sicilia part due: the temples and the theaters

Wednesday 

Wednesday was an absolutely fantastic day wandering through the ruins of Segesta and Selinunte. In this case I would say that a picture is worth far more than a thousand words. My personal favorite was, by far, the almost fully complete temple amidst the field of neon yellow flowers…. Pretty stunning….

Mamma Giovanna made us sing in one of the Greek theaters which was pretty adorable….

After seeing all the 2,000 year old beauty, we decided to try and find the beach, something made quite possible with the aid of our little stray tour dog who lead us there quite happily. We wandered the beach and collected stones and shells and then skipped back up the hill to the DiscoBus at which point we headed for Agrigento – an area of Sicily I would absolutely live in. Right on the beach, not a single tourist in sight in January, gorgeous, adorable, sweet, calm, perfect. And our hotel was incredible! A four start hotel up on a hill overlooking the ocean. And a delicious dinner with the group at said hotel – equally incredible!

Thursday

Thursday we headed to the Valley of Temples with an adorably sweet tour guide named Michele. As usual, the sun was shining in our favor despite the rainy forecast. Every temple was even more gorgeous than the previous. We walked from on to the other, basking in the sun and the amazing silent feeling that surrounded each temple. We then stopped for lunch, on Zia Sophia’s (aka Smith College’s) bill since our lunch the day before (which we had paid for ourselves) was a) overpriced and b) pretty bad….. That’s what to you get for stopping at an Italian truck stop complete with “Sicilian art museum” (if you could call it that) and outdoor wax museum complete with Elvis, characters from American cop television shows and Frankenstein…. Thursday’s lunch was great – a little buffet at an adorable little trattoria with outdoor seating in the sun. After lunch we spent a few hours wandering on the beach and collecting more photos, pebbles, rocks and shells while relaxing in the sun. 


We then drove to Siracusa, naturally having another discopartyyyy!! This hotel was by far the most gorgeous and again four stars (perhaps they were avoiding the possibility of bedbugs….) We had dinner on our own so I wandered off with Breana, Alayna, Christine and many others to find a fantastic little trattoria where we ate yummy pizza, salad and beer. Afterwards, we wandered Ortigia (the old part of the city of Siracusa which is a little island) and found some delicious famous cannoli (which I do like after all!), and took some beautiful photos of the Duomo at night. Breana and I then found a Baby Yogurt (amazing frozen yogurt with fresh fruit sauces,etc.) and then headed home for a bubble bath (Breana and I had the only hotel room including those of Monica and Giovanna, which not only had a bathtub, but a bathtub with Jacuzzi jets).

Friday 
Friday we visited the temples outside of Siracusa with a very, veryyy quirky guide. No one really liked her because she talked very slowly which at first seemed as though she thought we couldn’t understand Italian, but really she was just dramatic and theatrical and loved the temples and telling stories about them so she spoke in a very particular way. Breana and I thought she was sweet and very dedicated to her work. We got to see the stone quarries where slaves cut stone 2,500 years ago as well as this amazing little grotto with a really neat echo called the ear of Dionysus. We stopped by another huge Greek amphitheater where they still have Greek theater during the summer and then headed back into Siracusa to wander and find lunch. We stopped by the Duomo which is also called the Temple of Athena because it in fact has been both a Greek temple and a church many times in the last 2,500 years. Not too too long ago when there was a huge earthquake in this area of Sicily (including many cities and towns, not just Siracusa), literally the only thing left standing were the columns of this old Greek temple. Today, the columns have been filled in with walls and the entire Duomo in a combination of old Greek tradition and newer architecture – in other words, it’s beautiful and amazing and powerful.

After lunch we hopped on the bus to visit a teeny tiny Baroque city called Noto where we visited the cathedral and ate the best mandarin gelato ever! After returning back to Siracusa, we had our last dinner all together at this great little pizzeria at which point we headed back to the hotel and Breana and I had a second, extremely bubbly, bubble bath and watched Italian MTV until we fell asleep.

