[A] Siena, first impressions

I have now been in Siena for three weeks, and that time has both sped by and lasted a lifetime. I do not feel totally integrated yet, and am still very conscious of my being a foreigner, but the welcome has been so warm that I feel such a turn is not far off. I share a room with a fellow American, Christian, and an Italian, Andrea. We have come to be good friends already, and having roommates with whom I can practice Italian is invaluable.

My apartment has four rooms plus a bathroom: a small kitchen, two spacious bedrooms, and a common room with couch, dinner table, and television. My shower has a curtain (+1 over France) and my desk...exists (+2). There is not, however a daily market outside my window (-1) nor is it acceptable to sit with an afternoon coffee (-2). It is linguistically a breeze compared to started anew with French, as I have already had two years of Italian in college. I feel my speaking already improving, though class thus far has brought with it no true revelations.

The city itself is beautiful, perched on an old hill and glowing in the evening light. Our apartment is just outside the proper walls, but in 7 minutes I am at the study abroad center, and in 16 at the locus of city life. The cobblestone streets are well corrected and walk with the wear of hundreds of years. Old churches shrink amongst five story private residences built both in the banking boom (Siena's Monte dei Pasci is the oldest bank. Yes, in the world.) and in the 19th century. The nexus of life and city is Piazza del Campo, a broad, sloping, central area in which the annual Palio races are held in the summer. In the evenings it is populated by families strolling after dinner and before work, children chasing pigeons, and people like me, reading or drawing. At night it becomes social central, and the determining factor to a night out is what time you arrived to or left from the Campo.

Just around the city lie the Terre di Siena, testament to Tuscan beauty. I have so far had limited occasion to explore this countryside, but am excited that this Sunday we are taking a ground bike tour around the area.

My courses are such that I have between 2-3.5 hours a day of Italian, 3 hours a week of Italian Cultural History, 3 hours a week of Italian and European Politics, 3 hours a week of Italian Love Poetry (taught in Italian), and 2 hours a week of independent study meetings. The Italian language courses are taken at the Università per Stranieri di Siena (UniStraSi), and all others happen at the study abroad center.
Siena has a great atmosphere, and is the size and type of city I prefer, very similar in many ways to Aix. I am 30 minutes from Florence by bus and 3 hours from Rome. I plan to explore the region and the country as much as possible, and of course to visit Pomai more than possible. I have not yet played tourist, so these pictures all come from google.

[A] Valencia and Madrid- August 29- September 1

The train to Valencia took us along the length of the Costa Brava, Spain's answer to the French Riviera and Italy's Campanian coasts. The views were gorgeous when not obscured by tunnels, and we arrived to Valencia in about 3 hours. The hotel was in Alboraya, just north of Valencia, and though it was not, as I had falsely concluded, on the beach, it was right near the metro that connected us to the city. When we arrived I was in the middle of some demonic grip of pain, so we hesitated to go to the beach, which was the pure plan for Valencia. When I decided it was time go in search of food, we took the metro to the city center and walked down the large park carved out by a river that has only recently been diverted from the city. We barely found founf- it was Sunday and they meant that very seriously. We at last did, however, and I started to feel better. We decided to keep walking through the park to find the new City fo Arts and Sciences, a series of massive public projects that have redefined the city in the past decade. They were great buildings, including a science center, art museum, aquarium, planetarium, and outdoor dinosaur park (!). I wasn't feeling 100% but we still managed to enjoy the evening, and on the way back from walking around all of the buildings we stopped at a playground modelled of of the Lilliputian episode of Gulliver's travels, that is when they have him tied down. The huge Gulliver statue was crawled over by dozens of children, revitalizing the literary image in a fun way.

The next day we took the morning to go to the beach, which was vast and beautiful, and on account of our arriving around 9 am, not terribly crowded. We got our fill and headed to Madrid.
We arrived in the evening to Madrid Atocha train station and erringly took a taxi to a hotel visible from the station. The hotel was very nice and right in the center of the art district. That night we went out for a nice dinner as an early birthday celebration for me.

The next day we headed straight for the Prado, the largest Spanish national museum, and second largest collection of European art only to the Louvre. We paid extra to see the special exhibit being shown on Turner, and went around to see the greatets works of the Spanish masters, namely El Greco, Velasquez, and Goya. We ended with the collection of French and Italian art, and exited after about three hours. We then went in search of food, and walked towards Plaza Mayor, the main square orignially constructed as an out-of-town meeting place, where we found good tapas. After lunch we wandered until finding a Churro shop, where we ordered the traditional spiral donuts with melted swiss chocolate. That night we ate at the hotel, as we had an early flight to Rome the next day, after which we would part ways for the time being.

[A] Barcelona- August 26- 28

Having arrived in Madrid too late to take the high speed train, we instead boarded the last option, a night train to Barcelona, which would give us 7 hours of decently restful (Drammomine induced) sleep before dropping us off at Estacio Sants near my old apartment. We passed a short cab ride before reaching our Hotel, in a brandly new developed area, l'Hospitalet, recently connected to the city center by metro, near Montjuic and Les Corts. The hotel although cheap was brand new and refreshingly well designed, with a truly formidable breakfast buffet. We slept a few hours more, enjoyed breakfast, and set out for our first of two days.

