Assisi, Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre

ASSISI
Last weekend I took a trip to Assisi, Florence, Pisa and Cinque Terre. CEA scheduled a day trip to Assisi on Friday, so I and a few girls in CEA decided to meet up with my roomate Pepe in Florence afterwards instead of heading directly back to Rome. Pepe, the girls and I all wanted to see Cinque Terre so we made plans to see it as well. I booked our hostel in Cinque Terre and bought our train tickets, and on Friday morning almost everyone in CEA:Rome met at Piazza Bologna (the closest metro stop to our school, where we always meet for excursions) and boarded the bus. When we approached Assisi, we saw a beautiful stone town built against a hillside. The bus parked in a public parkinglot and we were greeted by our tourguide. We took an outside, covered escalator up the hill to the main gate of the city. Virtually all the town is made from a white and pinkish stone, and it looks clean since much of the stone was restored after an earthquake. I love stone as a construction material, and I also love the different Italian styles of building/architecture, so when these two are put together in an entire city I'm in awe. I walked around the city constantly taking pictures with every corner I turned and every minute architectural detail that caught my eye. After passing through the first main gate of the city and walking down the road, I watched workers in an adjacent olive orchard to the left (towards downhill) fetching the olives by scraping the branches and catching the olives in a net.
Assisi is known as the town of St. Francis. His basilica is located here along with the cathedral of his partner, St. Claire. Assisi is the twin city of San Francisco (because of St. Francis, go figure), my city of birth and the major city of my home, the bay area. St. Francis was a wealthy individual who wanted to become noble to gain more power and social statues, so he became a knight and fought in battle in order to gain a noble title. During a battle he was captured by the enemy and imprisoned. His time in prison changed his life, and when he was released he came to Assisi and started living a spiritual life. He met Claire, a beautiful girl, and convinced her to cut her hair and live a spiritual life as well.
We first visited St. Claire's cathedral, and while approaching it I saw flying butresses, which got me excited. The cathedral also has a horizontal stripe pattern on the outside (alternating layers of pink and white stone). Horizontal bands are a typical style of Italian cathedrals. When we went inside we went down into the crypt and saw the preserved body of St. Claire (covered in wax) as well as some preserved artifacts of St. Claire and St. Francis such as their clothes, rosary beads, etc.
Then we headed towards the Basilica of St. Francis, and along the way we passed by the main piazza where I saw an ancient Roman temple which is now turned into a church. When we first entered the basilica we headed down to the crypt to see St. Francis' tomb. Most of the crypt was used as a shrine to him, and his stone coffin was located in one side of a stone circular pillar which we walked around. I noticed several small wallet-sized portraits of people thrown in the iron-gated spaces along the stone pillar. We climbed back up the stairs to the nave of the basilica and started examing paintings on the walls. The basilica of St. Francis is worth seeing not only because it is an impressive piece of architecture and houses the tomb of St. Francis, but also because it has some of the most important pieces of work depicting the developement of Renaissance style painting. Giotto, the famous painter who created linear perspective painted several frescoes inside the cathedral. It is interesting to see the development of linear perspective throughout the basilica as Giotto and his followers tried to better depict reality in their paintings. The mentality of artists in this era is fascinating to think about; they were on the brink of a transitional age in art from extremely symbolic to a much more realistic representation of space in paintings/drawings. Most of these magnificent paintings are located on the upper level. The frescoes on the ceiling and walls at the end of this level is severeley damaged due to an earthquake (much stone fell down yet the stained glass windows were not damaged)!
After the basilica we had a large, 5 course meal with meat and cheese platers for apetizers, 2 pasta dishes, a meat dish (with lamb, veal, chicken and potatoes) and a delicious lemon-merange-like pie for dessert. After the late lunch we had a little over an hour to split up and wander around the town before meeting back outside the main gate and getting on the bus. The beautiufl valley and hills in the distance as well as the beautiful stone architecture surround me made for a very pleasant experience. Assisi is one of my favorite cities in Italy and I highly recommend it to anyone. As usual, the pictures don't even do it justice for how beautiful Assisi (and the rest of Italy for that matter) actually is! We boarded the bus and the girls and I were shortly dropped of at the Assisi train station to head to Florence!

FLORENCE
After Assisi we got on the bus and were dropped off at the local train station to catch a train to Florence. It was just Maritza and Nicole with me at this point because Cara and April slept in and would meet up with us later in Florence. When our train arrived I followed the main road to the Duomo, next to where Pepe’s apartment was located. We met Pepe at outside and walked into his apartment to drop off our bags. After about an hour Cara and April arrived so we met them near the train station, dropped off their bags, and ate dinner at a nice restaurant Pepe recommended. I had a calzone with a beer… absolutely delicious! We spent the rest of the night sightseeing. In the morning we saw Michelangelo’s David in the Academia. I was impressed just by the sheer size of the statue, yet as I got closer to the statue I noticed and appreciated the fine detail that went into Michelangelo’s work. The veins in his arms for instance gave David the allusion that he wasn’t just a statue but a live giant marble human being. Some other interesting sites which I saw in the academia were the half-completed statues of human beings taking form from their marble blocks, a room full of plaster preliminary statues with their wire frames sticking out, as well as some old renaissance clothes and a book from medieval times. During the day we also saw the Duomo (cathedral) with its famous dome designed by Brunelleschi, Pointe Vecchio which was the only bridge not bombed in Florence during WWII and has been lined with gold shops since the time of the Medicis, and the Palazzo Vecchio, which was my favorite building in Florence. The first time I saw it I was stunned by how tall it was (it was hard to believe that an unreinforced stone tower could be built that tall during the Renaissance and still be standing today). It was originally the building of the city council but the rich and powerful Medici family bought the building so they could live in it and built another building next to it (now the Uffizi Gallery?) for the city council to meet. There was also a private elevated walkway connecting the Palazzo Vecchio and across Ponte Vecchio to the other side of the river so the wife of Medici wouldn’t have to walk in the stench of everyone else below. The last thing we saw before leaving Florence was the Palazzo Pitti, where we walked up its back gardens and had a great view of all the major sites we saw that day. We walked by the Forte Belvedere and walked back down the hill and at pizza and drank wine in a small pizzeria. After lunch we hopped on our train towards Pisa and Cinque Terre.

PISA AND CINQUE TERRE
We had a little less than an hour wait in Pisa before our next train to Cinque Terre so we all headed quickly to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. It was surprisingly far away from the train station for such a small city, taking us over 20 minutes to walk over there at a fast pace. We only had time to snap a couple of quick pictures and then the girls took a small cab back to the train station while Pepe and I ran back. Pepe and I missed the train by a few minutes however, so we took the next one which eventually got us on the same train to Cinque Terre as the girls (their train must have stopped at more of the smaller stations along the way). Needless to say, we were all surprised to see each other when we got off our train at Riomaggiore, the lower of the 5 towns of Cinque Terre. We followed the road from the train station to check into our apartment for the night, but found a note outside the door with our keys (good thing no one took it)! The stairs up to our apartment were dark but once we opened up the door we were pleased with the apartment. It was nice to have an entire small apartment to ourselves for a night. We spent the rest of the night having dinner, buying wine and drinking it down near the small port on some rocks right by the ocean. I really liked the scenery… many tall colorful buildings with typical clothes hanging outside them on clothes lines, stone roads, and the small Italian town-feel all next to the ocean. The next morning we checked out of our apartment, bought some tasty pesto pizza for breakfast, and headed towards the beginning of the path to hike on to the next town. Before we entered the hiking trail, near the train station, we had to pay a small fee for a pass and then we were on our way. It was a fairly short hike to Manarola, taking only about 15 minutes, but the hikes would get harder to each successive town. Each path we hiked ran right along the with stunning views of small Italian towns on the edge of vertical cliffs in the distance. Manarola looked much like Riomaggiore except it was built more against the sloped terrain so it had many terraced buildings and vineyards which we hiked up to. During our hike to the next town, Corniglia, we crossed a chain link bridge (like a rope bridge) which was exciting since it was unstable. Once we got to Corniglia we had to climb up several flights of steps in order to enter the actual town on the top of the cliff. It seemed smaller than the previous two towns but had more terraced vineyards and had an awesome viewing platform, where we could see the towns we just visited and the ones we were planning on seeing. The next two hikes were supposed to be much more lengthy and hard so we decided to take the train to them. The girls really wanted to see the last town, Monterosso, so we headed there first. When we arrived we realized that the town they actually were thinking of was Vernazza, the most famous of the 5 towns, so we decided to quickly explore Monterosso and then head over there. Monterosso was much more spread out and had a lot of beach space so I went down there to collect some gravel for my sand/gravel collection of places I’ve been. The ocean was a clear light green which is a nice contrast from the murky ocean I’m used to back in California. We got on a train in the opposite direction but didn’t realize that it was a direct rain back to the first city we visited, Riomaggiore, so we walked back into the center of town to pass some time before the next train. However, we didn’t realize how quickly time had passed so we just missed the train back! We decided to spend the rest of our time until our train out of Cinque Terre arrived sitting near the small port like the night before and had some snacks and wine, and enjoyed our last minutes in Cinque Terre. It was too bad that we missed the main town, Vernazza, but I still had a great time and that is always a reason to come back to Italy! =)

