Pescara! Yasemin's house 4/24

After much planning, Kate, Yasemin and I decided to go to Yasemin's house in the region Abruzzo.  We took a train to Pescara, which is a town on the Adriatic coast.  The train ride was supposed to take 4 hours and it ended up taking 5 1/2.  We were the only ones in the train car, so we had some fun, took a nap, and did some homework.  Once in Pescara, we went and picked up our rental car and then got some groceries for the weekend.  We noticed that the car's radio didn't work ( the car was super cheap so we weren't complaining) so we bought a little speaker system that we could hook the ipod into.  After all, you can't have a road trip without music!

Her house is only 20 min outside the city so we arrived quickly and unpacked.  Her house is beautiful and it is in the mountains.  All around were wine vineyards and olive tree orchards.  Her cousins have houses around her and other than that, there are not many houses around.  We got a tour of her beautiful house and then headed to her favorite restaurant for dinner.  

The restaurant is even more in the mountains and the roads are really windy.  Abruzzo is the region where the earthquake happened, so a lot of the roads are partially blocked off because there were landslides and debris is on the road.  We had really good homemade pasta and then had arostocini which is lamb on a stick.  Everything was really good. 

The next morning we made our rounds to Yaz's family and of course we had to eat at every place.  At one of her cousin's house, we just happened to walk in as they were having lunch, so we ate with them and then told us about our plan to climb up the mountain.  They told us our little rental car wouldn't make it, so they drove us.  We had planned to park the car and hike, but they were with us so we settled on driving as far up as we could.  The couple was so funny.  They were about in their late 60s or early 70s and they were making fun of each other the whole time.  They played some good country italian music on the way up and it reminded me of my grandpas polka music.  We went to two different mountain tops and walked around for a while.  It was really great to breath some fresh air.  I didn't think the air in Rome was bad, but after being in such fresh air, I realized how different it really is.  

After eating all day, we went back to her house to get ready to go to a big fish dinner in Pescara with another cousin!  Since Pescara is right on the water, the fish was amazing.  Her cousins Walter and Maurizio came with us.  After a great dinner, we went more into the city to have a drink before heading back to the house.

Sunday morning we took one last walk around to the family, had 3 espressos, and then headed back to Rome.  We had a bunch of extra food and Yaz had some old clothes that we were going to try and donate to the earthquake victims.  L'Aquila isn't to far from Pescara, so we made the trip.  As we were getting closer, we saw blue tents everywhere.  They were the camps that the victims were staying at.  We kept driving further to try and go into the city.  L'Aquila is a city that is on top of a hill, so there is only one main road from the direction we were coming.  The road was blocked for residents only, but we did see many buildings half fallen.  We didn't see a lot of things fallen so I think the heart of the city is what was hit the worst.  The firemen were lining the streets, but no one was doing anything.  It was kinda strange.  They told us that we had to bring the donations to the camps.  When we got to the camps we asked where to drop the goods off at, and they said they were not able to take them.  We were a little confused but the guards said that it was their policy.  It somewhat makes sense that they only accept donations from organizations and Italy is not a 3rd world country so they have plenty of supplies, but we were still a little upset.  

We then continued on our final road trip through Italy, and arrived safely in Rome.   I only have 2 more weeks here and I am getting pretty sad.  It has been the best trip and I am not ready to get back to the hustle and bustle of the US.

Venice/ Week in Rome with Sarah and Jaimie 4/18

After mass on Sunday, Sarah, Jaimie, and I headed to Venice.  This was my first time being there as well so I was very excited.  We started on our road trip again and saw some beautiful landscape.  After driving for awhile, we stopped in Ferraro, which is a town in Emilia-Romagna, for lunch.  Because it was Easter, not much was open so we had a couple mini-pizzas for lunch.  

We got into Venice around 6pm but then we needed to find a parking garage.  Luckily, our hotel recommended one.  As we were pulling in, I was on the phone with one of my friends that we were supposed to meet up with.  The garage worker, was giving Sarah directions as to where to park, and she got all mad at me because she couldn't understand what he was saying and I was on the phone.  I quickly hung up the phone, only to realize that the man was speaking to her in English!!  Jaimie and I were laughing for a good while because Sarah couldn't understand English. 

