Saturday, June 9, 2012

Venice, Verona, and Padova (Day 2)

Venice

Saturday morning, after buffet breakfast at our hotel in Padova, we took a bus to Venice, the town everyone has been looking forward to most, and one of the most well known. On our excursions so far, we have been very unlucky with the weather, as it seems to rain on just about every one of them, from Rome (all 3 days), Cinque Terre, Padova, and now Venice, and Verona. It makes for tradition now, because if we traveled somewhere, and it didn't rain, it just wouldn't feel right of course. Upon arrival in Venice, we took a ferry across the water to the main town of Venice, and had a guided walking tour, learning the history of the beautiful town. We were there on a Saturday, so there were mostly all tourists around, and later we found out not many people actually live in Venice anymore because the style of life gets extremely expensive since it is made up of all islands.

We had a break for a few hours and got to get lunch at a local place where I tried the traditional Venetian-style Cuttlefish and Polenta. I've seen cuttlefish on menus all over Italy, so thought I would give it a try. Well it was an eye-catcher to say the least. As you can see in the picture it looks everything by appetizing but after getting over the sight of it before I took each bite, it actually tasted very delicious. I'm not sure how to describe the fish because it doesn't seem very similar to anything I've had before, but I did learn that the reason it was black is because of the ink from the fish itself. I made everyone try it and they agreed it actually was very good (as long as you didn't look at it).
gondola ride
On the gondola on the grand canal
After lunch, we went to the black market where they had all hand-blown glass in every form and function as well as masks of all types. I knew that I wanted to get a mask and lots of blown glass, so I was on a mission. The 2 guys we were with bought gondola outfits and blended right in, with people coming up to them thinking they were legit. We were running out of time shopping, so we quickly bought a bottle of wine and found a spot to get on a gondola ride. We got to go down the small canals of Venice as well as the infamous grand canal.

We went back to Padova that evening, where we noticed a huge change in the livelihood of the town and activity around us. We found a food stand on the street which had the freshest seafood I've ever seen. We got shrimp skewers and scallops in their shell, topped with olive oil and pesto. It was, for sure, the best street food I've ever had, very different from our food stands in the states, consisting of hot dogs, burgers, and barbecue sandwiches.

We walked into the main square that night and saw men and women dressed up in medieval clothes, wondering what was going on. We got there while they were setting up and all of a sudden got pushed back with the crowd forming behind us, trying to use Italian to ask locals what we were in the middle of. We found out is was the celebration of Padova's past time, it was really neat to watch, with ladies on stilts, men on horses and throwing fire, and a fake execution. The town was so alive Saturday night, I was so glad we got to be there on such a great weekend.
celebration of Padova's past time 

Ciao,
Tarra

Friday, June 8, 2012

Padova, Venice, and Verona (Day 1)

