I’ve been trying to find ways to entertain myself outside of meeting up with friends or walking around. I’ve been reading a lot of books. I only brought one with me because I already had too much stuff in my suitcase. It wasn’t too long and I read it quickly. When I was in Vienna, I had found a bookstore with English language books. The selection was weak but I found a book there and quickly read it. Once I was in Prague I had a little bit of TV to entertain me but I only had a couple of English language channels and they were news. I don’t love to watch news. I had BBC, EuroNews, and occasionally I got some Hong Kong channel that was more entertainment than news. It all grew old quickly so I gave up trying to watch it. I needed another book and I decided that since I was in Prague I would honor Milan Kundera and get one of his books. I had only read the Unbearable Lightness of Being and really liked it. So much so that I read it three times. I picked up Immortality and have found it to be so-so. At this point I put it aside and will have to come back to it.
Since I got to Rome and started classes, I’ve been dying for some mindless entertainment. I don’t have a living space at my flat, let alone a TV so that’s out. I went to find a movie showing in VO but nothing is playing. I did rent Oceans 13 from itunes, which was so great to watch. Not because it was a great movie but because it was in English and semi-entertaining. I didn’t really watch it as much as I stared at it.
I decided I needed to pick up some brain candy reading. I went to the bookstore at the Termini and found an Ann Rule book. (They are true crime mystery stories that I never had any interest in until Jae got me hooked. Curses!) I quickly snatched it up and read the whole thing in probably two days. As I finished the book, I turned it over and noticed for the first time what I had paid for this book. Euro 14!!! That’s like $20! It’s a paperback that came out in like 1993.
I know part of my problem was that I bought this at Termini which is tourist central but it’s also 3 blocks from my school. I had to find another English language bookstore and ideally someplace selling used books.
I went to a store a metro stop away and found a big selection of English books. This time, I selected a couple of books based solely on number of pages/price of book. Seriously. I chose one Ann Rule and specifically selected the one that had the most pages for the best price. I also bought a book that I’ve never heard of that is 933 pages long and only Euro 12.10. It also said it was an International Bestseller and the story sounds somewhat interesting.
I decided that I was going to talk to the school about setting up some sort of book exchange. I can’t believe they don’t have one. I know our focus is to learn Italian but the school also teaches German and English. So, at the very least they should have a library of books in all of those languages. On top of it, they can’t expect us to be all Italian all the time. Our brains get tired and we need to take a break so that we can come to the next lesson refreshed. I told a couple of my school friends about this idea and they loved it and want to help. So hopefully I'll be working on a side project to set up a library at the school and have free books to borrow.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Food, Grocery shopping, and Eating out
I honestly haven’t eaten out too much since I’ve been here. I’ve been trying to be frugal by eating breakfast and most dinners at home. I do typically eat lunch at school and it’s relatively inexpensive, simple, and good.
I have attempted to eat out a couple of times. Unfortunately, I think I’ve either never noticed or failed to remember that Italians have a very particular eating schedule. This is beyond the “everyone eats dinner late” issue.
One my first Sunday here, I woke up pretty early and decided that I would check out my neighborhood and also try to find a grocery store so that I could stock up on items for the week. I had gotten in so late the night before and if you recall, I had no TP in the bathroom. (Unfortunately for the old plumbing I did find paper towels, which I used sparely.)
Anyway, I left my flat pretty early, maybe around 10am, and began my little journey. Well, apparently EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. By about noon I began to see one or two café’s opened but nothing else. I keep thinking I’ll see something opened and finally spot a bakery. I’m really dying for regular food but I’m pretty much cross-eyed with hunger at this point so I have to stop. I try ordering the item that seems the simplest to pronounce, “Bigne da crema” or something like that. Of course I pronounced it wrong and more like “bignet”. I didn’t care. I had “food”. It was so good. YUM.
After that I figured the only areas open would be in the tourist filled centro so I headed there, found a store, found food, and was a happy camper.
Last weekend, I experience the same problem again. I’m walking forever through Trastevere and finally at about 4:30, I think I better stop and eat. I’m at the cross-eyed point and need to find something. (I’m not sure why I kept getting to this point.) Anyway, I pop into one place and he tells me know that they are closed. But, your patio is filled with people?? I go to the next restaurant and he tells me the same thing but adds the key word “pomeriggio” which is the afternoon. OH! I realize that they are closed for lunch and everyone was finishing lunch. I looked in my guidebook and found that ever restaurant pretty much closes around 3pm and re-opens around 7 or 8pm. Nuts. So once again I am wandering around looking for some place to eat and I don’t want a panino or pizza. I end up pulling the same routine I did on my first Sunday. I stumble into a bakery and order the one thing I can pronounce, “ravioli di ricotta”. YUM. It was the size of a scone but so light and airy. I really have to make sure I eat before I get cross-eyed because I always go to sugar once I’m at that point. I need that instant blood sugar hit.
So since most of my eating has been at home, I’ve been going to the grocery store by my flat a lot. I have seen some interesting things in there. One of my first trips there, I’m walking along looking at the meat section, trying to figure out what is what. You would think it would be easy with the popularity of Italian cooking but the store is another experience. I was shocked on one of my first trips to discover what I thought I read as being an in uterus baby lamb. It looked like a little hairless baby lamb - legs, eyes, and all laying on a Styrofoam plate and sealed in plastic. I was so freaked out. I had to bring this up in class. You should have heard me trying to explain this in quasi-Italian. I had to do sound effects of a baby lamb. Che significa baby lamb? Apparently this is a special Easter treat. The baby lamb has never had anything but it’s mother’s milk. In the intestine of the baby, the milk turns into a special cheese. They eat the whole thing. GROSS. They have boatloads of them at my store, which is apparently unusual.
I think I learn a lot on my grocery store trips. If I buy anything that has instructions on how to cook it, I’m usually in the kitchen with my dictionary looking up words.