Saturday 
Saturday morning we woke up early, ate some breakfast and headed to Taormina, a beautiful little city on top of a hill overlooking, you guessed it, the ocean. Naturally we visited another Greek theater that just so happens to look over both Mount Etna, a very active volcano currently covered in snow (yes, you can go skiing on it) and the beautiful turquoise ocean – something pretty incredible if you ask me!! And, of course, an adorable older man stood in the theater and played his harmonica for us.... Pardon the noise!


Again, pictures explain this experience much better than I ever could! After finding some lunch, we headed back to Catania with one last little disco party, sang I Just Called to Say I Love You with Gianni, said goodbye, and sadly hopped on the plane back to chilly Florence.

More photos! 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=382268&id=500755531&l=d5ebd56bc9

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=382277&id=500755531&l=dab0419666

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=382279&id=500755531&l=618a84bd2b

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=382286&id=500755531&l=f4ba3f490f

I am now all settled back in Florence, doing laundry and preparing for the beginning of this semester. Just need to choose a class at the University of Florence (which won't start for a few weeks, thus giving me 4 day weekends for a little bit...) and then I am good to go! Looks like this semester is going to be FANTASTIC! And on top of that, Alessandra is coming to visit in less than 2 weeks and Gabriel will be here a month from Wednesday! And Carnivale is happening as we speak and I am most likely heading to Venice next weekend! Possibly Viareggio as well! 

Baci galore!!!

sicilia part uno: traveling to palermo

Sunday  
Sunday afternoon we took off for Sicily around 1:30pm. Honestly it was a very frightening flight!! It seemed as though the pilot had no idea what he was doing – the entire 15 minute take-off was horrendous! Wobbling, shaking, falling, dropping, all sorts of major turbulence! Fortunately he seemed to learn to fly as we went which made for a much easier landing, welcomed with sun and much warmer weather in general. Soon after landing we met Gianni, our incredible autista, or bus driver. As we loaded the bus and headed off from Catania toward Palermo, we found something pretty amazing – a gorgeous rainbow off in the distance over the hills of Sicily. Thank you, nonna and grandpa! Upon arriving in Palermo, we found a fantastic little hotel right on one of the main piazzas of the city, where one of the large and gorgeous theaters sat. Sunday night, I went out to dinner with Breana, Lenora and Olivia. We weren’t quite sure where to go so we approached who we thought were two policemen to ask them for a recommendation. Turns out it was a regular man talking to a police man…. A regular man who then, after giving terrible directions, offered to walk us to the restaurant, which was completely fine because it turned out it was his friend’s restaurant. He sat us down and said goodbye but about 30 seconds later, he came back in and sat at the table next to us and made small-talk/various comments in English and Italian throughout the entire dinner. Finally he left and we then left cautiously after him, hoping to not bump into him again. (Dinner was pretty good though – some terrible white wine with pasta alla siciliana – eggplant and tomato sauce – with some swordfish to follow. Not too shabby.) After dinner we wandered the cuter parts of Palermo and found a nice little pastry shop for some dessert.

Monday

 

Monday was kind of rainy but fortunately in the morning we were just heading up to to Monreale, a little city on a hill over Palermo, where we saw a gorgeous cathedral. Upon arriving, the sun came out! The cathedral is incredible and completely covered in mosaic – it was gorgeous!! We even got to walk through all the back stairways, outside and over the top of the cathedral essentially to look at the cloisters and the surrounding city and country from above! We then wandered the city, taking photos of cute little niches and ocean-views. Around lunch time we headed back into the city to the University of Palermo to meet some students and a professor who is friends with both Monica and Giovanna, Alessandra. We mingled awkwardly with the students and munched many various types of bread and fried dough all stuffed with prosciutto and mozzarella. We then listened to Giovanna’s presentation about a translation she did a few years ago of a short story by an immigrant who now considers herself Italian and struggles with the clash of cultures. After the presentation we drove off in the rain to the Capuchin Catacombs, where there are 8,000 embalmed bodies. Only 2,000 are visible and unfortunately we couldn’t take pictures since it was technically a cemetery, but it was pretty interesting. There were many, many of priests and monks, as well as tons of rich professionals and their children, all from the mid 1800s and later. Some were rather alarming and others, like the babies, pretty upsetting, but overall it was very interesting. Monday night we had dinner with the entire group, led by Monica and Giovanna and it was delicious! We ate lots of yummy friend things, pasta alla norma – again eggplant, then really good swordfish and potatoes, yummy SALTED bread and pistachio semifreddo (sort of like gelato but not as cold? There really isn’t any good way to explain it…)

