Tuscania

Last Day

2009-01-23T09:34:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would enjoy blogging while abroad a bit more but I've found it to be more cumbersome than anything. There is something disenchanting about trying to put these sorts of experiences to words. It never quite reads as "magically" or as profoundly as I would like. Instead it just seems to come off as a litany of places I visited and things that I did. In reality traveling is always more.

Since my last post I visted Viterbo which is a larger town about 20 minutes away by car. We had a walking tour with a history professor named Massimmo (which means "the greatest"--imagine how cool it is to be named "the greatest"). I bought a knit purple dress from a market that we walked through and haggled the price down two euros (obviously I am no pro). One of the most memorable moments was when we passed this iron rod that was FILLED with Masterlocks. We asked why and the professor explained that couples come to this particular rod and place locks on it and thrown away the key to profess their love to each other. I appreciated the metaphor. We ended the day with a really delicious gelato (hazlenut and coffee for me).

The rest of the week there were papers to write and finals to take for us. The one noteworthy experience was my first shot and taking a dip in a hot spring near Viterbo. The hot spring was literally a giant hole in the ground in what looked like a rural parking lot. The first few steps out of the car toward the hot spring was almost unbearable given that it was 40 degrees outside and raining. Once I got into the water though it was extremely relaxing. The water was full of weird algae and white sand and smelled slightly of sulpher, but it was soothing nonetheless. Unfortunately when I got out of the water I started to black out. Someone here told me that it has to do with a rapid change of blood pressure when going from extreme hot to extreme cold. In any case, when I got out of the water everything got blurry, then started to move, then slowly a black cloud with white flecks started to take over my vision and my ears started to ring and feel like they were filled with water. I had to hold onto the side of the car for a while and be helped into the car where I lay completely still for 10 minutes until I subsided. Almost passing out is the worst feeling ever, but I'm glad I managed to stay conscious. I definitely don't regret going--and my skin is still really soft from the spring water.

Today, my last day in Tuscania, I'm not sure if I want to stay or go. I miss eating eggs and bacon for breakfast (ironically) and I miss speaking fluent English rather than this weird hybrid Spanish-Latin-Italian-broken English I've been speaking for three weeks. I miss my bed. I also miss a few people. But I don't miss the city, or city folk. There is something beautiful about the simple kindness of so many of the people I have met here and the slower pace and simpler way of life. Not to mention the beauty of the surroundings. I guess I'll be more aware of what I'll miss when I get back home.

Artist's Studio

2009-01-16T06:44:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday morning we visited the home\studio space of Johannes Dimpflmeier, a local artist whose work is mindblowing. Johannes is a painter, a sculptor, a musician and an electronics\robotics expert. He lives on the top of a hill in a very isolated part of Tuscania that is surrounded by farmland. Besides the fact that he has two talking robots in his studio that he built from discarded metal, old gasoline tanks and other scraps, he also built his own synthesizers from scratch. He shared some of his ambient electronic music that he created by mixing clips from other songs along with very tiny sounds he picked up outdoors with an amplifying microphone. He got me with the tiny sounds bit since one of my favorite albums (Vespertine) was created using the same method. He lives very simply, built his entire house with his own hands, wakes up at 4AM every day to work on his art and does electrical side jobs to put food on the table. The photos don't do justice to his work, but I tried. The first photo is Johannes with one of his talking robots (it speaks English and Italian), the next couple of photos are more examples of his work and the last photo is of his homemade synthesizers.

Pisa Came To Us

2009-01-16T03:40:00.000-08:00

We had a little less than two hours in Florence before we had to catch our train back to Tarquinia, so we decided to do a little window shopping and then arrive at the station early. At the station I showed my ticket to the conductor of the train we had to board. I wanted to confirm a transfer we had to make at Pisa. The conductor pointed to a note on the ticket that said "Via Pontederra" and told us to transfer there. Well, we got off at Pontederra and it turns out there was no transfer to a train to Tarquinia--the only transfer point was in fact Pisa. Here was the catch: the next train to Pisa missed the last train to Tarquinia by 10 minutes. We boarded the next train to Pisa, vaguely hoping that the train to Tarquinia would arrive late so we could board it, but naturally, train delays never work to one's advantage.

