Ciao Tutti!
Sorry that it has been so long since I have updated, I have been pretty busy... I have lots to tell you. First, I cant believe that I have been living in Italy for almost two months now, the time has flown by! I have made a lot of friends, other foreign student and Italians, and I am having a great time getting to know them and traveling with them. Ok, so here's what I have been up to for the past few weeks.
**OK, so part of the way through this post blogger.com would not let me upload anymore photos because I reached the maximum... so I started a flickr account. The rest of my pictures for the rest of my trip will be on this account. You can access the pictures from the side of this page by clicking on the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexainitaly/sets/. This link will take you to flickr and my page with my photo albums on it and from there you can choose which one you want to look at. You can still leave comments on my blog and now you can also comment on specific pictures on flickr. If anyone is confused just leave a comment on this page and I will try to help.
Milan, February 5:
So the day after I last wrote I went with a group of people to Milano (Milan). We took the train from Bergamo to Milan Central station and visited the Milan Duomo (Cathedral) which is the largest gothic cathedral in the world and the second largest cathedral in the world. The Duomo is absolutely breathtaking and huge inside and out, and one of the other girls and I decided to take the stairs to the roof and look out over the Piazza Duomo! The view from the roof was amazing and totally worth the climb :) Also, while in Milano we visited the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, which is next to the Duomo and is a shopping area with beautiful glass roof and mosaic tiled floors. The weather was very nice that day and so I got myself some gelato and sat in the Piazza in the sun until it was time to return to Bergamo.
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| Milan Central Station |
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| Galleria Vittorio Emanuele entrance |
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| Galleria Vittorio Emanuele glass ceiling |
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| Il Duomo |
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| The huge front door of the duomo |
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| Inside the duomo |
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| The stained glass was huge and amazing and the floors were intricate mosaics |
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| On the roof of the duomo |
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| The gothic spires on the roof of the duomo |
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| Looking down on the Piazza |
Lake Como, February 8:
My classes at the University did not start until February 14 so I had a week free to do some traveling. So my friends, Jasmine, Craig, Angie and I decided to go to Lago di Como (Lake Como) for a day. We took at train from Bergamo to the city of Como and decided immediately to take the Funicolare (cable car) up the mountain over Como to get a good view of the lake and the Alps. There wasn't much up there but the view was great! When we got back down to Como we decided to buy a ferry ticket to Bellagio so that we could see more of the lake. While we were waiting for our boat to leave we went to a hotel bar on the water and got some Rossinis (Champaign and fresh strawberry juice). Since the place was pretty nice we paid 9 euro for each of the drinks and didn't get anything to eat because we were going to eat in Bellagio, but to our surprise with our drinks came a plate full of salami and parmesan cheese slices, a bowl of veggies soaked in olive oil, bread and party mix! The food was amazing and we ended up getting lunch and drinks for our measly 9 euro :) After our surprise meal we boarded the ferry to Bellagio and spend an hour just staring at the beautiful scenery of the lake, the surrounding villas, and the Alps. Once in Bellagio there were not may places open because it is off season, but we found a caffe right on the water and ordered coffees. We sat outside the caffe for a few hours and when we were about to leave an American woman came up to us to ask for a light and we ended up moving inside the restaurant to sit with her and her husband who were from Atlanta, GA. We sat and talked to them for a few hours and they bought us some drinks too :) We stayed until right before the last ferry at 8pm and rode the ferry with the Americans to the small town of Ravenna where the train stops. While we were waiting for our train we went into a little hotel bar and met the old woman, Antonia and her daughter who own the hotel and who have lived on Lake Como their entire lives. They were both very nice and eager to let us practice our Italian. Finally we caught our train back to Bergamo after a long, interesting day.
