London Called Again, She Doesn't Want You to Leave

London Town, my favorite city on Earth so far. I am so happy with my decision to travel back to London and spend some time there. We stayed with Mallory's family in Windsor this weekend, and that means home cooked food and the comforts of home and let me tell you, it was wonderful.

We flew out of Rome Wednesday night, we got to Stansted around 10 and Ray (Ritta's husband) picked us up and drove us to their house in Windsor, about an hour away from the airport. When we got there she was about ready to make mac and cheese, like real Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, it brought me right back to my childhood. We had a chance to talk to Ritta and Ray about their travels and their time living abroad; they have lived in Italy and Spain before moving to Windsor. They have all these funny stories about language difficulties and culture difference, and they accept it just like the world travelers that they are. 

We headed to bed soon after and we allowed ourselves to sleep in until 11:30 before getting up and meeting Ryan at the train station and we headed to Windsor Castle! Unfortunately the Queen was in Abu Dhabi, and not at Windsor, but Ritta was telling us that she sees her driving to Church on Sundays, with only one body guard. And when Prince Harry was at the Barracks nearby training for the military, she would see him running with the other soldiers, I guess he is really tall and it is really easy to see that shock of red hair running down the street. If only he was still there training.....

Anyways! We then headed to Windsor Castle! It was beautiful, kind of crazy the number of royals have lived there; they had a free audio guide to go with the price of admission (16 pounds...I know pretty expensive) but we got to see the State Rooms and St. George's Chapel (I lit a candle for my dad) where Henry VIII is buried. There was also a portrait of Queen Elizabeth I when she was young about 13. I remember using it for my History Day project sophomore year and thinking she looks so beautiful. I stared at it for a long time, ignoring the audio guide telling me about all of her accomplishments, I knew them all. I thought about when the portrait was taken and how she had no idea the life that was ahead of her, she was already declared illegitamite and when her sister ruled, she was sent to the Tower of London. But she became known as the one Tudor who created the England we know today; the Elizabethan age is one of the greatest ages in English history, from the Spanish Armada to Shakespeare QEI did it all. She was one bad ass Queen.

The city of Windsor from Windsor Castle

We wandered around Windsor, which is a beautiful city with a lot of shops and cute little stores. It was bigger than I expected, but when you think of a quaint English town, that is what Windsor is. It is beautiful and much less hectic than London. But I love the craziness of London, I love the pulse of the city and how everyone seems to be going somewhere at all times. I love being a tube stop away from Piccadilly or Oxford Circus. I feel like I could live there, after going a second time I knew the underground well and we could really get anywhere we wanted to with a day pass. But I'll get to London soon enough.

After the Castle, we spent the evening preparing for Thanksgiving dinner! Ritta was amazing to us and had been cooking all week to prepare for our Thanksgiving dinner. Although neither Riley nor Reid have lived in America they still celebrate the holiday, but they don't get off of school obviously so we had a late Thanksgiving, which was just fine. We had turkey, stuffing, squash and apples in cinnamon and the most amazing potatoes au gratin ever. Ritta is an amazing cook. It was so nice to have home cooked food too. To just sit at a kitchen table and talk with friends, even just sitting on a couch (do you know how long it has been since I have sat on a coach and watched a movie?? too long). Needless to say, I felt completely at home at Ritta and Ray's, And Riley and Reid were the most adorable little kids, they have British accents and we played candyland, wii, and monopoly. I felt like a little kid again.

L to R: Ryan, Chana, Me, Christina, Sarah, Mallory

After we helped clean up dinner and sat around chatting with Ritta we watched both Elf and The Matrix, an odd combination I know. But Ray and I were talking about movies and I was the only one out of the group that had seen all 3. We watched the first one and I forgot how cool those movies are. My friends thought it was kind of corny because it is over 10 years old, but you have to admit it is still pretty cutting edge. But enough about The Matrix- we headed to bed after a wonderfully long shower, I haven't had that nice of a shower since August.

We woke up relatively early to head to Oxford to meet up with Ryan who had a meeting. We hopped on the train to Slough from Windsor and we had planned to transfer there straight to Oxford. But as we are looking at the departure board in a split second all the way down the board was delayed and cancelled trains. There was an announcement saying "potential fatality" but we didn't hear anything on the news, but it did delay our journey about 45 minutes, we didn't get into Oxford until about 1 in the afternoon. But everything worked out and we headed to lunch at a local pub called The Grapes. I got a hamburger and chips. After so much pasta it was nice to get some pub food. Ryan then took us on a tour of Oxford, to Christ's Church, The Bridge of Sighs, and the New College. We stopped at Blackwells and looked at some books, there was a new translation of Simone de Beauvoir The Second Sex, but it would have been too heavy to bring back in my backpack. That book will have to be bought back in the States. We shopped around Oxford and Mallory bought some cute boots before we got back on the train and headed back to Windsor. Ryan stayed over at Ritta and Ray's that night. We had some great soup and salad for dinner. Ray then offered to drive us to the next town to go see Harry Potter! It was weird, the movie theaters assign you a seat when you get a ticket. I don't think people would like that in the US. But the movie was really good and I can't wait for the next one to come out!

We were supposed to be heading into London the next morning by 9, of course some of us (me) didn't wake up, so we decided to have a long breakfast and we didn't get into London until about 11:30. But we had a lot on our list to go see! We started off at Notting Hill Gate, we got off the train at Paddington so we were only a few stops away. The Portobello Market was going on and we made our way down the street and walk around the market. It's the market from the movie Notting Hill in case you were wondering. It was really busy though and we just browsed for a bit before we had to get going, it was also pretty cold out. Thankfully, Ritta let me borrow a bigger coat so I wasn't that cold, but I did invest in some gloves from Marks and Spencer. Turns out they were a pretty good investment because I was going to need them! I think spending so much time in Rome has weakened my Minnesota blood, because I was COLD this weekend! It wasn't cool! I have been spoiled being able to wear flip flops well into November. 

