The Italian Vacation (Part 1)

While my last post was a bit of a filler, I am now ready to recount the entirety of 'The Italian Vacation,' which takes us from the small town of Aix-en-Provence to the ancient grandiose city of Rome, and then to the industrial Naples with its surrounding gems of history, ruins, and beauty.

Unfortunately, our first bus to Rome was canceled due to hazardous and snowy conditions in the Alps. Dommage. Instead, the Italian vacation began a day later. The bus to Rome was relatively uneventful, but felt like a lifetime. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I sat in front of a tall man who would not let me put my seat back. It was awful. We got to Rome around 1pm, and somehow managed to find our way to our Hostel. Apparently my semester of Italian was a bust, because the only useful words and phrases I knew were: bon giorno, ciao, grazie, prego, buena sera, si, non, quando costa, etc, and being able to count to 100. Not helpful when attempting to navigate Rome. The hostel we stayed at was very quaint, and we had hot water and two beds. We also had a TV, but never actually used it. Breakfast was 2 euros, and was fantastic: Carbs, carbs, and more carbs! My favorite. Our first day in Rome we attempted to enter the Colosseum, but it closed at 3:30, and we got there at 3:45. Tant pis. Instead, we had lunch with the Colosseum in the background, and walked to the Corso, the main shopping district in downtown Rome. It was absolutely fantastic. Shops everywhere. There were also street performers, and street vendors. My favorite were the artists who spray-painted scenes. It is amazing what you can do with spray paint! I had no idea. On the Corso, Eszter and I also made important purchases: black velvet leggings. [note: see previous post] We also visited Trevi Fountain, and really just walked all around Rome.

THE leggings

Valentines Day in Rome, we finally made it to the Colosseum. The line was wicked long, but my Routard told me to get tickets at the Palatino first, which we did, and we even bargained our way into cheaper, EU-student tickets! The ticket man was not happy, because we tried explaining that we were Hungarian citizens, speaking French, and were students living in America. For Eszter, at least this was all true. I just crossed my fingers and was able to save 2.5 euros. Sweet deal. The Palatino, the Roman Forum, and the Colosseum were such great sights to see! It is absolutely amazing what the Romans built, and I'm in shock that much of the ruins remain to this day. I especially loved the frescoes inside Casa di Livia and the different temples. [We also met an American traveling abroad named Ryan who took our pictures. This will be important again later.] After the Colosseum et al., we went to Piazza Nuovo, the center of Carnivale, and also the center of some more great shops, food, and boat sculpture. We also saw the Pantheon, which was beautiful and breath-taking. Tried getting pictures, but nothing turned out well because we could not use flash. Then we decided to go to a giant Castle across the river. On the way to the castle, we passed by this adorable little wood shop, which sold wooden puppets [think: Pinocchio] and other hand-made wooden objects. Perfect for little kids! Afterward we went to the Castle, explored the building, admired the paintings and sculptures, etc. The best part was that we went at night, and there was an overlook on the top of the castle where we saw the entire city, and had a great view of St. Peter's Basilica of Vatican City. Again, pictures could not compare to the actual sight. To top off a great day, we enjoyed a nice Valentines Day dinner at a Restaurant called 'Mario.' Had some great pasta, wine, limoncello, some strange 2nd-plate meat dish, and of course, tiramisu. Note to fellow travelers: If you only want one glass of wine, make sure you say so, or else they will give you an entire bottle. Also, don't order the 2nd-plate meat dish. For 13 euros, we could have ordered 2 more plates of pasta, and they would have tasted much, much better.

Palatino

Colosseum

Pantheon

The third day in Rome was my favorite. We went on a guided tour of the Vatican. Words cannot even describe how amazing the Vatican museum was, and the entirety of Vatican City. My favorite room in the museum was the Map Room. The Sistine Chapel was also beautiful, and so was the fresco of 'The School of Athens.' The only thing I did not like about the Vatican was the swarms of people EVERYWHERE. There was no end to it! After the museum, I paid my respects to my late cousin, Pope John-Paul II, and also went inside St. Peter's Basilica. Again, pictures could not capture the beauty. I touched St. Peter's foot for good luck, watched a mass procession, admired the sculptures, and fell in love with the mosaics. Everything that looked like a painting was in fact a mosaic! Unreal. There was also a pope who had been covered in wax for preservation. It was extremely cool, but also unbelievably creepy. After the Vatican, we said adieu to Rome, and barely caught our train to Naples.