We bought a pass for 24hrs to ride the water taxis and made our way to our hotel.  We met up with my friend Christine, who was staying with us as well.  After getting settled in, we went out for dinner and a walk around.  We had a nice pizza dinner and to our surprise, Venice was pretty empty so we took a nice walk around.  I can't believe how beautiful Venice is.  Having water all around is amazing and everything seems so calm and relaxing.  We walked around for quite a while and then decided to get on a water taxi to take us back to our place.  There are not many cars on Venice because it is very hard to get around with one there.  There are so many islands around and everything is connected by little foot-bridges.  It took us a little longer to get back than we hoped, but at least we were on the water.  The rocking of the boat put me to sleep like a baby, and Jaimie took some embarrassing pictures of me...What a nice sister.  

The next morning we got up early and walked around.  Besides walking around and riding the taxies, there is not much else to do, but it was great for Sarah and Jaimie to see that slow-paced lifestyle.  We visited St. Mark's church, and Sarah and I climbed the bell tower where we could see all around the cities.  It was a great experience.  Venice is known for its glass,( which I didn't know) so we went shopping for some.  We visited the island of Murano, where most of the glass is made.  We weren't able to see any of the glass making, but the showrooms were very cool.  We all made a few purchases and then got lunch.  We bought panini by the Grand Canal, and enjoyed ourselves for a little bit.

We only had the one full day in Venice, because I started up school again on Tuesday, but it was fun while it lasted.  We got ready for our 6 hour drive back to Rome.

I had a full week of activities for Sarah and Jaimie.  We returned the car Tuesday morning and then headed to the Colosseum.  I went in with Sarah and Jaimie, gave them a history lesson, and then went to class.  While I was at class they explored the Roman Forum and Palatine hill.  After class we met back up and went to the Capitoline museum.  I had never been before either so it was a great time.  We spent a couple hours looking at many old Roman sculptures and paintings from the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries.  

Wednesday we got up early and went to St. Angelo's castle.  This used to be used for Popes as a protective castle.  It had a great view of the city and we explored for a while.  Once again they stayed while I went to class.  The castle is round, odd i know, but it was very interesting.  It was very plain and kind of ugly from the outside, and then somewhat intricate on the inside.  There is a restaurant and cafe inside which was very cool.  

Thursday I brought them to the Vatican.  I knew that it was going to be crowded the whole week so we waited until Thursday.  I went to the basilica with them and then I had class once again, so they went to the catacombs and the Vatican Museum while I was in class.  After class we got some pizza and then wet to climb to the top of the Basilica.  The Cupola was over 500 steps to the top.  They make you take a elevator part of the way and then climb the remaining 300.  It was kinda creepy because the staircase is slanted because the dome is right there.  It was very crowded at the top but we got some good pictures.  

Friday was shopping day.  The main goal was to find Jaimie a prom dress....and we did!  Not many people can say they got their dress from Italy, so she did good.  We did a lot of shopping and looking around before going to our last dinner.  I took them to our favorite club the night that they were leaving.  We had a great time and decided to stay up until they had to leave my house at 4am.  They left and got safely to the airport.

I was so glad to have my sisters visit.  I was so proud and excited to show them "my" city and have them experience part of Italy with me.  I leave in 3 weeks and I am excited to see everyone from home.

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Easter in Florence!! 4/10

Friday morning after getting lost and fighting with the car guy about our GPS system, we heading off for Pisa.  Within 20 min of leaving, Jaimie was asleep in the back seat!  Sarah and I made a couple good CDs before we left so we were having a blast in the car.  The drive to Pisa was about 4 1/2 hours because we decided to take the coast.  I love driving in Italy, and especially in Tuscany.  There are just so many great things to see and besides, who can resist a road trip?  With about and hour left to go, we stopped along the beach in a little town called San Vincenzo for lunch.  Since their tourists haven't come yet, many things were closed down.  We found a really great place that was literally right on the beach, but it was closed at lunch time.  We walked around for a little while and found a cute place were we had three great pastas and cappuccinos.  After we got back into the car and headed to Pisa.  Amanda was meeting us there from Florence with her roommate Erin since they had never been there before either.  

