January in Urbino!

Ciao!

So, nearing the end of January, I've decided to give you a recap of the first month of the year here in Urbino.
First of all, you've read about my trip. I spent a few days afterwards resting and taking hot baths, because it was a chilly phase and I wanted to get over my cold. Which I did! Yes!

I have no classes until the end of February and all of my friends had exams going on, so I decided I needed to find somethings to fill my time. The first thing I did was finally kit up Karaoke! I believe I wrote about it, but it was great, either way. I had fun, but it's hard jumping into a place where all the regulars are friends and you are the new one. I talked to some people though, and they were exceptionally hilarious.

The second time I went was pretty much awful. I don't know why it was so different from the first time, but I had the worst time ever. I sat alone all night, had to quit a song half way through because the words got screwed up and then, at the end of the night, the bartender started sweet talking me. By sweet talking I mean drunkenly and constantly forgetting the previous 10 seconds, "What? Why do you have to work at 7? Stick around a little longer... Oh, you have to work in the morning? What do you do?... So do you work tomorrow? Can you stay for a bit longer?"  No. But thank you for stumbling me to the door.

I took off for home. I must have been homesick or something, because usually I try to be more talkative with my Italian, but I remember just not feeling it. The next day I went to Canyon for a cup of tea. I felt much better there, and it was nice enough to sit outside. I had some chats. I've been there a few times since. Having a bad night out makes me enjoy my good nights out, though!

I had a great dinner with Val and Andy last Tuesday, because she has handed in her thesis! And she was ready to drink some lemon liquor. I was not complaining. I bought her a bottle of Spremuta and these chippy things she likes. I want Spremuta when I finish a thesis. There was another girl there, too, who lives down the hall. Her parents are from Greece and she is this crazy haired goddess type. I liked her.

Also, I've had two nights out with Giorgia and Lucia at the Caffe di Sole. I. Love. This. Cafe. It's small and cute and has different suns all over the walls. There is a great mural, too, of two people drinking wine. They have live music there a few times a month. The first time I went, there was a guitarist and an accordian player playing songs of Fabrizio De Andre. It was great. The lights were warm, the tables were full, people were lining the bar, listening to the music. It was pretty crowded, so we stood outside for the second set, and then headed to the dorms, where G and L live, when it got too cold. We had pasta, and the wine I had bought them for Christmas, and I met another girl who I taught how to play Crazy 8s! It was great. I always walk home after, since it's usually quite late and the buses don't run. It's about a 40 minute walk, and it's always so interesting to see Urbino by night.

The second time I went, Lucia stayed in to work on her thesis, and Giorgia braught two of the Spanish girls I'd met before Christmas and another Italian girl from her dorm. We got a table this time, which was great, and the waiter brought is chips with our beers. The band was two guys playing guitar, bongo drums, a flute, and another guitar. They were from Argentina and the music was brilliant. I love South American music. They even played some songs from Bueno Vista Social Club. It was chill, and I had good company and good beer.

Most afternoons I stay in to write and study. When I don't, I head to Canyon for tea, Mystic Pizza for tea, or, well, any cafe I feel like for tea. Ha, I still haven't gotten on the coffee wagon, but the right drink is just as important at the right people. I keep to my tea, and I keep to talking. I had a great conversation with two of the regulars at Canyon , who also frequent Karaoke, incidentally, the other day about beer, and one bought be a Budweiser, because it's the closest thing you can get to Canadian beer around here. Oh yea, I don't only drink tea. Beer, too.

