Hello, dear friends :)
It's funny how you make a blog and expect to write on it daily, but then life happens and you'd rather sleep or stay awake in the house kitchen eating crumpets and talking about nothing. Don't you hate it when that happens?
As usual, I have a lot to update about, but I'll start with my day!
At the end of last week, I was overwhelmingly frustrated. It came in this large bout and forced me to sit down and evaluate how I was spending my time here and who I was spending it with. When you live with 40 other people in a house kind of removed from campus, it is too easy to isolate yourself. In fact, it is the default setting. Then, students come, and you must make the switch. You must jump out of the circle you've just created and extend the olive branch to the locals, or in this case, the scholars. I decided I was going to be more independent, and I took it upon myself to inform all of my friends, so they didn't think I was abandoning them or anything. I just want to be able to do all that I can here, including making English friends and connections with some of the smartest people in the world!! That's another thing about being at Oxford. You smile at someone walking by or smirk at a cyclist next to you at the traffic light, but it takes and extra second to realize that you could be making eye contact with a future world leader or casually walking by the scientist who formulates and mass produces the AIDS vaccine. So, in the past couple of days I have created an Oxford Bucket List of things I have to get done while I'm here.
Having said that, today I got up for a class at 10:30 AM and briskly walked there (my bike has been acting up...took it to the bike shop and discovered that hte tire was flat. At least I'm not terribly out of shape like I thought, when I was exhausted after 5 minutes of riding it.) After class, I went to Keble café (we have an adorable café within the college that our UGA mealplan part of the program cost covers...so we are always there) and registered for classes! Holler at me Spring Semester 2012! Can't believe I am that much closer to being a Senior. Let's not dwell on that. Then, I walked back to the house, dealt with my bike situation, and wandered through Summertown, where the bicycle shop is. I relaxed with a pot of tea and read through my Genetics textbook. Then, I went and studied for an hour at the Bodleian Library (central library here...), where I passed a tour group on my way to the room I was going to read in. Talk about feeling too cool for school. "Oh, excuse me, pardon me, I need to get through so I can study. Here. At Oxford. While you take a tour." Of course, I didn't say that, but I definitely chuckled, as I sat down and set up my macbook and note-taking supplies.
Now, I'm sitting at Pret, a bakery/café, overlooking a small courtyard next to a church on Cornmarket St. It is 6:22 PM and dinner is at 7 PM. My bike is less than a 3 minute walk from here, and I'll throw on my gown to walk in with the students. Oh, I almost forgot!! Tonight after dinner I am planning on attending a lecture/session with the Oxford Global Health Group. The speaker is the former Chief Executive of the UK NHS and he is going to be talking about healthcare around the world. SO excited.
Week Two of tutorials!!! This means that I've already had class twice for Physiology and once for Genetics (my next session is tomorrow). And boy oh boy, I'm on Academic Cloud nine. My physiology tutor is with New College, and my Genetics tutor does research in/works in this futuristic sci-fi Biochemistry building that feels like I'm going to Scientific Disneyworld, when I'm going to class. I have been geeking out with Physiology. I have 5 books related to Neuroscience in my amazon.co.uk shopping cart, so I will be ordering those soon....
Keble Updates: Well, we've started the official integration of UGA at Oxford kids with Keble students, and I think it has been really successful. Haha or at least, socially successful. What could I mean by that? Oh yes. We've partied with the Keble kids. For the most part, they are on the same page as American college students, except of course they are cooler because they even PARTY with English accents. English accents make everything cooler. You would think I would be used to it by now, after 5 weeks, but I still feel like I'm on a movie set.
Have made 2 day trips in the past week! Birmingham and Bath. Stories/descriptions coming soon.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Blogging from OXFORD!!!
First and foremost, my apologies for such a ridiculously delayed update. There is SO MUCH I have to tell ya'll about!!!!
I feel like I need to address the end of my backpacking journey because it was so much a part of this blog. After Florence and Naples, there was no internet in Rome. We went to Pompeii and then, we spent the last 3 days of the trip in Rome, which was absolutely incredible. I'll start with Pompeii. The feeling of standing in such an archaeological and historical splendor is one that can't really be described in words. It was surreal, especially since I've learned so much about Pompeii over the years (high school and college), so seeing it in person was mind-blowing. The same goes for Rome, which by the way, was one of my favorite cities we visited. Rome is fantastic because there is history everywhere. You'll see a modern building next to ruins of the Roman Forum; the Colleseum is right in front of a metro stop; and, St.Peter's Basilica is visible from most places in the city. When in Rome, we went to the Vatican (a must. I am Catholic, after all, and going to the Vatican was an intensely spiritual experience), we went to the Colleseum, we walked around the Roman Forum, we made a wish at the Fontana de Treví, and we successfully ate all things delicious. I think I consumed at least 1 gelato a day when I was in Italy!!