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| Como |
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| Lake Como |
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| View of the Alps from the top of the Funicolare |
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| Looking down at the lake with the Funicolare track |
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| Me at the top |
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| Angie, me, Craig, and Jasmine drinking our rossinis |
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| Looking back at Como from the ferry |
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| Alps over the lake |
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| One of the villas on Lake Como |
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| Taking in the view from the ferry |
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| Bellagio |
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| "Street" in Bellagio |
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| Us with the Americans |
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| Antonia, her daughter, and their dog Poochie :) |
Bergamo, February 9:
The day after we went to Lake Como the weather in Bergamo was beautiful so we decided to head up to the upper castle that sits on a hill overlooking Citta Alta, the upper town. When we got to the top the castle was closed but the view of Citta Alta was amazing. That evening my roommates and I went iceskating with some of their friends at a rink here in Bergamo.
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| Having daiquiris at our favorite caffe in Bergamo |
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| Looking down on Citta Alta |
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| Deserted street near the upper castle |
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| Ice skating |
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Me and Valeria iceskating, she needed a lot of help :)
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Skiing Foppolo, February 10 & 11:
The week before school started, Franzi and Maxi (the Germans),Melissa (the other American), and I decided that we wanted to go skiing. Maxi has his car here and we found a resort call Foppolo that was reasonably priced and only one hour away from Bergamo. We rented our gear as soon as we arrived started skiing right away. It had been probably over 10 years since I had skied so I was pretty scared the first time down, but each time got more and more fun. The weather was perfect for skiing both days. By the end of the two days I had had a great time but I was exhausted. I don't think that I can even put into words the feeling of actually skiing in the Italian Alps... the view was simply breathtaking. I hope the pictures do it some justice.
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| Getting ready to go in my sweet polka dot coat :) |
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| The ski lodge at Foppolo |
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| Looking up at the slope from the cafe at the bottom |
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| View going up the lift |
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| Heading up on the lift |
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| View from the top (of the blue slope :)) |
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| The view was amazing |
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| A glass of Italian wine on the slope after a hard day of skiing. |
Venice, February 13:
A bunch of us found a cheap train to Venice (Venezia) on Sundays so we decided to take a day trip there before school started. The weather was a bit cold but we still had a great time in Venice. When we arrived at the train station we decided instead of taking a water bus to San Marco Square that we would use Angie's Iphone for directions and walk... this was an interesting experience. It took us 30 minutes just to make it to the Rialto Bridge, but we got to see the non touristy areas of Venice and that was cool. By the time we reached the Rialto we were pretty hungary so we got lunch at a restaurant right on the water. After lunch we decided to take a gondola ride, which was very expensive but there were 5 of us so it wasnt as bad and totally worth it. You sit so close to the water and you get to go through all the small, beautiful, hidden canals. It was a great experience and I recommend it to anyone who goes to venice (except maybe in the summer because I have heard that the water smells really bad when its hot...) After our gondola ride we made our way through the winding streets to San Marco Square, the most famous part of Venice. There is a lot to see at the square: the San Marco basilica-with its intricate spires and mosaics, the Campanile-the tower built in 888ad, and the Palazzo Ducale-the palace. We did not have time to go into any of these because the lines were huge but they are breath taking even from the outside. The square also has a great view across the grand canal so we took some pictures there. After San Marco square we go some gelato sundays and made our way back to the train station by water bus. All in all it was a great taste of Venice!
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| Grand Canal |
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| The little canals were so neat |
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| The market at the Rialto |
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| View of the Grand Canal from the Rialto Bridge (the red awning place is where we ate lunch) |
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| The Rialto Bridge |
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| Angie and I on the Gondola |
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| Our gondolier |
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| The Grand Canal from our gondola |
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| Casanova's house |
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| Maneuvering through on of the small canals in the gondola |
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| San Marco Square |
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| The Campanile in San Marco Square |
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| San Marco Basilica |
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| San Marco Basilica |
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| Palazzo Ducale (the palace) in San Marco Square |
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| View across the Grand Canal from San Marco Square |
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| The Rialto Bridge at night |
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| The Rialto market at night |
Bergamo, February 18:
The weekend after the first week of school I decided not to go anywhere but there happened to be a traveling chocolate fair in Bergamo so we went and checked it out :) It was an entire street of chocolate and other types of sweets venders. It was was quite fun to walk around and I got to try some stuff too, dark chocolate with cherries in it, dark chocolate with chili flakes on top (too spicy), and my first cannoli since I have been in Italy (delicious). I also bought two truffles to eat later, dark chocolate and coffee--some of the best chocolate I have ever eaten.