I had a great outting to the farm of a friend of Alessandra's. She's the one we went to the Forest with so long ago. We all went for the birthday of Luoco, Katrin's son. They live on this great, amazing farm in a great, huge house with great lot of pigs. They raise pigs. And her husband cooks these pigs. And also flat bread, bean soup, other meats and cakes. We ate all of this. I shouldn't say we. What happened, was we all went together. However, I had been playing with Sarah earlier and pretending she was a bell. She said she had a sore arm after, but it didn't seem to bother her, so I forgot about it. She fell asleep on the way to the party. When she woke up, she was in epic pain. Alessandra took off with her to the hospital, and I stayed at the party with the other two kids. So, I sat around, ate well at a huge, great table with a huge, great amount of people, who are wonderfully warm, while Alessandra spent the night arguing with doctors who said there was nothing they could do. Turns out this has happened before, and Sarah's sockets are not so wondeful in her left arm. Anyways, the time before, she took her in, and the doctor did one quick move and she was fine again. This one messed around with her arm for a half hour. I don't know if he just wasn't an expert in that area or what, but Ales was pissed. She called a private doctor who came in and fixed Sarah up right.

Anways, Sarah is fine, the party was excellent, and they've invited me a concert at the farm. It's tomorrow! I am getting a ride from Lucia, a lady I met last time I was there. I also ran into her one night at the Caffe di Sole.

Anyways, this month, I've noticed how small this town is! I've been meeting people who know other people I know, or who enjoy the same places I do. I knew it was small, but everyday I seem to run into someone I know. Oh! Also, at the bus stop the other day, I saw the girl from CUST who I so very long ago forgot to get the number of. I plan to head out with her one night soon.

It's been a fun and rather down-to-earth month. Things have been chill. Not busy, not boring. That's usually what winter is about. Speaking of which, we got snow one more time!

Two days ago it started coming down and it snowed for a day and a half straight. Benni and I made a sweet snowman, like, a real one, and Leo has been going out with Bob, his sled, at the hill behind the building. Bella just loves it, and she goes nuts everytime I let her loose at the park. Generally Sarah has her nap afterschool, when it's light enough to play outside, so she hasn't been out. Which is alright with me, I suppose, except that she has been exceptionally whiny lately, and I find that when we do things outside or play an in-depth game, she is more herself and jolly. She just got over a bout of contipation, so I hope she's more agreeable in the coming month. All in all, the kids are great. Everyone in the house has a soat throat. Benni and I took the Christmas tree down a few weeks ago. This was a very symbolic moment, I suppose, since Christmas was a sort of feat for me to get over. And I did.

Oh, and Gordon, I am still awaiting your package! I assume it was stolen by some no gooder in Milan. If anything, I can write a story about it! And thanks to everyone who sent me cards and letters and packages! It felt so wonderul to have my name hand-written on envelopes containing messages of Christmas cheer and good wishes. I re-read them even now, whenever I miss home.

Speaking of which, I still have February to fill, which I might do with Tango lessons. What?! Yes. I found a month long lesson which I think I will start next week. Pretty excited. Then I restart Italian and Cinematography, and in March I leave for London! Alex and I are discussing an Easter trip in April. After that I'll have only just over a month left here. I know I won't be able to see every country or city that I want to, but I will see what I can, and I can always come back! I've seen so much already, so I'm pretty content.

I, for some odd reason, have not been taking so many pictures this month. I don't know if it's just that I've pretty much taken a picture of everything in Urbino, or if I feel too in people's faces, or what. But don't you worry. I'm getting over it. I plan to take some today of all the snow. There really is a lot, this time around. I'm just hoping my boots can stand another month of it.

Guido is coming today, and this means I will have a slack weekend. Yes! Looking forward to it. I've been working pretty hard all month, making up some hours from the vacation. I've pretty much caught up, so I'm going to take it easy, head to the concert tomorrow night, and get ready for February to start!

I hope you enjoyed the quick recap. I'll be posting more often now that I've finished my trip pictures. Ha, only 5 posts this month! I think that's a miracle considering how many I've had in the past.

Ciao for now!

Florence, Day 2

I believe I left off when I said I had gone to bed with big plans. I woke up, packed up, and realised it was raining. Gross. I went to the Station and locked up my bag, then took off to check train times. I could pretty much go anytime of day I wanted, but the trains were filling up fast. I decided to risk it, and come get my ticket when I decided I wanted to go. If I bought one right away, I'd have to stick to that timeline, and no one wants that.

