Roma

A few pictures I took while in one of the most wonderful cities I've ever been to.  I hope you enjoy them.  They haven't been edited b/c I've been busy learning Italian so you will have to forgive me for that.  I might write more later but for now you can just look.

A Little Book Review

As I was searching the shelves of a bookstore that I frequently go to for an Italian verb book I saw a small pocket sized book that listed that it would explain the Mafia. Oh my goodness... not the Mafia. Yes, the Mafia indeed. I have been a little interested in this organization (not in a scary I am going to become part of the team kind of way) since I saw 'The Godfather' the first time. Also the Italian history in the family made me kind of wish my that my Grandpa was part of it, however Erin and I realized that his name didn't fit so well and it just couldn't be. 'Mafia Explained to Tourists' by Augusto Cavadi, let me know upon reading the second sentence that 'The Godfather' is a :highly romanticized, fictional view of the phenomenon makes for excellent entertainment.: Apparently the real Mafia is more complex. Suddenly I was relieved that my grandfather had nothing to do with the Mafia. This 55 page pocket book does a brief overview of the Mafia and answers questions that I am sure we have all asked. Cavadi also lists a bibliography in case you are wanting to do more in depth reading on the topic. It was interesting to read that this 150 year old establishment will eventually end as all things human do. When??? thats what no one knows. But for now the streets of Palermo are probably safer than the streets of London, New York, or Madrid since it is less likely to be killed there (in Palermo) than in a terrorist attack elsewhere. Also good news since I have been wanting to visit Sicily for a few years now.

Firenze

Florence is wonderful as it should be. I skipped class once but with good reason... my roommates and I took a nice walk from Piazza Michelangelo down through the countryside and then back home. Piazza Michelangelo is one of the best places in Florence to go and get pictures of the city. I think the entire walk was supposed to take an hour but we took a bus to the piazza from our apartment which was nice and then the walk back to the Ponte Vecchio took maybe 3 hours. We stopped a lot to take pictures and enjoy the scenery. The first half of the walk was along a semi-busy street but with beautiful views, and the second part was a wonderful curvy cobblestone road lined with brightly painted old houses that made you forget that you were in the city at all.

The Run Down

Little Rock to Chicago and a hot dog
Chicago to Heathrow--- London and meat pies
Extended stay
Felt up by security in London
London to Barcelona several hours later
plane to bus to train to metro to hotel
walk on around town
food market, juice, chocolate, Picasso, soap, chocolate, Gaudi building, tapas, icebarcelona, catwalk, bed
antique market, food market, juice, sandwich, chocolate, british boys 'CHALLENGE', Gaudi park, olympic park, Gaudi building, chicago pizza....
Two taxis, empty ferry dock, walk in the rain, two taxies, ferry check in, no bus, security car and broken van to ferry, Antonino, A Room With A View, 20 hours at sea, Livorno, big taxi in the rain, taxi to Florence, circle Florence, wrong apartment, another taxi in Florence, right apartment no key, new taxi, GE represnitive's apartment, doner kabab, sleep, school, taxi to apartment, move in!

When I Leave

I wasn't planning on posting again before I left town. I didn't really have much to say, and figured the posts after getting to Europe would be much more entertaining. Turns out I was wrong. Last time I left for Italy was in August of 2005 and that week the Beehive (a little shop in town) burned down... first up and then down. The whole strip of businesses had smoke damage and a partner business moved across the street. This partner is a wonderful little restaurant called the Honeycomb. Get it... beehive and honeycomb. Yeah anyway, Mom and I went to the Honeycomb yesterday for lunch and had a nice little time, the power went out but it was really windy out so no one really thought anything of it. Shortly after we left the the roof on the Honeycomb blew off. Talk about a windy day... apparently there was cold front coming through. Heaven forbid I ever leave town for good. I really don't think either of these events had anything to do with me leaving but it is rather amusing that they both happened right before my departure.

Wine Tasting

Last night I had the most wonderful going away party with wonderful friends, food, and wine. Bruce Cochran who lives here in Arkansas came to the party to share 6 fantastic wines from different regions in Italy. Since I just started to really like wine in the past two years (thanks to spending some time in Italy two years ago), I usually like to stick with white wines... a Pinot Grigio or while in Italy just the white house wine. I was happily surprised that each wine I tried I enjoyed. Traditionally in tasting you need to start with the lighter wines and get darker... the reds are more complex in flavor, and then end with a dessert wine of some kind. The wines we tried in order:Pinot Grigio from Trentino. Ferra & Perini (white)
Malvasia from Emilia-Romagna. Giannelli de Maris, Vigna Case Rotti 2005 (white)
Barbera from Piedmont. Ferra & Perini (red)
Chianti Classico from Tuscany. Ruffino Aziano 2005 (red)
Nero D'Avola from Sicilia. Nu Har, tentua rapitala (red)
Malvasia Dolce Frizzante from Emilia-Romagna. Rosa di Bianca (white semi-sparkling dessert)
It wasn't a wine tasting where you sip the wine, find all of the flavors and spit it out. It was relaxed and as we sipped our wine, Bruce shared with us the region the wine came from, the grapes, and the difference between a $100.00 bottle of wine and a $10.00 bottle of wine. As much as I love to spit good wine into a jar, I really would rather just sit in good company, drink good wine, and have good conversation. And because of that, last night was perfect.

(the picture is of each wine in order that it was tasted)

I Have A Home

Most of you know that I will be leaving for Italy in a couple of weeks and live there for 6 months while I study. While I am living/traveling in Europe my blog will be mostly about that experience but will of course include really neat things that I find. I will share shops, restaurants, and sites to see.
The best news is-- I finally got the information about where I am going to be spending those 6 months. I am in Florence (which was the plan) and in the residential area but only a 20 min walk from school. I'm so excited to learn about a new area in town. Last time I was there I was living in the historical center I had the most amazing view of the Duomo from my bedroom window, and was so close to everything. This time I will be in an area that will have more residents than tourists, yet everything that people come to Florence for is just a walk away. I will get to walk along the Arno River everyday on my way to class and see the hills surrounding the city. Another perk-- I have my own bathroom. I was planning on my own room along with 2 others for the two friends I am living with, but a shared bathroom. First floor apartment so less stairs than last time and really my own space!