My Perspectives on the Election from Abroad

I really couldn't be happier with the way the election turned out a couple nights ago. I've been supporting Barack Obama since before he announced his candidacy in Chicago, Illinois on February 10, 2007. It is almost surreal to believe that I was part of the movement which helped elect him as the next President of the United States. I feel more inspired than ever and am extremely proud of my country. And certainly the vast majority of countries around the world are very happy with the results as well. From talking to Italians and listening to international news, it seems as though international opinion of the United States went from being despised and disliked overnight to revered and even envied for having such a great future President (one Italian told me that he now wishes he were American). It sure is nice to hold my head up high for being American (something I haven't been able to do since the start of the Iraq war). I've seen posters in support of Barack all over Europe. Even since the primaries he has been by far the most favored American presidential candidate throughout the world. And the video clips of people ecstatically celebrating on all corners of the globe after the results came in was extremely heartwarming.
From the beginning, what I admired most about Barack was his genuineness, intelligence, common sense and judgment. The crown jewel of all his attributes, however, is undoubtedly his gift as an orator and ability to inspire his audience. He gave me and millions of other volunteers and supporters the belief that each of us had the ability to make a difference... that our "voice could change a room, and if it could change a room it could change a city, and if it could change a city it could change a state, and if it could change a state it could change a country, and if it could change a country it could change the world." Indeed, this grassroots movement paid off, and not only did it help to elect Barack Obama the next President of the United States, but the networks of organized people throughout the country are still here to do grassroots work in any way the future president needs. His campaign was one truly by the people, and his administration will help form a government that is more for the people, with less influence from corporate lobbyists and special interest groups.
I am looking forward to an Obama administration which is going to be much more open, encourages involvement from its citizens, and which doesn't ignore or block opposing viewpoints. An administration that summons both Democrats and Republicans around values that we all share, and helps unify our country to make further progress.
Last night for my "Living Italy" culture class we went to a news/talk show in on of the RAI studios and sat in the audience at it was broadcasted live. They talked about Barack's election as president for the whole 2 hours, and seeing it was an amazing first-hand experience for how much influence the U.S. has on the rest of the world.
Here's the youtube link to the show (I'm shown briefly at 3:03 and partially at 3:52 in the video).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyqk5HTIoO8
I am greatly looking forward to coming home now, which should make leaving the beauty, food, and dolce vita of Italy not as hard. =)

Greece & Egypt

DAY 1
My friend Jeremy and I left for Athens on Thursday afternoon from Rome's Fiumicino airport. The security check point had a long line so we had to run through the terminal to make it to our plane. While waiting to board we saw some American girls in our program who said they were going to Greece as well for their semester break. We flew with Olympic, Greece's national airline. The meal we were served was slightly different from what I was used to, and I mistakenly thought that the cream for the coffee which I would later be offered was liquid butter or some kind of sauce, which I foolishly dipped my bread in. It turns out Greece doesn't eat that differently from what I was used to after all. We arrived in Athens and took the metro to the city center. Athens is a large city, but it's beautiful because nearly all the buildings are white. When we got to the building our hostel was located in, we had to take a lift that didn't have an inner door (we could touch the outer doorways as the lift was moving) and it could only carry a maximum of 3 people. We checked into our room and went to sleep.

DAY 2
We woke up at 7:45 so we would have enough time to find the bus station to catch a ride to Delphi. After over an hour of searching, a bus driver drove us down the street for free and directed us around the corner to the station's discreet location. The station's location wasn't well labeled, plus everything was in Greek so we weren't very familiar with the language or the letters (everything in Greece is written in Greek letters, a major difference from the rest of Europe that I have visited so far). Even though it took us over an hour to find the station, the bus was scheduled to leave at 10:30 anyway so we didn't loose any time off our trip. We were originally planning on visiting Thermophylae (where the Spartan 300 battle took place against the Persians) but found out that it wasn't accessible from Delphi so we decided to just spend more time in Delphi. The ride provided some awesome views of mountains, and it only took 3 hours to arrive to Delphi, which we were pleasantly surprised by because we thought it was supposed to take 6. In fact, when we were passing by some ruins I wanted to get out even though I thought Delphi was another 3 hours away. Luckily these were the ruins of Delphi that I traveled to see! We checked into our hotel and quickly went to the Museum for an hour before it closed at 3.
Among the highlights which I saw at the museum (located next to the archaeological site) are a statue of Antonius (Emperor Hadrian's lover who drowned in the Nile); weapons, helmets and shields; a pediment relief of a lion eating another animal and a large bull of silver next to two golden statues. After the museum we took pictures of the stunning scenery. The ancient ruins and modern small town of Delphi are built on the top of a rocky gorge with a mountain towering directly behind it. I'm pretty sure that the Greeks must have built their city here largely for defensive purposes. After taking pictures of the scenery we walked around town looking inside several small souvenir shops. The shopkeepers ranged from extremely nice and intelligent (a young woman) to pushy (old men who were just trying to force customers to buy things). I know not all older male merchants in Greece are like that, but I met an exceptional amount who were pushy throughout Delphi and Greece.
At night we headed towards a modern theatre built in the Ancient Greek style (along a hill/mountainside). The acoustics which the Greek theatres are known for is amazing... such that when I stood at the very back in the seats I could hear my friend whispering to me from the center/stage. Then we walked around some more shops until closing time (there are may souvenir shops in Delphi and it is such a small town that browsing them is one of the main activites to do in Delphi... the city is undoubtedly geared towards tourists. Inside one shop we met a merchant who collects official reproductions of Greek artifacts in museums. He even provides his friends and himself with the armor and costumes to do reinactments for the History Channel. One thing I learned is that the famous spartan lambda (looks like a pyramid or upside-down "V") represents the pyramid of social status with the king at the top (in the case of the 300 Spartan soldiers at the battle of Thermophylae, the king was Leonidas). Only the king and his royal army could have this symbol on their shield, and it was believed that one always had to have their shields raised with the lambda pointing directly up so that if they were killed their soul would be able to ascend up into heaven. This motivation for the soldiers to always have their shields raised of course did wonders for their defensive capabilities, and is likely one of many reasons why Spartans were such great warriors. We walked around for the rest of the night and saw a church and several cats, and walked to the top of the town where we began to hike a little up the mountain for a nice view. After that we headed back to our hotel and went to sleep.

DAY 3
We woke up at 7:45 again and had a buffet breakfast including strawberry and cherry juice for the first time (I really like the strawberry juice but the cherry juice was a bit too sweet for me). The food itself was typical: eggs, cereal, toast, etc. that you would expect in any other hotel. Since the town of Delphi is built up against a mountain the city terraces up, so from virtually anywhere you have a great view of the Ravine below, even from the room where we were eating breakfast in our hotel. We then headed to the archaeological site and spent over 3 hours there. There were columns remaining from what once used to be a portico. I saw how they constructed many of their round temples (a flat stone foundation with a raised portion along the perimeter to provide a barrier for the stones that laid against it). There were many exedrae which once displayed statues and there were ruins of treasuries (which were like modern city banks). Perhaps the most important structure in all of Ancient Delphi was the Temple of Apollo (all Greeks were told to visit it at least once in their lifetimes). It is a large temple that today still has its basic foundation, entrance ramp, and a few large columns intact. The small, square-planned temple of Athena had been heavily restored so we could see close to what it would have looked like in the past. We also saw the remains of an ancient Greek theatre and a stadium (which is shaped like a Roman circus, although flat instead of circular at one end). These kinds of stadiums are where many of the olympic-style games took place. Also, there was an abundance of Greek writing throughout the ancient stone walls and slabs of the site. It was amusing to think of the men and women who created and lived in Delphi, and wrote these words over 2,500 years ago.
We then left the site and walked to some other nearby ruins (10 minutes away) to see the gymnasium and Sanctuary of Athena. In the gymnasium I saw a wrestling pit that looked like a large, deep hot tub with the water drained. The Sanctuary was circular in plan with some columns and a frieze. I saw a large boulder on the site and a temple that was largely destroyed near it, so a rockslide probably occured here. We also had a nice view of all the ruins we just saw at the main archaeological site. We headed to town to buy our bus tickets back to Athens, but we had several hours before we had to leave so we started hiking up the mountain to see the Shrine of Apollo and possibly a cave.
The beginning of the hike was more hilly than rocky, but once we reached the rocky part we had a great view of the town and ruins below us and it felt as though we were ancient Greek or Spartan warriors climbing up to the top of the mountain to visit an oracle or worship at a temple. Along the way up we saw sheep, turtles, and then a bull hearder with bulls and a ranch near the top (where the mountain started to flatten out a bit). We thought this area would be the top of the mountain (at least it appeared to be the top from where we were standing below) but it turned out that the mountain was stepped so we still had a large distance before we could reach the summit. After two and a half hours of intense climbing with only a few quick breaks, we decided that we wouldn't have enough time to see either of the sites so we started heading back (we didn't know it would take so long to reach the sites because the location on the map made it seem much closer). If we had an extra hour we probably could have made it though . On the way down we had amazing views of the surrounding mountain terrain with the ravine and lake in the distance. When we made it back down to the town of Delphi it was a totally different experience. While hiking I felt as if I really could have been a Greek soldier in the past. It was very desolate and peaceful, and we had to use track-finding skills to travel on the not-often traveled trails. It felt transformational to come back into a modern city. The hike was the most intense workout I've had my entire time in Europe. We had a little time to spare before the bus arrived so we sat down in a cafe near the bus station and waited. I got a Greek-style coffe which was strong, tasty and had some of the crushed up coffee bean in it. The European coffee that I have had tends to come in small cups and is stronger than American coffee. We boarded the bus around 6:15 pm and headed back to Athens. When we arrived and were walking to the metro station, we found a place that a local recommended which served cheap, delicious gyros. Once at we were at our hotel and went to sleep.

