A Letter to Venezia (aka Venice)

Dear Venezia,

Before I went to visit you the first time (which was yesterday), I thought you would be faking it. I presumed there would be a canal with gondoliers and boats just so people can take pictures of this one place and then you could make a fortune on stupid tourists visiting you. You were sure to try to sell me a thousand different t-shirts that capitalize on the cute little boats we see in the pictures.

I'm writing to say I am sorry. I prejudged you (though I was still very excited to see, in person, what you were all about). As I ambled through your many neighborhoods where everyday people live everyday lives, I realized you are really being you. You are a wondrous place to enjoy without the roar of cars, taxis, buses or even the whine of motor scooters.

Yours are the sounds of water lapping on the sides of docked boats,

the "buongiorno's" of locals greeting each other at the little markets,

voices echoing off the stone walls (who all have their own stories to tell)

 and the pitter-patter of the feet of visitors navigating your narrow cobblestone streets in yours,
 the most clever and beautiful labyrinth.

Yes, you have tourists, but for hundreds of years you have had tourists. Tourists are part of your fabric and they are here to breathe in your air that smells of the sea, attend your operas, fall in love again at sunset on a gondola ride and buy your lovely glass sculptures such that they may invite you into their homes.

You have inspired artists and countless others throughout the ages through your deep, lasting beauty. And I thank you for proving your genuine ability to be you and stay you such that I could get to know you.

My feet would like to express their opinion as they are in a very bad state today; but they are being bound and gagged so you will not have to be bothered with such trivial matters.

Sincerely,
Your New Friend

Tour of Venezia - GPS and Photo Tour

Click Here to see where I went yesterday in Venice.

2010-03-29 (Venezia/Venice) - Photo Tour

To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig...or...a sandwich with pig in it

Sunday is market day here and to market we went with a couple of adorable little girls and a few big girls (friends of my cousin).

First, though, we started with the typical Italian breakfast of brioche (sweet pasty) and cafe (shot of espresso) in a lively pastry shop.

Roadies were swarming the streets and it was perfectly warm out (mid-60s probably). Funny, I see the only pic I got of cyclists was one that shows the back of a woman. She was one of the only ones out there. 

The market was packed with people buying and selling wearable and edible goods. There are good deals to be had, for example: 5 euro for 3 small containers of bright red, fresh strawberries. The big (exciting) purchase for me was a garlic press, something I've really been missing/needing.

This is a ham sandwich that was really good. Yes, I ate a ham sandwich and enjoyed it (I think I've been craving protein as it's been harder to eat with all of the traveling). My vegetarianism is a thing of the past, at least for these six months of Italian living.

This jacket would be marked XL or XXL if it were sold in the states. 5 Xs in Italy, though.

Dinner tonight was at a local restaurant that, believe it or not, has a menu with more items on it than the Cheesecake Factory. This dish is the kind that I've tried ordering in the US for years and every time I've been disappointed. Finally, it was done right: thick homemade noodles, good red sauce (including veggies) and smoked mozzarella cheese melted all throughout it. Thank goodness I got out late this afternoon for an hour run (first one in weeks, was getting antsy with such great weather and no bike).

It was fun for me to be at dinner where there were kids since it's so unusual for me to ever be around young ones. (I give the moms so much credit, they do such a great job with the kids. Really don't think I'm capable of doing what they do.)

Signing off, will probably not be online again for a full day or so. More adventures, starting first thing tomorrow morning. Happy (if it's appropriate to say that) Palm Sunday! (Btw, Italians get not palms but things that look like a full branch/small tree.)

Studentessa of Architecture

History is inescapable in the very cool town of Vicenza (near to Venice). Having no idea as to what Vicenza would be like, I found myself swept away by the seemingly endless cool churches, outside facades on the buildings, museums and other very significant buildings (and it's a fairly compact place). Is this how Christopher Columbus felt when he discovered America, the way I feel when I find a place like this? Except I'm tourist number 50 million to be here...I don't care, this is my discovery in my little (though slowly expanding) world.

It was an absolutely lovely day today with the birds chirping, tons of people out, eating on the patios in the streets, some (but not too many) tourists. Fine day for some exploring.

I learned a lot about Andrea Palladio--very influential architect who has a lot to do with the way Vicenza looks. The Teatro Olympico was the absolutely coolest thing to see (he designed it)--the initial show at this theater was Oedipus the King & what sounds like the most amazing theatrical performance ever (or at least the most anticipated as there were 2,000 people at the show and it's designed to hold a small fraction of that number).