After Rome, we took a night flight to London and stayed near Gatwick Airport for the night. The following morning, we boarded a coach bus and were offically Oxford-bound. Side note: Coach busses in England have free WIFI. Can you believe that? Talk about progressive.
When we entered the city of Oxford, I was hit with anxiety. So much excitement that I couldn't contain myself. Was this real life? Was I going to be studying at one of the world's most prestigous universities? Was I really going to be living in a multi-million dollar house owned by UGA, with 30 other students? Yes, yes, and yes. And answering yes to those questions didn't do anything to calm my nerves.
Molly, Laura, and I literally flew from the taxi to the door of our Oxford house (Malvika wasn't with us because she'd gone into London to pick up luggage from a family friend). The crimson door and the regal facade: Winning.
A lot of people had already checked in by the time we arrived, but everyone was sleeping because of jet lag. This was not an issue for us since we'd been in Europe for three weeks and had slept at a really nice bed&breakfast in Gatwick the night before, so we literally ran up and down the stairs of the house and then frolicked in the gorgeous backyard garden. Later in the day, we had a house orientation, where we listened to rules and signed forms, etc. Everyone was dead from travelling, and it was quite amusing. The first weekend had a group excursion in store for us, titled "Prehistoric England." What does that mean, you ask? STONEHENGE!!!!
Except Stonehenge was not what I expected at all. The mystery surrounding it and the analysis of the meaning of the placement, etc. is very interesting, don't get me wrong..but it is literally located off the roadway. I thought the bus would take us to some random hills, and then we'd have to walk a mile to behold Stonehenge in the distance and its glory. No. Instead, you see it from the road, you pay a fee to get an audioguide, and you stand behind ropes to look at the stones and hear about its history. Still amazing to have seen, but that is just my honest impression of the situation. We also went to a few other towns that had stone circles. The highlight of the group excursion, though, was the White Horse in Uffington, which was transcendental. I don't know if I've ever been so at peace before. The sound of wind literally takes over you, and you get lost in the landscape. AH. amazing.
So, that was the first weekend. It has now been almost a month. We are all a family now in the Oxford house. There are couples emerging within the group. We all have bikes and ride them around town. It is altogether too precious, and I really never want to leave.
Let me describe a few things:
1) The house: UGA has owned it since 2003, I believe, and it is situated on Banbury Road in quite a posh neigborhood of Oxford. We are between Oxford's City Centre and the neighboring city of Summertown (only 5 minutes away on a bike, so we go a lot). It's a Victorian house, hundreds of years old, that has been renovated, and is beautiful. There are three levels and about 20 bedrooms. I am in a 2-person room with Malvika. Some people have 1 roommate, others have 2-3 -- it depends. There is an in-house library, where I am personally most productive, a huge kitchen, tons of bathrooms, a huge dining hall, and a TV room. For the most part, there is always a party in the kitchen. Lately, we've been using the TV room. The garden in the backyard is ridiculously gorgeous and the grass is perfect!! The weather recently has been in the 70s and 80s, so there's been exceptional use of the garden. Also, back to the kitchen, apparently our group is more culinary that any past group. We cook all the time, and we have legitimate food wizards in the house. It is glorious. I literally sit in the kitchen and watch people cook as a pasttime.
2) Classes: So, the study abroad program that I'm doing is not an exchange. This means that I am taking Oxford classes, but getting UGA credit because I am still a UGA student (as opposed to being enrolled at Oxford for a year). For that to happen, the program had to be 12 weeks and include 4 classes (at least 12 credit hours). The problem with this is that Oxford has 8-week terms versus 2 18-week semesters, and they only take 2 classes during those 8 weeks. So...the program brings us to Oxford 4 weeks before students get here, and we have 2 Seminar classes, arranged for us by the program. I have been taking Tudor/Stuart history and British Common Law. Let me just say that I completely lucked out with my two courses. My professors are both brilliant and both quite young. They are extremely interesting, but not intimidating, and they both know how to conduct a very laid back class. The length of seminar is 2 hours, and we meet twice a week. I have 3 papers total due in the History class and literally nothing due for the British Common Law class. (On the first day, my professor Ben was like "So um..grading. How about you just make valuable contributions to discussion during class?" We were all stunned. My life is a dream.) There is a lot of reading involved for both classes. Basically, during the week, everyone has their head buried in a book. I mean, Oxford doesn't have its reputation for nothing! It is definitely academically challenging. I really don't enjoy the History class, but I have so much respect for my professor because she is just so sweet. My British Common Law class, on the other hand, is so great. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it, and kind of had an existential crisis for a moment, considering being Pre-Law instead of Pre-Med. Don't worry, I am back on track. Med Med Med Med
Seminars are coming to a close this week because THE OXFORD STUDENTS ARE HERE!!!! Just a bit of lingo for you: Oxford students are referred to as "gownies" because of the traditional gowns that they all have to wear. Length of gown reflects your status in the school. I.e. Undergraduates have shorter gowns, Scholars and Graduate students have longer gowns. The longer the gown, the more prestigous you are). Anyway, tutorials start next week. I will be taking Genetics and Physiology in the traditional Oxford tutorial style. This means that the student to teacher ratio is approx. 2:1. We will meet with our professors once a week per class, and the rest is independent study. I met with my Genetics professor (called "tutors" here, so I'll use that term from now on), and she seems really great. Actually, the best part of my Genetics class is the building. It's the New Biochemistry building, and it is SO COOL. I think I will live in there.