I have to admit, I thought the tower would be bigger.  It was pretty amazing to see though.  The history behind it is that it was originally supposed to be the bell tower for Pisa's Cathedral.  They started building it and when they got to the third level, it started to sink on one side.  They tried to fix it but it just didn't work so their theory was to make the floor on the sinking side thicker so that it would be level.  This only made it worse since the extra weight made it sink more.  They still continued to build it and we have the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Great story I know,  I should be a historian.  In 2000 they restored the angle of the lean to where it was 300 years ago because it was continuing to sink.  They say that it is secure now and that it won't sink any further but I guess only time will tell.  

Since the only thing really to do in Pisa was take pictures of holding the tower up, we did that and then went for a drink at a restaurant.  Jaimie discovered her new love.....Orange Fanta.  They make pop different here and the Fanta tastes a lot more like orange juice than like pop.  The entire rest of her trip in Italy she was trying to find Fanta at every store and trying to figure out how she could get some home in her suitcase without it exploding.  

We then headed to Florence to stay with Amanda.  Saturday we got up early and walked around.  It was very crowded so we weren't able to get in to see the David but we saw the replica in the town square.  We did a lot of shopping in the leather markets and scarf stands.  It was a very relaxing day, which was good because it would be our only relaxing day while they were here.  That night we went up to Michelangelo's piazza and watched the sunset except it was cloudy.  We still got to see Florence from up above which was very cool.  

Sunday was Easter so we made a big breakfast and then attempted to go to mass at the Duomo.  Florence had put on an annual fireworks show with white oxen leading the cart of fireworks and they had a ton of bands playing as well.  It was super crowded and a little frustrating because we were too short to see anything (well I was too short).  Mass was supposed to start at 11 but they never opened the main doors and it took us until 11:30 just to move from where we were.  We finally figured out that they were letting people in on the sides and went that way but by the time we got into the Duomo, there were no seats.  We stood for a little while but they were letting people in just to look at the Duomo and it took away from the feeling of being at mass ( and besides, it was all in Italian so I was the only one understanding anything) so we went to get Sarah and Jaimie their first taste of gelato.  Once the gelato touched Jaimie's tongue, she couldn't get enough of it.  (No hard feelings Jaimie, the same happened for me, hence why I need a treadmill for my birthday...cough cough Mom)  We went back to Amanda's place and packed up because we were headed to Venice for the rest of Sunday and Monday!  

I was a little sad leaving because that was my 3rd and last time in Florence (this year anyways).  I loved lots of things about Florence, like how much slower the pace of life was than Rome, and how "Italian" it was.  I'm glad that I was able to show it to Sarah and Jaimie.

Sarah and Jaimie arrive! 4/7

The day after Sam left, Sarah arrived from South Africa!  I have been quite the entertainer lately but I love visitors because then I can show off my city to them.  Since I had class at the time Sarah was getting in, I gave her directions on how to get to my house.  As usual, things didn't quite go as planned with the transportation but she is a smart girl and she figured out how to get to me.  I was so excited to see my big sister!  She had lots of stories from South Africa so my roommates and I made some dinner and listened to a lot of them.  Jaimie didn't get in until Thursday so Sarah slept in the next morning to catch up on sleep and then I showed her around Trastevere, which is where my school is at.  We grabbed a book at found a great cafe to have a cappuccino and snacks at.  That night I took her to Campo dei Fiori, which is a big square that is lined with bars and restaurants.  She was a little bit in culture shock there because in South Africa there are many more rules about when you can go out and who you must go out with, for safety reasons.  For the first time in Italy, I got food poisoning that night.  Sarah was used to that kind of thing in South Africa and I was really upset because it is not like that here and she got a bad first impression of Italian food.  