Also made it to their Museo Naturalistico Archeologico (museum of Roman statues and garb, arrow heads from waaaay back, rocks and cool stuff dug up throughout the ages, and the flora and fauna of Italy, including nasty insects and creatures I don't care to meet. All of the signs were in Italian and this is one time it really would have been nice to have a solid translation.

Visited the Gallerie di Palazzo Leoni Montanari. It featured Byzantine icons from the time Christianity existed in Russia & now that's something I appreciate from learning about the Byzantine church back in Denver. It was all crazy with those ceilings carved in baroque fashion, hard to get tired of seeing this kind of thing. Wandered through a few churches (they, too, have a duomo that is massive and quite enjoyable to see inside and out). Here's a picture of it: 

All of this education today for the price of 6 euros--it dawned on me that I'm a student again and can get student discounts at such places. And a tiramisu gelato for 1 euro (also student discount). Even cooler that they don't question me when I tell them I'm a student. Sweet in so many ways.

And ended the day with my cousin and I at the top of a mountain that overlooks all of the town. Tons of roadies up there. Wished I had my bike, but it's best I didn't travel with it (for stress level reasons). She made a super yummy dinner and we dined in, this is the best kind of visit.

Guess what time it is, folks? Springing forward here in Italy tonight so *poof* there goes yet another hour. So time difference is this: when it's 6 pm in Denver, it's 2 am here. On that note, buona notte!

Immersed in Italian Culture: Soccer and Pizza

Last night I fell asleep with the computer in my lap after getting home from dinner at half-past midnight. A rooster is cockadoodle-dooing outside (this isn't a farm, either, but Italy seems to be full of roosters).

It's not a long train ride to a place near Venice considering I feel worlds away from my new home now. Perugia was early-summer toasty yesterday. When I stepped off the train here, it was rainy, chilly and foggy--a totally different climate. I'm in this part of the country to visit my cousin (who I saw very briefly last summer in Roma and the time before that was 9 years ago, also very briefly). It makes me happy to finally get some time to have a quality visit with her and her daughter (she's American, from the non-Italian side of my family). It's simply a small world!

My cousin plays soccer (indoor, at least for the winter) with mostly Italians and a few Americans. She's benched with an injury at the moment, but we still went to watch (wish I could see her play!). There is some serious ball-handling skill out there, it was great fun.

One of her Italian guy friends was very excited to drive her Dodge--a BIG car compared with Italian Fiats. Watch Cristiano Drive (sorry, this link might not work).

He was thrilled with the power. It made his night.

After the game we went out to pizza at a local joint. The pizza was very yummy and I had beer (most of them drink beer after soccer).

The mix of languages (the Italians don't know much English and vice versa) seemed to work out just fine. Soccer and pizza are things all people can enjoy together whether or not they speak the same language.

Question: What do you get when you cross Cristiano...

With this girl...

?

ANSWER:

 Turns out, THIS is what made his night, it eclipsed his thrill of driving the Dodge.

Time to get out of bed and get this day going, the sun is pouring through the fog/clouds (not sure which right now), but it looks to be a lovely day (and it feels like a weekend to me since the pressure of getting things of practical nature done haven't followed me here). Yea!

How to Find a Bike Shop

Today was a gotta get-er-done kind of day. Thank goodness for having the bike here, it's allowed me to get so much more done in a shorter period of time (and take a multitude of wrong turns) with the additional benefit of feeling great at the end of the day.

I mentioned before about the difficulty in reading street signs and maps. It really is tricky here since there are quite a few roads named the same as a road running next to and parallel to it. I could really use a better street map, too, since on this one, all of the little streets aren't labeled and those are critical for getting oriented in a very complicated town with a million little streets.

There were two leads on apartments this morning in my email so I needed to get to town to check those out. I rolled into town at 12:50. Town closes down (almost completely) at 1 pm (and some doors get locked early). I managed to get my phone to reject its SIM card (it cost 8 euros to undo the damage I did, grrrrr)...and I didn't have use of the phone all day since the Vodafone store closed at 1pm.