Vatican City at night

Vatican Museum--Map room ceiling :)

School of Athens

All-Mighty Vatican City

Arrived in Naples around 8pm, and somehow made it to our hostel alive. Not because we were in a dangerous area, but because in Naples, there are no crosswalks. Crosswalks might exist, BUT cars/motorcycles/mopeds don't actually follow the rules. Just because it is green for you does not mean you are safe. A red light in Naples is more like a suggestion. Anyways, we got to our hostel, and entered into a very strange courtyard with a giant statue of someone who had died [i'm assuming]. We took the tiny elevator up to the 5th floor (more like 10th floor), and settled in for the night. Very nice hostel, but it was strange, because there were families staying there with parents and kids who ranged from around 8-15. Weird. Don't think I would ever stay in a hostel as a family, but to each his own. Checked our e-mail, called the parentals to let them know I was alive and well in Naples, and passed out. Woke up early, ready for a day at Herculaneum and Pompeii.

[To be continued]

What I Learned in Rome

Eszter and I arrived in Rome Saturday afternoon to our lovely little hostel, Mamma Mia, on Vittorio Emmanuel. It had a cute little elevator (think: old). The owners were a Romanian couple, and they were so sweet. Our room was definitely nicer than I had expected a hostel room to be. But anyways, throughout my 2.5 days in Rome, I learned a lot of things, and I will now proceed to list the 10(+) things that I have learned:

1. It pays to be short. When you are short, you can easily fit on the bus seats and sleep during the entire 15-hour bus ride from Aix to Rome. However, even if you are short, do not sit in front of a tall person, especially if they are not polite and do not allow you to put your seat back so you can actually try to sleep. Trust me, I unfortunately learned this first-hand. The guy behind me wouldn't actually let me put my seat down. And when I tried to, he pushed his feet against the seat. Not very nice. Even nicer was when I had finally succeeded in lowering my seat 3 inches, I returned from a bathroom break only to find my seat back in its original position, no explanation. Thank you Mr.-impolite-and-tall-Italian-guy-traveling-with-girlfriend-and-was-too-self righteous-to-move-anywhere-else. If you are too tall for the bus, please, don't take the bus.

2. Although the Colosseum technically closes at 4:30, you can't actually enter after 3:30. Go early.

3. If you are not an EU-citizen between the ages of 18-25, DO NOT try to bargain your way into a cheaper ticket. Those are reserved specifically for EU-citizens ONLY. Pretending to be French (even with a carte 12-25), Swedish, or a French-speaking Hungarian student studying abroad in the US with an American drivers license does not work. They only take passports, and will proceed to embarrass you if you try to get the cheaper fare. Apparently I speak broken Italian with an American accent, not a French accent.

4. When a random person comes up to you telling you that he will take a polaroid photo of you at the Trevi Fountain, just run away. Even if he says, "give me any money at all." He will ask for at least 5 euros. And the picture will be awful, and will not even have the Trevi Fountain in the background.

5. If you decide to buy a 24-hour metro ticket in Rome, just remember that the 24-hours expire at midnight of that day, regardless of the time when you bought the ticket. In other words, buying a 4-euro 24-hour ticket at 10 pm will expire in 2 hours.

6. Don't trust the online weather forecasts. It was supposed to rain on Sunday, and it did not. It was not supposed to rain on Monday, and, well, it did. Always bring an umbrella with you in the winter months.

7. Take a guided tour at the Vatican. It is really great. But when they tell you that it will last only 2.5 hours, please leave about 4 hours for the whole trip, especially if you have to catch a train from Rome to Naples.

8. In Piazzo Navono, there is this fantastic little Gellateria that has this special dessert called a Truffolato. It is a gelato-truffle. It costs 4.50 euros, so just split it with a friend, and enjoy the best sweet afternoon snack.

9. In order to avoid waiting your life away in the line for the Colosseum, go down the street and start your day at Palatino instead. Price is the same, and includes Palatino, Roman Forum, and the Colosseum! Great deal. And remember, see #1 about fighting for discounted fares.

10. If you happen to be at the Colosseum and run into a guy trying to take pictures of himself, don't bother helping. He will still be there 20 minutes later taking the same photo.

11. In Italy, they will only give you bottled water. You can ask for tap-water (acqua del rubinetto), but that is touristy and frowned upon. Expect to pay for water at restaurants. If you get thirsty on the streets, just go up to the nearest fountain and start drinking. No joke. Well, maybe not Trevi Fountain. But if you find a little fountain on a side street, drink away. I had a nice drink at the Vatican. And it was free (minus the entrance fee+tour fee).

