Thursday, February 25, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Temporary (Hopefully) Hiatus
Unfortunately my computer has decided to take a break for a while which may make it hard for me to post for some period of time. I hope to post some photos and other comments when I can from other people's computers. Until then hope that people are friendly. Preview of what's to come, eventually: Cooking Class, Florence, Herculaneum, Pompeii, Sorrento, Amalfi, Atriani, Ravello, Salerno, and this weekend, Assisi. Hopefully this computer problem gets solved within the near future (before May).
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Day Trip to Civita
On Monday we took a day trip to look at Orvieto from the countryside surrounding the city. The views were great looking back at Orvieto even though it was somewhat of a hazy day. After stopping a couple times to take a look back out the town we visited the site for our studio project. We are designing and remodeling a house to become a b&b or apartments. It is an interesting site with some caves for wine, a horse pasture, and a small area for fruit trees. There is a lot of potential for the project so it'll be interesting to see where it goes.
After our site visit we went to the town of Civita where Don and Carol live. The town is very small and is perched upon a cliff similar to Orvieto but smaller. There are currently only about 10 people living in the town. The views around Civita were spectacular. I cannot picture a more perfect setting for a tiny little town. The landscape surrounding the town is all eroding away so it creates a very dramatic scene. The only access to the town is a pedestrian bridge which we trekked across. We visited the Watts' house and toured their remodeled "hay shed." The shed which is now somewhat of a living room is across the small street from their house. It is one of the nicest little spaces in terms of views out as I can imaging. There is an amazing view from the toilette out to the countryside and all the windows in the place do the views justice. They have a terraced patio/garden which left me speechless. It was very simple but elegant and again the views were astonishing. My favorite thing there was the one olive tree that was perfectly, naturally, placed in front of a window on the edge of the cliff.
We went to a bruschetteria and had a great lunch and then we were served some grappa which was essentially gasoline because I took the leftovers from all the cups and threw it into the fire and it immediately exploded. After lunch we had about an hour to explore the town on our own and did we ever. A bunch of us headed to the edge of the cliff and down a trail that lead into the valley and away from the city. We found a grove of chestnuts which entertained us for awhile and Cole and I decided we wanted to keep going. We were the only two who wanted to brave the muddy trail which I was ok with because I know what kind of things lie beyond what seem to be uncomfortable conditions. It is almost always worth the extra trouble to go beyond where people normally stop. Even though we were running short on time we descended the muddy hillside until we got to a pass between two valleys that lead to another stone outcrop which was protruding from the surrounding landscape. We crossed the muddy pass which fell off to the side maybe 100 feet downward and got to the base of the cliff. We turned around because we had to be back to the front gate of the town in 15 minutes. I regret not having a few more minutes to try and get to the top of the cliff, but its probably a good thing we didn't have more time because odds are I would have ended up at the bottom of the valley in shambles.
On our way back, Cole and I had to climb the muddy hill which proved not to be as easy as going down. On the way up I slipped and did the splits and in an attempt to keep my camera from the mud I managed to rip a foot long section of my jeans in the crotch. Not really the end result I was expecting from the hike but it was worth it.
Later that night we made a great dinner and Adriana roasted some of the fresh chestnuts she collected. The Civita trip was my favorite day up to this point. I think the reason for that is that we had some time to explore, not just in the city but in the countryside. On that note, I'm getting excited for the Ireland trip!
After our site visit we went to the town of Civita where Don and Carol live. The town is very small and is perched upon a cliff similar to Orvieto but smaller. There are currently only about 10 people living in the town. The views around Civita were spectacular. I cannot picture a more perfect setting for a tiny little town. The landscape surrounding the town is all eroding away so it creates a very dramatic scene. The only access to the town is a pedestrian bridge which we trekked across. We visited the Watts' house and toured their remodeled "hay shed." The shed which is now somewhat of a living room is across the small street from their house. It is one of the nicest little spaces in terms of views out as I can imaging. There is an amazing view from the toilette out to the countryside and all the windows in the place do the views justice. They have a terraced patio/garden which left me speechless. It was very simple but elegant and again the views were astonishing. My favorite thing there was the one olive tree that was perfectly, naturally, placed in front of a window on the edge of the cliff.
We went to a bruschetteria and had a great lunch and then we were served some grappa which was essentially gasoline because I took the leftovers from all the cups and threw it into the fire and it immediately exploded. After lunch we had about an hour to explore the town on our own and did we ever. A bunch of us headed to the edge of the cliff and down a trail that lead into the valley and away from the city. We found a grove of chestnuts which entertained us for awhile and Cole and I decided we wanted to keep going. We were the only two who wanted to brave the muddy trail which I was ok with because I know what kind of things lie beyond what seem to be uncomfortable conditions. It is almost always worth the extra trouble to go beyond where people normally stop. Even though we were running short on time we descended the muddy hillside until we got to a pass between two valleys that lead to another stone outcrop which was protruding from the surrounding landscape. We crossed the muddy pass which fell off to the side maybe 100 feet downward and got to the base of the cliff. We turned around because we had to be back to the front gate of the town in 15 minutes. I regret not having a few more minutes to try and get to the top of the cliff, but its probably a good thing we didn't have more time because odds are I would have ended up at the bottom of the valley in shambles.