Moments after I entered the main piazza, I saw three guys on their road bikes, complete with Euro-cool kits (jerseys and shorts) and bandannas instead of helmets, no gloves, thin and tan. Definitely racers. If anyone knows where a bike shop is (like the kind I'm looking for), these guys will know. So I rode after them and asked if they know where the nearest shop is...I asked in Italian, it's feeling a bit more comfortable to try (though most Italians understand my English better than Italian). One guy knows barely enough English that communication is possible. He said that they'll ride past the shop in a nearby town, but it's closed, of course. I jump on their wheels and follow them down, around and out of the city center. This feels similar to yesterday when I was on the motor-scooter zipping through the winding roads.

Throughout this ride, I'm trying to figure out how I can communicate anything to them. "Hey, you guys have girl friends who ride bikes?" or "When are the fun group rides?" or simply "I might not look like it (um, with the helmet and totally uncool vest), but I'm one of you, pleeeeease let me ride with you again." No, I got nothin' to say (this is a first if you ride with me).

The nearby town is a few kilometers away, not too far. Happens that there are two shops. I notice a child's tricycle in the first one and the guy says there are two shops. So which one is the best? The other one. We ride to that one. It's got a descriptive English name: "Racing Bikes." I express my thanks at their showing me the shop...the guy says they just did one thousand kilometers (of course, he meant 100 kilometers which is around 66 miles) and they ride off. No leads for bike riding buddies, rides or anything, but the location of the shop is priceless. This is a good first step. Lately, all I can do is be happy with making progress, no matter how small. It'll be another few days before I actually get to go inside of the shop and I'm anxiously awaiting that day (amazing enough, my tubes have just enough pressure still in them).

The ride back to the city center is up, up, up. Takes a lot longer to get back (now the second time today that I've made this vertical trip) and I spend a bunch of time finding the apartments. The first one is inexpensive and further out from the center of town, but I can't get the landlord on the phone to arrange a meeting. I like the location a lot (allows for better bike riding). Off to the second place, it involves riding up some almost too-steep-to-ride roads (these roads cause the Fiats some trouble ascending).

Before the meeting, I grabbed gelato (instead of lunch). Sadly, this one was disappointing--icy, not creamy. Flavors: limone (lemon--very tart, I liked the flavor) and what I think is mirtillo, blueberry.

This apartment is very centrally located, a bit more than I want to pay, but a huge perk: the girl who lives there is a good friend of a girl I've gotten to know while I've been staying here. The girl is dutch and knows something like four languages. I haven't gotten to meet her, but the landlord is a sweet woman and I feel comfortable with this. I've committed to a month here. That will buy me time to see if I can find something else less expensive, it will give me a chance to see how important the location is AND I'll find out how much a fan of second-hand smoke I am. She smokes as does almost everyone here.

Town was hopping this evening, it was so full of life and energy (though too many middle and high schoolers, methinks). They're getting ready for Easter-related festivities. I can think of nowhere I'd rather be for Easter than Italy.

Time to go pack up and get ready for yet another adventure this weekend. Will leave a lot here so as to travel light and attempt a stress-free journey.

Looking for a Good Home

Through the website that the university provided to me, I got a few leads on places to live. I set up a meeting this afternoon with a landlord (who owns quite a few properties), his name happens to be Mario.

He tells me to meet him at this pizzeria in town (he speaks enough English for this conversation to work). I got a bit lost on the way, but made it. He's wearing a green suit, the jacket is corduroy. I wonder if he's one of those landlords. A tour of the first apartment is a bit disappointing. A girl and her boyfriend were sitting in the kitchen, smoking. (Smoking indoors?!) And she was not that friendly. The bedroom was dark. 

To get to the second property, he tells me we'll need to take his motor scooter. Fine, I guess, so long as he has a helmet for me (don't worry, Mom, this isn't something I'm going to make a habit). This is me ready to go.

The motor scooter has the power and heft of a motorcycle. The roads are rough and he's aggressive (he has to be). I can't see much from the passenger seat and I'm very disoriented when we get to the second apartment. Pretty cool, again, to have a GPS map of the trip (and I can see how fast he was flying through the streets!)

The location of the 2nd place leaves a bit to be desired, but I like the girl who opens the door for us. It's four Italian students (girls) at this place. An ash tray with ashes in it is present, but the place doesn't wreak of smoke. The tours of these apartments reminds me why I don't live in one back home--apartments are just soul-less. Mario puts some pressure on me to give him money today, but I need to shop around more. All I know is I just couldn't wait to get back to the farm! So I again missed out on a bike shop in my rush to get back to what I'm now calling home. It will be my first stop tomorrow, maybe I can see if they know of someone who needs a roommate...I really would prefer to live with cyclists, but the chances are very, very slim.

