Update (part 2): Autumn and Sicily

Alrighty, part two of my blog update…

First of all, I’d like to point out that up until now, I have spent my entire life in Southern California. Therefore, I do not know what cold weather really is. Due to my belief that winter consists of a couple rain showers and temperatures in the low 60’s, the last few weeks have been a cold shock to my system. Despite my slow acclamation to the autumn weather, I managed to get myself out of the house and take some pictures of the beautiful autumn leaves at La Fortezza (the fortress) near my apartment.






This is also where I go to exercise when I’m feeling fat from all the food I’ve been eating here. I love the beautiful views from La Fortezza. It almost makes running fun. Almost.

So due to my inability to cope with the cold, I was quite glad to escape to the south of Italy last weekend where the temperatures are considerably warmer. I met up with a friend I know from the US who is currently studying in Florence and we flew from Pisa to Palermo (in Sicily). From Palermo, we ventured across Sicily to the city of Catania, then back to Palermo before returning home.

On my way to Sicily, I managed to snap some nice photos from the plane. I believe this is the Amalfi coast (but I could be wrong). Look at the beautiful blue water!



I think the best way I can describe Sicily is this: when you picture Italy and all the stereotypes that come along with it, you are imagining Sicily. Now I say this in a good way, because Sicily truly completes one’s experience in Italy. They have amazing foods (especially pizza and baked goods), gorgeous buildings (some antiquated and dilapidated), handsome men, hectic drivers, and Italians yelling, gesturing and swearing at each other in Italian. The Sicilians speak far less English than the north of Italy, but they are infinitely more helpful and warm when tourists ask for directions.

There are other stark differences between Sicilians and Tuscans. First of all, the Italian spoke in Sicily can almost be considered its own dialect of Italian. While northern Italians pride themselves on having a more “pure” form of Italian, Sicilians have a very different way of speaking.

Another huge difference is the nightlife. In every other Italian city I have visited, the majority of people go out around 10 or 11 at night and party until about 2 or 3 in the morning. However, the Sicilians do it very, very differently. In Sicily, people go to a bar around 11 or 12, then go to a different bar/dance club until 2 or 3, then head over to another bar for a few hours, then another club. Most people seem to stay out until 6 or 7 in the morning. While the nightlife in Sicily (especially Palermo) is exciting, I had an incredibly exhausting night full of dancing and drinking on my Saturday in Palermo.

Catania is a beautiful city that seems elegant and sophisticated, but is also incredibly colorful with huge outdoor markets of fresh meats, cheeses, fruits, and of course seafood.









The Sicilian countryside is absolutely beautiful with lots of greenery, hills, and palm trees due to the more tropical climate of the south.



In Palermo, my friend and I did some exploring and saw some beautiful sights. Here are some statues, parks, cathedrals, and theaters we found.












We were also directed (by the owners of our hostel) to a delicious bakery that serves the most delicious chocolate cake I have ever tasted.





We also went to a huge seafood dinner. Sicily, being on the water, has a great amount of fresh, delicious fish. Here are some shots I snapped of my dinner before I devoured it.




Although I was not allowed to photograph it, we did go to the Cappuccini Catacombs in Palermo, where years ago some monks began mummifying people once they had died. In the catacombs, there were hundreds of dead bodies on display, all dressed in the clothes they were mummified in. Some corpses had flesh and hair while others were only bone. It was a haunting, yet interesting experience.

Overall, Sicily was beautiful and seemed to be the quintessential Italian experience. I wouldn’t be surprised if I find myself there in search of good food and a little bit of warmth in some of the colder winter months.

Opera a Firenze!

Last Thursday I went to see an opera in Florence. The opera was Verdi's "Rigoletto" - this opera was adapted from Victor Hugo's "Le roi s'amuse" original play. While I had never heard of this opera, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I had already heard a few of the songs from it. "Rigoletto" contains the song "La Donna E Mobile", which I have heard as performed by Pavarotti.

Now, while I thoroughly enjoyed dressing up and sipping on wine before the opera began, I have to say that I was thoroughly disappointed in the performance that I saw. Perhaps the most off-putting aspect of this production of "Rigoletto" was the set that was used. It did not look like a Duke's court with jesters and nobles as the time period of the story would have you imagine. Instead, the set consisted of a fake Rolls Royce that the Duke rode around in, a dog house that the main character (Rigoletto) and his daughter (Gilda) lived in, a boat, and a giant rotating black wall that didn't seem to serve much of any purpose. It is possible that the director was going for a modern spin on the antiquated story of Rigoletto, but it appeared as though the set was thrown together using leftover props from previous productions.

Aside from the aesthetics, I was not moved by the singing. While the singing was not bad, it was not what I would expect from a professional opera in Italy. But in all fairness, I had listened to Pavarotti's rendition of "Questa o Quella" earlier and the day, and Pavarotti sets a pretty high bar.

Luckily, the music itself was amazing - I really do have a lot of respect for the orchestra that performed that evening.

Aside from the opera, not much else is new. Except that it is now COLD here. Fa freddo! It literally happened overnight. Luckily it has been sunny and clear - though the locals tell me it will only get colder over the next few months, and you can bet it will start raining more frequently. I've had to go out and buy new sweaters and boots so that I don't freeze to death on the ten minute walk to class in the morning.
Today I could see my breath, despite the shining sun and bright blue sky. This did not sit well with me. I am a southern Californian girl - I am not familiar with cold weather.
This will be an adventure...albeit, a very cold one.

Yosemite!

