauty of the area has remained untouched by urbanization and industrial development and still offers breath-taking landscapes, dotted with woods and lakes.  In a bus, it took about an hour and half to get there.  We arrived at family vineyard with the family name of Mottura.  We first arrived at a big warehouse and met the owner of the vineyard and went inside and he began to show us how the wine process works.  Inside the “factory” part there were huge silver machines where the wine was fermented and we could taste and try the wine at different stages.  The lesson was a huge chemistry lesson and I learned that it is such a complicated process.  Wine making essentially involves the mixing of fruit juice and sugar and then adding yeast to convert the sugar to alcohol. I learned that while wine is generally made from grapes, other juices can be used as the base.  The reason grapes are the usual fruit of choice is because of their high sugar content.  Alcohol is the by product of the action of yeast on sugar.  Grapes contain enough natural sugars to allow full fermentation.  When using the juices of other fruits sugar generally has to be added as the fruit generally does not contain sufficient natural sugar for full fermentation.  Also there is a different process for white, red, and champagne which makes the process even more intricate!  The blank white wine won the best wine in Italy in 2009 so he focused on teaching us how to make the white wine.  There are three parts:

1. Preparation (picture of grapes on the wine)

The first step in making a white wine is to have the grapes just ready. They need to be picked not only at the proper time in their life cycle, but also at the right time of day to ensure the acids and sugars are all at the right balance for the wine. The grapes are picked carefully, to prevent bruising, and often first put into a cleaner that removes spiders and leaves (and, one winemaker told us, occasionally mice!).  Next, the grapes are put into a machine which gently squeezes the juice out. For a white wine, all skins and stems are removed at this point. They would add a tannic flavor to the wine, and a color as well - neither are normally desired in a white wine.

2. Fermentation (picture of the big silver machines)

The liquid is held in a stainless steel vat. In this vat, the sugars inside the grapes are turned into alcohol by yeasts. Some wineries use only the naturally occurring yeasts that are found with the grapes. Others have cultured yeasts that they use year after year. This fermentation process typically takes from 3-4 weeks.  Temperature is very important during this stage - it also affects flavor and color. Often cooling pipes or even garden hoses with holes in them are run around the vats, to maintain the temperature.

When fermentation is complete, white wine can then go through cold stabilization. This process requires the wine dropping to almost freezing, to precipitate out the tartaric crystals that can form. The crystals are quite harmless, and this process can affect wine flavor, but it is done so nervous consumers do not panic when they see crystals in their wine bottles.

3. Aging (picture of the barrels above) going can be done in barrels, or now it is even done in stainless steel vats with oak chips along their bottoms. Often, during aging, a special bacteria is added which allows malolactic fermentation to occur. This additional fermentation, often noted with a "ML" on the barrel being used, converts the malic (sharp) acid into a lactic (mild) acid. Barrel aging in general allows the wine to absorb some of the flavors of the barrel, giving it an oaky and smooth taste. White wine is normally aged for less time than a red wine is. It might age for up to a year to give it the correct amount of flavor, or it could be bottled immediately. White wines are normally drinkable right when you purchase the bottle, although there are some whites that do benefit from a few years of aging.

After tasting the wine at different stages we got back on the bus and went out to the actual vineyard where we were able to eat the grapes off the vine.  They were really good and sweet.  The vineyard is 130 acres and it was beautiful with the Italian country side in the background and it felt like you could just see plants for miles and miles.  After seeing the actual vineyard we went to his estate to eat lunch and have some more tasting.  When we got there he took us down to the cellar where we saw where all of the wine was aging.  It was so cool!  It was 50 meters underground which keeps the wine at a perfect 44 degrees.  It was huge and actual ran under the entire center square of the city.  There was barrel upon barrel and signs with the age of the wine.

Lunch was a delicious red sause past pasta, chicken and potatoes, and apple pie.  At the different stages of the lunch we were taught about what type of wine we should me drinking and the different type of grapes and their taste. 

Procanico: produces sparse bunches, is very resistant to rot, reddish-gold in colour, it is of limited yield but has distinctive personality.

Verdello: has compact bunches, a dark green colour, high acidity and fine and delicate bouquet.

Grechetto: our favourite variety of which three different clones have been selected, has rich, heady, lasting bouquets together with full and persistent body. Drupeggio or Rupeccio, has a flowery bouquet and velvet-smooth body.

Chardonnay: the base for our classic method "champenoise" sparkling.

Merlot, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo and Pinot Noir: all red varieties very often apt to turn to great wines in our area.  Rule number one was white wine always away from the table and food and red wine during your meal.  He kept saying how important it is to drink the right wine at the right time beacuse the wine enhances your food.

We loaded back in the bus and I was back in Rome by 6.  I then relaxed for a little and then went out with my friends Maddy and Bridget to Trastevere.  Trastevere is where my school is located and I have never been there at night before.  Trastevere maintains its character thanks to its narrow cobbled streets lined by medieval houses. At night, both natives and tourists go out to its many pubs and restaurants.  I got a huge scoop of gelato and had a great time people watching. 

On Sunday morning, one of my roommates Marni and I got up early determined to go to a market called the Porto Portese.
This is the biggest flea market in Rome, and one of the biggest in Europe, where you can find basically everything but food, from Murano lamps to cheap underwear to auto parts. We were told to go early and watch your purse.  Luckily for us we did not bring a purse because we found out it was 3 miles away so we decided to run.  I put some money on the bottom of my shoes and we tied our house key to our shoe lace and were off.  We ran along the river for awhile until  we needed to turn right onto a busy road.  We found the market and it was a huge mob scene!   There were different entrances for different things.  Enter at Piazza Ippolito Nievo if you are shopping for antique furniture, lamps, curiosities, rugs, furniture old lace and embroideries. Enter from Piazza Porto Portese if you're in the market for pots and pans, clothing, shoes, house wares. It’s a bit overwhelming but it’s fun because you never know what you might find, so long as you’re willing to press on through the crowd to find it.  We just got back exhausted after calculated we ran slash walked about 8-9 miles today!  Right now I am waiting for my water to boil for a nice egg salad sandwich!

The town had cats everywhere!  On every other car and perch possible.  This is a picture of a few cats eating a pasta lunch!