I’d like to pull my dictionary out when I’m in the store but I’m a bit embarrassed. It goes back a long way to my first trip to Europe. I think I was ten. I remember very clearly being in an elevator with my family and there were some other French people in the elevator. I think we were in Paris. Anyway, I wanted the French people to think that I spoke French so I didn’t say anything in the elevator. I wanted to blend in, be chameleon-like. I’m sure my parents probably even spoke to me and I didn’t want to respond for fear that the French people would figure out my secret. Never mind that I was ten and in an elevator with people whom I looked like and who were speaking English. Oh well. I’m trying to not worry so much about blending in anymore.
I have attempted to eat out a couple of times. Unfortunately, I think I’ve either never noticed or failed to remember that Italians have a very particular eating schedule. This is beyond the “everyone eats dinner late” issue.
One my first Sunday here, I woke up pretty early and decided that I would check out my neighborhood and also try to find a grocery store so that I could stock up on items for the week. I had gotten in so late the night before and if you recall, I had no TP in the bathroom. (Unfortunately for the old plumbing I did find paper towels, which I used sparely.)
Anyway, I left my flat pretty early, maybe around 10am, and began my little journey. Well, apparently EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. By about noon I began to see one or two café’s opened but nothing else. I keep thinking I’ll see something opened and finally spot a bakery. I’m really dying for regular food but I’m pretty much cross-eyed with hunger at this point so I have to stop. I try ordering the item that seems the simplest to pronounce, “Bigne da crema” or something like that. Of course I pronounced it wrong and more like “bignet”. I didn’t care. I had “food”. It was so good. YUM.
After that I figured the only areas open would be in the tourist filled centro so I headed there, found a store, found food, and was a happy camper.
Last weekend, I experience the same problem again. I’m walking forever through Trastevere and finally at about 4:30, I think I better stop and eat. I’m at the cross-eyed point and need to find something. (I’m not sure why I kept getting to this point.) Anyway, I pop into one place and he tells me know that they are closed. But, your patio is filled with people?? I go to the next restaurant and he tells me the same thing but adds the key word “pomeriggio” which is the afternoon. OH! I realize that they are closed for lunch and everyone was finishing lunch. I looked in my guidebook and found that ever restaurant pretty much closes around 3pm and re-opens around 7 or 8pm. Nuts. So once again I am wandering around looking for some place to eat and I don’t want a panino or pizza. I end up pulling the same routine I did on my first Sunday. I stumble into a bakery and order the one thing I can pronounce, “ravioli di ricotta”. YUM. It was the size of a scone but so light and airy. I really have to make sure I eat before I get cross-eyed because I always go to sugar once I’m at that point. I need that instant blood sugar hit.
So since most of my eating has been at home, I’ve been going to the grocery store by my flat a lot. I have seen some interesting things in there. One of my first trips there, I’m walking along looking at the meat section, trying to figure out what is what. You would think it would be easy with the popularity of Italian cooking but the store is another experience. I was shocked on one of my first trips to discover what I thought I read as being an in uterus baby lamb. It looked like a little hairless baby lamb - legs, eyes, and all laying on a Styrofoam plate and sealed in plastic. I was so freaked out. I had to bring this up in class. You should have heard me trying to explain this in quasi-Italian. I had to do sound effects of a baby lamb. Che significa baby lamb? Apparently this is a special Easter treat. The baby lamb has never had anything but it’s mother’s milk. In the intestine of the baby, the milk turns into a special cheese. They eat the whole thing. GROSS. They have boatloads of them at my store, which is apparently unusual.
I think I learn a lot on my grocery store trips. If I buy anything that has instructions on how to cook it, I’m usually in the kitchen with my dictionary looking up words.
I’d like to pull my dictionary out when I’m in the store but I’m a bit embarrassed. It goes back a long way to my first trip to Europe. I think I was ten. I remember very clearly being in an elevator with my family and there were some other French people in the elevator. I think we were in Paris. Anyway, I wanted the French people to think that I spoke French so I didn’t say anything in the elevator. I wanted to blend in, be chameleon-like. I’m sure my parents probably even spoke to me and I didn’t want to respond for fear that the French people would figure out my secret. Never mind that I was ten and in an elevator with people whom I looked like and who were speaking English. Oh well. I’m trying to not worry so much about blending in anymore.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Weekend in Roma
I had my first weekend in Rome since starting school. It was a nice first experience.
One of the students in an upper level class organized a night out on the town. He’s the roommate of Hector who is in my class. John, from Toronto, informed us to meet up at Piazza di Spagna at 9pm. I also found out that Eleanor from class lives not too far from me so we made plans to meet around 7:30pm and head out for the night.
When I met up with Eleanor, she had Hector and John with her. Apparently they also live in the neighborhood. Hooray! We all headed out together. We got on the bus and ran into Yung-Ho from class, a new guy from Korea that joined mid-week. He's already been nicknamed "Tex" by John because he lived in Texas for two years. We all made our way to Piazza di Spagna together.
Once there we met up with a few other folks from my class: Myra, Thomas, and Phillip. Folks from John’s class also joined us. There were probably about 15 of us total. We headed to Campo di Fiori to find a spot to hang out. Once there we met up with even more friends of friends. A group of four archeologists who are working on a ship project out by Ostia Antica, along the coast, just outside of Rome. I spent a bit of time talking to one of them, Giles. He had a very posh British accent. He said he was from Bristol but I don’t know what that means in terms of why he had such a posh accent. He said he also worked at the British School and so I asked if he also taught English (I had passed this place on my bus ride and figured that’s what this school did). He said no they didn’t do that so then I had to poke fun and asked if they taught people how to drink tea. Apparently it’s not the first time he’d heard that joke.
Anyway, I know it’s not odd to run into archeologists in Rome but I was really starting to laugh at how I was developing a cast of characters a lot like Raiders of the Lost Arch. I already had the awkward German who stuttered when he spoke and now I had archeologists.
Anyway, we went to one other bar/club where I paid – 10 Euro for A drink. I couldn’t believe the price! That’s about $15. I drank it slowly. I was seriously in shock. Someone told me they do it instead of charging a cover price at the door.