Also, it turns out that it was the coldest Thanksgiving Minnesota has seen in 25 years. Now I know what I have to look forward to when I fly home in a short 22 days. Now that is a depressing thought. After Notting Hill, we hopped back on the tube and headed towards Buckingham Palace and St. James' Park. We walked down the Mall from Buckingham Palace to Trafalgar Square. Mallory wanted to go into the National Gallery there and thankfully it was free to get into it. But it was already almost 3 in the afternoon by the time we got there and a lot of us were quite hungry. Mallory looked around for a bit, but soon we hopped back on the tube to Tottenham Court Road to search out the famous Chipotle again. It had to be done and Mallory and Chana were looking forward to having something so American. And I wasn't feeling well in the morning so I skipped breakfast, God knows that I was hungry- and when I'm hungry I get pissy. My mom will attest to this,  if I haven't been fed, the bitchy pants come out. So I was so happy to finally stop for a late lunch, and a delicious one at that!

We left Chipotle and headed down to the river to see the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. It was even colder down by the river because of the wind. But we walked around and saw Westminster Abbey again. And of course we were too late to go in. One of these days I'll make it actually inside that building. But, I still thought of Queen Elizabeth I immortalized there, but what it made me feel was just a longing for my friends, my friends from home. I missed Kayla because she and I did that project together with another girl. I knew that Liz, Andie, and Jess were all meeting up over Thanksgiving and part of me wanted to be there, in Liz's hot tub chatting- not in London. Of course I am grateful for everything I have been able to do, but God do I miss my friends from home; both in Minnesota and at Loyola. At least I had a chance to call my parents on Thanksgiving, Ritta has a phone with an L.A. number and it was free to call her. Did I mention that their family is amazing??

After Big Ben, we headed over to the Tower Bridge and London Bridge. It was already dark by then, but it was still beautiful. I love that bridge (the tower bridge I mean) it is my favorite place in London (so far) we were on the other side of the Thames this time around, but I wandered off by myself and just stood looking out at this magnificant bridge all lit up filled will all this history. It is gorgeous, you can see the Tower of London right across the river. If it wasn't so cold I could have stood out there for so much longer. Hell, if it was still light out I would have busted out my book and sat on a bench and read for hours. It's one of the things that I love to do in Chicago, even if it is sitting on the edge of the lake at Madonna della Strada, I could sit and read forever if I could. Of course usually it gets much too cold around November for me to do it- but when April rolls around as soon as that sun is out I'll be out there sitting doing homework or reading with my ipod on. I love those little moments.

Ryan needed to go buy a ticket for his late train to Stansted at King's Cross so we took that opportunity before we left to stop at Plateform 9 and 3/4 so Mallory, Chana, and Christina could get a picture, it was turning into a Harry Potter weekend!

We had wonderful beef enchiladas that Ritta made for dinner and Ryan soon had to leave to get to the train station. That's when the fun started, all 5 of us girls sat at the dinner table with Ritta talking about everything; about people who hurt our feelings and people we just don't understand. She is a keen observer of human behavior, let me tell you because she can see through your little white lies. She told us stories about when she went to Hong Kong, when she was living in a little village by Naples, and Saville. We talked about relationships and how much they can hurt, but also how amazing some of them can be. I am just so lucky to spend this semester with some amazing role models, from Ritta to Dr. Cavallo. I have an amazingly strong mother to begin with, I know that women can be strong and independent (I am a feminist! haha!) but I have spent this semester working on myself, to better understand myself and my feelings about the world from men to politics, it is just so nice to spend some time this semester will so role models who have led amazing lives. I can't wait to finish out the experience with my mom. I know I have so much more to learn from her too.

The next day we actually woke up at a decent hour and we were in London at about 10am. We headed straight to Abbey Road where I attempted to take a picture of Mallory, Sarah, Chana, and Christina crossing the street. But it just so happened that when we got there, there were a lot of tourists around trying to do the same thing, and because it was so early there was also a lot of traffic, but we got a half way decent one. Just a friendly reminder, however, if you go to Abbey road and want to take a picture, please- DON'T STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, it looks fake and disrupts traffic, just keep walking and start all on the same foot. You'll get a pretty good picture that way.

After Abbey Road, we got on the tube and headed to Piccadilly Circus, (it was in Harry Potter 7) we snapped some photos of the famous big TV screens and went in search of a starbucks. And we even found one with a broken espresso machine..I know devastating, so we waited and headed to Knightsbridge, where Harrod's is, in search of some lunch. We found another pub because Chana and Mallory wanted fish and chips- so we found a pub and chatted for almost 2 hours. We got some Irish Cider and just talked, it was cold outside and we wanted to spend some time relaxing and most of us were pretty exhausted from the late night chat the night before anyways. 

Also, Harrod's was chaos anyways. It might have been because of Christmas or just a busy tourist weekend. But it was hard to get anywhere in that store. We kept losing each other and it took forever for us to meet up again. But it was still pretty cool to see the Christmas windows and we even took a stroll through the toy section. I was jealous of every little kid in there. Also, they had some Elie Saab dresses on display including the one worn by Hallie Berry when she won the Oscar and others stars from Kristen Stewart to Beyonce wore. Those were pretty cool to see. We finally got some starbucks and we decided that we should head back because the transit people were going to go on strike that night and we wanted to be back in Windsor before the tube went into a panic. 