DAY 4
When we woke up at 8:00, I discovered that it had rained and the clothes which I put out to dry were soaked (it didn't bother me though because I didn't need them immediately and I figured they would dry eventually). Also, my legs were sore from the hike we took the day before. I'm not one to let petty things get in the way of having a great time though, and I always look forward to the excitement of the day. We went to the other, larger bus station this time (there are 2 major bus stations in Athens) and had no trouble finding it unlike a couple days before. I find it helpful to ask the locals where something is whenever I am unsure... even if they speak little English they can usually point me in the right direction). At the station, I had a frostyccino (the equivalent of a Starbucks frappucino) which I had been craving since I arrived in Europe. Our bus left for Mycenae at 10:30. Mycenae is another small town like Delphi, although in a flat valley instead of near a towering mountain range. We waited over an hour for a bus to take us from the city to the ruins of Mycenae (about 2 km away) but it never came so we decided to start walking. Within a couple of minutes a nice man offered to give us a ride about half the way their on the back of their truck (we offered them money as thanks afterwards but they kindly refused). Within another couple of minutes walking we got a taxi to take us take us the rest of the way to make sure we would get there in time (it was a Sunday). The fare was only 3 euro! When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the site wouldn't close until 7 pm.. We arrived there at 1 so we had plenty of time to explore!
Mycenae is an ancient fortified village built on a hilltop/acropolis with massive/monolithic stones as well as smaller stones with mud for minor walls. It dates back from the 13th century BC. They were the ancient Greeks. According to myth, King Agamemnon was the Mycenaen king who led the attack on Troy. The main attraction of the ancient village is the famous Lion's Gate. It is the main, stone gateway into the city with a pediment ontop of the lintel depicting two lions standing to the side of a column. I saw it for the first time on the History Channel, and it was amazing to see it in reality. The pediment is the supporting the stones stacked around it, forming a corbeled arch. It is a remarkable engineering feat for that far back in time... and they seem to have been incredibly more advanced than their contemporaries!
Another amazing engineering feat to note are their tholos (bee-hive shaped tombs) which are basically corbelled arches spun around 180 degrees to make a tomb, constructed by building up a mound of dirt for support while stacking the stones around it, then emptying the terrain out of the tomb once it was completed. We also saw a large circular graveyard in the fortress, as well as many other gates, tombs, and the museum. Inside the museum we saw a replica of the famous Mask of Agamemnon which was found in his nearby tholos/tomb. Around the time that the site was closing we ran back to town in the rain. It was a fun experience, and along the way we saw another tholos. It felt like I was an ancient Mycenaen trying to travel to another nearby town without the invention of an umbrella. Whenever I am removed from modern society and am in an area know to be inhabited by an ancient civilization, I take myself back to their time and wonder how it was to live like them. Within about 10 minutes we were back in modern civilization and we ate at a nice restaurant while watching the rain pour down. I had an Alpha beer (brewed in Greece, the other major beer is Mythos) with amazing moussaka and bread on the side. Moussaka is a Greek dish which tastes like a pot pie but better, in lasagna form. It consists of a thin, cheesy crust , a layer of beef, and a large layer of potatoes topped with melted cheese (I bet Tom would love this meal... he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy). After the meal we continued walking back into the center of town in the rain. We waited for our bus, and on the drive back we sat next to a Greek lady who spoke almost no english but discussed Greek and Roman art with us, using my Roman art book which I brought along with me as a guide. We got back to our hotel in Athens around 11. It rained there too so my clothes were even more wet than they were when I left that morning, but it didn't bother me. I had a great day. =)

DAY 5
We woke up very early at 5:30 to throw some clothes in our bags and take the metro down to Pitraeus, the main port in Athens. After getting off the metro we found the office for the ferry we were taking immediately, so we bought our tickets, grabbed some breakfast, and boarded the ferry. The ferry was about the size of the ones I'm used to taking to and from Whidbey Island in Washington, but looks more like a cruise ship and has less room for cars and more room for people. The company is called Blue Star Ferries. Our destination was the Greek island of Santorini, south of all the other islands in its large cluster but still a littl noth of the island of Crete (home to the ancient Minoan civilization). The trip took 10 hours so I killed the time by watching the sun rise, resting, taking pictures of the many island as we passed them by, and reading my Roman art book. We arrived at Santorini around 3 pm. The owners of the hotel we were staying at picked us up from the port and drove us to the hotel, called Manos Villa. Santorini is a crescent shaped island with a volcano in the middle of its water. Our hotel was located near the main city in the center of the island, Fira. When we arrived at our hotel we were given a complimentray meal and glass of wine, as well as plenty of useful information. We quickly got settled in and headed outside. While we were waiting for our bus to Fira one of the hotel owners with her daughter drove next to us and offered to give us a ride into town (about a 5 minute drive). We thanked them and then walk towards the edge of the city. The coastline was composed of vertical cliffs (much like the Amalfi coast of Italy), so we walked down a zig-zagged path down almost to sea level, trying to avoid stepping in the piles of donkey poop. We took a donkey ride back up to where we started and walked up a little farther to watch the sun set (I am pretty sure it provided the best view of the the whole city, island and volcano. When the sun was nearly set we found a place to eat and watched the sun sink behind the volcano. The place was called Lithos, recommended by Lonely Planet, and for dinner I had souvlaki, a greek dish which is basically shish kabob pork. We walked around shops for the rest of the night until they closed (around 8 pm, rather early for a toursit spot in my view). We took a taxi home, and I had a nice warm shower and went to sleep.

DAY 6
We slept in till around 10, got up and headed towards the lobby to have breakfast. While we were talking to the owner she told us that the Blue Star Ferries workers were on strike so our ferry wouldn't be coming that day (we were expecting to go back to Athens in the afternoon). While eating our breakfast we contemplated what to do for another day stranded on the island. We decided to rent an for the ATV and explore the southern part of the island (a common activity for tourists to do here). The hotel owners were friends with the moto rental company so they arranged for them to pick us up from the hotel, plus two American girls who we were sitting next to during breakfast were planning on doing the same thing. The ATV only costed $15 to rent for 24 hours and we had to pay for our own gas, what a deal! After showing them my license and Jeremy's credit card, we were given some basic instruction and were on our way! (We were thinking about renting some motor bikes but you need a motor-cycle license for it and Jeremy didn't bring his driver's license anyway.
Having an extra day in Santorini was actually a blessing in disguise because renting the ATV and exploring the island was probably the most fun I've had in a long time! We decided to drive to Ancient Thira first, on the eastern end of the island and south of us. We drove up a winding road, similar to Lombard street in San Francisco, except much longer, more rugged, and up a mountain! Once at the top it was very windy. we parked our ATV and entered the site for free, expecting to see a couple small ruins. However, we were surprised to find a whole village of ruins, including a theatre, basilica and several residences, built out of the local lime stone and mud.
Ancient Thira was originally a port town and naval base ruled under the Ptolemies (during the Greek Hellenistic period). After Alexander the Great died, his best generals were given control of his different territories. Among Ptolemy's land, he received this island and Egypt (Cleopatra was the last ruler of the Ptolemic dynasty). After the Romans conquered Greece, they also inhabited Ancient Thira (I saw some ruins of an ancient Roman bath). While looking around the ruins I heard and saw some fighter jets fly by, which reminded me of Rob. I saw some cool reliefs, including a ram skull depicted on many columns, and a shrine with animals depicting the different Greek gods). The ruins could almost rival Pompeii. It is not quite as well preserved or as large as Pompeii, but it provides an awesome view of the ocean and landscape below, and you can see other small islands in the distance. The experience was completely amazing because I never even heard of Ancient Thira before, yet here I was just stumbling upon one of the coolest archaelogical sites I've seen. We then rode our ATVs back down the winding path of the mountain, while looking out at the amazing view.
We decided to drive to the black sand beach, which was located just south of Ancient Thira but we had to drive west and then east to go all the way around the mountain in order to reach the beach. Along the way we filled up the tank with gas and stopped at a restaurant to eat some pork and chicken gyros. Nearly every gyro place we visited in Greece puts french fries in them and dashes them with chilli powder. Also, I was surprised by the fact that pork was used instead of lamb (all the gyros I had in the US used lamb). We arrived at the beach with black sand after perhaps 30 minutes of driving. We parked the ATV and walked along the beach, collecting volcanic sand and rocks. The sand is black because it is volcanic, coming from the nearby volcano. Then we drove west to the other southern end of the island and went to the red beach (terrain with a high iron content sticks out along this part of the coast, which then becomes oxidized and eroded to form the sand). We saw the sun set and drove back to back to our hotel. It was dark by the time we arrived. We took a quick break then drove to Fira and went to wonderful place called "Lucky's Souvlaki's" where we ate 2 delicious gyros and a half liter of beer for only 6 euro. We drove back to the hotel and went to sleep.