On our way back, Cole and I had to climb the muddy hill which proved not to be as easy as going down. On the way up I slipped and did the splits and in an attempt to keep my camera from the mud I managed to rip a foot long section of my jeans in the crotch. Not really the end result I was expecting from the hike but it was worth it.
Later that night we made a great dinner and Adriana roasted some of the fresh chestnuts she collected. The Civita trip was my favorite day up to this point. I think the reason for that is that we had some time to explore, not just in the city but in the countryside. On that note, I'm getting excited for the Ireland trip!
Orvieto by Night
Saturday night I decided to take some time and wander around town instead of going out. It was a bit misty so some of the pictures were a little foggy. Nobody here in town goes out any later than 10 other than on Saturdays so there were quite a few people out. I hope I can go away from the town some night and take some pictures looking back up at the lit up cliffs and the Duomo.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Firenze
Yesterday we went on a day trip to Florence. Not the best of days because it was raining, but nothing stops us. Since it was raining I didn't take my camera, only my point and shoot, so if you are questioning the quality of the following photos, that is the reason. We go back two more times as a group so I'm hoping to get a nice day so I can take some good ones. We'll see... I've seen a lot of the city center of Florence before so the awe factor, like there was in Rome, was not there. I'm sure it didn't help that it was rainy.
We first went to the Cathedral, saw Dante's church and house, the Piazza della Signoria, and then Santa Croce. After we finished our walking tour a group of us found a Thai/Asian restaurant and had lunch there. I have had the best hot and sour soup here in Italy, first the Chinese place here in Orvieto and then the best I've had at that Thai place. You can only take so much Italian food. The variety of food is definitely something we take for granted in America. The only food we have here is Italian. After lunch we wandered around and found a candy store and then near Santa Croce there was a chocolate festival which kept us occupied for a while. On our way back to the station we stopped at an art store and happened upon a couple of the guys from K-State who are studying at Santa Chiara. It wasn't a great day to wander around but next Friday we go back to see the Uffizi so hopefully it will be better wandering weather.
We took the two and a half hour train back to Orvieto which was a killer but Alex and I watched Star Trek to pass the time. When we got back it was pouring and nothing was open. We ended up going to the Cafe Cavour after a while where we met some people who were actually our age. There aren't too many people in this town of college age so it was nice. I went outside to talk on the phone and then I ended up joining in a 3v3 game of rugby tennis in the middle of the Corso, the main street in town, at midnight. Pretty funny. It was a couple of the locals and myself vs Maxie and two other locals. It was a very fun game after I figured out the rules. I was skeptical at first because anything with the word rugby implies getting the snot knocked out of you but this game involved no physical contact at all. My team won so the other team had to buy us beers, which were in the largest beer bottles I've ever seen, almost the size of small wine bottle. I think we might be going to a cafe to watch a rugby match later today.
Hopefully the next time we go to Firenze I will have more to show for it, in terms of pictures at least. It's kind of nice not to be taking pictures because you see the world through your own eyes instead of a viewfinder.
We first went to the Cathedral, saw Dante's church and house, the Piazza della Signoria, and then Santa Croce. After we finished our walking tour a group of us found a Thai/Asian restaurant and had lunch there. I have had the best hot and sour soup here in Italy, first the Chinese place here in Orvieto and then the best I've had at that Thai place. You can only take so much Italian food. The variety of food is definitely something we take for granted in America. The only food we have here is Italian. After lunch we wandered around and found a candy store and then near Santa Croce there was a chocolate festival which kept us occupied for a while. On our way back to the station we stopped at an art store and happened upon a couple of the guys from K-State who are studying at Santa Chiara. It wasn't a great day to wander around but next Friday we go back to see the Uffizi so hopefully it will be better wandering weather.
We took the two and a half hour train back to Orvieto which was a killer but Alex and I watched Star Trek to pass the time. When we got back it was pouring and nothing was open. We ended up going to the Cafe Cavour after a while where we met some people who were actually our age. There aren't too many people in this town of college age so it was nice. I went outside to talk on the phone and then I ended up joining in a 3v3 game of rugby tennis in the middle of the Corso, the main street in town, at midnight. Pretty funny. It was a couple of the locals and myself vs Maxie and two other locals. It was a very fun game after I figured out the rules. I was skeptical at first because anything with the word rugby implies getting the snot knocked out of you but this game involved no physical contact at all. My team won so the other team had to buy us beers, which were in the largest beer bottles I've ever seen, almost the size of small wine bottle. I think we might be going to a cafe to watch a rugby match later today.
Hopefully the next time we go to Firenze I will have more to show for it, in terms of pictures at least. It's kind of nice not to be taking pictures because you see the world through your own eyes instead of a viewfinder.
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