Got back at sunset and it was gorgeous.

Before catching the bus, I found a big market in town and picked up (finally) a 1 liter bottle of extra virgin olive oil (2.75 euro, yea!), arugula, bread, prosciutto, mozzarella and gorgonzola cheese and chocolate. What a pleasing dinner (I'd been craving prosciutto, especially).

And now "Lost" is on TV--English speaking, subtitled in Italian. This is a great way to learn the language!

Lights, Camera...

Today was the first day of blue skies and the sun radiating down in Italy. It was a glorious day and a bit on the hot side (this summer could be painfully hot if today is any indication).

It was important to accomplish a lot today and make progress towards finding a more permanent home. I started by taking the bus into the City Center so I could run my errands on foot. First, I (finally) found the school (after hiking up/down all sorts of brutally steep streets) and discovered that their housing office is no longer around, but the services do exist online (this may end up for the best).

On my way out, I was pulled aside by some news organization doing man-on-the-street interviews. I explained that I don't speak Italian...they said English is fine. The question: "Have you heard of the British girl who was murdered..." Me: "Yes." [I probably rolled my eyes, too.] Them: "What do you think?" Me: "I have great respect for the Italian justice system." They have no idea of all of the thoughts that poured through my mind before I answered the question.

Next stop was the cell phone store (Vodaphone was recommended to me). Gotta love not having to sign a contract or even show a credit card. Italy (and it sounds like most of Europe) is cash-based. After being here for 2 weeks and making many transactions, I have used my credit card only once. In the states, it gets used daily and I almost never touch cash.

Now I have an Italian phone number and yet one more electronic thing (but it fits perfectly in jersey pockets).Yes, this is legally mine.


There are a few establishments around with English names (and a few that are, simply, American businesses like Footlocker)...this one is funny considering their translation.

After the visit to town (I was told the bike shop was too far to walk to), I returned home, researched directions and got on the bike. The next goal to accomplish was to figure out how to ride to the town center and get to the bike shop. Goodness, my legs were toast between yesterday's hills and this morning's walking.

The first shot at getting to town was almost completely unsuccessful. The roads I kept having to take were too busy and riding on the sidewalk wasn't much of an option (in places the sidewalk is a full foot above the street and in disrepair). I did find the chocolate factory, I will return, they HAVE to give tours. Also, the near-equivalent of a chocolate factory (to me) is their version of Home Depot...the bike and I spent awhile wandering the aisles as I like to do in Home Depot.

I returned home to jump back on the computer. With a new set of directions from Google maps (34 instructions to be exact), I set off yet again. The road signs are pretty good around here (like that picture that I posted of the Orvieto/Todi sign yesterday), but streets are not well marked at all. Trying to follow Google maps listing street names is nearly impossible. This time, I went by feel based on a couple of street-level pictures Google showed for the first couple of turns...then I just followed the big arrows...and they led me right up into town! SUCCESS! (I was sure that I was going to be wrong yet again.) So it's clear how to get to town via back roads.

And to celebrate this accomplishment, I had my first cono piccolo (small gelato cone) and there was no camera so I'm sorry to not have a pic to share. Flavors were kiss (how cheesy--they should name it bacio like the other gelaterias do) and nocciola. Kiss has hazlenut and chocolate combined, nocciola is just hazelnut. Darn good!!! I savored that, as I've been very anxiously awaiting it. And, bro, for reference--that Glacier gelato is quite similar in consistency.

The gelato made me forget about the quest for the bike shop...but the bike is running okay. It could use lube for the chain, the bottom bracket is squeaking a little and the tubes (they're the super thick ones since I had too many flats this winter and am paranoid) have another day or two of pressure left.

It is time to do some more focused studying of Italian. I have an entrance exam to look forward to and I am really excited to be learning this beautiful language.

The Joy of GPS

They say that rain on a wedding day is good luck for the couple. So I will take it to mean the same when, as I embark on my inaugural bike ride in Italy, it starts to rain. Mind you it has been cloudy since I got here and it has only spat a handful of raindrops prior to about 15 seconds into my bike ride--when it starts to really, truly pour. I make it to a nearby coffee shop. I can't help but sit there and be amused at the timing--and be extremely thankful that I am actually here in Italy, being given this chance to see this rain fall on this remarkable land. Fortunately, I brought my iPhone along so I sat there for what could have been close to an hour playing games on it. Never is there time in my life to simply play games. It's fun. Aaaah, Italy, I like being here so much already.