I made my way home not too long afterwards via the night bus with the same gang I started the night with.
On Saturday I got up late and read in bed for about an hour. I made breakfast, ran some errands, and then headed out for a big walk. I had plans to head over to Trastevere where I’ll be living as of March 7th. I wanted to check out the area and see what there was to see. I really took the long way I realized after it was all said and done but I did have some items on my checklist to see. It was good to see the area and see what kind of a walk I’ll have from this apartment to a bus stop. It’s pretty simple which was good to see.
On Sunday, I did a repeat of Saturday morning and eventually headed out in the afternoon. The weather turned AWESOME this weekend. It was probably close to 70. Yippee!!! I so needed that change. I’ve been freezing cold in my core. I just needed to warm up.
I decided to head to a big park, called Villa Torlonia, not too far from me that had some interesting factoids to it. Mostly it was close by but it had also been Mussolini's suburban headquarters in the 30's, the home of the Torlonia family in 1797 and trashed by Americans during WWII when it became their command base.
It was a great park and I think I’ll visit again. It was very large with loads of plam trees, a large residence, football field, and this odd Swiss chalet.
I sat in the sun and read. The parks are also supposed to have wireless access. I attempted to gain access and my computer said I was connected but I couldn’t get online. I’ll try again another time.
I also saw lots of people running around the park, pretty much doing laps. It was inspiring and since I don’t have afternoon class anymore I’m going to attempt to get some exercise that will raise my heart rate a bit. The walking has been good but I think I need to do something more. I’ve got a pasta/donut/pastry/Bueno belly growing. (Has anyone had Bueno candy? They don’t sell them in the US and they are so good. I’ll definitely bring back a bunch.)
I ended the weekend back home, hanging out in my room reading. My neighbors got home from their weekend away sometime in the early evening. Everyone in Rome seems to race out of town each weekend. I haven’t figured out who is the cello player (or players) but I feel like it’s the dad. So, after the family got home, the dad came into, what I feel is the living room, and began playing a very somber piece (not too hard with a cello). It was really nice but somber, very deep, slow, and low. After he finished playing the song, he put on the stereo Pink Floyd’s, “Wish You Were Here” and played it really loud. When the song ended, he played it again. I think someone didn’t have as nice of a weekend as I did.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Roller Coaster
What a day. I woke up feeling pretty blue yesterday. I'm sure I won't get any sympathy from anyone but I'm finding it a bit hard to be here by myself and feeling homesick. I wasn't content with my little life in Seattle so I don't know what my deal is. I think I have a grass is always greener problem. Anyway, blah blah blah, blue.
I went to school and our teacher asked how we were so I gave the International hand gesture for come se, come si (sp?) or in Italiano, cosi, cosi. So, that brought up a big discussion about homesickness. I'm not the only one thank goodness. My new BF, Eleanor, is also homesick. Unfortunately for me, it seems more appropriate for a 20 year old vs. a 36 year old. Nuts.
As the day progressed, I was forced to conjugate verbs, again. I'm not sure I could conjugate a verb in English. This nearly brought me to tears. Not only do I not understand the directions because they are in Italian but I don't know the Italian verbs to begin even conjugating them. I don't think I'm 100% alone in this but I'm incredibly frustrated by it. Anyway, I spoke with my teacher during our break and had a nice chat about the whole process of learning a language.
When I came to school yesterday and over the last few days, I've been thinking of adjusting my class schedule a bit. Instead of 6 hours a day of class, I was thinking of canceling my afternoon sessions and applying that time to more morning sessions over my time in Italy. So instead of 4 weeks intensive, do 6 weeks of part time. I spoke to the office today and they said no problem. Yeah! This made me incredibly happy and really boosted my mood. Hooray! This also saves me money since I was going to buy more lessons to fill my time at the end of March.
At the afternoon session, a couple of the other students - one from Scotland and the other from Germany - were complaining about how they feel they aren't learning anything practical or immediately useful. They were feeling very frustrated and that the school wasn't what they expected. It was an interesting conversation with the teacher. She was reminding us that we are taking baby steps and asked us if we feel that we've improved from day one to day four. We all felt we had improved to varying degrees which basically proved her point. Baby steps. Relax. Don't worry. It will come. An interesting conversation and it made me feel better about my own language frustrations.
I went to school and our teacher asked how we were so I gave the International hand gesture for come se, come si (sp?) or in Italiano, cosi, cosi. So, that brought up a big discussion about homesickness. I'm not the only one thank goodness. My new BF, Eleanor, is also homesick. Unfortunately for me, it seems more appropriate for a 20 year old vs. a 36 year old. Nuts.
As the day progressed, I was forced to conjugate verbs, again. I'm not sure I could conjugate a verb in English. This nearly brought me to tears. Not only do I not understand the directions because they are in Italian but I don't know the Italian verbs to begin even conjugating them. I don't think I'm 100% alone in this but I'm incredibly frustrated by it. Anyway, I spoke with my teacher during our break and had a nice chat about the whole process of learning a language.
When I came to school yesterday and over the last few days, I've been thinking of adjusting my class schedule a bit. Instead of 6 hours a day of class, I was thinking of canceling my afternoon sessions and applying that time to more morning sessions over my time in Italy. So instead of 4 weeks intensive, do 6 weeks of part time. I spoke to the office today and they said no problem. Yeah! This made me incredibly happy and really boosted my mood. Hooray! This also saves me money since I was going to buy more lessons to fill my time at the end of March.
At the afternoon session, a couple of the other students - one from Scotland and the other from Germany - were complaining about how they feel they aren't learning anything practical or immediately useful. They were feeling very frustrated and that the school wasn't what they expected. It was an interesting conversation with the teacher. She was reminding us that we are taking baby steps and asked us if we feel that we've improved from day one to day four. We all felt we had improved to varying degrees which basically proved her point. Baby steps. Relax. Don't worry. It will come. An interesting conversation and it made me feel better about my own language frustrations.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Good, The Bad, and The First Day of School
I arrived back in Rome on Saturday evening. (You have to love orange trees growing on a busy city street.)
