A surprise care package!

A big shout out and thank you goes to Ann for being so thoughtful! I was surprised at work this morning by a package full of great goodies. Cereal, candy, a book and memento from China (where she has been the last year) were all included. Did I tell you I loved Wheat Chex? Thank you so very much!

Civitavecchia

This weekend I spent a lot of time with my German colleagues. We did dinner and the movie WANTED one evening, and the beach followed by a house party another day. There are a few theaters that show movies in their original language here so I was able to see Wanted with Morgan Freeman and Angelia Jolie in English. The movie is high action, great cinematography, but really bloody. I have a hard time with that so was closing my eyes about every 7 minutes. Its has a interesting twisting plot as well so I must say in spite of the gore, i enjoyed it. I especially liked the car chasing scenes (they used an old mustang!) = )
The beach we went to is near the town of Civitavecchia and is located about an hour north west of Rome. I had to take a train there and had a bit of confusion purchasing my ticket. I had to take one headed for PISA actually and just get off sooner. I did find the right one in the end and one of my friends joined me on the train a few stops away. We descended at Marina di Certerveri where our colleague lives and was waiting to pick us up. The sea was beautiful there! It was bit more wild, fewer people, and a great breeze to keep up cool. We spent a few hours swimming and sunbathing and then went to a Winery or 'cantina' to purchase wine for the party. The wine here was so inexpensive! The highlight was the 'petrol' station wine fill up. People bring their own jug, fill it up from a spout like a gas station and then pay for it. It is brilliant and good for the environment= ) For dinner, we prepared tomato and fresh mozarella salads followed by proscuitto and melon. This is a very common meal for italians in the summer time and so refreshing! Our beverage was the most common sort of italian champagne called Prosecco - we could start drinking early because we took public transport to the party.
One of my German colleagues friends was throwing a party to say goodbye to his current flat. He works for a international development firm in Rome. Thus the party was full of international development folks, was a mix of many nationalities, and backgrounds. I met an Australian, French, African, Italians, etc. The party was on the rooftop terrace of this building in San Saba, one of the wealthier neighborhoods in Rome. It was a beautiful night. There was a lot of great Italian food and wine and the conversation was very interesting due to the diverse people there. I thought i definitely could get used to mingling in this crowd. So expats are one thing (like the Irish and American club) but expats who work in your field are quite another!

Florence Part II

I broke for lunch in another piazza where restaurants boasted tables under tents (and spraying things like the super market!) to keep us cool. I had pasta bolognese and 'Coke Light' as i watched the world go by. It was delicious and just the burst of energy i needed for the second part of my day. After i had digested, I meandered down a pedestrian street full of shops to the Palazzo Vecchio. Once a government building for meetings and city council members lodgings, it now is a favorite for tourists because it is surrounded by Neptune fountain, replicas of famous marble statutes, and has an underground tunnel to the Uffizi Art Gallery next door. Nearby is the Ponte Vecchio which is the oldest bridge in Florence and the only one to survive WWII bombings. Centuries ago it held butchers that dumped pig pieces & blood into the river, but now the bridge is lined with diamond cutters and jewelers. I spend about an hour here window shopping and dreaming about all the gorgeous jewels. I know what my engagement ring is going to look like after that experience! It was really fun.
My last stop of the day was the Uffizi Art Gallery. This museum look almost an hour to get into because it has over 45 rooms of beautiful paintings and drawings, hallways full of marble busts and sculpture, and shows works from the most famous artists in the world. I really enjoyed the drawings and might take drawing classes in the near future, but my favorite part was the huge surprise I had. I walked into a room full of people and saw Botticellis Birth of Venus! His other famous painting 'Primavera' was in the same room and they both are so amazing in person. I had no clue they were there. The gallery also has works from DaVinci, Michaelanglo, Caravaggio including Bacchus, Raphael, and so many painting of madonna and child ( i was getting tired of that). It took me a few hours to get through the gallery but wow, what an experience. What a day really. I had to catch a train in the early evening so my last hour in Florence was spent shopping in the open market for gifts, eating a panini and gelato from street vendors, and thinking so THIS is why people fall in love with Italy. I had a great day in Florence and feel truly lucky to have such a wonderful experience.

liquore aqui e non per mi

Italy has an interesting collection of liquor and spirits unique to this country. Despite the wonderful wine they make here (my fav so far being Morinelli from Tuscany) , I have also tried some specialties.