DAY 7
I woke up around 7 AM and called Dad to wish him a happy birthday (Greece is 10 hours ahead of California so it was around 9 pm there). I went to sleep for another 2 hours, woke up, ate breakfast, checked out and drove back to Fira for the last time to turn in our ATV. We walked down the stairs (which we rode the donkeys on before) down to the small port to take a ship to the volcano. It was an awesome ship because it looked like a pirate ship, completely wooden with sails (although it used a motor to get us around). We left the port at 11, and shortly docked at the volcano to hike up it. I can't remember if I've ever hiked up a volcano before, but this must have been my first time hiking up a volcano which is its own small island. Either way it was interesting to be surrounded by black volcanic stone. Near the top there were areas where I could feel the geothermal heat and smell the stench of sulfur escaping through small holes. Many vast crater-like holes form the landscape of the volcano from the volcano blasting large portions of land away (the last explosion/eruption was in the 1850s). We got back on the ship and sailed to sulfuric hot springs in a small bay. I went swimming in it, which was fun because it was about as warm as bath-water. We sailed back to the port, walked up the spiraling path (careful not to step in the donkey poop) and grabbed another gyro at Lucky's (to go) before tacking a taxi bacl to our hotel. We ate our gyros while waiting for the hotel owners to drop us off at the main port. The Ferry arrived about an hour late, so we ended up boarding about an hour later than expected (around 4). I was able to sleep for about an hour on the ferry. We arrived at Athens around midnight and went straight home and slept.

DAY 8
We slept in till 9, woke up and went to the Parthenon. The Parthenon is located on the Acropolis (or "high city"), a large marble plateau sticking out in the middle of Athens. A valley of hills and the ocean surround the Acropolis, with white buildings covering the land. We entered the ruins from the south side, where the Theatre of Dionysus and several other ruins surround the Acropolis' base. Near the top of the summit we saw a reconstructed theatre (the Odeion of Herodes Atticus) where musical and play performances still take place today. At the top of the Acropolis we were greeted with the imressive entrance portico/gateway, the Propylaia. There were several dogs laying around it. I haven seen cats and dogs lying around archaeological sites all around europe, maybe because it is a relatively peaceful area. Seeing the Parthenon itself was of course amazing... it is probably the single most popular architectural work known to man. Unfortunately it is not in very good condition because in 1687 during the Venetian wars, the Parthenon was used as an ammo depot and a stray shell hit it, causing the ammo to explode. Repair work is still being done on it so there was a lot of scaffolding along it. The Parthenon is extraordinary because of the vast size of its drums, its history, and the knowledge of visual techniques implemented when building it. The columns and steps are bowed (are thicker and thinner in different parts along their lengths) to make them look taller and straighter. It is a Doric temple so it accordingly doesn't have bases for its capitals and has triglyphs and metopes instead of a running frieze. I saw the pediment of the Parthenon in the Bristish Museum in London, so it was nice to finally see the structure itself.
The other structure on the acropolis is the Erechtheion, with it's beautiful caryatids or female-figured columns. It is an ionic temple so it does have bases for its columns and has a running frieze. When we were finished at the summit we walked around the base of the Acropolis to see the rest of its surrounding ruins, including a small cave. Then we tried to find the Agora, the ancient market place of Athens (essentially equivalent to the Roman Forum). We decided to climb a large marble rock (with steps carved into it from ancient times) and were surprised once at the top to find an amazing view with the Agora laid out right in front of us. The rock was an awesome hang-out spot, and we sat there for 5 minutes just enjoying the view. Marble tends to be slippery, especially when it's been walked on by so many feet, so we had to be carful getting up and down the rock. We entered the Agora and first went to the reconstrcted stoa (a typical Greek public building). It was by far one of the most beautiful buildings I've been in, or at least under. The low sun cast a shadow cast amazing shadows of the columns along the floor, creating an alternating light and dark pattern across the floor. Wooden beams crossing along the ceiling mixed with the marble columns holding the ceiling up, and the fact that it was a double portico gave it visual depth. To top it off, there were beautiful staues lining the spaces between the columns, and at the end of the halls there were round arches with plants shown through them. The Ancient Greeks sure knew how to create beautiful spaces. Having plants and vines can really liven up a building, and I've seen this common feature throughout Italy and Greece.
We walked around the rest of the Agora, saw a statue of Hadrian (The Roman Emperor who travelled extensively to Greece and loved everything Greek). We went up a small hill to the Temple of Hephaistos (the best preserved temple in all of Greece)! The hill provided an awesome view of everything which I just saw in the rest of the Agora as well as the Acropolis.
We left the ancient ruins of the Agora and walked along the modern Agora, lined with restaurants and shops. It had a very nice ambience. We looked at shops and had our last gyros washed down with a Mythos beer to cap-off our last night in Greece. When the shops started closing around 8, we headed to the airport for our early morning flight to Cairo, Egypt. I really loved Greece and it is my second favorite country in Europe after Italy. The delicious gyros, the abundance of beautiful ruins, sculpture, and contemporary architecture, and the amazing scenery all make me certain that I will be coming back sometime in the near future for more.