12. Don't try taking a picture with the Swiss Guards at the Vatican. Only children may stand next to them.

13. If you took a semester of Italian at college and all you remember is: 'ho studiato l'italiano per una semestre nella scuola,' don't try speaking Italian with the real italians. They will laugh and just speak to you in English/French. But don't let that discourage you from trying.

14. There comes a point in every girl's life when she must make a choice: to buy the velvet leggings, or to not buy the velvet leggings. Selon moi, buy the leggings. They are fantastic.

I hope my list of the 10(+) things I learned in Rome has been useful. Bon voyage!

So While the Snowpocalypse is Blanketing the DC Area...

Sorry that it's been a while since my last update. Things have been slightly crazy around here, and with my traveling around Europe. The weather in Aix has been very interesting lately. It actually snowed a little bit last night. Because of that, and the crazy weather in the Alps, my bus to Rome was cancelled last night. But that's OK, because now I am leaving tonight (hopefully) for Rome and Naples, Italy! Very excited.

Last weekend, I went to Barcelona with a bunch of other Vandy kids (I think there were about 11 of us total). To get to Barcelona, we decided to take the bus! It wasn't too awful. I actually recommend Eurolines, because they were very efficient, and the buses were clean, and it was way way way much cheaper to take the bus than to fly or take the train. The only real downsides to the bus are: they turn the lights on at every stop, passport control at 3am is not the most fun thing in the world, and if you travel in the winter and don't bring enough layers of clothing, you will probably get hypothermia because they don't have heat. But aside from that, I highly recommend the bus for quick get-aways. Maybe I'm slightly regretting not buying a Eurail pass? Oh well.

So we arrived in Barcelona Saturday morning at...7am. Strangely enough, native Barcelonians where still out partying. Apparently people stay out until 9, 10am there? I don't think I could do that, but hey, when in Rome. We took the metro to our hostel, HelloBCN. Check in wasn't until 1pm, but the hostel was so nice and let us go upstairs and sleep. So I took a fantastic, and much-needed nap (didn't get much sleep on the bus...) and woke up around 10am. Around 11, me, Eszter, Carmen and Jeff started to explore Barcelona. First stop: La Rambla. Problem: we walked the wrong way, and ended up at a park instead. The park was so neat, and we got a great view of Barcelona! They also had a little playground, so I got to go on the swings. I felt like such a five-year-old, but it was great.

After the park, we actually went to La Rambla, which is the main drag with all of the touristy stands, street performers, and everything in between. We ran into our other colocs there (les garçons) and hung out for about an hour or two in the GIANT market. This market put the market in Avignon to shame. Not only did they have meat hanging from the ceiling, they also had whole (but dead) pigs in the windows. Ick. They had great smoothies there, great clementines, and great fruit. So much fun.

From the markets, we went in search of Gaudi. We saw both Gaudi apartments/houses. Really neat. I'd never actually heard of Gaudi until we went to Barcelona, so I was thoroughly impressed. What a great architect. Though I think he may have been on drugs? Who knows. We also went to the Sagrada Familia, which is still under construction, and should hopefully be done by.. 2025? It was very eclectic on the outside, but the inside had very beautiful stained glass windows. But there's tons of scaffolding and construction going on. Guess I"ll have to come back in 2025? With my.. kids? lol. Ew I'll be so old by then. That night I met up with my cousin Rachel, and we hung out at her place for a while, had a delicious dinner, and chatted. It was so nice :) I love having family abroad. Hopefully she'll be able to visit me in Aix! Or Paris, or something. But I would love to go back to Barcelona for the weekend and relax on the beach. Saturday night was interesting. Eszter, Jeff and I spent 15 euros going to Razzmatazz.. apparently the biggest and best nightclub in Barcelona? Eh it was OK. It didn't open until 2 am, so we hung out in a HUGE 1,000-person taverna until 2, when we sauntered over to Razz. It wasn't that exciting. It was just like one of those huge European discotheques you see in the movies. Except they don't play good music, or at least not until like 5am? They played some interesting Euro-rock/Euro-pop/Euro-disco music. Eh. It was huge though. They had 5 floors, but there was soo much smoke and we were absolutely exhausted, so we just went home. Don't get me wrong, though. It was a lot of fun :) but too tiring for me. I prefer to go out at 10 and be done by 2am, like at Vandy. Barcelonians party differently.

