Trip Pics

Quick Note

Okay, plans changed.... and are still changing....

I went to Milan, Rome, Napoli, Pompei, Sorrento, Bologna, Florence, Perugia, Assisi, Siena, Livorno, Pisa, Lucca, and now Im in Florence again and going back to Rome tonight. I will post more later. Having fun, seeing a lot and taking a lot of pictures. Ciao Ciao!!!!

See you next week!

Alpine Adventure

So I have been up in the Alps for 10 days and am starting my week off, which is 10 days long..... :)

This computer doesn't work well, so pictures will have to make up for a lack of my normal ravings.

We were in a town called Pragelato where I expected to see a singing nun come running around every mountain followed by 7 children.

We did a lot of hiking and were accompanied by a Canadian flight attendent and her Italian boyfriend. I have to say, my stay would have been very boring if it hadn't been for them.

I spend the entire day (every day) with the family, so my nerves were a little edgy from lack of freedom and constant supervision (of me not Camilla).
it was good, the weather changing from hot to freezing, the distant sound of cow bells in the trees, wild flowers everywhere. I wish I could have done some exploring on my own, but maybe next time.


Their 'cabin' was a 18th century stone house made into four apartments. It still isnt finished being remodeled but they are keeping with the old school theme with antiques and old wood doors... (Dad- you would really like how rustic it is). The 'city' part consisted of a cafe/pizzeria, so there wasn't much to do.



We visited a beautiful little French town with delicious...and as you can see, children who don't behave here turn to stone.

Well, so much for it being short. I probably w on't be writing til after my 10 day break is over. I will be going down to Lucca, Napoli, exploring Sicily for 4 days then going back up too Napoli again, Assisi, Siena, and back to Alassio for three days before returning to California.

Wow! the summer is going by fast.

Soooooo...

Yet again, it has been a while since I have last posted. I have been busy with Camilla’s birthday party. She turned the lucky number 7, so let’s hope I’m the lucky one. The party was a bit different than what I am used to. I have to say that the biggest hit was my home-made paper piñata. Apparently, they don’t have them in Italy. Paola said that when she was an Au-pair she did one at a kids birthday party and thought it was the best thing ever, but she’s never found them in Italy. Anyways, it basically looked like a head. The kids were having difficulty taking turns, so it turned into a free for all hitting fest.

The actual family party was the next day. Oddly enough, it was not centered around Camilla. It was more of aunts, uncles and friends having a barbeque, talking, and drinking while I was with the kids.

We go up to the mountains Sat. morning, so I might not have Internet for a while. The housekeeper is gone for two weeks, so I am setting my mind to not take her place. They don’t pay me that much, and it won’t kill them to have to wash their own dishes.


(the island in this pic looks like a turtle)


I met a woman from New York in Alassio. We went on a long hike in the morning, and talked a lot about the mindset of people with “hired help.” We both have seen how they will make very distinct instructions which have to be followed, and they get the credit for having done it; however, when they have to do it completely on their own, it’s no where near the perfection they require of others.

In Alassio, there were more relatives visiting. Paola’s brother from Parma and his two kids. They were very sweet and actually listened. The youngest was four, and she would ask to play with me, would want to go swimming with me, wanted to hold my hand… It was the kind of interaction I would like to have with Camilla. I am hoping it rubbed off.

I said goodbye to my friends who work at the Internet café. I was a regular there so they got used to me. Not to mention, I spilt an entire cappuccino on the floor. What can I say, I had to mark my territory so to speak.