We got back to Windsor and Ritta took us out for Indian food. I have never had Indian food before, and I don't even know what I had- but I do know that all of it was amazing. I remember butter chicken and something with lamb. But it was amazing and Ritta was kind enough to treat us to it. We covered the tip and then we piled back into her car and headed back to her house. We watched The Matrix Reloaded and we only had a couple hours of sleep before our taxi came at 3:45am to drive us to the airport. Oh man we were tired. We slept on the way to the airport and on the flight, I even took an hour nap after we got back to J-Force. But I'm still really tired and I have so much work that needs to get done this week; finals are coming up on Saturday and I feel like they are finally smacking us with papers and tests. So this should be a fun week!

All I want to do these last few weeks here is just spend time in Rome, thankfully I have time with my mom after my finals are done and I don't have to worry so much about wasting my precious time in the library, but it's annoying nevertheless.

I should be working on a paper, but I had to finish this post. London was amazing and I know that I will have to go back.

So I just want to say Thank you so much Ritta, Ray, Riley, and Reid for allowing 5 girls to descend upon your house for a long weekend and spoil us rotten. You are amazing people, and I am so glad to have met you. Thank you Again!

Ciao Bella

One Month to Go...

I have a month left in this country. I can’t believe I have already been here for 3 months. And because I only have one month left, I am pretty upset that I spent last saturday night in J-Force and I slept for 16 hours that night, spending most of Sunday in bed feeling sick. Definitely not how I planned on spending one of my last free weekends in Rome. But my fever got the best of me, I didn’t have any energy to get ready and go out. Also, we have been heading into the rainy season here in Rome and it poured most of Saturday too.

But I did have a chance to spend Friday in Rome. We had Friday classes, I had one at 9:30am, Archeology, where I had to turn in a paper but then I was free to go into the center of the city and meet Christina at the Vittorio Emmanule monument so we could go to the Van Gogh exhibit. I was supposed to meet my Aesthetics class there (we also had a Friday class) but I spent the time Christina and spent about an hour in the exhibit. We could have spent more but there were a lot of classes there and it was very busy and crowded. But it was still pretty cool to see it. After the exhibit, we walked up to the top of the monument to get a look at the city. It might be odd to say, but I hadn’t seen the Colosseum in a while and it was still quite a shock to see it again. As stupid as it is to say, it makes you realize again, “Oh yeah, I’m in Rome.” After the great view, we walked down Via del Corso and went shopping. We went into a bunch of little stores and Christina bought  some sweaters and I bought a very cute blazer. It was nice to just spend the afternoon in Rome wandering around, grabbing some pizza and walking to the Piazza del Popolo. It was a wonderful afternoon.

Christina and I got back to J-Force with enough time to eat mensa. Then Ryan, Christina, and I relaxed for a couple hours and headed out to our favorite place: The Abbey Theater. Ryan really wanted some Irish Cider and I was up for anything. We got there  and had a great chat over a pitcher of cider. Chana and Sarah went to go see Harry Potter in English and we met up with them around 1am at another bar called Bull Dog Inn. But we soon left, we hopped on the bus and headed home.

I didn’t sleep that much that night, and I think that is why I wasn’t feeling well Saturday. So we spent most of the day in Rinaldo’s just hanging out and watching TV. Kind of lame, but everyone needs a great day of just chilling and hanging out. 

Other than that, nothing else exciting went on this weekend. Just a weekend to relax and spend some time in Rome. I knew that I was going to need it because on Wednesday, we fly to London for Thanksgiving break! We are staying with my friend’s aunt in Windsor, which will be nice because we will have a little bit of home and she is going to make a make shift Thanksgiving for us, even though they don’t celebrate it. 

London will be my last major trip until my mom comes on the 10th and we head to Florence and Venice. 

It is shocking how time really does fly. Weeks go by so quickly here, before you know it it's Thursday again and people are leaving for the weekend. And this week is only 3 days and we are getting on a flight at 7pm to fly to London. 

I guess I am just going to have to make the most of my last few weeks here. 

Ciao Bella

Under the Tuscan Sun

The first few days of class we learned about the Study Trips that Loyola puts together for students to go explore Europe, one was The Small Towns of Tuscany- a weekend traveling through the Tuscan countryside, tasting the wine, food, and culture of this beautiful region. I was one of 23 lucky students to go on this wonderful trip.

We left bright and early Friday morning for Siena, for a walking tour and lunch. As we pulled up to this medieval city with it’s winding streets and buildings full of history, I fell in love with Siena. We learned about St. Catherine of Siena and saw her relics in San Dominico and through Art in Rome, I could easily identify the Gothic architecture with it’s stained glass windows and it’s vaults instead of domes. I lit a candle for my dad in front of the head of St. Catherine (the rest of her body is Santa Maria Sopra Minerva in Rome). 

The Campo

Since we were late getting on the road, the walking tour was cut a bit short, but we were able to see the Campo where the famous horse race occurs in Siena. Each “district” of the city (there are 17 of them) have a horse and jockey that race around this relatively small course for the pride and honor of Siena. Before the race, each district brings their horse into their cathedrals and if the horse poops in the cathedral; it’s good luck. (Don’t ask me why, it’s a tradition). Of course these horses are some of the most expensive in the world and in under a minute the horses race around the Campo 4 times. 