EGYPT
We arrived in the middle of the night at Cairo airport. Cairo is an extremely large city, and it took at least half an hour to take a taxi from the airport to our hostel located downtown right next to the Nile. We had to buy a tourist Visa before leaving the airport for 15 euro, and then right when we stepped outside the airport some locals pestered us and other tourists in an attempt to pressure us into buying expensive tours and taxi rides to our hotels. I was planning on checking to see if we could take the bus to our hostel, but the locals lied to us by saying the bus station was closed, and my roommate just wanted to get to our hostel as soon as possible so we bargained down the price and took a taxi. We arrived at our hostel and gave the driver the fare we agreed upon (75 Egyptian pounds), but then they pressured Jeremy into giving them tips so we ended up paying 100 Egyptian pounds. The dollar to Egyptian pound is a 5 to 1 ratio so we really only paid around 25 bucks for the whole thing, but I still didn't like how they were trying to trick and pressure us for more money. Once we got into our hostel however, we felt completely at ease. We stayed at the Wake Up! Cairo Hostel and were very pleased to find friendly, trustworthy staff. This was probably the best hostel I've stayed at my entire time abroad as far as friendliness and helpfulness from the staff goes. The common room of the hostel is nice because it has a great view of the Nile and Cairo Tower. The couches in the common room were also interesting because they were extremely low, built against the wall, and only had pillows rested against the wall for back cushioning. There were many Americans and other English speakers staying there with us and they all raved about the place. It opened up less than a year ago and one of the owners, Pete is already doing extremely well. He plans to open a few more hostels throughout Cairo. Before going to sleep I had a conversation with him and learned about the city. Cairo isn't as dangerous as many Americans fear it is. It is about as risky as any other large city, and rather than worrying about your safety you mainly have to worry about people trying to trick you and making as much money off of you as they can. Egypt is a very poor country, and since Cairo attracts so many tourists, many locals make their living by tricking and ripping off tourists. Every country has its problems and when a country is as poor as Egypt is (even poorer than my impression of Mexico when I visited Rosarito last spring break), the locals are desperate to make money so they will naturally try to make money wherever and whenever the opportunity rises. Pete certainly has the right business mentality in mind though because his hostel provided a place for refuge where American tourists like us could feel at ease and not be hassled, and the good word spreading around online about his hostel (it was one of the top rated ones at hostelworld.com) is making him great business. After finishing up , my conversation with him I went to sleep.
I woke up the next morning to eat breakfast, consisting of hard-boiled eggs, pitas, butter, jam and tea. Pete has connections with a tour company so he hired a driver to pick us up from the hostel after breakfast and take us to the stables in Giza to ride a camel through the desert and see the pyramids. The pyramids are located right next to the edge of Giza, which many people don't expect because when they imagine the pyramids they envision nothing but desert surrounding them. When we were inside the stables the workers offered us free drinks and asked us if we wanted to take the short, medium, or long tour. We took the medium one but ended up seeing just as much as we probably would have seen during the long one (which included a view of the pyramids from a large mound of sand). I think the total for the whole experience was somewhere around $50. We mounted the camels, which was an interesting experience because you are supposed to lean back while the camel gets up in 3 jerky maneuvers. Two young boys served as our tour guides, and one of them rode on a white horse. We had to pass through the tourism police gates into the site of the pyramids, and while we were waiting someone offered us drinks but then charged us for them after we drank them (this was the worst that I was tricked my entire time in Egypt. I suppose that I was too excited from being on a camel and figured the drinks would be free since they were earlier). When we entered the pyramid zone some Muslim chanting started blasting on a nearby megaphone. This is known as the "call to prayer" and happens every few hours every day. It is crazy because the speakers/megaphones are placed throughout the city so the praying can be heard everywhere, even in my hostel. This was probably the biggest shock for me while staying in Egypt, since hearing the loud Islamic chanting is practically unavoidable and it must have a strong, seemingly unavoidable influence on people.
Riding a camel through the desert was an amazing experience. I also bought and wore a kaffiyeh (the cloth headdress with a fastening band usually worn by Arab men) to help immerse myself in the culture and the moment. We didn't travel that long of a distance (the camels were used more to travel around the site rather than to get to it), but we still rode for about 2 hours. We would stop at certain points to get off the camels (after they would sit down in 3 jerky maneuvers) and take pictures of the pyramids. We could even climb onto the pyramids to take pictures (which was surprising to me because most important archaeological sites that I've been to are protected and preserved with great care, although I suppose Egypt's poor economic condition makes preserving the pyramids less of a priority. In fact, one of the reasons why so many Egyptian artifacts are found in museums around the world is because Egypt sold them in order to lift itself out of extreme poverty and even famine). Stepping foot onto one of the pyramids for the first time was a special moment for me, thinking of how they are over 3,000 years old and the only ancient wonder of the world still surviving today. Many of the world's great leaders have seen the pyramids of Giza, including Cleopatra, Caesar, Augustus and Napoleon to name a few. We ended the tour by taking pictures in front of the Sphinx and then returning the stables. On the car ride back we stopped by the papyrus museum, where I learned how papyrus was made. I also learned that in hieroglyphics, the name of a Pharoah can always be spotted because only they could have their names surrounded by a cartouche (oval). We spent the rest of the night inside the hostel because we didn't want to risk anything by walking around the streets at night.
The next morning we took another tour that we booked online ahead of time. Our tour guide picked us up and we drove to the stepped pyramid. It was built by the world's very first architect, Imhotep. Since I am an architectural engineering major I greatly appreciated seeing this pyramid. We went into a nearby museum named after Imhotep, then drove to a museum which had a colossal statue of Ramses and some other large statues. Next we drove towards a couple small shops, and along the way we stopped and ate at a buffet-style restaurant. The food wasn't very tasty, although it was nice to be exposed to new types of food. The most authentic Egyptian dish was rice wrapped around in some kind of green vegetable; like large, warm, plain sushi. One shop which we saw was a quilting workshop (which was worth the experience just to see young children at work weaving carpets. It is sad to see children be forced into child labor due to their country's poverty, including the young kids who were our guides during the camel rides to the pyramids). The other shop which we saw sold ointments which are all natural, made from the oils of flowers, and serve as the bases of many famous cologne's such as Calvin Klein, Hugo BOSS, etc. They were much too expensive though and I had no need for fancy colognes. It is funny how just about every tour run by the locals will take tourists to these shops. An indication of this is the fact that Bill Clinton, Sting, and Martha Bush among other famous people have all been to the Papyrus Museum!
After the shops we returned to Giza and played soccer with some of the locals at the stable while we waited for our camels. We rode into the desert again, although this time for relatively cheap since we weren't going inside the archaeological site and therefore didn't have to pay any entrance fees. We rode to a nearby gypsy camp/resting place and watched the sun set. Our guides were the same boys from the day before so we became slight friends by the end of the day. Then we rode back to the stables and watched the sound and light show of the pyramids while sitting on the stable's upper story. After to show we were given a ride back to our hostel and we stayed in for the rest of the night.
We spent all the next day taking it easy, staying inside our hostel. We talked to the hostel owners some more, ate our food (mostly packaged just to be safe and not get sick), and getting caught up on homework and leisure reading. Food and everything else in Egypt is ridiculously cheap (because of the 5 to 1 ratio of the dollar and Egyptian pound). One of the nights during our stay Pete ordered Egyptian fast food for everyone who wanted it, and it turned out to be ground beef in an oily pita, and different kinds of sauces to put on it. Again, the quality of the food wasn't very good but the experience was interesting.
The last day we went to the Cairo Museum (located a block away from our hostel, next to the Nile) and spent 4-5 hours there. It is the largest Egyptian museum in the world, and millions of artifacts are located here. We saw many statues, mummies, coffins, everyday objects, etc. but the highlight of the museum was definitely the King Tutankhamon room, where I saw his famous mummy mask, along with his multi-layered coffin and other precious golden objects found in his tomb. Something which everyone should know about the Pharaohs is that the depiction of them with a crook crossed with a flail is a symbol of power: each of them were the shepherds ruling over their subjects/sheep. Also, the famous and ubiquitous symbol of an eye is that of the Egyptian god Horus (depicted with a falcon head). Horus' left eye was ripped out in battle against his evil uncle Set, and it is a symbol of protection and healing. The Eye of Providence symbol located on the back of the one dollar bill as well as the "Rx" symbol that pharmacies use both descend from the Eye of Horus. Finally, the cross with a loop, called an ankh, is the "key of life," and represents life: reproduction and/or life after death. After the museum we went back to the hostel. At night we went to the airport to catch our flight back to Rome.
I am glad I visited Egypt not only for the amazing sites, but also for the shock of being in such a different culture. The site of mosques instead of churches, hearing Muslim chanting blasting throughout the city every few hours, riding camels, seeing the dirty and poor state that Egypt is in and how children are forced to work, and the extreme desperation of people to make money off of tourists were all a culture shock. The trip has made me appreciate the wealth and prosperity that citizens from America and other non-impoverished nations enjoy. Seeing the pyramids, riding a camel through the desert, and seeing countless Egyptian artifacts in the museum were all unbelievable experiences that I will never forget. I would recommend Cairo to anyone wanting to see the pyramids and able to handle any tricks/surprises by the locals in search for easy money.




Riding a camel into the desert, and hearing the "call to prayer" on the loudspeaker.

