Karma

Coming home from a long train trip one weekend, we met a fellow traveler at the Siena train station. He was an English student on break and was backpacking through Italy. He had no place to stay and no idea what to do so we gave him some directions to a hostel and met up with him that night to show him a good time. Just to prove karma exists here is a message he recently sent us:

hi,

i never really got back to you all to say thanks for taking me out in Siena, and helping me find a place to sleep. i really appreciate it.

You've got some great photos up of Italy that make me pretty jealous i diddnt have longer to stay and explore more of the country. I suppose ill have to go back some day and do it properly - but then, i think like that every time i go somewhere new, and its a big world, theres not enough time to go everywhere.

By the way, do you remember that map you gave me of the town? my original plan was to keep it as a souvenier of that part of my trip, but i met another traveller in Volterra who said he was visiting Siena, and i thought he needed it more than me, so i gave it to him. i spoke to him on facebook when i got home and he said he gave it to someone else aswell, as he was leaving Siena. i think its pretty cool that its changed hands so many times and helped a bunch of people.

a lot of times you'll never realise how far down the line your actions can affect other people.
hope you're all well and the sun is shining
Magnus

The Italian language is as romantic as their lifestyle is.

The word for your soul mate is "twin soul" and people don't call their lovers honey or babe, they call them their "treasure".

Aaahh, Italia.

Siena's heatin' up

This last weekend we stayed in Siena, relaxed and got to explore more of this beautiful city. We soaked up the sun in the local gardens and talked for hours about life, love and everything in between. Its afternoons like those that make you appreciate the people in your life that you can have those long, flowing conversations with.

We attempted to explain Cinco de Mayo (and why we were drinking only tequila and coronas) to the Italians and got a lot of confused looks.

We went to an AC Siena soccer game and got to celebrate a tie, which allowed them to move up the A league.

That afternoon and night Siena was a madhouse; men and women from the ages of 16 to 70 were drunk, creating spontaneous parades, setting off fireworks and orange smoke bombs. They had live music playing in the campo that night and after we pushed our way to front and center, the entire soccer team came up on stage and sang songs for hours. Everyone in the crowd new the lyrics and because we were so close we got pictures with some of the players.

The contradas are gearing up for the Palio - there are men in colorful suits everywhere drumming and carrying flags. There are constant parties to celebrate each contrada (we are the unicorn) and people are just generally in high spirits.

Great weekend, great city. Life is good.

Roma, my love

Finally catching up on Roma.

Our class of 15 students had an excursion to Rome on the weekend of the beatification of Pope John Paul II. We bused into Rome at noon on Thursday and immediately started a walking tour of this gigantic city. Yet before the blisters started forming, me and a few friends took a snack break. Only in Rome could I find a pizza with arugula, smoked salmon, cheese and a balsamic reduction sauce. Yummy yummy yummy.

Our first stop was the colosseum; it's grandiose stature and turbulent history made me feel like an ant next to it. Built in the 1st century AD and capable of seating the entire city of Siena, it is amazing to realize that the architect is unknown. Our art history professor - Pierre Giacomo or PG for short - was telling us about the ancient fighting that happened within it's walls wasn't the Russell Crow gladiator we think of. Fighters would dress and have weapons that represented two of the 4 elements or 2 deities and the fight and victory would be symbolic, très intéressant. Also, if you haven't heard of them, get on this band wagon: line ups. Shout out to our Cinque Terre boys for opening our eyes to the glory that is line ups.

Adjacent to the colosseum is the Arch of Constantine, a huge triumphal arch celebrating an important victory for Constantine over Maxentius. Its position is strategic because it is on this part of Rome that emperors would promenade after victories, inflating their egos and securing their positions of power. It is interesting that the lower part of the arch was probably constructed years before and then reused in order to create this arch. Reduce reuse recycle.

Continuing along the Via Triumphalis or the triumphant walk Roman Emperors took, we headed to the Palatine Hill where you can find such a concentration of history its mind blowing. This is one of the 7 hills of Rome and the mythological location of the she-wolf that nursed Romulus and Remus after their mother was killed. Excavations show people have lived in the Palatine since 1000 BC and it is the epicenter of Rome. From this center, Rome expanded into the city we know today. Many Emperors resided here, including Augustus, and just expanded on the original construction. Close by is the Roman Circus which has a debated historical use, some say it is was a garden, other say it was used for foot races.

A few minutes walk down the hill and you enter one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life: the Roman Forum. This is the true political center of ancient Rome and the location of things such as the complex of the Vestal Virgins, the Senate's house and offices, the Temple of Vesta, Basilica. The history of this place is too wide and deep to tackle via blog. The coolest part for me was seeing Caesar's burial mound due to my obsession with Cleopatra beginning in 3rd grade. A close second was learning the history and genealogy of Emperor Nero, the last of the Caesar line.

In that same day we saw the Capitoline Hill (another of Rome's 7 hills) which was one of Michelangelo's masterpieces and the Pantheon which is a temple dedicated to all of the Roman gods whose statues line the interior, with beautiful marble everywhere and an open ceiling. Piazza Navona

is a beautiful square in quintessential Italian style: music, art, flowers and food everywhere surrounding a beautiful fountain by Bernini. This was my favorite place in Rome by far, the atmosphere was so saturated with love, you couldn't help but be a little loopy from it all.