3) Oxford: A brief background on the university. There are 38 colleges within Oxford University. We are associate members at Keble, so that's where we are most of the time, but my seminar classes are actually in Trinity and Christ Church College. For my Harry Potter peeps, Emma Watson is at Worcestire, and we are on the lookout for her. The entire city of Oxford exists around the school. The city centre houses a handful of the colleges, along with plenty of shopping, pubs, and history. The central library is in the city centre (though there are libraries everywhere), along with bookstores and cafes, and all things glorious. I'm about 10 minutes away from Oxford's City Centre if I ride a bike there. I really have been bad about taking pictures, but I have a few that I will upload to facebook tonight after doing my homework. It is BEAUTIFUL. Notice how many times I say "beautiful" and how many times I use all-caps font. I just am so overwhelmed all the time. I randomly just smile to myself as I ride my bike places (Btw, such a struggle. Riding a bike is literally the most athletic thing I've done in my life..and it shows. I go at snail pace. but I still love it...sometimes). It is required to wear a gown to every meal, when term starts. Not a formal gown, but the Oxford gown,which is really more of a fancy black vest. You just wear it over whatever outfit you are already sporting, but it's a kind of formal uniform. You eat within your college and do social activities within your college, but of course, it is easy to meet people everywhere.
Okay, that is my update for now. I hope that suffices, and I'm officially restarting blogging. If I'm on top of my game, I won't have to write an entire novel for each blog post!! So get excited!! Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to hear about :)
Cheers and love and everything good, from Oxfordshire.
Katherine
I feel like I need to address the end of my backpacking journey because it was so much a part of this blog. After Florence and Naples, there was no internet in Rome. We went to Pompeii and then, we spent the last 3 days of the trip in Rome, which was absolutely incredible. I'll start with Pompeii. The feeling of standing in such an archaeological and historical splendor is one that can't really be described in words. It was surreal, especially since I've learned so much about Pompeii over the years (high school and college), so seeing it in person was mind-blowing. The same goes for Rome, which by the way, was one of my favorite cities we visited. Rome is fantastic because there is history everywhere. You'll see a modern building next to ruins of the Roman Forum; the Colleseum is right in front of a metro stop; and, St.Peter's Basilica is visible from most places in the city. When in Rome, we went to the Vatican (a must. I am Catholic, after all, and going to the Vatican was an intensely spiritual experience), we went to the Colleseum, we walked around the Roman Forum, we made a wish at the Fontana de Treví, and we successfully ate all things delicious. I think I consumed at least 1 gelato a day when I was in Italy!!
After Rome, we took a night flight to London and stayed near Gatwick Airport for the night. The following morning, we boarded a coach bus and were offically Oxford-bound. Side note: Coach busses in England have free WIFI. Can you believe that? Talk about progressive.
When we entered the city of Oxford, I was hit with anxiety. So much excitement that I couldn't contain myself. Was this real life? Was I going to be studying at one of the world's most prestigous universities? Was I really going to be living in a multi-million dollar house owned by UGA, with 30 other students? Yes, yes, and yes. And answering yes to those questions didn't do anything to calm my nerves.
Molly, Laura, and I literally flew from the taxi to the door of our Oxford house (Malvika wasn't with us because she'd gone into London to pick up luggage from a family friend). The crimson door and the regal facade: Winning.
A lot of people had already checked in by the time we arrived, but everyone was sleeping because of jet lag. This was not an issue for us since we'd been in Europe for three weeks and had slept at a really nice bed&breakfast in Gatwick the night before, so we literally ran up and down the stairs of the house and then frolicked in the gorgeous backyard garden. Later in the day, we had a house orientation, where we listened to rules and signed forms, etc. Everyone was dead from travelling, and it was quite amusing. The first weekend had a group excursion in store for us, titled "Prehistoric England." What does that mean, you ask? STONEHENGE!!!!
Except Stonehenge was not what I expected at all. The mystery surrounding it and the analysis of the meaning of the placement, etc. is very interesting, don't get me wrong..but it is literally located off the roadway. I thought the bus would take us to some random hills, and then we'd have to walk a mile to behold Stonehenge in the distance and its glory. No. Instead, you see it from the road, you pay a fee to get an audioguide, and you stand behind ropes to look at the stones and hear about its history. Still amazing to have seen, but that is just my honest impression of the situation. We also went to a few other towns that had stone circles. The highlight of the group excursion, though, was the White Horse in Uffington, which was transcendental. I don't know if I've ever been so at peace before. The sound of wind literally takes over you, and you get lost in the landscape. AH. amazing.