I've been back in San Diego since Sunday and it's so nice to be back in lovely 80 degree weather. :)

I've been enjoying myself and have committed myself to waking up every morning before 10 and then going out for a run along the bluffs along the beach here. It's great to get all those endorphins going and talk to interesting people on the beach when I go down there to run along the water. I'm feeling good about myself, physically and mentally - I've resolved to try to either run or do yoga every day until I leave for Siena, which is just over a month from now.


Before I left northern California, we took a trip to Yosemite - I had never been before and had a photo-taking frenzy... there were just too many beautiful things to photograph there!





The first photo is a photo of Bridalveil Falls where you can see a beautiful rainbow.
This was the last place we stopped in Yosemite and it is undoubtedbly my favorite place I saw there. I was in awe as I watched the water slowly fall down the rocks. Beautiful.

I am a stranger to real heat

So I'm currently on vacation and visiting my boyfriend in a small town called Copperopolis (part of Calaveras County) where it is HOT! I, having only lived in San Diego and Santa Barbara, am not equipped to handle heat - chapstick and ice-cold water have become my two most valued necessities here.

Nevertheless, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself. This last Saturday we went hiking down to a river which was absolutely breathtaking. Here are a few pictures.






The hike there was exhausting for a lil city girl like me, but swimming in the refreshing river water was so rewarding! I had no idea there was poison oak on the path, but I lucked out and apparently avoided it.

On Sunday (when it was 108 degrees!) we took a boat out on Lake Tulloch and went for a swim in the lake to cool down. I even got to drive the boat for a bit! So much fun!





I had never gone swimming in a river or a lake, let alone driven a boat, so the weekend was full of adventure for me! Plus, last night, we drove some quads around - yet another thing I had never done before!

Oh, and one of the most incredible things about being out in the country... one can actually see stars at night! And I mean lots and lots of stars! So out of the ordinary for me!

Anyways, I'm gonna go try to stay cool. Hopefully it's not too hot where you are!

I hate cleaning...for good reason.

Today as I slid into my boiling hot car, and my legs were burned by the hot leather seat, I thought to myself "Summer weather has definitely started".

So in preparation for the summer, I cleaned out my dresser and closet in hopes of finding bathing suits from summers past so that I wouldn't need to spend money on a new one this summer. While I did discover 4 perfectly good bathing suits, I also discovered a lot of my clothes from high school when I had absolutely no body fat and could squeeze into a size 3. Now let me say, I am skinny and small and have a good body. I am confident in my image. BUT pretty much all women can find something they don't like about themselves or some excuse to hate their body; and for me, trying on those size 3 jeans again didn't do anything for my self-esteem. I just hope that one day, when I'm older, I don't find my current size 5's - that would most likely throw me into a mid-life crisis.

So here I am, boxing up my jeans that remind me of a...skinnier time... Soon they will be given away to some girl who will also, one day, grow up to hate those awful size 3's for reminding her of the effects of time.

Hello summer time.

I have an aversion to being productive during the summer...

I have been far too lazy over the past few days - laying around the house while the 20 or so boxes and suitcases I have from moving back to San Diego for the summer sit, unpacked, in my room.

But instead of achieving productivity through unpacking, I have decided to focus on my upcoming trip to Italy. Which brings me to the main point of this post:I need to start learning some Italian.

You know, just a few key words to get me around the airport and the bus station before I get to Tuscany in a few months. While the whole point of my studying abroad is to learn the language, I am still a bit apprehensive about dropping myself in the middle of a foreign country without knowing how to say anything aside from "Ciao!".

I have an interactive Italian language CD/DVD (something similar to Rosetta Stone) that has been sitting on my desk since Christmas time. Every time I look at it, the linguist in me wakes up and I get a rush of excitement at the thought of learning Italian, but then comes this feeling of extreme guilt because in all honesty I know I probably won't ever break from my lazy summer routine to use the CD...

Oh well, even if I don't start learning the language now, I'll just have to use the country of Italy as my classroom - which is really one of the best ways to learn a language.

Alright, the sun is shining outside and I best go enjoy it.

Ciao!

Happy Father's Day!

Today was a relatively sunny day in a string of cloudy, overcast days here in (supposedly sunny) San Diego. And it is also Father's Day!

It's been a pretty low-key day and my father (who never takes a day to stop working because there's always something to clean or fix around our house) has - hopefully - been enjoying himself.

Here are some chocolate covered strawberries I made today to celebrate the holiday!




My dad plays a very unique role in my life. Sometimes I feel most similar to my father than anyone else in my family. Its from him that I think I get my appreciation for things such as classical music and art. I'm more inclined toward creativity, such as my father, rather than methodical and calculated approaches towards situations.

But the trait I most enjoy that I've inherited from my father is my natural pessimism. Now, If I had to classify myself as an optimist or pessimist, I would say optimist. But underlying that cheery outlook on life, is my natural negativity that causes me to always see the worst case scenario that can arise from specific situations. For example, what if I fail my German class? Or, if I'm going on a trip, what happens if I lose a contact lens?
When making plans, I always identify these negatives. And then I worry about these negatives.

Now why would this be a good trait for my father and myself?

I see it as an asset. Because of this natural, underlying pessimism, my dad and I never rush headlong into situations without first assessing all the negatives - and then preparing for them. We clear the path before sprinting ahead. So if I fear I may fail my German class - I study harder. Or, if I'm afraid of loosing a contact lens, I pack extra.

Don't get me wrong. Spontaneity is great, but so is planning ahead (at least within reason).

I'm glad to be my father's daughter. Aside from the excellent parenting he has provided to me over the years, I would be nowhere without this healthy dose of natural pessimism that I learned from him. Love you, Dad!