I took off in the direction of Ponte Vecchio. I pretty much ended up way off course and walked a lot further than I needed too, but it was ok. I like walking. Especially in Florence. Especially when you finally get away from the tourism. Florence is small, and therefore every tourist spot collides with other another creating a never ending onslaught of postcard booths, umbrella sellers, beggers, expensive gelato shops and other vendors. This is what I saw in the morning!

They appreciate their bikes here in Italy. I like that.

However, I get this sign, and the one above...

But what does this one mean? I'd like to assume you have to do stunts while you ride here. No normal bike riding in the part of the road.

I ended up along the water, hopefully heading in the right direction. It didn't matter either way. I had cute birds to look at.

And a great view of some bridges.

Then there was this guy.

Guiseppe Garibaldi. Seems I've heard his name before around here. Important people tend to come up now and again.

Castle turret among what looks like a ghetto of sorts.

Wicked mad made rapid of sorts.

 

A large Church with a GREAT statue in the adjoining square.

If you were like, "What is that?" and then someone came up behind you and casually said, "Oh, it's a man wrestling a lion," They'd be right.

Another view of the bridges and Florence

This guy! I took a picture of the name plate, but it didn't come out. So. This one is a mystery.

The sweet bases of the streetlights along the water.

Ducks, swimming merrily along

A sweet shirt I saw on the way to Ponte Vecchio

Getting close to Ponte Vecchio. It was about here, when I saw it, that I remembered actually seeing it in a book that Lisa has on travelling the world. I remember seeing it about a year ago, and thinking, "People live on the bridge. And they have for hundreds of years. And Italy is so damn cool, I want to go." Then I realised as I was standing on the rain drenched cobbled street, "Hey, here I am. In Italy." The day got a little brighter for some reason.

Better view

Almost...

The street connected to the bridge.

Made it! So, people traditionally, and I use this term loosely, put a lock onto this statue as a couple to lock up their love, so to speak. I think. That's how I figured it anyways. Anyways, it was covered in locks, as you can see.

Then I read this: It's not allowed to put locks on the railing.

I assume people ignore this because of the bad grammar.

A shot of Benvenuto Cellini without the locks, the way the law intended.

View from the Ponte Vecchio towards where I just came from.

The Ponte Vecchio has always sold Gold and Silver in its shops. So, all of the shops that line it are jewellery shops. Fun to look!

Heading away from the Bridge I got a view of the other side!

I then headed in the direction of the Science Museum. This is what I really wanted to see today. I had read in my handy book that it was undergoing construction on one floor, but the price should be about half. Anyways, I go in there, and two of the four floors are closed and they are still charging full price.

Ciao, see you in the spring when it's finished. He told me it should be done in April, so I might head back in March. Anwyays, I saw this on the way there, outside of the Uffizi.

A restaurant overlooking the water.

Construction at the Uffizi which is closed Mondays, my last day, incidentally.

Because of the rain, I decided not to head to the Piazza di Michelangelo. It was a long walk, and, well, I was tired. And what's the point of sightseeing if you aren't enjoying yourself? I saw some interesting things, made it to lots of my destinations, and was ready to head home.

 My travel buddies! I picked them up at the train station and also got a ticket for a train ride to Pesaro. There were 3 left! Yes! I would like to mention that it could have cost me 5 euros to go at 4 in the morning, but I took the 40 euro trip around 1:30 instead.

At the train station in Bologna. I switched there from a train with too many people, to a train in which I was 1 of 6. For some reason, we had seat designations all in one booth. Uh, sorry guys, I'm tired, and sick, and I am going to sneak one of the other hundred booths all for my own. Thanks! Have a great trip. Out the window I watched as some snow fell! It was great to watch from the warmth of the train.

Get this! Here comes the train... I want to make a flip book with these three pictures.