So, that was the first weekend. It has now been almost a month. We are all a family now in the Oxford house. There are couples emerging within the group. We all have bikes and ride them around town. It is altogether too precious, and I really never want to leave.
Let me describe a few things:
1) The house: UGA has owned it since 2003, I believe, and it is situated on Banbury Road in quite a posh neigborhood of Oxford. We are between Oxford's City Centre and the neighboring city of Summertown (only 5 minutes away on a bike, so we go a lot). It's a Victorian house, hundreds of years old, that has been renovated, and is beautiful. There are three levels and about 20 bedrooms. I am in a 2-person room with Malvika. Some people have 1 roommate, others have 2-3 -- it depends. There is an in-house library, where I am personally most productive, a huge kitchen, tons of bathrooms, a huge dining hall, and a TV room. For the most part, there is always a party in the kitchen. Lately, we've been using the TV room. The garden in the backyard is ridiculously gorgeous and the grass is perfect!! The weather recently has been in the 70s and 80s, so there's been exceptional use of the garden. Also, back to the kitchen, apparently our group is more culinary that any past group. We cook all the time, and we have legitimate food wizards in the house. It is glorious. I literally sit in the kitchen and watch people cook as a pasttime.
2) Classes: So, the study abroad program that I'm doing is not an exchange. This means that I am taking Oxford classes, but getting UGA credit because I am still a UGA student (as opposed to being enrolled at Oxford for a year). For that to happen, the program had to be 12 weeks and include 4 classes (at least 12 credit hours). The problem with this is that Oxford has 8-week terms versus 2 18-week semesters, and they only take 2 classes during those 8 weeks. So...the program brings us to Oxford 4 weeks before students get here, and we have 2 Seminar classes, arranged for us by the program. I have been taking Tudor/Stuart history and British Common Law. Let me just say that I completely lucked out with my two courses. My professors are both brilliant and both quite young. They are extremely interesting, but not intimidating, and they both know how to conduct a very laid back class. The length of seminar is 2 hours, and we meet twice a week. I have 3 papers total due in the History class and literally nothing due for the British Common Law class. (On the first day, my professor Ben was like "So um..grading. How about you just make valuable contributions to discussion during class?" We were all stunned. My life is a dream.) There is a lot of reading involved for both classes. Basically, during the week, everyone has their head buried in a book. I mean, Oxford doesn't have its reputation for nothing! It is definitely academically challenging. I really don't enjoy the History class, but I have so much respect for my professor because she is just so sweet. My British Common Law class, on the other hand, is so great. I was taken aback by how much I enjoyed it, and kind of had an existential crisis for a moment, considering being Pre-Law instead of Pre-Med. Don't worry, I am back on track. Med Med Med Med
Seminars are coming to a close this week because THE OXFORD STUDENTS ARE HERE!!!! Just a bit of lingo for you: Oxford students are referred to as "gownies" because of the traditional gowns that they all have to wear. Length of gown reflects your status in the school. I.e. Undergraduates have shorter gowns, Scholars and Graduate students have longer gowns. The longer the gown, the more prestigous you are). Anyway, tutorials start next week. I will be taking Genetics and Physiology in the traditional Oxford tutorial style. This means that the student to teacher ratio is approx. 2:1. We will meet with our professors once a week per class, and the rest is independent study. I met with my Genetics professor (called "tutors" here, so I'll use that term from now on), and she seems really great. Actually, the best part of my Genetics class is the building. It's the New Biochemistry building, and it is SO COOL. I think I will live in there.
3) Oxford: A brief background on the university. There are 38 colleges within Oxford University. We are associate members at Keble, so that's where we are most of the time, but my seminar classes are actually in Trinity and Christ Church College. For my Harry Potter peeps, Emma Watson is at Worcestire, and we are on the lookout for her. The entire city of Oxford exists around the school. The city centre houses a handful of the colleges, along with plenty of shopping, pubs, and history. The central library is in the city centre (though there are libraries everywhere), along with bookstores and cafes, and all things glorious. I'm about 10 minutes away from Oxford's City Centre if I ride a bike there. I really have been bad about taking pictures, but I have a few that I will upload to facebook tonight after doing my homework. It is BEAUTIFUL. Notice how many times I say "beautiful" and how many times I use all-caps font. I just am so overwhelmed all the time. I randomly just smile to myself as I ride my bike places (Btw, such a struggle. Riding a bike is literally the most athletic thing I've done in my life..and it shows. I go at snail pace. but I still love it...sometimes). It is required to wear a gown to every meal, when term starts. Not a formal gown, but the Oxford gown,which is really more of a fancy black vest. You just wear it over whatever outfit you are already sporting, but it's a kind of formal uniform. You eat within your college and do social activities within your college, but of course, it is easy to meet people everywhere.