So since check-out was at 11am, we woke up early for that. We went to Park Guell after waking up. It was so neat, but oh man it was on such a hill! We had to take a series of escalators to get up there! And it was much more than a park--I liken it to more of a mountain hike. In boots, nonetheless. Whoops? So we hiked up to the top, took some pictures, took some breathing breaks, met a cute little kitty-cat, sat on the largest park bench in the world (it was neat!), saw some more Gaudi things, took pictures with a mosaic lizard, and played under some neat arches. No big deal, right? See below for some amazing pictures of everything! We also walked along the beachfront, and Eszter and I actually went to put our feet into the (freezing) water! So much fun. I also had a chocolate-almond Magnum bar. That made my day. For dinner we went to a restaurant that looked like it would be good, but unfortunately it wasn't. But hey, it was food. And it was near the beach. After dinner we headed back to the hostel to pick up our bags and head back to the station to take the bus back to Aix. As a side-note, while the weather in Aix was cold and gross, the weather in Barcelona was absolutely beautiful! All I needed to wear during the day was my fleece jacket. Therefore, the beginning of the bus ride back to aix was nice and warm, but the closer we got, the colder it got. by the time we got back to Aix at 6am Monday morning, it was SO COLD! I don't remember how we made it back to the apartment, because my feet were so cold and it hurt to walk. I was also tired. Lets just say that Monday was a rough day. Never doing the returning at 1-am thing. But hey, you're only young and stupid once, right? I think it was worth it. And I have the pictures and the stories to prove it. For more lovely stories, ask me later in person, because I can't do them justice online without the proper gestures and facial expressions that make my stories bearable :)

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Weather was freezing, as is expected in Aix. The most interesting thing that happened was my trip to the French doctor. Somehow I had hurt my back (as I learned later, some muscle near my sacroiliac--tailbone area), and since we were leaving for vacation for a week, I thought that it would be a good idea to get that checked out. So I go to the office, and the doctor opens the door to his bureau and I come on it. It was very different from any doctors office I had been in before. It looked like a normal room, with the common hexagonal and red Aixoise floor tiles, a computer and desk, an exam table (looked more like a giant chair) and in the corner there was a folding screen that I am assuming one could change behind. The doctor was very nice, and I was able to converse in French, which made me feel great about my improving french-speaking abilities! He looked at my back, and told me I must've done something to my sacroiliac, and he gave me a prescription for the pharmacy. The meds were so cheap! 5 euros! thank you French health system. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with the French doctor. It was nice being in a room that didn't feel like an over-sterilized, white-walled, white-floored, assembly line. I approve.

So last night, we were supposed to take the bus to Rome. Well, due to deteriorated road conditions in the Alps, the trip has been postponed until tonight. Oh well. But hey at least we had time today to clean things and relax, and go to dinner! yay! And download the new Lady Antebellum album. Highly recommended.

Anyways, I am off to Rome and Naples tonight for the week. If you need me, feel free to call me! :) I'll try to be online if I get WIFI. Oh, and if you are doing some travelling, make sure you download the mixes off of http://norwegianrecycling.multiply.com/. I recommend 'Acoustic Alchemy.' The best part is, they're all free! My top choice of 'artist' for long trips/whenever.

Going to Patacrêpe for dinner. Ciao-ciao!

Sagrada Familia! Under Construction since.. 1880's?

BEACH!

Longest Park Bench in the World.. Park Guell

Yay Park Guell

Le Mistral Strikes Back

For the past week I have been extremely busy with life in Aix and traveling around France, so I apologize for not updating my blog recently. Anyways, last week was relatively uneventful. I started my internship at the Anthropology Department of l'Université de Provence on Tuesday, and it has been such a fantastic experience so far. I began at the bottom, typing in bibliographies of the articles my mentor has read/needs to read/needs to organize for her research. I learned a lot of new French animal and anthropological vocab, such as: cerf, gravettien, paléolithique-supérieur, boviné, equidé, etc etc. Thursday was so much fun. I worked on bibliographies for a little bit, but then my mentor brought me to a different room/lab, and I got to clean 25,000 year-old animal bones and teeth!! It was so nerve-racking, because I was so afraid I was going to break something (which I did, but no big deal, because they can glue the pieces back together...) or lose something (which I did not). To clean the bones, I took a wet toothbrush, and very very very gently brushed the bone, and voila! Underneath the mud/grit/dirt/25,000-years of everything were some amazing things! Aside from doing that, though, the rest of the week was relatively uneventful. Walked around Aix, suffered from the Mistral, etc. Also have been sick with an awful cold for the past week, so that's been just lovely. Thank goodness for French pharmacies.