After seeing the Duomo (which I thought was more beautiful than the one in Florence- I liked the color more) we headed to lunch. It was the first sign that food was the most important aspect of this trip. As I learned from Dr. Cavallo at dinner that night, “The best way to learn about a culture is to study the food they eat and how they eat.” The food in Tuscany was some of the best food I’ve ever had in my life- I didn’t have a single thing I didn’t like. Wild Boar Pasta, Steak with arguala and cheese, lemon pasteries were on the menu for lunch, with some DCOG wine (what it stands for) which is the highest quality of wine you can have, because it is guaranteed for quality. We learned all about wine and the tuscan food from our friends who were in the class, Foods and Wines of Italy.

We then all piled in the bus and traveled to the Aiole vineyard and winery. We tried 5 different kinds of wine: 1 white, 3 reds (Chianti), and 1 dolce which tasted like a very sweet liqueur. We all an opportunity to buy some wine before heading to Montestigliano for the night. Montestigliano is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life. We were treated like kings and queens and had the most relaxing time at this estate. The villas were amazing and beautiful; I kept thinking how surreal for me to be there, how I finally made it to Tuscany, and it was everything I hoped for.

We had the 9 person villa, with 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, we had a full kitchen and living room. We stayed up till after 1am and just talked and gossiped. It had been so long since I was able to just sit on a couch and talk to my friends. I made so many great new friends this weekend, we bonded over the love for food and the Italian culture. I know that we have a great last few weeks together. Dr. Cavallo was telling us that a board member of the trustees at Loyola knows the owners of Montestigliano very well, and that is why we had the chance to stay at this amazing 5 star estate for the weekend. So Ruthellyn and Ronald Musil, thank you so much for the opportunity to experience Tuscany and for the best weekend of my life. It is was unfortunate that you could not come with us this weekend, but I hope to meet you someday and thank you in person.

I should have known that after a wine tasting with prosciutto and bruschetta we would be having a large 3 course dinner. But alas, I forgot about the dinner but that didn't stop me from eating everything put in front of me. From this tomato soup with chunks of break and pollo (chicken) and an apple tart I was in heaven from start to finish. We had to waddle back to our villa for a chat and much needed sleep. Dr. Cavallo wanted to sleep in too, so we didn't need to be down for breakfast until 10. Needless to say, it was a wonderful night sleep. And don't even get me started on the showers....I think I was born to travel this way, at 5 star estates rather than hostels :)

We woke up to a breakfast of crepes, croissants, fruit, cereal, yogurt, tarts, and cheese. There was coffee, tea, and so many different kinds of juices. I didn't think it was possible that I could eat even more after the last night- but I succeeded, oh did I succeed.

After breakfast we took a short walk around the olive groves on the 2,500 acre estate that is Montestigliano. It was one of the most beautiful walks that I have ever been on. When you think of Tuscany, you think of rolling hills of fields with green and gold, and that is exactly what it is. The real Tuscany did not disappoint. Even when we got on the bus and got lost, going 2 hours in the wrong direction I couldn't sleep because I just looked out the window the whole time. I don't know if my Philosophy professor would say I had an aesthetic experience seeing the beautiful world- but I think I had one. I was overcome with the beauty of this area, I didn't think a place could be so gorgeous- and I've been to beautiful places before. But I think Tuscany takes the cake.

Once we finally got on the right track and got to the pig farm we were hungry and ready to see some pigs! The pigs that this man breeds are a species from the 1000's because they are seen in tapestries in Siena. He gave us plastic booties to cover our feet because of the mud and into the pig pen we went! He raises about 300 pigs, and he have a great amount of land because they need to be able to roam free otherwise the meat does not taste as good. It turns out the plastic boots don't help when the mud comes up to your ankles (and I was wearing my Coach tennis shoes) but the mud came off and I wasn't about to ruin my day worried about my shoes. I was in Tuscany have a prosciutto tasting with some of the best bruschetta I've ever had, where I rubbed the garlic on myself, salted it, and covered it with fresh olive oil. I told you I ate well on this trip!

Sarah and I with Niccola! The Chef!

We got back to Montestigliano and had time to drop our stuff off in our villas (god I love the word villa) and headed into the kitchen, given a chef's hat and an apron, and learned how to make pasta! The demonstration was given by the head chef of Montestigliano, we learned how to make pasta, gnoochi, and pizza crust that we made into bread with a lot of olive oil. It was so good. He taught us the pasta recipe he learned from his grandmother. He said, if you want to land a Italian boy- the easiest way is to learn how to make fresh pasta. Now I don't think you need to cook to keep a boyfriend. But it was a funny thing for him to say- especially because he was quite cute himself! I think when I get home my dad and I are going to try to make fresh pasta. I think we could do it. 

We had some free time but soon enough, it was dinner time! We had fresh pasta Niccola (The Chef) made in the morning plus gnocchi with pesto. Yes, two pasta courses, I was in heaven. There was a meat dish of sausage with white beans. When they brought more wine out, Gabriella (one of the Student Life Assistants) asked Susanna if they should open more wine. Dr. Cavallo (this is why I love her) said, "Is the Pope Catholic??" She loves vino and she loves spending 3 hours eating meals. We talked about our class and I learned that her two sisters were models, one for Dolce and Gabbana, her brother is a surgeon and she has a doctorate and a composer. Is that family amazing or what? She is an inspiration, and I've never loved one of my professors more than her. She makes the class so interesting and I have learned so much about writing and Italian culture because of her. She is amazing.