Paola has a sister with mental problems. She’s fully capable of doing everything a normal person would only she is more like a child. All the time, and I mean 5 times a day, she jokingly asks me, whats your name? or have you seen Marcie? Or Who are you? Then also everyday she wants to go for a swim where she will say, look Merrrrcie- a fish or a crab or a jelly fish then commence to pinch me several times. Today was the last day I will see her, so she made me promise to send her cds from California. I practice my Italian with her, and she will correct me if I am wrong. She gets upset sometimes too though. The woman from NY just ‘happened’ to walk by when we were having our birthday party and wanted so wish Camilla “auguri” The sister got upset and wanted to make sure that she knew it was Camilla’s birthday. She wanted me to ask her, in English, where the present was and insisted that she did not wish Camilla a happy birthday. It was an awkward situation.

Anyways, I am super tired after party number two. I hope to hear from everyone who reads this (all two of you!) when I get back. Ciao Ciao.

This pic. reminded me of the newer version of Romeo and Juliet.

Better late than never

So, sorry it’s been so long since the last post. I went from nothing to write about to going to Torino for three days. Annamarie is finished with her six months, so I went to go see her before she leaves to travel around a bit. We stayed at the apartment of the housekeeper for the family she stayed with. She and her husband are from Bulgaria, so there are some words that all of us didn’t know how to say in Italian. It was really fun, sitting around drinking some beer and wine eating french fries and just talking about things. They were really funny. It was fun to think that I can tease and joke with someone in another language. I guess sarcasm is universal. She was very philosophical talking about how the family she worked for had so much money but basically left their kids to be raised by someone else and just constantly vacationing. She was like, you know we are having more here sitting around relaxing cause there are more important things than showing off and being social just for the sake of it.

Annamarie and I did do some walking around though, alright a lot of walking around. My poor feet are covered with blisters, but it was totally worth it. We walked to this huge park on the other side of town; there was a lake filled with turtles. You looked out and could see at least 50 little heads poking out of the water and turtles coming out on to the banks. It was really nice until some weird guy walked by and asked us if we wanted to buy some cocaine. Just so you know, I said NO!

Today I was back in Alassio at the beach with Camilla and her two cousins and their grandpa. Paola, the mother, came up to me and said she wants me to try and play with Camilla more. I told her that she frequently, all the time, tells me she doesn’t want to play with me, doesn’t want to do anything I suggest, and just says no. Paola told me that I should try more, so today I basically followed Camilla around, asking if she wanted to do this or that, if I could play with her and her cousins. It didn’t help. She usually doesn’t respond when I call her name or she puts her hand up to me, turns and runs away. Any suggestions? I’ve used English and Italian, asked her why she doesn’t respond to me, tried playing with the other cousins first to see if she will join…. Anyone have any ideas?

I’m focusing on the fact that I’m trying and it’s not my fault she’s a brat. I am planning what im going to do during my one week off in August. I wanted to do Greece or Sicily, but it’s high season, and everything is expensive. Now I am thinking about going down the west coast of Italy maybe all the way to Sicily. Any suggestions?

Well, I hope everything is well with all of you. Talk to you later.

I found this in Torino. They usually spell the last name Bautista or Battista, but I guess someone made a big mistake on this church.

whoops...adventure

So I went to Nice on Monday and Monaco on Tuesday. I thoroughly enjoyed my three days off. They come back tonight, and I would be telling a lie if I said I wasn’t a little sad. I didn’t really do a lot, just mostly walked around. Both Nice and Monaco were filled with tourists- mostly Americans in big groups. I was having fun speaking Italian to them and pretending that I didn’t know English. Both days my meals consisted of bread, cheese, beer, and fresh pastries eaten outside in a park watching the people. I am working on fulfilling my dream of eating my way around the world.

It was very obvious why it is called the Cote D’ Azure. Monaco was very, very clean and well kept. There were police everywhere monitoring people with whistles. I didn’t go into the casino because it looked really snooty and the cars pulling up were Ferraris and Porches, so I was afraid of being turned away for looking too poor. I don’t think they had penny machines inside. I think that I might have seen the prince or someone famous over there. There were armed guards and escorts waiting in a car with flags. I would like to think that this was the actual prince.
Speaking of celebs, I swear that I saw the guy from Grey’s Anatomy in Alassio. I cant think of his name right now, but the younger cute one. I think he’s Italian so it would make sense.