(I know I am so behind on my blog, but will catch up tonight!)
Inside Padova University
The long-awaited trip to Venice, Verona, and Padova had finally arrived! Our home base for last weekend was in Padova, and it was the first time API decided to bring students to this town. It was definitely a good decision, and we made sure to let them know how much we enjoyed it. '
St. Anthony's Balisica
Upon arrival, we went on a guided walking tour, learning about Padova University, which was built in 1222 and we saw the statue of the first female to graduate. We also went in the Basilica di Sant'Antonio da Padova, seeing the bones of St. Anthony in the chapel. This was the fist day that anyone was allowed in the chapel because of the earthquake that hit on May 20th and again on the 29th. The chapel was under construction, but fortunately will be able to be restored. I almost wasn't allowed in the basilica because I was in shorts, and you aren't allowed to have knees or shoulders exposed when going in churches. We had to take my sweater off, wrap it around my legs, button it back up, and tie a scarf around my shoulders. And somehow, I still was the only one out of our whole group to still get in trouble, when there were multiple girls in dresses. It was definitely worth it though, the basilica was the most beautiful and sacred place. Afterwards, I stopped at a vendor outside and got some St. Anthony charms to help me not lose anything while I'm here especially.
After the tour, we were starving, so we asked an Italian what his favorite restaurant was in the area. Speaking no English, he had a hard time understanding the question and kept pointing at the pizzeria next to us, so we gave it a try and it was awesome!
Castello di S. Palagio
That afternoon, we took a bus with API to Castello di S. Palagio, a castle built in the XIV century on the remains of a military fortress which now hosts the Flight Museum. We got to see all of the rooms of this building, learning about the history of flight from back in the day, which was especially interesting because of the Wright Brothers and North Carolina being 'First in Flight'. We had a picnic in the historical garden and terrace consisting of fruit juice (kiwi-apple was my favorite), ricotta cake, and light cookies. We navigated our way through Labirinto del Minotauro (a large maze) where we spent much time trying to find our way to the other end, where multiple long mirrors awaited us (see picture). We then made one of the best decisions, to lay in the field, and just be...taking in the beautiful land and sky around us, and the people we get to share it with.
 A few hours later, API organized a wonderful 3 course dinner for our program at the hotel which was delicious. We had Ravioli di magro con erbette e Asiago, Scaloppine al Prosecco de Valdobbiadene, and Tiramisu. Looking around the room, there were still so many API students that I had never seen before. With 80 of us in this session, sadly there's not enough time to meet everyone, because we only see those in our classes and a group that we organize our evenings with.
After our dinner at the hotel, we found a fun art cafe in the main square of Padova. The square, which holds the market during the day, turns into outdoor seating for all of the surrounding restaurants at night. I don't know how they manage keeping their tables separated because there are hundreds of people sitting in the area, making for a very lively scene. Padova is the ideal Italian town, it would be a wonderful place to study in for a semester, with 65,000 students at the university there.

Ciao,
Tarra

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Siena

Sunday, we knew we wanted to go to Siena, but had a hard time getting there efficiently way, by bus because of it being a Sunday. We got on the next train headed to Siena and during the hour and a half ride, I spent some quality time with Rick Steves, educating myself on our destination. Upon arrival, we got bus tickets to go to the center of town, and again had to wait a bit for the bus to come. Traveling on Sundays is definitely a lot more relaxed because many people aren't out, but you definitely can't be in a rush to get anywhere with public transportation on the day of rest.
City Hall & Civic Museum in Il Campo


We navigated our way to Il Campo, the main square of Siena, which is pedestrian only and filled with people sunbathing and picnicking at all hours. In this heart of the town, we could see the city hall and tower, the Fountain of Joy, and the Civic Museum. We split up into smaller groups for lunch and we ate at a cute little pub overlooking the square, where I got a sandwich with sausage, hot sauce, artichokes, and tomatoes, and a beer (didn't feel like I was in Italy, but it was delicious)!
Fountain of Joy









gelato time in Il Campo
We got gelato at the infamous Grom and sat in Il Campo while we enjoyed the atmosphere of the preserved town. We then headed up to the Sanctuary of Saint Catherine where we got to go into her old home, which has been turned into beautiful chapels, and go down to see her bedroom cell behind bars. It was very neat to picture it back in the day. Our next and final stop was the Church of San Domenico where we got to see St. Catherine's actual thumb in a case and head atop the altar in the chapel. We almost didn't get to go in because we had bare knees and shoulders, but then wrapped up in a scarf to get a peak.
Church of San Domenico
We didn't have time to see the Duomo, Baptistry, or Santa Maria della Scala, so I would definitely love to go back to Siena and spend the night in the medieval town. There are many beautiful Tuscan towns just south of Siena as well that would definitely be worth visiting. It's no doubt Siena is Italy's best-preserved medieval town, as the first European city to eliminate automobile traffic from its main square in 1966.

On the way back to Florence, we attempted to stop in Monteriggione for dinner, but upon getting off the train, the town was about 2 miles away, and on a dangerous street with no sidewalk. We turned around and picked one of the only two places anywhere in sight, had a glass of wine from a hand-written label (that had a question mark at the end)? We took our pizza on the train, and it actually may have been the best pizza I've had so far in Italy! They spoke no English in the town, so we got a few stares from all the locals who were probably wondering what in the world we were doing there, knowing that it would be impossible to walk to the town. I guess that's why the town was suggested to us as a place to stop for dinner on the 'drive' back from Siena, not train. Oh well, at least we can say we went to a new place in Italy!

Ciao,
Tarra