And thus ended my trip to Florence, and my entire New Years trip. There was a lot that I wanted to see that I didn't, but I can always go back. I've got lots of time in this life to fill. It was a wonderful way to start my New Year. I am glad I went, especially because I've realized a few things. I really am sick of travelling alone. It has its perks, but I hope that my next trips are with some friends, or to some friends. Also, there is a fine line between planning your trip thouroughly and just going with the flow of things. I mean, for example, if I hadn't've planned to see David in Florence early, I would have ended up in a huge lineup all afternoon. But if I had kept to my plans to head to the Vatican when I was in Rome, everything would have been closed and I wouldn't have had such a relaxing day with Kira and Jenny. Then, if I had kept to all of my plans in Florence, I would have seen everything, yes, but I would have been cold, miserable, sick, and tired. I want to appreciate a lot of these things, not just say that I've been there. This is something that has changed in me. Also, I need to learn to listen to myself. Sometimes, yes, I need to push through the rain, stand in the lineups, deal with a sore throat, and walk the extra blocks in order to see something I really want to see, but, I have learned to measure what it is I want to see right now, and what I figure can wait. So, this trip, I think I learned a bit about appreciation. (Is this starting to feel like Sesame Street, yet?) Anyways, leaving Florence early was okay with me. I appreciated the early trip home, instead.

I got back to Urbino with a beautiful skiff of snow. Urbino is stunning with snow. It lasted all of overnight, and then it was gone. Haven't seen any since. I had a night alone in the house with Alessandra. They had all gone to Livorno, where Guido works and where his mother lives. Ales came home two days early to work.

Guido arrived the next day with the kids. On the morning of the 6th, was Befana! A holiday in which the kids hang stockings overnight and a witch named Befana comes by and fills them with treats if you are good, coal if you are bad.  It was a lot of fun! The kids got some winter gear, like touques and mittens, and some candies. Guido headed back to work that afternoon, and school started the next day.

It is very strange to be writing this now, because it is almost the end of January, and exactly a month ago today was Christmas. This month went by miraculously fast compared to my month before Christmas. Even though I have had things to do, I've been staying in more, since it's chilly and all of my friends here have exams right now, but even then, things are steadily moving by! I can only assume that this is an indicator of what's to come. Time going by too fast!

Valentina has her last exam tomorrow, so she is having a party! I am looking forward to it. Also, I went to another concert at the Caffe del Sole with Giorgia and a couple of her roomates. I had the biggest Heineken I've ever seen in my life and it was a great couple of guys from Argentina playing a flute, guitar, and drums. Very exotic. Also, Graham was there! I met his girlfriend, and she asked how my Italian was coming along. Turns out he hasn't studied AT ALL and she was rather annoyed. I told him where to go to get a good textbook, but it doesn't look like he's that thrilled about trying to learn it. He wants to. He says this often, but he never actually does. Anyways, we had a good chat, and I think he was happy to speak some English.

I have some recapping to do about my adventures in Urbino this month! I hope you have all enjoyed my last few travel posts. Let me know what you think! Ha, it's funny, I now consider anything from outside of Urbino that I post "travel posts", but not anything from within Urbino... Interesting, if anything.

Anyways, I would love to hear about how the New Year started for everyone and what you have planned too keep yourself busy until Springtime errupts!

Florence

Ok! So I was in Florence, and quite tired, so I hauled my things into the hostel, took a hot shower, that I was surprised about. Looked like an only cold water kind of place. Then I read my Rick Streves to find out what I could get done in two days. I ate some of my supermarket supper, met my 5 Spanish roomates, and went to bed. I was sleeping next to a window. And what you have to consider is that windows that actually close are generally conserved for prisons, here. Even in the house, all of the windows have drafts, but it's just not often cold enough to be a problem. I did wake up a bit more stuffed than before, though.

What I do love about getting into old hostels, is that no matter how old and unmanaged they are, they have great character. The ceiling, for example:

I took off in the morning with a plan to see much of downtown, and then to head across the river the next day before taking a train to Urbino.