Back to my days off. So this is the Royal Palace. I don’t think Princess Grace designed it. Its not much to look at. I would say that the casino was the prettier of the two. I thought it was funny how the entire county is basically a tourist trap. Everything was really expensive and there were idiot-proof signs everywhere. This one is just for tourists apparently, cause real “Monacans” would know not to walk around naked. And this one, I thought was funny, just so you are absolutely sure. The enormous church-like building right behind this sign is the cathedral. My legs are very tired from all of the walking.
So funny thing happened. I went back to Alassio both days at night to save money rather than staying in a hotel. Monday was fine, but Tuesday, I accidently got on the wrong train. It was going to the same city as the train before, so I assumed it would make the same stops; however, I was wrong. As soon as the train started pulling out, I noticed we were going in the wrong direction. I thought, its okay, I will just get off at the first stop and jump on a train back. Well, 40 minutes later, the train stops. Not only am I back in France, I am in a little mountain village with basically nothing. The next train going back to the Italian border station isn’t for 2 and a half hours. So I walked around and explored, soaked my feet in an ice cold alpine river…It turned out to be a nice little detour, and luckily no one checked my ticket, so it was like a free mini-trip.
Today, I slept in, walked to a neighboring town, laid on the beach for a while, went home to take a nap, went back to the beach for a while, then walked around.
Talk to all of you later!!!!!

Yes, it's true. I have officially stopped brushing my hair.

Italy-Random Stuff

Watching soccer outside...

So, I’ve been trying to be at least semi-entertaining for those who read this, but lately I’ve been having trouble coming up with anything super interesting. We’ve got a regular schedule now. I get up every morning get Camilla dressed, get her breakfast, do some homework with her, then send her to play with her cousins, or her cousins come over. They are always concocting some sort of spectaculo. At around 10:30 we leave for the beach. We stay there pretty much all day. We swim, look for crabs, play foosball, eat lunch, build stuff in the sand, she likes to be buried in the sand…. So far we have only caught one crab. We usually bring our own lunch of fresh pasta, salad, and some sort of fruit. I have discovered a new love of fresh ricotta cheese. It is seriously the best thing ever. I’ve never been a fan of ricotta in lasagna, but this is like a dessert. I eat it with a little olive oil and vinegar. SO GOOD!

It’s nice having her cousins around cause they go and play something which gives me time to just sit there or go float in the water for a while. The water has been really nice lately. Its clear and there are big waves. I’ve been going out there with the kids, holding the air mattress while the waves fling them up and down, a few times the waves have been so strong that they’ve knocked me down too. I saw a small jellyfish today. There are a lot of them further out. I take the kids out with the peddle boat to swim and go off the slide, but we are constantly moving to another place because there are jellyfish (meduse). They are huge, or at least I think so. I would say twice the size of your head.

At around 4 we head back to the house, play for a while, have a snack…Dinner is at 7. They have a special type of zucchini here called trombete. I guess is only grown in this region. I eat it in pasta, by itself, or pureed into a soup. I think im going to try to bring some seeds home, so I can grow it. I don’t think it will throw off the eco-system or anything. We still eat in courses starting with a soup or pasta, followed by a protein, then vegetables or salad, then bread, then fruit for dessert. Almost every night we watch Camilla’s favorite tv show (Veline) at 8:30. (It’s a skanky girl dance-off. There are 6 girls from different regions or even countries. First, they have to do some sort of game. They are really random. Doing gymnastics, quoting a movie, guessing types of fish blindfolded… Then they dance for about 30 seconds and the winner is chosen. We try to guess who will win.) Then she goes to bed at around 9. That’s basically my day everyday.