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| I have never seen so much chocolate |
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| Chocolate made to look like tools |
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| Self-service hot chocolate, with whipped creme and rum to add as you please |
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| Truffles |
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| Chocolate carnival masks |
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| My spoils, a coffee truffle and a dark chocolate truffle |
Verona, February 21:
The second Monday of school I didnt have any classes so I decided to take my first trip alone, to Verona.
The train ride there, in its self was interesting. I met a middle aged Italian woman who I managed to speak to in Italian and she suggested some things that I need to do before I leave. When I got on the wrong train (still going to Verona but faster and more expensive) I met an American couple from Massachusetts, who were so nice and fun to talk to. So by the time I got to Verona I had already had a good start to the day, despite having to pay an extra 20 euro for the fast train. As soon as I reached Verona I found the piazza with the Roman forum in it and had a piadine (usually meat and melted cheese inside a flat bread) outside a caffe. After lunch I made my way through the shopping district to the main piazza, Piazza delle Erbe. The piazza is lined with caffes, amazing old buildings, and has a market in the center. The Torre dei Lamberti (tower) is right on the piazza so I decided to go up to the top to get a view of the city, which was stunning. I really love Verona, there is just something about the buildings and the atmosphere that is different from any other Italian city I have been to, and the view from the tower just reinforced this. After the tower I went to Juliet's house (said to be the home of the Juliet that Shakespeare wrote about). You can go up on the balcony and supposedly you also have to rub the statues boob for good luck... After Juliet's house I walked to the Duomo, which was closed and then to the Pietra Bridge which has a great view of the river and the Roman Theater. I wanted to go into the Roman Theater but it wasnt open yet so I followed a path up the hill above the Theater and had a snack on the wall of the San Pietro castle. The view was once again beautiful, I just really love Verona :) Next I went to the Roman Theater which was built in the 1st century BC, so it is over 2000 years old. The Theater is surround by something like a graveyard of statues and pieces of the old theater, very neat to behold. Above the Theater is a museum of artifacts, statues, mosaics, and paintings that were found around the Theater. It was so fascinating how old and in what good shape the things in the museum were. After the Roman Theater I went back to Piazza delle Erbe and took a break at a caffe with a cappuccino and a piece of apple cake (buono-very good). After by break I headed to the Roman Forum, an arena built in the 1st century AD, so also almost 2000 years old, and made of pink marble. The feeling of being in a Roman arena that was that old was very surreal. After the Roman Forum I still had some time before my train back to Bergamo so I went to one of the other castles in Verona, Castle Vecchio, which is known for its extensive museum containing art and artifacts from Verona and the surrounding area. The paintings in the museum were beautiful but by that time I was pretty tired and the museum attendants were very paranoid and were literally following me around lol, so I didnt stay too long. I had a very busy day and like I said before I really like Verona and hope to go back again!
**Half of the pictures from Verona are on this page and the rest of the pictures of Verona (and all the pictures from now on) are on my flickr page. Just click the link at the top right of my blog page and it will take you to my albums on flickr.
