I am a Latke and I am Waiting for Hanukkah to Come

Ok, so quickly I just wanted to let everyone know that I have found the best thing in the world online in order to make the 8 days of Hanukkah feel...shall we say, a little bit more festive!

Head on over to XM radio and sign up for a free trial in order to listen to their Hanukkah station! This afternoon I was able to dance around my family room singing along to Noam Katz, Rick Recht, Danny Nichols, David Broza, and others. It pretty much made my life!

Also, last night I made a wonderful Hanukkah dinner complete with chicken, latkes, salad, and homemade applesauce with the help of the amazing Jessie Jacobson. The food was wonderful and the company was even better. We even played a rousing game of dreidel with there little Italian candies. (Alas, we could not find gelt).

But really, overall it was a great night. Sure, I wish that I had been able to be home with my family, or at school to celebrate with the gang, but I found a way to make being here special.

And, you want to know what the best part was? I somehow, by some Hanukkah miracle, managed to escape smelling like a latke.

Put on Your Yalmulka, Here Comes Hanukkah

Alright, so I know that it isn't quite Hanuakkah here in Roma, or in the States, but I wanted to let everyone know that I am thinking about them!

This afternoon I am going over to Jessie Jacobson's apartment and we are going to make latkes and light our menorahs and celebrate the holiday to the best of our abilities!

Also, I want to apologize once again for slacking on the blogging. My homework has overtaken my life. But, I promise to do some updates just as soon as my papers are finished!

Music Shall Surround You

Grammy and Papa packed up and went to Sicily for a few days while I got work done back in Roma. Sometimes I just wish that all of the work would disappear (or at least leave the back of my mind) so I wouldn't feel so bad about going out and doing stuff in Rome. I have no problems when I leave the city, but as soon as I step back into Rome I feel as if I need to be doing work....

But, I digress... When Grammy and Papa got back it was on a Wed, so I was able to meet them right after my Art in Rome class. We had lunch, and then spent part of the afternoon meandering through the area. I think after having them here, I have left no stone unturned in the Spanish Steps area. If you have questions about where to find something, I probably know the answer.

Wednesday evening the 3 of us went to a mini opera at the All Saints Church that wasn't too far from the Spanish Steps. I don't even know if you would call what I saw a mini opera, but it was wonderful. Instead of sitting through a full opera, it was only the most famous arias from the most famous shows. Now, before this, the only exposure to opera was the music that I sometimes played on my violin for class. Yet, after that evening I had a newfound love and appreciation for the music. I think that going to see a full opera is now in my future (provided I do some research before going in order to understand the plot line).

The next few days were a blur of happiness (and rain). It was just so wonderful to have Grammy and Papa around. We would go out, wander, go back to the hotel to rest and watch CNN, go out again, have dinner, wander around, have gelato... Life couldn't be much better. Not at all...

Cover it in Chocolate and a Miracle or Two

Note: I am a bit behind in the blogging. Please bear with me while I try and update while still keeping up with all of my schoolwork. xo -e

The Friday that my grandparents were here we decided to go to Peugia - a small town that is about 2 hours by train from Roma. Perugia is the home to Perugina chocolate, which is a famous chocolate company that is famous for their small dark chocolates that have a hazelnut in the center - Baci. I had heard about this town from my roommates who had ventured to the Peugia chocolate festival while I was in Pompeii. So, what time is better than now to go?

It actually wound up being the perfect day to go because the public transportation workers decided that that day would be a good one to strike. Go figure. I had been told before that the Romans liked to strike, but I don't think that I fully realized it until this fateful day.

Getting to the train station was a piece of pie for Grammy and Papa, but it was a little less so for me (even though the strike wasn't officially supposed to start until 9AM). I got on the tram, as I usually do, with the intent to take it from my apartment all the way to the end, where I would then grab bus 40 that would take me to Termini. Oh no, that would have been far too easy. As the tram neared Station Trastevere, it just stopped. No, nothing was blocking the track, and the tram didn't die - the driver just decided to stop. Great. As I rushed off the tram I saw that the H bus (another bus that goes to Termini) was pulled over across the street. I hopped the fence and ran after the bus with another Italian lady. The bus driver was being an ass and wouldn't open the door for us. Strike 2! After waiting 15 minutes for another H bus to come, I was finally on my way. Thank goodness I left my apartment earlier than I actually needed to.

The train ride to Perugia was uneventful. I slept as per usual, and I believe that Grammy and Papa just read and enjoyed the scenery that was whizzing by us outside the windows. Once in Perugia, we had to take a bus to the top of the hill where the main Piazza, IV Novembre, is. The higher we climbed, the more beautiful the view was. It was quite a treat to be up on the top of a hill and to be able to look out over the countryside. Even though it was slightly overcast, it didn't much matter - it was just plain gorgeous.

