Chin Chin

It's weird, after traveling with Alanna for 18 straight days and constantly being around people, you would think that I needed some alone time.

So I thought it would be perfect to go to Cinque Terre, a cluster of five little fishing villages on the western coast of Italy, and chill out for a few days before heading back to the craziness that is London.
Five days of no internet, no texting, no phone calls, no television later, I was pretty ready to get back to civilization. As much as I enjoyed a different pace of life, hanging out at the beach and making friends with some more strangers, it became crystal clear to me that I'm not cut out for small town life.

Cats!
They were everywhere! A note about Italian cats: they are the friendliest, most emotionally expressive cats I've ever encountered! The ones that we met along the way were meowing like crazy, as if they were trying to say something really pressing or important.

In Monterosso, one stray cat followed me for about half an hour, meowing continuously, along the beach...
In Riomaggiore, the town I was staying in, one cat kept making a really aggressive meowing noise, almost a bark, at all the strangers walking down the street. Then he chilled with me and the other guys staying at my hostel for a while...
And finally, the sweetest cat followed us during a midnight stroll along Via dell'Amore, leading the way since it was so dark and dimly lit...
All three of these cats were huge attention whores and meowed more than any American cat I've ever met. I am definitely a dog person and don't usually like cats, but these guys were so sweet, friendly, and talkative that they somehow won me over.

Monterosso
This small beachfront town was probably my favorite of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. The sand has little gold flecks that sparkle in the sunlight. The rocks were made up of so many different colors...red, orange, green, purple... The water was so many different shades of beautiful blue.

What was the most charming about Monterosso, especially visiting it during the off-season, was the sense of authenticity the small town had. There were children getting out of school, old men strolling along the beach, men in cafes bickering boisterously about the latest soccer match... It was the first time I didn't really feel like a tourist, more like a guest.

A "small world" moment happened in Monterosso when I stopped in at a cafe where I chatted a bit with the owner, who ended up being from Chicago! We bonded over having family in Southern California, Chicago in the Fall, and learning different languages.

All the Love
I can see why so many people fall in love in Cinque Terre. Just along the Via dell'Amore, there are locks attached to all the fences, netting, EVERYWHERE. I only found out on the last night that these locks represent wedlock. How could you not fall in love here? These five towns are so beautiful, protected as a national park and uncorrupted by the hordes of enterprising salesmen who would like to capitalize on the tourist value of this national treasure. Everything about it is romantic, dreamy, and makes all the stresses and troubles of everyday life seem so far away.

But beyond romantic love, the locals that I met during my stay were all so friendly both to me and to each other. There was a real sense of community. Everyone knew everyone. It was certainly different from anything I'd ever experienced.

I had a lot of time to think and reflect during my 5 days in Cinque Terre. I realize how lucky I am to have friends and family who love me as much as you guys do, and how you all make my life so much richer. Traveling, seeing and experiencing new places and people are definitely rewarding and worthwhile experiences, but I feel as though the farther and longer you're away from a sense of home, the more you realize how important and valuable it is.

The fellow travelers I roomed with at the hostel were all in a transition period in their lives. One had quit his job in London 3 days before. One was preparing to leave his office job for life as a chef in San Francisco. And the other was moving to the Netherlands to begin an artistic career. I was the baby of the group, and one thing they talked about really resonated with me. Traveling and escaping from your everyday life is great and oftentimes necessary. But, it better serves you when done with a purpose, an intention of bringing back the ideas and realizations you have during your journey and turning them into something concrete and productive in your real life.

So by the end of my time in Italy, I was ready to return and buckle down, not just on work but taking advantage of my time here in London and making the most out of everything.

That's the end of my Italian adventure! Cheers (or Chin Chin)!

Loving 2010

Although Venice is pretty small and you can get all the sightseeing you want out of it in about two days, I think I most enjoyed my time in the "The City of Light."

Here are some of the highlights:

Water
I think I spent maybe 90% of my time in Venice being partially or completely wet. Not only is the city surrounded by water, but there was also the flooding...and the rain...almost every single day that we were there. I was only equipped with my canvas Converse sneakers which offer no waterproof capabilities, so I was basically screwed...

I even resorted to shelling out a ridiculous 9 euro for huge purple plastic shoe-bags to makes sightseeing bearable. It was embarrassing, but I suppose I felt a sense of solidarity with my fellow tourists who were equally unprepared for the underwater experience that is Venice.


The Vitruvian Man
By the time we hit Venice, Alanna and I were pretty art museumed out. I had seen so many priceless, beautiful, one-of-a-kind paintings and sculptures that they all started the blend together and these works started to lose their impact.