Okay, that is my update for now. I hope that suffices, and I'm officially restarting blogging. If I'm on top of my game, I won't have to write an entire novel for each blog post!! So get excited!! Let me know if there's anything in particular you want to hear about :)
Cheers and love and everything good, from Oxfordshire.
Katherine
Friday, September 2, 2011
Under the Tuscan Sun
Today started at 7:00 AM. "Katherine, wake up!!" I was tapped on the shoulder and whisper-harrassed (It's no secret that I'm the hardest person to wake up in the morning, for those of you who don't know, now you do). The four of us rushed to get dressed and made it to the breakfast area of our hostel in perfect time for the hostel guys to open up the breakfast bar, which was amazing! Espresso machine, yogurt, toast, orange juice, pastries, etc. Definitely the best continental breakfast we've had thus far. The reason we woke up so early was because late last night, after exploring Firenze (I prefer this name to Florence because it has a mystical quality to it) and its absolute gorgeous city streets and scenescapes, we decided that we wanted to make the most of our time here. Our Australian roommates suggested a tour and gave us information on one they had done. It's funny because we had planned in our itinerary to go to "Tuscany" as a day trip, but it turns out that Tuscany is a region...and Florence is a Tuscan city. So, we didn't have far to go! The tour we had our eyes on started at 8:45 at the train station, so we walked there and thank goodness there was room for us! (And we got a student discount!).
We boarded a coach bus and began the day. The tour name was "Tuscany in a day." The tour guide's name was Agathe, and she was perfect. She was in her late 20's, I'd say, and was a student of Art History and 14th/15th Century Italian Culture. She had come to Italy after finishing school in Poland and had interned at several museums. She decided that she loved being a tour guide because she could share all her knowledge with people! Her accent was extremely endearing. We were big fans. We started the tour with a 1.5 hour ride to Siena, a Tuscan city known for several things. The first is the Palio, which is an annual 4-day horse race that everyone goes crazy for. The race takes place in the center of the city, in the Piazza del Campo. The city is divided into 3 regions, and each region has its own mascots and flags and all these crazy shenanigans, so the people really get into it and have been doing so for centuries. It reminded me of SEC rivalries, except that the horses get blessed by priests... Siena is also home to the Cathedral of Siena, which is devoted to the Virgin Mary, and is probably the most gorgeous church we have seen so far. (Note: We have not yet been to Rome!). I was in absolute awe, when we entered this church. The colors were so vibrant and everything was done in marble that is from the surrounding area. The fact that gave me goosebumps, though, was that there were works of Michelangelo, Donatello, and Bernini all inside the church. WHAT!?!? Only some of the greatest artists of all time! Definitely had to blink a few times and remind myself to close my mouth, when my jaw dropped.
After Siena, we took a 45 minute drive into the Tuscan countryside. I have really seen nothing like it. Gorgeous rolling hills and valleys, with orchards and vineyards, alternating with small but beautiful clay-looking estates. It definitely lulled me to sleep, and I got a nice 20 minute nap in before arriving in Chianti, the city we'd be in for lunch. I wish I remembered the name of the Organic Farm that hosted us because I had the best meal of the trip (aside from my first meal in Paris) today!!! 99% of what we consumed was produced on the farm. Wine, cheese, beef, pasta, salad, biscotti...all of it was made where we ate it. And throughout lunch we had a gorgeous view of the countryside and the nearby city of San Gimignano, which is known as "Medieval Manhattan" because of its skyline. After lunch, we were so stuffed, but we went to tour San Gimignano, a 10 minute bus ride from the organic farm location. Apparently the town is known for their gelato (it won best in the world twice...2007 and 2008, I believe), so we got suckered into buying and eating gelato, even though we'd just had a 3-course lunch. There wasn't much else in the town, to be honest, its greatest appeal was its gorgeous location. We kind of bummed away the hour that was dedicated there. The final stop was Pisa!!!!!! And it's leaning tower! Galileo performed his gravity experiments off of the Tower of Pisa -- I either never knew that or knew it at one point and was again reminded today. Also, it was originally a bell tower for the cathedral that is right next to it -- another thing I never knew. The tower had been increasing its lean since it was built in the 14th century up until 1998, when restoration began on it. Now, engineers have made it so that the tower maintains its current angle for the next 200 years. We stood in awe looking at the tower from all different directions (I was fixated on the gravity experiments, since I took Physics this summer) and then had a tour of the city, where we saw the University of Pisa and a few building that reflected Medici influence. (I have managed to remember the main facts regarding the Medicis from my high school European History knowledge. Thank goodness for that because it has helped me appreciate everything we've seen so much more than I would have otherwise. It's amazing how historical context enhances an experience).