We started singing karaoke soon after dinner, and the vino kept flowing. If you learn any Italian before coming here know this: Vorrei vino della cassa (bianco or rosso) and piu vino! which means more wine! Know that, and you are halfway there to being an Italian. We sang "Stayin' Alive" "Volare" and by far the best song ever, Con te Partiro in Italian (I tried at least) It was amazing. We were no where near Andrea Bocelli, but I think we did a good job seeing as how Laura and I do not know much Italian...and we can't really sing. But it was fun nevertheless!

Hard at work!

We stayed up in the middle of no where in the beautiful Tuscan countryside until 2am. We danced, we sang, we talked, we bonded. I solidified friendships that I'll have for years and made some wonderful new ones. As I went to bed that night, I couldn't believe that I was this lucky.


The next morning we had breakfast at 10:30 and went on a walk around the olive groves with the owner of the estate, it has been in his family for 150 years and some of the trees date back to the Middle Ages. All of the men and women who work in the olive groves are around 70 years old. So I told my dad that he should have a new career after he retires, my mom and dad can move to Tuscany and pick olives for a living. I think they would like that. Plus it would give me the perfect opportunity to come and visit!

After the tour we went back to the main house where we had an olive oil tasting and learned more about the process and flavors that go into making olive oil. Of course the owner thought his was the best and I had to buy some for my dad! It was pressed on wednesday. He is going to love it. They toasted bread on the grill outside in the courtyard and we had bruschetta with the olive oil and a little wine, just a little appetizer before another big lunch!


After the tasting we had to start packing up our villas, we got our bags on the bus and we headed in for lunch. We ate risotto, pork, and by FAR the best tiramisu I have ever had. ever. And I'm not joking, it was so creamy and amazing. We were licking the bowls (and that's not hyperbole- I actually licked the bowl. Yes, it was that good. We stopped at the pressing mill where they make the olive oil and saw the intricate process that goes into making the olive oil. Let me just tell you- the smell was amazing. I don't remember much of the process, but I do remember seeing all the olives labeled in their crates. They are very particular about their own olives. I thought it was pretty funny.

The whole group in Tuscany

Before we knew it, we were leaving Tuscany and heading back to Rome. The 3 hour bus ride was long, but we slept for a while and before we knew it we were back at J-Force. I'm not quite ready to start up classes again- and I definitely don't want be doing homework. I have a renewed love for Italy and especially Tuscany. I can't believe my time is coming to a close- before I know it I'll be home. And I'll sit up at night wondering if it was all a dream.


I'll need to come back, I think Italy makes me sane. 





Ciao Bella

"After the 2nd Generation, Italian-Americans lose their heritage until one person goes searching for it again." - Dr. Cavallo

People don't believe me when they say I'm Italian, I know it's easy to see why they might think that- the whole blonde hair, blue eyes gives it away that I'm also Norwegian. Actually, I'm part Czech, Irish, and German too. (I know I'm a bit of everything). Ever since I was little, if I ever had a dark haired friend, people would assume she was my mother's daughter and I was the friend. Despite my appearance however, for some reason I've always been closer to my Italian heritage. Maybe because my Grandpa was first generation- and I remember when we would visit Lima (where my nana and grandpa live) and I know the big dinners we would have for Christmas with Spaghetti and the loud family and wine.

Mamma e Papa on the day I left Chicago :)

We were talking about the first generations of Italians that moved to America, about how the first generation hold on to their customs like a security blanket against the imposing culture that is "America" they speak their native dialect of Italian, and many never learn English. But their children 1st generation Italian Americans split the personality, like in the book I'm reading Mount Allegro, the father says to his son, "Your children will be Americani. But you, my son, are half-and-half" A split personality develops; they speak Italian at home, but English at school and with their friends. Philosophies begin to change- from Destino (destiny and fate) to everyone can make their own dream- no matter what "fate" says- a truly American ideal. It's an internal fight, which way is the "right" way to live?

By the time the 1st generation has their children, the customs are still there, but many customs are forgotten. Italian may never be spoken and more american traditions during Christmas and even partake in Halloween, which in the American tradition is something crazy and unheard of in most of Europe. This was my mother's generation.

So I'm even further removed- 3rd generation Italian American. I am horrible at Italian, but I think it is beautiful. When I was little I thought Italy was just the land of pizza and spaghetti and meatballs.(Which Italians do not eat together) But I became more and more interested in my Italian heritage, I even dressed up as my great-grandmother for an Ellis Island day in elementary school. I love Italian food more than any type of cuisine (anyone will tell you, I order pasta at restaurants or I'm always making pasta at home, also I've come to discover, I have an affinity for wine). So it makes sense that I had this need to go to Italy. I wanted to discover all the traditions, food, and culture of my heritage. 

I'm so excited for my mom to come visit me here- so she can also experience part of her own heritage, she is half Italian. I don't think she realizes how much her home was like an Italian home. I think when she just sees Italians interact with each other- she will be able to see herself talking to her sisters like that. There is another part in Mount Allegro when they have to get the author's father to reconcile with his brother in law, it involves a priest a complicated story line filled with little white lies and creative stories. (it's a hilarious story that's too complicated to write here) It just reminds me of when my mom is talking to one sister, and then all of them start calling; on the house phone, her cell, email even. Everyone is in everyone's business whether they like it or not. But absolutely none of the information should be shared with people outside the family. It's like what Dr. Cavallo said, "if you don't want anyone in your family to know- don't tell a soul. Otherwise everyone will know by Sunday dinner." 

