Italy: October 17, Venice (Murano)

Today we left the congested city center and went to some outlying islands.  Our first stop on the vaporetto was the cemetery island. The entire island is the cemetery for the city of Venice. And because space is so limited, every 10 years, a section of the cemetery is exhumed and turned over, ready for new occupants. We spent some time walking around, and it was very interesting and pretty. The gravestones are quite different from how we do gravestones. They can be very elaborate, almost always include a colored photo of the deceased, and frequently have a built-in planter or vase for flowers. There are inscriptions, verses, quotes, small statues, candles, crosses, all kinds of things included on the gravestone, which lies flat along the ground, with an end piece that stands up as a headstone.

The cemetery island

After the cemetery island, we went to Murano. Murano is historically known for glassworks.  It was very pleasant, in large part because there were far fewer people there. We wandered around and looked at glass shops, and got to see a couple of glass blowing demonstrations.  I also stumbled across the Murano library! Hooray!

After a nice lunch, most of us went to the glass museum, which showed us a little bit about glass throughout the history of Venice. We did a little more shopping, then took the vaporetto back to the main island of Venice.

A pleasant day exploring Murano

We made dinner in the palazzo, and then mom, dad, Phoebe, Cliff, and I went to a concert. They do Vivaldi concerts every other night, preformed by musicians in period costumes from the 18th century.  It was a nice concert, we enjoyed it.

Italy: October 16, Venice

We all got up early, so we could get to the Doge's palace before the crowds.  Good decision! We got the audio tour and made our way through this amazing palace. The Doge of old Venice was an official elected for life by the elite houses of Venice. The Doge didn't really do that much except keep all the feuding houses in check. In fact, he was basically a prisoner; he couldn't leave his palace unescorted, he was constantly under surveillance by people employed by the different houses, and it seemed like a job not to be envied. 

Interior courtyard at the Doge's Palace

The Palace was great, though. Lots of amazing art, interesting stories about the private apartments and council rooms, and after crossing the bridge of sighs, there were lots of prison cells to see. Lots.

A prison cell.  Just kidding! This was a giant meeting hall, with portraits of all the Doges painted around the top

In the afternoon, mom and dad and I walked around a bit, and checked out the Rialto bridge.  When it was time for dinner, we were all anxious to not repeat last night's meal. And technology saved the day! I looked on google maps and found a place right by us, that we would never have been able to find on our own. It was down a little alley off the main street, then through a small courtyard, under an arch, in a dead end (the dead end being the grand canal...so you could get to it by boat from that way). Google had pictures and reviews, and the reviews were outstanding. We made our way there, and had an amazing meal. The restaurant is called Taverna del Campiello Remer.  Our waiter Silvio was fun and friendly. I had rabbit, lots of people had beef with balsamic and parmesan, there were seafood dishes and pasta dishes, and for an appetizer, we all shared a pot of mussels and clams.  It was great, and we were all very happy.

The practically hidden entrance to the Taverna

After dinner we strolled around, got gelato, and saw Venice at night, which was of course, lovely.

All of us inside the Taverna, with our waiter, Silvio

Italy: October 15, Venice

In the chaos of getting 8 of us into two taxis with all our luggage to the Florence train station, dad's carry-on bag got left behind in the apartment. (At least we didn't forget Kevin!) At the train station, Paul and Sarah decided to stay behind, go back to the apartment for the bag, and join us later in Venice. In dad's bag was his camera, and they had a photo shoot around Florence after recovering the bag. When I get some of those pictures I'll include them.

The rest of us went on to Venice, a magical city. We were met by Antonio, who took us to our palazzo. Yes, Palazzo. We got settled in, and Dad and I returned to the train station to meet Paul and Sarah's train. Since their train was late, we were able to find a small park to sit in and enjoy a bit of Venice that is not very common. Most of the main part of Venice is tightly packed buildings built around stone courtyards and streets (with no cars or bikes, of course). There is very little greenery here. We met Paul and Sarah, and all of us went to dinner at a place near our palazzo that was very, very, slow, with mediocre food, and terrible customer service.

Reunited at last!

 It was not the most amazing day in Italy, but I really enjoyed the park.

The Grand Canal

We also had fun, during most nights of our trip, playing Settlers together, or other games like Scopa (an Italian card game.)

Playing Settlers in our Palazzo. Notice we are drinking out of goblets.

Italy: October 14, Florence & Pisa

Most of the group went to the Ufizi early this morning. Mom, Brian, and I went out for crepes and then to a lovely little garden.  Later, I met up with Dad, Cliff, and Phoebe and we went to Pisa on the train. Pisa is a smallish town, easy to walk through. We got lunch, then went to the famous leaning tower.  Cliff and I climbed it, a much easier climb than the Duomo. When we got home from Pisa, we all went to a big dinner at an Italian steakhouse near our apartment.  I only have one picture from this day. And it's the classic Pisa one. Sorry.