The next morning we went to pick up Jaimie (our little sis) from the airport.  We got there smoothly and waited around for her for a while.  Sarah had described to her the airport and told here where to meet us, only there was one problem, Sarah didn't actually exit the airport before getting on the train and she told Jaimie to meet us at a place we weren't allowed to go.  Good thing Jaimie doesn't listen very well because she walked right out.  My mom was really worried about Jaimie coming to visit.  The night Jaimie took off my mom sent me a message saying " You call me the SECOND you see her face.  This is a big step for her....and me too."  So naturally I had to make fun of my mother so I called when we got Jaimie, which was 4am Michigan time, and asked her if Jaimie was getting in today because we had been waiting for a couple hours and we hadn't seen her.  (If you know my mother you will be laughing right about now.)  She started getting really worried saying that Jaimie should have been in by now, and trying to remember the flight number.  I couldn't let her get too upset so I told her that I was just joking and that we had Jaimie safe and sound.  She said some very kind words to me and then I told her we would call when it was later in Michigan.  

I had class right after we got Jaimerz and she was exhausted so Sarah and Jaimie took a nap while I went to class and then met me at my school afterwards.  Friday, the next day, we were leaving for a little weekend adventure so I wanted to get some site seeing in before we left.  I took them right away to see the Pantheon.  They were both amazed at how huge it was and I actually got to go inside for the first time.  Tourist season had started and Sunday was Easter so Rome was getting a little packed.  I soon found myself frustrated with tourists and then brought myself back to reality because I was basically a long-stay tourist myself.  We walked to Piazza Navona from there and saw all of the merchants with their paintings, toys and such.  We had all afternoon so we did a lot of walking on side streets to avoid the people, and see some new things.  We made our way to the Trevi Fountain and then the Spanish Steps.  We sat on the steps for a while and relaxed.  Afterwards I wanted to take them to a typical Italian dinner so we went back to Piazza Navona for a great meal.  Surprisingly neither of them wanted gelato and it was still Lent(so I was out of luck), so we headed back to my apartment to get some sleep because the next morning we were picking up our car and heading to Pisa!

Ps..

Mom- Don't get too mad at this...we thought all your instructions for Jaimie, and all the food you sent her with was great.  Thanks a ton for the Easter baskets!  I love my new shirt.

Dad- I'm sure you were laughing just as hard as we were when mom was doing all of this.

Uncle Ed- I hope you finally figured out how to work this.  My mom told me you were having difficulties.  Love you all and I hope you are doing well.

Kathy- Thanks again for everything you have done for me while I'm away.  Hopefully reading this gives you a little break from the chaos.  

Sam comes to visit/Palm Sunday at the Vatican/EARTHQUAKES!! 4/3

The weekend after spring break, Sam came to visit with his friend Danny from Prague.  They came on Friday morning and I knew there was a lot to show them, so we started right away on the site seeing.  I brought them to the Vatican first and showed them the Basilica.  Since Easter was the next weekend, it was starting to get busy.  After seeing the Basilica and the Catacombs, we went to the Vatican Museum.  I had never been either, so I was excited to see the Sistine Chapel.  The Museum is HUGE.  I couldn't believe how much stuff was in there.  They have a really cool Egyptian exhibit and many things from ancient Rome.  The ceilings were all decorated lavishly and the walls were full of paintings and frescos.  They put the Sistine Chapel at the end so that you have to go through the whole thing before seeing it.  I must admit, I thought it was going to look a lot different.  I thought it was a brightly lit long hallway but it is a dark rectangular room.  It was still very amazing to see though.  Michelangelo must have had a stiff neck for years after painting it!  

I kept the boys moving and we made our way over to the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.  We walked over to the Pantheon but mass was going on so we couldn't see the inside.  After a full day of sites, we headed back to rest up for the next day.  

Saturday morning I showed them the Colosseum and Palatine hill.  We spent quite a few hours in there because there is so much to see.  I brought them to see my school and to my favorite pizza place for lunch.  After lunch, we were all pretty tired so we headed back to take a nap.  I decided to cook for the boys after they were done napping and I think we had enough food to feed 10 so they were stuffed. 

Sunday was the big day.  My roommate Lindsay has connections at the Vatican so she got us tickets to go to Palm Sunday at the Vatican and Pope Bennedetto was saying mass!  Sam and I went and bought some Rosaries so that we could have them blessed and we got some olive branches because they use those instead of palms here.  The mass was 2 hours long but we loved it because it was so beautiful out and we were at the Vatican!  The entire mass was in Italian so poor Sam didn't have a clue what was going on.  I also was lost at times because they were using many words that weren't in my vocabulary.  