So I'm already experiencing this part of my culture. And enjoying every minute of it. My mom has month until she leaves to start her own adventure. I know she'll have an amazing time. We will stop at a bar and grab a cappucino (trust me mom, you'll love them) and un cornetto (con cioccolato) then we should take a siesta during the day, then around 9 till about 11 we'll feast on a full Italian dinner- antipasti, primi, secondi, dolci. Who knows we might add another course. Of course we'll do the touristy things (you have to!) but she is going to get a crash course in living like an Italian- and I think she'll figure out quickly, she will know it instinctually. She is Italian after all.

My goal is to spend time in each country I'm from; I've been to Dublin but I want to go to the city where the Hogans are from. And in the future, I'll head to Norway for the Grovums, Germany for the Motschenbachers , and the Czech Republic for the Kovals. I won't get to every one this time around. But I'll be back. I'll just keep marking them off my list.

I don't have any doubt I'll be back

Ciao Bella

Montecassino and a Weekend in Rome!

I spent this weekend in Rome, with a day trip to Montecassino, the Benedictine Monastery where St. Benedict started his order. The monastery was destroyed in a bombing in World War II, and the entire area of Cassino was a sight of very bloody battle as the Allies attempted to get a foothold in the mainland of Italy.


But first, Thursday night we decided to go out because my friend Chana had a test every day that week and she needed a good time. We headed to our own very little hang out- The Abbey Theatre, an Irish pub near Piazza Navona. I know we go there a lot, but it's kind of like our home base when we go out- the place is really comfortable and the people that go there are really nice. So we decided to head to a disco nearby- we always plan to avoid this place- because it is too much like the clubs in the US, but we were only there for about an hour before we decided to leave. We got home really late- and thankfully, I didn't have my friday class until 3:40- otherwise I would have been way more exhausted..kind of like Chana, who had class at 9:30. It was rough for her.


Because of how exhausted I was when I woke up, I decided to stay in on Friday to get ready for Montecassino. There was nothing too exciting going on, and I was in bed by 10:00pm. It was the best feeling.

We had to be up at 7am to get hop on a bus to Montecassino. I slept the whole two hours there. And before we knew it- we reached the bottom of the mountain. You can see this really large gleaming white building at the top of the mountain. We learned that it has been destroyed three times, once because of the barbarian invasions, a very bad earthquake, and finally the bombing during World War II. So everything except for a small part was reconstructed after the end of the War. But at least it was a faithful reconstruction, and they put together as many columns and statues as they could.

We met our tour guide right as we walked up the last part of the hill. Oh and let me tell you, the zig zag road all the way up could make a stomach of steel feel a little sick. But we made it to the top, we walked into the entrance cloister where there is a statue made in the 1980's of St. Benedict in the manner in which he died, standing up with his arms outstretched towards God. 

Now, I thought that I would kind of bored to see a monastery that was built in the 1950's, but with the guided tour we were able to visit the only part of the abbey that survived all the bombings and destruction. This included St. Benedict's own private cell. It is now a chapel with painted frescos from the 50's also. The monks use it for prayer- and they decided to close it to the public unless there is a guided tour because they didn't want to create a pilgramage site out of it. Now, normally (because I am incredibly cynical) I would say that the only reason they do that is so people pay for the guided tour. But I can see their argument. This isn't a church- it's a living monastery- I've been to many churches during my time abroad (Over 20, easily) and they are used for public worship- the public should have a right to pray at a church that was created for a congregation. Montecassino is not a church- it's not the Vatican, nor Sacre Coeur- 20 monks took vows of Celibacy, Labor, Poverty, and Stability (see I did pay attention), and decided to live their lives a certain way, the last thing these monks need is to be dealing with tourists on par with Notre Dame. You have to admit, the life they choose for themselves requires much more faith than anyone could possibly imagine- I mean can you stand 20 hour days, day in day out?

I thought not.


We then headed to two other cloisters in the abbey, before heading to the Basilica. The Basilica was completely destroyed during the bombing, but it was reconstructed to it's original design. It's a baroque style church- meaning hundreds of different kinds of marble all in cosmati work (where the marble is cut into shapes to make designs on the floors and walls-learned that during Art in Rome) It's not my favorite style of church, but it was beautiful. We also learned that there was a bomb that did not explode and that is why the relics of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica were saved from the bombings. So they still exist and they are placed in the floor behind the main alter, right above the catacombs.


We finished the guided tour of the Abbey and headed back down the mountain to grab lunch. It was a great meal, I have gotten so used to the 3 or 4 course meal thing that it's going to be hard to go back to the American style of dining. I like being able to take my time while I eat and enjoy the food. I think Americans could learn a thing or two about eating the Italian way. 


We headed back up the mountain and stopped about half way up and saw the Polish Army cemetery. There were over 1,000 graves for the soldiers of the Polish Army who died during the battle of Montecassino. The American cemeteries are closer to Rome. We didn't learn a whole lot about the battle that occurred there- but my dad did send me a few articles about what happened there. I just thought that guide would tell us more about it, but it seemed like she was more of an expert on the monastery than world war II, but I guess I can't blame her.


Once we got back to the Abbey we went to the Vespers- the Gregorian Chants of Psalms. This was 40 minutes of chanting. You would think that it would be excruciating to sit through chants for that long, but oddly enough it wasn't that bad- the time went by quickly and everyone was really calm afterwards, I know some people fell asleep but I think it was more because it was kind of like a lullaby...or at least that is that I am going to think.


We got back on the bus after the Vespers and headed back to Rome. I started to feel sick on the bus and I knew that I was getting a fever. I tried to get some sleep on the two hour bus ride. So going out later that night, was probably not the best idea I had. But after having a chance to relax and having some dinner, I felt better. I went out with some friends. I didn't like the idea of wasting a night in J-Force, my time here seems to be slipping away that I forced myself to head out into Rome.