So we found ourselves stuck in Pisa around 8:00pm, three hours away from our hotel in Tuscania. We explained our situation to one of the TrenItalia workers in Pisa and she kindly gave us a free ticket back to Tarquinia the next morning, apologizing for the incorrect information that we received. Thankfully, my brother brought along our Frommer's Guide and we found a hotel right on the Arno River that put us up for 25 Euro each. It turns out the hotel (The Royal Victoria) has a rich history. Personally, I loved the fact that everything from the furniture in the room to the room key screamed Victorian.

Despite being in a stressful situation, we decided to make the most of it and took a walk over to the tower of Pisa. It wasn't lit up and had some netting around the top of it (offseason repairs, I suppose), but it was still pretty wonderful to get to see it--despite the dark and grainy photos. After a long overdue shower (trying to wash sections of yourself on a moving overnight train and throwing baby powder to cover up the rest for two days is far from fun), we slept in a soft bed. We woke up early and caught the 7:45AM train back to Tarquinia followed by two local busses back to Tuscania. Seeing the walls around the town was actually a huge relief and it was nice to shower and nap in a familar place after living out of my purse for three long (but nonetheless beautiful) days.

Florence

2009-01-16T03:13:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning the Eurostar was late, but we still managed to get to Florence by 10:30AM. After a short walk we were confronted with the Duomo (The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore) which is an amazing structure built with green, pink and white marble. Since the Duomo was not open yet, we went over to the Uffizi Museum which (thankfully) was not plagued with the long lines we were warned about. Seeing the Birth of Venus and several other famous works was sort of surreal. I didn't realize how huge the original painting is, so I sort of had a scale shock (the opposite of my experience seeing the tiny Mona Lisa portrait in Paris). From the Uffizi we had a light lunch and walked back over to the Duomo. Like many things in Italy on Sundays, the top of the Cathedral was not open for the view, but we got to see the ground floor which, in itself, was enormously beautiful. Since we were determined to get a complete panorama of Florence, we climbed the circuitous 413 steps of Giotto's Bell Tower which was exhausting, but so worth it.
At this point our legs were sore and we were wiped out but determined to cross the Ponte Vecchio and see Pitti Palace. The Ponte Vecchio was not as impressive as the Ponte Rialto in Venice, but we slowed our pace to window shop at the many jewelry stores on the bridge. We arrived at Pitti Palace a couple of hours before closing, so the museum was practically empty. I prefer it this way, since you really get a chance to look closely at your favorite pieces without other tourists breathing down your neck. Pitti Palace was definitely a visual overload--from the ceilings to the amazing gold frames around the paintings to the gorgeous brocade wallpaper. At one point I lay down on a bench in the center of one of the many rooms and just stared at the ceiling for a while. I tried to take in all the different carvings and the allegories in the paintings, but with the level of detail it was almost impossible. By the time we reached the last few rooms of the museum we were so visually overstimulated we had no desire to run over to the Accademia to see the original sculpture of David. Its impossible to see Florence in a day, so I don't feel guilty leaving David behind for a future visit.

Venice

2009-01-15T01:33:00.000-08:00

I've been meaning to write for some time, but my access to the computer is limited and there's been so much to do.

Friday night after class we took a cab over to Tarquinia (the nearest train station) where we caught a train to Rome and connected via subway to Tiburtina station where we caught the overnight train to Venice. This was the first time I traveled first class anything and it was a pretty cool experience. We were in a room with three levels of bunk beds. I slept in the middle bunk which was sort of terrifying since I kept having visions of the top bunk falling onto me (hey, it was my first time sleeping in a bunk). It was hard to fall asleep but the next thing we knew it was 5:00AM and the conductor was knocking on our door to wake us up.