After mass we rushed back to the apartment and got ready to go to the Roma soccer game!  I had never been to a game before and I knew  I wouldn't feel immersed in the culture enough if I didn't attend at least one game.  We of course were extremely late for the game, but it turns out that we had the wrong time for the game and we were right on time.  The game was extremely fun and entertaining.  We came back and made a great dinner.  Sam and Danny had to leave my house around 4:30 am so they went to bed early.  I stayed up until about 2:30am studying for an exam and then went to bed.  At 3:30am the earthquake happened.  It woke us up from our sleep and lasted around 30 seconds.  We weren't sure what was going on because none of us had been in an earthquake before.  Most people in my apartment building were running out on the streets, but we weren't sure what to do so we just went to bed because we had to be up in a half hour for Sam to leave.  

The next few days were one earthquake after another.  The next few were a little scarier because I actually knew what was happening.  Sarah got here on Tuesday and she has felt two so far.  I feel so terrible for all those people in L'Aquila who have lost their homes and their lives.  Our school collected a ton of canned goods and blankets for the homeless there.  We should all keep them in our prayers.

Pescara/Perugia 3/27

Pescara is right on the Adriatic coast and it was much warmer there.  We planned on laying on the beach, but it wasn’t quite that warm so we walked up and down the beach.  We couldn’t seem to find any of the churches that were the main attractions, but we thought that the beaches would do lol.  My roommate Yasemin has a house near Pescara and we are going there in a couple weeks so we decided to head to our next, and last destination, Perugia.  We had a beautiful drive up the coast and the drive was very quick. The town of Perugia, is right at the top of a hill, and the whole town has outdoor escalators connecting the walking paths.  Something I didn’t know about Perugia is that its Cathedral has the Virgin Mary’s wedding ring housed in a safe.  The safe has 15 locks and is only opened twice a year.  July 30^th and the second week in December.  Perugians stole the ring from a nearby town and now they have it guarded heavily.  July 30^th is the date that the ring was stolen and December is the believed wedding date of Mary and Joseph.  Another thing is that the town is a “College Town”.  There are over 30,000 students there, but the town is really small compared to Rome.  I really liked Perugia because it is a small town and their main streets aren’t allowed to be driven on by cars so everyone walks around in the evening.  It was a very peaceful evening and we had our own “passeggiatta” or evening walk, around the town.  We stopped off at a couple points to take pictures because the view from the edge of town is amazing.  We saw the end of the sunset and were able to see the city lights below.  Our hotel offered a special with a local restaurant where we could get wine, pasta, meat, vegetables, and bread, all for 15 euro so we took up the offer and had a great “last” meal.  Somehow we scheduled the return of the car to be at 10am on Saturday morning, so we had to get up at 6am in order to get it back to Florence in time!  This was the first time that we didn’t have our cappuccino in the morning and I was a little worried about how it was going to work out.  It turns out we aren’t as addicted as we thought and we waited until we returned the car to have our necessary coffee.  I am spending tonight in Florence with Amanda and I will head back to Rome on Sunday. 

 

Needless to say, we didn’t have your typical college “spring break”, but I would not trade it for the world.  We managed to see more of Italy than most Italians have seen.  I wish I could have spent more time in each city, but we hit the main attractions in each city.  I loved having a car and being able to go where we wanted, when we wanted, so much, that I rented a car for when Jaimie and Sarah come and we are going to explore Tuscany over Easter weekend.