We had a group dinner of spaghetti carbonara, a traditional Roman dish because meat was so scarce in this region historically due to poverty. It is eggs, cheese and bacon and honestly, I could have married it. It is much different in the South than in the North and this Roman one wins hands down. We also had the best tiramisu I've ever had. I'm not a fan of tiramisu and this one melted in your mouth. It was more custard-y and the cake used was more like a cookie. It had just the right amount of coffee liquor and bah, if you could see my hands, I'm kissing my fingers, Italian style.

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The next day we set out for the Vatican. In high school I went to France with my french class and we saw about a bazillion Cathedrals. That experience left me thinking I had seen it all. Oh was I wrong.

First off, this was the weekend of the beatification of Pope John Paul II or a step in the process of becoming a saint. Rome was alive with energy and the Vatican was packed; people from all over the world had come to celebrate this event. The line to get into St. Peter's Basilica was stretched all around St. Peter's square. It was moving pretty quickly though and in no time we were standing in the most magnificent church I have ever been in. I didn't know how truly huge it is until PG told me that the lettering I was looking at near the top of the ceiling was 6 feet high. And then I saw a speck - maybe a fly - moving by the lettering and realized, it was a human. Ginormous. The historical gossip surrounding this basilica is interesting. Michelangelo - who among many other artists - completed a large portion of the basilica was forced to do so and wrote that "I undertake this only for the love of God and in honour of the Apostle." Original rebellion.

My favorite part of the basilica was a tomb and sculpture done by Bernini who was responsible for a lot of the embellishments inside of St. Peter's. It is the tomb of Pope Alexander VII and is made of beautiful red marble with a bronze skeleton coming out from beneath it. The skeleton carries an hourglass. I loved this work after PG described the significance of it all. Bernini was saying that in an age of illusion, where artists and poets were fascinated with the idea that everything is an illusion - power, money, intelligence, love - the only real thing is death. If life is a dream the only thing we all have in common, the only real part of this life is death, because it will always come. The idea is only gloomy and pessimistic if you choose to see it that way; I thought it was terribly interesting and really thought provoking.

For the rest of the day we toured the Vatican museums where there was more famous artwork than I care to recall. The highlight of the entire trip was PG the tour guide. He was talking so loudly that we got shushed by every Vatican security person there - outside and inside. Our solution was to get those walky talky things where he talks quietly into a microphone which we hear on our headsets. Except he talked so loud we just turned off our head seats and pretended to be using them. He is the cutest little man ever - short short short and as wide as he is tall. He smokes out of a pipe which he carries everywhere and rocks a Dallas Cowboys baseball hat.

The culmination of frescos, sculptures and paintings could make your head spin and for the students in our program who are art history buffs, they must have been having a religious experience. Seeing the Sistine Chapel was very special though and my favorite part of the entire piece is the famous "Creation of Adam". The depiction of creating Adam - not in flesh and bone - but by giving him a soul, was such an interesting idea, that I stared for quite sometime before I realized my friends had moved on.

In our free time we checked out the Trevi Fountain and met a man who told us how to wish properly. You take out three coins and hold them in your right hand and make three wishes: one for yourself, one for love and one for marriage. The legend is that if you make a wish at this fountain you will come back to Rome. Hopefully my three come true and I get to come back. Our next stop was the Spanish Steps, only a five minute walk from the fountain. We grabbed some beers and watched the sun go down from the top. In our true MMMKKK fashion, we meet a few different groups of American guys. Just so the universe could prove to me how small the world is, one of the guys is an older brother of a friend I know from UO. Additionally he studied in Barcelona and is giving us tons of tips for our trips there this coming weekend.

That night we hit the town and I had a Danish IPA with hops shipped from California. But the real icing to my Roman cake was seeing this gem of a man, exploring Rome with his wife who didn't seem to mind his outfit choice.

Ahh, Roma.

Today I went for a long walk outside of the city walls and stumbled upon an old cemetery. I was immediately struck at how beautiful it was. It was surrounded by a small orchard and each grave had fresh flowers, lights, white pebbles or rose bushes growing around it. There wasn't one grave left alone, abandoned, decrepit or forgotten. An elderly man standing in the orchard, staring off into the countryside, broke his spell long enough to give me a buongiorno and smile. It's the small, day to day things that count and that you never forget.

I also was able to see my brother last night in Arezzo, a near by city, for a great dinner and talk. We got to talking about our European experiences and planning for when one of my sisters comes to Portugal in July. Life just keeps getting better by the day because I always have something to look forward too.

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And my happy, thursday morning walk song:

oh, the things you see abroad and wish you could bring home

Grocery Shopping

Today me, Karly, Mackenzie, Anna and Patrick ventured to the Co-op which is like the Italian Costco. We had to ride the bus back with about a bazillion bags and when we made it the stop Kar and I had to walk almost a mile back to our house...needless to say we were laughing so hard we had to stop every 10 feet and reposition because our fingers were turning blue.