Oktoberfest, Paestum and Siena

A few weeks ago I went to Oktoberfest. It was quite an experience, with people from all over the world coming together to celebrate. I met my roommate Pepe in Florence, and while waiting for him I took pictures of Brunelleschi’s famous Duomo (dome) of the Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (he lives across the street from it). We boarded a train to Munich and arrived there late (around 10 or 11 pm) and spent about 20 minutes just trying to get our bearings because the street name that we were looking for was different from what we were expecting. Eventually we made it to our nearby hotel and went directly to sleep so we would have enough energy in the morning. We woke up around 8 AM, ate an extravagant breakfast buffet in the downstairs lobby, then walked towards the festival. On our way there we met some local Germans a little younger than us who we quickly befriended and spent the majority of the day going into different tents, going on rides, and exploring the city. That evening I met some more Germans outside of one of the tents and spent the rest of the night with them. The Germans who I met at Oktoberfest were extremely friendly, and it was nice to learn more about their culture, such as how to sing drinking songs, etc.
The next day Pepe and I headed towards Hacker tent. Jon told me it was his favorite tent and I have to agree with him; the paintings on the inside of the tent are amazing, with sky and clouds on the ceiling to evoke the feeling that you are outside. It was extremely lively in the tent and we met friendly people from all over the world. In the afternoon we left the tent and went to the train station so I could catch my train to the Frankfurt airport. Since I flew with RyanAir (a cheap airline), the actual airport which I was flying out of was located an hour and a half away from the city of Frankfurt, so I had to take a night bus to get there. I arrived in Rome in the
morning and headed directly to school. I was tired from the weekend but had an amazing time. The chanting, traditional clothing, and large scale of the whole event is truly unique and you simply don’t know how fun Oktoberfest is until you actually experience it… it certainly lives up to and even surpasses its expectations.
Two Weekends ago I took a day trip to Paestum. It is a small town located south of Naples with a few Greek temples that are very well preserved. Southern Italy, including everything south of Naples and Sicily used to be a Greek colony called Magna Graecia. Before the Romans conquered the entire Italian peninsula the two main forces facing them were the Etruscans to the north of Rome and the Greeks to the south. Both of these cultures greatly shaped the art, politics and culture of the ancient Romans, and so our modern democratic-republic pays homage to them as well. I love classical architecture so to set my eyes upon a Greek temple for the first time was awe-inspiring. I took well over 300 pictures of just the 3 temples so that is a testament to how excited I was. It is simply amazing to look at structures built 2500 years ago (in about 500 B.C.), imagine how the ancients made use of the buildings and how many people have seen the temples and the history which they have lived through. The fact that I was seeing something which was so old, so well preserved and beautiful was shocking. I stayed until sundown and while waiting for the train back I met a nice German couple who had just been to Capri. The Germans who I have met lately have been much nicer than the ones I met initially, so it goes to show that you can't generalize the character of a whole society by only meeting a few of it's people. This is true with Italy too, for it's not the perfect "Olive Garden" paradise you might imagine from watching movies. The Italians in general are friendly but breaking the ice with them is a little harder than in America. And Italians tend to be calm in order to preserve their "bella figura," but when their temper is broken they will have a sudden and strong reaction. I have met extremely friendly Italians and cold Italians, so like any where else in the world there will always be all kinds of people in great or horrible moods, and acting differently towards you.
This past weekend my CEA group and I took a trip through the Tuscan hills to Siena, and stopped at a winery and restaurant on the way there. The drive through Tuscany is beautiful. As I said before, it is very reminiscent of the hills and vineyards of Northern California, except it is MUCH more hilly. There are many small medieval gated towns which were constructed on hilltops for protection. Two of these many types of towns which I visited were Siena and Sant'Angelo in Colle, but I the first stop which we visited was the Castello Banfi vineyard, located on its own hill. I already went wine tasting a few weeks ago as I wrote in my previous blog, so I don't need to elaborate on the experience, but the Castello Banfi is a lesser known winery that makes some great red wine. The scenery around the winery is magical since it is located ontop of a Tuscan hill and all you can see is valleys of vineyards and undulating hills surrounding you in the distance.
Our next stop was the walled Tuscan hilltop town of Sant'Angelo in Colle. We had several different courses starting with of bruschetta (bread with various toppings, a famous Italian appetizer), slices of meat and cheese for appertif, then 3 different types of pasta including thick spaghetti with ground beef, ravioli stuff with vegetables and some kind of linguine. After the delicious and filling meal we walked around the perimeter of the town and took pictures of some amazing views for a bout an hour before heading back onto the bus towards Siena. When we arrived in Siena it was late in the afternoon so we checked into our hotel (Hotel Athena) and some guys in my group walked around the city to the main square (which is in the shape of half an oval). When the sun came down we met at the hotel with the rest of the group to go to a medieval style dinner. I was expecting one large plate of chicken and bread which I would eat with my hands (since this is what I remembered having at the medieval banquet which I attended at the Camelot Casino in Las Vegas with my family manky Thanksgivings ago). Instead there were multiple small courses (almost 10!) of various kinds of bread with toppings, tarts with nuts, chicken and pea soup, all eaten with silver wear. We washed this meal down with carafes of wine, had a splendid time, and enjoyed the medieval costumes, wooden benches and tables, and medieval decoration surrounding us including stained-glass windows. After the meal most of my group headed to the square again (which is the main hang-out place of Siena) and I talked to a few Italian locals. I talked to one man in Italian about some of the beautiful sights and history in Siena and the rest of Italy, and also about California and America. Every European I've met seems to love California and wants to visit it, while I feel the same admiration and yearning for Italy... I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, although I am very grateful to live in California. When it was getting late we headed back to our hotel to sleep.
We woke up around 8:40 to eat a quick breakfast buffet and then head towards the center of town to meet our tour guide. She is a member of one of the 17 Contradas of Siena, the "caterpillar." The Contrada of Siena are basically social groups that pool money and resources together to compete against one another, the culmination of which is the Palio, or horse race. There are many palios in Italy, but the one in Siena is without doubt the most important. Contradas spend the whole year of every year preparing for this event. A Capitaino, or "captain," is chosen every year to lead the Contrada into victory during the Palio. Professional racing horses are drawn in lotteries and top jockeys are paid ridiculous undisclosed amounts by each of the chosen 10 palios who compete in the two different palios every summer. Winning means everything to the Contradas, because they get bragging rights for the rest of the year and get to display their flags on all their buildings while the other Contrada are not so fortunate. The Palio is life to the different contrada, and they are so prideful and competitive that they label each of the buildings in their designated part of town with their symbols/coat of arms. You are born and baptized into a contrada (during which you are given the Contrada scarf to wear which every member has), although if outsiders become close friends to many of a contrada's members they are often baptized into the contrada as well. Virtually all of Siena's population is a member of a contrada, and it can get complicated with spouses belonging to different contrada, and sometime sibling belonging to different contrada as well. The social aspects of contrada are extremely strong, with children being brought up to practice waving banners and drumming every weekend (which I was fortunate enough to see), and even when they leave for college they will always have strong ties to their contrada. The contradas are like large second families that celebrate together, hold large feasts, are always their for moral support when someone in a member goes through hard times, and they cheer and cry together when the Palio itself takes place. The Palio takes place in the main half-oval shaped square of the city. The horses race 3 times around the track/perimeter of the square, and it is the shortest yet probably most intense horse race in the world. Since winning the race means so much to each contrada the emotion during the race is extraordinary and there is often violence after it is over.
Overlooking the square is a tall tower attached to a governmental palace which I climbed up with a couple people in my CEA group. It was an amazing experience to climb up the narrow stairs and constantly having to turn corners up the square tower. The center of the stairwell had a clear view towards almost the starting point of the tower, so when we got near the top it was fun to see how far we had climbed. When we stepped outside on the top the view was breathtaking. The famous reddish tiles of Tuscan rooftops extended far out all around me. I could see the famous gothic Siena Cathedral (where I saw some newly-weds having there pictures taken, which now seems ubiquitous in Italy) with its stripes/bands (typical for many Italian cathedrals of this era) along the building, the half-oval square below me, numerous tiled buildings enclosed by the encompassing town wall, and hilltops and vineyards as far as the eye could see. There were some bells on the upper and lower levels of the top of the tower, and the top one rang while we were up there. After snapping pictures and video of the amazing view we went back down to square, ate a late lunch at a small cafe and then headed to the hotel where our bus was waiting to take us home. I spent most of the ride staring out the window and appreciating the beauty of the Tuscan hills while it lasted.