The Nativity Scene at Santa Maria Novella

The Duomo and the Baptistery

Included in my downtown trip was L'Accadamia, which is where David is. This was on my walk there:

Galileo is huge here. This is or was a junior/senior high school. Note the posters all over the wall.

 This just freaked me out.

There were two exhibits on display when I went. One was on antique instruments used is Florence, and another was a modern photoprapher who had done a study on geometric shapes of the human body and other natural things.

 The only picture that I snuck in the museum! I loved the look of this instrument. And I really loved this exhibit.

So, the museum was amazing. David, who I had thought was actually small and, well, just a statue of a guy turned out to be completely awesome. After walking into the hall, you see him at the very end. The museum was built just to house him, and there is a great dome in the ceiling above him that lets in natural light. He's fricken huge. And the detail is amazing. Once I read about the history, I was even more impressed. I was very surprised that I was able to sit there for quite a long time and just take in the whole atmosphere.

Then I checked out the photography, which was interesting, but the photos were all meant to have no movement. Which I found boring. There. I said it.

Also, there was a room LOADED with the first drafts of sculptures. I forget what they are actually called, but they are moldings that the artists make before they are given marble to actually carve. It was neat to see what was given marble and what wasn't and who paid for the real thing and why.

Then there was a room of what I think I remember correctly as art from a Russion Orthodox church. No, not a room. 4 rooms. Interesting, because after the first two, you conveniently have to walk through the gift shop in order to see the rest of it. Sly guys.

After the museum, I headed to the Piazza della Signoria which is loaded with sculptures. This is why Florence is so remarkable. Any other town would be lucky to have one or two of these wonderful pieces, but just in one square, Florence has about 20. It seems like such an overload at first.

A view of the square with folk, a man on a horse, and a statue of a man on a horse.

The horseman from another angle.

And another. (I wouldn't want to miss anything, you see.)

Palazza Vecchio (Old Palace) and the sunshine! (It was a brisk day.)

The fountain and it's glory

 

I just loved this little guy

This wonderful lady was about to take off the head of some man. I don't know who made this or what it is about, but I like it.

The reproduction of David. This is originally where the orginal one stood, but for fear of destruction, the build L'Accadamia. They made this one to stand in his place.

Little tree boys on either side of the door to the Palazzo Vecchio

This platform was loaded with statues and I'd be damned if I could find an explanation for any of them.

Oh, except that this is Perseus killing Medusa.

 From the other side you can see her a lot better. Her dead, headless body.

People clamouring all over each other, reaching for something... Probably symbolic, but I like to think there is a jar of peanut butter dangling above them, and the first person to grab it gets it all.

And this is pretty epic. I love how much emotion can come through these sculptures. When you see them it's almost like they're moving.

A tiny little Perseus as a part of the base of the bigger statue.

Platform from the Piazza

Piazza form the platform.

Palazzo Vecchio

Check out the tiny flags all across the top. And what time it is! Wait. Does that say five after seven? No no. I was there at like... 2. What's up with that?

Then I headed to the market! There is a wonderful market here selling lots of leather and other things that I wanted to walk through. I saw a lot of things that I liked and the whole place smelled like leather. Everything was stamped as Genuine Italian Leather. It was neat!

The Market

Also home to the boar! Rub his nose to ensure you'll get back! Check out how shiny that sucker is. I, as a note, did not rub the nose. Don't ask me why. I just took a picture and left. I feel oddly strange about not doing it.

I took this picture to remind me the name of the Church that I went into. Orsan Michele!

There it is. It was much less busy than the others and also free. These two things don't usually go together.

A woman asking for change as she blessed youe heart and the guard on duty having a smoke.

This guy being off pose, I was able to sneak a photo. The whole church is a brown, drab, unlit place, but then you have the wonderful windows of vibrant, amazing colours that use the sun as a tool to make them stun your brains out.

On my way back to the hostel, I noticed the Martini sign. Yes, I do want a drink. Thanks for reminding me.