I was pretty beat from having to get up to catch my 5am train departure and not really sleeping that night due to the party in the room next door and on the streets. Anyway, I got picked up at the airport, which was nice, and my driver took me directly to my home for the next three weeks. He basically dropped me at the building door and said good luck. I went up to the call box and found the name of the owner and rang her. She let me in and came down to meet me. We went into the apartment and she was a bit short explaining everything. It kind of reminded me of an old school Western. She pulled out some keys, unlocked the room and said “this’ll be your room”.
She ran through everything and told me she wasn’t sure where my roommate (Paola) was but that she typically goes away for the weekends. RoommatE? Not roommateS? Woohoo! So, the good on this shared flat thing – one roommate. I was really hoping for only one but expecting five, which I was told was possible.
So, Sara leaves me to settle in. She lives in the apartment next door, which I came to learn by “hearing”, with her husband and kids, one of which plays the cello pretty well. But back to settling in…I really just wanted to lie down and go to sleep but decided to just get the task done and unpack. I went into the bathroom and noticed that there was (a) not a single personal item except for some almost empty shampoo bottles in the shower and (b) no toilet paper. So I thought well if she’s out of town maybe she takes everything with her and just happens to be out of TP.
I went into the kitchen to check that out and it was a Pigsty. It was really bad and smelled horrible – maybe from the Tupperware container on the counter that appeared to be filled with a tomato sauce and calamari. At this point, I’ll just cut to the chase and say that this place really brings out the Monica Geller in me. I want to clean everything. It is so disgusting. I’ve considered, and looked, at various cleaning supplies in the store. I think I’m going to have to bite the bullet and invest in something to clean things up a bit. It’s really, really gross. I just don’t think that the place has really been given a thorough cleaning in probably ten years. Plus, it has various people traipsing through here every few weeks. The only constant is Paola so…
I really didn’t have high expectations for this housing. I thought I’d have a small little room with a twin bed, a desk, and hopefully a closet or dresser. I thought it would be really simple with nothing special in it. I did expect things to be really clean though.
Oh! One other thing. I took a few pictures of things in the kitchen. I had to laugh. You’ll notice the burned hot pat that isn’t really much use at this point.
The cutting boards that are actually in the “clean” pile but you can bet from that brown stain I won’t be using those.
Lastly, is the toaster. I asked Paola about it and she said she didn’t use it but that it was there if I needed it. I pulled it out today to have a little toast (I love toast) and the thing was covered in a thick layer of dust.
So, the good is that I just have Paola as a roommate and she seems alright. We had a little chat last night and it was good. The other fantastic thing is that the empty bathroom is all mine. She has her own bathroom in her room. I seriously thought I’d be sharing with four other people.
I was talking with one of the other students about their housing and apparently they encountered a similar situation of a pigsty flat. The housing is really inexpensive so maybe that is the trade-off.
I also completed my first day of class today. I honestly cannot imagine how I will go from today, to being able to speak a sentence to someone. It just seems so far off. I’m sure it will come. I think my other hang up is that I always feel so awkward and unnatural speaking another language. It sounds so foreign. There is a Friends episode (not to keep bringing them up but I haven’t watched TV in a long time and I miss it) where Joey is trying to learn French from Phoebe. She says something to him and he repeats something along the lines of “blah, blah, blah, poo”. This is what it feels like I’m doing. It doesn’t actually make sense, register, or feel comfortable. I suppose the more you do it, the more comfortable you are and that feeling goes away. I hope!!
So, my classmates – a quick rundown: Quiet guy from Germany, Phillip; awkward accountant from Germany who now lives in Switzerland, Tomas; a bit cocky young guy from Guadalajara, who said his name was Ettiro which I just realized when he spelt it was Hector; Stylish AnnaLee from Australia, who looks very Italian but is Greek; Ukari from Japan; Mai, from Japan; Eleanor who feels as awkward as me and is from Sweden; Michael from Los Angeles who is the Steve Meyer of the group, even has some similar expressions; and Maya from Mexico City who told me she’s a daddy’s girl and he sent her here to get some independence.
So, that’s the scoop on class. The first day went pretty fast and didn’t feel like it was dragging on. Our teacher is Marina and she’s great. Her husband is from the Seattle area so she got a kick out of me. Teacher’s Pet.
Friday, February 15, 2008
Eating, eating, oh and yes, what shall I eat
It's amazing how when you travel things get down to basics. Where will I sleep, where will I eat, and how do I get around? Where will I eat takes up a lot of time. You figure you have three meals a day typically multiplied by each day you are traveling. That's a lot of brain time spent on the topic of food and eating. Plus, if you are like me, I get excited to try the local fare and experience some sort of interesting meal.
So, in honor of my daily quest, here's a quick bit on the highs and lows of my dining experiences this last week.
I kicked things off with a bang in Vienna, eating dinner at a local pub. This pub was nothing special. A dime a dozen here. There was one old guy chain smoking at a table in the front of the pub. I opted for a table a few feet away in the "non-smoking section". (This is typical here.) Since I was on a mission to have some weiner schnitzel I decided to jump right in and order that for dinner. They suggested a variation on the plain version - the "Gordon Bleu". This appears to be the spicy cousin of Cordon Bleu. It was filled with cheese, ham, onions, and jalapenos. As soon as my order was in I heard very loud banging coming from the kitchen. I guess I figured it was already pounded out or maybe it was ordered frozen from some factory. Nope. Made to order. It was so good! It was served with some potatoes/french fries. I told myself not to waste the space on the potatoes but they were so good too. They were cut round, like chips but they were super thick. They were better than I ever expected they could be.
My next experience, but not necessary a highlight was having coffee and apple strudel at a "famous" cafe in Vienna. There are loads of these places and having coffee in Vienna is a thing to do. They have all sorts of variations on how they serve their coffee and every order comes served on a silver tray with a cup of water. The apple strudel wasn't very good however. My friend Cindy gave me a bit of the low down on strudel and told me that each area makes theirs a little different. In Vienna it is just a thin layer of filo dough around a mound of apples. I think I prefer more of a pastry dough AND I really prefer it warm. Mine was served very cold.
