Friday, October 28, 2011

Un Buon Viaggio!

Ciao a tutti!

It has been what?  Three or four weeks now since I last posted?   Well, I promise not to make you wait any longer.  I know you are all probably sitting on the edge of your seats just waiting for my next blog post and can think of nothing else.  You know, because I am the center of the Universe (If you have not picked up on the sarcasm by now, something is wrong).

Anyways, I just got back to Florence this past Saturday from my fall break.  I know I said in my last post I would talk about Lucca but I am super behind and Lucca wasn’t as interesting as my recent trip.  All you need to know about Lucca is that they have really good pizza and that it is a beautiful city surrounded completely by green grass and biking paths.  A prefect day trip, especially if you want to see some fall colors. 

Lucca!


Anyway, back to my big trip! I spent my time during the break traveling to London, Dublin and Edinburgh.  I feel so accomplished now because I managed the majority of this on my own!  Yes, I’m a big girl now.  At first, my plan was to travel with another person.  Unfortunately, plans fell through in a big way, and I was suddenly facing a solo trip through Europe.   At first I was okay, but as the trip drew closer, panic ensued. 

Panic for me just involves a lot of questions: 
Do I have all my plane tickets?  What if my phone doesn’t work when there is an emergency?  How will I find my hostel?  What if I can’t find the airport bus?  What would I do if my stuff got stolen?  Where do I go, what do I do, who do I trust? 

All of these things went through my head at lightening speed.  I even typed up an involved itinerary for the next week so I would feel better.  Now, not to say planning ahead doesn’t pay off, but I really shouldn’t have worried so much. 

Here is the best piece of advice I can give in this blog to those in search of adventure (stolen from a previous blog…you know who you are):  TRAVEL ALONE.  Ditch the people you know and just travel for yourself, BY YOURSELF. 

Think about it, what elements make up the best adventure movies?  Interesting characters, action, romance, good music?  You name it, I found it all on this trip.  For those who want the real juicy details you can contact me separately (5 euros ahead please.  I no longer write for free as traveling is expensive).  

Otherwise, for time’s sake I will just hit the highlights of the trip.

After drawing class last Thursday I booked it to the train station with my giant backpack to catch a bus to the Pisa airport.  Everything went smoother than expected and I was already feeling better by the time I boarded the plane to London.  I arrived in London rather late and was relieved to find that the cabby my cousins (whose place I was staying at) sent was still waiting for me.  Can’t say he was very happy, but then again, I had no way of knowing that customs would take nearly an hour and a half.  I slept in the next day, but ventured out into the city just in time for lunch.  I had no plan really, and no map, so I just memorized where the train station was and wandered around to the places that looked interesting.  This turned out to be a fantastic technique!  I stumbled upon the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and a few other well-visited sites.  

View of London from the Millennium Bridge


Saturday I got to spend some time with my cousins.  I was able to see a couple markets.  At one I rediscovered my favorite childhood games: mancala!  There was a stand selling all these games with colored marbles and the guy selling them played a couple rounds with us.  Granted, he beat us rather quickly, but he also sells the darn things.  Other highlights included seeing “Big Ben” (actually not the clock apparently), Buckingham Palace, and a wonderful dinner at an Indian restaurant in the evening.


My last day in London I went to see the Tate Modern.  I took a quick tour of the museum and saw some Diane Arbus photos and Monet’s Waterlilies!  Swoon. 



After, I met up with my cousins and we took a tour of this wonderful flower market and sat down for lunch at this great cafe.  


Delectable!  



However, out of everything the street musicians at the market were my favorite part.  Check out this video of the tuba player we saw:



Next day was the beginning of my real adventure! Early Monday morning, completely alone, I set my sights towards Dublin.  I arrived really early that day so I went in search of a place to eat breakfast.  I found the sweetest little cafĂ© off the river where I sat and enjoyed a cup of tea and a scone.  I couldn’t think of a better breakfast to have on a cold morning in Dublin.  

Early morning in Dublin.  The purple building was my hostel!


Anyway, this time I was smart enough to buy a map of Dublin at the airport and, using my same “wandering” technique, I went in search of places to see.  This time with the map, however, I would know where I was when I got there.  I was able to discover St. Patricks Cathedral, a beautiful park near Trinity College and, most importantly, a pharmacy where I could buy a hairbrush (imagine up to this point I hadn’t really brushed my hair since I left Florence). 
Note to self:  always remember to bring a hairbrush when traveling.  This is especially important when you have thick hair that can turn into dreadlocks easily.

First day wandering:  found a lovely park.  