We took our time at the station getting cappucinno and waiting for the first signs of light to show up so we could jump onto a water taxi. By 7:00AM we were coasting down the Grand Canal, freezing, but too eager to stay in the inner part of the boat and miss all of the amazing scenery we were passing. Venice is breathtaking. The novelty of the city itself makes virtually every corner worth a second look. There's really no comparing it to London, Paris or Rome. We got off the water taxi around the Accademia museum since it opened the earliest. Once we got off the ferry we lost our place on the map and ended up wandering toward another canal where we got an amazing view of the sunrise. This was totally unplanned and for once I was grateful for my inconsistent sense of direction. After taking the sunrise in for a while we visited the Accademia Museum and the Peggy Guggenheim collection. The Accademia was a good way to start the day, but if I had less time I definitely would have skipped it. Let's just say I've seen more Madonna and Child portraits then I ever would have wanted to see in my lifetime, let alone in a weekend. The Guggenheim was small but a few really amazing pieces made it worth it, especially the section of surreal paintings by Max Ernst. The Robing of the Bride and another one of his Drawings are my favorites.

After an overpriced and crappy lunch (this is the downside of the big cities if you are a tourist and don't know where you're going) we jumped back on the water taxi to San Marco and saw St. Mark's Square, St. Mark's Basilica and Palazzo Ducale. Climbing to the top of the Basilica and looking over the square felt like being in a movie. The highlight of San Marco though was definitely Palazzo Ducale. Its hard to comprehend the level of wealth that the aristocracy had when the palace was constructed. The ceilings alone were insanely painted and carved in every single room. Within the palace is a bridge known as the Bridge of Sighs that leads to a prison. It was sort of eerie to look out at the water from the bridge since this was the last view that criminals had before they were imprisoned.

By the time we finished our tour of the Palazzo we still had several hours before we had to catch the overnight back to Rome, so we head over to Ponte Rialto--a huge bridge that is filled with cute shops. Then we wandered through the narrow streets of San Polo before heading back to the station. The overnight back to Rome was easier this time since we were so exhausted from walking. We arrived around 6:00AM and had another capucinno in the station before heading to Termini to catch the Eurostar to Florence.

January 6th

2009-01-07T02:21:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a bit slow since it was The Festival of the Epiphany (or the Italian equivalent to the Three Kings Day celebrated in hispanic countries). I had never heard of this holiday before, but our professor explained that it is analogous to the American Christmas except, rather than Santa, a "good witch" known as La Befana puts gifts and candy in children's stockings. Now it makes sense to me why I saw what I thought were leftover Halloween decorations everywhere.

Our class is very small (literally only my brother, myself and one other student), so we have to be on our toes. We're reading Dante, Petrarch, Machiavelli and others. Our professor is really friendly and entertaining and uses a lot of photographs, videos and maps in her lectures, which keeps things interesting.

Since we had no class yesterday, my brother and I had planned to visit Vatican City, but that didn't work out since the museum is closed on holidays. Hopefully we can figure out a way to go during the week. Yesterday we took the opportunity to explore the historical section of Tuscania. Photos from that soon. Oh, and the artist Johannes Dimpflmeier is centered here. He does beautiful work with robots.

Rome

2009-01-05T02:03:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was chaos but ended up turning out wonderfully. We bought tickets to take an express bus from Tuscania to Rome at 7:40AM. We all got to the station at 7:30 and waited until past 8:30am and no bus came. I finally went to the bar (which means just a cafe where people hang out and get cappuccino in the morning and drinks at night) and tried to explain the bus issue in broken Italian\Spanish\Latin spoken with an Italian accent and the owner's limited English. After a few phone calls it turned out that the bus just happened to come at 7:20am that day and there was no other bus for the rest of the day. It seems that in Tuscania things just sort of happen when the local people feel like it should happen. We went back to the hotel sad, discouraged (and very, very cold from waiting at the freezing bus stop).

I was determined to go to Rome, though, so after a bunch of stressful phone calls my brother and I finally got a driver to come pick us up and haul us over to the next town to catch a train to Rome. By noon we were at Termini station. I was leery of the station being that so many people warned me about gypsies and pickpockets in the area. Thankfully, I didn't encounter any problems other than some guy who tried to convince me that I should pay him 50 (Euro) cents to use the bathroom. My "I'm from New York, don't even try to pull this on me" look took care of that.