But when we heard that Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man was on display at the Galleria dell'Accademia for the first time in seven years, we had to go. It was odd, because for something that is as big a deal as the Vitruvian Man, there was close to zero publicity for it, no crowds at the actual display, and no extra fees to see the exhibition.

For a single sheet of paper with some scribbles on it, it was so harmonious, precise and in it's own way, very beautiful. After all, the Vitruvian Man is the representation of human perfection, right? A note about da Vinci: his handwriting is really really pretty.

I'm so glad that we were able to catch this. We were planning on skipping the Galleria dell'Accademia, and were it not for the two American ladies lunching next to us one day who were discussing the exhibition, we would never have seen it. In fewer words, it was awesome!

The Peggy Guggenheim Collection
I know I said we were museumed out, but at a certain point in Venice we just plain ran out of things to see (five days is way too much for standard sightseeing there). However, I'm glad we did make it to the Peggy Guggenheim museum. It's a modern-looking building that used to be Peggy's home in Venice the last leg of her life.

The collection itself was pretty phenomenal. Pollock, Brancusi, Duchamp, Kandinsky, Klee...all the heavyweights of modern art were represented. What made the experience cooler was that the museum still felt like a home. There was furniture, a dining table, and pictures of good friends of Peggy's. Seeing so many incredible and important artworks that all belonged to one woman made me realize just how influential (and filthy rich) Peggy Guggenheim was. It made the trek out there in my oversize rainboots our hostel had lying around completely worth it.

Making Friends with Strangers
Our hostel in Venice was probably the homiest place I've ever stayed at. Although it did have faults (they kick you out of bed at 9:30 every morning so they can move around the bunks and clean the mattresses), it did offer breakfast and dinner, during which we were basically forced to socialize with the other people staying there.

The friends that we made in Venice are probably people I'd hang out with again in a heartbeat if we were ever near each other again. We all bonded over crazy Australian drinking games, how weird our hostel staff was, and being a tourist. Recently, I was reunited with two of the Aussie girls we met on the trip when they were traveling in London!

It's weird. When you're traveling, or put in a situation where you're not completely comfortable, you are so much more likely to make the effort to get to know new people.

Bringing in the New Year
There are so many things about my New Year's Eve that could, to some people, be seen as disastrous. First, I was separated from Alanna. Then, when we arrived at St. Mark's, it was way too crowded for us to be able to squeeze ourselves through to the main stage. And, thinking that I had dodged the high tide since the flooding had receded by 1pm that day, I just wore my sneakers to the New Year's celebrations. What I did not anticipate was a dreadful thing called "second tide," where the whole square floods again right around 11pm. By the end of the night, my entire lower half was soaking wet. However, it was probably the best New Year's that I've had and an important self-actualization moment for me.

Mass celebrations with a big crowd of strangers has it's good and bad moments. Good: you become automatic best friends with the people around you because, after all, you are squished up against each other. Bad: there are creepy men who try to take advantage of the crowd situation and try to feel you up.

The two girls I was with ended up getting into a screaming match with some of these creepy men who were splashing water at us, at which point I was dropped into the water by one of the girls, who was carrying me on her back since I had no rainboots on. So in between mediating the fight, shoving away creepy men, and practically swimming in the water with my clothes on, I think many people in my situation would have been either really stressed out or just plain miserable.

But, really, I was quite the opposite. The countdown began, the fireworks lit up the Venice sky, and all the couples around us gave each other their New Year's kisses. Amidst all the drama, all I felt was appreciation and happiness for being lucky enough to be in such a beautiful city to ring in 2010. There's so much pressure on us to make certain holidays or moments perfect. But even if my New Year's was as perfect as I could possibly imagine, it might not have been this memorable, or fun, or real. And, I realized that I am pretty damn good at handling conflict and staying calm in crisis situations. I've definitely come a long way (as those of you familiar with Eu-crazy know).

Alanna
Most duos would probably either kill each other or go crazy after spending 18 consecutive 24 hour days together, but not Alanna and I. In fact, even as Alanna was walking me to my train as I departed for Cinque Terre, we were babbling on and on about the million and one things we have yet to talk about. Even though we're as different as we can be and have disagreements on certain issues, somehow we work amazingly well as friends.

After nearly 4 months away from home, it was really therapeutic (you have no idea how literally I mean this) to be with someone who knows me as well as Alanna does. We laughed until our tummies hurt, cried (in public), and helped each other put all the thinking we've been doing over the past year into something concrete. And surprisingly, as frequently and at length as we talk, we learned new things about each other. So 8,000 cafe lattes later, we're somehow better friends than when we started this trip. Thanks, Alanna for being my rock. I couldn't have asked for a better travel buddy. I really think it's impossible for us to get sick of each other.

