Come stai? Tutto bene?

41 days have past since I first set foot in Italy. Boy, it sure doesn't feel like it. While I do have pangs of homesicknesses and cravings for all flavors Asian, Siena has become home. I realize this every time I go on an excursion to another city, and especially when i'm kicking the soccer ball around with a few buddies in the dirt "field" we've converted into our grand stadium.

My proficiency in Italian has improved exponentially, the idiosyncracies of Italian culture are almost like second nature now, and my appetite for good pasta has not waned yet.

I think though, that there is much more that makes Siena home to me than recognizing a few locals by face and warmly being greeted with a "buona sera," or being able to weave myself through the local and tourist traffic on Via Montanini without knocking someone's gelato over or stepping on any toes.

It is probably deeper than how Siena, no matter how hot it is, is probably a few degrees cooler than any other city, or how the streets are immaculate compared to other places. Probably...but I can't put a finger on what it exactly is...

Sono Cinese Americano - di San Francisco e di Siena.

Nice ring to it.

Here's some pics of Venezia. Frank said that this place was the "most romantic place in the world. You will cream yourself there." When I asked him if he did, he answered "Yes. And I was single." Enjoy!


The train to Venezia was so fast and comfortable!

St. Mark's Square at night

Kids feeding the famous pigeons of Piazza di San Marco (the food has birth control in it)

"Bomba Mix" fruit at the Mercato di Rialto

The next generation gondolier.


Ciao tutti - Baci, baci!
-Teo

After an 18K Hike a couple bottles of Cinque Terre sounds good...

Stephen King says that if you want to be a writer, you must never use the prhase: "It was indescribable" - or something to the effect where one doesn't have the adequate vocabulary to accurately describe something. Good thing I am not planning on writing novels for a living becuase I am definately lacking the words to the beauty that is attributable to Le Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is a succession of five coastal villages that are connected by an 18km hiking trail in addition to the train that runs through each town. From the naked eye, each village looks like a carbon copy of the other; which is a main boulevard running uphill that is lined with pastel colored buildings that encase not only residences for locals, but hostels, restaurants, markets, and souveneir shops alike. But from up-close, each village has its own flair.

The first stop off of the train from La Spezia is Riomaggiore. This village sits quietly in an understated ravine that winds up into the hills of Liguria. Mostly quiet during the day, the village is not much more than a quaint place to stay and enjoy the beautiful blue skies and sea breeze. At night, however, live music brings the sole Piazza in town to life with locals and tourists blending together dancing and enjoying the entertainment.

The next village, Manarola, is connected to Riomaggiore by an open air tunnel called Via dell' Amore (The Street of Love), aptly named after the paintings and drawings on the walls of the tunnel. Many other pledges of love and signs of promises of the heart can be seen as you walk through this tunnel. Manarola is also located in a ravine, however, part of the village is visable from afar as it is partially elevated onto a cliff.

Hiking to Corniglia is a bit more arduous. In the last leg of the trail, you are welcomed into town with a series of 368 steps. Corniglia is known for their wine and is the only village not located directly on the water. Instead, the village rests on a promontory that affords some of the best views of the Adriatic Sea.

The trail gets steeper as you progress onto Vernazza. However, the toil is made worthy when you enter a town, which, in my humble opinion has the best proportion of amenities for tourists to originality and quaintness. The village has a small protected harbor which has a tiny beach that many Italian and foreign tourists swim at. If you are a competant swimmer, there is a quay that wraps around a precipice where you can jump off and swim accross to another cliff. There you can jump or dive about 8 meters into an area of deep water. Just make sure there are no jellyfish first!

After one more trail, you reach Monterosso, by far the most resort-like of all the villages. The hike to Monterosso winds its way through vinyards and orchards and is very steep and very narrow at times. Since views that are just as good can be seen from the trail between Vernazza and Corniglia, I would only recommend this hike to be able to say you hiked through all five towns. Monterosso is bordered by an umbrella covered beach that costs a few Euro for an entry fee.

I thought this pic was pretty cool.

The steps leading up to Corniglia

View of the train tracks from the top of the steps.


Liguria is home to Pesto alla Genovese, the original and best pesto, great wines, and delicious foccacia. If you ever have the chance to visit the area, stop by Cinque Terre. You won't regret it.

Ciao!
-Teo

Europe Does Not Care About Personal Space

Sorry! Excuse me! Pardon me!