That afternoon and that night I discovered something about myself.  I LOVE HOSTELS.  The reason is because I really enjoy meeting all sorts of people.  Hostels are kinda perfect for this sort of thing.  I met a girl from Australia, a couple guys from the states, and a random Italian from Sardinia (who I chatted with in Italian!)  .  The thing is, when you travel alone, you aren’t really alone.  Honestly, you just meet people you don’t know already, or wouldn’t have met if you were with someone you knew.  In the afternoon I went to the Guinness factory with this guy I met at the hostel.  We got rained on a lot and were really happy to get our “free” pints of Guinness when we arrived at the factory.  

Had to be done. 


That night I visited a couple traditional Irish pubs and one dance club with this other guy I met from Boston.  The music, the beer, the dancing and the atmosphere were all spectacular!  At this point I was really enjoying Ireland, but also ready for bed because I had been awake since 3:30 that morning. 
Tuesday was a little more relaxed.  I went to the National Museum and that night I introduced a couple American girls I met to the movie Pulp Fiction.  We went out and bought a bunch of junk food before watching the film in the hostel’s very own Cinema (equipped with leather couches and a pull down screen).  It kinda made me miss college dorm life. 

Next day I took a tour of the Irish countryside and the cliffs of Moher.  It was an unusually beautiful day and we could see all the splendid scenery perfectly.  I spent the day with a group of Australian girls that I met on the tour.  We visited a farm where I got my fill of animals and nature.  For me, what was especially nice was being able to play with the farm dogs.  Let’s just say these dogs are really spoiled.  Many of the visitors and I gave them plenty of attention.

Puppy!


I'm sorry, but I had to add at least one cliche picture from the Cliffs.  


Overall, my last day in Dublin was fantastic!  Next day, I had another early start as I was flying on to Edinburgh, Scotland!  I actually met one of my classmates from the ACM program at the airport and we spent half the day in Edinburgh together.  It was nice to see a familiar face for a while.  We went to Holyroodhouse (which is the Queens official residence in Scotland) and toured the house and gardens.  Afterwards, we saw an exhibit at the Queen’s Gallery featuring some works by Hans Holbein and Albrecht Durer.  My Hostel in Edinburgh was in a great location and had a very relaxed and youthful atmosphere.    

View of Edinburgh from the Castle.  


That night I met a couple girls from California and went to a few pubs and the next day I went out on my own to visit the well-known Edinburgh castle.  After touring the castle and having a hearty lunch there I walked around a bit and eventually made it up to this park that overlooks the entire city.  It was beautiful, but also cold, so I returned to the hostel thinking that was the end of my trip. 

More of Edinburgh.  Last night.  


Little did I know… 
In my dorm I met another Hostel-goer who invited me to tag along with him to the Elephant House cafe (famous for being the place where JK Rowling began to brainstorm her famous Harry Potter series).  We met with this girl from Spain, and between the three of us, and between 3 languages (French, Spanish and English) going back and forth we managed a pretty interesting evening.  Overall, it was a wonderful end to a wonderful trip!

Any questions?  You can contact me at wmendelsohn12@cornellcollege.edu.  Also, donations to the “Broke and Traveling Student Fund” are welcome (It’s a joke… well, the “Fund” part anyways).              
 
     
 
    

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Aaaaaalllooorrraaaa...

Ciao a tutti!

First of all, let me say thanks to those of you who have let me know that you are reading my blog, or those of you who I’ve heard have been reading it.  It’s good to know I’m not just sending information into a massive void.

So, let me first say that Venice was absolutely better than I could have dreamed.  After finishing my Italian exam on Thursday I got a good night’s sleep because early Friday morning we set out for Venice via charted bus.  I sleep really well in moving vehicles for some reason, so the three-hour trip was no problem.  Upon waking we were picked up by a private boat!  



I can’t even describe what it feels like when you get your first glimpse of Venice, but it’s pretty incredible.  



The boat took us to Murano (famous for their glass work).  This is the place where crystal glass was first invented.  We visited a glass workshop and got to see some glassblowing in action. 




We hung around Murano a bit longer before heading to our hotel in Venice (by boat again). 
Our hotel was really nice and in a quiet location.  Considering how I am so used to Florence and the noise, this was a welcome treat.  After settling in at the Hotel we headed out into the center of the city to see Palazzo Ducale.  After a tour, some other girls from the program and I decided to explore a bit during our free time.  I thought Florence was confusing, but it is way easier to get lost in Venice.  I am proud to say I didn’t get lost (but then again, I wasn’t exactly navigating either).  We did, however, spend some time searching for a good place to buy gelato.

Pure happiness.  Drips and all.


Once our mission was accomplished we sat and people-watched.  This is a past time that I rather enjoy here.  I love to see how people interact with each other, how they dress, etc…

My favorite sightings:
 1st- The couples:  In Venice and in Florence I have seen the cutest couples (young and old).  The younger couples sometimes dress alike (for example- guy has a yellow shirt, girl wears a yellow dress) and can often be seen making out (or nearly copulating) in public.  PDA is not really my favorite, so I find the older couples more interesting.  It’s especially entertaining when you can tell that the woman wears the pants in the relationship.  A sighting in Venice for example:  An elegant older Italian woman walking in front of her husband holding a long stemmed red rose (possibly purchased from a Venetian vender at her bequest).  Husband follows behind as she yells to him in Italian.  I can only assume his response would have been something like “yes dear.”