We got in around 9 PM and walked back to the hostel. The day was absolutely perfect. It was around 100 degrees until sundown, but I have no complaints. My life is unreal. The past week, I was in front of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, works of Gaudí, the shores of the Mediterranean, and the canals of Venice. Today, I thank you, Tuscany!
We boarded a coach bus and began the day. The tour name was "Tuscany in a day." The tour guide's name was Agathe, and she was perfect. She was in her late 20's, I'd say, and was a student of Art History and 14th/15th Century Italian Culture. She had come to Italy after finishing school in Poland and had interned at several museums. She decided that she loved being a tour guide because she could share all her knowledge with people! Her accent was extremely endearing. We were big fans. We started the tour with a 1.5 hour ride to Siena, a Tuscan city known for several things. The first is the Palio, which is an annual 4-day horse race that everyone goes crazy for. The race takes place in the center of the city, in the Piazza del Campo. The city is divided into 3 regions, and each region has its own mascots and flags and all these crazy shenanigans, so the people really get into it and have been doing so for centuries. It reminded me of SEC rivalries, except that the horses get blessed by priests... Siena is also home to the Cathedral of Siena, which is devoted to the Virgin Mary, and is probably the most gorgeous church we have seen so far. (Note: We have not yet been to Rome!). I was in absolute awe, when we entered this church. The colors were so vibrant and everything was done in marble that is from the surrounding area. The fact that gave me goosebumps, though, was that there were works of Michelangelo, Donatello, and Bernini all inside the church. WHAT!?!? Only some of the greatest artists of all time! Definitely had to blink a few times and remind myself to close my mouth, when my jaw dropped.
After Siena, we took a 45 minute drive into the Tuscan countryside. I have really seen nothing like it. Gorgeous rolling hills and valleys, with orchards and vineyards, alternating with small but beautiful clay-looking estates. It definitely lulled me to sleep, and I got a nice 20 minute nap in before arriving in Chianti, the city we'd be in for lunch. I wish I remembered the name of the Organic Farm that hosted us because I had the best meal of the trip (aside from my first meal in Paris) today!!! 99% of what we consumed was produced on the farm. Wine, cheese, beef, pasta, salad, biscotti...all of it was made where we ate it. And throughout lunch we had a gorgeous view of the countryside and the nearby city of San Gimignano, which is known as "Medieval Manhattan" because of its skyline. After lunch, we were so stuffed, but we went to tour San Gimignano, a 10 minute bus ride from the organic farm location. Apparently the town is known for their gelato (it won best in the world twice...2007 and 2008, I believe), so we got suckered into buying and eating gelato, even though we'd just had a 3-course lunch. There wasn't much else in the town, to be honest, its greatest appeal was its gorgeous location. We kind of bummed away the hour that was dedicated there. The final stop was Pisa!!!!!! And it's leaning tower! Galileo performed his gravity experiments off of the Tower of Pisa -- I either never knew that or knew it at one point and was again reminded today. Also, it was originally a bell tower for the cathedral that is right next to it -- another thing I never knew. The tower had been increasing its lean since it was built in the 14th century up until 1998, when restoration began on it. Now, engineers have made it so that the tower maintains its current angle for the next 200 years. We stood in awe looking at the tower from all different directions (I was fixated on the gravity experiments, since I took Physics this summer) and then had a tour of the city, where we saw the University of Pisa and a few building that reflected Medici influence. (I have managed to remember the main facts regarding the Medicis from my high school European History knowledge. Thank goodness for that because it has helped me appreciate everything we've seen so much more than I would have otherwise. It's amazing how historical context enhances an experience).
We got in around 9 PM and walked back to the hostel. The day was absolutely perfect. It was around 100 degrees until sundown, but I have no complaints. My life is unreal. The past week, I was in front of the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, works of Gaudí, the shores of the Mediterranean, and the canals of Venice. Today, I thank you, Tuscany!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Happy September from Firenze!
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Bonjourno! This is now present time. I am currently sitting on a train from Venice to Firenze (Florence), and we should be arriving in an hour or so.
Check out this morning from our hostel was at 10 AM, so we woke up at 9, packed, got ready, and stored our luggage with the hostel before seeking out food. Strangely, most places weren’t open…apparently 12 PM is when kitchens open. I think Italians just have coffee for breakfast, which I was down for, but I’m really the only coffee drinker on the trip. We walked down a few paths before finding a place that was reasonable and open. Laura and I got pizza for breakfast (I mean…why not??), Malvika got a panini, and Molly got an omelet. The ladies who owned the café were Chinese and adorable. I love globalization. Also, the café was right next to a waterway….perfect last Venetian meal!! Venice would have been a sight to behold back in the day when Casanova was around and the population sported elaborate, frilly dress. I know that the city is proud of that time and the romance of it, though, because mask and costume shops are easier to find than restaurants or toilets.