You hear those phrases quite often in America when you walk down a busy street. However, in Italy, and the brief stop I had at the airport in Amsterdam, it seems as though everyone here in Europe has a serious lack of regard for personal space. "Scusa" and "Scuzi" exist in the Italian language for a reason, but apparently they've fallen into disuse! Be sure to keep your shoulders set and walk with a forward lean if you don't want to get decked during rush hour pedestrian traffic. You might bump into a few people, but I've learned that it pays to walk with purpose here, rather than aimlessly, as most tourists do.

On another note regarding personal space, is it just me or does it seem like nobody (at least the guys) minds spooning upright while standing in public transportation? I can recall a few times on the Metro in Rome (which completely sucks by the way) and on the buses that I was the big and little spoon at the same time, while I was clutching onto my bags like they were bedposts er...pillows.

Anyways the twins travelled a very long time to see me in Siena, so I took them around Siena and to a Jazz concert hosted by Contrada della Tartuca.

This was Pantera's secret little meeting hall for the Contrada. Pretty crazy that we got to tour it. The leopard in the back has such crazy details. It's about 20 feet wide and 6 feet tal.

She was playing yazz flute!!!

Ariane wanted to take artsy photos, but we look like ants!

San Domenico Church from the south side. The sun wasn't quite setting yet, so it just looks like a bright ball of light behind the church. Weak.


So, yes. No such thing as personal space. It is annoying. Plus, people have mad B.O. here. However, I'll save their lack of hygiene for another post.
Arrivederci mi amici.
-Teo

Reflections on Roma

12 years ago, I went to Rome and Florence with my mom and brother. We only stayed for 5 days, so everything was in fastforward, but I do remember the magnificence and grandeur of the half-modern, half-ancient city. During my trip to Rome this past weekend, I was able to appreciate the significance of the art and architecture more than I was able to when I was 10 years old. However, I noticed other things about the city as well. Quite noticibly, graffitti lined the walls of the bus terminal as we rolled into town. And on the Metro trains. And on various buildings around the city. Even the Coloseum had some tagging on it.

The city was abound with street hustlers, knick-knack pedlers and gypsies all soliciting their "Frada" bags or pleading for loose change. (Note: Be careful about how free you are with your change in Euros. Using American change like Euros would be integrating silver dollars or double-silver dollars into everyday use.) I did not, however, get a baby thrown at me in some wild scheme to steal my bags. That would have been interesting though.

It is a shame to see the beautiful melange of cultures and time periods that is Rome, defaced and laden with the social refuse of many nations. (Illegal immigrants who could not find work in their contries of origin have found that the fraudulent designer bag industry in Rome and other urban Metropoli is quite profitable.) I am not going to turn this blog into a discussion of social welfare and humanitarianism, so here, enjoy these pictures:


Battillions of sunflowers stand at attention in the fields of Tuscany

1 liter of house wine between 2 good freinds = Good Times

The Pantheon is HUGE. 'nuff said.

A ray of light shines down through a window at St. Peter's Basilica

The famed Coloseum


Next trip is Cinque Terre. Hopefully i'll get in a post before then.
Ciao!
-Teo

The Palio: Pt. 2 (late post)

As I mentioned earlier, Siena has two Palios. Tomorrow's is the Palio di Provenzano. This festival is in honor of the Madonna of Provenzano, a painting of the Virgin Mary, which was supposed to have miraculous curative power. To put it into perspective, this is not merely a costumed horse race held in the center of town. The Palio represents the former greatness of the Republic of Siena, the centuries old kinship ties between the members of each contrada, past enmities, alliances, and much much more.

This year, Chiocciola (the Snail) and Tartuca (the turtle), who are sworn enemies, were the favorites for the title. Unfortunately, Chiocciola’s horse was injured at the very first trial run for the Palio. (There are four in total).

After each evening Prova (trial run), there is a dinner in each contrada. I was fortunate enough to be invited by my host mom to attend Drago’s “Cena Prova Generale.” At this dinner, about 300 guests attended - most of whom were happily innebriated by the time the antipasto was served. Girls and boys of all ages took turns singing the contrada song and clapped their hands and pounded their tables with glee.

After having dinner with what felt like one big happy family, why more cities aren't split into contradas. It really is a good system.


Civetta's (the owl) horse and caretaker.

Part of the garden in San Domenico church. (after dinner)

Me and my host mom, Stella.

The kids are just making a friendly hand/arm gesture to a rival contrada.

Nicchio was also a favorite. They are a large contrada. The scarves that they are waving were given to them at birth, signed by the captain of the contrada.


Ciao, arrivederci.
-Teo