Wine Tasting, the Roman Forum, the Vatican and St. Peter's

Two weeks ago I signed up to go wine tasting with 8 other students in my CEA group. Our student coordinator, Tom, took us to a small wine bar near Campo de'Fiori that had many different kinds of wine. We met Tom's friend there who told us about 4 different kinds of wine as we sampled them. The four wines were Tirle, Rocca Rubbia, Aglianco del Vulture and Roero Superiore. The Greeks supposedle introduced wine to the Italians, and one of the wines I had (Aglianico del Vulture) s made from the Aglianico grape which is a traditional southern Italian grape believed to be introduced by the Greeks. The Romans were the first to introduce wooden barrels and glas bottles to the wine trade. A wine gets its color from the skin of a grape (for instance white wine can be made from white grapes or skinned red grapes). Many wines consist of a combination of diferent grapes, yet something interesting I learned is that pink wine is not made from mixing red and white wines together, but rather by using the skins of red grapes for only a few hours. The thinner the skin of a grape, the higher acidity the grape will have and the stronger wine it will produce. Vinegars are produced with very high acidity. Out of all the wines my favorite was Roero Superiore, which is produced by Malvira' in Piemonte. Piemonte and Tuscany are where the most abundant/popular wines come from in Italy, yet Roero Superiore is less known. I liked it best because it was made with the Nebbole grape, which has a small skin. Our bottle in particular had grapes picked in 1998 so it was especially strong (the older a wine is the more bitter it becomes), and it had a pleasant aftertaste, although it was too strong for many of the girls at our table. I also like bitter beers and bitter vinegar, so it is no surprise that I now know that I like bitter wine. It is recommended to eat something inbetween each taste of wines this bitter/strong.
As for the other wines, Rocca Rubia is produced by Santadi in Sardegna, and it is a quality wine (which are produced with low acidity) made by many small producers who combine all of their different kinds of grapes. It is sweet and has a decent aftertaste. Tirle is produced by Carandole in Tuscany and it is also sweet but doesn't have much of an aftertaste. It ages in a wooden drum which makes it smoother and last longer. Aglianico del Vulture is produced by Il Repertorio in Basilicata, using the ancient Aglianica grape, and it has a hint of chocolate and horseradish in it.
The other highlight of last week was visiting the Palatine Hill and Roman Forum for my archaeology class. My professor, an archaeologist and architectural historian, fed my hunger for knowledge about this area, the birthplace and bedrock of Rome. The legend of Rome states that it was founded in 753 BC, and archaeological evidence supports it being founded roughly at that time. The area of the forum is located in the valley between the Palatine, Capitoline, and Esquiline hills. This area used to be a swamp (flooded by the nearby Tiber river), and its original inhabitants, the Etruscans and Villanovans (early Etruscans), would live on the hilltops and only bury their dead near the valley/swamp. Different tribes living in the area, including the Sabines and Latins (who are tied to the Romulus and Remus legend) assimilated with the Etruscans, eventually forming a kingdom (which was largely ruled by Etruscan kings). During this period the swamp was
drained. The last Etruscan king was eventually dethroned, establishing the Roman Republic in 509 BC. This period would last until Julius Caesar gained significant power causing him to be assassinated out of fear of becoming a monarch, and Octavian (Caesar’s nephew and adopted son) responded by killing all of the perpetrators and defeating Mark Antony at the battle of Actium, leaving no one to challenge his rule. Octavian thus became the first emperor of Rome and had the Senate proclaim him Augustus (meaning the “revered one”), marking the beginning of the empire in 27 BC.
One important aspect about the Roman Empire is that there was always a wish to connect itself with its past. The famous Via Sacra (Sacred Road), which emperors marched down in the Forum during triumphs, gets its name from the old Etruscan grave sites located nearby the road. Part of the reason for this was for propaganda purposes of the emperors, which is an extremely important part of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar was a mastermind of propaganda, and all the successive emperors (including Augustus) would copy Caesar’s techniques. The placement of almost every building in the Forum and vicinity, the way imperial statues look, etc. all had precise intentional meanings and purposes to further the political agendas of the emperors. Julius Caesar claimed to be a descendent of Aeneas (Ancestor of Romulus and Remus) and the Goddess Venus, so he would in effect claim to have the blood of the founders of Rome. After he was killed, Augustus had the
Senate officially deify him, and placed his temple/burial place in the center of the Forum. He was the only Roman ruler to ever have either of these great distinctions. Since Augustus was proclaimed the adopted son of Caesar in his will, Augustus officially made himself the son of a deity. Also, by placing “S.P.Q.R.” (which means “Senatus Populusque Romanis” or the “Senate and the People of Rome”) on each new public work, it in effect meant that not only the Senate approved of it, but all of Rome must have approved of it, further unifying and controlling the people of Rome. Caesar placed the Curia (senate house) between the sacred monument/site of Romulus in the Forum and his nearby imperial forum, all for propaganda purposes. By keeping their ties to the founders and past rulers, successive emperors were able to maintain authority. It is interesting to compare the propaganda techniques of the Roman emperors with the techniques used in
the current General Election (such as McCain attempting to skip the first debate or how Obama is now always wearing a flag lapel pin). By learning how to read the iconography and decipher the purpose of each monument or piece of art, I am also gaining a keen eye for deciphering hidden meanings behind situations in both the past and the present.
This week I went to the Vatican with my art history class. I climbed up to the top of St. Peter’s dome the week before and had an awesome panoramic view of Rome. On this visit I visited the Vatican museums and saw the Sistine Chapel. The most important statues I saw were the Laocoon (and His Sons), the Belvedere Torso and the Augustus of Prima Porta, and I also saw the famous School of Athens fresco by Raphael. The Laocoon is a magnificent statue depicting Laocoon and his sons at the moment when they are being attacked by snakes sent from Athena for warning the Trojans about the dangers of the Trojan Horse. It is a Greek Hellenistic work due to its great display of emotion, movement, and unbalance. It is significant because although it is believed to be created in the first century BC it was unearthed in 1506 (during the Renaissance) and had a huge influence on the artists of the time, especially Michelangelo. The Belvedere Torso had a similar
effect on Renaissance artists. It (although missing many of its parts) may depict a Greek mythological character who is contemplating suicide (which is why the figure’s muscles are so tense). Its great display of emotion through its tense muscles and scrunched pose influenced Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque artists, including Raphael and Michelangelo. The Augustus of Prima Porta depicts Augusts in a commanding pose, and on his armor is depicted a conquered foreigner handing back the Standard (eagle) of the Roman Empire. Augustus made a big deal over himself retrieving this standard and by engraving this scene on his armor it was there for all Roman citizens to see and remember, serving as a propaganda tool. He also was always depicted with longer hair than a normal Roman to resemble another great young leader in the then-not-so-distant past, Alexander the Great.
My favorite fresco that I saw was Raphael’s School of Athens, painted in the study room/ library of the pope. It was located on the side where the books on philosophy were located, which is why it depicts so many famous Greek philosophers and scholars. The main figures in the center are Plato and Aristotle. Plato, representing his philosophy based in the realm of ideas, is pointing his finger upwards. Aristotle, representing how his ideas are grounded with real-life observations, extends his hand with his palm faced downward towards the earth. There are many famous figures depicted, including Pythagoras and Alexander the Great, yet what is perhaps most interesting is Raphael’s figure portrayed on the right which is believed to depict himself, looking out towards the viewer.
I learned much about the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel from my professor right before we went in it. It depicts the 9 books of Genesis, beginning with the separation of light and dark. The famous two fingers almost touching are that of God and Adam when God creates Adam. God’s hand is full of energy and Adam’s is limp, showing the very moment when God is creating and instilling life into Adam. The reason why this is such an important fresco is not just its beauty but also its originality. Never before had man been depicted to be comparable to God, yet in this fresco Adam exemplifies a perfect body and is a spitting image of God (they have the same face, although God is older). Another interesting fact is that the first half of the ceiling showing the creation the earth and man has God in it, and it is the side under which the clergy were located, while the other half which depicts human misery is where the visitors were located. In this way
the clergy were tied to the greatness of God and the visitors were tied to human misery (a nice propaganda statement). Also depicted on the far end of the chapel is the Last Judgment, and Michelangelo depicted himself (like possibly Raphael in the School of Athens) as the empty flesh/skin being held by one of the figures. Michelangelo spent 4 years of his life painting the ceiling of the Sistine, and he used interesting scaffolding that looked like a bridge mimicking the arch of the ceiling. The ceiling was much higher than I expected, and it was wonderful to be in the same spot as and imagine Michelangelo painting his masterpiece.
For my Italian language class I met some Italians for a conversation exchange. We all had gelato at a gelateria located near Piazza Bologna (which is the metro stop I take for school). The gelateria has the most generous servings out any other one I’ve been to so far, so I will definitely come back to it. The Italian students are around the same age as me and it was extremely fun to get to know them and learn about their culture. We talked about many things, and one girl confirmed that they eat only a brioche (croissant or biscuit) with a small espresso for breakfast. I have already partaken in the Italian tradition of starting off the morning by ordering a small espresso while standing up at the bar and reading the morning paper, so I will try to buy some biscuits and have that for breakfast. It was great to make some potential new friends (Italians won’t call you a friend until you know each other well) and my time with them greatly
improved my Italian language skills. A conversation exchange really is the way to go! We exchanged numbers, made plans to hang out again, and said goodbye (which for me included exchanging kisses on the cheeks with the girls). I really like the closeness of the Italian culture (once you break the ice) and the Italian accent too.
In an effort to become a little more Italian, I walked around the major shopping area (by the Spanish Steps) and looked through the windows and walked into some of the stores. I walked into Gucci, Prada, Giorgio Armani and even tried on a suit at Versace. These places are way to expensive but it was interesting to look around at the stores of the major Italian fashion name brands. I checked out many other cheaper stores and found some good ones which I might shop at sometime.
I now know the layout of the city very well and can easily get around without getting lost. Rome isn’t too big so I often walk when I’m not in a hurry. Italians walk slower than Americans, which is funny because they drive faster and ignore traffic rules (and pedestrians now including I do too… Italians like to challenge authority). Walking in the minor alleys is always a pleasant experience, and every corner you turn there is more beauty around you. I will have my midterms in two weeks and then have a week of vacation. That will mark the middle-point of my time in Rome, which is hard to believe because I am having a blast and time is really going by too fast. I am trying to make the most of my experience by truly living like an Italian… when in Rome.

Now We Are Free...

