Posts tagged Italy

Months here: 5

Countries visited: 5 (Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland, Germany)

Operas seen: 10 (Orfeo, La Traviata, Don Giovanni, Marriage of Figaro, Magic Flute, Salome, Otello, Acis and Galatea, Fidelio, Barber of Seville)

Favorite opera: Barber of Seville

Concerts gone to: 12

Favorite concert: Spanish Guitars in Barcelona

Kilos of Nutella eaten: 5.5, let’s not talk about it

Best city: Seville

Most moving: Auschwitz

Cones of gelato: innumerable

Favorite gelato: Tiramisu or Rose

Meal I am most proud of: Fresh calamari

Favorite meal out: Pumpkin riavioli in swordfish sauce at Alle Testiere

Best group meal: Family style in Rome (wine was also family style)

Best laugh: Pompeii over dinner

Best cry: With mom on the couch

Favorite chruch: Toss up between La Sagrada Familia and church in Krakow

Famous paintings seen: also innumerable (Birth of Venus, Last Supper, The David,

Titian’s Assuntion, a lot of Bellini)

Favorite snack: Tapas at Sagardi

Favorite ruin: House of the Vestal Virgins

Best Month: October

Books read: 13+

Finals taken: 6

Papers written: 4 (this semester was a joke)

Recap Seville: My favorite European city thus far. It was like everything I was expecting from Venice, plus cheap food. I saw a flamenco show, drank sangria like they were stopping production, gazpacho, tapas, took a bike ride, tapas tour with my hostel, mad crazy gelato. It was incredible and beautiful and warm. The waiters were ruder than most, but still, the city was amazing. My favorite part was renting a bike because a) I needed some physical activity and b) the bike paths in Seville are so easy and clear. I went alongside the river for about two hours, went down to the park with the Plaza Espana (where I want to live forever) and then went back to my hostel and got lunch. Everything was peachy until the girl I was traveling with invited a friend of hers from Venice to come stay with us and it was like I stopped existing. Suddenly, Seville lost the rosy tint. I suppose the company around you really does effect experience.

Tomorrow, we as a class leave for Vienna at 930 AM. My sister lands in Venice at 130 PM. Really, really unfortunate. I still wish I were running the marathon on Sunday. It makes me want to cry seeing the ramps they’ve put over the bridges out by the water for the runners, I just want to be running this marathon. In Italy. With my sister. The one I trained for and told EVERYONE about. I kind of feel like a loser because I told so many people and now….nothing. I am still SO EXCITED for Courtney to run the marathon and then be here. I need some real people time. I just want to talk about something other than drinking and hook ups and gossip for five seconds. When I do something dumb, Courtney tells me to my face, I rectify it as best I can and we move on. Same goes for her. I don’t understand why this kind of normal human behavior isn’t commonly practiced amongst college students.

Anyway, we leave for Vienna, come back Tuesday. Courtney leaves the following Friday. We have an opera Sunday, then my parents arrive the next Friday. They stay till Thursday. The next day, we go to Rome for a week. Then I go to Poland for a week. Then a week off, then my best friend comes from London to stay for a week. Then 10 days till I am home. I hate to wish it away but man, I am missing New Jersey hard.

We are officially in Seville! Now let me backtrack….

We took the metro (couldn’t take the bus, everything was closed for a Saints (don’t remember which) Day) up to Park Guell. And by up to Park Guell I mean up the mountain but then we still got to ride the ESCALATORS that go up the center of the mountain to the park. So cool. Gorgeous views of Barcelona, a perfect weather day, I could not have asked for better conditions to see the city I’ve been dreaming of going to ever since I presented on it in 7th grade. After the park, we made our way down the mountain and walked back into the city, passing every Gaudi house along the way. That man was insane.

We went back to Sagardi and got ourselves a few more toothpicks of tapas and more cider. Damn, I already miss that cider. The lightest beer ever with a nice kick to it. So yum. We went and saw Maria del Mar and then took a brief siesta/packing stop.

We attempted to go back to the market to get my hands on some mint lemonade, but no luck. Closed for the holiday. We continued to stroll (ramble?) down La Rambla and eventually decided to just get an early dinner. Good choice.

Look, I hate peppers. When I go to James’ house I miss out on all this really incredible looking food because I won’t eat the peppers. Not that I haven’t tried, for some reason I just never really took to their flavor. But on this day, I found a deep love for the taste of red bell pepper. Muscles, drenched in this pepper/tomato steam bath. I was dying. We should’ve skipped the entree and had another pot of those. They were so good. Yes, pictures to come. Then we had paella and wrapped it up with Crema Catalana (best description I can come up with is flan pudding but better).

I took a walk down to the marina again, just to get some thinking and goodbye time in to the city and reminded me Europe isn’t entirely a tourist trap and went back home to sleep. Unfortunately, I tossed all night and didn’t actually get to sleep till 1.

(Before I go on, everyone who is staying in Barcelona should stay at the Itaca Hostel, eat at Sagardi, and go stroll down Argenteria in the evening).

THATS FUNNY BECAUSE WE GOT UP AT 2 TO GO TO THE AIRPORT. So, up at 2. Night bus at 3. Airport at 4. Flight at 5:55. Possibly the single most miserable traveling experience I’ve ever had. Let’s not linger.

After wasting a day of staring at a wall wanting to do (arrived in Seville at 8, couldn’t check in to our new hostel till 1) I made up my mind that no matter how miserable I was I would go on the evening tapas tour. You pay 14 euros, they take you to three bars to eat, drink and be merry. Well, let me tell you, I thought sangria was good in Barcelona but the sangria I had last night was on a totally different level. At one point, it was brought out to us in beer pint mugs. I love Seville. No, really, I love Seville.

Seville is like everything I want Venice to be. In as much as Venice is stunning because it’s a floating Seville, everything is goddamn expensive! Also, I like my food. Venetian bars do not serve delicious, delicious bite sized gourmet deliciousness on a stick while I drink liquored up fruit juice. THESE ARE MY PEOPLE. In addition, women in Spain don’t look like the toothpicks their food comes on. Refreshing.

So, anyway, three bars, 6 tapas platters at each bar, sangria, 1 hour sleep, and our last stop was a salsa bar. You do the math. Yes, I have a video.

Today is a walking tour, followed by hopefully me getting out to the bullfighting ring, the art museum and the flamenco museum. Tonight is dinner and a flamenco show. Ole!