The last meal I have to highlight is my lunch from yesterday. I still hadn't had my knodel and apparently they serve it here too. I went to a place recommended by my hotel (fyi - great place to stay if you are ever here - www.aiquattroangeli.com or www.atlanteresidence.com). I noticed that this pub boasted that they were the original Pilsner Urquell house. Wow! That's cool I thought...that is until I saw this on another restaurant. Maybe it doesn't mean what you think it means.
Anyway, onto lunch. I ordered something that sounded like roasted pork with a little smoked pork, a little duck, potato knodel/dumplings, and bacon and bread knodel/dumplings. Fantastic! The serving of food was massive. I couldn't believe it and instantly felt like a fat American, eating way too much. However, that changed when I hardly made a dent in the plate. I started with the roasted pork. This was so insanely good. I used the bacon and bread knodel to soak up the gravy and soup up some sauerkraut. It was so good. I moved to the duck. It wasn't bad. I had some amazing duck in Vienna so I had high expectations. Plus, that roasted pork was so good I don't think anything could beat it. I made my way to the smoked pork. Oh right this is what we call "ham". Duh. I've done this a lot on the trip so far. I skipped eating too much of that and went back to the potato knodel and duck. I noticed when I was eating this plate of very brown food that my friend Tamara wouldn't ever be able to eat it. She doesn't eat brown food or food that touches each other. She would have been in dire straits with this meal.
So, in honor of my daily quest, here's a quick bit on the highs and lows of my dining experiences this last week.
I kicked things off with a bang in Vienna, eating dinner at a local pub. This pub was nothing special. A dime a dozen here. There was one old guy chain smoking at a table in the front of the pub. I opted for a table a few feet away in the "non-smoking section". (This is typical here.) Since I was on a mission to have some weiner schnitzel I decided to jump right in and order that for dinner. They suggested a variation on the plain version - the "Gordon Bleu". This appears to be the spicy cousin of Cordon Bleu. It was filled with cheese, ham, onions, and jalapenos. As soon as my order was in I heard very loud banging coming from the kitchen. I guess I figured it was already pounded out or maybe it was ordered frozen from some factory. Nope. Made to order. It was so good! It was served with some potatoes/french fries. I told myself not to waste the space on the potatoes but they were so good too. They were cut round, like chips but they were super thick. They were better than I ever expected they could be.
My next experience, but not necessary a highlight was having coffee and apple strudel at a "famous" cafe in Vienna. There are loads of these places and having coffee in Vienna is a thing to do. They have all sorts of variations on how they serve their coffee and every order comes served on a silver tray with a cup of water. The apple strudel wasn't very good however. My friend Cindy gave me a bit of the low down on strudel and told me that each area makes theirs a little different. In Vienna it is just a thin layer of filo dough around a mound of apples. I think I prefer more of a pastry dough AND I really prefer it warm. Mine was served very cold.
The last meal I have to highlight is my lunch from yesterday. I still hadn't had my knodel and apparently they serve it here too. I went to a place recommended by my hotel (fyi - great place to stay if you are ever here - www.aiquattroangeli.com or www.atlanteresidence.com). I noticed that this pub boasted that they were the original Pilsner Urquell house. Wow! That's cool I thought...that is until I saw this on another restaurant. Maybe it doesn't mean what you think it means.
Anyway, onto lunch. I ordered something that sounded like roasted pork with a little smoked pork, a little duck, potato knodel/dumplings, and bacon and bread knodel/dumplings. Fantastic! The serving of food was massive. I couldn't believe it and instantly felt like a fat American, eating way too much. However, that changed when I hardly made a dent in the plate. I started with the roasted pork. This was so insanely good. I used the bacon and bread knodel to soak up the gravy and soup up some sauerkraut. It was so good. I moved to the duck. It wasn't bad. I had some amazing duck in Vienna so I had high expectations. Plus, that roasted pork was so good I don't think anything could beat it. I made my way to the smoked pork. Oh right this is what we call "ham". Duh. I've done this a lot on the trip so far. I skipped eating too much of that and went back to the potato knodel and duck. I noticed when I was eating this plate of very brown food that my friend Tamara wouldn't ever be able to eat it. She doesn't eat brown food or food that touches each other. She would have been in dire straits with this meal.
All cultured up and ready to go
Today is my last day in Prague. I leave hours before the crack of dawn tomorrow. I'm definitely ready to move on. I've skewed the average for number of days a tourist stays here. My tour guide told me one day was average.
So, two nights ago I treated myself to a performance at the National Theatre. The theater is famous for opera, plays, and ballets. It was built in the 19th century and has a GOLD roof. Literally gold. Not paint. They were performing Carmen which I had never seen and had no idea I knew so many songs from it. It was pretty good. The singers did a great job. I did feel a little like I was watching a high school play though. You know when you go to a high school play and there is one or two really good performers but the rest of the production isn't so hot? People falling over each other, curtain not coming down in time, set changes are a little off? It was a bit like that.
Last night I celebrated Valentine's Day by taking myself to the Rudolfinum which is where the Czech Philharmonic orchestra performs. That was really good. The musicians were amazing. The song choices for last night were so-so. This is Dvorak land but they didn't have him on the agenda last night. It was all Beethoven I think.
I also saw the Old Jewish Cemetery yesterday. I had heard it was very interesting and it definitely was although smaller than I expected.
Today I'm feeling a little out of things to do. I did take the funicular up to Petrin Hill. It's a nice view of the city and an easy walk back down after taking in the view. The view is a bit hard to see once you get up there because there's this massive wall that blocks your view unless you go up the mini Eiffel Tower. The wall is called the Hunger Wall and was a project in 1362 to give the poor some work to do in exchange for food. Anyway, it blocked the view and I didn't feel like going up the tower.