So, I headed to The Joshua Tree Pub and had a very dark pint of beer. Delicious. The bartender was Irish and the bar had the same kind of theme. They had promised live DJs everynight, but that acually meant that this guy was picking a new song every 4 minutes and getting back to drinking. I wrote a lot, actually. I was still feeling groggy and gross, especially after being outside all day, so I decided against socializing for the time being. It was nice to sit among people, and get some words on paper. For some reason my notebook thie month has filled absurdly fast. As in, in my first three months, I filled three notebooks. This one is almost done and we're only half way through January. Anyways, a lot of it came from that night.

I went back to the hostel later and, lo and behold, my things where gone. Say what? You see, I had been a little worried, since there was no lock up at this hostel, just my things hiding behind my bed. I was just preparing my heart for the pressure of it's lifetime, when I noticed there was also a note saying I had been moved to another room. Holy man. Did you just sigh a big sigh of relief? It was nothing compared to what I sighed. I moved on over, where I met a brother and sister, also from Spain, except this time he spoke a tad of English. We ate together on our hostel beds, and chatted about Florence and how their trip was going. It was the first trip they had taken together. Hilarious. Would I travel through Europe with my brother? This is a question for another day.

View from my hostel window

Looking the other way. They still had these great lights that I saw all over each of the cities I visited. They look so magical!

I had a non adverbial sleep in my new bed, and got up and ready for the next day. I had had big plans, since more things were open, and wanted to head across the river, via Ponte Vecchio, and see the Science Museum, Piazzale Michelangelo, and the Brancacci Chapel and then whatever else I had time for.

Generally speaking this is not what happened.

Real time Update: Karaoke was a general hit. I headed out alone, since Giorgia and Lucia have tests to study for. I ordered a beer and sat, studying the place. They did things a little differently. The place ended up completely full, and they all seemed to be regulars. It was so full, in fact, that three people asked if they could sit with me, since there were no more tables. But of course! Two of them were students, and one was working in Urbino. They were hilarious, too. They kept making jokes, but I didn't always get them. By the end of the night I had picked up on a few more.

I put a song up and forced them to stay until I sang. However, in order to do that, you have to sort of wave the guy down and say, "Saro dopo!" (I will be next). The whole crowd there is a lot of fun, and the always clap for each other during the song, and they all sing along. It was great to watch, considering they sang almost all in Italian with the exception of maybe two songs. Including mine. But they all knew the songs by heart, and you could tell a lot of them are there to let off a lot of steam, so they really belt it out. Reminded me a lot of Hooliganz! The people were friendly, the bar was comfy, and the karaoke went all night. I met some people and they assured me they were there everyweek! So, in place of my weekly cinema and italian classes that don't start until February, I have weekly karaoke!

Tonight, I am heading to a concert that I saw a poster for at Caffe de Sole, and then for drinks at Canyon with Val and Andy.

Speaking of which, dinner was great! I made Chicken with peppers, tomatoes, brocolli, and a homemade sauce. I also made potatoe salad, because I love it so much. I even bought Kraft Mayo, which isn't Miracle Whip, just mayo. But it was good anyways. Then, to top it all off, I made cheescake. And I have to admit that it was pretty amazing. A long time ago Valentina had asked me if I knew how to make it, so I tried it out. I made it with a bit of the mayple syrup from Mom. Put the recipe in my new recipe book and can't wait to experiment with it.

Anyways, Nando was there, a friend of theirs I've met a few times now, and he also made pasta with meatballs. Also, and this is awesome, he brough frescissimo (very fresh) bufalo mozzerella. (Yes Mom, I asked, it comes from buffalo) He told me it has been in the stomach of the buffalo just the morning before. He grew up in the south, and he was been visiting his parents who farm, and he just drove up that day with the cheese. I've had this cheese before, from the supermarket, but this was... I don't know what to say. It is just the best damn cheese a person can eat. 1 day old cheese. I savoured it, don't you worry.

Thanks for the comments! I love hearing from you. Let me know how your New Year has kicked off.

Ciao for now!

Carrie