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| The Roman Arena |
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| Main shopping street in Verona |
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| I love the little ally-ways in Italy... |
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| ... |
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| Piazza delle Erbe, Verona's main piazza |
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| Fountain in Piazza delle Erbe |
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| Torre dei Lamberti (went up to the top to get the following pics) |
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| Verona from above |
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| Verona duomo |
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| The castle is on the hill behind the church |
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| Verona- beautiful. |
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| Piazza delle Erbe from above |
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| Staircase leading up the tower |
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| Piazza dei Signori, with statue of Dante Alighieri in the center |
*The rest of the pictures are on flickr
Venice Carnival, February 27:
Some of my friends and I went back to Venice for Carnival. We bought masks and had a great time although the weather wasnt very nice. The costumes that the locals and others wear are astonishing (see the pictures) and the atmosphere is very fun. Carnival lasts a few weeks and we only went for one day but we got to see traditional medieval dances and drink plenty of Bellinis. We spent most of the day in San Marco Square where the performances and live music takes place. After dark we had dinner at small restaurant and most of our friends left, leaving just Craig, Angie and I. We went to the Hard Rock Venice and had a couple nice drinks, it was kind of nice being in such an American atmosphere. Then we had heard about this bar called Harry's Bar that is famous for inventing the Bellini. The bar was so neat, right on the canal and opened in the 1930's, all the decor looks original and the waiters and bartenders dress the part. Also, they were the best Bellinis I have ever had. We spent the rest of the night at an Irish pub and ended up having to stay in a hotel because there were no more trains back to Bergamo! All in all we had a great time and it was very fun wearing a mask with a big feather on it all day :)
Torino, March 6:
I decided to go to Torino (Turin) on my own two Sundays ago. I had heard that there were great museums and chocolate...both very true. I caught and early train to Milan and from there to Torino. It was lunch time by the time I arrived so I hopped on a bus and went to Eataly, a large local and slow food shopping center and eatery. Eataly is a very neat place you can buy wine, olive oil, pesto, pasta, whatever from all over Italy and you can also eat in cafeteria style stations. There were many to choose from: fish, meat, cheese, veggies, pasta, pizza. I choose pasta and got a very simple yet delicious pasta with red sauce and ricotta cheese and fresh baked bread. It was the best pasta I have had since I have been in Italy! After lunch I explored Eataly and bought a bottle of wine to take back to Bergamo. After Eataly I went to see Valentino's Castle which was built in the 1600's by a French princess and sits in a large park called Valentino's Park, both are very beautiful. The weather was amazing, the best day since I have been here, so strolling in the park along the Po River was great. After the park I walked to the Mole Antonelliana, which is the tallest museum in the world an offers breath taking panoramic views of Torino and the Alps from the top. I had to wait in line for probably an our to get up to the top but it was totally worth it and I hop the pictures do it justice. The Mole is also the National Cinema Museum so when I was done looking at the view I wondered around looking at the old movie posters and then took a rest in the reclined (and very comfortable, all movie seats should be like those) movie seats and watched an old black and white movie for a while. After the Mole I walked through another one of Torino's many parks to get to the Piazza Reale, which is a lovely piazza surrounded by historic buildings including a castle. In the Piazza Reale is the Torino Duomo di San Giovanni where the shroud that Jesus was said to have been buried in is kept. You cannot see the actual shroud because it is supposed to be 2000 some years old, but people pray to the box that it is in. The shroud is very controversial and the Catholic church as neither acknowledged it as real or denied it. Anyway, after the church I headed to get some gelato at a very decadent sunday shop. The interior of the shop was very neat and I had the Piedmont sunday (because Torino is in the Piedmont region) and it was delicious but odd considering they poured champagne on top. I visited the Egizio Museum next which houses the second largest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside of Cairo. The museum was fascinating, many of the mummies and Egyptian art were over 5,000 years old and in amazing condition. It is odd that there is an Egyptian museum in Torino, Italy but I am very glad that I went and I definitely want to go to Egypt now, someday. The last thing I did before catching my train was pick up some authentic Torinese chocolate, as Torino is the home of solid chocolate, for the train ride. Torino is a beautiful place with a lot to do and I had a great time.
For the past couple of weeks I have not really gone anywhere but this Saturday I am going to Bologna with my friend Jasmine and next week I have a spring break so I am going with Angie to Barcelona, Spain. I will have a lot to write about after that so I promise to update as soon as my break is over! Love and miss you all.