Italy: October 13, Tuscany

Today we took a Tasty Tuscany Tour. Our guide, Katarina, picked us up in Florence, and took us around Tuscany to discover the cuisine.  Our first stop was to visit a small pasta workshop that makes fresh pasta. Francesco taught us how he makes pasta, and showed us all these machines that press pasta, shape it, and can add filling to ravioli. We bought some to take home for dinner.

Next stop was a winery and olive oil press. Massimo took us to the cellars and talked to us about the wood used to make wine barrels, how long to age wine, and what makes a good olive oil. Then we had an olive oil and wine tasting.

Katarina took us to a saffron farm for lunch.  The farm grows saffron, which is very expensive and difficult to produce. It is made from the stamens of the crocus. It has to be harvested and dried in one day. Our lunch had saffron-infused dishes, such as saffron ravioli, and homemade saffron ice cream for dessert. This appetizer plate had different types of bruschetta, a battered sage leaf, an artichoke casserole, and pear with peccorino.

After lunch Katarina took us to San Gimignano, a medieval walled town. We walked around on our own for a bit and took pictures of the Tuscan countryside. 

Our final stop was truffle hunting with Francesco (a different Francesco.) He is a professional truffle hunter, and he taught us about using his dogs, Noaro and Angie, to help find these elusive and very valuable fungi under the ground. We walked through the forest for a bit, but couldn't find any before it started to rain. It was really enjoyable.

Italy: October 12, Florence - Evening

This evening we got a special treat. Sarah had arranged for us to get a tour of an olive oil press and olive grove, followed by a delicious, homemade, authentic Tuscan dinner. She has connections with an American woman living in Tuscany named Janet, and her Italian husband, Stefano.  They picked us up in Florence and took us out to their house in the countryside.  This is a picture of an old chapel nearby.

It was a beautiful area. Janet showed us how the olive oil business works. It was very interesting, and unfortunately we learned that it is a very bad year for olive oil. Most olive trees have been infested with olive flies, which makes the olives unusable for oil.  There may not be any olive oil at all from this region this year.

Stefano cooked us a delicious dinner, partly in the outside wood-fired oven.  I don't have any pictures of the dinner, because I was too busy eating it! There were dishes like rabbit liver crostini, freshly baked bread drizzled with their olive oil, white bean salad, and pear with peccorino cheese for desert. It was an amazing meal!

Mom and me in the Tuscan countryside

Italy: October 12, Florence - Morning

This morning we did a bit of exploring around Florence. We started with a breakfast of coffee and croissants at a nearby cafe.  I never drink coffee, but I thought I would try some this morning. I decided it was gross.

Wandering around Florence we saw this cool sculpture in the Piazza della Santissima Annuziata.

 We had also been noticing lots of traffic signs that had been creatively modified. There were lots of good ones in the city, this is the only one I got a picture of.

Then we found Via Laura!

 We also went back to the cathedral and visited the Baptistry, which has interesting and beautiful mural work on the ceiling.

Italy: October 11, Florence

We began our sightseeing adventures today. We started by walking along the Arno river and visited the Galileo museum. It was a lovely day, sunny and warm, not too hot. The Galileo museum had lots of neat artifacts in it from science research through the centuries.

I also discovered the National Library!

 After lunch, we went to the Cathedral. It is called the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, but it is known as the Duomo, because of the historic and massive dome on the top. The cathedral was built in the late 1200's, but the dome wasn't completed until 1436. Constructing a dome like this was a scientific achievement at that time, and was managed by Filippo Brunelleschi, amid artistic rivalries, secrecy and technical challenges. National Geographic has a short and interesting article about the Dome.

Some of us climbed to the top of the Duomo, a tiring but rewarding exercise. Looking out over Florence, you can also see the Campanile, the cathedral's bell tower. Visitors can climb that, too, but we had done quite enough climbing for one day.

Italy: October 10, Florence

We arrived in Florence, Italy! There are eight of us on this trip: Mom and Dad, Paul and Sarah, Brian, me, Phoebe, and Cliff.  We rented an apartment in Florence from Air BnB. It is great! Here we are in the living room just after we arrived. 

Paul and Sarah got a room with a round bed and worked out the best way to share it. 

Our first night in Florence, we went out for a lovely, delicious Italian dinner at a small restaurant near our apartment. 

Then we strolled around Florence. This statue is near the Palazzo Vecchio, and there were lots people looking at the statues, street musicians playing, vendors, and folks just walking around enjoying the warm evening.

Year 2!