There's a few more churches and neighborhoods I could explore but I'm feeling Pragued-out. I'm ready to move onto the next thing and settle in my apartment in Rome. I'm hoping for only 1 or 2 roommates. Hopefully they are fun and interesting. I think I could have as many as 4 other roommates so I guess we'll see when I arrive. It does improve the odds that one of them might be a compatible friend.
So, two nights ago I treated myself to a performance at the National Theatre. The theater is famous for opera, plays, and ballets. It was built in the 19th century and has a GOLD roof. Literally gold. Not paint. They were performing Carmen which I had never seen and had no idea I knew so many songs from it. It was pretty good. The singers did a great job. I did feel a little like I was watching a high school play though. You know when you go to a high school play and there is one or two really good performers but the rest of the production isn't so hot? People falling over each other, curtain not coming down in time, set changes are a little off? It was a bit like that.
Last night I celebrated Valentine's Day by taking myself to the Rudolfinum which is where the Czech Philharmonic orchestra performs. That was really good. The musicians were amazing. The song choices for last night were so-so. This is Dvorak land but they didn't have him on the agenda last night. It was all Beethoven I think.
I also saw the Old Jewish Cemetery yesterday. I had heard it was very interesting and it definitely was although smaller than I expected.
Today I'm feeling a little out of things to do. I did take the funicular up to Petrin Hill. It's a nice view of the city and an easy walk back down after taking in the view. The view is a bit hard to see once you get up there because there's this massive wall that blocks your view unless you go up the mini Eiffel Tower. The wall is called the Hunger Wall and was a project in 1362 to give the poor some work to do in exchange for food. Anyway, it blocked the view and I didn't feel like going up the tower.
There's a few more churches and neighborhoods I could explore but I'm feeling Pragued-out. I'm ready to move onto the next thing and settle in my apartment in Rome. I'm hoping for only 1 or 2 roommates. Hopefully they are fun and interesting. I think I could have as many as 4 other roommates so I guess we'll see when I arrive. It does improve the odds that one of them might be a compatible friend.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Praha - the cold
Well I've been freezing my butt off in Prague for the last day. I really started to wonder if I had a hole in the backside of my jeans because my butt was so cold. I didn't wear my thermals today because I wasn't sure that they'd fit under my jeans but I think tomorrow I will have to pour myself into the jeans - thermals and all. It is too cold to go without.
This subject of "cold" has been on my mind all day. It is perhaps because I was in it all day. I decided to pay for a walking tour of the Prague Castle.
I could have easily done this on my own but I'm really glad I did the tour. It ended up being a private tour - just me and my guide Michelle. She was very fun and we had a good time taking it all in and poking fun here and there. However, the tour was spent all outside (2 hours) and I was really frozen by the time it ended. She pointed me in the direction of a cafe at the end where I could get something warm to drink. I opted for a Prague specialty...mulled wine. This definitely thawed me out a bit but it took two of them. I'm starting to understand the popularity that another alcoholic beverage has here. Absinth is legal here. I've only attempted to taste this once before but I could hardly get my mouth near the glass without burning my nose hairs off. The stuff is foul. I'm not sure why anyone would drink it because they like it. However, I'm starting to think that if I have a glass I might believe that I am in the desert and instantly I will forget that it is so cold.
This subject of "cold" has been on my mind all day. It is perhaps because I was in it all day. I decided to pay for a walking tour of the Prague Castle.
I could have easily done this on my own but I'm really glad I did the tour. It ended up being a private tour - just me and my guide Michelle. She was very fun and we had a good time taking it all in and poking fun here and there. However, the tour was spent all outside (2 hours) and I was really frozen by the time it ended. She pointed me in the direction of a cafe at the end where I could get something warm to drink. I opted for a Prague specialty...mulled wine. This definitely thawed me out a bit but it took two of them. I'm starting to understand the popularity that another alcoholic beverage has here. Absinth is legal here. I've only attempted to taste this once before but I could hardly get my mouth near the glass without burning my nose hairs off. The stuff is foul. I'm not sure why anyone would drink it because they like it. However, I'm starting to think that if I have a glass I might believe that I am in the desert and instantly I will forget that it is so cold.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Final thoughts on Vienna
I ended my final evening in Vienna attending the luau, I mean Strauss & Mozart performance. It definitely was luau-ish. I think only tourists were in attendance. The musicians were very good and you could tell that this was kind of a joke to them. One of the violinists, who looked creepily like the guy from Raiders who's face melts, was very goofy when he played his violin. It definitely seemed like the only way he could get through playing the same songs every night was by adding his own flair to the performance. Unfortunately, I couldn't take my eyes off him. In addition to the music, they had singers and dancers perform. The first performance by the dancers was a bit unfortunate. I would guess that the dancers were retired professionals, especially the girl. I have a feeling the guy was the only guy they could find with some semblance of rhythm who was willing to do these performances for a small pittance.
The singers however were good and seemed to have some fun doing it.
The next morning I was off to catch the train and head to Prague. My host, Barbara, helped me carry my coffin-size suitcase to the tram and waited with me until it arrived. I have to say that if I was given the choice to pay to stay in a shared house with someone, I would look for somewhere else to stay. However, being that this was a surprise, it turned out to be a pleasant one. I really enjoyed talking with Barbara. We talked about almost everything. I think she was very curious about me and asked me all sorts of questions. I was equally curious about her. She is Austrian but lived in Rome for about 20 years working for Alitalia. She's now switching careers and going to school to get a degree in special education so that she can do something a little more fulfilling. I am also about 90% sure that she is Buddhist. On my first morning in the house I heard what sounded like chanting coming from her room. Now, I've seen "What's Love Got to Do With It" and I remember clearly the scene where Tina Turner turns to Buddhism to escape Ike Turner beating the crap out of her. It sounded a lot like this including a clanging of a bell. I never got the chance to ask her about it though. Rats.
All in all a really good time in Vienna. I definitely didn't see it all and would recommend to anyone a visit there.
The singers however were good and seemed to have some fun doing it.