Before we headed to Rome I created a route using Frommer's guide. We started at Termini station and headed over to the Colosseum, the forum and the ruins around it. My first impression of Rome was not favorable being that the neighborhood surrounding Termini station looks sort of run down with graffiti. However, once we got to the area around the colosseum, my feelings quickly changed. There is something very mysterious about Rome. The atmosphere in the historical part of the city is very heavy, almost somber. The modern section is nothing short of what you would expect from a European city--energetic, crowded and fairly fast-paced. The dichotomy between these two sections of the city is fascinating.

From the Colosseum we wandered a bit before heading toward the area around the Musei Capitolini which provides a higher vantage point to look at the Roman Forum. There are so many beautiful piazzas with statues and fountains in this area that it's difficult to keep track of their names. From there we headed to the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain. Although we all took the cliché tourist-y photos in front of both sites, there is something surreal about actually being there. In front of the Trevi Fountain I also had my first gelato. Being that I had lived on cappuccino, crackers and pretzels ("senza glutine" courtesy of the local pharmacies) all day, the chocolate gelato was out of this world.

By then it was about 4:30pm. Since we didn't have to catch the train until 8:00pm, we took our time getting to the Spanish steps. The view from the steps is even more lovely as the sun sets and the area in front of the steps is full of street artists sketching people's portraits. Exhausted, we finally stopped at a restaurant called That's Amore (no doubt to attract silly Americans like us). The food was reasonably priced and they made me a special plate of gluten free spaghetti with meat sauce (score).

By 7:30pm we were back at Termini station for the train ride back to Tarquinia. Before boarding the train we excitedly purchased tickets for the overnight train to Venice on Friday and Saturday nights. For 100 Euros roundtrip we got transportation and a private room with beds on the train. Not bad for a near seven hour trip each way.

Today is the first day of class at Lorenzo de Medici. I am taking Masterpieces of Italian Literature. I haven't met the professor, purchased my books or received a syllabus yet so I have no idea what to expect. I think that's a good thing.

First Days in Tuscania

2009-01-04T03:12:00.000-08:00

After a long flight and lots of jetlag I finally have time to write.

I can't say anything but the cliché: Tuscania is beautiful. Everything is green and lush (despite it being the dead of winter) and the atmosphere is peaceful and welcoming. It even smells cozy. It seems like all of the homes and stores are heated with wood-burning stoves, so everything outside smells like a giant fireplace.

I arrived at the Hotel Tuscania on Friday morning exhausted since I had been up for 24 hours straight (sleep on the flight was impossible). As soon as we arrived we were given a walking tour of the town. I was sort of in a zombie-like state. However, the view from the main park in Tuscania quickly refreshed me. I can't begin to describe the landscape, but the photos should speak for themselves.

My room in the hotel is comfortable and not so different from what you would expect from a standard hotel room in America. The only real difference is the unusually high bathtub and the bidet in the bathroom...first time seeing one of those. The room also has a beautiful terrace overlooking the street below. In the morning the staff serve up delicious, strong cappuccinos as well as an array of fruit and pastries. Given my dietary restrictions, the staff was nice enough to provide gluten free cookies and gluten free chocolate plum cake for me to eat in the morning (bonus points for Hotel Tuscania). Gluten free food here is readily found at the local pharmacy (even in this small town of 8,000 people). As far as flavor goes--it puts Whole Foods Market to shame. The Italians in general seem to place a high value on the quality of their food and the process of eating in general. Enjoying a meal seems to be an almost spiritual experience for everyone.

I am just beginning to get used to the pace of things in this town. Everything goes by very slowly and I find myself becoming impatient when I encounter long lines (lines, not because there are many people shopping, but because all of the store owners chat, walk around and generally take their time about everything). It is almost foreign to me to see people take a real human interest in each other in settings like the local supermarket. Despite the fact that I don't speak Italian (and 95 percent of the town does not speak English), I can sense everyone's curiosity and genuine interest in who I am. I am trying to go with it, without suspicion or cynicism--something not so easy for this New Yorker.