And speaking of weird tv shows, I saw one the other day. It was a competition between housewives and transvestites. They had different competitions, obstacle courses, pole dancing, and a fashion show. The judges were a crowd of loud rowdy men. The funny part was that the transvestites won the competition for being sexiest. I don’t think that would happen in the US!

Old men playing bocci ball.

Sign from God

So, I experienced a divine miracle on the 4th of July( I forgot to mention it earlier). I had a few hours off in the evening, so I was walking through the crowded shopping street next to the water looking at all the stuff in the windows. I went into a shoe shop cause they were really cute. I saw a couple of pairs I liked but explained to myself that I need to save my money and that i really didnt need them. As I was walking out of the store, the shoe I was wearing broke. I kid you not. I turned around and purchased the pair i was looking at. Although not entirely roman, I would say they are 'romanesque' sandals. Who am I to question the will of God? When He wants me to buy shoes, I just do it. I should go to Rome to get my miracle sandals blessed by the Pope!

Fashion Update/ Random Stuff

So I know that many of you have been asking about the Italian fashion trends since they are a little ahead of the game. The new “in” thing is roman sandals. Im posting a few pics so you will have a better idea. Also, Aladdin-looking pants they are hideous. Sorry no pics, but you can imagine. I am hoping that this trend will not cross the ocean. The teenage girls have long, straight hair with a little tuft of hair cut short at the very top of their head. It’s really weird looking.

For the guys, its brightly colored jeans…corral, salmon, burnt orange….

I could have sworn I took a picture for you, but oddly enough, I cannot find it at the moment. You will have to use your imaginations.

On a random note. I have befriended the owner of this cafe, and he just asked me to saluta tutti . In other words...he says hi.

Jordan, this picture is for you!

Camilla

So if this works, this is a quick video of Camilla and her cousin I dont know how to spell it but his name is "Goo-gee"

I think they are cute, so I just wanted to give all of you a quick glimpse.

Happy Be-lated Fourth of July! I tried to get a hamburger to celebrate, but it was more like a gyro....so much for that idea. Alassio has been good. We've just been going to the beach everyday. Today was nice. There were big waves, so I used Camilla's boogeyboard.

Camilla is learning a little bit of English. We were alone her together for three days, and she was pretty well-behaved. She still has her occasional fits but then she quickly snaps out and is your best friend again. For example: at the beach, she dropped all of her coins in the sand and lost them. She was crying while we hopelessly looked for them. After, she said she wanted me to give her money. I told her I had given her all the change I had the day before, and that she would have to wait for her mom to come. She became very upset and demanded that I show her that I actually had no money. When I refused, she called me liar and said she saw her mom pay me that morning. I said, yes, I have a 20 euro bill, but Im not going to use it. I need to save it. She grabbed my purse, then tried to lock me in the changing room. With my excellent strength, I stopped her from locking it. She went inside, starting hitting and kicking me telling me I was stupid and that she hated me and to get out cause she had "stuff" to do. I said fine, grabbed my purse and went outside. She locked herself in there for about ten minutes wailing and crying. I just sat outside and repeated my new favorite phrase, Chi se ne frega (something like I dont give a rat). She finally came out when the other kids started making fun of her for acting so stupid. Then she was like, Marcie, will you swim with me?

It's rather frustrating at times, but overall, its not that bad.

She now understands the phrase "Im going to tell your mom."

My language skills are increasing in a way I never would have guessed!!!!!

Alassio

So in Alassio, they had a mass in honor of all who have died in the sea. Each beach resort had flowers to throw in the water and the main ceremony was in a church way out on the cliff.

Here are some pictures of Luigi, Paola, Camilla, and Me. After, we went to a church barbeque. I had sausage and pasta and fried zucchini flowers and friend apples and octopus and french fries......it was the best stinkin church barbeque Ive ever been to. St. Anthony's people: take a note!