The next morning I was off to catch the train and head to Prague. My host, Barbara, helped me carry my coffin-size suitcase to the tram and waited with me until it arrived. I have to say that if I was given the choice to pay to stay in a shared house with someone, I would look for somewhere else to stay. However, being that this was a surprise, it turned out to be a pleasant one. I really enjoyed talking with Barbara. We talked about almost everything. I think she was very curious about me and asked me all sorts of questions. I was equally curious about her. She is Austrian but lived in Rome for about 20 years working for Alitalia. She's now switching careers and going to school to get a degree in special education so that she can do something a little more fulfilling. I am also about 90% sure that she is Buddhist. On my first morning in the house I heard what sounded like chanting coming from her room. Now, I've seen "What's Love Got to Do With It" and I remember clearly the scene where Tina Turner turns to Buddhism to escape Ike Turner beating the crap out of her. It sounded a lot like this including a clanging of a bell. I never got the chance to ask her about it though. Rats.
All in all a really good time in Vienna. I definitely didn't see it all and would recommend to anyone a visit there.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Vienna is Supa
I have had three very full days in Vienna and I have to say I really like this city. As the locals would say "it's supa".
I spent my first day walking around the city. I walked for just about 6 hours with a few breaks for coffee and food. The apartment is a really short walk to the Innere stadt area. I headed there to see Stephansom, a gothic church. After that I walked through the shopping area to Hofburg which I was told was the winter palace of the Habsburgs. After seeing this area I wandered over to the Albertina which is one of the art museums. I decided to fork over for the admission here since they recently acquired a huge collection of work - mostly Picasso's from some local family. After that I headed to the Naschmarkt which is sort of like Pike Place Market. Lots of vendors selling fresh produce, meat, etc plus lots of food vendors. Since it was Saturday it was pretty crowded but very cool.
I definitely needed to eat and since I was FREEZING cold I decided to try a Ramen place up the street. I know - Ramen in Vienna. Vienna actually has a diverse food scene with lots of new options popping up often. I'll probably do a separate food entry later.
So, yesterday I jumped on an early train and headed to Melk which is about an hour west. I had made plans to catch up with an old college friend, Cindy Sincock, who has lived in Austria for nine years now. We randomly connected on Facebook about a month ago and I remembered that she lived over here. She lives in Linz which is about another hour further west. We chose Melk as the halfway point and they also have this huge Benedictine monastery there. Apparently everything is closed on Sunday except for this place. After we toured the monastery we headed to Spitz to try heuringen. This was very cool. This area is wine country for many Austrian wines. The heuringen allows the wine producers to sell their wine on the premises of where they produce but in addition they sell local meat, cheese, and bread from surrounding farmers. Each winery takes turns being open and selling their wine and their neighbors food. It was very cool and the food was so great. After we ate, Cindy and her daughter Emma kidnapped me and took me back to Linz. I saw their town from a hilltop view and then they dropped me at the train station for my ride back to Vienna.
Today is my last day in town before jumping on the train to Prague tomorrow am. I spent today viewing the Schonbrunn which was incredible. This is a massive royal palace and garden. It was really amazing.
Tonight I have tickets to a show which I'm slightly worried is the Viennese version of a luau. I was stopped on the street by a man in costume. I know. He was standing next to a ticket office for the broadway shows and he had info that I had just viewed in the tourist office (doesn't mean it's good) and seen in my guide book. It's music and dancing and costumes. Yeah. So, we'll see how it goes. It might be really nice or so-so. We'll see. I'm just excited I can stay awake past 7pm right now.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Faschnitzels!
That's Snoop Dogg German for "I am so freaking excited to eat schnitzel". I arrived in Vienna about 3 hours ago. I think eating Schnitzel and knodel are #1 on my list. I haven't had a good version of either since about 1984. My brother Joe spent a year in Germany during high school and introduced our family to knodel and brats. I don't expect there is much difference between German schnitzel and knodel but I'll be sure to report back if there is a difference. I'm sure each country would say that there is a difference and that their's is the best and the other country is crap. However, I think Germany and Austria pretty much say that about everything when each other is involved.
So, other than my dinner plans, I am coming to terms with the surprise I encountered upon my arrival here. I've been communicating with the owner of the apartment I rented for about a month. He's Italian and very sweet and very enthusiastic to talk to me often. He's married, fyi. Anyway, I got here and he picked me up at the train station and we walked a couple of blocks to the apartment. When we got into the apartment I was immediately very confused. There was stuff EVERYWHERE. Personal stuff. He had mentioned that he had 3 apartments and I thought I caught something about showing me his apartment and then mine? I don't know but I was confused. He's showing me around the kitchen, living room, etc. He keeps telling me how Barbara, his wife is going to be around to help me if I need anything. I'm starting to think he means she'll be very close and very around. Yeah. Then he shows me my bedroom. He's rented me a room in his apartment to share with his wife. He's going out of town for the weekend so it's just us. Shared apartment and shared bath. Surprise! He never once mentioned a "shared" situation. I was so tired when he told me this I didn't know what to say or do. I think fully rested I probably wouldn't have been so frazzled by this news. However, I slept about 4 1/2 hours last night which happened mostly before midnight so I am TIRED! Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine but it wasn't really what I was expecting at all. Part of me wants to run screaming somewhere a little more private but it's super cheap and I think that is winning right now. Plus, I'll really only sleep, shower, and eat breakfast there for four nights. What if I had planned to stay here for 14 nights like he mistakenly thought when we first talked. Ack!!! It's like staying at a bread and breakfast. I don't love those.