But I paid for it this morning. But after some sleep and a visit to the doctor tomorrow, I should be good as new for Tuscany next weekend!


Can't wait!


Ciao Bella

"Keep on loving what is true and the world will come to you"- Michael Buble

Michael Buble would be the perfect man to bring home to your family. He is sweet, charming, and anyone would be won over as soon as he starts singing. So having the opportunity to see him while in Europe was such a treat, and in Barcelona? I knew I was a lucky girl.

We didn't leave for Barcelona until late Friday because Mallory, Chana, and Christina took a day trip to Pompeii. Sarah and I stayed behind because we had both been there before so we took the day to sleep in and hang out. Which means I finished watching the 4th season of Dexter while she watched Vampire Diaries. 

But soon enough, we were ready to get into a cab and get to the airport. Our flight was delayed about an hour, which got us into Barcelona at about 12:30, and after 1am before we got to our hostel. We found out, sadly enough, that there are no 5 person cabs in Barcelona, only 4. So we had to split up and we were on our way...well only for about a minute before we realized that Sarah and Mallory were in a cab behind us with a flat tire. Our cab driver pulled over to wait, and even after we called Sarah and heard they got into another cab and were already on the way-- our cab driver didn't understand. With some hand motions and a little Italian, we finally conveyed that they were alright and in another cab and we could leave.Thank god, we could finally get some sleep.... you know where this is going don't you?

Right, well got to the hostel, and we soon found out we had to pay an extra 50 euro deposit for our keycards and linens. Then we would also have to change our room the next day. We get all the way up to the 12th floor, try the keycard and it didn't work, then these 3 boys (they were like 15) come out of the room in their boxers see us and try to shut the door, We tried to tell them that it was our room, but they didn't speak French, Italian, Spanish, or English (any of the languages we speak a bit of) soon enough they just shut the door and we had to head down to reception. The Receptionist screwed up and put us in a different room. Finally we could sleep. I looked at my ipod right before I fell asleep, it was 3:45am. What a crazy night.

We woke up the next day at 9:30 attempted to have breakfast (that consisted of dry cereal- the hostel became a pain in the ass) and we were on our way to explore Barcelona for the day. But first- we found an H&M and a Starbucks. Chana bought some clothes and we all got some much needed caffeine.  As we walked to the metro stop, we saw our first interesting building of many in Barcelona. The Torre Agbar building. It looks like a giant pickle. There are so many interesting buildings in Barcelona, and this is just one of many. Maybe it is because we have been living in Rome for so long, but seeing so many modern building, and a number of skyscrapers it was just an interesting experience. In Rome, you are surrounding by ancient ruins, you can buildings that have the supports of an Ancient Roman building. In Barcelona, there are so many colors, (The Torre lights up a night, but we got back too late to see it) Near the beach there is a building that looks like there is a metal fish on top. I'm not saying its bad, it's quite a sight to see. Something that definitely screams, you are in Barcelona. And Gaudi owns it. (He's the architect of many of these buildings in Barcelona). 

Christina and I at Cantalunya

We got on the metro and headed to Cantalunya. The metro is one of the nicest I've seen, the trains remind me of the Roman ones, but there are a lot more lines and there is even a countdown to the second to the next arrival of a train. It was a very easy system to understand. We got of the metro and we wandering around until we found the street, La Rambla, a big street with a lot of shops and is famous for their flower stalls. We wandered down some side streets and went into some random shops. We didn't really have any clear plan of things to see in Barcelona, and we were already on a tight schedule because we needed to make it back to get ready for Michael Buble. 

We wandered to the Cathedral in Barcelona. It was in a pretty cool area, but it was 5 euro to go into the cathedral, and I don't like paying money to go into a church. Offerings, sure every once and a while, but I feel like you should be able to go into a church for free. But I'll move on. There is no time to waste. We did some more shopping, La Rambla was a very busy street and it was a pretty cool place to see. But I think we spent a little too much time in stores that we can go to in the United States, such as H&M and Sephora. But we did need to pick up some essentials (like dresses and make-up...haha) But all of us just enjoy walking around and going into all these different shops. And to be fair, I did buy my make up at Kiko instead of Sephora. But then again, Kiko is an Italian make-up store. But it was way cheaper than buying mascara at Sephora, and even at the markets because those are American brands.

This was like the 10th picture...hence my face :)

Soon enough though, we had to get back on the metro and head back to the hostel to get ready for the concert. It was actually quite funny because in Barcelona, people don't go out to dinner until about 10 (later than even in Italy) and the clubs and bars are empty until after 12:30. So walking out of our hostel in our  "going out clothes" at 6pm was pretty funny. I felt like everyone was staring at us. But we go over it- and we headed to Placa de Espanya near where the venue is to find a place to have dinner.

We stopped at the Palau Nacional, which is an art museum now. What we did find really funny is there are a number of escalators going up to the Palau along with stairs. After living in Rome, it was funny to see such a modern touch, outside too, but we took advantage of them nevertheless. Finding a spot to have dinner is always a process that can test my patience- no one can decide specifically what they want, and of course we have to look at the prices of everything. But we finally found a restaurant with Spanish food. The meal was a bit on the expensive side after all was said and done, but we ordered a jug of Sangria and Croquettes (Mallory suggested them, and they were amazing!) We are all also huge fans of Sangria, even Chana said, "I could drink this like juice." haha

We got a little stressed getting to the venue (Palau Sant Jordi, which was an olympic stadium) because we couldn't find the bus stop we needed. I think everyone was just a little too excited and we were worried we would miss the beginning. But we worked it out, and everyone let the little tiff go and we got excited to see Michael Buble! We missed about half of the opening act (Naturally 7) But it was fine, because soon enough Michael Buble was on! He started with the song "Cry Me a River" which you can listen to Here. It was a great choice for an opener! I do have videos, but they will have to wait until I get a chance to have a faster internet connection before they will even load. I'll see what I can do about that. But for now, here is a video someone else made of the concert!