We got more stares than I have gotten here - even the time I wore my sweatshirt to school. And we were laughing so hard we barely noticed. Life is all about these moments and with these girls and our adventures, they just keep on coming.

We are also never buying that much food again.

Napoli, Sorrento, Capri, Pompei, Angri

Easter weekend we took a cheap train to the south of Italy where our first stop landed us in Napoli. When we exited the train station it was a shocking site - garbage everywhere with people picking through the piles only to sell what they had picked next to the pile on their blanket. These people were rarely Italian, it was mostly immigrant populations from Africa. It was a devastatingly ironic moment to see: a western nation with thousands, if not millions, of non western peoples suffering. Our "liberated" western world is not one of complete equality of opportunity, political and social rights. When I traveled to Thailand I was shocked at the scene but almost everyone was suffering together. Walking through Napoli, I passed a women and her child begging on the left and a woman with a Gucci bag and expensive watch on the right. It's a dichotomy that I've never been able to swallow despite being told over and over again: its life, life is unfair, you can't save everyone, its better than it could be.

On a brighter note, we found the best pizza in the entire world. If anyone has ever read Eat Pray Love, she travels to Napoli in search of this legendary pizza and when we asked some people at the train station we got the same recommendation. The wait for a table was easily an hour and a half but we got our pizza's to go and ate it outside this tiny whole in the wall. When you walk in, there is an ancient man sitting at the cash register and asks you what type and what size. There are only two options: margarita or pomodoro. I ordered the normal sized margarita for 4 euros which just proves that these people love pizza; they haven't raised their prices in response to their extreme popularity. We got to watch it being made and even got a picture with the cooks because Italian men love American women. We have all started to say we are from California because no one knows where Oregon is.

What makes this pizza the best pizza you will EVER

eat is its sauce and its crust: the sauce is so fresh and so simple it takes as though a tomato was squeezed with its pulp over the pizza a second before you put in your mouth. There are a few chunks of fresh mozzarella and a little salt, but mostly just fresh fresh fresh tomatoes. The pizza is only put in the brick oven for 4 minutes so the crust is still doughy in the center. It soaks up the charcoaled brick flavor but the dough itself is one of the most delicious I have ever had in my life, much less on a pizza.

After Napoli we hoped on a smaller train to get to Sorrento, easily one of the most beautiful places in Italy. We had booked a campsite hostel to stay in so we checked in and settled down to have a beer because if you have ever ridden a crowded train in Italy (filled with B.O., creepy stares and attempts at pick pockets) then you know, you need a beer after it. I had a friend from home who is also abroad meet me in Sorrento and we all settled in for the night.

The next morning we had a singular goal of getting to Capri and that we did. Our tour guide around the island was this little old man, with wrinkled leathery skin, a lot of knowledge and interesting stories.

We were able to see a Phoenician lookout fort and houses of people ranging from Mussolini to Ferrari.

After saying our goodbyes to our tiny old guide, we hiked to the top of Capri to get a breathtaking view. That night we ended our Sorrento visit with a delicious dinner on the side of the bay and some gelato.

Easter was the next day and being in the most Catholic country in the world - traveling was difficult. My friend from home and I wanted to go to Pompeii so we separated from the others in the group and did just that. Almost every where I've been in Italy has been beautiful but Pompeii may be my favorite so far. The town itself is pretty and when you enter the ruins it is a strange feeling. It was amazing to be in the middle of such history...literally. We somehow found ourselves in the midst of ruins you are not allowed to be in and had to throw our huge backpacking back packs over the DO NOT ENTER sign and climb through. Needless to say, responsible tourists were looking at us quite strangely.

It is here that the struggle fest to get back to Siena begins. We missed the last train to Napoli and through broken Italian/Spanish/English found another train station to take. The train to Napoli arrived and we relaxed into the ride, happy we had found an alternative route.

Yet a few stops in my friend (thankfully) realized we were alas going in the opposite direction of Napoli. We got off at the next stop - ironically named Angri, Italy. It is here that we met Fred from Albania who was our saving grace. We caught the next train to Napoli after getting to know him and his friend for an hour at Angri's abandoned train station. Fred helped us get off at the right stop in Napoli and make it to our next train to Roma. Traveling in Italy isn't easy, you usually have to take at least 5 trains to get anywhere. We ended up running to almost every form of transportation on this weekend because somehow we were always late.

Long story short, we made it to Siena that night and even met our friends on the last leg of the train there. I showed him the glory and beauty that is banana gelato and for the rest of the weekend I showed him Firenze and Siena.

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The whole trip made me realize that:

1. Italy is beautiful, even in the dirtyest parts. In Napoli where trash and the Mafia reign supreme you can find the best pizza in the world made by some of the happiest cooks; getting lost in the middle-of-no-where Angri, Italy means that you make a friend with Fred: an unassuming, helpful and genuine Albanian.

2. Despite being in love with Italy, nothing beats home even if it comes in the form of a human being. I couldn't have asked for better girls on this trip but having someone here with a shared past that you can catch up with, well I'd trade banana gelato for a week for that.

Or maybe a day.