Limoncello- is a lemon liquor produced mainly in the south around Naples. It is made from lemon rinds, alcohol, water, and sugar. See this link if you would like to make it. http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/Limoncello.htm Its sweet and lemony but not sour and perfect for a after dinner digestive. My friend licias father in Pescara makes his own and let me try this strong yet pleasant drink.

Sambusca- is anisseed flavored colorless liquer commonly taken after meals and put in coffee. It is a bit more complex to make because it uses essential oils created by distilling anise seeds. You can easily find it in supermarkets here and in just about everyones home. My relatives in milan gave me a shot of it after our meal of pasta pomodoro.

buonissimo gelato

ok, i know what you're all thinking. shes lactose intolerant and should NOT be eating the creamy delicious wonder - gelato. Well you are partially right. I have had some trouble with the gelato tummy wise but am happy to report that i can enjoy the fruit and yogurt flavors no problem!

So here is a list of flavors i had tried:

Strawberry - Fragola
Lemon -Limone
Coffee - caffe
Tiramisu - duh
Stracciatela -which is like a creamy choc chip
Panna Cotta -caramel swirled flan
Spagnola - raspberry swirl
Frutti di Bosco - mixed fruit yogurt

and the winner is (and also gave me the most trouble) TIRAMISU! but then again it is one of my favorite desserts as well.

Florence, Firenze, Florens

Well I think I have discovered my new favorite Italian city, Florence. In an effort to forget my terrible weekend prior, I escaped to Florence early Sat morning via the 1.5 hour train. There is a calmness in the city that is so much more enjoyable than the feel of Rome. As i walked to the first art muesum I found an open air market near Piazza S Lorenzo where people were selling leather, scarves, italia gear, and household goods. I wanted to peruse but i knew i would have wait so i hurried along. Just before 10a I arrived at the Galleria dell'Accademia and passed my 40 min wait by talking to Minnesotan law students. When i got inside, most of the artwork is from churches and convents. Paintings on wood or canvas with gold inlay were the general theme. But then as I entereda new room, I saw marble statues along the walls leading to the infamous David by Michaelangleo at the end of the corridor. He is BEAUTIFUL and HUGE (17 feet)! This piece of marble is really mesmorizing and NOT because its of a nude male but because of the detail Michaelangelo included. You can see veins sticking out of his hands and behind his knees and he seems alive. Michaelangelo is known to have said that he 'released' figures out if living stone. Also interesting about the David is that Michaelanglo made his head and hands proportionally bigger so that the viewer from below would perceive a normal body. This guy was talented.
After that I headed to the Duomo or cathedrale of Florence. This church reminds me of candy land for the outside is decorated in light green and pink stone. Nearby, there is an octangonal structure and a tall bell tower with similar decorations. The octogon is called the Battistero and is where supposedly Dante was christened. I went into the church for about an hour to rest and to pray. This church (until the ones in Rome) is simple on the inside and seems more for its original purpose. In the basement, there is an archeological dig going on which i didnt check out. The Duomo was really something though, I have really beautiful pictures to share.
More in pt II coming up!

Independance Day - Expat Style

So instead of the usual fireworks show and family picnic to attend this year, I attended a fourth of july party hosted by the American Club of Rome. The party was held in the city at the Marymount International School which is a private Catholic co-educational day school from Early Childhood (age 3) through Grade 12 with a curriculum based on the American system of education. The school was north of the city so it took me about an hour and half to get there...well a bit longer due to an unpleasant run in with the italian police. This guy accused me of having the wrong ID (even though its worked every other time before) and did not try to understand my array of other languages. He only knew italian and was just annoyed as i was that we couldnt communicate. He gave me a bill for 50 euro that quickly went up to 100 euros because I refuse to pay. I think the only way he didnt take me to the station was because i agreed to go to the ATM to get the money - fool. They have no contact info on me so by the time they realize i didnt pay ill be back in the good ole USA. Jerks.
The picnic was a nice change. The food was a decent bbq complete with smores and pepsi. They had a live band, games for the kids, and a raffle that created a nice ambiance. The people I met there were from Nebraska originally and were quite characters. Women who had fallen in love with ITalians and somehow (sometimes against their wishes) wound up in Rome. I heart some bitter women complain about how difficult it is to live as an american here and they envied me for being able to go back in a month. It was not exactly the uplifting evening i was seeking and after the run in w/ the cops that day - i really needed a drink. I successfully hurt my ankle, got a huge fine, and got sunburned this weekend. I think next week, i need to get out of town.