San Giovanni

So, I’m a little behind in my posts, but I will catch up. Earlier this week in Torino was the festival of San Giovanni, the patron saint of Torino. The entire center of town was shut down to allow music groups, car shows, vendors, concerts…to be set up. Oddly enough, there were two different groups of Native American singers. It was weird to see people wearing moccasins and feather headdresses in Italy.

I got back from Cinque Terre at about 1am. Usually there are a fair amount of people out and about at night, but on that particular night, the streets were crowded with people. There was an Italian rap singer concert going on. I have no idea who he was or what he was saying but it was cool to see. Annamarie and I attempted to stay out all night since she doesn’t have a key to her house, but at about 4:30 we crashed. I felt like a rebellious teenager sneaking in a friend at 5am. I told them about it in the morning and thankfully, they didn’t seem to care.

On the next night I didn’t go out, obviously, but at about 11pm I was woken up by a loud banging sound. I went out on my balcony and saw the fireworks over the river. It was really pretty.

Okay, so I am adding this for the merriment of all who read this: The bus system was mostly shut down during the festival, which was a little frustrating. The bridge I usually take to get home was even closed. The bridges are about a half mile apart so I asked if there was a way to cross without having to walk. The police officer said that I needed to take that bus and that it would take me over the river…easy enough…right? Well, it didn’t take me over the river, it took me back into the center and even further. I got off and jumped on to the next bus headed in that general direction. I was the only person on the bus, so the driver was talking to me and telling me, again, that the bus I was formerly on would take me over the bridge. He even turned off the bus to check his festival schedule. So I start to go back to the next bus stop, and I see one coming behind me. I’m not quite to the bus stop yet, so I start to run. I barely make it to the bus, but just as I am leaping on to the bus the door closes. Now, I am half way in and still in running stance, so I fall to the floor of the bus still wedged between the doors. The doors open, and I roll into the bus; however, I have lost my shoe outside. Staying down on the floor, I manage to grab it out of the gutter before the bus leaves. I just started laughing. I really wish someone would have had a video camera cause it was absolutely ridiculous. People were asking if I was okay….my arm was a little sore after but I think my pride was hurt much more!!!

So this is the Muretto in Alassio. It has a bunch of signatures of famous Italian people. I didnt know any of them. It's a long wall next to a park. The locks in this picture are expressions of love. Ive seen this in Torino too, in random places. You write your name and that of your significant other on a lock and leave it somewhere so you will be together forever. I think it's kind of cute.

Talk to you all later!

Around Torino

torino at night

looks like just a normal fence...
but it is actually recycling at its best and theft protection at the same time.
Finally, here is the Mole

We're going to the seaside for 3 and a half weeks. I haven't found an internet cafe over there, but I will update you as soon as I can.

Feel free to email me whenever. Hope all is well with everyone!

Cinque Terre

e Okay, so this computer is acting weird so it didn't upload my photos, then it closed and deleted my whole blog. So, now you are stuck with this. Here are a few pictures from Cinque Terre. The first one is in Monterosso and the second is of Vernazza. It was a great 5 hour hike between the villages. There were fabulous views, and it was nice to get a break every few hours. I went swimming in the sea and saw a bunch of brightly colored fish.

I recieved a complaint that I haven't posted any pictures of me up, and I discovered that this is the only one I have. Yes, that's Annamarie and I drinking boxed wine out of elephant cups in the middle of the piazza.

More Pictures...

More pictures from the 'hunting lodge.'
This is the little boy Annamarie takes care of, Tomaso. The two of them got sketch books in the gift shop and were set on drawing 'antiques.'


This is the beachhouse in Alassio. You can see Camilla in mid-jump.




The main piazza in Genova and San Lorenzo cathedral.




Annamarie and I went to Genova on Sunday night. The city was really spread out. I think I passed four train stations all for Genova. There were bongo drum players out in the main piazza and a lot of young people walking around. We watched the soccer game, but sadly Italy lost. There were vendors waiting in the streets with italian flags ready to sell when Italy was announced as the winner, but they ended up just quietly walking home.