Tuesday

On Tuesday’s agenda was a little tour of Palermo with Professor Alessandra as our guide. We saw a few churches and cathedrals as well as a palace/museum with another gorgeous mosaic-ed chapel and many other things such as the city’s adorable, sweet stray dogs (who were pretty attached to us for the ENTIRE day …) Tueday afternoon, after finding some yummy white pizza (called Snow White), we headed to Cefalu’ – a tiny little beach town outside Palermo. Since it isn’t yet tourist season, there was NO ONE there. We went mainly to get some cannoli (which I don’t love too much but I hear they were good!) and see the cathedral – a very pretty and adorable little one! After grabbing some tea and various goodies at a nearby pastry shop, Breana and I wandered the entire town, and helped some little pre-teen boys get their basketball back. Then we found the ocean! We also found some beach cats and adorable little boats aside the beautiful sunset! On the way home, Gianni started playing some fantastic music such as Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You and I Will Survive which naturally resulted in Monica and Giovanna starting a crazy disco party and nicknaming the bus the DiscoBus. As we rolled into Palermo, we were all on our feet singing at the top of our lungs and dancing up and down the aisles. After settling back in the hotel, I spent the evening with Alayna, Victoria, Chrysanthe, Steph, Christine, Anna and Caitlin munching Chinese food and watching part of In the Air (bootlegged, of course!). I then headed back to my room to read in bed, something I haven’t had time to do in ages! 

For pictures of Palermo, Monreale and Cefalu', check out these albums on Facebook!! 

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=382254&id=500755531&l=c5e2cabb82

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=382262&id=500755531&l=58ab9fb8af

Part TWO on the way!

BACIONE

a day spent with dinos and rocks

aka the greatest day ever.

around 2pm, breana and i met alayna and lenora at san marco to go find the dinosaur museum, otherwise known as the museum of geology and paleontology. we could not find it. anywhere. we even knew the general area it was in and asked three different people: the first two looked at me like i was abosolutely insane and the last guy says, "OH! We have a GREAT paleontology museum.... where is it? oh.... well i don't know...." and then proceeds to look in the phone book and find nothing. at which point i call my host mother who says she will call me back after looking it up online.


guess where the darn museum is. on the street i take to school. every day. i pass this museum not once, but TWICE a day. we knew it was affiliated with the university of florence but we didn't realize it was  IN the academic building. whoops. anywho. we got there. finally. AND! that great pass we bought the other day for 4 euros which we thought was only for the four special exhibits at the science museums is also for all the university of florence affiliated museums (anthro, zoology, minerals and rocks, etc. etc. etc....) AND it was for sale for 10 euros here...... meanwhile we bought it yesterday for 4! 


needless to say, we wandered amongst huge dinos, most of which were FOUND IN TUSCANY!!! and the more complete ones were named - pippo, marta, linda and pietro..... very cute. 


then we strolled across the courtyard to the rock and mineral museum which was AMAZING! and beautiful. and sparkly. (there are about 1 million pictures of said dinos and rocks on facebook.... how embarrassing! http://www.facebook.com/album.php aid=379250&id=500755531&l=23c5298291)


anyway! at this point i am in bed with warm milk, mostly packed for SICILY in the morning! how grand!


my next update will be from down south nearby the ocean and basking in weather 10 degrees warmer, although perhaps rainier, than here!


ciao a tutti! baci e abbracci!

after almost a week.....