Two nights ago and yesterday my friend Pepe visited me (he began my European trip with me and is currently studying abroad in Florence). I spent the whole night that he arrived talking with him about our experiences so far and walking around and showing him almost all of the amazing sights of Rome. We walked from my apartment (which is in the heart of downtown), to the Victor Emanuel monument, then to the Capitoline hill which Campidoglio rests on and behind which is an amazing view of the Roman forum, then the Imperial Fori including Trajan's column and Market, followed by the Colosseum and seeing the Circus Maximus and the Trevi Fountain on our way back. He was awestruck when he first laid his eyes on the Forum (as I was when I first saw it) so I made sure to record his face and reaction during that moment =). Seeing the Forum for the first time literally leaves you speechless... especially if you have any sort of sense and admiration for the history that took place there and the beauty it still holds. It was a long and enjoyable night of sightseeing with good conversation, and by talking to him I realized how much we have changed even from each other just by living in two different Italian cities. I hadn't realized it until then, but I was confident to cross busy streets with cars zooming by as all the locals do, and Pepe was still used to the small and calm town of Florence so was much more timid to cross the street. Also, when I was walking on a sidewalk he was walking on the street until I pointed it out to him because even though he had plenty of room to walk on the sidewalk he was used to the small sidewalks of Florence. Italian cities can be extremely different from each other even if there are only an hour away from each other, whereas most American towns tend to be the same. For instance, I could go to the Greek island of Capri, the Rennaisance town of Florence, the bustling and historic city of Rome, or the Medeival town of Seina and have completely different experiences in each town. I've been learning about Seina and its Contrada in my Italian culture class... the Contrada are basically small communities that you are born into that are extremely prideful and competitive amognst each other; the climax of which is the Palio, a horse race between all the differenct Contradas of Seina. I will talk more about the Contrada and Palio after I visit Seina in a few weeks and experience some Contada culture for myself. But going back to how different Pepe and I were just from the month we've spent apart in two Italian cities within 3 hours from each other... I have obviously changed in some American ways as well. From what I've noticed, I am eating in smaller portions, I'm eating much slower and actually am enoying my food to the point where I am often the last one to finish amongst my friends. I was at a restaurant with Pepe last night and noticed an obsese man reaching across the table and eating from the plate of his girlfriend. The couple appeared to be Italian or possibly Spanish but none the less it surprisingly disgusted me even though I remember seeing this before in America and it never had the same effect on me. Also, I see some young Italians trying to be "cool" by wearing baggy N.Y. labeled clothes like some American rappers, and I can't help but think of how silly they look to be wearing clothes that don't fit them. I am much less impatient and am able to enjoy myself even if I am waiting in line for long periods of time. I have become so accustomed to eating pasta, pizza and gelato, and drinking from the abundant Roman fountains that I start to have major cravings when I go without it for a while. And although I always appreciate the beauty of the architecture and sculpture around me I am no longer shocked by its magnificence but have started to expect it. Speaking of which, I went inside the Vatican and climbed to the top of St. Peter's dome (the biggest Christian church in the world) and greatly appreciated the sights but wasn't taken aback by it. Although part of the reason why I wasn't impressed by it was because the marble that was used to make the church was stripped from the Ancient Roman palaces on the Palatine hill (where my heart truly lies). Haha.
But anyways, after sightseeing we woke up the next morning to take a tour of the Roman Colosseum, Palatine hill and Forum. Wow... needless to say this was one of my best days of my life. It was the first time either of us had been inside any of these places so it was an awesome moment for both of us, and I enoyed every second of it. I made a point to listen to all the information that the tour guide was telling me because I'm sure I will come back to these areas many times before I leave. So let me drop some knowledge on you guys... The Colosseum was not actually called the Colosseum but the Flavian Amphitheatre, named after the dynasty of the 2 emperors reigns under which the Colosseum was built. When it was first built there were games for 100 straight days and ove tens of thousands of foreign animals were imported from Africa to be slain. Not only would the Romans import African animals but also seeds of plants and trees so they could grow and place these plants in the Colosseum during the animal fights to create a realistic scenery/backdrop. The vast majority of gladiators were slaves, especially Jews when the Roman Empire conquered the Middle East. Slaves would often earn money from fighting as a gladiator and if they won enough times they could eventually purchase their freedom. Unlike it is portayed in the movie Gladiator, there was no thumbs up or down, but rather a closed fist for "live" and an open hand with fingers pointing the ground for "kill." Also, there were referees next to the gladiators monitoring the fight and when first blood was drawn the referee would stop the fight until it was determined whether or not the gladiator could continue to fight, and if he couldn't then the audience and ultimately the Emperor would decide the gladiators fate. Realistically though, it is unlikely that the Emperor could estimate the number of "kills" and "lives" shown by the audience's hands so he would have likely made his decision from the sound of the crowd. There are 4 special entrances/exits that normal citizens couldn't use, including the entrance where the gladiators would enter the amphitheatre, th entrance of the senators, the entrance of the Emperor, and the exit of death where gladiators were carried through after dying. The Emperor had his own special balcony close the the ground floor and had a net placed in front of it in case any wild animals tried to jump up and attack him. The Roman fans had wooden or terracotta tickets with their section number on it and the Roman numerals of each of the 76 sections are still carved above its corresponding arch on the outer layer/ring of the Colosseum. Men would sit on the lower sections closest to the fights with teh Emperor of senators having their own separate and specials places to sit, while slaves and women were forced to sit at the top of the Colosseum where there wasn't marble seats but rather wood scaffolding. Speaking of which, when looking at the Colosseum's walls you can see some large and small holes. The large damaged-looking holes on the white travertine stone (such as that found on the entire exterior facade of the colosseum) are from large metal "staples" that were used to hold the blocks in place, the large square holes in the brick were constructed on purpose in order to hold the wooden scaffolding during contstruction, and the small damaged-looking holes are from torn out brackets that once held up the marble slabs that covered the brick and all of its holes. In fact, the Romans were the first to use veneers (or surface covers) on their buildings. They wanted to copy the wonderous marble architecture of the Greeks, but did it in a much cheaper, faster, and grander scale than the Greeks by constructing their buildings out of brick and then covering them with a marble veneer.
After the Colosseum we took another tour (with a different guide) of the Palatine hill. This was a perfect opportunity to see how the Romans constructed their buildings because the marble had been completely stripped from the Emperors' palaces in order to construct St. Peter's, leaving only the brick with its holes showing. This tour was especially delightful for me because the girl was extremely knowledgeable and personable, and she was talking about one of my greatest passions, the founding of Rome and its history on the Palatine. It was apparent to her that I already knew a lot about the Roman Empire from answering most of the questions she was asking our group so we started talking about how she got her job and I mentioned that I could see myself doing the same thing. Being a tour guide of any Ancient Roman site would be a dream temporary-job for me... Although if I were to really ever pursue that path I would probably be an archaeologist since it is much more professional, academic and established. If I could make up and have any job in the world it would be to learn about the history and uncover and discover the ruins of Ancient Rome (or any other ancient civilazation for that matter), then create new cities in the Ancient Roman/classical style, with some buildings the height of skyscrapers, in an environmentally-sustainable way. A sort of Roman-Indiana Jones-Green Architect... I can dream on... =).
I saw the HUGE ruins of the Flavian palace that took up over a square mile in surface area and was almost completely indoors and covered with marble. From what they uncovered of it so far it was 6 floors high with most of the floors underground. It had its own circus (horse racing arena and gym) attached to it, and it was completely covered in expensive marble. Most Roman buildings were made from the local white or gray marble or the travertine stone (gathered from the stone quarry which I passed on my way to Tivoli... and it's still in use today)! Marbles with much more vibrant colors were therefore much more sought after and expensive. The most rare and expensive marble is of a deep purple color, and it was located only in a small part of Egypt. However, if you want to find that kind of marble now your best bet is Rome because the quarries are now empty and the Roman Empire imported the vast majority of the marble when they ruled over Egypt. The largest solid piece of that kind of marble is a couple of square meters and it was once part of Emperor Nero's bathtub... it is worth approximately $250 million euros (no lie!) and is now housed in the Vatican museum.
I also saw the House of August (where he and his wife Livia lived... although only a small portion of it is remaining) which contains the oldest known frescoes in the world and the site became open to the general public only a few months ago. (I couldn't stop taking pictures and video of this place... if you have any knowledge of Augustus you know that he basically created the greatness of Rome (although Julius Caesar paved a helpful beginning path) so I wanted to document every square inch of the ancient palace in which he lived). And the Palatine hill provides the best view of the Forum, so I spent a significant amount of time taking in the view there. A funny fact is that the Temple of Vestal Virgins and their bathing pools were located right beneath the edge of the Palatine hill, and there's a viewing platform right on the edge of the hill so the Emperors could easily watch the sacred women while they bathed.
We finished off the day with a tour of the forum from a guide who is basically a walking encyplodia on the Roman Empire. There is a massive amount of sights to see and learn about in the Forum so we barely scratched the surface, but some things I learned and re-learned are that Caesar was deified by the Roman people after he died and a temple to him was built in the middle of the Roman Forum (imagine if we had a temple to George Washington or George Bush). In fact it eventually became common practice for every Emperor to be deified after death, even though almost everyone in Rome (even including the Emperor himself) didn't belief that it was actually true. One of the Emperors (Vespasian I believe) was known for his sense of humor and jokingly said the following last words on his deathbed: "Be still, for I am about to become a God!". There is simply too much to else to write about the Forum that I will have to cover it in another blog later.
After the long day of tours Pepe and I had a nice 2-course dinner for a reasonable price at a restaurant which looked like it used to be a wine cellar, located by the Trevi Fountain. I had spaghetti for Primi and chicken with potatoes for Secondi, washed down with a carafe of some house/table wine. It was a scrumptious ending to an amazing day... one that will likely stay in my memories for the rest of my life. =)

Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column, and the Victorio Emannuel Monument

The Arch of Constantine on my left, with the Via Sacra (Sacred Road) passing under the Arch of Titus on my right.

Il Colosseo (formerly the Flavian Amphitheatre). The platform is what the ground level upon which the gladiators fought once looked like. Below is where the gladiators waited and ate meals before their fights, weapons were sharpened, and animals were stored in cages and lifted up through shafts... all invisible to the public eye). The main entrance ahead is where the emperor entered, above which was where his viewing platform used to be. The marble seats remaining tot he left of the entrance is where senators would sit.

Me giving the "kill" hand gesture (thumb and fingers spread out and pointing down).

Il Foro Romana (Roman Forum) with the Arch of Titus and Colosseo on my right and Basilica of Maxentius/Constantine on my left.

What it looks like without myself in the way. These views are taken from the Palatine hill.

Basilica of Maxentius/Constantine on the right with the Temple of Romulus (an emperor's son, not the famous found of Rome) onthe left. Its bronze doors are still functional with the original key, all 2000 years old!

Ruins of the Temple of Vestal Virgins on the bottom left. It was circular and open roofed, and the 3 Vestal Virgins had to keep the fire in the center lit 24/7, otherwise they would be punished to death!

Temple of Vestal Virgins in bottom center, with temple of Divine Caesar just above it and between the large group of people (the monument that Augustus built for Caesar when he was deified, located in the spot where he was cremated), above which (the tall brick building) is the Curia (senate house) where the senators would meet.

Temple of Vestal Virgins in the center with their living quarters below. They would bath in the pool of water (obviously the emperor at the time would have a nice view of it as well). The statues surrounding the pool area were of the famous/best Vestal Virgins that preceded them.

Basilica of Maxentius/Constantine. (That's small thing at the bottom of the picture isn't a bug on your screen... but me! The basilica is HUGE! In fact this is only about 2/3 of its original height. You can see the beginnings of the main/central vault at the top of the picture).

Domus of Augustus (the first Emperor of Rome)! It's located at the top of the Palatine hill and was recently opened up to vistors a few years ago.

Some of the oldest frescoes in the world... located in the Domus of Augustus.