After 18 blissful days, Alanna headed back to Paris and I was off to Cinque Terre for the last leg of my journey.

A Different Kind of Christmas

Because Alanna always beats me to writing about the cities we visit (and uses my pictures, and includes most of the funny/interesting things I would say about it), I feel a little pointless writing about the same experience...

But, for continuity's sake I will continue writing about my 23 day journey in Italy.

After Florence we were off to spend Christmas in Rome with our best friend, Pope Benedict XVI (aka Benny). A note about religion in Italy: they celebrate literally every single Christian holiday ever! Oh! It's a Tuesday! Jesus loves Tuesdays! Let's take the day off and go to the beach!! I'm sure there is much more religious significance to these random holidays than I'll ever care to comprehend and that many people take them seriously, but I thought the most interesting part was all the time everyone gets to take off from work.

Christmas with Benny:


Christmas day we headed over to the Vatican to receive our personal blessing from Benny. We got there a little early to beat the crowds, unexpectedly got 10th row seats, and I was actually able to make out darling old Benny's hands reaching out to send us God's love. I went there thinking that it would be a very pious event with serious and reserved undertones, but it was quite the opposite. There were school girls in their seats waving posters with "We love the pope!" written across as they chanted short little love cheers for Benny. Others waved their respective countries' flags and sang fight song-esque melodies to cheer on the pope's appearance. If anything, it was more like sitting in a crowd at a soccer match than at a religious service.

When the pope finally did come out, everyone went crazy! This whole experience made me realize the true magnitude of Benny's celebrity and the adoration and ecstasy he manages to inspire in millions across the globe.


Things I like about Benny:

• Even though he is technically God's representative on Earth to Catholics and is a kind of a big deal, he gave off a really friendly, buddy-buddy kind of vibe (hence, my nickname for him, Benny).
• He gives blessings in every language, and when he was speaking Korean, his accent wasn't half bad. In fact, I was able to make out maybe 40% of what he was trying to say in the language. Not too shabby.
• He wears designer loafers (Fendi, I think). It's nice to have a fashionable pope.
• Even after getting mauled by a crazy woman the night before at midnight mass, he still came out Christmas day to see us little people for the afternoon blessing. What a champ.

I like the way Romans think:

On one of our 5 days in Rome, we went on a tour of the Colosseum and the Palatine. At the Colosseum, rather than listing off interesting facts about the construction and use of the Colosseum, he decided to offer us a 20 minute philosophical musing about the Roman way of thinking and how that would translate to modern life. One quote he said kind of summed it up: "You take my money, I take your life." Then he asked us to envision the bank CEOs of the world being thrown into the pit with the lions as punishment for their part in creating the current economic crisis...which the merciless bitch in me found really amusing. I really enjoyed that he gave us a mini course on the character of the Roman people, which helped put the Colosseum and everything it represents in context.


Also, our Palatine tour guide had the most epic narration voice. It's the kind of voice that you imagine narrating really awesome quests or battles in movies.

The Award for Creepiest Church Ever Goes to...

The Capuchin Crypt in Rome. Alanna's mother had mentioned this church that houses sculptures made out of human bone as being an "interesting" experience worth a look. This description did not prepare us for what we would find.

Rows and rows of skulls lined up against the walls. Full human skeletons, sometimes with skin still on the face, dressed up in monks robes. A skeleton version of the grim reaper peering down at us from the ceiling. IT WAS THE CREEPIEST THING EVER!!!!



And, at the end of the crypt, was an inscription that, combined with all the bones and skeletons and halfway decomposed skin, sent chills through my body: "What you are now we used to be; what we are now you will be..."


Yeah...so be prepared for an emotional disturbance if you ever visit this Capuchin monastery in Rome...It was so affecting that we needed heaps of delicious gelato to recover.

The Awesome Nativity Scenes!

Okay, being a little bit of a Christmas decorations fan, I think I can decently appreciate a good nativity scene. Rome was definitely the place to find the most elaborate and well designed ones ever.


I guess there's not much else to say about this...I just really enjoyed them.

Favorite Food Moment:

In Trastevere, we ended up going to this really great place called Pizzeria Sisini where I had suppli for the first time. They're little fried balls filled with risotto and some meat and tomato sauce and it was the best street food I had in Rome hands down.