I got a very late start to the ride since I was trying to dig up ride routes on the internet. There's one site that has a lot of rides that look promising, but since I'm so new to this area, it's hard for me to get oriented to ride instructions, in general. After the rain cleared, I set off. It wasn't long before I realized something about this region: there are pretty much all farm roads and very few big, scary roads...so any which way I would go would SIMPLY BE OKAY. Not used to this at all!

And it became obvious that if I tried to follow the ride instructions that I scribbled down that I would spend more time being confused than riding the bike. So off I went, absolutely thrilled that I bought this GPS unit (Forerunner 305 if you're curious) just before coming to Europe. It allowed me a freedom and stress-free ride like I haven't ever had in a new place. I can go anywhere I want to go! And to get home, all I have to do is follow the dotted line (retracing my path on the way out). Easy, I can do this and (for once) not take a wrong turn.

What a fabulous ride it was, too. Felt great to be on the bike and be reminded of the riding that I had fallen in love with last summer when I rode here with Ciclismo Classico. I took very few pics out there since the riding was so much fun.

And for my Bike Across Italy friends, you'll appreciate this sign:

Yeah, how cool is it that Todi and Orvieto are on the same sign? Upon seeing this (remember, I didn't know where I was), it would have been nice to make Orvieto the ride turn around point (with turnaround nutrition being some gelato), but at close to 2 hours on the bike, I finally saw this sign:

Another 42 km would be too much for today, but it's totally POSSIBLE!!!! WEEEE Happy, happy, happy. The rain stayed away, it was warm enough to be too hot in a light-weight shell; spring is sooo here. Interesting, too, the trees are totally bare--with the green grasses and things growing in the fields, I didn't even realize this while gawking at the landscape until later on in the ride.

Post-ride nutrition was a whole lot of mozzarella, basil, bread and olive oil (a feast I couldn't stop thinking about while out there). Post-ride fun included reading for fun (again, something else there's never time for at home) and checking out the ride route on a map. Now the area is beginning to make sense. As one of the guys who's staying here (he's traveling for a year) said tonight in so many words:

When you travel to foreign lands, everything is new. It's like being a kid with having all new experiences--it really slows down time and re-introduces the joy of discovery.

Day 2: Kickin it in Perugia

Click here to see Pictures of Perugia that I took today. It's always nerve wracking, the first time I move somewhere (this is the third time I've moved basically sight unseen), to take a look at the place...is it everything I've hoped for? Will it feel right? Can I make this place home? Fortunately, Perugia feels very good to me. I like it like I liked the hilltowns that I experienced on the bike ride across Italy last summer AND it has a lot of people, a lot of energy. This is a winning combination for someone who ticks the way I do.

While I was waiting to take the bus (great bus system and mini metro, see the pictures of the cute mini metro), I also saw a few road cyclists go past. I know there's tons of riding around here, but it was a positive sign to see people out (welcome change from the extreme lack of cyclists in Barcelona). My bike is ready to go, but I do need to find a bike shop, get some directions for routes, etc. and I need air. My lame little pump isn't enough. Today was Sunday so everything was closed. I understand that businesses are also closed until after lunch on Mondays. Right: if you don't like Monday mornings at work, just cancel them. Italians have the right idea.

I *finally* got to the market earlier today and picked up salad stuff, mozzarella, basil (it's so inexpensive here, woohoo), bread and a few random items. Thank goodness, I've really been missing salad. It's interesting to try to buy food by the kilo. How much does a kilo feel like? I'm only learning what a pound is. In fact, they were selling the bread by the kilo. And I had to ask for the salted or unsalted variety. I chose unsalted (as that's traditional due to a tax on salt in this region once upon a time).

Tonight was family-style dinner where I'm staying. There were 7 of us and all American. Really enjoy being with this group and few things make me happier than eating with a group of people. Our hostess made carrot cake as a birthday cake for the two people in the group celebrating birthdays and it was sooooo tasty. I hope to live with Italians or Italian-speaking people so I am relishing the moments I do have with Americans.

And speaking of birthdays: 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!!!!!! You're the best! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you, but I'm thinking about you and wish you another awesome year. :)