So, other than my dinner plans, I am coming to terms with the surprise I encountered upon my arrival here. I've been communicating with the owner of the apartment I rented for about a month. He's Italian and very sweet and very enthusiastic to talk to me often. He's married, fyi. Anyway, I got here and he picked me up at the train station and we walked a couple of blocks to the apartment. When we got into the apartment I was immediately very confused. There was stuff EVERYWHERE. Personal stuff. He had mentioned that he had 3 apartments and I thought I caught something about showing me his apartment and then mine? I don't know but I was confused. He's showing me around the kitchen, living room, etc. He keeps telling me how Barbara, his wife is going to be around to help me if I need anything. I'm starting to think he means she'll be very close and very around. Yeah. Then he shows me my bedroom. He's rented me a room in his apartment to share with his wife. He's going out of town for the weekend so it's just us. Shared apartment and shared bath. Surprise! He never once mentioned a "shared" situation. I was so tired when he told me this I didn't know what to say or do. I think fully rested I probably wouldn't have been so frazzled by this news. However, I slept about 4 1/2 hours last night which happened mostly before midnight so I am TIRED! Anyway, I'm sure it will be fine but it wasn't really what I was expecting at all. Part of me wants to run screaming somewhere a little more private but it's super cheap and I think that is winning right now. Plus, I'll really only sleep, shower, and eat breakfast there for four nights. What if I had planned to stay here for 14 nights like he mistakenly thought when we first talked. Ack!!! It's like staying at a bread and breakfast. I don't love those.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Initial Observations & Learning Italian
So, day one in Rome and I decided to just walk around without much purpose or direction. I had no plans or expectations. Just figure out where I was and how far I could walk.
I was on my way and trying to figure out how to get to the center of town. I thought things were going well but was also having trouble finding a street that would take me the direction I wanted to go. I came across a Metro station and just said the "hell with it" and decided to go for a ride instead. I took the metro to the Colosseo stop. I figured it's central and it will feel good to see a landmark I recognize. I came up the stairs and there it was. It was fun to see the Colosseum again. It reminded me of my trip with my mom a few years ago.
I kept wandering around and eventually came to Trevi Fountain. It's not nearly as croweded in the morning as it is in the evening. It's really very soothing.
After that I came to the Spanish Steps and sat for awhile.
At this point I was STARVING since I really hadn't eaten much in the last 24 hours.
I had lunch back by Trevi fountain at a place recommended by my Time Out Rome guide.
So, after a day of wandering here's what I know:
1. Cool sunglasses are a must
2. People bundle up as if it's 30° out even though it's 59° and sunny.
3. Women stare you down (I forgot about this little trait. It's not my favorite.)
4. Riding boots & Cowboy boots (not cool boots like Frye's but boots circa mid-1980's as worn by Lea Thompson in Some Kind of Wonderful) are huge, especially tucked into jeans
5. Construction is everywhere, including right next door to my hotel. I'm really over this metaphor.
I'm also kicking myself for not studying my Italian before coming here. I really meant to and I don't know what happened. I did a few lessons but really didn't give it enough attention. So, I'm trying to cram a little using the lesson on my ipod. Also my good friend Andrew McCombie suggested watching lots of tv to learn. Apparently this is how he got so fluent in French. However, I think the tv programs he had to pick from may have been better than what I had to choose from last night around midnight. I witnessed some of this late night programming on my last trip to Italy. It's pretty much a lot of soft porn or women dressed in nothing holdng a phone asking you to call now so that they can talk to you.
I tried the tv again this morning and had the choice of news, which is rattled off at lightening speed, or very old (Casper the Friendly Ghost) cartoons. I went with the cartoons. I'm not sure if I learned anything. I did understand a few words that Casper said but I can't say the same for the breathy ladies on the night before.
I was on my way and trying to figure out how to get to the center of town. I thought things were going well but was also having trouble finding a street that would take me the direction I wanted to go. I came across a Metro station and just said the "hell with it" and decided to go for a ride instead. I took the metro to the Colosseo stop. I figured it's central and it will feel good to see a landmark I recognize. I came up the stairs and there it was. It was fun to see the Colosseum again. It reminded me of my trip with my mom a few years ago.
I kept wandering around and eventually came to Trevi Fountain. It's not nearly as croweded in the morning as it is in the evening. It's really very soothing.
After that I came to the Spanish Steps and sat for awhile.
At this point I was STARVING since I really hadn't eaten much in the last 24 hours.
I had lunch back by Trevi fountain at a place recommended by my Time Out Rome guide.
So, after a day of wandering here's what I know:
1. Cool sunglasses are a must
2. People bundle up as if it's 30° out even though it's 59° and sunny.
3. Women stare you down (I forgot about this little trait. It's not my favorite.)
4. Riding boots & Cowboy boots (not cool boots like Frye's but boots circa mid-1980's as worn by Lea Thompson in Some Kind of Wonderful) are huge, especially tucked into jeans
5. Construction is everywhere, including right next door to my hotel. I'm really over this metaphor.
I'm also kicking myself for not studying my Italian before coming here. I really meant to and I don't know what happened. I did a few lessons but really didn't give it enough attention. So, I'm trying to cram a little using the lesson on my ipod. Also my good friend Andrew McCombie suggested watching lots of tv to learn. Apparently this is how he got so fluent in French. However, I think the tv programs he had to pick from may have been better than what I had to choose from last night around midnight. I witnessed some of this late night programming on my last trip to Italy. It's pretty much a lot of soft porn or women dressed in nothing holdng a phone asking you to call now so that they can talk to you.
I tried the tv again this morning and had the choice of news, which is rattled off at lightening speed, or very old (Casper the Friendly Ghost) cartoons. I went with the cartoons. I'm not sure if I learned anything. I did understand a few words that Casper said but I can't say the same for the breathy ladies on the night before.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
I made it!
I'm finally here. It definitely feels like it's been a long time from making the decision to actually doing it. I was definitely a jumble of emotions the last couple of days. The biggest question that I had was, "ah, why am I doing this". I was definitely overcome with some fear as things became real. I'm really glad that I have school and some structure at the beginning of this adventure. I think it will help me get past the fear and just have fun and enjoy myself. Although I'm feeling scared, I know that this is going to be an exciting adventure and I'm glad I'm doing it.
Isn't there some quote or saying about taking risks makes you grow or something like that? Something along the lines that going outside your comfort zone and how that changes you? I'm in that place.
BTW - the sunrise that I saw when we were making our descent into Rome was AMAZING. The sky looked on fire. I tried to capture it.
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