Revisiting Rome was definitely a worthwhile experience. The dozens of piazzas, monuments, statues, art galleries, and historical spots can definitely be overwhelming to tourists, but it was really pleasant to walk around leisurely and take our time with the city. Christmas definitely didn't feel the same without being home, but it was memorable, special, and totally worth it. We weren't sick of pasta and pizza or each other yet (in fact, we had a huge moment when I asked Alanna what poisson reminded me of and she guessed The Little Mermaid correctly on the first try!). So, off we went to Venice to ring in 2010.

Horrifying but Delicious

I haven't blogged in a bit because I've been a little preoccupied (sorry Michael!) but I promise to be more diligent from now on.

I just got back from the most wonderful holiday vacation in Italy with my therapist/rock/compass/leppy Alanna, and instead of doing a play-by-play of my three weeks (which would be too tedious and take forever), I will do a greatest hits version.

Florence:

Teatro di Sale

With a suggestion from our guidebook, we walked into this restaurant/theatre to grab dinner on our last night in Florence. The seating area was blocked by a velvet rope and a 'For Members Only' sign. After some awkward questioning of the bemused lady behind the counter, we successfully made reservations and returned at 7:30 for dinner.

But before we could wait with the dinner crowd in the lobby, we had to become members of the club. We signed up for our 5 euro memberships, were given secret rules, and initiated into the Teatro di Sale family. Inside, the red velvet curtains finally opened and the crowd rushed into the theatre/dining area. Little clusters of tables filled the auditorium. We found ourselves a little two-seater in the corner near the stage and waited...

Then, out of the steamy shadows of the kitchen emerged a round-bellied, white-bearded, Santa-like figure with a red apron. He clanged a ridiculously loud bronze bell for a good 70 seconds and belted out what was to be served as the first course in his deep, booming, opera singer-esque baritone voice. Then, the hungry herd of Italians rushed over to the serving table to grab plates of delicious polenta with nutmeg, 5 different types of potatoes, and yummy yummy bread.

This went on for maybe 13 courses. The chef would ring the bell, yell out the next course, and everyone would stampede to the kitchen. Course after delicious course we filled our bellies with tripe, fish with lemon sauce, potato stuffed chicken, perfect pasta with meat sauce, meatballs, breadsticks, and the list goes on...

A lover of food, my first reaction was delight at the range and volume of food that we were offered for our 30 pounds...but then delight soon turned to horror as Alanna and I both became so full we literally thought we would explode. See, we made the amateur move of actually finishing each dish instead of "sampling" each like the bemused lady at the counter told us when we first made reservations. We underestimated our readiness for an experience like this. Seriously, I estimate that one should undergo at least two weeks of training to increase their intake before going to a place like this.

After having the best whipped cream, cookies and brownies for dessert, it was time for the show. The auditorium was transformed from a restaurant to a theatre and everyone laughed hysterically at the one woman show that came onstage. I'm sure it was a hilarious show...except it was 100% in Italian so we couldn't exactly follow along...

Overall, I highly recommend this place if you're ever in Florence. It was definitely my most vivid memory from my time there this trip. I wish I had pictures of the food and the chef...but photos were strictly prohibited.

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo

Wow is all I need to say to describe this amazing, amazing museum...if you're into shoes. After getting lost looking for something much less significant than what we found, we stumbled upon the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo. See, to explain the pure ecstasy that I felt when I saw this place, you may need a little background on mine and Mr. Ferragamo's relationship...but I could never express the purity of our relationship accurately in words so I will move on to our little detour into the museum.

From celebrity shoe molds to his most classic color combinations and styles, the museum really captured the magnificence of this man's craftsmanship and contribution to the fashion world. One interesting thing that I learned about Mr. Ferragamo's philosophy on women is that he put them in three categories according to shoe size, and had a bit to say about each type's personality. I am a "Cinderella" who loves jewels and furs, and can only be truly happy if I'm loved. I'm not sure how true that statement is, but I'm not in a position to argue with Mr. Ferragamo.

Anyways, it was a little slice of shoe heaven for me, and I really appreciate Alanna's willingness to shell out the five euro to visit this mecca with me. The philosophy, careful craftsmanship, artistic vision, and love that this designer poured into each shoe design made it clear to me why I love fashion, and uphold Mr. Ferragamo as one of its heroes.

OH, and one last thing about Florence...Trippa sandwiches are freaking amazing! We ate them at this hole-in-the-wall (literally) place near Casa di Dante where all these locals were grabbing a quick bite. SO GOOD.


There are so many more memorable moments from Florence, but it would be impossible to list them all off here. Most memorable was probably the marathon conversations that Alanna and I had, but that is true of the whole vacation and I plan to write an ode to my beloved travel buddy and dear friend in a later entry.

Tales from Rome to come later!