A Photo History of Torino

So that you have a better understanding of where I’m at, I have decided to make a condensed history of Torino for your reading pleasure. Please be aware that much of my information is hear-say, so if I’m a little off about something-I do most sincerely apologize.

Torino, located in the northwest corner of Italy, goes way back to Roman times. It is commonly assumed that the word Torino originates from the word toro meaning bull; however, it was discovered that in some random language way back when, the word for mountain people was taurini. Torino itself is surrounded by the Alps, so being named after mountain people is logical too.

The city was built in the typical Roman quadrangle but was later extended. This is a picture of the original Roman gate. Wow! You might say. For being 2000 years old it looks pretty good! Well, back in the 1800s someone decided that it looked too old so they restored it. The bottom half is still original, but you can see the differences in the brick from close up.

Years and years later, the Duke of Savoy in France decided to march his whole family into Torino down the main street and proclaim themselves as royalty. So they are\were Italy's royal family.

In the center of the city, is Piazza Castello.

In this picture here, you can see the royal palace. It’s the lighter colored building, and the more ornate one on the right is Palazzo Madama which was built for the mother in law of Carlo Alberto or Vittorio Emmanuelle or one of them. This is still the center of town in Torino. There is always something going on here- concerts, art exhibitions, etc. In old paintings, the piazza is filled with people cheering on the Savoys…not sure if that really happened.
Just on the other side of the royal palace is the church which holds the famous shroud of Turin. The building sticks out a little because it was built by a roman architect whereas most of the architecture in Torino is French in style.



The shroud not only survived the original fire as told in the story, but there was also another fire in the church where it didn’t burn again. The church is connected to the back of the royal palace. The shroud is only put on display once every 20 years. I think they just did it two years ago, so you will have to wait.

Way out on the outskirts of the city is the Reggia Veneria. It was the hunting house for the Savoy family. They just restored it and opened it to the public a few months ago. It has been said that it will put Torino on the map for places to visit when in Italy. The Italian court has since ceased to exist, so by opening this great house to the public, it is supposed to be an act of democracy. I thought it was a cool idea.

So I got to go to the Reggia on Wednesday. Now I have never been to Versailles, but I think it’s up there with it. I couldn’t take pictures of it, but in some of the rooms they had images of people projected on the walls. They were supposed to represent the various historical figures but there were also, the cooks and servants, and ladies of the court. They were talking about things they did in their daily lives or how they wanted someone to die soon so they could have a title, or how they were going to marry off a daughter to increase the power of the family. I wish I could have understood more of what they were saying. It was fabulous.

Yes, that is a rock in the tree. They added some abstract art to the yard!

So the Savoy family was exiled from Italy- I have no clue when but they made a big deal about the family finally being allowed back into the country just a few years ago. I guess one of the descendents got married in Rome. I have no idea about the details of when, where, why, and how that happened.

Here’s something for Jeopardy watchers: Torino was the first capital of Italy. Italy is a fairly new democracy. I want to say that in 1817 the first parliament was held in Torino, but Im not certain about that date.

Now, as you may recall, I previously mentioned how I had a view of the Mole Antionelliana from my room. This building was originally designed to be a synagogue but they ran out of funds. The city bought it, and it is now a cinema museum and a symbol of the city. Inside is an elevator completely made out of glass. It takes you up to the top where you have a beautiful view of the city and surrounding mountains. I apologize for being such spaz and forgetting to take a picture of it.

So anyways, that’s Torino’s history in a nutshell…there was a battle of Torino sometime, there is supposed to be a lot of black magic stuff here, its supposed to be a world design capital, it was the home of the 2006 Olympics, hot chocolate was invented here, and it houses the second best Egyptian museum in the world. I could go on and on, but I told you it would be condensed. Hope you learned something, and I didn’t butcher the history too much. Ciao Ciao! ~Marcie