Friday night was a lot of fun. A bunch of different apartments, including ours, decided to participate in a Tour du Monde. Each apartment picked a different country to represent, and then had drinks and/or food that corresponded with that country (or empire, or continent). We were Africa. Don't ask. I didn't choose it. All I know is that we made some 'Jungle Juice' and played Lion King songs. We started off at Auberge Hugo, which was Ancient Rome. Then we went off to Manuel, which was America. We were next. After us was Mexico at Epinaux, but I stayed in and went to bed instead, because it was already midnight by the time everyone wandered off to the next auberge. Definitely a fun night, but for the next one, we will definitely have to do a lot more planning.

I went to bed early Friday night because....
Saturday I traveled to the city of Avignon with Eszter! We started off our early morning by running to catch the 8:10 Navette to the Aix TGV Station. We barely made it. I literally had to wave the bus down lol. But hey, it worked! So we got to the TGV station, took the TGV to Avignon, and took another little bus to the city center. Avignon is beautiful, BUT, a) it is colder than Aix, and b) le Mistral is much, much, much worse. We arrived in Avignon, and immediately found our way to the nearest café for some hot drinks, and just heat in general. Afterward, we walked to Les Halles, which is an indoor market that is supposed to have random meats, like rabbits, hanging from the ceiling. Unfortunately, we did not see any of that. But there were a lot of people, and a lot to see. But no rabbits hanging from the ceiling. Eszter was thoroughly depressed.

After Les Halles we walked through the biggest square in Avignon, and then went to the Palais des Papes. The Palais was phenomenal. A definite must-see! Just make sure you go on a warmer day than we did and wear a lot of layers, because unfortunately stone buildings do not retain heat very well, and the buildings aren't heated, either. You have been warned. There was a lot to see at the palace, so I can't really go into detail. See pictures below. For some history, the pope was in Avignon for a while due to political issues. Thus, a grand palace was built. With a jardin, and other little chapels/cathedrals around it.
Ensuite, we walked around Avignon some more, had lunch at a little café that was run by a South African guy. We decided to walk around le Rhône (the river) to find a boat to take, but, well considering that it was January, the boats weren't running. But we did take pictures with the Le Pont D'Avignon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQXkNSB9KlY). We also went to le Petit Palais, which contained a vast amount of medieval art. Basically, it was about a hundred repetitions of 'Madonna and Child,' but there were some other neat ones thrown in there. There was even a painting by Boticelli! So beautiful. I am pretty sure it was the pride and joy of the museum. Another thing I loved about the art there was that each one had gold leaf, and they were all illuminated. Afterward we went to the Museum of Natural History, which was tiny, but free. They had a real T-Rex skull, and real eggs (bird, I think) from the Pliocene era, so they were about 3 million years old!

For dinner we searched all around, but Avignon did not seem to have such a good selection of restaurants like Aix. So we wandered around for a long time until we found 'La Cantina.' It was an upscale-pizza restaurant (think a mod, art-deco Mafioza's) that had the interior decoration of a modern, fusion-type restaurant. Very interesting, but at least the food was delicious. Even had a raspberry kir! I love France.

After dinner we stopped by the Old Avignon synagogue, and then headed back to the Avignon TGV station to return home to Aix. Almost didn't make it back, because we almost took the wrong Navette when we got to Aix. Whoops! But hey, after a long day of shopping, eating, and sight-seeing, it was good to be back inside the auberge, away from the cold of Le Mistral.

Over the weekend, Le Mistral has come back, and apparently wants revenge. Oh man was it so bitterly bone-cold this weekend and today! Whew. I had to cave in and buy a hat today at H&M. Well, OK, I bought 2 hats. But they were only 3 euros each. Tomorrow is the last day of major sales here in Aix, so I only have so much more time to take advantage of them. Bought a beautiful dress in Avignon. Will have to post a picture later if I decide to wear it here. Classes today were good, I got an A on my 'Reflections' for La France Contemporaire, which was exciting! We learned more French expressions today, and also learned about Le Mistral in Provence class. Oh Le Mistral. Until you have been here, you can't understand. The thermometer says 1 degree Celsius, but I swear, Le Mistral makes it feel like -10 Celsius. Kind of regretting not bringing more warm layers. Hopefully it will get warmer here soon!

Have a lot of homework to do this week, and will be going to Barcelona this upcoming weekend, so my week is going to be very busy! If something interesting happens I will try to make another blog post, but no promises.

À bientôt!








le Palais des Papes












J'aime le Pont d'Avignon!













T-Rex!