Sorrento/Campochiaro/Boiano/San Salvo 3/26

Today was the most “filling” day we have had yet.  We slept in a little while today for our first time, which is good because we have been doing a lot of traveling and not getting much sleep.  We walked around Sorrento for an hour or so and had a coffee.  The coastline here is beautiful but it is all up on a cliff so we didn’t get a chance to stick our feet in.  We were anxious to get going so we hopped in the car and headed off for Champochiaro, which is a very small town where my family, the Rano’s, are from.  I had contacted a few of the family members, but they ONLY spoke Italian so I wasn’t sure how the day was going to go.  We arrived at Campochiaro, which is a small, small, town of 600 on the side of a large hill.  We drove up into the town hoping to find someone who knew where I could find the cemetery and anyone who was left in the town who was a Rano.  I found the office of public records and it said it was only open from 10am-12pm.  It was around 2pm so it was closed, but the door was cracked open so I went in.  There was a women inside doing some paperwork in this tiny little room.  I explained to her that my family was from Campochiaro and that I was hoping to look up some old records, but she said that they were closed.  I told her that we were from the US and that we were only there from the afternoon.  She asked what the last name was, and then laughed when I told her because there are too many Rano’s there to look up anything.  She said that because they have no software, it would take a long time to try and compile.  If I have a weekend left before I leave, I think I will try and go look at the records.  We then drove down and asked another women who was getting out of her car, to tell us where the cemetery was at, and she ended up driving in front of us to show us where it was.  We walked around and took pictures of all the Rano gravesites.  Mind you, there were a lot, but it is still a tiny town, so there weren’t too many.  After looking around for a while, we headed to Boiano where my contacts were.  My cousin Melisa had gotten me in contact with people in Italy who were related to us by marriage and also were related to us.  Amanda and I had planned to meet Filomena Pittarelli in one of the towns 3 piazzas.  After she found us, she brought us back to her house and asked if we were hungry.  We didn’t want to be rude so we said we would eat something.  Her husband was having a conversation with me because poor Amanda doesn’t speak Italian.  I don’t know a ton, so I was just asking a lot of questions so that he would do most of the talking.  He had to go to work so Amanda and I were invited into the kitchen as Filomena was finishing cooking.  We sat down at the table and she served us pasta with meatballs, bread, and wine.  We were very surprised by this because we said we were only a little bit hungry.  She had already eaten lunch but she sat with us and I tried to explain to her how we were, but weren’t related and how I knew her family members.  After the pasta, she brought out cottoletto (which is thin slices of steak breaded) with cauliflower and tomatoes!  We looked at each other like, how are we going to eat this!  So we ate the cottoletto and she started making more while we were eating so that she could make panini for us to take with us!  We were sooo full at this point but after that she put a bowl of fruit on the table and told us to eat some.  This whole respect issues was starting to make my stomach uncomfortable.  Amanda and I split at orange and thought we would call it good.  Nope, we had to have an apple each because they are really good at this time of year.  After the fruit, she made us each an espresso, and gave us chocolates to have with it.  I thought that I was going to explode!  During this whole time, Filomena was telling us that we had to come back on Sunday because her children were coming for dinner and they could speak English.  We explained that we were traveling and had to be back on Sunday.  She also said that she was sorry that she couldn’t get any of the Rano’s to come that day since it was during the middle of the day and I called on such short notice.  Her daughter called while we were having “lunch” and asked to talk to us. Rossella spoke broken English so I talked to her for a little while.  She lives in San Salvo, which is a beach town on the Adriatic sea.  That night, Amanda and I had booked a B&B in Pescara, which is a beach town just half-hour north of San Salvo.  Rossella had felt bad that she wasn’t at our lunch, so naturally, she invited us to dinner with her.  Amanda and I looked at each other with disgusted faces because we had just STUFFED ourselves, and Rossella wanted us to have dinner in 2 hours!  Her boyfriend, whom we later figured out was her husband, was in Campochiaro visiting his parents.  He was driving back to San Salvo that evening, so he came over and we followed him home.  When we got to their apartment (which was 200 meters from the ocean!) she showed us around, and then we drove into town to walk along the boardwalk.  They spoke little English and I speak little Italian so the conversations were limited.  They brought us to dinner at a very cute restaurant. Amanda and I decided to split a pizza because we were SOOO full, but Rossella ordered 4 different appetizers for us!  I still hadn’t digested from lunch, but we once again, forced the food down.  We had a great and “filling” day with my family/not family.  They both offered for us to come back and stay with them and I told them that they needed to visit me in the States.  We hadn’t planned on staying all-day in this area, but it was definitely worth it.  At 9pm we took off to Pescara, but called it a night early.