After meandering for a bit and enjoying the charm of this small town, we decided to go and find this restaurant, La Taverna, that Grammy had read about in her guidebook. This restaurant was supposed to be famous for their famous traditional Umbrian cuisine. The restaurant is down the most narrow alleyway in town, and had it not been for the signs leading us there, I don't know if we ever would have found it. But, thank goodness we did, because it might have just been one of the best meals that I have had since being in Italy. Besides the fact that the restaurant was housed in this gorgeous house with vaulted ceilings that has been standing for well over 200 years. Each one of us had a truly fabulous meal - I had ravioli that was stuffed with truffles. It was incredible - out of this world. Never before have I had anything that compares. And, for dessert we decided to split this chocolate mousse-like thing that was covered with bits of hazelnut, just like a Baci candy. I think that I could eat that meal every day and die fat and happy.

On our way out the door, we caught a glimpse of one of the chef's assistants in the kitchen slicing open a brand new wheel of pecorino cheese. Man! What a job that is! The assistant was essentially pounding into the wheel with a knife one tiny bit at a time. The head chef (who looked like the typical stereotype of an Italian chef - complete with the potbelly) saw us looking in, and brought each of us a tiny bit of the fresh cheese. I think that it might have been a small slice of heaven, considering how wonderful that little bit of cheese was.

After some more meandering (and discovering this somewhat hidden underground tunnel), and stopping in the Baci store to buy - what else - chocolate, we opted to head back down to the train station to go back to Roma. The train ride back was somewhat hellish. We were stuck outside a train station for almost an hour, and the situation was made even worse because no one spoke enough English to tell us what was going on. After this trip it was decided that no one should ever take a train with me again - all I bring is bad luck.

Back in Roma, and at the hotel (where I spent the night because getting back to my apartment without public transportation just wasn't going to happen), the three of passed out after watching CNN, with our tummies full and our hearts happy because we were all together.

Aren't You Glad You're Not a Turkey on this Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving from Roma! I am up early so that I can get myself together and head off to Geneva for a weekend of good Thanksgiving food, fun, and good company. But, before I left I wanted to send a shout out to everyone to enjoy Thanksgiving. I also just wanted to express just how thankful I am this year, not only for having the opportunities that I do, but also for having such wonderful family and friends!

p.s. more updates to come soon - I know, I know, I have been slacking...

My Heart is Like an Artichoke

My return to Rome on Sunday afternoon was quite welcome after being gone for 10 days. Yes, I had an amazing time, but that didn't mean that I was ready to keep living day to day - I wanted to get back into a routine. (And, I needed to rest my poor, tired, blistered feet).

Last Monday and Tuesday I spent catching up on work and relaxing. Wednesday, on the other hand, was a big day - my Grammy and Papa arrived from Chicago!!! This was the best treat that I could have gotten after my 10 day vacation - 2 of my favorite people in my "foreign" city. What more could I ask for? The first night we just wandered around Piazza di Spagna and had a quick dinner so that they could go back to their hotel and get some sleep and try to acclimate themselves to the right time zone. I decided to take the 44 bus back to my apartment from Piazza Venezia. Bad idea. The bus broke down right in front of AUR. By this point I had to go to the bathroom terribly, but the campus was already locked for the night. So, in a moment of genius I called Jessie who lives only a few blocks from campus and asked her if I could run up. Thank goodness she way home! But being there was great fun because I got to go through my bag of goodies that Grammy had brought for me. I got my Uggs, a menorah and candles in preparation for Hanukkah, chocolate chips, a pedometer, and a fabulous shirt from Urban Outfitters that reads "Friends don't let friends vote Republican." Amen!

Thursday I had class in the morning, and then decided to be a bit of a rebel and skip my second class to go and meet Grammy and Papa in the Jewish quarter for lunch. Oh, and what a good lunch we had. Since I arrived in Rome I have been talking about going to the Jewish quarter to have their famous specialty - fried artichokes. Ok, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but they were wonderful! We also had fried zucchini flowers and fried cod, but neither were as good as the artichokes. Then, each of us had a primi (aka a pasta or a risotto). It was a truly wonderful meal.

From the Jewish quarter, the three of us got on the bus and headed up towards school so I could show them the campus, and then we went to my apartment. I think that both Grammy and Papa were honestly impressed with A) how well I know the city and the transportation system B) how nice campus and my apartment are. I would have to agree with them on both of those counts.