I was not this close, it is a picture of the screen, but he is
one adorable man

But he sounded exactly like he does on the CD. He has an amazing voice, and he is so funny!  He tried to speak in Spanish, but he ended up speaking more English, but words in Spanish. He talked about how he wears and engagement ring because in Argentina (where his fiancee is from) both wear them- which is actually really cool. He also did a hilarious cover of Billie Jean, he said "When I was 13 I wanted to Michael Jackson, I didn't want to be Frank Sinatra, I had the glove and everything!" Then he covered Twist and Shout because he said Ferris Bueller is his favorite movie. He sang "Home" which is one of my favorites. It starts with, "Another summer day has come and gone away, in Paris and Rome, but I want to go home" We all felt a little home sick during that song, we all kind of longed for the comforts of home, in the way he must have felt when he wrote the song. But when he came out for the encore and sang "Feeling Good" the cover of the George Michael song, on I was sold. I love him so much. He did not play his new song "Hollywood" which was the only thing I was slightly disappointed about. But I totally forgot about it when he came out for the last part of his last song and sang it without a microphone. And I could hear him, we were in an area and you could hear him as clear as day. He is so talented. I was just amazed. 

The concert was over too soon it seemed like, but he sang for about two hours. We were all on a concert high. We decided to get off the metro and try to find a bar or a place to just hang out. The metro was crazy crowded because of a Barcelona soccer game. But then it started to rain so we ran into this pita restaurant and decided to just order some Sangria and talk about how amazing the concert was. We toasted to Michael Buble and his Fiancee because she is such a lucky bitch. I added to the toast by saying, "To lucky bitches, because hopefully someday we'll be one." I wrote that quote down in my little travel book. 

We wandered around all night basically, we found a margarita bar, where oddly enough I had a cosmo which made me miss my friends because we always talk about getting cosmos like sex and the city. So I had Christina take a picture of me and I tagged all my friends. We were up for the time change that night. Europe changes time for Daylight Savings about a week before the US, so I was looking at my ipod and all of sudden it changed from 3am to 2am. We stayed out for about another hour walking around before it got too cold. So we got home, for all intents and purposes was 4:30, a perfect night out in Barcelona. If I do say so myself.

The next day surprising I was up by 8:30, we headed to Starbucks to try to figure out where to spend our last hours in Barcelona before our flight left at 7pm. We took the metro to the Sagrada Familia a really famous church, that was started in 1886 by Gaudi and it is not expected to be finished until 2026. It was the most interesting church I have ever seen. It is literally inexplicable. I would have loved to go in, but the line was on par with the line for the Vatican Museum. It wrapped all around the church. I would have loved to have my Art History professor there tell me all about it. I have never been so fascinated by a church. It was so weird! I guess it has become a thing like it will never be finished, a work of art that will never be completed- always a work in progress. We talked about this in my philosophy class, and how artists are such perfectionists that they do not see their works as ever being done, and they must be continued even if the artist dies. So when you think of it that way, you don't really care that there are cranes and scaffolding all over the church, it's just a masterpiece that is always changing.

We left the Sagrada Familia and headed towards the beach. It was the one place that I really wanted to see, when you think Barcelona, you think the beach and amazing nightlife. It was so beautiful. There were more Gaudi buildings that always stand out. It was a little chilly- but the sky was blue and it was plenty warm for us. We walked on the beach and there were huge waves crashing onto the beach and over the piers. We sat looking at the sea for a good hour just talking and enjoying the warm weather. I kept thinking of Spain and knowing that I'm in Barcelona, Spain but still feeling like it was a dream. I remember writing down Spain on my numerous lists of places I wanted to see and this semester I have crossed off so many.

L to R Christina, Sarah, Chana, Mallory, Me

We stopped at a restaurant for a quick lunch, Chana and Mallory got Paella (which is very good) and honestly I have no idea what I got, but it was really good. I also tried Mussels, which were actually amazing. The sauce was a little spicy, but they didn't taste fishy at all. 

We ran back to the hostel and caught a regional metro train to the airport. Our flight was delayed because the fuel pumps under the airport broke, so we had to wait for a fuel truck. We were actually pretty lucky though- because if we had been stuck any more, the captain said that we would have be stuck because there were storms coming in on our route. We got back to Rome around 9:30pm. We grabbed a cab, and as we were leaving the airport, Haven't Met You Yet was on the radio. We took that as a sign, and the cab driver was laughing at us because we were singing. He was a younger guy and asked us if we were going to the disco that night. Of course we weren't going, but that didn't stop him from putting on House Music after the song. He was driving about 180 km/hr so about 100 mph on the freeway. Let's just say we were all very happy to get out of that cab.

We ordered pizza once we got back to J-Force, and I was in bed a few hours later. It's funny how this place has become home. It gives us a change to recharge our batteries after such hectic weekends of traveling!

This week I have one big Art in Rome test and 2 papers. So it's going to be busy week. Saturday I am taking a day trip to Montecassino. Then next weekend is Tuscany! I still have about a month and a half here, and I'm going to make the most of it!

Ciao Bella