Well, classes start tomorrow for my second (and final) year of grad school. I've been back in Tucson just over a week. In that time,  I've moved into a new apartment, (email me if you'd like the address!)  I've gone to the orientation for the new cohort of Peace Corps Fellows and talked to them about doing class talks in area schools as part of our Fellowship commitment. This year, I'm in charge of organizing the class talks, I'm an officer in the Peace Corps Club on campus.  I have seen lots of friends, which is of course, the best part about coming back to Arizona. Here is my friend Ben and I, taking our picture on our first day of 19th grade! : ) I think I'm ready for this year!

One Down, One to Go!

Wow, my first year of grad school just finished! I turned in my last paper, went to my last class, and said goodbye to friends for the summer. It has really been an adventure this year! Here are some memories from the year:

 My parents came to visit over President's Day weekend, and we saw lots of sights and ate AMAZING crepes.

I went to the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum TWICE, and learned to identify a lot of the crazy plants that grow here.

 I interned at Manzo elementary, doing all kinds of projects - this one is doing a big mural with some of the kids and a professional artist.

 I made new friends! And gave them prizes!

 Went on some cool outdoor adventures, like this hike at Tanque Verde falls.

 I bought a car!! I love my car! I also ate a LOT of Froyo! I love froyo!

 Got a free trip to Biosphere2 for me and my friends! We had a fun time.

 I learned a lot in my classes.

 Seriously, though, I did learn a lot.

I did lots of Peace Corps stuff, like doing a table about the Philippines at the Peace Corps Fair.

One year down, one to go!!

Scooter Adventures

Perhaps you recall, or maybe you never knew, that early last summer I bought a little Honda scooter when my Honda Civic that I had owned for 12 years passed away. (I can say a car passed away if I want to.) Here is a picture of me on the day I bought that scooter. 

Then I moved to Tucson, and brought the scoot with me. It was very handy to have. I live far enough from campus that I don't want to bike there. I also have an internship, and like to buy groceries and things like that. So having a scooter was the next best thing to having a car. 

One day, not long after returning from Christmas break, I got hit by a car! It's true! I was on my scooter, stopped at a red light. The light turned green, and I zoomed off. Well, someone ran a red light right into me! Fortunately, the car next to me, waiting to turn left, saw them coming, honked, and gave me enough warning to slam on my brakes. The car nicked the front of my scooter and drove off. My scooter fell over, though I was still standing up, and thankfully, completely okay. 

The insurance company has totaled the scooter, but since it is still driveable, I kept it and took a salvage title on it. But I was pretty freaked out and fed up with driving this tiny thing that nobody can see me on. So my dad helped me buy a car in February. I bought a 2005 Honda CR-V. (Yes, Honda's got my loyalty.) Here is a picture of me with my new car at the Frozen Yogurt place in Tucson owned by the mom of the guy who I bought the car from. (The reason this is picture-worthy is that the guy actually is from Tucson, but now lives in Denver. We bought the car from him in Denver, and I drove it right back to its home in Tucson. Small world, eh?)

So now I have a car, and it is wonderful. I have a lot more freedom. I can eat a lot more frozen yogurt. So I almost never ride my scooter anymore, because I don't really need to. It mostly sits chained up in the carport space that a lady who worked in the apartment complex office when I moved in said I could use. I share the space with another guy's scooter.

It is, however, very convenient to have a scooter when I need to go to campus during a big high-traffic event. Parking that scooter is a breeeeeeze. Way easier (and cheaper - free) than parking a car. Just such an event took place this past Friday. I was meeting one of the teachers and some of the students from my internship at campus, so we could work a booth promoting our school. It was a big carnival and UA expo, and I thought it would make sense to ride the scooter. 

When I got down to where my scooter is parked, there was a huge orange sticker stuck to the handlebars that said something like, "YOU ARE PARKED ILLEGALLY". Well shoot, I thought, I didn't know. That lady who told me I could park here doesn't work here anymore, and I almost never use the scooter, and nobody would have known how to tell me to move it. I realized I would have to find another place to park when I came back, and I geared up, and backed out. As I was checking down the parking lot for cars, a tow truck was driving towards me. He stopped a few spaces away, and I backed out, and he looked at his clipboard and watched me pull away, and I thought, "woah! That tow truck is coming to bolt-cut my chain and tow away my scooter!! What incredibly fortuitous timing!" 

I don't know for a fact that that's what was happening. But I'm the only one who was parked illegally there, and nobody looked like they were waiting for a dead car to be towed. So I zoomed off before he could ask my name or where I lived or anything. Close call!

Publicity at my internship school, Manzo Elementary

Here's an Arizona Public Media video piece (7min) about the school I work at. The Kinder, 3rd, and 5th graders they interview are the kids I'm with every day. And see if you can spot my cameos! 

The video is here, I can't seem to be able to embed it. 

And here's me working with some of the 5th graders in farm club, cause I don't want to give you a blog post with no pictures!