After resting and doing some checking of the email accounts, we headed off for dinner back by the hotel. Another wonderful meal ( I can't think of a bad one that I have had since being in Italy, come to think of it). I had prosciutto crudo and fresh buffalo mozzarella. Yummmyyy! Back at the hotel we had a few logistics to work out due to the newly announced information that there was going to be a nation-wide transportation strike the next morning. Now, this wasn't going to really affect the three of us during the day, because we had planned to go to Perugia early in the morning, but it was going to affect us upon our return - when it came to getting back to the hotel and me getting back to my apartment (which is not exactly within walking distance). What was decided (and what we learned) was that in the morning, before 9AM we would be fine, but after that - there was no way of knowing. So, the plan was that I would stay at the hotel on a cot for a night upon our return so I wouldn't have to worry about getting back.

Does the Moonlight Shine on Paris?

In the morning the camp counselor in me came out. We said that we wanted to be out the door by 9AM so that we could get into the Louvre without having to wait. Lo and behold, the 3 of us walked out the doors of Oops! Hostel (what an awful name for a hostel, by the way) at around 9:07AM. Not too shabby at all.

Thankfully, we got to the Louvre just as it was opening. In less than 10 minutes time we had gone through security, gotten our tickets, and were heading upstairs towards the one and only Mona Lisa. Ok, so I went into the Louvre knowing that I was supposed to feel overwhelmed and impressed by the masterpiece that is Mona Lisa. Not so much. Sure, it was nice, but I couldn't get close enough to admire her so-called beauty or see the technique or even get a semi-decent picture.

After getting crushed by all of the people who at this point (a half hour later) had entered the Louvre and gone straight to the Mona Lisa; Sarah, Angelica, and I all decided to split off because each of us had different goals and we didn't want to spend all day there. The Louvre doesn't really house "my type" of art - it just doesn't appeal to me, and I see enough of it in Rome. I hate to be what some call naive or ignorant, but there are only so many paintings of Jesus or the Madonna and Child that I can see without having them all start to blur together. In my wanderings I happened to have a really weird moment (that had nothing to do with the art) where I ran into one of my friends from AU, Sienna, who is spending her semester studying in Madrid. I love it when the world seems small.

Laura met us outside the Louvre after we all took a glance at the inverted pyramid that Dan Brown talks about in the DaVinci Code, and from there we took the metro back to the Basilique du Sacré-Cœur. the view was just as pretty during the day as it had been the previous night. We wound up wandering around in the little area, which I guess you could call Montmartre, that is by the Basilique, and we had an outdoor lunch. I had the most wonderful Croque-madame (a toasted ham and cheese sandwich with an egg on top). I once again felt like I just belonged in Paris. It was such a quintessential thing to be sitting at an outdoor cafe eating one of their traditional foods. The waiter was even really nice and tried his hardest to help all of us with our French - that almost never happens.

The 3 of us that were not studying in Paris had our heart on seeing the Moulin Rouge - so, that is exactly where Laura took us. The street that leads up to the famous nightspot is crazily sketchy, but equally as funny. Along the way we managed to find a Phi, as well as two fat statues that were outside of the erotic museum - so of course, we had to stop and take pictures. The windmill was impressive, but that was about the extent of the entire site. I don't think that we ever got closer than across the street from it. Yet, it is still pretty neat to say that I have been there - or at least close to it.

The 4 of us did a quick hour of shopping that turned into me sitting down and resting my tired feet. But, after that short break (and a cup of coffee to get the blood flowing), Angelica, Sarah, and I made our way towards the Eiffel Tower. We got off the metro right as dusk had fallen the clock had struck the hour. This was perfect timing, because as we rounded the corner to step into the shadow of the tower, the lights were once again sparkling.

Once down underneath the tower we choose what we had deemed to be the shortest line to go up to the top. After waiting 40 minutes (and being annoyed by the obnoxious German couple in line behind us), we come to find out that we were in the line that doesn't take you to the top in an elevator - we are in the line that you are supposed to be in if you want to climb the stairs to get to the second platform! By this point it made no sense to change lines, so we were committed to climbing those 700 stairs to make it up there. At least, though, we would be able to take an elevator to the tippy top.

The view from all 3 platforms were amazing. I was just so happy, I felt like a small child who's parent told them that they could go to the zoo to see the baby elephant. Many of you know the wide smile that I get when everything is perfect in my world - imagine that times two and you get me on top of the Eiffel Tower.

Once we came down, the three of us found a small piece of pavement and just sat and looked at the tower. It was as if I was starring in my own movie. The moment just felt perfect. The moon was out, the tower was twinkling for the 4th time in the 3 hours we had been there, and my dream of being in Paris had come true in the most magical way.