After eating, we went back to the hostel, grabbed our stuff, got stuck in torrential downpour, and then headed to the train station. Now, I’m on the train. Italy definitely wins the award for nicest trains. I can’t wait to go to Florence and see el duomo and just behold it. Eeek!!!
Next update will be from there.
This way to Piazza San Marco
Wednesday, August 31st
The next day, I slept in ‘til 10 (so did Laura..our clocks are in sync most of the time) and did some laundry and made some instant coffee and tea that was available to us. At noonish, the four of us headed out in search of a)lunch and b) Piazza San Marco, the main square of the city. I would say central, but it really wasn’t. Chris told us the night before that it was a 15 minute walk, but it ended up taking us like 2 hours at least to get there hahaha. Everyone gave us different directions. There were signs, but some of them even had double arrows, so we’d choose which way to go, having no idea if it was in the right direction. Lunch was along the way (at a hole-in-the-wall which was delicious with perfect portions). We also stopped for a gondola ride!!!!! Gondolas, one of the main attractions of course, are so expensive. For the most part, the drivers charge around 100 Euro for a boat. But we cannot afford that. Even though I have spent more than 25 Euro on a single meal (it is what it is), I couldn’t justify a 10 minute Gondola ride for the same amount. We passed a couple and finally got a guy to give it to us for 50 Euro. Half the price!! It was well worth it, and I am so glad we ended up being able to drop the price. How can you go to Venice and not ride a gondola? The guy didn’t sing, but he was a total character. He kept making inappropriate comments that were totally amusing and also terrifying. We ran off the boat and didn’t make eye-contact, when he brought us back to the dock.
Eventually, we found ourselves in the Piazza San Marco probably around 3 PM. It was beautiful, though. There is a huge church with mosaics and gold plating. And if you go through the square, it opens up to the ocean, where all the canals lead.
When you think of Venice, you think of Canals and gondolas, right? It’s so surreal though because there are actually no cars. There are boats. People use the waterways to get places, if they don’t walk. The water canals are their road equivalents. Strange and so different from the rest of the developed world. Oh, but so scenic. I don’t want to know how many bridges we took pictures on…
Venice was hot, too. So, after the heat and exhaustion and all other things that involved getting to Piazza San Marco and back to our hostel, we needed a refueling in the room. Our friend from the previous night, Chris, had already left for Rome, but we saw that we had a new roommate in his place. I collapsed on my bed and slept for an hour or so, which felt wonderful. When I woke up, our new roommate was there, and it was about 8 PM. He was not so friendly; in fact, he didn’t make eye contact or even say hello to us. Awkward. We just lowered our voices and left the room to find someplace to eat dinner.
Probably 5 minutes after leaving the hostel, we saw a tourist shop with a tshirt rack out front. The first tshirt was one that had two signs to Piazza San Marco, with arrows pointing in opposite directions. We all burst into laughter because it was obvious that it’s a running joke that its complicated to get to Piazza San Marco. Which meant that clearly, after a 5 hour escapade from earlier in the day, the joke was on us. Hhahaha.
Like I mentioned earlier, Venice doesn’t have much of a nightlife. This means that generally a lot of restaurants close early, too-- at least the cheaper, more local joints. The nicer restaurants stay open later, probably because they have the funds to employ their staff for a longer period of time every day. We were so hungry that we stopped at the closest restaurant that didn’t have a cover or service charge (in Italy, some restaurants have a cover charge and a service charge included in the meal. So, we started to look for places that said specifically that there was neither). It was called Marciana and once inside, looked like an Italian place you could find in the states. But, it was crowded, so we used that as a good sign and sat down and ordered. The waiter was impressive as he was taking our orders. He spoke great English and understood Molly’s eating parameters. But when the food came, it was clear that he had totally taken advantage of us. Malvika and I had a decent meal, but Laura’s portion of pasta was way too small and Molly had ordered, upon his recommendation, fish that was ridiculously small. We were like, huh? Is this real life? And after he filleted it for her, it was half the size. Oh yeah…and it was 18 euro. At that moment, we decided we didn’t like him. But it got worse. When it was time for the bill, he told us that the bread he brought us was 2 euro per serving. (and we’d gotten 2 servings). He also added some arbitrary numbers together for our totals. I was totally fed up with him, and I almost ended up paying him the amount he had dealt me, which was like 2 euro more than I owed him, but Malvika totally told him off. It was awesome. And then he gave us a refund, kind of. Not to mention he tried to flirt with us earlier, so he was basically a walking disaster. Arrivaderci, Marciana.
Gelato for dessert fixed the dinner failure. Mmmmmm. We had already gotten it earlier in the day, but it is just 1.50 for a scoop…so it’s hard not to have it multiple times. It made me think of Paolo’s Gelato in Virginia Highlands back home, which is where I first had gelato, I think. We sat in a random square that was pretty populated, finished our gelato, and headed back to sleep. When we returned to our hostel, we had another new roommate, who was much nicer than the awkward one, and turned out to be Swedish. He was talkative and had great English. Turns out he was headed to a Music festival in Croatia, and was stopping in Venice along the way. Cool.