This week absolutely flew by..... and two weeks from tomorrow we will be heading to Sicilia! I can't wait!


Things were very hectic given we have a billion assignments as I explaine last time, but the good news that my fashion paper is almost done! I am about to finish it and start doing some literature! Has anyone read Io Non Ho Paura, or I Am Not Scared in english? It's a great book! I have to give a presentation on why is was written, for what motives, for who and speculate on its purpose as a literary work.... Hmmm.... Aiuta? 


I haven't had time to take any pictures for ya'll but you should all know that its gorgeous here this week.... Chilly but clear and very sunny! 


Also, everyone should check out the Putumayo Italia CD (grazie, Breana - a little motivation!!) 


Last night I went out to Be-Bop (http://www.myspace.com/bebopflorence) with Breana and some other girls and we had the pleasure of seeing a Janis Joplin cover band - The Rose (http://www.myspace.com/therosetribute). It was pretty much incredible. The lead singer had an incredible voice! None of them could dance, but they were GREAT! So much fun! Tonight we are thinking of going to the German bar, but we'll see what happens! 


Anywho. I'm sure I will be back soon. 


Baci e abbracci a tutti! 


P.S. At this point it appears I will be taking either Social or Economic Geography at the University of Florence and it will be Mon, Tues and Wed from 9am-11am...... And since its kind of in the anthro department here I am hoping it will kind of be in the anthro department at Smith.... But regardless! The latest I should be home in June 4th!!! Then again, we're in Italy, so things could change in 30 seconds!!! xo

back in the saddle

smith really wastes no time throwing us right back into academic inferno.....


by 5pm yesterday afternoon, i was back in my apartment with the host fam. at 9:30am today i was in literature listening to presentations. and then in fashion studies.... and then 3 hours later, in stylistics. tomorrow i will find myself in literature yet again, followed by art history.


in the final 2 weeks of this semester i have to write two 8-10 page papers, and two 4-5 page papers. i then have two written exams, a presentation, and two oral exams..... plus a meeting with giovanna to discuss the class i audited at the university of florence..... 


but then!


i get a week in sicily. relaxing. and resting. in hopefully decent weather. so i guess i shouldn't complain too much. plus second semester is really exciting to me (and honestly, it will be much easier and less stressful....)


therefore i am sucking it up, hopping on the horse, and gearing up for this final stretch! 


in bocca al lupo! 


p.s. i promise more exciting posts as soon as something more exciting occurs! 

Almost home!

I am a terrible blogger. I am so terribly sorry!


As you can imagine, spending three weeks at home was crazy! Appointments, dates, visits, things to do, people to see, places to go, errands to run - it was just go go go the entire time! And of course we got a Wii, so that had to be scheduled in as well!! Needless to say, I guess I didn't put blogging on my list of priorities where it should have been! But fear not because I have returned with full-force blogging!!


I am now sitting in the airport in Zurich, waiting for my gate to be announced. They changed my flight to Florence from an 12:15 flight arriving in Italy at 2, to a 2:55 flight arriving at 4:05.... And I got here at 11.... So I am just sitting. And waiting. And they have created this great little "Transfer Zone" which happens to be a random cluster of 15 chairs placed in the middle of the hallway in front of security. My gate should be announced soon... which would be great because I am hungry and would really love to get through the gate and find a sandwich!!!! 


Leaving home was hard..... saying goodbye to Gabriel was very hard.... but the GREAT news is that he is most likely visiting in 8 weeks for his March spring break! And these next 4 weeks will fly since I have so many papers to write and exams to study for, followed by a week in Sicily! And then second semester, which I am very excited for! History of Cinema, History of Opera, Translation and hopefully an anthropology course at the University of Florence! And once I know that course, I will know when my final exam is and therefore when I will be at home! And upon returning home, I will most likely be back working at the Reservoir in Waterbury, and perhaps a restaurant in Stowe as well! Then senior year..... WOW. 


Time flies when you spend a year in Italy, thats for sure!


Love to everyone! BACIONE!