2nd- Nuns in large groups eating gelato:  I don’t know what it is that I like about this.  Maybe it’s just the novelty of seeing a group you typical associate with abstaining from certain enjoyments (don’t read too much into that) actually taking pleasure in something as small as an ice cream.  If only life were that simple sometimes.   

Okay, before I get too into detail…
After people watching we went into the church near Palazzo Duchale where we were given a private organ concert.  While we listened to this haunting music the church put on a light show, gradually lighting up all the amazing mosaics that covered the inside of the church.  After, we returned for a wonderful dinner at the hotel. 



The next day I woke up early to catch a walking tour led by one of our incredible professors.  We went into a few different churches around Venice.  In the afternoon, after grabbing a quick panino at the train station, we headed to Padua to see the Arena Chapel (also know as the Scrovegni Chapel).  The frescos that decorate the walls of this chapel are by Giotto and I was so glad to know so much about the decorative program already that seeing the chapel in person was magical.  Also, they only let you into the chapel for 15 minutes at a time. 

We came back to Venice later in the afternoon so we were able to spend some free time exploring again.  One of my friends and I decided to visit the Jewish Ghetto and see what the Venetian synagogue looked like.  It is rumored that the very term “ghetto” originated there.  

Venetian Synagogue


That night almost everyone in the program headed to a “campo” for some drinks (in Venice they only have 1 piazza, the rest are just called “campo”).  The weather was beautiful and the nightlife was, as usual, really enjoyable.  Some silliness may have been involved.

Our last day in Venice was probably my favorite.  In the morning we went to the Galleria della Accademia (an art museum) and I got to see more works of art that I have, until this point, only read about or seen in books.  It is so different to see works of art in context.   It is definitely more powerful and meaningful that way.



In the afternoon, we had time to look at some VERY modern art in the Venice Biennale.  Each country has it’s own pavilion in this giant complex. 
Here’s an article about the show that I saw at the U.S. pavilion:  http://www.npr.org/2011/06/02/136897424/a-tank-an-organ-and-smart-power-at-the-venice-biennale

Other noteworthy exhibits were located in the French, Swedish, German, British, and Korean pavilions.


Look familiar?  Way to go Korea!



Attached by the beard.  Maybe an allegory of bromance?


After visiting this show it was back to Florence on the bus.  Although we were exhausted from the trip, Monday marked the beginning of classes.  This past week has been a lot to get used to.  Now I have an entirely different schedule because I am done with intensive Italian and now have 3 other classes (2 art history and one drawing class).  I am curious to see if I can readjust to a semester plan, considering I have become so used to the block system that we use at Cornell (One class every three and a half weeks). 

The drawing class is really neat so far.  We are using this technique called “sight-size.”  It’s entirely new to me, but produces very realistic drawings.  This past week we were copying cast sculptures in charcoal, but next week we switch and start to draw the live model. 

Noteworthy events during the week included:
A Gershwin Concert!  They had a large orchestra surrounding a piano, and even a full choir during some pieces.  I almost cried during some cello solos because I miss playing so much.    

This past weekend was a bit more restive.  I visited my first Italian bar!  It will be weird to go back to the states and get carded.  Here, it is so relaxed that I don’t even have to worry about bringing an I.D. with me to a bar.  I have a feeling the more “restrictive” rules in the states will be part of my reverse culture shock upon returning to the States.

I also went on a 13 mile bike tour in Chianti this past Saturday through “Tuscany Bike Tours.”  If you are ever in Florence I highly recommend them.  They picked us up in Florence, drove us to this castle where they make wine and olive oil.  We even got a tour of the castle and the wine cellars and were taken to the top of the tower where there are some really amazing views of Tuscany.  Afterwards, there was a wine and olive oil tasting.  The wine only loosens you up for what comes next:  the BIKE TOUR!  We biked around the vineyards and olive groves for a while and stopped for a large lunch at this restaurant.  Afterwards, we biked some more and returned to Florence happy campers. 

In the tower of the castello.




I’m a bit sore now, but have had yet another incredible week. 

Food side note-  The other night I had rabbit and chicken liver.  Yum!  Oh, and after dinner tonight we had biscotti (no worries I'm getting the recipe) dipped in a shot of Moscato (I believe it's a type of dessert wine).  My favorite gelato flavor is still salted caramel but mojito is coming in as a close second.    

In the next week or so you should look for updates on my upcoming trip to Lucca!