Venice: Pizza, pizza, and more pizza
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Our train to Venice was an all-day affair, starting at 9:50 AM. Before leaving Nice, we ate breakfast at our super nice hostel and headed to the train station. We paid some sort of reservation fee (to be honest, I am losing track of all the random fees and am just going with the flow). My philosophy is why stress about things you can’t change or have no control over, ya know?
We ended up getting on an earlier train to Genova, which was our planned stop to Cinque Terre along the way to Venice. Cinque Terre is an apparent must-see, a collection of colorful towns that sit on cliffs off of the Mediterranean. But when we got to Genova, we found out that Cinque Terre was a 2-hour ride from Genova, and we just didn’t have the time to do that if we wanted to catch our train to Venice and be there on time. So, we had to sadly scratch Cinque Terre from our itinerary.
Several hours and a couple of wrong train stops later…we arrived in Venice. The train station was right on the Grand Canal, and it turns out so was our hostel!! Literally less than a quarter mile from each other. Venice is everything you expect it to be and for me, more. I expected a stench that it seems many friends have prepared me for, but I think Western Europe has been on top of its cleaning and an environmental initiative. Every city we have been in has been noticeably cleaner than any American city I’ve been to. Because it was around 6 PM when we arrived in Venice, we were able to check in and everything before exploring the city.
Our room was like a 5-star hotel compared to the last couple of rooms. Though the hostel in Nice was so nice, it was still an 8-person bunkbed room, which is great for the price, but this room in Venice was 7 –spaced-out twin beds, with room in between all of them and two windows overlooking the Grand Canal. One bathroom for everyone, but no complaints from us!! There was one other guy in the room when we got there, and he was totally friendly and cool. We talked to him for a bit and asked if he wanted to come out with us for dinner (pizza). He obliged, and we all ended up hitting it off really well. He was from California and had been studying in Brighton for the summer and was headed to Rome and then back home.
Venice doesn’t have much of a night life and can really be seen in a day. Considering we had 2 nights and a day, this was a perfect opportunity for us to catch our breath and relax. Dinner was at a place that came pretty highly recommended, though I was hesitant because it looked like a chain resturant, which is not my idea of a good eat in Italy. I know I’m totally snobby about food, but I’d rather eat in a hole-in-the-wall. The pizza was good, but huge. Our roommate Chris told us they were personal sized pizzas…but they definitely weren’t. The best part of the meal was the company of our new friend and our waitress, who was an absolute doll. She was in University in Venice and at the end of our meal, she told us it was a pleasure to meet us and gave us free limoncellos (popular Italian drink…super strong). We took a picture with her – of course ☺. We sat by the canal for a while talking about random things and turned in around 11:30 or so.
NICE
Monday, August 29, 2011
Arrived in Nice at around 8:45 AM after getting a good night’s rest on the train. Went to the bathroom and headed to our hostel, which was a 20 minute walk from the station. The hostel was SO NICE!!!! Haha punny. But really. There were showers available for us, even though check-in wasn’t until 2 or 3 PM. So that happened, and we changed into bathing suits and headed for the beach! Oh, I forgot to mention that we checked facebook before leaving the hostel and communicated with one of the guys who is going to be at Oxford with us for the semester who happened to also be in Nice. So, we coordinated a meet-up time at Lido Plage (which I learned means Lido Beach).
We met up with Chris at 12 and went to the main square to eat lunch. It was delicious, as per usual. French cuisine is on a level all its own. Dang. I am looking forward to Italy, but it’s pretty accessible and not totally extraordinary, you know? But good French food is. I ate a salad that was topped with duck bacon and foie gras. Chris got the same thing. Molly got fish, Laura got salmon pasta, and Malvika got Lamb pasta.
We headed back to the beach, and after a few hours, we grabbed some Häagen Daze and went back to our respective hostels.
Nice is soooo beautiful. I’ve never seen anything like it. The water is the deepest blue you’ve ever seen, and completely translucent. The coast is a mixture of jagged cliffs and rocky shores. Almost every view of the water is picturesque, and you find yourself completely absorbed in the scene. When we were on the beach, Chris pointed out a waterfall that was up on a hill, from which you can see all of Nice and is worth the hike. So, we tried to see it, but it ended up being closed at 8 PM.
I know it’s ironic, since I’ve been going on and on about French food, but our last meal in France was Chinese food. We passed a place that was on the main strip, and it was there…and delicious…and affordable…so hard to resist. We picnicked with it on the rocky shores and devoured the meal. The rest of the night consisted of riding a merry-go-round, drinking mimosas, and walking around Nice. Definitely a wonderful close to the French segment of the trip.
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