We went first to Parc Guell, the elevated early 19th century setting designed, overseen, and lived in by Antonio Gaudi, hero of architecture, native of Barcelona. We enjoyed the view, the mosaic tile masterpieces, the earthen protrusions the constituted flowerbeds, and did not so much enjoy the heat or the crowd. After about an hour we walked back down the hill towards the metro. We caught it towards Las Ramblas, the pedestrian arteries of the old city that nowadays find themselves full of fake statues and gambling scams, as well as typical Catalunyan beauty. We walked the length of the main Rambla, from Plaça Catalunya to the Port Viell, and rested for a while by the water. We then went in search fo tapas, and settled at the same place as had my mother and company when they came with me to Barcelona in 2006. The Pan Catalan was still soggy, but the rest was also still splendid.

That night we walked towards Montjuic to see the musical fountains, which begin anew every :30, and to find dinner. I judged that the walk would take 15 minutes. In fact it took 45, but thanks to the flexible schedule we arrived no more damaged (except for Pomai's poor feet). The show was elaborate and colorful, with a strangely eclectic soundtrack. The clarification of such a vague memory for me brought back a world of others, and I was transported to the summer I spent in the city four years earlier. We wandered down Par-allel and found a huge paella and possibly larger pitcher of sangria in front of us before long.

The next day we took the metro to the Sagrada Familia, a Gaudi masterpiece of unparalleled proportions. I was renewed in my fascination for the stained glass work, and we spent about an hour inside. It is a truly spectacular structure. We admired both the inside and outside for the total of a morning, the went to Starbucks for a bit of energy and breakfast. We walked away in the wrong direction, and had to hop on the metro to view la Pedrera, a Gaudi building built originally as a massive private residence, from the outside. We got back on the metro within the 90 minutes and proceeded to Les Corts, my old neighborhood, to have a nostalgic look around. We stopped by my old house, my bodega, my bus stop, and the park through which I walked every day. We then wandered towards our hotel via the newly completely (and appropriately vacant) Rambla de Brasil, where we found lunch and from where we proceeded home.

In the evening we headed to Caixaforum, a free-entry art gallery put on by the largest regional bank, which was featuring exhibited artowrk by Miguel Barcelò, native of the province and contemporary master (his work was featured in Avignon- the upside down elephant is his.) It was a terrific exhibit which inspired me to ask for his illustrated version of Dante's Divine Comedy in three volumes for my birthday from my father. That night we went to the new port, Port Olympic, to find dinner and see where most night outs wound up for me when I lived in Barcelona. Our food choice was not spectacular, but we were starving. Certain sacrifices are made. We walked around a bit before and after, and began the long journey home.

The next morning we left around 11 from Sants Estaciò for Valencia. The two days in Barcelona were a whirlwind of memory and tourism, and while I wish I had alloted more time there to reminisce and to show Pomai all of the great things it has to offer, I was eager to explore beyond previous horizons.

[A] Athens- August 21-26

We had a relaxing and fascinating time in Athens, Greece, for four days in the middle of our August adventure. We arrived late at night from Istanbul and took a taxi into the city center to our hotel, passing the new Olympic stadium on our way. Once at our hotel, which was in a relatively sketch neighborhood, we collapsed and rose the next day ready to Acropolate. Because it was a Sunday late in a flat Grecian tourist season, we found little crowd on the Acropolis (that is to say, it was not Acropolyptic), the site of the treasured Parthenon and ruins of the Theater of Dionysus, the Ancient Agora, and the Temple of Athena. The stunning marbles glowed in the sun as we ascended the hill by foot, baking slowly. We had a lengthy photo shoot at the apex before a stumble down towards water and food.

  

 

 We explored the ancient neighborhood of Plaka, the most touristy because of its proximity to the Acropolis and its rather pleasant, old Europe layout. We found a restaurant sunken into a garden and had our first true, dynamic meal since before Turkey, land of the shameless tourist cuisine. It was delightful.

That night we went to dinner in Gazi, a recent product of urban renewal, where greek fusion cuisine is the commodity to treasure. After a stroll around the square which surrounds the Keramikos metro station from which we had exited, an exemplary, polished, white marble cavern to which the Grecian fiscal turmoil can be starkly contrasted, we settled at Mamacas, one of the pioneers of both the urban renewal fo Gazi/Keramikos and of modern greek cuisine. While the food was perhaps overrated, the atmosphere was poppin, and Pomai fed (from a safe distance) one of many kind, stray dogs that roam the city.

