It-Alli-a: January 2010

"The Communists Live Upstairs"

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Venerdi, Gennaio 29:

This morning I went to my first Italian market. It was like many markets I've seen in the States (except for the 1/2 pig heads displayed for purchase....) There were so many scarves, I could have gone crazy. I couldn't resist my need to shop so I bought one (I am a sucker for teal colors), besides the fact it was cold and I needed it to keep warm! There were so many charming elderly men there chatting away (probably while their wives shopped, I see this universal human nature!) There were also a lot of people with dogs.

(Clips of the Market. It happens every
Friday in our charming little hill town.)

We went on a morning tour (walked about 2 miles). We went by a church and the ladies there just invited us in (this seems to happen a lot in Italy, people are so friendly).

(a crucifix and sculpture of San Michele Arcangelo)

Next on our tour was visiting a old (old in Italy is circa 1500's or earlier!) house with brick barrel vaulted ceilings. The man who owned it invited us in. Outside his house was a garden with a view of the Collegiata and the valley. (And....his garden has grass! That is a rare occurrence in many Italian hill fort towns). The old man described the surrounding buildings and different additions. He explained that some of the editions are "not that old, only 150-200 years old" all non-chalantly. (In the US that is amazing to see buildings that old). The old man also explained, (my favorite part of his tour!) that "the Communists live upstairs". He just slipped that in and continued talking. Oh, funny Italian!

(View of the Collegiata overlooking
the valley. It was a cloudy, rainy day.
When the sun is out, the colors are so
impressive)

(View out over the valley from the man's front garden)

(the old man's house)

(The barrel vault of storage
under the old man's house.
It's hard to see but in the back
you can see the building coming
right out of the bed rock)

(the old man and an image from inside his garage)

(inside the house)

After our tour, we came back for lunch which was Polenta (with sausage and cornbread), Then a group of us went on a walk down to the train station about 2.25 miles. Dinner was pasta and chickpea soup, pork roast, and fries (can you believe it!) and fruit. Then a bunch of us played cards. And, that was my night!

Afternoon Siesta and Studio Raid

Giovedi, Gennaio 28:

I slept in this day till 9:30. After a morning travel meeting and guest lecturer about Italian history we had lunch. Lunch was leek/potato or cauliflower (that's the conclusion our table came up with) soup, more veggie assortments of peppers (which I didn't eat), a sliced meat/cheese tray, and fruit. In the afternoon, our class went on a walk through the city (1.75miles). After the walk I whole heartedly embraced the Italian culture and took an afternoon siesta (I think Americans would be much happier, less stressed folk if they did the same!) I got up in time for dinner, rigatoni with a red sauce, ca

uliflower (im not sure what the theme is here...), but the roasted chicken with rosemary was delicious!, and of course fruit. After dinner, we re-arranged studio and raided the closet of goodies (architecture supplies) left by previous years (it was like Christmas all over again!)

(Willie the Wildcat holding up all
my charging adapters.He might be
making more appearances around town)

Ciao!

Friday, January 29, 2010

Now that I've been here almost a week It is time to update the world on my travels!

Lunedi, Gennaio 25:

The day I left for Italy! I had to be at the airport in Kansas City by 6am for our 8:05 flight to Washington D.C. The morning had a few snow flurries but mostly fog, so unfortunately no aerial pics from the plane. In D.C. we had a 5 hour wait for our fight to Roma. Laura, Amanda, Heidi and I rode a 'Mars Rover/Star Wars' looking shuttle to the main terminal and had lunch at Fuddrucker's (what an American name!) where I, of course had chicken strips, a farewell to my favorite meal for the next 4 months...)
The flight to Roma was turbulent for the first 4 hours (kinda fun actually! like rollercoasters!) I kept myself busy with some in flight movies like the 'Informant' and Michael Jackson's 'It Is Time' and my favorite pass-time, NAPPING!

(the 'Mars Rover' Shuttle)

Martedi, Gennaio 26:

The day we arrived in Roma!...After a 9 hour flight. It was chilly and rainy. We all made it through customs in Rome's Fiumicino Airport. It went so quick and without a word, it hardly seemed legit! We waited in the airport for an hour or so for our bus to arrive to take us to Castiglion Fiorentino. While there I made an interesting discovery! (apparently in restroom stalls, I guess green means occupied, not open like in the US! That could have ended badly for some unsuspecting Americans, but luckily no one else was in the bathroom!)
When the bus arrived, we had about a 3.5 hour ride to Castiglion Fiorentino. Most of the class (including me) slept the whole way. I guess the beautiful Italian countryside isn't enough to keep tired travelers awake. In CF it was still cold and raining (we heard some the townspeople were upset that it was such a bad day to welcome us to Italy. Aren't they charming!). A truck met us at the bus stop in CF to take our luggage. After the 3 block walk to Santa Chiara we had a quick lunch, got checked in, unpacked, and went on a short walking tour. On the tour we stopped at Hermes Cafe, where Enzo the owner gave all of us free pastries! His cafe is a little taste (no I don't mean the food) of home decorated in K-State (and other universities) flags and memorabilia.After the tour we made our way back for dinner. 'Cena' was spaghetti, pork roast, salad, and fruit.

(Hermes Cafe aka: Enzo's)

Mercoledi, Gennaio 27:

Wednesday was more orientation in the morning. I was able to get online to update the world a little on facebook during my free time before lunch. For lunch we had bean/lentil soup, fried zucchini, potato and egg casserole/kiesh, and fruit of course. After lunch we had a short studio meeting and then walked around town for a couple of hours. I walked a total of 2.3 miles, saw some cute cats (which made me miss my Milo and Smokie), some interesting driving situations, olive groves everywhere we walked, and intricate, detailed doorways. I also said 'Ciao' to a nice old man walking his dog and he said 'Ciao' back. It was all very nice until he started talking more Italian that I couldn't understand. (I felt bad) I wish I could understand him though!
Before 'cena' we watched a terribly cheesy video (we've all seen these videos in school, no need to waste more time talking about this). For cena we had penne pasta, roast (of some sort), salad, and fruit. After dinner, we all went to a local bar called the Velvet Underground (our group has dubbed the 'VU' for short) and had Limoncello's. A lemony drink that came in a shot glass. We then proceed to take the 'shot' which we find out after wasn't a shot at all! It is meant to be sipped.....Ooops! I guess we gave the Italian bar tenders a funny story to take home!