 The next day we decided to explore the waterfront area, Glyfada, and to relax a while there on a Mediterranean beach. To reach it we took the tram from Syntagma, the square which abuts both Parliament and the National Gardens. We strolled through the national gardens to the old Olympic stadium before returning to take the tram. After about 50 minutes, we spotted a private beach area and hopped off. Before settling in we had sandwiches at a Glyfada bar, mine coming with some truly stellar fried potatoes. The beach for the afternoon, which melted into evening, was very relaxing. We got back home and asked for a restaurant recommendation near (very near) our hotel, and were directed to Archeon Gefsis. This was by far the most unique dining experience of our stay. Archeon Gefsis, or ancient tastes, takes its theme from the rediscovery of ancient greek cuisine. We were greeted by a waitress in a red toga and taken to our tables set with spoons and knives- forks did not exist in ancient Greece- and wooden tableware. We were brought an aperitif of honey, rosewood, and white wine. Each item on the menu included a quote and citation of an ancient greek text in which the food was directly mentioned. There was no guesswork involved. Pomai ordered duck garnished with fruits, and I had the rabbit. It was a great meal.

The next day, after a late start, we went first to the Acropolis museum, a newly and elegantly designed home to the layers of history and artifacts, as well as the non-pillaged Parthenon marbles, that sits at the base of the hill. The depth and breadth of history was fully present, and the aesthetically pleasing new building made for a nice visit. Afterwards we wandered back into Plaka for a gyro and went shopping for a little while. That night we decided to explore Piraeus, the port area, having heard of great seafood. What perhaps I underestimated was the sheer size of Piraeus, being, in fact, a city that until very recently stood on its own apart from Athens. The attempt to walk from one side, to which the metro brought us, to the other was thwarted by a massive hill. We wandered defeated into a small harbor and found a good meal for a good price that brightened our spirits. Our trek home- thirty minutes walking and an hour on the metro- left us fully exhausted.

 The last day we decided to return to the site of greatest relaxation, the beach. We settled this time on a different one, one with a large inflatable play area on which we paid to play. At the end of the long, calm day (and after the same sandwich and fries as earlier that week) we returned home. We went out again to the Gazi area, this time to a seafood restaurant called Sardelles. I had a series of skewers of prawns, and Pomai had fried cod. It was very good, and there was also a kitten.

 The next day was perhaps the most disastrous of our trip. We missed a flight to Barcelona because I read 3:45 as any sane person would- an afternoon flight. Instead, in fact, the flight had left by the time we woke up, and we scrambled to purchase the last two tickets to Spain (mind you, not Barcelona) that day, as our hotel could not accomodate us for another night. We got to Madrid at 8:30, just in time to miss the last high speed train to Barcelona.

[P] Istanbul. August 16th - 21st.

We had an amazing time in Istanbul (formerly known as Constantinople), Turkey. Our hotel had a fantastic view and every morning we would eat breakfast gazing at the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome. On our first day we went to the Hagia Sophia, built in 532 by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and famous for its dome that changed architecture history. Originally built as a church, it later became a mosque, and is now a museum.

The highlight of our trip may have been taking a ferry cruise down the Bosphorus strait that divides Europe and Asia. It took turns stopping at points along each continent. We toured the Beylerbeyi Palace, a summer Ottoman residence in Asia, and viewed the Rumeli Fortress, which is built at the narrowest point of the straight on the European side and was built for a Turkish siege on the city (then Byzantine). Finally, we reached the Black Sea and were able to swim in it right off the boat!

We also visited the Topkapi Palace, which was the primary residence of Ottoman Sultans. It also houses Muhammad's sword and cloak, Moses' staff, and other holy relics. We even walked through the Harem where the Sultan's family lived, as well as concubines.

We walked by the Blue Mosque everyday. Since we were there during the time of Ramadan, the area surrounding the mosque had an air of festivity every night as families gathered to picnic at sunset. A memorable moment was when we sat in the courtyard and listened to the call of prayer that could be heard throughout the city five times a day. On one of our last days we finally ventured in. Although most of the population is Muslim, Turkey is a secular state. Due to Ataturk, all mosques allow visitors if they are dressed properly and it is not during prayer time.

We also walked through the overwhelming Old Bazaar and the tempting Spice Bazaar where we stocked up on apple tea and Turkish delight. We had grown a fondness for tea gardens, kebabs and anything lamb, and trying the food from fair-like street vendors (grilled corn, roasted chestnuts, and candy made before your eyes).

 

However, the best thing about Istanbul is that there are cats everywhere!

[P] Amsterdam. August 14th - 16th.

Our great European adventure started early in the morning as we took the Eurostar from London, through France and Brussels, to the Netherlands. Amsterdam was the only stop on the trip we planned to stay in a hostel, which was hilariously close to the Red Light District. Our first day there we explored the city of canals and bicycles, got caught in a drag queen parade, and ate delicious Indonesian food (a former colony).

The next day we started our day with pannenkoeken (pancake-crepes) and then made our way to Van Gogh museum. On our way back, we walked around the city and enjoyed some frites (french fries). We stopped by the Anne Frank Huis, where the Frank family hid during Nazi persecution that has been turned into a museum, which we would return to in the morning to properly pay our respects to before catching our next flight.